1) It’s the Masters. Impossibly green fairways, ludicrous flowerbeds, stupidly long holes and people who still think shouting ‘Get in the Hole!’ as every putt trundles its way in that direction is hugely amusing. However, if you are settling down to watch the first round from Augusta you probably won’t see any better shots than these today. Anyone thinking it’s been a while since there was a British winner (Sir Nick Faldo in 1996 if you were wondering) may prefer Sandy Lyle’s momentous bunker shot on the 18th to seal the Green Jacket in 1988. That was the first of a quartet of successive British triumphs, with Faldo taking the honours in both 1989 and 1990, and Ian Woosnam completing the four in 1991. And why not a bit of Seve … so many to choose from but how about this eagle on the 13th in 1986. Those were the days.
2) Some people say you can tell a man by his handshake. Well that certainly isn’t the case for the Whitman College basketball team assistant coach Stephen Garnett, who has a different one for every player in his squad. Good thing he’s not in the NFL. Garnett still has some way to go until he reaches the NBA though. Not ones to be left behind in such man-slapping behaviour, it seems footballers also like this kind of thing. That said, Steven Gerrard will never live this one down, now we all know that was the real reason he didn’t join Chelsea …
3) If golf’s not your thing – and let’s face it, it’s not everybody’s – you could always feign interest in horse racing for about 15 minutes on Saturday and watch the Grand National from Aintree. The race could even go as badly as it did in 1967, but let’s hope not. Last year Many Clouds came in first and the jockey even had the presence of mind to have a helmet cam fitted. Just remember to not get too confident if your horse is winning though, there’s always Devon Loch …
4) What have the West Indies cricket team been up to in the past week? Not much, chasing down a big total to knock hosts India out of the World T20 and then, you know, breaking England’s hearts to win the thing on Sunday (England fans and Ben Stokes may want to look away at about 2.35). It’s OK Ben, a young Stuart Broad went the full six against India in the 2007 World T20 but I guess we’ll never know if you could have emulated him. But none of the on-pitch six-hitting heroics quite eclipsed the dancing into the hotel off the coach. That, ladies and gentleman, is entertainment, Caribbean-style. And they lost to Afghanistan just for fun, just because they could. And they danced after that one too.
5) When Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Keylor Navas is messing around in training (well, it’s only Wolfsburg this week …) possibly trying to keep his mind off that failed move to Manchester United, he even finds time to recreate Colombian maverick glovesman Rene Higuita’s 1995 scorpion kick against England at Wembley. Not quite the same as the one on the real stage though is it? Anyone up for some more Higuita nostalgia?
6) When brotherly love became brotherly shove. Wrexham’s Connor Jennings, who did the dastardly deed to his older brother James of Forest Green Rovers at about 2.33 in this recent 0-0 draw. Younger brothers across the globe know where you were coming from, Connor.
Highlights from last week’s blog
1) What is it about camera pits, and why do footballers always fall into them? QPR’s Junior Hoilett maintains this fine tradition at Loftus Road. Apparently some Rangers fans say he’s been disappearing during games for years …
2) Obscure footage from European youth tournament? Check. Outrageous long-range strike from goalkeeper? Check. If you can take a goal kick, you can take a free-kick, right? Right.
3) Found – a ski jumper Eddie the Eagle could have beaten.
4) Were we talking AFL tackles last week? We were not, but that’s no reason not to post a few when they are this good.
5) Did you even know you could score five different ways in ice hockey? It seems you can. Note to self: really must watch Slapshot again some time soon...
6) Forget Jockeycam, helmetcam and the rest for a moment. It’s all about dogcam … and how to make a splash. And while we are on the subject, here’s some surfing wipeouts to make you glad you never upgraded on anything from a boogie board at Bognor Regis.
Spotters badges Merson, TheCedarRoom, Vesuvial, MikeySan, GrahamClayton, whobroughtoranges
Guardian YouTube football channel
And the Guardian YouTube sport channel
