From violent collision contests to celebrity-backed offshoots, spin-off sports are finding captive audiences. Their spectacle masks something more sinister A few weeks ago a clip went viral of a strange new contact sport emerging from the antipodes. Two burly men, one of them holding a football, sprint at each other...
Snow joke: Winter Paralympics athletes angry at scheduling as big thaw hits
Ice melt causes dangerous conditions for para athletes IPC says changing winter calendar ‘easier said than done’ In Cortina d’Ampezzo, the thaw is on. With daytime temperatures reaching double figures in celsius, snow is disappearing from the hillsides and the “torrenti” of ice melt have started to flow once again....
English clubs have week to forget in Champions League – but is that a bad thing? | Barney Ronay
Of six teams in the last 16, only two – Arsenal and Liverpool – look more likely than not to get to the quarter-finals. But does it matter? The coefficient is safe. The coefficient is yours. You’re going home with the coefficient. But perhaps not, on this evidence, with the...
Chess: Favourite Fabiano Caruana loses twice in runup to world title Candidates
The world No 3 is backed to become the challenger but lost twice this week, to Wesley So and Levon Aronian Fabiano Caruana, the world No 3, reigning US champion and 5-2 favourite to win the world title Candidates at the Cap St Georges Resort, Pegeia, Cyprus, from 29 March...
Sports quiz of the week: world records, wrong turns and wild scenes
Have you followed the big stories in football, winter sports, cricket, rugby, horse racing, athletics, basketball and F1? Continue reading...
Draper knocked out as Medvedev capitalises on controversial call in Indian Wells
British No 1’s title defence ends with 6-1, 7-5 loss in quarters Carlos Alcaraz beats Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to reach last four Jack Draper was controversially ruled to have caused a hindrance to opponent Daniil Medvedev as his Indian Wells title defence ended in the quarter-finals. The 24-year-old Briton,...
Harry Redknapp dares to dream of Gold Cup glory with The Jukebox Man
Victory for former Spurs manager’s horse in Cheltenham’s top race would be one of the best sporting stories of the year Harry Redknapp was in a reflective mood after watching Taurus Bay, his first runner at this year’s meeting, finish among the also-rans in Wednesday’s Turners Novices’ Hurdle. It was...
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Bukayo Saka could switch to No 10, Brentford’s Igor Thiago sets sights on 20-goal mark and a key selection dilemma looms for Chelsea Premier League top scorers: latest top-flight standings In the summer, Burnley signed two new goalkeepers. Martin Dubravka agreed a one-year deal after leaving Newcastle, and has been...
Tottenham may have reached a nadir in Madrid but it could still get worse | Max Rushden
Masochistically rewatching the horror show against Atlético confirms that in a season of disasters this is perhaps the biggest The Guardian published a story on its website late on Wednesday with the headline: Igor Tudor to carry on at Spurs but future in doubt beyond Liverpool match. Given the past...
‘Wherefore art thou?’: France look to restore identity with outing to Romeo and Juliet
Fabien Galthié hopes ballet excursion helps side put Scotland loss behind them for Saturday’s Six Nations finale A night at the opera may not be to every Frenchman’s taste these days, but for Fabien Galthié the outing will have been an integral part of his team’s Six Nations finale preparations....