Chelsea v Bayern, an epic slam dunk contest and the best of padeling
1) Chelsea face Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week, a fixture which immediately recalls this classic final in 2012. Bayern got lukewarm revenge in the 2013 Super Cup, as Pep’s Bayern beat José’s Chelsea on penalties. Let’s not forget the brilliant quarter-final first leg in 2004-05, which ended up 4-2 to the Blues. Chelsea would go on to win the tie 6-5 on aggregate, before going out to Luis García and Liverpool’s “ghost goal” in the semis.
2) Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury meet again in Vegas this weekend: here’s a quick refresh on what happened last time out. And why not revisit Fury’s greatest hits: on opponents, and indeed on himself. Not that Wilder is without his own daunting highlights reel. The MGM Grand Garden Arena has a long and proud history of hosting for brawny showdowns … such as this WWE classic between Hulk Hogan and The Warrior in Halloween Havoc ‘98. And who could forget the UWF Blackjack Brawl, four years earlier?
3) There’s a Six Nations showdown on Sunday between England and Ireland. In 2018, Ireland travelled to Twickenham in search of only their third grand slam ever, which they duly delivered. Back in 2003, England served up a thumping 42-6 victory at Landsdowne Road.
4) Birthday watch: Sinisa Mihajlovic, the set-piece extraordinaire that left many a Serie A goalkeeper looking a bit silly, is 51. Charles Barkley is 57 today, so here are the top 10 plays of his remarkable NBA career. Congratulations also go out to Tony Hibbert, 39 today. The Everton legend never scored a goal for the club, and then popped up in his own testimonial with this effort. When Hibbo scores, we riot.
5) Steven Adams gave us this present on Valentine’s Day: a extremely casual, one-handed half-court shot, topped off with a delightful celebration. Over at the All-Star dunk contest, Aaron Gordon jumps over the 7ft 5in Tacko Fall – and still doesn’t win. Derrick Jones Jr served up some decent efforts, mind you. Here are highlights of the whole contest – and every top-scoring dunk since 1987:
6) The Women’s T20 World Cup gets under way on Friday – here’s this year’s hosts Australia clinching their title last time out, and meeting dramatic defeat against the West Indies in 2016.
Our favourites from below the line last week
1) This is absolutely Premier League Padeling:
2) That is a BIG hit from the NFL.
3) And sometimes the wind helps, as Barrow’s Jamie Dallimore and his massive boot can confirm.
Spotters’ badges: germit, OlePonty, whobroughtoranges.
