1. ”Armstrong tried to apologize in Esquire.
Sorta.
He “makes a lousy penitent,” Richardson wrote. Armstrong said he was sorry for hounding and suing his enemies. But he wasn’t very sorry he doped; he thought of EPO as the official sports drink of the Tour de France. He wondered why it’s taking longer for him to be forgiven for his drug use than it did Michael Irvin. He ventured a clumsy metaphor about Nelson Mandela that left you wondering whether Armstrong identified with Mandela or F.W. de Klerk.”
Bryan Curtis examines what it means when some of the world’s most infamous sporting figures ‘donate their body’ to feature writers.
2. “You could hear the incredulity in Cram’s voice after Justin Gatlin weaved and wobbled to the fastest 200m this year by a massive margin, putting him into the top 10 of all time. As the American crossed the line for the first sub-20sec 200m in his life, Cram said: “19.68, goodness me, into a headwind… you’re kidding me!”
The Independent’s Matt Butler isn’t buying the Justin Gatlin comeback.
3. ”The drinking had begun when he was 16, and soon he was equally serious about golf and booze. At age 32, he captained the Irish team that won the 1990 Dunhill Cup. He also was a raging alcoholic who drank “savagely.” There were drugs, too…”We know David Feherty as the corny golf pundit, but Marisa Guthrie lifts the lid on his troubling road to prime time weekend television in the Hollywood Reporter.
4. “In the media storylines that coalesce around her fights, Rousey has turned from a fan darling and into a villainous heel. She’s won so much, fans root for her to lose. Rousey has begun to sing her competitors’ praises in an attempt to convince spectators that when they tune in, they’ll be watching a serious fight.”
Slate‘s Amanda Hess explains why Ronda Rousey’s brilliance may actually be undermining women in MMA.
5. “What are RTE going to do if he ever achieves anything? Give him his own show.”
The always-excellent Davey Hannigan is willing to wait before buying into cult of Conor McGregor.
6.“I love comparing Brendan Fraser to the other great movie quarterbacks. (I have him ranked behind Burt Reynolds but dead-even with Jamie Foxx.)
Good news, couples! Grantland‘s Brian Phillips is attempting to spot the difference between sports movies and rom-coms from White Men Can’t Jump to Karate Kid III. You’re welcome.
