Photos from the Wimbledon men's final, 2008 Marc Aspland is the multi-award winning Chief Sports Photographer for the Times. This is his collection of photographs, and some of his comments on them, from what he considers to be "possibly the best men's final I shall ever see in my lifetime". If you need a quick reminder, there are highlights of the match here, and some terrible poetry reading from the main protagonists here.
January 05
Playing Golf May Damage Your Hearing The sound made by striking thin-faced titanium clubs from manufacturers such as King Cobra, Callaway, Mizuno and Nike can damage your hearing, according to a new study by ear, nose and throat doctors. "Our results show that thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary or even permanent cochlear damage in susceptible individuals," said Dr Malcom Buchanan, the lead researcher. The loudest club was the Ping G10, which you can hear in a YouTube video.
January 03
Raymond van Barneveld comes up with a 9-darter in the PDC world championship. The crowd and commentators go wild. (Him, not so much.)
January 02
NASCAR Tests Possible Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow. HAMPTON, Ga. -- NASCAR officials confirmed Sunday plans to have a Car of Tomorrow chassis tentatively in place for the 2009 Nationwide Series season.
Don Sanderson is dead. Will it mean anything? Unlikely.
January 01
Aloha, Hawaii: Barring a schedule change, next season's Pro Bowl will take place Jan. 31, 2010, with the Super Bowl that year on Feb. 7. The league's plan is for players on the AFC and NFC championship squads not to take part in the Pro Bowl.
Power Play The Blazer score what turns out to be a crucial basket on the Celtics with an extra player on the floor. Surprisingly the Blazers employed no subterfuge and left all six players on the court to be spotted by the refs. After discovering the mistake officials still let the basket stand.
December 30
NFL Confidence Pool XLIII Time to dust off the ol' crystal ball (or other object of prognostication) and place your bets. As always, the deadline for making picks is the start of the first playoff game, January 4, 2009 1:00pm ET.
Broncos Fire Shanahan After 14 Seasons No head coach is safe! If Mike Shanahan can be fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos, is any NFL head coach immune from being voted off the island?
Is US High School Basketball Really Behind the Times? The author, a high school and youth basketball coach in England, thinks that high school basketball in the US needs a significant change in the rules. I think his argument makes sense. (I also wish I'd been around to see that tournament game he writes about.)
December 29
The MLB Network Visibility and credibility are crucial to the MLB Network's success. Some cable systems have been running the channel for several weeks to give viewers a sneak peek at loops of World Series recaps and other highlights. The official launch is New Year's Day at 6 p.m. ET when a daily one-hour Hot Stove show debuts.
Getting more (or less) for your money Canadian Business Online has put together a list of the National Hockey League who offer the best (or worst) value for their salaries last season. Anaheim centre Ryan Getzlaf makes the list of cheap gems, while Los Angeles defenceman Rob Blake gets nailed for poor production.
Off with their heads! The NFL's Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets fire Rod Marinelli, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, respectively, from their head coaching positions. Who's next?
Skijoring anyone? It sounds like the ultimate extreme sport, but for Ryan Lakovitch, a rider from Jackson, Wyo., (pop 8,647) who won the sport's national championship in 2000 with his partner, skier Cody Smith, there's more to skijoring than sheer adrenaline. It's also about teamwork, cooperation, and skill of the horse, rider, and skier. read more
Fastest Red Card Ever ... Chippenham Town striker David Pratt lives up to his name by setting the world's record for the fastest red card ever, being sent off only 3 seconds into a match against Bashley.
Greatest Catch of the Year ... University of North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks uses his big hands to make one the greatest of the year if not ever. [YouTube Video] read more
December 28
Goal of the Year? Showcasing spectacular hand-eye coordination, John Tavares may have ensured himself as the number 1 pick next summer.
Eagles Make Playoffs in 44-6 Rout of Cowboys Philadelphia Eagle fans received a late Christmas miracle with a blowout of the Dallas Cowboys and losses by playoff hopefuls (Thank you, Al Davis!)
December 27
When Punters and Kickers Attack Some NFL kickers and punters are starting to make tackles, Judy Battista of the New York Times reports in a story with a lot of great anecdotes. "Before a preseason game against the Chiefs in the 1970s, the returner George Atkinson of the Raiders joked with Kansas City kicker Jan Stenerud ... that he was not a real player because he never tackled anybody. Stenerud tackled Atkinson twice during that game. Stenerud said an angry John Madden, the Raiders' coach at the time, was said to have asked this about Atkinson, 'How could you get tackled twice by a Norwegian skier?'"
December 23
Mark Teixeira is a Yankee. The three top free agents are now members of the Yankees and Manny rumours have started (although, they may stop now). Finally, fans can watch an all-star game played 162 games a season.
Rally Driver Ken Block's Insane Driving Video In a popular viral video, rally car driver and DC Shoes founder Ken Block practices the automotive version of gymkhana, an obstacle course sport more commonly associated with horses, in a 530-horsepower Subaru Impreza. He's the same driver who hit the mountain with snowboarders and jumped his car 171 feet for the Discovery Channel.
December 21
Let's Make NFL Extra Points Interesting
Instead of having allowing the place kicker to kick all extra points in the NFL, imagine if the player who scored the touchdown had to kick the extra point. If the player who scored is injured or completely incapable of making an extra point, then you have to go for two.read more
Some NFL stadiums now accepting tattling via text message. Fans in some cities can now text stadium security the location of drunken, rowdy fans.
December 20
The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week 16 2008 NFL picks that hope Yule enjoy this week's games ... ha!
Holyfield, in a shocker.... loses? SI.com's Graham scored the fight at 118-110 to Holyfield, but the judges speak otherwise, giving the win to Valuev by majority decision. read more