22 NEWS
THEWEEK19 February 2022
Sport
AmericanFootballLA Rams
won the SuperBowlfor the
secondtime,beating
CincinnatiBengals23-20.
RugbyunionEnglandbeat
Italy 33-0 in their second
matchof the Six Nations.
Walesbeat Scotland20-17,
and Francebeat Ireland30-24.
CricketEngland’space
bowler,StuartBroad,said
he’d been“blindsided”by the
“unjust”decisionto drop him
for England’stour of the West
Indies.FellowbowlerJimmy
Andersonwas also omitted.
WinterOlympicsThe Russian
ice skaterKamilaValieva,
who failedadrugs test, was
clearedto compete.Itwasthelast thinganyoneexpected,saidTom
WhippleinThe Times.At theBeijingWinter
Olympics, lastSunday, it“beganto snow”.It’s
oftenvery cold innortheastChinain winter,
butactualsnowisararity, whichis whythese
Gamesarethefirstinhistory torely completely
on the artificialkind.They may be“thegreatest
celebrationofsnowsportsontheplanet”,but
genuinesnowwasn’t part oftheplan.And
whenit didmaterialise its effect was disruptive,
as the freshsnow fallingon theicier artificial
kind caused surfacestobecomeunstable.
Severalevents hadto bepostponedor
cancelled;thousands ofstaffweresentto clear
snow fromcompetitioncourses;and when events
didgoahead,there were manymore crashes and
disqualifications thanusual.
Noteveryone, however,was disadvantaged, saidMichaelHincks
on Eurosport.com. BenjaminAlexander,Jamaica’sfirst-ever
Alpine Olympicskier, achievedapositioninthe men’s giant
slalom–46th–thatwasfar higher thanexpected.True,the
38-year-oldformerDJ,wholived inBritainformuchofhislife
before movingtoWyomingwhenhe tookup skiing six years
ago,camelastoftheskierswho actuallycompletedthe course–
finishing 32 secondsbehind the45thplacedcompetitor.But,due
inpart tothepoorweather,41skiersdidn’tmakeittothe bottom
at all.“I’ve performed better thansomeofthe
bestintheworld,” Alexanderexultedafterwards.
“Theycrashed,andthat’safact.”Theskier
addedthathistwo ultra-cautious runsdown
theslope–inconditions, admittedly,ofseverely
restrictedvisibility –were“foreveryonewho
thinks theydon’tbelongin skiing”.For TeamGB,these Gameshave sofarproved
anunbridleddisappointment, said OwenSlotin
TheTimes. Look atthemedal table, and “you
wouldn’tseeanythingtosuggestthatthe British
team haveevenarrived”.The lasttimeBritain
failedto win asingle medalat aWinterOlympics
wasmorethan 30years ago,in1990;at eachof
thelasttwoWinter Olympics, Britainhas
managedfive medals.Atthis point,threemedals
“looksambitious”.It’s too earlytowriteTeam
GB off,said SeanIngleinTheGuardian.Severalof theevents
whereitsbestchanceslie –includingthemen’scurlingandthe
four-manbobsleigh–take place onthefinalweekend. Andinany
case, amedal-lessshowingBeijingwouldn’tbesuch abad thing.
“ItmightencourageUKSporttoaskwhatit cando better”–
including restoringTeamGB’s“techadvantage”,whichithas
arguablyrecentlysquandered,and findingways todeepenits
talentpool,as well astackling“the chroniclack ofdiversityin
Britain’sOlympicteams”.Winter Olympics:heavysnowfalldisruptsthe Games
WhenRalfRangnickarrived atManchester
United inNovember, hewas“meant tobe an
upgrade”on OleGunnarSolskjær,saidJosh
WrightinThe Guardian.The club’sprevious boss
had been “questionedand mockedthroughouthis
timein charge”,inpart because of his inexperience
as atop-level manager. Noone,bycontrast, could
accusethe“godfather ofgegenpress”–asthe
63-year-oldRangnickisknown–ofbeinga
lightweight. “Bigthings wereexpected.”Yetthree
months intotheGerman’stenure,it’shardtosee
whatdifferencehehasmade.United’sformhasn’t
noticeablyimproved: they’vewonjust threeof
theirlastseven Premier Leaguegames,and drew 1-1against
bottom-placedBurnley. Theyareconsistentlystrugglingto find
the net: alltheirmainstrikers appearoutofsorts, and Cristiano
Ronaldowasgoallessforsix games–hislongestdroughtfor 13
years.Fornow,United remainwithintouchingdistanceofanall-
importanttop fourplace, butwithfixturesagainst
ManchesterCity,TottenhamandLiverpool
comingup,“Rangnickshouldbeworried”.Onepuzzlingaspect ofUnited’srecent form isthat
theykeepsquanderinghalf-timeleads,said Carl
AnkaonTheAthletic. Inthree oftheir recent
games,theyhave “goneinat half-time leading1-0
and playingwell,onlyto reachthe 65thminute
withthe scoretiedat 1-1”.Thisweeksaw apartial
recovery, with a 2 -0 winagainst Brighton.Butit
seemstheteamcanmaintainRangnick’sfavoured
playingstyle onlyforsolongbeforefatigue and
indiscipline setin.United isaclubwhichconsidersitself “elite
level”, yetiscurrentlyanythingbut,saidPaul Hirst inTheTimes.
Themost expensive privateboxesat OldTrafford,intheSirAlex
Ferguson Stand,costastaggering£210,000 ayear.At whatpoint
do theownersof suchboxesthink:“isthisreallyworthit?”Football:ManUnited’sRangnickrevivalfails to materialise
Golf:beercansstopplay Sportingheadlines
The golf tournamentthat takes
placeeach year at Scottsdale,
Arizona,has long officiallybeen
calledthe WasteManagement
Open,on accountof it being
sponsoredby arubbishdisposal
firm. Last Saturday,it livedup to
its name,said JamesCorriganin
The DailyTelegraph:play had to
be haltedfor 15 minuteswhile
beer cans and bottlesflungby
fans wereclearedfromthe
greenand fairwayat the 16th hole.The torrent
of detrituswas provokedby the sightof Sam
Ryder,the world’s261st-rankedplayer,hitting
ahole in one. “Aces”,thoughrare in golf, do
happenfromtime to time at Scottsdale’s
16th,whichis only 124 yardslong and is
nicknamed“TheColiseum”,on accountof
being“completelyenclosedby grandstands”.The last playerto achievethe
feat, FrancescoMolinari,did
so in 2015.
On Saturday,the 17,000
spectatorscertainlydidn’thold
back whenRyder’swedgeshot
tumbledin after bouncinga
coupleof times,said Stephen
M. Leporein the DailyMail.
Theythrewtheir “drinksin the
air in celebrationand littered
the turf with bottles,cans and
cups”.“Wemighthaveaslight rain delayhere,”
one commentatorquipped.The next day,
astonishingly,the feat was repeatedby
Mexico’sCarlosOrtiz,againpromptingan
“abundanceof tossedbeer cans”,said Bob
Harigin SportsIllustrated.The last time two
playersaced at Scottsdalewas in 1997 –one
beinga21-year-oldTigerWoods.Alexander:makinghistoryRangnick:shouldbeworried?Scottsdale:livinguptoitsname