The 41st edition of the Ryder Cup, the unwelcome utterances of a noisy minority apart, has provided a refreshing change in outlook after a period in which some other sports have been dogged by their usual controversiesIn this sporting era where individuals and occasions are proclaimed as the greatest of all time with bemusing regularity, there is quite a clamour at the top of the pile. The core emotions, and the level of talent, on display as the USA won the 41st Ryder Cup served as a reminder that precious little can class itself as superior to this biennial team‑golf tournament. Related: USA sweep to victory in Ryder Cup as Rory McIlroy and Europe taste defeat Related: Ryder Cup 2016:...
Fans’ behaviour has not reached the levels of Brookline in 1999 but some of the worse actions have left a bad taste in the mouthFinding appropriate context or comparison for the behaviour of spectators at a Ryder Cup is not particularly easy.Golf has no team equivalent of similar profile. Chanting or cat-calling does not even approach the territory of football matches. If the sense of tribal atmosphere was removed from the galleries completely, the definition of the Ryder Cup would be damaged. What we have witnessed over two fiercely competitive days at Hazeltine has not reflected the routinely nasty scenario of Brookline in 1999. Related: Ryder Cup 2016: USA lead Europe 6½-5½, day two fourballs – live! Continue reading...
The legendary US sprint coach Ed Temple died this week, but the legacy of his protegees such as Wilma Rudolph and their place in American sporting and cultural history will live onIf you happened to catch sight of the Tennessee Tigerbelles on a grainy black and white telecast during the 1960 Olympic Games, you might – as an impressionable adolescent boy – have come to the conclusion that you had never seen anything, not even the Everly Brothers singing Bird Dog on The Perry Como Show, quite as stirring.Had the Tigerbelles been singers rather than athletes, they would have been the first girl group: before the Bobbettes and the Chantels, before the Shirelles and the Chiffons, before the Crystals and...
The MLS newcomers announced a coach with a real pedigree, and fans should be excited. Plus, Portland look worried as Seattle find form at just the right timeEarlier this week, Atlanta United FC, MLS’s expansion team for 2017, made headlines as they introduced to the world their first ever manager. And what a pick it was: 53-year-old Gerardo Tata Martino arrives to America as one of the most experienced coaches to have ever graced Major League Soccer. Aside from his run with the Argentinian national team (just three losses from 29 matches, including reaching the final of the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Centenario) and a topsy-turvy season with Barcelona, Martino also helped Paraguay reach the quarter-finals of the...
Some things are more traditional than others when it comes to the 41st match-up, but all are likely to have a place at Hazeltine in Minnesota this weekendThe first thing that happened at the inaugural Ryder Cup in 1927 was the team captains played each other. Back then there was no doubting the importance of the captain, leaders on and off the course. But since 1963, when Arnold Palmer became the last to also wield his clubs, the role has become partly tactical, partly motivational and largely about turning up to press conferences and flirting with sponsors. Perhaps it was because the captains started to feel a little unimportant that the role of vice-captain was invented, because only exceedingly important...