Well, that was a crackin’ week, starting Monday, as weeks often do, with a flick over to Newsnight to listen to the latest pre-too-close-to-call-election forecasts about a hung parliament, but instead, forgetting it was a bank holiday, being greeted by: snooker.
(At the time of tuning in, the yellow had been sunk without a trace, the reds were all over the place and the blue was holding its position quite steadily, but it was a largely overlooked omen by the polling companies).
It’s a while since most of us went snooker loopy so the temptation was to flick away again – but Steve Davis insisted we should back away from the remote because the final between Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy was interesting.
And you know what? It was too. Especially that 31st frame during which a snookered Murphy failed to hit the yellow eight times.
Murphy, though, was exceptional, but Bingham . . . it called to mind that quote from Atlético Madrid’s Arda Turan: “Messi or Ronaldo best player in the world? In the world, I would say Ronaldo. Messi is from another planet.”
Bingham was extraterrestrial, then, but he still didn’t make Eamon Dunphy’s pantheon of greats come Thursday when he likened Messi’s greatness, after he did his supernatural thing against Bayern, to that of “the Brian O’Driscolls, the Tony McCoys, the Ruby Walshes, the Henry Shefflins”.
Mind you, the BOD person doesn’t think he’s half as great as The Dunph does. Apart from when Ronan O’Gara relegated him, with an evil chuckle, to the bench, he’d sat proudly atop the Second Captains’ Good Wall all through this series.
Would he rise above ROG’s provocation and graciously leave him on the Good Wall when he had his turn last week?
‘Who are ya dumpin’, BOD?’
“It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? ROG has got to go.”
That was a no, then.
When ROG appears next it’s unlikely bookies will take bets on who he’ll remove. This one could run and run.
Any way, BOD replaced ROG with The Gooch – “He has two feet that anyone would die for” – and replaced himself at the top with Pádraig Harrington. He still left a winner, though, beating Murph in the quiz, somewhat aided by the topic, ‘The Life and Times of Brian O’Driscoll’. Eg “What did Brian O’Driscoll have for breakfast this morning?”
Murph, frankly, was entitled to feel aggrieved, as was Keith Earls for his inclusion in the ‘Boring Irish Sporting Tweets with Roddy Collins’ slot. “Nothing worse than when all the spoons are in the dishwasher,” isn’t boring, it’s gospel.
Best of all, though, were clips of a nine-year-old Rory McIlroy slugging it out with Philip Walton, the latter so impressed he said to the little fella: “You’re gonna grow in to a big fella and a great golfer.” Bless.
Christina McMahon didn't get quite the same encouragement for her interest in kickboxing as a young wan. "My Mum sent me to ballet dancing," she chuckled on The Saturday Night Show.
The Monaghan woman persisted, becoming a kickboxing world champion at 32, having taken up boxing to sharpen her skills. She then found she was actually handy at boxing – but had to give up the amateur game once she hit 35.
Nothing for it but to turn pro. And now? WBC World bantamweight champion after beating Catherine Phiri in her own backyard of Zambia – aged 40. With “10 million” Zambians watching on their tellies.
“They thought I wouldn’t make the third round – “she’s 40, she’ll be dead!,” she laughed. “By the sixth round they were saying: “The 40-year -old is still here!” Ten rounds later and I was world champion. Phiri will be 23 in June, I’ll be 41 in June, so . . .,” she grinned. A fine wine.
By all accounts, McMahon earned $19,000. Floyd Mayweather picked up $180 million for his recent win. Just sayin’. All they have in common, then, is that they beat up women.
