Six years after Armstrong’s lifelong ban from cycling, he is very much back in the public eye. But it would certainly be easier to enjoy his rebranding if his contrition felt less self-absorbedYou’ve got to hand it to Lance Armstrong – he’s a fighter. Sure, Tiger Woods may look like a shoo-in for this year’s Biggest Comeback from a Spectacular Fall from Grace by a Sporting Star of the 2000s. But Armstrong isn’t giving up hope of the title just yet. Especially not when he’s been laying the groundwork for the past two years. Related: Lance Armstrong: David Millar is ‘last person’ who should lead cyclists’ union Related: Annemiek van Vleuten retains world time-trial title as Dutch riders dominate Continue...
Earl Woods’s ‘psychological training’ gave his son the reservoirs of resilience needed to recover from a decade of ugly ordealsThey say Earl Woods was a poet laureate of profanity, that he knew so many curse words that he could cuss for 30 minutes straight and not repeat himself once. Earl told Golf Digest that this was “a family thing”, a habit he inherited from his father and passed on to his son. Tiger was 11 when Earl started to swear at him during training. “Fuck off Tiger,” he would say during his backswing, “motherfucker” he’d utter, “you little piece of shit”. Tiger said later he “didn’t mind and even encouraged” his father’s swearing, that “eventually, I started laughing at it”.His...
A year from the World Cup, New Zealand look good for a hat-trick of titles but Ireland, South Africa and Wales are all on the rise with England and Australia heading in the other directionDefeat by South Africa in Wellington reminded the world that the All Blacks can be beaten – no bad thing with 12 months to go until the World Cup – but they are still the overwhelming favourites for a third straight win. They were not brilliant against France over the summer but then thrashed Australia twice, displaying an ability to find a gear their opponents cannot live with. It will be fascinating to see their response to defeat; do they add a dose of pragmatism to...
The Bills cornerback walked away from a multi-million dollar contract on his own terms: at half-time in Sunday’s lossThe rigors of training camp bring enlightenment for many football players. That’s the most grueling portion of the NFL schedule for veterans who must put their body, year after year, through the grind prior to kickoff.It’s a time when many aging veterans realize they no longer want to sacrifice their bodies after millions earned and plenty of accolades racked up. Some players realize they no longer have the desire to train non-stop and diet after the season concludes. Related: When athletes retire we face the most difficult question: who are we? | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar It’s more important for me and my family...
This week’s roundup also features T20 action, the best of Wesley Sneijder and Marshawn Lynch’s philosophy1) Geraldao Dutra Pereira or Geraldão, a centre-back by trade, scored probably the greatest swerving free-kick of all time that you haven’t seen for Cruzeiro in 1986.2) Burt Reynolds, who died last week aged 82, was a college football running back before he headed for Hollywood and starred in one of cinema’s most famous gridiron depictions in the Longest Yard, a tale of a former NFL player recruiting a group of prisoners to play against their guards. Here’s a trailer for the 1974 film. Until Vinnie Jones made Mean Machine, a football-based remake in 2001, the closest UK equivalent to The Longest Yard’s in-game action...