Sports Shorts
By Rory Clarke | Sep 22 2018
#LiarLiarPantsOnFireAndy Murray took to Instagram - in spectacular style- to defend himself in the aftermath of his spat with Fernando Verdasco during his defeat to the Spaniard at the US Open. The returning Scot lost in 4 sets, with his accusations of coaching falling on deaf ears. Verdasco spent a heat break in play in the company of his full coaching team in the changing room but maintained that they didn’t share a single word. Murray remained unconvinced. Has Kanté been cheating all along?Since his unheralded arrival into English football in 2015, the diminutive form of N’Golo Kanté has been defying the odds. However recent reports emerging from the French camp may have unearthed the reason for his prophetic rise. Several of his colleagues have suggested that an alleged habit for cheating at card games may not be where his deceptions end. The idea seems to be catching on. Kanté was serenaded by a special song from the Stade de France faithful “N'Golo Kanté, he's short, he's nice, he stopped Leo Messi, but we all know he's a cheater”. The mystery of Kanté has finally been demystified. Federer takes aim at PiquéRoger Federer, tennis star and venerable statesman, recently broke ranks to slam the Spanish star, Gerard Piqué, for his ever-increasing meddling in matters outside of his concern. Piqué, influential in securing investment for the International Tennis Federation, stated recently that he was working to move the Davis Cup to September, where it would clash with the Swiss great’s brainchild, The Laver Cup. Piqué must, according to Federer, “remain very careful. For us tennis players, it's a little strange that a footballer comes to interfere in our world. The Davis Cup should not become the Pique Cup.” Zach Johnson’s Ryder Cup RevealSocial networks really are a gem for sports news. This time it was Zach Johnson who, in posting a seemingly innocent photo of his personally inscribed Ryder Cup gear, all but confirmed what many golf aficionados had predicted for weeks - that Tiger Woods would be given a wildcard slot and Johnson (who it is safe to say has not had his best season) would be replacing him as one of Team USA’s vice-captains for the golfing showpiece in Paris. While the announcing of wildcard picks is generally the province of the captain (and in truth one of the few powers they possess) Johnson undercut Jim Furyk by nearly 2 weeks. Good work, Zach. Warwick Rowers win battle with InstagramThe Warwick Rowers annual naked calendar, which began in 2009 as a small fundraising project, has become one of the world’s most celebrated charity calendars. Their yearly selection of images of scantily clad rowers has made them an Internet sensation and, moreover, a powerful social influencer and activist. That celebrity did not stop Instagram repeatedly removing their posts and then suspending their account due to their ‘nude’ photos. Accusing the social network of a sexist double standard - by allowing prevalent female ‘nudity’ of a similar type across their platform - the rowing club campaigned hard, and eventually, successfully, over the summer for the restoration of their ‘natural’ and ‘non-sexual’ content. Instagram had to swallow their pride on this one. They better hope that no one shows the Calendar Girls how to start an account. Futsal ? FootballDenmark, as Irish fans know all too well, are a solid footballing nation, blessed with several stars. None of these stars however, were playing as Denmark lost 3-0 to Slovakia during the international break. In fact, not one of the World Cup squad were playing. The reason is simple. The Danish FA are in the process of trying to prevent their footballing heroes signing sponsorship deals with any companies in competition with the national team sponsors. However, as Christian Eriksen and co are likely to get more from Nike than Hummel, they’re resisting. This led to a near full team of debutants against Slovakia, which included futsal players and veteran players from the 4th tier of Danish football. They did not have beginners luck.