1) Stephen Hendry is returning to snooker, eight years after retiring. Here are some quick career highlights, a maximum break on his last Crucible appearance, and the man himself on his best-ever shot. Hendry has won the world title seven times, his first against Jimmy White in 1990. Pity the Whirlwind, who ran into peak Hendry three more times in the final – including this nerve-shredding deciding frame in 1994. Title No 7 came against Mark Williams in 1999, but perhaps the best demonstration of Hendry’s ice-cold genius came in the 1991 Masters final, when he came from 7-0 and 8-2 down to beat Mike Hallett 9-8. Hallett returned home that night to find he had been burgled.
2) Lyon are queens of Europe again after seeing off Wolfsburg in the Champions League final. And further afield, there was late drama in Uruguay as Plaza Colonia scored an own goal from their own half to give Deportivo Maldonado the win. We are all the guy in blue from the final replay in 2020.
3) The Nations League returns this week, with England taking on Iceland on Saturday – the two sides’ first meeting since, well, you know. Nobody was more pained than Steve McClaren, watching in the Sky studio. England are also playing Denmark in their first competitive game since a thumping 2002 World Cup win in Kobe. Back in 1983, the Danes marked the start of a golden generation by shocking England at Wembley – Allan Simonsen’s penalty helping them qualify for Euro 84 at England’s expense.
4) Ever wondered how football’s transfer window really works? Find out with Italian reporter and all-round transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano.
5) John Thompson, the legendary Georgetown coach, died this week aged 78. In 1984, Thompson became the first black coach to win the NCAA basketball championship when his Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing, beat Syracuse in the Big East before defeating Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston in an all-time classic final.
6) The greatest last lap in MotoGP history? Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo go wheel-to-wheel at the 2009 Catalunya Grand Prix.
Our favourites from last week’s column
1) The Bryan brothers have retired from tennis after a glittering doubles career. Bob and Mike won 16 grand slams together – check out their highlight reel.
2) If you’re discovering the Tour de France for the first time, or just want to reminisce, here’s a compilation of the race’s greatest moments.
3) Crash! Bang! Wallop! It’s the best of Nascar fights.
4) Danny Hart’s white-knuckle run to win the 2011 mountain bike world championship – and a rider’s eye view of his second winning run in 2016.
5) And finally, Socrates struts his stuff at Garforth Town.
Spotters’ badges: Craftyinnit, germit, denothemeno, vsbain67, Salsiccia.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion