Chris2K

I feel bad for you all, I really do. So... how bout them T-Wolves?

Devastating news. I don't think enough can be said about how fantastic he was in the role of Captain Holt, being able to mix what may be the ultimate straight man reacting to the insanity of Jake/Amy/Gina/Boyle/Scully/Hitchcock in the perfect way, bringing considerable gravitas and emotion when it was necessary whilst representing two oppressed groups and the struggles of a black, gay man being a leader in the NYPD, as well as the surprise moments of breaking out of his usual character which always stand out. "Call me... VELVET. THUNDER." being my personal favourite. In many ways this reminds me of James Avery's death, in terms of the character they played, the legacy they left in the acting world particularly as a "serious" actor becoming a comedic icon, and their death being far too soon.

What a ridiculous time to hold it. This Sunday's schedule at 19:00 is literally just Countryfile and the Antiques Roadshow, I can't see why they can't be moved, and the sports people themselves are going to be just as busy on a Sunday as they are on a Tuesday. Anyway, Broad surely has to win.

For some reason, Logan Sargeant has been confirmed as Williams' second driver for 2024. This means, for the first time I can remember, the first grand prix of next season will likely have the exact same entrants in the exact same teams as the previous season's last race (with the slight caveat of the Alfa/Alpha name changes). (And I've just seen a tweet from Will Buxton confirming it is the first time ever)

Susan and Sue, probably the friendliest team ever, ending the series on equal points is truly amazing.

The Marvels bombs with lowest MCU box office debut This is so frustrating because there are far worse movies, MCU or otherwise, which have taken much more money. No doubt this will be used as ammunition for the "go woke, go broke" brigade when three women, include two women of colour and noted anti-establishment Brie Larson headline a film that struggles. I'm sure the fact that the strike prevented anyone doing any publicity for it will be conveniently ignored.

The Marvels is... Probably shouldn't spoiler that I thought it was really fun, and a definite watch if you want to be entertained for 2 hours.

Ugh, I thought Lando had it for a second there, but then came the Verstappen reality train even when going slower in the middle sector. 2-3 is great for McLaren though.

I think they're favouring Max significantly (and not just when Checo has been his teammate), but I think there's too much money involved for them to actively sabotage their own car. I feel so sorry for Williams, they have been awesome in practice but the second it rains all of their extra speed has just vanished. ... OK, maybe they have sabotaged his car.

Watched Wembanyama play his first summer league game and he looked... fine? My biggest takeaway was how tentative he looked to do anything remotely physical. almost like he'd been told not to risk anything, his rim protection was incredible of course but those doubts over his offensive abilities may not be exaggerations. 2-13 is not a great start for someone who can just raise his arm to dunk it. Also, the "Wemby" name needs to go away immediately. On the plus side, his security team haven't assaulted a worldwide icon for nearly 72 hours now.

This is turning into a very strong endorsement for the benefits of catching the ball.

Ted Kravitz suggested on his most recent notebook that Saudi Arabia wants to hold three races every season, one each in their three biggest cities, so that's something to look forward to for the "27 races in 2027" calendar.

Just a side note - Secret Invasion is really, really good. If people don't like Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn and Olivia Coleman trying to act circles around each other I don't know what people are ever going to like.

There is not a chance I remember that those races are on a Saturday. I appreciate their efforts to group races together geographically to try and cut down on travel, even if it means moving Suzuka away from its traditional spot, but that Miami->Imola->Monaco->Montreal->Barcelona grouping remains bizarre. At least Baku isn't in the middle of it any more.

As much as I love it, it seems an odd decision given the lengths all the cars are going to with not painting carbon fibre to save weight/improve airflow, surely chrome is going to be at odds with that?

The Braveheart remake the world never knew it wanted.

Also there's a difference between doing it as a warning to keep someone in their crease, and doing it, appealing, accepting the wicket and celebrating. But at least Carey can hit the stumps, of course Bairstow missed. The only example I can think of is when England ran out Grant Elliott in an ODI when he collided with Ryan Sidebottom and upheld the appeal when asked by the umpires. I can assure you I was as damning of them then as I am of Australia now. And don't get me started on the numerous times India have done something like this.

With Stokes out the result is all but confirmed, so now we just wait for what happens after the game is finished...

The track limit penalties are insane. It's such a short lap that a driver could do the 3 track limit errors on the same corner to get a penalty before the system has even acknowledged the first one. If it's not an instant decision then the punishment has to be reduced.

I would argue the de Grandhomme incident was wildly different, mainly because de Grandhomme was clearly setting off for a run (most likely to distract the umpire from the LBW appeal) and was trying to get back into his crease after the run was turned down. Plus the ball had hit him and went to Pope in the slips, not straight through to the keeper. I don't think there's anything you can legislate to prevent it, Bairstow is certainly at fault, but in a time where the lawmakers are desperately trying to speed the game up with over rates at a record low, forcing every over to end with a unanimous acceptance between both teams that the ball is dead is going to make it worse.

It's dozy from Bairstow and out in the laws of the game, the issue is that there is no definitive "the ball is dead" moment, and there is a fair assumption that when the ball has gone through to the wicket-keeper off a fast bowler, that's the end of the delivery, or in this case, the end of the over.

I think it is. I don't think this is being tried in the first over of the first innings. When you have a chance of winning when a team is chasing, and both wickets and time become much more pressured factors, you try to get wickets any way you can. All that said, anyone in the Long Room making comments to the Australians as they walk past need to get thrown out as well. Simply not clapping as they walked past made a powerful enough statement.

Very sad to hear about van 't Hoff's death, but to defend Spa, the accident took place on the Kemmel straight in conditions that there was absolutely no reason to be racing in, let alone a one lap shoot-out with all the cars bunched together. People can blame Spa if they want, but this could have happened at any track if decisions like that get made. Sorry to change the subject so swiftly, but the sprint yesterday was very entertaining. The decision to make it a separate entity from the race has made everyone more interested in racing and has made the concept far more worthwhile.

Garbage really. Yes he was out of his ground and yes the ball wasn't officially dead, but not even the most pathetic of village sides try to get a wicket that way. There's no big sign saying when the ball is or isn't live, you have to make an assumption that when the ball is in the wicket-keeper's hands that there's not going to be a stumping attempt off a fast bowler. It's not like Australia weren't likely to win anyway. Stokes is Stokes, but not even he can score 230 by himself. This is why having someone like Woakes or Overton at number 8 is a necessity.

The Spurs seem to be emerging as a potential landing spot, but I don't know what they could possibly give to the Blazers other than future 1st rounders. Given his existing relationship with Butler and Adebayo surely the Heat is the only likely option.