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Off the Record: 5 sporting stories you may have missed this weekend

If you haven’t seen a “teddy bear toss” before, you’ll want to see this.

UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN glued to the internet all weekend, there’s a chance that some weird and wonderful sporting tidbits might have slipped through the cracks. Here’s a run-down of some of the stories you may have missed.

1. #TRIBUTE Kerry footballer Liam Hassett, captain of the Kingdom’s 1997 All-Ireland winning team, hung up his boots after playing his final game for club Laune Rangers last week.

Hassett’s retirement prompted a nice little tribute from Paul Galvin, including this gem:

“He also once went home after a Kerry game, dressed up in full disguise before re-joining the team in a bar, joining the players in full conversation without anyone copping him!!! He loved a disguise did Liam. Hero.”

2. #KNEES UP Even if you don’t know much about American football, you should know about Adrian Peterson. Last December, the Minnesota Vikings running back blew out both his anterior and medial cruciate ligaments — the kind of injuries that could very easily end a player’s career. Not only is Peterson back playing football but he seems to be better than ever, as evidenced by this 82-yard touchdown run yesterday, the longest of his career.

YouTube Credit: FvckUAndrewLuck

3. #SUPER RON Usain Bolt says he’s good enough to play for Manchester United, but we want to see Cristiano Ronaldo pull on a pair of spikes and time himself against the clock in a 100m sprint. After watching him zip from box to box in a counter-attack against Atletico Madrid on Saturday night — 96 metres in 10 seconds, apparently — we reckon he could go close to 10 flat.

YouTube Credit: Hadriano10i [h/t 101GG]

4. #SMASHING STUFF It’s quite unusual to see a basketball player dunk with such force that he shatters the backboard but when the Harlem Globetrotters are in town, normal’s not normal. At an exhibition in Ecuador, the Globetrotters’ 7’4″ centre Stretch Middleton and Jet Williams both sent glass shards flying. Why? Because they can.

YouTube Credit: hrlmglobetrotters [h/t OffTheBench]

5. #CHARITY Teams in the Canadian Hockey League have an annual teddy bear toss; the idea is that fans bring along teddy bears that they want to donate to children in need and when the home team score, they fling them on to the ice. The Calgary Hitmen had their toss last weekend — it only took them 45 minutes to clean up and restart the match.

YouTube Credit: z953buzz [h/t BuzzBishop]

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