Things are heating up as the NFL season rushes past the halfway mark. Our NFL correspondent Tea Manuel looks at ten key match ups for the weekend and the ten players you need to watch. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS vs. WASHINGTON REDSKINS Here’s a little stat to start this weeks piece: if the Patriots beat Washington … Read more
A club sandwich has become the latest thing to threaten Rory McIlroy’s run in the Race to Dubai, writes Simon Plumb. You may think the lifestyle of a top golf professional is all private jets and champagne. But while Jordan Spieth has been basking in the spotlight of stardom, it’s been a bit of a … Read more
Our Premier League heroes have had a busy week, toiling away in the Champions League or logging serious Call of Duty hours on the Xbox. Ahead of the weekend’s games, headlined by a big juicy North London derby, here is the week’s best and bleakest Premier League Twitter activity. Premier League Creative Insult of the … Read more
This week the Men in Blazers discuss the mid-table clash between Liverpool and Chelsea. Are Rog and Davo #teamJose or #teamCesc in the Chelsea fiasco? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P3DVrTNNj0&feature=youtu.be?utm_source=thespinoff&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=partnership With a quarter of the season gone, Premier League Pass are offering a quarter off the price. To claim your 25% discount, simply sign up as usual to a … Read more
Hundreds of handwritten signs were hoisted high and proud around Victoria Park at lunchtime to praise, thank, and welcome home the world’s best men’s rugby team, Richie & The Boys. Most were direct and to the point. “Go the All Blacks,” “Well done boys,” “I LOVE THE ALL BLACKS.” Others seemed a little needy – … Read more
Josh Davis has assessed every one of the NBA’s 30 teams, so you can a pick a franchise to ride from here to eternity. It’s happened again. The NBA season has once again caught you by surprise. Every year you promise yourself you’ll pick a team, sign up to League Pass and waste away otherwise … Read more
A game of rugby union was played in London today, during which the greatest first five eighth in the history of the game finally got his World Cup moment. Dan Carter, a man who cried in the stands at Millennium Stadium in 2007, and who watched Stephen Donald win a World Cup in 2011, lined … Read more
Arguing with my Dad is a new occasional column which features Greg Bruce in conversation with his father about sports. This first instalment covers the RWC final… Dad answered his phone and I asked how his morning was going. “Yes, yes,” he said, “I got showered and shaved and now I’m on the last of … Read more
A relatively quiet week for our Premier League heroes, with only a smattering of Capital One Cup matches standing in the way of some good solid tweeting. Ahead of the weekend’s intriguing round of games – predictions: Newcastle v Stoke a 7-goal thriller; Chelsea v Liverpool a 0-0 draw – let’s try and divine some … Read more
If you are reading this, it isn’t too late. It isn’t too late to disrobe from your disloyal, multi coloured garb. Fanciful? Yes. Patriotic? Not nearly enough. If you are wearing anything that isn’t a shade of black right now, I suggest avoiding eye contact with everyone on the street. Your laissez faire attitude to … Read more
Lydia Ko is making it rain. The 18-year-old’s first two years as professional are have netted one hell of a return. How much did you earn today? In fact, how much did you earn in the last two years? Congratulations! But try this on for size: In less than two, full-time seasons on the LPGA … Read more
This week Men In Blazers Rog and Davo wonder if anyone in New Zealand is paying attention to football and get a bit carried away over the All Blacks themselves. https://youtu.be/ypYTsS_-w78/?utm_source=thespinoff&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=partnership Watch all this weekend’s Premier League action live and on demand at Premier League Pass.
In an attempt to bring good luck to our rugby team, Calum Henderson spent an entire day in full brand immersion: surviving on and consuming only officially licensed All Blacks’ products. This post was first published in October 2015 There once was a time when I cared deeply about the All Blacks. I was 10, … Read more
An NPC debutant at the ripe old age of 21. A schoolboy and club career spent playing at halfback and first-five. Just one international appearance before turning 25. Shunted to wing or centre to occupy a regular Test berth as a 27-year-old. It’s not exactly the fact-file you’d expect to find for a player regarded … Read more
You can’t get rid of the Phoenix. They’re named the Phoenix, for goodness’ sake. Is the Phoenix not the ultimate symbol of regeneration and rebirth and renewal? How can the Wellington club that rose from the ashes of Auckland’s attempts on dodgy property developer cash be handed a death sentence by the FFA? Do they … Read more
There are turbulent times ahead as we enter the five stages of hysteria leading up to the Rugby World Cup final, writes Finlay Macdonald. It began immediately after Australia’s mildly convincing win over Argentina in the second semi-final, with a classic bit of clickbait: “Five reasons to fear the Wallabies”. The article was really just … Read more
The All Blacks kicked themselves to the Rugby World Cup Final with a masterclass of tactics and the effectiveness of the clever kick. In the end, it was a matter of control – but in the middle this was less a test match than an organised and carelessly sanctioned game of chicken in which the combatants, blinded by … Read more
For the past few years, Israel Adesanya has been on an unstoppable tear through combat sports, racking up titles across Australasia and the stadiums of China. Don Rowe sits down for breakfast with the Stylebender ahead of his third King in the Ring elimination tournament next weekend. With more than 40 professional kickboxing wins, two King in … Read more
The All Blacks quarterfinal victory over the French was the most dominant in Rugby World Cup finals history, a 62-13 hammering that left the world in awe. All it took, says Scotty Stevenson, was a re-imagining of rugby’s geometric boundaries. The Springboks need only to watch the opening ninety seconds of the All Blacks in their quarterfinal against … Read more
A happy week on Premier League Twitter, thanks to everyone doing reasonably well in Europe for once, with Arsenal’s 2-0 triumph over Bayern Munich a definite highlight. Looking ahead to the weekend’s round of games, which features a tantalising Manchester derby and struggling Chelsea vs high-riding West Ham, let’s first check what’s been happening on the … Read more
The Alternative Commentary Collective return for an unprecedented fifth week of Champagne Rugby, previewing the weekend’s big semi with what could be the most dangerous prediction mechanism yet. A member of the public finally agrees to climb inside the social media testicle, and poses one of the best questions ever posed to the collective: who … Read more
There may be a spot in a Rugby World Cup final at stake, but if you thought you were going to get anything other than mutual respect out of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer, you must be incredibly disappointed with the build up to this weekend’s semifinal. We’re not disappointed. We … Read more
We thought about doing a Rugby World Cup drinking game, but, let’s face it, that would be kind of seedy for games that kick off at 4am and 8am. So instead, in a breakfast mood, The Spinoff presents a (Non) Drinking Game, in which the penalties involve the consumption of dry breakfast cereal biscuits (such … Read more
Getting ready for the Quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup? Feeling a little anxious about your team’s chances? Never let it be said that the team at The Spinoff Sports aren’t here to help heighten the tension or assuage the anxiety. Here we present a factual analysis of the quarterfinals, so you don’t have to bother. Firstly, Here … Read more
From an opening day crisis to a thrilling finale, the Presidents Cup, says Simon Plumb, may have just rediscovered its global relevance. Yes, the International team lost (again). Yes, a weekend hacker would have holed more putts than Adam Scott. But after arguably the best Presidents Cup ever has the event turned its biggest corner? … Read more
The Alternative Commentary Collective are chomping at the bit for the All Blacks’ quarter final showdown with France this Sunday, devising a groundbreaking new prediction mechanism for the event after Drunk Man Up A Ladder failed last week. The team have breaking footage of a rolling maul chewing up some serious hard yards across the … Read more
Intrepid Rugby World Cup Correspondent Alexander Bisley talks about not fighting back, Welsh Journalists and Dark Satanic Mills. “I ain’t doin’ nothin’,” the shaven-headed mugger said as he relieved me of the 47 pounds worth of notes and shrapnel in my wallet. I was being mugged by an evil Ali G. “Give me that money,” … Read more
When time was called on Corey Flynn’s Crusaders career, you could have forgiven him for hanging up the boots. Flynn had bridged two generations in red and black, taking over from Mark Hammett and handing over to Codie Taylor and Ben Funnell. Today, he is still in red and black, and has travelled from rugby … Read more
It’s quarterfinal time at the Rugby World Cup so who will be in charge of the first of the knock out matches at the 2015 edition? The Spinoff Sports reveals the likely contenders for this weekend’s whistling action. 1. Wayne Barnes, England Undoubtedly one of the world’s leading referees, though Barnes remains less than popular … Read more