Sports Burst: Can Golf Make America Great Again?
Team USA takes on Old World, more breadcrumbs from Wenger and a setback for Asensio. 5 huge stories in a trail of disasters.
By Tim Stannard
1) Team USA looks to reverse Ryder Cup disasters
Golf. I love it. I truly do. People say I may be the biggest fan in the world.
Some of Sports Burst’s best friends are golfers. I own golf clubs. People love them. I let anyone in to play. Even Miss Universe. I don’t get enough credit for that.
The Ryder Cup starts today. It’s huge. I love golf. Did I tell you some of my best friends are golfers? Jack Nicklaus. What a guy. He loves me. Designed my dishwasher. People tell me I could have been as good as him. I built a wonderful golf club in Scotland. It’s huge. People love it.
But recently the USA golf team in the Ryder Cup has been a disaster. A. True. Disaster. The team has only won once under the past two presidents. Disasters both of them. They won’t win this weekend either. But they will be bored of winning under the leadership of Sports Burst. I have golf clubs. Jack Nicklaus? He loves me…
2) Wenger open to idea of being Emperor of England
Arsene Wenger trickled more warm beer into the English manager class by being even more open to the idea of running the country's national team. "One day if I'm free, why not!" speaking on Friday ahead of Arsenal's next EPL clash. Wenger is currently celebrating 20-years in charge of Arsenal but is out of contract with the London club at the end of the season.
While Arsene Wenger looks like carrying on in the management game until he is into his second century, Jurgen Klopp is set to call it quits in 11 years’ time when the Liverpool boss turns 60. “If Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool turn out to be the only three clubs I have coached at the end my career, at least it has been with great clubs,” parped the ever cheerful German.
3) Asensio takes knock with Spain demotion
Oh the fickle hand of football fate. A month ago, Marco Asensio was the rising star of Spanish football, a hit at Real Madrid and in the county's national team. But now the midfielder has been demoted to Spain's U-21 with coach Julen Lopetegui calling up Isco and the on-fire Jose Callejon to the latest Spain squad, a deserved reward for a footballer that has been flying with Napoli this season.
4) More coaches called into question in corruption sting
Another coach has been named in the Daily Telegraph corruption claims in England that claimed job of national team manager, Sam Allardyce, this week. Eric Black, currently the assistant at EPL outfit Southampton and temporary manager at Aston Villa last season, allegedly told undercover reporters how to bribe officials at other clubs in transfer dealings.
Meanwhile, Championship club, QPR, say that they cannot complete an investigation into their own manager, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was also caught up in the newspaper sting. In a statement QPR say they are waiting for full disclosure from the Daily Telegraph before moving forward.
5) Fun day Friday gets underway on beIN SPORTS
It may not have escaped people’s attentions but it is Friday. Woo hoo! And that means even more football, a sport the world has been starved of for about 18 hours. The good people of beIN SPORTS are serving up Ligue Un fare with Rennes hosting Guingamp. Over on our happy-go-lucky Spanish sister service, Real Sociedad against Betis is popping up, a clash that could be a bit of a goalfest. Both are at 2:45PT ET / 11:45AM PT.
If something more rugged is more palatable then catch the rugby Pro 12 clash between reigning champions, Connacht and Edinburgh. Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for all the best highlights and the thoughts of Christian Vieri on the hot issues of the day. Then it’s the Locker Room straight after where our Italian Stallion will join the rest of the gang.
WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?
The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. SB is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.
