1. A few months before the first UFC event, Isaacs found himself at his desk surrounded by a growing crowd. On the television they were all watching two Brazilian men fight it out on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, a buzz in the air. McLaren had intercepted a VHS tape called Gracies in Action on its way to obscurity, and the whole office was quickly obsessed with it.
Was it really safe? Was it a sport?” Isaacs said. “We’re watching this tape with Rorion Gracie narrating, saying things like, ‘This man has insulted the Gracie family,’ and then some scrawny Gracie brother or one of the uncles beating the crap out of him. It was really compelling, and our gut instinct was: ‘Holy crap, this is really interesting stuff. How do we do it?’”
Writing in the Bleacher Report, Jonatahan Snowden takes a look back at UFC1 on its 25th anniversary.
The victorious European team at the 2018 Ryder Cup. Source: Adam Davy
2. As summer gave way to autumn, Thomas had to decide on his wild card picks. Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey were relatively obvious choices given they would have qualified if there were 12 automatic spots available.
However Thomas faced a real dilemma with his final pick. It came down to whether or not to choose Sergio García, a talismanic player for Europe but whose form seemed patchy.
Throughout the wildcard selection process we provided clear and detailed information on each of the potential picks – broken down into details on their overall performance, how they fitted with the existing team in terms of pairings, and, in particular, how well their game was suited to a demanding course like Le Golf National. This was key to giving the captain a multi-faceted understanding of a player’s suitability.
People tend to underestimate the level of work that goes into making such crucial selection decisions.”
Blake Wooster discusses how analytics helped team Europe reclaim the Ryder Cup in leadersport.com.
Anna-Viktoria Vittinghoff first discovered Gaelic football last year. Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
3. When you ask Anna-Viktoria Vittinghoff how she would have reacted if she had been told 18 months ago that she would be playing in an All-Ireland club semi-final in Aghabog, Co Monaghan, in November 2018, she laughs loudly.
“I would have been absolutely perplexed. First thing I would have had to do was Google Gaelic football.”
The sport, then, was a stranger to her until last year, and her only “connection” to Ireland when she was growing up in Germany and Hungary, the respective birthplaces of her father and mother, was a fondness for folk music and the American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys. A tenuous enough link, that.
Mary Hannigan of the Irish Times speaks to Anna-Viktoria Vittinghoff ahead of an All-Ireland club semi-final with Scottish side Dunedin Connollys.
Steven Gerrard. Source: Peter Summers
4. Gerrard has learned a lot from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool.
“I was like a sponge, watching and learning. I watch him on TV and see how he handles situations. I could never be Jürgen with his charisma and energy. But if I can take a few things from him it will be such a help. And if I text, call or see him, Jürgen’s always got time for me.”
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What was the most valuable lesson he gleaned from Klopp?
“Jürgen’s really good at switching off. When the game is on he’s very emotional but once it’s over he can park the emotion.
“That’s why he’s so good at handling the pressure. After cup finals and a big setback he’ll be the one to start the party. Tomorrow is a different day and that’s a big lesson I have to learn. I have to live my life outside football while still being a manager. It is difficult but I’m trying.”