1) The Masters starts on Thursday, so let’s dip into the archive. Bob Goalby seizes the moment after a scorecard error by Roberto De Vicenzo’s partner meant the Argentinian signed for a 67 rather than the 66 he had gone round in. Tiger Woods’s return to form and prominence gives us an excuse, if one was needed, to relive that famous 16th-hole chip in 2005. And has a pressure moment ever been dealt with better than Sandy Lyle’s bunker shot at the last in 1988, which set him up for a remarkable victory? Two years earlier, Jack Nicklaus was on the charge, sealing victory with a back nine of 30. Masters lore has its share of meltdowns too, such as Jordan Spieth’s two years ago and Rory McIlroy’s in 2011.
2) Ray Wilkins, who died this week aged 61, had a rich and varied career with some of Britain and Europe’s top clubs: here’s a delightful chip on a Stamford Bridge mudpatch against Hereford in 1977; a beauty for England in the 1980 European Championship; a cracking strike for Manchester United in the 1983 FA Cup final; here he is talking about his time in Milan; and even late in his career he was capable of scoring goals like this for QPR in 1993 against Liverpool.
3) Cristiano Ronaldo’s majestic bicycle kick against Juventus had us somersaulting into the archives. Rivaldo! Ronaldinho! Xherdan Shaqiri! Trevor Sinclair! Marco van Basten! A goalkeeper – and another! And finally – Zlatan Ibrahimovic! Wonder what he’s up to these days...
4) Notre Dame won the women’s NCAA basketball tournament but did it the hard way – rallying from 15 points down to beat the favourites UConn in overtime, and then bouncing back from 11 points behind to beat Mississippi State at the death. The men’s final was nowhere near as exciting but Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo had a game to remember.
5) Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki is still playing in MLB at the age of 44 (he says he wants to play until he’s 50) and still doing things like this. He’s been doing it for a while too – observe this ridiculous grab in 2005, a running catch for the Miami Marlins and a heatseeker of a throw to third base.
6) Golazzo – the Football Italia story: in an hour-long documentary, James Richardson recalls the time when Italian football – and he himself – became hugely popular in the UK.
As comments were switched off last week, we don’t have any reader selections to choose from – but get commenting below with your best finds from the last two weeks.
