Sport
Is any sporting event more brutal than the Tour de France?
That great Frenchman the Marquis de Sade would have been justly proud of the Tour de France had he lived…
What took you so long, Seb Coe?
There’s a left-wing internet advocacy group called 38 Degrees which suggests to its followers that all they have to do…
A twist on the American classic: The Sidekick, by Benjamin Markovits, reviewed
On the cover of The Sidekick, just below a broken basketball hoop, a quote from Jonathan Lethem suggests Benjamin Markovits…
Rob Burrow is in a league of his own
What a privilege the other night to see Rob Burrow, the Rugby League legend, win Autobiography of the Year at…
My one to watch at the French Open
The timing of Brendon McCullum’s appointment as England’s Test match coach couldn’t be better for him, or for the matey…
The tragedy of being a QPR fan
Normal families spend the Easter holidays by the seaside or in the Mediterranean. But not the Youngs. My three boys…
What English cricket needs now
You couldn’t ask for a more amiable man than Rob Key to run English cricket: affable, shrewd and universally liked,…
Where Eddie Jones is going wrong
Rugby Union, bloody hell. We’ve got to talk about Eddie, but before that, what about something much cheerier? Just when…
Why do Russian tennis stars need to condemn Putin?
Nigel Huddleston is Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society, hardly the biggest job in government. Yet…
Rest in peace, Shane Warne
Headingly, July 22nd 1993 and the opening day of the fourth test that summer between England and Australia. This, as…
Is football hooliganism on its way back?
Forty-odd years ago a friend, a Liverpool supporter, somewhat unwisely took his girlfriend to Elland Road for a Leeds match…
China breaks new records in the Surveillance Olympics
Never before have the participants in a major sporting event been so closely monitored as in this Winter Olympics in…
Why everyone should be shouting about Dave ‘Rocket’ Ryding
As we digest another Ashes thrashing for England’s cricketers in Australia, and wonder whether the 1966 World Cup victory will…
Some (tentative) reasons to be cheerful in 2022
Someone sent me a job advert recently for a Junior Research Fellowship at Queen’s College, Oxford. It states: ‘The Queen’s…
The year sport and politics became inseparable
Sport and politics have always been intertwined, but this was the year they became joined at the hip. Yorkshire racism;…
England’s shameful betrayal of Pakistan
Any English person with a love of cricket knows life has its ups and downs. But until now we have…
Barça’s golden age and its ruling triumvirate
Even against our better judgment we tend to imbue our sporting heroes with characteristics they may not possess. This can…
The absurdity of tennis players’ toilet breaks
Forgive the personal question, but how long does it take you to, you know, go to the gents, ladies, non-binary?…
I took my wife to a Millwall match – and it didn’t go well
The fighting started just as Caroline turned right on to the Uxbridge Road after emerging from QPR’s stadium on Loftus…
The Olympics have become a celebration of human frailty
Coronis Embracing one’s vulnerability seems to have replaced the higher, faster, stronger ethos of the Olympics. The very frailty that…
Why Russia’s Olympic punishment backfired
The Tokyo Olympics are over and fifth place in the medals table went to the ‘ROC’, the Russian Olympic Committee.…
Should Simone Biles listen to Novak Djokovic?
I’ve always been a Spectator reader, so I’m delighted to be writing a diary about the Olympics from Tokyo. My…
Why do anglers get so hooked?
The other day a friend asked me what a lascar was. Fair enough: it’s not a word you come across…
The hateful Hundred is putting cash before cricket
This slick new tournament will ruin cricket
Yes, they're deplorable – but those football tweets don't prove Britain is racist
There are two certainties whenever England’s football team plays; one that is long-established and the other a recent phenomenon. Players…
