1) Just this Saturday, Manchester United meet Manchester City. The game has largely flown under the radar, so to get you in the mood, here’s a rap battle between Blizzard of United and Shotty Horror of City. And as far as on-pitch activity goes, here are some beautifully evocative shots from the Maine Road contest in 1967, while City’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford in March 1969, made it a reasonable day for their sub, Bobby Owen, who spent the morning of the game getting married. In December of the following year, City won 4-1 at Old Trafford, with Malcolm Allison subsequently analysing the game alongside Jimmy Hill; during it, they concluded that though George Best had broken Glyn Pardoe’s leg, he definitely wasn’t that kind of player. Other notable events include a classic 3-3 draw from November 1971; Roy Keane being Roy Keane (no, not then); the fearsome Gary Neville taking on the fearsome Steve McManaman; Michael Ball wiping his foot on Cristiano Ronaldo; Fergie-time Fanzone frolics; Mike Summerbee losing the run of himself; and anti-Fergie-time Fanzone frolics.
2) On Saturday and Sunday shall be the finals of the US Open tennis, where Novak Djokovic once enjoyed some hilarious locker-room fun and where comedy’s celebrated Ferrell-Murray double-act made its debut. And Flushing Meadow has also enjoyed some excellent anger, courtesy of, for example, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams.
3) Also this weekend, Kell Brook takes on Gennady Golovkin for the middleweight championship of the world. Here’s a very cuddly Brook in 2003, aged 17, and here are his top 10 career wins. All very nice, but here’s GGG at 15; here’s him taking on Lucian Bute as an amateur; and here are all his knockdowns and knockouts. Wince.
4) Eddie Alvarez, the UFC’s “newly-minted” lightweight champion, had an intense childhood, so Ariel Helwani spent a day with him, mooching around the Philadelphia neighbourhood in which he grew up. In other MMA archive spectaculars, here’s Chuck Liddell learning that it’s a bad idea to go on telly if you’re really, really, really tired; Scott Smith reminding Pete Sell that you should look before you leap; and Dave Kaplan, a lightweight, being certain that he can handle a tickle from Tom Lawler, a light-heavyweight.
5) It’s high time that footballers showed referees the respect that they deserve, as dedicated athletes who leave no stone unturned and nothing to chance. Here, for example, is Graham Kane, assistant referee at the recent Charlton Athletic v Shrewsbury Town game. Though, of course, all must defer to the whistler from Wirral, the daddy of the demonstratively wielded card, the priest of parental disappointment: the one, the only, Michael Dean.
6) And last but by all means least, here’s a video discussing how Jack Warner made millions of dollars and rigged elections – you might, perhaps, be aware of that. But the self-same video also wonders whether he made it his business to ensure that USA qualified for the 1990 World Cup ahead of his native Trinidad & Tobago. Indeed. And whilst we’re over on that side of the pond, here’s the Puerto Rican’s Phil Babb, showing a level of dedication that he might live to regret.
Highlights from last week’s blog
1) The beautiful sport of rowing gymnastics.
2) Dmytro Ulyanov does, as you know, play for FC Avanhard Kramatorsk in Ukraine. Here he is scoring with a scorpion kick.
3) Splendidly partial commentary, as Stockport County beat Manchester City in 2007.
4) “Hacky sack does pay off!” Zach McAllister pitches, cops a line drive on the calf, swivels, and takes a ridiculous catch.
5) Some great finishes, then: Juha Väätäinen and Jurgen Hasse, 1970 - and again, in Finnish; Fermín Cacho, 1992; and Tina Lillak, 1983.
6) No, it’s not a sport, but yes, it requires skills sometimes found in sport, so: Switzerland’s Top Secret Drum Corps do some drumming and China’s soldiers do some marching, both more impressive than they sound.
Spotters’ badges: RobBarwick, TheCedarRoom, kisbie, MrsLipton, chestnut52
