Featuring snooker in Germany, an Irishman abroad, golfing greats, Lionel Messis goals and old Winter Olympics photosThanks for all your comments and suggestions on our last blog.1) Robert Pirès talks about Arsenal, France and retirementIn the recent ITV documentary about Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, the pair were asked to pick a composite best XI from their time playing at Manchester United and Arsenal. Some players went straight into the team with little fuss – Jaap Stam, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona and, of course, themselves – while other choices brought out their competitive sides. Vieira was baffled by Keanes pick of Denis Irwin at left-back, and Keane was equally astounded by Vieiras preference for Ashley Cole. Like the rest of the programme, it was great theatre and more than a little tongue-in-cheek. But one thing stood out: Keane was happy to let Vieira pick Robert Pirès instead of David Beckham.Its not hard to see why. Pirès won 79 caps for France from 1996 to 2004, winning the World Cup and European Championship in the process; he became a member of the Invincibles at Arsenal, where he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups; and he entertained fans across Europe, from Marseille to Aston Villa, via Villareal.Pirès opens up about his whole career in this three-part interview with Jeremy Smith of French Football Weekly. He explains why he chose the nickname the Duck rather than Le Suceur during his early days at Metz, where the reserve coach put him on the left wing for the first time. He admits that he thought Roger Lemerre was mad when he brought him on to play in the Euro 2000 final – and how he blacked out after he set up fellow substiture David Trezeguet for the golden goal.Pirès speaks about how Arsenal fans whistled him at Highbury in his first few months; how he detests it when strikers dont thank midfielders for their assists; and how he was at fault when Thierry Henry missed from that penalty. All things considered, this is a wonderful interview.2) The 100 best modern-day golfersGolf World used 34 years of PGA Tour data to compile this list of the 100 best golfers in the modern era. You dont need to click on the link to know who came out on top, but the rankings below Tiger Woods make the exercise fascinating. Greg Norman came second, with Phil Mickelson third and Rory McIlroy the highest-place Briton back in ninth (just in front of Nick Faldo, who keeps Seve Ballesteros out of the top 10). These lists can usually be dismissed fairly quickly, but Golf Worlds statistical methodology gives this some legitimacy.3) How will news that Michael Sam is gay affect his NFL draft stock?Most of the athletes who have come out as gay in recent years have done so in retirement. Michael Sam made his announcement before the NFL draft, the biggest day of his professional life. Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated asked eight NFL executives and coaches how they expected the news to affect Sams placing in the draft – and the results are shocking, if not suprising.The executives and coaches were granted anonymity for their honesty and they did not hold back: I dont think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet, said an NFL player personnel assistant. In the coming decade or two, its going to be acceptable, but at this point in time its still a mans-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. Itd chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.4) Dale Hansen Unplugged: Celebrating our differencesThankfully, American broadcaster Dale Hansen was on hand to offer some words of wisdom on the Michael Sam story.5) How Germany fell in love with snookerWhich of the worlds snooker arenas has the largest capacity? Its not the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, which can house a respectable 980 fans, but the Berlin Tempodrom, the home of the sport in Germany. Ronnie OSullivan once told Hector Nunns that players should have to pay for the privilege of playing in the Tempodrom. Perhaps OSullivan should be thankful that Germany are yet to produce a player whose talent matches the enthusiasm of their fans.6) Jarlath Regan interviews middleweight boxer Andy LeeJarlath Regan has interviewed another sportsman on his Irishman Abroad podcast, thus guaranteeing his return to this column. The standup comedian has a wonderful way of bringing the best out of his guests and his convivial charm is on show in this episode with Andy Lee. The middleweight boxer opens up about the pressure of fighting in front of an Irish crowd in America, the personal and professional risks he faces every time he enters the ring and how the intensity of his training affects his home life.7) Terry Butcher on music, politics and moreTerry Butcher took some time out from managing Hibs to give Aidan Smith of the Scotsman an art lesson in this interview. If Butcher could be any artist, he would choose JMW Turner: Because he painted the sea so much. The sea is very important to me; I have to be near it. I grew up in Lowestoft. My parents still live on the Suffolk coast, as do Ritas, and weve already bought the house in a village called Bawdsey where were going to retire. It turns out Butcher is a great conversationalist.8) A visit from the goon squadThis weeks award for the best opening sentence goes to Bryan Curtis of Grantland: On a freezing night on Long Island, David Singer left his wife and two sons and locked himself in his home office so he could pursue his hobby: watching men beat each other senseless. Singer is the founder of the Hockey Fights website and spends a lot of time uploading videos of men smacking each other in protective pads. He has the good sense to recognise that his wife is an extremely patient woman: Thats probably the best and only way Id dare to describe how she feels about it.9) Scoring ability: the good, the bad and the MessiIts difficult to keep up with the proliferation of football data websites, but the 2+2=11 is worth bookmarking. In this piece, they have analysed numbers from the past five years of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A and worked out which players have the best and worst shot accuracy. The average conversion rate for all shots is 9.2%, a percentage that remains out of reach for poor Stewart Downing. He hit 80 shots without scoring in the 2008-09 season and followed that up by failing to score from another 71 shots in 2011-12. Lionel Messi fared a little better, with an incredible conversation rate of 21%.10) Photos from the first 12 Winter OlympicsThose were the days.ArsenalGolfWinter OlympicsWinter Olympics 2014US sportsNFLLionel MessiNHLBoxingTiger WoodsFranceSnookerPaul Campbelltheguardian © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Posted on: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 17:49:04 +0000
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