1) It’s the first Bledisloe Cup match of 2018 between New Zealand and Australia so let’s begin with this utterly ridiculous Christian Cullen try from 2000, with significant input from Jonah Lomu and Tana Umaga. Cullen, again, this time going it alone in Dunedin in 1997. Stirling Mortlock waltzing through the All Black midfield before popping the ball off to Scott Staniforth at the MCG in 2007. Or two monstrous counterattacks from each side; first, Matt Burke in 1996 and then, Frank Bunce on the end of a move involving seven other players in 1992.
2) Villarreal got all David Copperfield when they unveiled Santi Cazorla as their new signing at El Madrigal. Revisit an age when unveiling signings consisted of Diego Maradona booting a ball high into the San Paolo having joined Napoli in 1984, Neymar, in more innocent and likeable times, a sheepish Kaká stepping out at the Bernabéu (it was all downhill from there), Cristiano Ronaldo having 80,000 people turn up for his Madrid welcome or even David Beckham looking very 2003 for Los Blancos. Finally, there’s Gazza getting mobbed in Rome after signing for Lazio.
3) Competitive Dad is alive and well, and living in America where he is completely schooling kids at pick-up basketball.
4) Some touching quirks in the Football League last weekend: Rotherham and Ipswich fans unite in tribute to Barry Chuckle, who died earlier this month, with a joint refrain of their “To me, to you” catchphrase. Two divisions lower, in League Two, a goose stops play at Macclesfield v Grimsby.
5) India go to Trent Bridge for the third Test against England under pressure – two down in the series and amid talk of a 5-0 series whitewash. Nottingham isn’t a happy hunting ground for them recently either – scene of Stuart Broad’s decisive hat-trick in 2011, while three years later they were frustrated by Jimmy Anderson– with the bat, England’s record wicket-taker making his highest Test score, 81, in a record last-wicket partnership as the teams drew. India have better memories from 2007, where a fractious Test famous for jelly beans being tossed on the pitch by England was won by India. The two main protagonists, Michael Vaughan and Zaheer Khan, reflect on it here.
6) When Nick Kyrgios is good, he’s very good. Here he is slamming a 115mph forehand winner past Stan Wawrinka.
Our favourites from last week’s blog
1) The Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle died of cancer last week. Here’s some footage and tributes from when it looked like he might get through.
2) Don’t try this at home kids: some impressive and daunting parkour action.
3) Some of the best almost-marks in VFL/AFL history.
Spotters badges: Whobroughtoranges, Tommy TwoTone, Graham Clayton
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