1) The 135th US Open begins at Flushing Meadows on Monday so here’s a quick rundown of some of the tournament’s greatest hits: 1968 – Arthur Ashe wins the first tournament of the open era; 1988 – Steffi Graf completes a Grand Slam with victory over Gabriela Sabatini; 1995 – Monica Seles and Graf meet on court for the first time since Seles was stabbed by a Graf fan; 2001 – Venus v Serena, the first sisters slam final in 117 years; 2006 – Andre Agassi says goodbye; 2009 – Kim Clijsters wins as a wildcard. The greatest story in US Open history, though, was surely Jimmy Connors’ run to the semi-final, at the age of 39, in 1991. He beat Patrick McEnroe in the first round, Michiel Schapers in the second, No10 seed Karel Novacek in the third, Aaron Krickstein in dramatic fashion in the fourth and Paul Harrhuis in the quarters before Jim Courier ended the dream in the semi-finals.
2) How to you change an NHL rink into an NBA court? Like this.
3) The Holden Cup, the NRL’s Under-20 tournament, is the breeding ground for Australia’s young rugby league talent. And, last weekend, the venue for some pretty hefty fisticuffs between Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders. “Have a go boys!” And, what with it being Challenge Cup final weekend, here’s a look back at the watersplash final from 1968, while Hull KR have been busy in the studio.
4) Outfielders in the MLB have throwing arms like cannons … usually.
5) An angry Kilmarnock fan lets rip into the camera after his side’s 4-0 defeat to Ross County. (Warning: lots of very bad words.)
6) Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather lives up to his nickname by training while holding a stack of cash. (Warning: may make you angry.)
Our favourites from last week’s blog
1) One of the stories of pre-season in the NFL: Australian rugby league player Jarryd Hayne, a bit of a star for the Parramatta Eels over the past few years, has made quite an impact with the San Francisco 49ers, both against Houston and Dallas.
2) Giovanni Moreno channels Ajax-era Marco van Basten with this stunning overhead kick for Shanghai Shenhua, while Morten Nordstrand channels Milan-era Marco van Basten with this effort for AGF Aarhus. And a minor classic from Leyton Orient’s Blair Turgott.
3) Another classic from the world athletics championships: the 4x400m relay from Tokyo 1991.
4) The women’s superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate tends to be a brutal affair (in this instance complete with what sounds suspiciously like rather patronising commentary: ‘Chicas, por favor!’). No red cards there, but one here for the unfortunate Mohammed Essoukhra who tackled a pitch invader.
5) Roll up, roll up! It’s Kevin Keegan’s Soccer Circus. And from the ridiculous to the … equally ridiculous: two Norwegian teams attempt to recreate Kick Off 2 in real life.
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