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IT WAS the sporting performance of the weekend. Probably of the year. The television cameras get everywhere nowadays, but if they had turned on the microphones as well, Daniel Anderson's […]

Help for Heroes XV 29 International XV 10 IT COULDN'T have been much warmer in Baghdad than it was at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon (a hosepipe ban must be imminent) […]

IT IS quite some time since the 2008-09 fixture list was published, but the new rugby season still appears to have caught Wasps by surprise. On the other hand, it […]

THERE were a few raised eyebrows about St Helens eschewing the traditional Friday Wembley walkabout, but most people thought the cup-holders were merely postponing it for 24 hours. A stroll […]

ENGLAND have not yet won this match, but the chances are that the opening of Kevin Pietersen's new show will be received in tomorrow morning's newspapers with glowing reviews, West […]

NO ONE doubts that Kevin Pietersen is a very special cricketer - in fact it's a view he is happy to subscribe to himself - and there is no limit […]

THE sniffer dogs didn't find much in the spectators' bags to get excited about at the Oval yesterday, although if one of them had got downwind of an England selector […]

'AND now the marks', as they say at the ice-skating, 'for artistic impression.' But it doesn't apply in cricket, otherwise Paul Collingwood would be forever looking at a full set […]

FOR much of yesterday South Africa were blocking their way to victory with, appropriately enough for a side sponsored by a brewery, a laager mentality. But they now know they […]

WATCHING the new Mrs Norman following her husband around Troon yesterday, it was hard to work out whether Greg still has a bit to spare after his pounds 50 million […]

'SO, who do you think will win the Open with Tiger not playing?' It was a question everyone was asking before the tournament began, and if anyone had ventured: 'How […]

THE umbrellas were being blown inside out again at Birkdale yesterday, though the sudden gust which blew a few hats off around mid-morning had more to do with the private […]

ONLY two things qualified yesterday for the description of wild, large, Scottish and dripping wet - The Loch Ness Monster, and Colin Montgomerie. Actually, it's sometimes difficult to tell them […]

IT IS a long old trek to the golf course from some of the spectator car parks, but for anyone smart enough to open an umbrella, there is always the […]

THE Open can just about survive not having Tiger Woods and will struggle through with or without the defending champion, but when Colin Montgomerie pulls out of a pre-tournament interview, […]

IF Tiger Woods had been around at the time of the first Open Championship, it wouldn't have been a bad knee that kept him away so much as pressure of […]

THE game of cricket has been hugely enriched in recent years by the proliferation of players' newspaper columns - offering such fascinating insights into who's just bought a new iPod, […]

IT'S the biggest epidemic since the Black Death and medical authorities all over the world are desperately fighting to contain it. It begins with a nasty wringing noise in the […]

THE All England Club still have croquet attached to their official title, but the hoop and mallet equivalent of the Wimbledon final next Sunday won't have quite the mano a […]

EVERYONE agreed that the tennis was all the more exceptional in the blustery conditions, but it's always going to be windy when the Williams sisters are on opposite sides of […]

SO, IT'S the final everyone wanted, and the one everyone expected. It is a tough one to call, but while Roger Federer has looked supremely comfortable in his cardigan, the […]

THE equal prize-money debate goes on, but the All England Club have almost got it right in rewarding this year's respective singles champions with pounds 750,000 each. The only minor […]

THE All England Club are sufficiently worried to have organised a visit from the well respected French doctor, Monsieur Gasquet, and failing that, they've got the eminent Spanish scientist Senor […]

IS Roger Federer the best player ever? Well, it's a fatuous argument in a way, as the likes of Rod Laver were forced to play with the kind of rackets […]

EVERY year Wimbledon generates about pounds 25 million in profits, which the Lawn Tennis Association then take off them to ensure that Britain continues to produce its remorseless conveyor belt […]

IT'S BEEN three years now since Marat Safin renounced racket trashing, since when his world ranking has been heading rapidly towards the earth's core. He's looked as miserable as a […]

Williams won 7-6, 6-1 NOT every athlete can aspire to the dizzy heights of being fifth best in an entire country, but when applied to British women's tennis it merely […]

CRICKET has always thrown up examples of strange awards, such as John Abrahams winning man of the match in the Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord's in 1984 for […]

I CAN'T remember precisely whose pen it came from, but it was definitely one of cricket's literary giants, which narrows it down to either Neville Cardus or the Kevin Pietersen […]

MICHEL PLATINI says he's 'very happy' the Champions League final was allocated to Moscow, which makes the president of Uefa a man who's either easily pleased, or in the top […]

IT WAS a relief to be heading for the Russian border at last. The urge to get out of Riga was only heightened by discovering that Demis Roussos, the singing […]

THE expat I'd met in Vilnius told me there was far more chance of meeting Manchester United and Chelsea supporters in Latvia than Lithuania, but as the Eurolines bus pulled […]

IT IS not beyond the bounds that Wednesday's big game will be decided by some Oscar-winning penalty area dive, a thought that occurred during the mildly surreal experience of watching […]

THE office had been sympathetic with a 'pay a bit more if you really have to' send-off, and so, standing in the dingy reception area of the Three Little Pigs […]

ACCORDING to Wikipedia, Dortmund is a large industrial town in the heart of the Ruhr with a population of 583,945, so it was a bit of a surprise to get […]

IT WAS the office on the phone. 'Have you seen the prices for flying to Moscow? Four thousand quid for a seat on a private charter, and the thick end […]

ONLY one man at the Crucible Theatre has had the stamina for this 17-day marathon, and what a performance it's been. They always say that the tension release hits you […]

THE 2008 World Snooker Championship finally comes to an end tonight. When this thing kicked off all those years ago, with a nicely constructed century break from Cliff Thorburn, Willie […]

IF YOU were asked to name the sport with the lowest risk of injury you might conceivably go for darts, although the ever present danger of one of its 20-stone […]

THE paradox about Augusta is that it is not a particularly difficult golf course. In fact, if you can break 80 at somewhere like Woburn or Sunningdale, and popped over […]

PAUL CASEY is not without a sense of humour, and when Colin Montgomerie, was talking to him on the driving range recently about his upcoming marriage, Monty said: 'Do you […]

THE Augusta 'patrons', as the host broadcaster is contractually obliged to call them, are regularly described as the most knowledgeable spectators in America, which is frankly a little frightening. Yesterday, […]

ANYONE remotely famous sends American golf commentators into such a lather of excitement they ought to be fitted with incontinence pants, and the master of ceremonies in charge of Arnold […]

THERE has never been a golfer at a shorter price to win a major championship, but there are at least three reasons why Tigers Woods might not win this year's […]

IT'S the same every year at the Masters. The world's best players queue up to inform the world that this is God's own golf course, that the heart starts pounding […]

WHEN you hear thousands of people belting out 'feed me till I want no more' you can only be in one of two places. Waiting for the ninth course at […]

NOT, you might say, one of the greatest weeks in the annals of England rugby, but at least we now know the way forward. Throw away all those blackboards and […]

CRICKET was never quite the gentleman's game it's been depicted as - even WG Grace was not averse to a spot of sledging - but it's certainly become a lot […]

THERE was a time when not everyone had heard of the golfer who will most likely go down as the best in history, hence Sandy Lyle mixing him up with […]