1) Tyson Fury is a born entertainer: he has warmed up his vocal chords in the build-up to this weekend’s bout with Wladimir Klitschko, serenading the Big Ukrainian with ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ in Düsseldorf. Don’t forget Fury has already dressed up as Batman in a pre-fight press conference. And this is worth a watch: Fury and Klitschko talking it out for 20 minutes with Sky Sports’ Johnny Nelson in which Fury concedes that he might be bipolar.
2) Watching Joe Hart’s new shampoo advert, Scott Brown’s recent attempts (in a onesie) to help Celtic flog some Christmas tat and this Everton effort was a perfect excuse to revisit the footballers-in-adverts archive: Carlos Tevez dancing for Cartoon Network, Wash&Go’s Jimmy Bullard, Wash&Go’s Jimmy Bullard outtakes, Luis Suárez showing that he has a sense of humour, a cheesy smile from Jason Scotland, Emmanuel Adebayor takes it on, Morten Gamst Pedersen, John Arne Riise and Erik Huseklepp flogging fruit (we think), Michael Owen talking up Dubai, Kevin Keegan gets physical for Brut, and remember that an oil filter is like a goalkeeper. Isn’t it, Pat Jennings? Oh, and why do footballers think they are going to get away with doing cringe-inducing Japanese adverts without the internet finding out. Bill Murray you are not. Cristiano Ronaldo (strange Japanese facial exercise instrument), Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Robin van Persie (tomato juice), Shinji Kagawa with a talking whale and a talking dog (a bank) and Neymar (shampoo), we’re looking at you.
3) Grégory Gaultier beat Omar Mosaad and won his first squash world title on Sunday at the fifth time of asking, and it all got a bit much for the Frenchman – the world No3 has finished runner-up on four previous occasions, including in 2006 when he squandered five match-points. Gaultier has had a few ding dong battles with Ashour in the past – see here and here – and also did this last month. Woof.
4) A set-up this may be but have you tried BMXing along a single plank between two houses before jumping on to the roof of a car?
5) Which is a better touch: Alexis Sánchez controlling this pass on the run, or this filth from Neymar?
6) Zlatan Ibrahimovic made an emotional return to his hometown club, Malmo, last night. We talked to the club’s supporters to get their opinions on the PSG striker, and why he should come home. Next, take a trip to Israel to get a taste of how the Beitar Jerusalem’s right-wing fans react to the club signing Chechen Muslim players. Spoiler: not well.
Our favourites from last week’s blog
1) Next time you are settling down to watch the cricket from the other side of the globe in the middle of the night just appreciate what it was like trying to follow what was going on in 1938. Technology, it hasn’t all been bad.
2) Jonah Lomu. Pizza. Tony Underwood’s mum. What’s not to like? Pizza Hut show the kind of inventiveness in 1995 that they would take to higher levels with Gareth Southgate a year later …
3) Lionel Messi. So good it makes you sick. And it makes him sick, too, apparently.
4) Never try and sing in public if you can avoid it. Especially not in a packed stadium. Especially not with hiccups. Luckily for him he’s young enough to get away with cute. And clearly he loved it.
5) How to play out of a bunker, although this is a very big bunker Patrick Reed finds himself in, but it’s still not a bad way to get out of it.
Spotters’ badges: GrahamClayton, brilliantusernamepun, zombiedeadhead, AozRoon, chestnut52
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