Sports

Marathon running against the numbers

Written by Jack Miles on 21 April 2011.

On Sunday 17th April Emmanuel Mutai broke the London Marathon course record by coming home in a time of 2:04:40. This was less than a minute short of Haile Gebrselassie’s current world record of 2:03:59, but 4min 41secs short of a much talked about barrier in the world of marathon running – the magic sub 2 hour marathon. A hot topic in the running world; runners, commentators, and even some statisticians, are asking if/when will this barrier be breached?

Naughty Millwall – but are they the worst behaved?

Written by Matthew Revie on 22 February 2011.

On Saturday 19th February a soccer game between Millwall and Middlesbrough was almost cancelled due to crowd trouble. While the events must not be condoned, it is worth remembering that this is nothing compared to some of the scenes seen in English football during the 1980s where deaths were extremely rare, but not uncommon. The introduction of all-seater stadia after the Hillsborough disaster is largely seen as contributing towards the reduction of football violence. However, in recent years another tactic has been used by the police – banning orders. A football banning order is a preventative measure designed to stop potential troublemakers from attending football matches and can last between three and ten years.

41 goals in a day?! How unusual was last Saturday's football?

Written by Michael Wallace on 08 February 2011.

Whilst American eyes were mainly turned towards the Super Bowl this weekend, the English Premier League produced one of the most extraordinary days of (association) football, or soccer, in domestic history. On Saturday 41 goals were scored across just 8 matches, with Newcastle's spectacular four goal comeback against Arsenal the more-than-worthy highlight.