Osman Samiuddin looks back on the best things to happen in sport this week.
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1. Best tweet: Dale Steyn
“Any good fishing spots in Glamorgan…?” This was Dale Steyn and though he loves fishing, it was actually a hint that he might turn out for Glamorgan in the T20 Blast. That would annoy Cricket South Africa (CSA) no end who want him to rest ahead of their Test season. They have not picked him for an ODI tri-series for that purpose. But Steyn has only played seven matches all year. He does not need a rest, which is the real message of that tweet.
2. Most retro: IOC's doping drive
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that 31 athletes from 12 countries might be banned from the Rio Olympics for retrospective testing on urine samples from the 2008 Beijing Games. That number may rise as the results of 250 more retrospective tests from the 2012 London Games are announced later this month. And Russia might be in the deepest strife; their participation at Rio is already endangered and more athletes are expected in this list of 31. Expect the fallout to go beyond sport.
3. Best new mark: Gonzalo Higuain
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been breaking goalscoring records for fun in recent years. But the toughest, proudest one was set by Gonzalo Higuan on the last day of Serie A, traditionally a low-scoring league. The Swede Gunnar Nordahl scored 35 goals for AC Milan in the 1949/50 season and that record stood untouched till this season. Higuain scored a hat-trick in the final game to end on 36 goals of a quite stupendous season.
4. Best crossover: Jurgen Klopp at golf
To motivate his players ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup, European captain Darren Clarke will seek out advice from Liverpool Jurgen Klopp. At the last tournament, then captain Paul McGinley had asked Alex Ferguson to speak to his side. Clarke is the other kind of Reds fan so Klopp was a natural target. Quite what this most hyperactive coach can offer to this most sedate sport, only time will tell.
5. Best punch: Rougned Odor
Amir Khan, recipient of one from Canelo Alvarez, might argue with this one, but we believe no punch this week was better than the right delivered by Texas Rangers infielder Rougned Odor to the jaw of Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. It was in retaliation for what Odor thought was a hard slide by Bautista. It turned into a mass brawl that needed 10 minutes to resolve. Odor was banned for eight games and fined too, but said he had no regrets.
