1) Joost van der Westhuizen, the South African rugby union legend, died this week aged 45. Here is his most famous moment, stopping Jonah Lomu in his tracks in the 1995 World Cup final. The two met again in 2015, shortly before Lomu’s death, for a tear-jerking interview. This 2011 documentary covers the scrum-half’s career and battle with motor neurone disease, and this feature-length highlight reel is powerful stuff.
2) Denis Shapovalov brought Canada’s Davis Cup bid to an abrupt end on Sunday, a furious volley finding the umpire’s eye and sealing his disqualification. He is far from the first to end a tennis match in anger: take David Nalbandian at Queen’s Club, or John McEnroe making a deeply undignified exit from the 1990 Australian Open. Then there’s Stefan Koubek assaulting ‘Crazy Dani’ Koellerer, Naomi Broady calling out Jelena Ostapenko, and Darian King frightening a line judge. Technically not a DQ, but Serena Williams’ outburst at a line judge in the 2009 US Open cost her a place in the final. Finally, we give you Tim Henman refusing to own up:
3) The late, great Graham Taylor gives a fantastic comic turn in clips he agreed to film for a Watford fan’s wedding, dryly claiming Andy Gray’s Cup final goal was absolutely fine, and Milan really did mix up Luther Blissett and John Barnes.
4) The week in football: in Spain’s seventh division, the veteran Pozuelo goalkeeper Salva scores from his own area, and celebrates appropriately. The PSG keeper Alphonse Areola was less impressive, gifting Lille a late equaliser before getting bailed out by Lucas’s offside winner. Further controversy in Honduras, where a last-gasp equaliser stood despite a shirtless pitch invader following it up. Elsewhere, Oscar hit the ground running for Shanghai SIPG; Lyon’s Memphis Depay, not so much.
5) “How many people could have played golf in the Silverdome? I mean, that’s a pretty big deal.” The team from Detroit Steel on the History Channel got to head down to the increasingly dilapidated Silverdome in Pontiac, MI to hit some golf balls. It’s pretty cool.
Highlights from last week’s blog
1) The old Victorian Football League (VFL) is the subject of this two-part documentary. The first part covers 1909-1945, with the second running, leaping and marking all the way up to 1982. It features some of the sport’s great players, as well as the beautiful suburban Melbourne grounds which are no longer in use in the AFL. Lovely stuff.
2) Dell Curry, father of Steph, may be 52 and 15 years into retirement, but fear not: he most certainly still has it, whatever it is.
3) More love for speedskating. It’s wonderfully hypnotic ... until it all goes so horribly wrong. It’s Aussie Steven Bradbury’s gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002.
4) This video is titled ‘Soccer With A Difference’. It is definitely different ... Thoughts on this character as a midfield enforcer?
5) Super League returns this weekend, so here’s a bifftastic clash between St Helens and Leeds Rhinos from 2009.
6) And we finish off with a series of sucker punches. Gerald McClellan’s knocking you out, then you’re being knocked out 20 times and finally you’re being punched by boxing’s hardest hitters, including Roberto Duran, Julian Jackson and Earnie Shavers. Shivers down the spine.
Spotters’ badges: GrahamClayton, TheCedarRoom, MZH20, StuartRG, cookstardeluxe, BlackCaeser
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