1. “Refusing to celebrate shows the utmost disrespect for your own fans. Just because you’ve scored against a former club, you’re not disrespecting them, you’re doing what you are paid to do. This doesn’t mean you have to run the length of the pitch and stick two proverbial fingers up at them like Emmanuel Adebeyor. Go to your own fans and share in their joy.”
David Preece argues against the idiotic rise of the non-celebration that footballers think fans just love, on TheSetPieces.com.
2. “One of the shibboleths of media commentary is that players will have ever shorter careers in future. I’m not sure this stands up to examination; medical attention and expertise is better than ever, and players’ conditioning, diet and rest continues to be refined. Brian O’Driscoll retired after 15 seasons of international rugby, Richie McCaw should reach that landmark this summer, while Gordon D’Arcy is in his 16th season after getting capped against Australia.”
Demented Mole challenges his own assertions about the need to give youth its head to ensure a healthy rugby side.
3. “The Kapo took Ernö away from his workforce on several occasions, announcing that he needed an extra body to help with some construction work in the city. Having led him from the watchful eyes of the gendarmes running the camp and his fellow inmates, he escorted his man to a public telephone so that he could call the workshop where his wife and daughters were housed. On those occasions where such an operation seemed too risky, the kapo would phone the workshop himself and pass on Ernő’s messages. Thanks to a chance meeting, the communication lines among the Erbstein family were open again.”
For The Guardian, Dominic Bliss tells the story of Erno Erbstein, who survived the holocaust and went on to coach in Serie A.
4. “Great shot, Lily Pad,” he said, “but you should always get a layup on a two-on-one. Stay out of the peripheral vision of your defender.”
The New York Times’ Scott Cacciola brings us the story of a team of fifth-grade girls ripping up the Illinois basketball scene.
5. “Marcus Mariota got hit with six Talk Abouts in a single press conference before the national championship game. At his postgame presser, Urban Meyer got four. One was: “Could you talk about the future of the program and just how bright it is?” (Meyer, of course, was glad to.)”
Next time you see a live press conference, keep an ear out for the ‘talk about’ non-question that tends to replace actual questions and think of this Brian Curtis piece from Grantland.com
6. “It wasn’t lost on players that Shaw played through a dislocated finger on his left hand and a rib injury that had him passing blood after the season finale, while Manziel played six quarters before hurting his hamstring, then missed treatment on the injury on the final Saturday because he was still in bed.
One source stressed Manziel worked much harder in his two weeks as a starter than in the previous three months, but it was more like cramming for a test and he could not make up for his lack of work before the starts.”
ESPN’s Jerermy Fowler and Pat McManamon uncover the uncomfortable, unprofessional truth of “Johnny Football’s” first year in the NFL.
