Andy Murray is seeking his first Australian Open after five defeats in the final while there are some famous dark horses lower down in the seedings1. Andy Murray Continue reading...
Can Angelique Kerber regain the levels she reached during a stellar 2016? Will Serena Williams bounce back to the top? And how will Johanna Konta cope with top-10 status? There is plenty to look out for in Melbourne1. Angelique Kerber Related: Johanna Konta reaches women’s final in Sydney as Dan Evans claims first top-10 win Related: Limping Nick Kyrgios only a long shot but a fascinating Australian Open looms | Russell Jackson Continue reading...
The trip to New Zealand, despite the schedule, can restore faith and the Six Nations is shaping up nicely but with the professional era now more than 20 years old, the sport’s administrators must show conviction in the next 12 monthsThe most pertinent rugby quote of 2016, inevitably, came from Eddie Jones. “There’s only pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing,” murmured England’s head coach shortly before guiding his adopted country to their 13th Test victory of a perfect calendar year. As a short, sharp Twitter-friendly summation of how and why the Australian guru has turned English fortunes around, it was inch-perfect.What would England’s national cricket and football teams do for a milligram of Jones’s self-assurance right now? Maybe...
Cummins, after endless strains and twangs, is back bowling fast for Australia, who have a ghost attack – a set of genuinely scorching pace bowlers in their prime – quietly assemblingThere are few things in sport as exciting as pure speed. Remember the stodgy start to the Rio Olympics? The empty seats, the greasy drizzle, the sense of an entire Games drifting into the arena of the unwell? Usain Bolt fixed that, instantly and without argument, by turning up, goofing about waving at people, and then running as fast as humans ever have for a combined total of one minute and 40 seconds, erasing everything else outside that brilliant, luminous moment.In his American football novel End Zone, Don DeLillo spends...
While it provides great drama for the neutral, both John Aloisi and John van ‘t Schip emerge with reduced reputations after their latest public recriminations Mind games in football can often be a minefield. And like defusing hidden explosives, unless you’re a highly-trained expert, you’re probably better placed steering clear of the practice.Sir Alex Ferguson was famed as a skilled practitioner. But far more memorable than the marginal advantages his side may have gained through digs at referees, stop-watch keepers or opposing managers were the remarkable self-immolations from opponents who attempted, and failed, to match the master. Related: Melbourne City's van 't Schip slams Aloisi for 'whinging like a baby' Related: City-Roar war of words spreads to pitch in ill-tempered...