Alex Rodriguez: Baseball is a thinking person’s game so it fits beautifully in London November 19, 2018 American sports are renowned for their scale and razzmatazz so it should perhaps be little surprise that Major League Baseball, in making a push for a slice of the British market, has sent its big hitters out to bat. For the first MLB games ever to be staged Europe, which will be held at the [...]
England break from past by learning from mistakes to overcome Croatia November 18, 2018 Among the many painful aspects of England’s failings over the last three decades has been the tendency of the most promising teams to repeat the same mistakes tournament after tournament. At both the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side departed on penalties to Portuguese opponents who, while gifted, outsmarted more [...]
Trevor Steven: Moving abroad is a risk but young English footballers can only benefit November 13, 2018 To understand why young English players are increasingly attracted to the prospect of joining teams in other European leagues you need only look at the case of Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The midfielder, 22, was part of the England squad that achieved their best World Cup finish in 28 years during the summer, yet back at Chelsea [...]
Chris Kermode interview: ATP Tour chief on the men’s tennis circuit’s rebranding, efforts to attract new audiences and the future of London’s ATP Finals host status November 13, 2018 The iceberg looming for men’s tennis is the shelf life of the superstar players who have virtually monopolised the game’s top prizes for the last decade – according to conventional wisdom, at least. Chris Kermode, president and executive chairman of the ATP Tour, has bigger worries, however. For Kermode, the greatest challenge facing the elite [...]
Sam Torrance: Tasty vintage Lee Westwood is playing as well as ever November 12, 2018 Lee Westwood swung as well as I have seen him swing for a long, long time on his way to a magnificent victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa on Sunday. The Englishman, 45, hadn’t won for four years but looked oustanding all week and some of the golf produced [...]
Manchester City brush off financial allegations with dominant derby win over Manchester United November 11, 2018 If last week’s Football Leaks reports suggested that Manchester City’s success owes as much to creativity in their accounting as in their attacking play, then the visit of Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday could hardly have been better timed. Because for all of City’s alleged gaming of Financial Fair Play rules by [...]
Trevor Steven: Wayne Rooney’s England recall for USA game is a mystifying own goal by the Football Association November 6, 2018 Gareth Southgate says he supports plans to bring Wayne Rooney out of international retirement for a farewell England appearance in next week’s friendly against the United States. I don’t believe that for a minute. I would like to know who made the mystifying decision to recall Rooney – which is completely at odds with the [...]
Sam Torrance: Justin Rose is a genius, a grandmaster of golf and in the prime of his career November 5, 2018 Justin Rose made a welcome return to the top of the world rankings by defending his Turkish Airlines Open title on Sunday but only after an incredible and fascinating finish to the tournament. Having played magnificent golf all week, Rose gave overnight leader Li Haotong fresh hope by bogeying the 17th and 18th holes – [...]
Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend: Manchester City, Manchester United, West Ham, Wolves and Richarlison November 4, 2018 1. Man City on course ot beat their own records Premier League records tumbled as Manchester City waltzed to the title last season, not least in the goalscoring stakes, with the Blues netting 106 times and finishing with a goal difference of +79 – both new bests. Dauntingly for those teams who aspire to rival [...]
Let’s make sure British sport can compete with the best beyond Brexit November 4, 2018 It is often said the UK is a nation obsessed with sport. But for once sport’s hold on top spot in the public consciousness has been usurped by another national obsession: Brexit. However, the link between Brexit and sport is far more than just a competition for public attention – Brexit poses some fundamental challenges [...]