Osman Samiuddin looks back at the week that was in sport, and picks the best, the worst, and the nastiest from the past seven days.
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Best throw
Cristiano Ronaldo (a regular in this column you may have noticed) has not had a great time at the Euros. On the field, Portugal have struggled to score or win, culminating in Ronaldo's missed penalty against Austria. Off it, the pressure is telling. While out walking near the team hotel in Lyon, a reporter approached Ronaldo. Without missing a beat, Ronaldo yanked the microphone and threw it into the lake. Unlike his free-kicks or penalties, he did not miss. Watch the video here.
Nastiest spat
It is threatening to overshadow the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio. But the fight between the athletics governing body, the IAAF, and Russian sport authorities shows no signs of abating. Last week the IAAF upheld its ban on Russian athletes taking part in Rio because they cannot be sure who is not tainted. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reinforced that decision; Russia will not boycott the Olympics but is preparing legal action and it could easily spill over with political ramifications.
Biggest mismatch
The US had at least a decent run to show for it, progressing to the last four of the Copa America. But on Wednesday in Houston, they learnt just how far they are from the summit as Lionel Messi and Argentina handed them a 4-0 shellacking. The US did not manage a single shot, on or off target. Messi scored one (from a free-kick, Cristiano) to become his country’s leading scorer, set up two others and generally helped dominate a game from first whistle to the very last.
Best comeback
At 3-1 down in the finals, to a team building the NBA’s new great dynasty, who woulda thunk this? LeBron James for one, and the rest of his teammates. When the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 of this season’s finals, it was the first time a team had overturned that deficit in the finals. It was Cleveland’s first championship in 52 years. James was the decisive force, a triple-double capping of a series that has enforced his claims to be the greatest player in NBA history.
Best finish
We see more sixes than ever before in cricket but there is still something special about one hit off the last ball of the match. It does not happen all that often, even less in stealing a result. Liam Plunkett’s six off Nuwan Pradeep at Trent Bridge helped England secure a tie in their first ODI. Pradeep missed his yorker by inches though it was enough for Plunkett to lift it over long-off: it meant England’s last pair had made 29 off the last two overs.
