F1. Just plain boring? Photograph: PA
The latest Observer Sport Monthly is in the building, which means we can indulge in a bit of post-match analysis over the new mag (which hits the streets on Sunday).
For each issue we like to publish a mix of interviews, reports, and investigations. Some of our pieces look forward to forthcoming events – the start of the new Formula One season, say, a rugby World Cup or football European Championship – and some look back, catching up with half-forgotten sports stars or recalling great feats or moments from the past.
We react to the main sports stories of the day as well as keeping a cautious distance from them. One difficulty is that we close the magazine five days before we come out. So what happens if something unexpected happens to one of our interviewees in the intervening period? Sport moves very quickly. In our March issue, we have an interview with Jason Robinson, the England rugby captain. Our writer, Nick Greenslade, met Robinson before England lost to Ireland in Dublin, their third straight defeat of this dismal Six Nations season (dismal for England, that is). We knew that something could happen to Robinson in the game: that he could score a hat-trick or be injured. As a result, we didn't go to press on the Robinson article until two days after the game. But it was still too early for us – on Wednesday we heard that, because of injury, Robinson would take no further part in the Six Nations. Still, I believe that our interview with Robinson is unmissable, not least because, in the best OSM tradition, we try to do more than a simple routine interview. We want to tell the whole story of the man.
In our March issue we also have an exclusive interview with Jenson Button, on the eve of the new Formula One season. He believes he is the man to save F1 – a sport many former fans (such as the writers Martin Jacques and Clive James, who both talk about how they fell out of love with F1, in our next issue) believe is in crisis. And why is it in crisis? Well, because it is boring, in short. No one overtakes anymore.
Elsewhere, we have a remarkable report from Cambodia on the young women who are turning to kick boxing as a route out of poverty and inequality. We have the A-Z of the Wenger-Ferguson feud and we defend Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong against those who accuse him of cheating. Oh, and we have some superb betting tips for the Cheltenham Festival, which begins on 12 March. No excuses to miss it. And let me know what you think.
The blog editor adds: We'll get you a sneak preview of something from the mag later today. OSM lives here.
