A social media soundbite from Rob McElhenney was typically revealing. “If I’m being honest I don’t even know what the word consolidation means,” the Wrexham co-chair said. Days earlier, in between wheeling around the Racecourse Ground celebrating promotion from League One, he had told Ryan Reynolds that things were about to get “a little pricier … Read more
As inescapable as it is inexorable, everyone at Cadillac is aware the clock is ticking as they edge closer towards a moment of truth well over three years in the making. The expectation and anticipation for when the team, backed by US manufacturer General Motors, hits the grid as Formula One’s 11th entry for the … Read more
BBC Two’s Monday evening show Chess Masters: The Endgame reached its final this week amid a continuing debate between experts, who found it patronising, and social players, novices and children who enjoyed its light touch and focus on personalities. The series was placed in a testing environment, the 8pm slot, sandwiched between the intellectual heavyweights … Read more
Elite athletes have been warned against having one-night stands because of the risk they could be contaminated with banned drugs from engaging in casual sex. The warning came as top lawyers and anti-doping experts debated contamination cases in sport before highlighting the hidden dangers for the Tinder generation. Mark Hovell, a leading sports lawyer and … Read more
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s mid-match change of tip backfired spectacularly as he was whitewashed by Zhao Xintong in the second session of their World Snooker Championship semi-final. O’Sullivan had the tip and ferrule on his cue changed overnight, having labelled it as “awful” before the last-four clash with Zhao at the Crucible. The seven-time champion had still … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Sam Cook picked for Zimbabwe Test Ben Stokes (Durham) – Captain Gus Atkinson (Surrey) Shoaib Bashir (Somerset) Harry Brook (Yorkshire) Sam Cook (Essex) Jordan Cox (Essex) Zak Crawley (Kent) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Matthew Potts (Durham) Joe Root (Yorkshire) … Read more
Sam Cook has been selected for England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe later this month – reward not only for his excellence in the County Championship but also a commendable, unwavering desire to play the longest format. Aged 27 and having finessed a truckload of wickets for Essex at just 18 runs apiece, Cook could have … Read more
League One A lot here has been decided: Birmingham are champions and Wrexham are going up with them, while Shrewsbury, Cambridge, Bristol Rovers and Crawley have been relegated. But there is plenty of intrigue in the playoff places. Stockport, Wycombe and Charlton are simply jostling for position: Wycombe in fourth host third-placed Stockport on Saturday … Read more
Jack Draper will overtake Novak Djokovic and climb into the top five of the world rankings for the first time after demolishing Matteo Arnaldi in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open. Draper needed just 77 minutes to see off the Italian, who beat Djokovic in the second round, 6-0, 6-4, with a stunning first set … Read more
Football has never known a control freak like Bill Belichick, the Nixonian figure who ran the New England Patriots as if their facility was a CIA black site. But four months into Belichick’s new coaching tenure, at the University of North Carolina, there is a stunning lack of clarity about who’s actually in charge. Belichick … Read more