SportingSpeak Review of the Week

09.03.15

Top Four

• James Ward once again produced Davis Cup heroics, staging a fabulous comeback to beat John Isner is a mammoth 5 setter in Glasgow and, along with Andy Murray, set Team GB up for a 3-1 victory and a place in the quarter finals
• KJT: we just can’t get enough of Britain’s brightest athletics talent, who on Friday won Pentathlon gold at the European Indoors, breaking the British record in the process and coming within a whisker of a world record too
• 60m sprint: gold for Richard Kilty and a silver for Dina Asher-Smith at the European Indoors – Asher-Smith was the first British woman to win a medal in this event for 30 years
• Triathlon is back as the ITU World Triathlon Series kicked off in Dubai over the weekend – although Alistair Brownlee, Helen Jenkins and Non Stanford were notable absentees.

In the relegation zone

• The KP saga. Will he or won’t he? We’re bored of all the discussion about whether Pietersen will play for England again. Let’s look at what’s actually happening on the pitch. (And for the record, our money says he won’t).
• Stewarding: ineffectual at Villa Park as fans flooded the pitch not only after, but also shortly before, the final whistle in Aston Villa’s victory over local rivals West Brom is the FA Cup quarter final
• Spitting will earn you a ban from football, as Pappis Cisse and Jonny Evans have found out.

SportingSpeak Review of the Week

17.11.14

Top Four: 

• Rohit Sharma – 264. Need we say more? http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/13/india-rohit-sharma-264-first-player-odi-250-sri-lanka
• Substitutes: the saving grace at the ATP World Tour Finals this week, as David Ferrer stepped in for Milos Raonic in the round robin stage, and Andy Murray made a last minute journey to Greenwich after Roger Federer withdrew from the finalhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/30074747
• Women’s cricket: we’ll be able to follow all the action from the Women’s Ashes live on Sky Sports and BBC TMS next year. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a609291/sky-to-broadcast-womens-test-match-cricket-for-the-first-time.html#~oVSlyNohnLO8Sg
• Crowd-funding, which is taking Caterham to the Abu Dhabi GP. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/30055510 

In the relegation zone:

•  FIFA – the farce of Qatar’s allegedly corrupt World Cup bid continues as the chief investigator says the report did not reflect his findings: http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/368229.html
• Doors – Josh Hodgson is not a fan. And now Rugby League England are not a fan of him. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/rugby-league/video-england-player-josh-hodgson-smashes-through-door-at-student-flat-during-endoftour-party-following-four-nations-exit-9849703.html
• Twitter trolls – rape threats to Jess Ennis-Hill after she stated that she would want her name removed from a stand should Ched Evans be offered a contract at Sheffield United? Disgusting. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/14/jessica-ennis-hill-ched-evans_n_6159034.html

SportingSpeak Review of the Week

27.10.14

Top Four

• Turning the tables: at the WTA finals, Serena Williams suffered her heaviest ever defeat in 16 years at the hands of Simona Halep, only to avenge this 4 days later in the final to secure the title for the third consecutive year http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/sports/tennis/serena-williams-punishes-simona-halep-for-earlier-defeat.html?_r=0
• RWC 2015: with a record number of ticket applications for next year’s tournament, the stage looks set for a fantastic event. http://www.biznews.com/sport/2014/10/23/2015-rugby-world-cup-sets-ticket-record/
• Compromise: what to do if an NFL game clashes with Sunday morning church? Don’t worry, you can have both: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0297x5w
• History repeating itself: Andy Murray saved 5 match points in a final against Tommy Robredo for the second time in as many months to secure the Valencia Open title and all but guarantee a spot at the World Tour Finals in London next month. We enjoyed Robredo’s reaction too: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/26/andy-murray-valencia-open-title-tommy-robredo

 In the relegation zone

• Shirt swapping: Brendan Rodgers is not a fan. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29733915
• Closure, with the news that South African prosecutors are going to appeal against the conviction and sentence Oscar Pistorius received for killing Reeva Steenkamp: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29786011
• Administration. Not a good week for F1 as Marussia follow Caterham into administration, with both teams confirming they will not race in the US Grand Prix next weekend. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/f1-marussia-placed-into-administration-as-backmarkers-continue-financial-struggles-9820389.html

The Grand Slams: This Year and Next

As Serena Williams and then Marin Cilic lifted the US Open trophies this weekend, the Grand Slams are over for another year. No man or woman won more than a single Grand Slam in the year, bringing us eight different 2014 singles champions. Two of these were new champions, with Stan Wawrinka breaking the monopoly of the Big 4 at the top of the men’s game to win the Australian Open back in January, followed by Cilic’s surprise US Open victory. So we know who won the titles, who came agonisingly close, who failed to live up to expectations – but as we look back over 2014’s Slams, what were the other stories? And once the four month wait until the Australian Open is over, what can we expect from tennis’s big tournaments in 2015?