TENNIS
Is this Novak Djokovic’s French Open? Whether it’s Rafael Nadal’s atrocious form, or Djokovic’s incredibly detailed preparation, it looks that way.
FOOTBALL
You might hate Sepp Blatter, but he understands the world better than you, you irrelevant Westerner. Meanwhile, Qatar’s World Cup death rate is now over 60 per match, and Brazil’s 2014 legacy is already a mess.
English clubs need to learn to love the Europa League. The country may soon lose a Champion’s League place.
Raheem Sterling: a young ambitious man unfairly slated by those who resent 20-year-olds richer than they are / actually pretty good for his age, even compared to Messi and Ronaldo / in a club that takes itself waaaay too seriously / really badly advised. Take your pick.
Who was better: Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard? As both midfielders move to the US, it’s fun to ask such a pointless question, as it’s bound to come up in the pub at some stage.
Football is pretty comfortable with inequality. But forget England’s premier league: France and Scotland lead the way.
Data nerds! If you love R and sport, you’ll enjoy this. For the rest of us, it’s wonderfully geeky look into how predictable the Premier League is.
BASEBALL
The sport’s problem can be summed up as: “if you don’t play it as a kid, you are far less likely to support it.” But why are children abandoning baseball? A great long-read.
RUGBY
Don’t get hung up on England’s selection policy. Overseas players know the deal. The sport has a far bigger crisis looming.
F1
When Ayrton Senna Became a Star. Monaco 1984 was a turning point for three F1 careers.
ATHLETICS
In case you missed it
Justin Gatlin is clean. But he is running too fast, too late in his career for his drug-taking past to ever be forgotten.
NFL
Rule changes are seldom this fun. The point-after-touchdown, one of the most boring plays in the NFL will be more interesting next season, and so will the economics of kicking talent.
Deflategate. Statistics. Go on then.
Happy reading, and see you next Tuesday.
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