More Top 100 Sporting Moments (60-41)
Dec. 16th, 2009 06:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article6957773.ece
Today's are more heart-warming.
Of course this is merely the second most memorable European cup final involving Liverpool in the past decade, but the club’s first continental trophy for 17 years deserves its spot. Gérard Houllier’s side had beaten some illustrious sides to reach the final — Olympiacos, Roma, Porto, Barcelona — but did not expect much of a fight from their little-known Basque opponents. Liverpool led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 3-1 at half-time, but Javi Moreno scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half to bring Alavés level and, after Liverpool went 4-3 up, Jordi Cruyff took the game into extra time with an 88th-minute header. Twenty-seven minutes of sudden death were played before Delfí Geli headed past his own keeper to give Liverpool victory.
I remember this more for the atmosphere, because at my school you were either Liverpool or Man Utd (there were also some poor souls who were Everton or Man City, but they were a distinct minority). K had to race back from this to sit his RE GCSE the next day, and he didn't give a damn what his marks were, because, as he said, it was totally worth it.
57. 2009: Harlequins and rugby union’s “Bloodgate” scandal, London No cut for this, or blurb, just remember it next time Union fans try to claim the moral high-ground over, well, anything.
You know you have reached the big time when pubs change their name to bask in your reflected glory. It was only a brief gimmick, but when the Yates’s bar in Mansfield became the Adlington Arms, it was a tribute to the town’s heroine who had become the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming gold for almost 50 years. More appropriately, the local swimming baths were renamed the Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre. Adlington won two golds in Beijing, in the 400 metres and the 800 metres, breaking a world record in the latter that had stood for most of her 19-year-old life. But it was the first medal, Adlington baring her right armpit at the cameras as she held her goggles aloft in triumph, that sticks in the memory.
Obviously yer man Bolt stood out more, but this was an awesome performance.
It takes a special person for 51,000 people to come out and pay top-dollar to watch you at 1am on a cold November morning in Cardiff, but Calzaghe was special. He had been underappreciated since winning the WBO super-middleweight title by beating Chris Eubank in 1997. But, after a supreme display to beat Jeff Lacy the year before, this was Calzaghe’s night as he became only the second boxer in history to hold WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles in the same weight division. He struggled early on against Kessler, a hard-punching Dane, but, as he always did, Calzaghe found a way to win. He overwhelmed Kessler with sheer volume of punches and put his seal on a thriller by going toe-to-toe in the last round, when he could have coasted to victory.
We love you, Joe! And the journo is so right about him being under-appreciated by boxing journos.
Every once in a while a nation stays up past midnight entranced by a sport that they had previously known little about. To the epic Taylor v Davis world snooker final in 1985 was added the Olympic women’s curling final 17 years later, when Britain won their first gold medal at a Winter Games since Torvill and Dean in 1984. The skip was a Glaswegian housewife whose main job, apart from delivering inch-perfect stones down the sheet, seemed to be to shout “hurry” at her sidekicks with the brooms. In a thrilling final that came down to the very last stone, Martin’s last throw had to be perfect to beat the Swiss — and it was.
You've never seen anything like it. You had tonnes of people who'd never given a damn about winter sports at all, or curling, and suddenly they went mad. My Nan stayed up till the wee small hours to see the final, and I was greeted with the news when I woke up the next day.
The final act of a folk hero before riding into the sunset. In truth, the last Ashes Test had long turned towards England, but a pessimistic nation still feared that Australia could make 546 to win match and series. With Ponting at the crease, that was a slim possibility. Then Mike Hussey nudged the ball off his hips to mid-on and called for a single. Bad decision. Flintoff may have had dodgy knees but he had a sense of occasion. He pounced, threw and hit the stumps a shade before Ponting’s bat got home. Five balls later Michael Clarke was also run out by Andrew Strauss and it was game over.
I may have previously mentioned that I <3 Freddie and it's things like this that are the reason. To use a post from the text service for the match today, because he expresses it better than I could:
From Dan, London, TMS inbox: "Freddie's statistics will never tell the whole story. His sheer presence struck fear into any who were facing him, and often meant that other strike bowlers were able to get wickets. He often raised everyone else's game with his sheer enthusiasm, so whilst his figures may not be missed, his presence will."
On non-list, but still sporting related matters - why the heck have Milton Keynes been made part of the 2018 bid when Leicester haven't? It can't be our stadium, it was one of the ones they used while Wembley was out of action. It can't be sporting history because Milton Keynes has none. I am assuming bribery.
Today's are more heart-warming.
Of course this is merely the second most memorable European cup final involving Liverpool in the past decade, but the club’s first continental trophy for 17 years deserves its spot. Gérard Houllier’s side had beaten some illustrious sides to reach the final — Olympiacos, Roma, Porto, Barcelona — but did not expect much of a fight from their little-known Basque opponents. Liverpool led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 3-1 at half-time, but Javi Moreno scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half to bring Alavés level and, after Liverpool went 4-3 up, Jordi Cruyff took the game into extra time with an 88th-minute header. Twenty-seven minutes of sudden death were played before Delfí Geli headed past his own keeper to give Liverpool victory.
I remember this more for the atmosphere, because at my school you were either Liverpool or Man Utd (there were also some poor souls who were Everton or Man City, but they were a distinct minority). K had to race back from this to sit his RE GCSE the next day, and he didn't give a damn what his marks were, because, as he said, it was totally worth it.
57. 2009: Harlequins and rugby union’s “Bloodgate” scandal, London No cut for this, or blurb, just remember it next time Union fans try to claim the moral high-ground over, well, anything.
You know you have reached the big time when pubs change their name to bask in your reflected glory. It was only a brief gimmick, but when the Yates’s bar in Mansfield became the Adlington Arms, it was a tribute to the town’s heroine who had become the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming gold for almost 50 years. More appropriately, the local swimming baths were renamed the Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre. Adlington won two golds in Beijing, in the 400 metres and the 800 metres, breaking a world record in the latter that had stood for most of her 19-year-old life. But it was the first medal, Adlington baring her right armpit at the cameras as she held her goggles aloft in triumph, that sticks in the memory.
Obviously yer man Bolt stood out more, but this was an awesome performance.
It takes a special person for 51,000 people to come out and pay top-dollar to watch you at 1am on a cold November morning in Cardiff, but Calzaghe was special. He had been underappreciated since winning the WBO super-middleweight title by beating Chris Eubank in 1997. But, after a supreme display to beat Jeff Lacy the year before, this was Calzaghe’s night as he became only the second boxer in history to hold WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles in the same weight division. He struggled early on against Kessler, a hard-punching Dane, but, as he always did, Calzaghe found a way to win. He overwhelmed Kessler with sheer volume of punches and put his seal on a thriller by going toe-to-toe in the last round, when he could have coasted to victory.
We love you, Joe! And the journo is so right about him being under-appreciated by boxing journos.
Every once in a while a nation stays up past midnight entranced by a sport that they had previously known little about. To the epic Taylor v Davis world snooker final in 1985 was added the Olympic women’s curling final 17 years later, when Britain won their first gold medal at a Winter Games since Torvill and Dean in 1984. The skip was a Glaswegian housewife whose main job, apart from delivering inch-perfect stones down the sheet, seemed to be to shout “hurry” at her sidekicks with the brooms. In a thrilling final that came down to the very last stone, Martin’s last throw had to be perfect to beat the Swiss — and it was.
You've never seen anything like it. You had tonnes of people who'd never given a damn about winter sports at all, or curling, and suddenly they went mad. My Nan stayed up till the wee small hours to see the final, and I was greeted with the news when I woke up the next day.
The final act of a folk hero before riding into the sunset. In truth, the last Ashes Test had long turned towards England, but a pessimistic nation still feared that Australia could make 546 to win match and series. With Ponting at the crease, that was a slim possibility. Then Mike Hussey nudged the ball off his hips to mid-on and called for a single. Bad decision. Flintoff may have had dodgy knees but he had a sense of occasion. He pounced, threw and hit the stumps a shade before Ponting’s bat got home. Five balls later Michael Clarke was also run out by Andrew Strauss and it was game over.
I may have previously mentioned that I <3 Freddie and it's things like this that are the reason. To use a post from the text service for the match today, because he expresses it better than I could:
From Dan, London, TMS inbox: "Freddie's statistics will never tell the whole story. His sheer presence struck fear into any who were facing him, and often meant that other strike bowlers were able to get wickets. He often raised everyone else's game with his sheer enthusiasm, so whilst his figures may not be missed, his presence will."
On non-list, but still sporting related matters - why the heck have Milton Keynes been made part of the 2018 bid when Leicester haven't? It can't be our stadium, it was one of the ones they used while Wembley was out of action. It can't be sporting history because Milton Keynes has none. I am assuming bribery.
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