1) The “Alternative Elfstedentocht” speedskating marathon in Weissensee, Austria, is no picnic; 200km of focused, hard racing on the ice. The Dutch skater Elma de Vries appeared to have got everything right on Wednesday, more than 199km in, as she kicked for home in the closing stages – 40, 30, 20 metres to go – so what could possibly go wrong? Well, everything. She hit a crack in the ice, fell, slid towards the line and was overhauled just before it by three rivals, with De Vries’s compatriot Lisa van der Geest winning.
2) The Six Nations returns on Saturday. England open against France, looking to repeat the 2016 grand slam they completed in Paris last March. France have gone without a slam, or even a Six Nations title, since 2010, when they held off England despite a spectacular Jonny Wilkinson penalty. Wilkinson was the star again in 2007, when an average England side stunned France in the semis of their own World Cup. This rivalry has never been fiercer than in the early 90s when England won three battles in Paris: victory in the 1990 Five Nations was followed by a bruising World Cup quarter-final win in 1991 – with Serge Blanco and Éric Champ memorably duffing up Nigel Heslop. The rematch in the 1992 Five Nations was the most brutal of the lot.
3) Given the current political turmoil in the US, this year’s Super Bowl feels appropriate. The New England Patriots, whose coach and quarterback have had to deflect questions over allegedly supporting Donald Trump, play the Atlanta Falcons, based in a district Trump has labelled “crime infested”. The Falcons have only been to the big game once before, in 1998, when the Minnesota Vikings kicker Gary Anderson saved his only field goal miss of the season for the NFC Championship game. Atlanta progressed to play Denver, but were blown away in John Elway’s swansong. New England are chasing a fifth title, having claimed their first in 2002 through Adam Vinatieri’s last-gasp field goal. Sunday could be tough for Browns fans: the Patriots coach Bill Belichick and the Falcons GM Scott Pioli built a winning Cleveland team back in 1995, before the team were moved to Baltimore and fans ripped up the stadium in their final game. The new Browns team went 1-15 this year; this well-cut highlight reel might help.
4) The sprint finish to the 2017 Santa Barbara road race was on the dangerous side – crossing a bridge 30 feet above a dry creek bed. One cyclist was left clinging onto the wall after a late collision:
5) Midweek football highlights: Sam Allardyce is glad all over; referee Christopher Kavanagh gives Wolves a penalty then changes his mind; Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic with an important transfer update; perspective from Arsenal Fan TV; and a steward tries and fails to put a poncho on.
6) A streaker at the New Zealand v Australia ODI in Auckland shows a nice turn of pace, but suffers an undignified end (contains nudity). Also worth watching on repeat: the Minnesota Golden Gophers feature in an ad for a local car company, whose mascot forgot his skates:
Highlights from last week’s blog
1) Daley Thompson scores at Wembley – in a charity match played before the 1987 Cup Final. Spurs beat Coventry 2-1; note the goals set up on the edge of the area.
2) Staying with the FA Cup, Manchester United’s Norman Whiteside scores a beauty in the 1985 final, and an underrated gem in the 1983 semi-final against Arsenal.
3) Here’s a brief history of the USFL, a rival to the NFL that lasted just three seasons. One of its teams, the New Jersey Generals, were owned by one Donald Trump, who wasn’t keen on discussing his involvement back in 2009.
4) Four overtimes and four buzzer-beaters in a Minnesota high school basketball game:
5) And finally, all the action as Greenwich Borough took on Hanwell Town.
Spotters’ badges: StuartRG, kisbie, fmgazette, Rich Turner, BlackCaeser, zombiedeadhead.
