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CLARKE VS
COOK THE CONTEST
THAT WILL DECIDE THE ASHES
FORWARD THINKING
RYAN HOFFMAN'S
RUGBY LEAGUE VISION
BACK TO FRONT WHY DEFENDERS MAKE THE BEST AFL COACHES
DRINKS WITH IAN BAKERFINCH
ADAM ASHLEY-COOPER THE WALLABIES' LUCKY 13
TOUR DE FRANCE
#259 2013 NZ $10.99 $8.50 JUL
WHO'LL WIN THE
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38 ALASTAIR THE GREAT
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He might not have the flair of Michael Clarke, but England captain Alastair Cook has been quietly accumulating runs at an astonishing rate. He just might be the best since Bradman. BY AARON SCOTT
A rugby league forward with a geeky passion for the history and traditions of the game? Known to tear up after a closefought loss? Meet the thinking woman’s Blue, Ryan Hoffman. (And his lovely blogging wife, Mel.) BY JEFF CENTENERA
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Why aren’t there more glamour forwards coaching in the AFL? Because most of the positions are taken by no-nonsense backmen. BY ROBERT DRANE
The British and Irish Lions are here to wreak havoc on our Wallabies. Adam AshleyCooper will be the centre of attention as he tries to slow them down. BY MATT CLEARY
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JULY 2013
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The Line Comebacks Freeze Frame Verbatim Scoreboard How Good Is ... Michael Lichaa On The Punt Drinks With ... Henk Vogels Sports Biz Hot Shot # 1 Hot Shot # 2 Training Day: Alana Boyd Crossfit Workout #1 Subscribe, Save & Win Into It: Muhammad Ali Center Third Umpire As We Were Innovator: Ivan Lendl Top Gear Smorgasport Parting Shot The Outer
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COOK IS AN ENGLISH STALWART, IN THE TRADITION OF GEOFF BOYCOTT, DEIGNED TO FRUSTRATE AUSTRALIANS. my legs like a dying cockroach with delight after it happened. It would’ve been the ball of the century at any time in any match, but it’s sometimes forgotten (and was overlooked a bit recently) that it was in fact the first ball Warney had ever bowled against an Englishman in any Test match. So look away from this Ashes series at your peril. Unless Alastair Cook is batting at his best. In which case, go and make that cuppa, have a snooze, check out the Dapto Dogs if you like, then come back in a few hours and see if he’s into double figures ... Of course, I jest. But he is one of those stalwart presences in an English team, in the tradition of Geoff Boycott, deigned to frustrate Australians. Especially bowlers. His record in the last few years as a batsman is astonishing, especially when you break it down – as Aaron Scott has done in our feature story on him. We might not appreciate it much on these shores, but he’s up there with the greatest in history, on that esteemed second tier behind only Bradman. Greatness beckons. Read all about him on page 38. Plenty more to get your teeth into this month – we try to cover all the vital bases. Though limited space, unfortunately, precludes any coverage of the Dapto Dogs. Play on.
Graem Sims Editor
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www.insidesport.com.au
MOB MENTALITY The incident involving Adam Goodes and the young Collingwood supporter had the potential to be one of those rare occasions where a negative yields a positive – a “teachable moment”. Goodes’ dignity and class created an opening for meaningful dialogue about an issue that is far larger than sports, but is one that sports is well-positioned to deal with. Unfortunately, the moment was instead claimed by the media cycle, spinning off talking points for commentators pushing their own ideology (the anti-PC element was out in force) or nostalgia (mean words never used to hurt footballers). Eddie McGuire’s fuel-on-the-fire gaffe didn’t help either, as the entire discussion devolved into a back-andforth over casual racism, if the issue of race could ever be considered casual. Where this entire incident began bears some examination – the behaviour of crowds at sporting events. Maybe it’s the consumer-is-king mentality becoming pervasive, or perhaps it’s our technologyfuelled age of snark, but the level of decorum in the stands is way out of step with what we now consider acceptable in other areas of life. When Goodes claimed it wasn’t the first time he’d heard such epithets from the crowd, nobody doubted him.
It no doubt was worse in the old days, when outand-out violence and drunkenness were hallmarks of sports-going crowds. But while the authorities were brought in to stamp out that kind of behaviour, the issue of abuse towards players on the field is one that crowds should take ownership of for themselves. As well-meaning as officially sanctioned “respect” campaigns (a la FIFA, or the one the AFL is reportedly devising) are, they shouldn’t be relied upon, and really cannot be, the solution. And the entire idea of a Goodes or a Kevin Prince-Boateng having to take it upon themselves to call out fans for racist behaviour or lead walk-outs is, quite frankly, ridiculous. This is a situation where ideological or argumentative impulses should not crowd out (pardon the pun) some fairly agreed-upon principles. We get that fans come to sporting events for emotional release, but buying a ticket to a match is not a license to be a lousy human being. We get that genuine passion will exceed the bounds of taste at times, but it is right to call it out. In our sports culture, we do love to sledge, but we can sledge out of love rather than hate. And if you really need to vent, there’s always the ref. But be a bit careful about the “white maggot” stuff – the maggots might get offended.
RED-LETTER DAY Mark it down: this month features what we feel is the best window of sport this year. Across July 17 and 18, a procession of must-watch events rolls out, beginning with State Of Origin III. The next night will be major channel-surfing time: day one of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, the first round of the Open Championship from Muirfield, and the much-anticipated 18th stage of the Tour de France featuring the double climb of Alpe d’Huez (pictured below). The bad thing about all this? It’s a Thursday night. Sports-loving bosses, show some forgiveness if your workers are absent that Friday.
We (well, Adam Scott) finally won The Masters, and Cadel won Le Tour. What other major prizes in world sport have eluded Australians? Last month we asked for reader suggestions to add to our Bucket List of Holy Grails yet to be summited, to torture several metaphors. We’ll even reward you for it: there’s a $500 Helly Hansen training pack to be won for the most obvious Everest we haven’t thought of (FIFA World Cup, Men’s Olympic 100m, Olympic marathon, Olympic Alpine skiing gold, Indianapolis 500, Super Bowl, World Chess Champion, Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Champ). Enter via our website: insidesport.com.au
WIN WIN
photo by Getty Images
T’S A GREAT MONTH to be a sports fan. Isn’t every month? Well, yes. Of course. But not all months shape up quite like this one. As we note in The Line (to your right on this page), there are some seriously packed evenings coming up that will create some serious dilemmas, perhaps only rivalled by an Olympics (when all the different Foxtel channels are happening simultaneously). How to choose? Imagine back in 1993 flicking over to check out the progress of Le Tour or The Open just as Shane Warne was about to roll his arm over for the first time in Ashes cricket? Surely he’d need a few looseners, at least, before getting one to land on the spot ... Surely there’s time to duck out of the room and put the kettle on ... The Ball of the Century has been commemorated quite a bit recently, it being 20 years since that famous fizzer pulled Mike Gatting’s trousers down. I dare say I watched that ball a bit closer than most: I’d profiled Warne for the issue that coincided with the opening Test on that 1993 tour, our 19th edition (you are reading #259), and our choice of cricket subject was even then somewhat risky ... His place in the team wasn’t assured, let alone his future place in history. I distinctly recall falling onto my back on the floor of my loungeroom and kicking
The no.55 rider, Massimo Roccoli of Team Pata by Martini, was shaken and stirred after crashing out during the SuperSportlevel race of the World Superbike Championships in Monza, Italy.
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photo by Getty Images
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What inspirational English captain alastair cook lacks in grEgariousnEss hE makEs up for in rock-solid durability at thE crEasE. that’s bad nEWs for australia’s ashEs-bound boWlErs. By a a r o n s c o t t
photo by Getty Images
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n the days after England’s Ashes defeat of 1997, Lord MacLaurin, the 60-year-old chairman of the ECB, fronted the Fleet Street press and made a bold prediction. Within a decade, he declared, England would be the best Test team in the world. Around the globe, the cricketing cognoscenti chortled. Had the old boy gone completely barkers? England had just been eviscerated by the Australians. The previous summer they’d been clobbered by the Pakistanis. Michael Atherton’s men looked mild, meek and thoroughly middle-class. The notion that a world-beating team could emerge from this lot was laughable. But from the moment MacLaurin made his plum-voiced prognostication, things began to change around the English team. The backroom staff began to grow: physios and sports scientists were introduced to the team. Gadgets and gizmos began to populate the training paddock: high-tech bowling machines and nifty fielding aids were rolled out. Boffins with video cameras and laptops
suddenly appeared: sheets filled with obtuse stats and mathematical predictions were passed around. The direction was clear: English cricket was no longer the amateurish pursuit of softbellied gentlemen. It was now a science. It was to be hard, thorough, exact. Above all, it was to be successful. At the time, Alastair Cook was just 13. He was a small, pleasant, immaculately mannered lad in his first year of senior school, his days filled with clarinet lessons and choir practice. On weekends he showed good technique with the bat, but lacked the strength to hit the ball off the square. He was, in short, a world removed from the brave new one of English cricket. But any examination of Cook has to start with MacLaurin’s prediction and the volte-face it forced English cricket to enact. For Cook – the obdurate defender, the relentless accumulator, the new Lionheart of English cricket – is the ultimate product of this system. He’s hard, thorough, exact. Above all, he’s very, very successful. }
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IVAN LENDL N THE 1970S, the “power baseline” game first came to prominence, mainly via Jimmy Connors, as a counter to the kingpins of the serveand-volley game. Connors was an unusual sight, whomping away in his dramatic “shootout” style, complete with double-handed backhand. By the end of that decade, the more aggressive baseliner was a lot more common, but before 1975, three of the Opens (Australian, Wimbledon and the US) were still played on fast grass, and the chip-and-chargers, the serve-and-vollyers, still got a look in. John McEnroe came to dominate, and the tradition of exciting exponents like Budge, Laver, Gonzales, Newcombe and Rosewall, King, Navratilova and Goolagong-Cawley, was still alive. Then the wooden racquet went the way of the dodo, giving way to a composite model. This ushered in a new era of power and fitness, embodied in one man: the frighteningly efficient Czech, Ivan Lendl. Whereas Connors’ rifle groundstrokes were flat, passing low over the net, this new breed, with his new weapon, could impart powerful topspin, thus changing the tactics – the very angles – of the game, and turn a defensive style into an attacking one. It was a revolution. The physics and the physiology of the top-level
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player began to alter. Bigger men who relied on power were about to take over. The expressionless Lendl was subject to the same criticism all eastern-European sportspeople get – almost to the point of racial stereotyping. He was robotic, drearily consistent, patient to the point of tedium. But be was also brutal – as heavy-handed as Wladimir Klitschko. Lendl let the ball do the talking – and could he make it talk! He played a game no one had seen before. Far from being a well-coached cyborg, Lendl was a great tennis thinker. He was the first to construct an entire strategy around the new technology. The composite racquet was capable of doing things wielders of the old wooden variety couldn’t conceive. Not everyone liked the change. It seemed to mark the death of the pure, talented player of tennis. To see Lendl camping on the baseline, wanging away, aspiring to win every point from there, was to watch the game turn into something else entirely. But Lendl was damned good at it. He might not be considered the greatest, but with the new racquet, on the new surfaces, he was close to unbeatable at times. His ability to pull off pacey topspin-enhanced passing shots, his introduction of brand-new, radical angles from the baseline thanks to vicious dip, made him the real pioneer. In 1984, after attaining number-one status, he won his first Grand Slam title, toppling McEnroe at the French. We witnessed the geometry and the physics of tennis change before our eyes. Previously, if a player wanted to open up angles, the accepted wisdom had been to approach the net, as McEnroe did. The closer he got, the more angles were available. The commanding topspin of Lendl’s groundstrokes changed all that. No longer was the game of those beloved old champions necessary, or even practical. Lendl could stay back and still have opponents as good as McEnroe
Lendl made a racket with his composite one. above With John McEnroe today, who he replaced at the top.
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LENDL’S ABILITY TO PULL OFF PACEY TOPSPINENHANCED PASSING SHOTS MADE HIM THE REAL PIONEER.
floundering all over the court. On the now-predominant slower courts, big Ivan was the first virtuoso of power tennis. He could generate the sort of force to make it work. Tennis talent alone would now never be enough. Strength, durability and fitness were here to stay. Serve-and-volley is still alive, as Federer has demonstrated. But the features of the power baseline strategy, like enhanced defence in many modern team games, have been woven into the very fabric of tennis. Venomous topspin has given rise to an extraordinary breed of player who can impart it and counter it. Players have adapted and now play an all-court game, of which Federer is the supreme example. But there are also times, today, when we can see entire tournament finals played without one serve-and-volley point. Today, the groundstroke, launched at incredible speed, is a common sight. We see those astounding angles. We see players hitting winners on approach shots more than ever; a volley is rarely required as a coup de grace. The return of serve is now an art form, and an important feature of the power baseliner’s play. Players will still volley, but they’ve had to learn to be more judicious, as topspin mechanics has added a new element of uncertainty. The increasing power of groundstrokes and passing shots has altered attacking and counterattacking strategies. Later in his career, Lendl further evolved his game in an attempt to win on faster surfaces. As Wimbledon continued to elude him, he began to approach the net more frequently. At times he looked awkward, but he fared better at the All England with each passing year, and was a finalist in 1986-7. He won eight career Grand Slams. Courier and Agassi were inheritors of Lendl’s game, and there have been many since, including Fed’s nemesis, Nadal. They were inevitable, given the way technology was headed. But they have Lendl to thank for kicking down the door. ‒ Robert Drane
photos by Getty Images
THE COMPOSITE RACQUET’S ARRIVAL USHERED IN A NEW ERA OF POWER AND FITNESS. ITS DRIVER WAS CZECH CYBORG IVAN LENDL.
Scoreboard
BY R ICH A R D H I N DS
WHAT FANS WANT SPORTS FANS WANT THEIR ATHLETES TO BE DRIVEN, BUT NOT WITHOUT EMPATHY; HUMOROUS, BUT NOT TOO FUNNY. NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK, IS IT?
Novak Djokovic has always struck me as a good guy and a fantastic entertainer. Hilarious impersonations of his fellow players off the court. Brilliant strokes on it. Yet, for some reason, he rubs a lot of people up the wrong way. Too combative. Too surly. Too ... everything. Djokovic is, to me, just one example of the now-strangely conflicting expectations we have of professional athletes. We want them to show “personality” but only the personality that appeals to us. We want them to be good-humoured, but in a way that we find funny. We want them to be human, but not so human that they betray physical or mental weakness or, God help them, get into a bit of strife. We want perfection. Yet, in the case of one of Djokovic’s counterparts, Roger Federer, we complain about athletes being “too perfect” or even “arrogant” when they are as nearperfect as we could reasonably expect. So, for the athletes whose heads must be spinning from the list of conflicting demands, what do we really want? Here’s my shopping list. Humility: Sufficient humility, at least, not to flaunt your success in the face of a beaten opponent, spend more time choreographing try-scoring celebrations than scoring tries, or to proclaim your greatness before we do. But not so much humility that you refuse to engage in reasonable conversations about your ability for fear of seeming big-headed. Admittedly, a problem more common in NRL sheds than NBA locker rooms. Tenacity: When we say we expect you to leave it all out there on the field, we don’t mean your discarded athletic tape. As Bernard Tomic found out at the US Open, ultimate effort is a “non-negotiable” for the discerning sporting fan ‒ within reason. Not everyone can stand under bombs while 120kg of Samoan muscle bears down upon them, or get back on the bike and climb an Alp with bruised and bleeding legs. But we’ll know if you’re not reaching your maximum threshold, and we won’t like it. Humour: A witty retort at a press
conference or an hilarious exchange with a club mascot is a bonus. But, for me, humour is an attitude. The ability to put sport and real life in context, and remember one of them is just a bit of a laugh. Not literally. Some of the funniest players wear the most fearsome game faces. Just when all things are considered. Personality: Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean a “bright” personality or a “fun-loving” personality ‒ athletes given those titles often turn out to be the most shallow and disappointing people you meet ... there’s not much more than the reputation. I simply mean the willingness to put whoever, and whatever you are, out there. To use a somewhat confusing phrase – “to be yourself”. Drawing from the tennis well again, I’m thinking Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters. Real people whose sincerity shines through. Atheism: Okay, a touch harsh, this one. Everyone should be free to pursue their religious beliefs ‒ except my Anglican vicar father, who once tried to stop me playing football on Sunday, but still got in the full 18 holes himself ... But we really don’t need to hear another athlete thank his “Lord and saviour” at the presentation. Unless he’s a Lord who can save us from that. Perspective: Any athlete whose bitter defeat is tempered by the words “you know, I only lost a golf tournament out there today”, or whose multi-milliondollar contract extension evokes the phrase “when you think of what other people are doing for a living, I’m just so lucky to be earning this kind of money” leaps into my sporting stratosphere. Empathy: The best athletes remember what it’s like to be the worst − or are, at least, able to imagine what that would be like. Something that both drives them to succeed and keeps them grounded when they do. It also makes them popular with their fellow competitors, in turn a good sign of the type of athlete we like. Ticking all those boxes? Then we’ll love you to death. Drawing plenty of blanks? Then you’ll just be a mere mortal, like the rest of us.
WE WANT PERFECTION, YET WE COMPLAIN WHEN ATHLETES ARE “TOO PERFECT”.
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Your guide to this month’s television AFL It’s a fairly predictable phenomenon – every footy season will throw up an unfancied bolter from outside last year’s eight, the nonsurprising surprise team. This year’s case: Port Adelaide, which came out running to begin the David Koch era. We’re not quite sure how to feel about Kochie’s immediate success as a club chairman, but Smorg sure loves the Power’s wonderfully named rookie, Ollie Wines. After this month, we’ll have a really good idea of how good this team is, starting with Port Adelaide vs Sydney (Jun 22) and Port Adelaide vs Collingwood (Jun 29), both at home. Ken Hinkley’s team then travels to Etihad for Essendon vs Port Adelaide (Jul 7), and returns to SA for Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn (Jul 13) – not a soft touch over a four-week stretch. Other games to circle this month include a high-powered MCG Saturday of Geelong vs Hawthorn (Jul 6), while Richmond vs Gold Coast (Jul 13) heads to Cairns. The name of the park there is Cazaly’s Stadium – do the locals even know who Roy Cazaly is? Seven and Fox Footy.
NETBALL In the previous five years of the ANZ Championship, no team has won the title more than once. There’s a good chance that will go by the wayside this year, as the likes of the Adelaide Thunderbirds, Melbourne Vixens and Queensland Firebirds have designs on becoming the first two-time winners of the competition. The theme of 2013 has been attack, as teams have shot it better and scored more across the league, best encapsulated by the season of the Southern Steel’s Jamaican deadeye, Jhaniele Fowler (above). We’ll see if the trend continues into the major (Jun 30) and minor semi-finals (Jul 1). Reigning premiers Waikato/Bay of Plenty became the first champs to emerge from the third-vsfourth game last year, something to keep in mind as the preliminary final (Jul 7 or 8) and the grand final (Jul 14 or 15) roll around. SBS and Fox Sports are on the court.
NRL One of our pet ideas: why not build a footy stadium in the Coolangatta-Tweed area, with the halfway line sitt ing exactly on the NSWQueensland border? And the main purpose of this park – to hold the third Origin match every year, and put an end to the imbalance of home games in the series (and even better: you’d never have to take Origin to Melbourne again). Mining millionaires, get on it. State Of Origin II (Jun 26) takes place at Suncorp, the sole home game for Cameron Smith’s outfi t, before returning to Homebush for what we hope is a live rubber in State Of Origin III (Jul 17). Club-wise, it’ll be an interesting month for the boys from Bondi and Belmore, beginning with their meeting in the split round 15, Canterbury vs Sydney Roosters (Jun 21) at ANZ. Sonny Bill and company have a re-match of their fiery early-season Monday night game in the Sydney Roosters vs Manly (Jul 1). Canterbury vs Newcastle (Jul 7) sees the ‘Dogs head back
to Mackay, where Ben Barba had that electric homecoming of his last year against the Storm. That matchup also happens to be on tap, with Canterbury vs Melbourne (Jul 14) at ANZ the highlight of round 18. Nine and Fox Sports.
TENNIS Plainly envious of the Australian Open’s prize purse blowout, the pay at Wimbledon (from Jun 24) this year will increase by 40 percent, to $35.4m. Singles champions will pocket $2.44m, which puts it at roughly the same level as the Aussie Open. A first-round loss will earn $36,800, more than enough to buy a lot of white shirts and shorts. The chairman of the All England Club, Philip Brook,
Downside of the undeniably advantageous move of the Socceroos to Asia: the nation is no longer a cinch for the Confederations Cup, which has evolved into the year-before precursor event to the World Cup. The Confed was a source of Socceroo pride: making the final in 1997, beating Brazil in 2001. We’ll know by tournament’s start if Holger Osieck’s team is indeed headed to Brazil next year, as an intriguing clutch of contenders puts the 2014 hosts through its test run. In addition to Brazil, the likes of Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Mexico and Tahiti will be in attendance (pick the one that won’t be at the World Cup). The semi-fi nals (Jun 27-28) take place in Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza, while the fi nal (Jul 1) will be in the refurbished Maracana (pictured), which, somewhat disappointingly, can no longer hold a crowd of 200,000. SBS will have those three games live.
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photos by Getty Images
SOCCER
BY JEFF CENTENERA
CYCLING The planet’s pre-eminent cycling race is on for the 100th time, and we can all hope the occasion overwhelms cynicism about the fact it has only 92 previous winners (hint, hint). But face it, the Tour de France (from June 29) remains one of the great sporting events, as prestigious as it is prett y to look at ... Smorg has long wondered about those alluring podium girls – are they found in the towns the Tour travels to, or are they cast beforehand? Befitting the nice, round number, the Amaury Sport Organisation has laid on a parcours to get excited about. New this year is the start in Corsica, with Stage One: Porto Vecchio to Bastia (Jun 29) kicking off three days in the birthplace of Napoleon. The Tour then returns to the French mainland (and won’t travel outside the country’s borders this year) for the team time trial in Stage Four: Nice (Jul 2). The peleton will make its way west along the southern edge of France, culminating in Stage Nine: Saint-Girons to Bagneres-deBigorre (Jul 7), a spin class of a stage with five climbs over 165km, followed by a rest day. The first individual time
BASEBALL The Major League All-Star Game (Jul 17) is in New York this year, and while it’s Met and not Yankee territory (held at Citi Field), it should be a moment to send off Yankee legend Mariano Rivera. The greatest closer in baseball history is retiring at the end of the year, at age 43, after 19 seasons in the bigs – his career goes back far enough that he was on the Yankees while George Costanza was working there. Coming back from an entire year off due to an ACL tear, Rivera was in vintage form again through the season’s first half, helping the injury-ravaged Yanks to a surprisingly good start. The signature event of the Midsummer Classic is the always-fun Home Run Derby (Jul 16), while the All-Star Celebrity Soft ball Game (Jul 16) should benefi t from being in the Big Apple – although you do wonder if they’ll bar celebrity Yankee fans from playing. Broadcaster for the All-Star Game is to be confirmed, while ESPN has the other festivities.
MMA The world’s best mixed martial artist, Anderson Silva, is back in action at UFC 162: Silva
vs Weidman (Jul 6), the Brazilian’s first fi ght since October last year. The breadth of Silva’s accomplishments is hard to ignore: undefeated over ten defences of his middleweight title, spanning six years, an incredible amount of time in the context of the UFC. His opponent, Chris Weidman, had to mention that Silva was “not a superhero”, which is surely some sort of signal. If
it makes Weidman feel better, UFC welter champ Georges St-Pierre thinks the upset will happen, hailing Weidman as the toughest guy in the division. The card in Las Vegas will also feature Norman Parke, the Team UK lightweight winner from The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes series last year. Pay-for-view on Main Event.
MOTORSPORT The talk of F1 in the early part of the season was tyres, with the main issue – the literal rubber meeting the road – being how the new Pirellis were ruining the sport. Tyre wear was forcing drivers to slow down and pit more often, reducing races to an overtake-ridden mass of confusion. It hit a low in Spain, which saw 82 pit stops, with half the field stopping four times. “I think it’s impossible to follow a race,” said Fernando Alonso – and he happened to be the winner. Pirelli has promised to have a new solution by the time of the British GP (Jun 28-30) at Silverstone. The German GP (Jul 7-9) is back at Nurburgring, and for all that Sebastian Vettel has achieved in his career, winning his home GP isn’t on the list. On the V8 front, the Townsville 400 (Jul 5-7) rolls around this month, which should light up Jamie Whincup’s eyes – in the event’s four years, he’s won fi ve of eight races. Ten for F1, Seven for V8s.
photos by Getty Images
spoke about The Championships needing to “remain competitive”. Sure, we’re all going to think less of Wimbledon because the cheque isn’t so big ... Anyhow, for those of you who don’t check in until the pointier end of the draw, mark down the dates for the quarterfi nals (Jul 2-3), semi-fi nals (Jul 3-4) and fi nal (Jul 6-7), English summer weather permitt ing, of course. Seven and Fox Sports will share coverage, with Seven taking over live coverage from the quarters onwards.
trial lands in Stage 11: Avranches to Mont-Saint-Michel (Jul 10), but the second-week fun begins with Stage 15: Givors to Mont Ventoux (Jul 14). This will be the longest stage of the 2013 Tour, a 242km trek with a real painful sting in the tail – the last 20km ascending barren Ventoux, its peak 2000m up. A second time trial in Stage 17: Embrun to Chorges (Jul 17) might be pivotal to the general classification – while the first solo ride will favour the trial specialists, the second is a technical track around the Serre-Poncon lake that will bring the yellow-chasers to the fore. The day everyone will be waiting for, identified since the route was announced late last year, is Stage 18: Gap to Alpe d’Huez (Jul 18), which will feature two climbs up the famed switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez. Only one previous Tour has climbed it twice, and never on the same day. The penultimate Stage 20: Annecy to Annecy/Semnoz (Jul 20) features a summit finish in a town new to the Tour, and the potential for last-minute drama. The final stretch to the Champs-Elysee the next day will begin in Versailles, appropriate for the coronation of cycling’s new king. Very late nights on SBS.
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