Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Inside Sport

Bash To The End And just like that, the Big Bash League ends like the flash of its ubiquitous flame cannons. We’re still not quite sure what to make of the BBL as a competitive spectacle – not enough games to be determinative? Or does it end just right, not wearing out its welcome? Either way, we can’t help but point out our favourite BBL fact: no team that has topped the table entering the knockout games has gone on to win the premiership over the league’s five previous seasons. We wish the best of intentions to the teams spinning the roulette wheel in the BBL and WBBL finals (Jan 24-25 and 28). And we recommend turning to page 44 and reading our case for what needs to change with…

In the realms of sporting achievement, cycling’s Hour record is an odd one – closer to climbing a mountain, or even verging on performance art. It’s done, because it can be. The Hour has a lineage that goes back to perhaps the greatest cyclist of all, Eddy Merckx, and its story can’t be told without mentioning the likes of Graham Obree, the eccentric Scot who built his own bikes out of washing-machine parts and rode in weird positions. After a proliferation of hour marks achieved with varying techniques and technologies, cycling’s governing body, the UCI, instituted in 2014 a set of rules for attempts at the record. One of the first was veteran Jens Voigt. Rohan Dennis heard about it, and as he puts it, his mouth got him in…

Canberra’s Jackson Frew may have only just finished school, but he is already a seasoned mountain-biker, having spent the past two years touring the country and the world on the junior circuit. The 18-year-old makes the jump to the elite men’s tour in 2017 and is hell-bent on transferring his masterful skills, which earned him a podium finish in the junior series in 2015, to the big league. The teen’s rise in the sport has been quick, with many in the know touting him as a potential future world champion. Frew is a former BMX rider who attended several junior world championships across the globe. And it was on one of these trips he fell in love with mountain-biking. Aged nine and competing in a junior world title race in…

Do you make the same New Year’s resolution every year to move more, stress less or lose weight? Around half of us make resolutions come January 1, but, alas, statistics show there is an 88 percent failure rate. For a lot of the resolutions we make, we fail to create a realistic plan for. And it’s important to understand that changing habits takes time. While you may want to see instant results, research has shown that getting into new habits can take up to a year. So if you’ve already strayed from your New Year health or fitness goals, keep this in mind – after a pig-out (we’re looking at you, Christmas), it’s easy to throw your hands in the air and succumb to poor food choices, but this only…

Shane Van Gisbergen arrived at the Sydney 500 with a 191-point Supercars series lead. The final weekend of racing for the 2016 season doubled as the farewell to Olympic Park for Supercars after an eight-year stint. But remarkably, Van Gisbergen was able to fight his way back to third; in doing so he became the first Kiwi since Jim Richards in 1991 to win Australia’s domestic title. Whincup was able to hold his lead for another brilliant win. Veteran and multiple-time series champ Jamie Whincup grabbed the lead at the start of the first of the 250km-long hit outs from Kiwis Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin. Van Gisbergen’s championship dream took an early battering when he was hit with a pitlane penalty which threw the 27-year-old back to 22nd spot.…

JANUARY Surfing: A super-relaxed Mick Fanning says he’s enjoying his retirement from the WSL circuit and has never been happier. Fanning explains he’s content to partake in vastly less-dangerous pursuits these days, having recently taken up BASE jumping and crocodile wrestling. Cricket: Channel Ten’s coverage of the BBL draws record viewing audiences and places pressure on competitor Channel Nine. Rumours begin to circulate of disharmony among the members of the Nine commentary team, with a series of factions and cliques having recently emerged, coinciding with the appointment of Michael Clarke (below). FEBRUARY Tennis: Young gun Nick Kyrgios misses the Rotterdam ATP tournament in order to play in a celebrity basketball game at NBA All-Star weekend. Fans are taken aback when Kyrgios appears to lose interest in the match after passing…

We’re closing in on our list of finalists for The Clubbies, Inside Sport’s community sport awards co-presented with the Confederation of Australian Sport and our partner Polar. This is the second year of The Clubbies, and in response to the character of last year’s entries, we decided to refine our award categories to better acknowledge the best in our sporting grassroots. We have two new award categories in 2017: best sport association and best masters performance. The sport association award is intended to recognise those groups that don’t quite fit the definition of a club, yet are crucial in providing our recreational sportspeople a place to play. We’re looking for associations or leagues that have helped to upgrade facilities in their area, or have perhaps started a charity initiative that…

MENTALITY About the best example of a late bloomer in women’s tennis, Kerber was a well-regarded grinder best known for reaching semis at the US Open in 2011 and Wimbledon in 2012. But last year, at 28, the German had her breakout moment, winning a pair of Slams and rising to the top of the rankings. Kerber credited the counsel of her idol, Steffi Graf, for convincing her to play a more aggressive, less inhibited style. Having found a balance with her strong, defensive tennis, Kerber became the one to beat on the circuit in 2016. LEFTY Kerber is right-handed in everything ... except tennis. It goes part of the way to explaining her awkward-looking forehand, notable for its short backswing, and now almost as notable for its surprising effectiveness…

This is a tale of ACT Brumbies, the Canberra-based franchise that’s been Australia’s best Super Rugby side since the competition began in 1996. These pioneers of the fun-running rugby movement, these bandits in blue-white-and-gold, these originals, have been, and continue to be, the most successful and entertaining rugby side in the land. The Brumbies own a proud and storied history. This is not that story. This is a tale of Brumbies rugby at the pointy, money end. It’s about property deals, lobbyists, middlemen, politics, brinkmanship, injunctions, secret meetings, the old mates’ act, and flapping lips pursed shut by supreme court suppression orders. There’s fear and loathing, high angst, many rumours and all sorts of vexed, sexy stuff. It’s also a tale of the disconnect between community rugby with the professional…

Back in 2003, year-11 student Kimberlee Green was in the middle of a regular PE lesson at St Patrick’s College, Sutherland. Midway through the class, a message was delivered to her teacher. There was a phone call for Ms Green at the front office, an important one the likeable Mr Redrup thought she should take. On the other end of the line was then-coach of the Sydney Swifts, Julie Fitzgerald, with an invite to be part her team’s Commonwealth Bank Trophy ambitions going forward. “Jules has given me the opportunity to live a life that I’d never thought I’d ever be able to live,” Green ponders today for Inside Sport. “To this day I’m still excited and happy that she actually gave me that phone call and believed enough in…

…AND ACTION! The new Sony 4K Action Cam (FDR-X3000) is a must-have gadget for any sports-lover. Capture POV footage no matter the terrain or activity thanks to 4K high-quality recording capabilities and innovative image-stabilisation technology. The new Action Cam is splash-proof and freeze-proof and comes complete with GPS, Wi-Fi and underwater housing. To further enhance the shooting experience, the Action Cam can also be purchased with the Live-Review Remote, or accessories such as handlebar and helmet mount. Sony FDR-X3000: SRP $649. Sony FDR-X300 with the Live-View Remote: SRP $899. Visit www.sony.com.au for more info. CAUGHT SHORT Look the part this summer with Classic’s new collection of National Rugby League Supporter Shorts. They’re available in all 16 NRL teams, making them perfect for any fan regardless of club persuasion. RRPs: Adults…

1 Formula One championship in hand, a content Nico Rosberg called it quits. His decision immediately touched off speculation about who would get the second seat at Mercedes – and how Lewis Hamilton would feel about it all ... 2 In an overdue move, UFC fighters formed a union ... and called it the MMAAA. UFC boss Dana White issued fighting words about the motivation of one of its leaders, Bjorn Rebney: “The only thing I need to know is that the biggest scumbag in the history of combat sports is involved in the thing.” 3 The maker of Australian cricket’s baggy green cap is changing for first time in more than half a century. Albion lost the contract to Kookaburra, which will keep the manufacturing of the iconic Test…

Sydney 7s 1 To situate the Sydney 7s extravaganza in the grand scheme, the event will be the fourth on the HSBC Sevens World Series schedule, which was expanded from nine to ten tournaments last year. The Sydney 7s will be held across February 3-5, with the various squads fortunate enough to only have to traverse the ditch after contesting the Wellington 7s the previous weekend. This year’s Sevens World Series is the 18th, with the concept having kicked off back in 1999. 2 The Australian Rugby Union wanted to raise the “house full” sign for its inaugural Sydney 7s at Allianz Stadium last year, and it wasn’t left disappointed. The weekend festival of rugby attracted an unprecedented response from fans, with all reserved and general admission seating being snapped…

It was nearing 2am in New York when Stan Wawrinka, comfy in a grey hoodie, sat down for his post-match presser at the US Open. He’d just defeated former winner Juan Martin del Potro in a thrilling quarter-final, cracking 53 winners. This match confirmed Wawrinka was on track for what would be his third major in three years. You might have expected a “Well done” to preface the first question. Instead, Wawrinka got a “Why bother?” “I wonder what motivates you,” lobbed a European journalist, playing devil’s advocate at the ungodly hour. “You won two Slams, you are very rich, you’ll never catch Federer, Nadal, Djokovic [in] number of trophies. So frankly, I think that one more Slam will not change much.” “So what should I do?” shot back Wawrinka.…

EVEN as he ascends the incline of cycling’s elite, when Rohan Dennis returns home, he’s just another bloody bike rider slowing down traffic. He’s back in his native Adelaide, enjoying actual downtime after a long, vexing season. But put out one tweet after yet another bad encounter with a motorist – Dennis lamented that he’d been abused more by Adelaide drivers in a day than he had all year in Europe – and he finds himself at the flashpoint of the nation’s road culture wars. A local paper gravely intones that Dennis is contemplating never riding in his homeland again. The garrulous 26-year-old lets out a self-deprecating laugh. Speak with Dennis for any length of time, and you’ll hear it a lot. He’s developed a reputation as a hothead, but…

“YOUR MAJESTY, JOIN US FOR A FROTHIE IN THE ROOMS LATER TODAY. BEST LEAVE THE HAT BEHIND, AS THE BOYS MAY TRY AND DRINK OUT OF IT!” DECEMBER EDITION WINNER: Scott Andrews Canterbury-Bankstown skipper Terry Lamb got up close and personal with the then-ultimate prize in rugby league – the Winfield Cup – after the ARL grand final of 1995. “Baa” Lamb and his Bulldogs toppled Manly’s Sea-Eagles at the SFS that day, so he needn’t exactly have been kissing the trophy for good luck Blarney Stone-style ... If you can suggest a funny caption to go with this photo, you’ll be in the running to win a $150 CANTERBURY GIFT VOUCHER to enjoy shopping at your nearest Canterbury store or online at Canterbury.com.au. (Email your entries to iscomps@insidesport.com.au, or…

Come in your favourite costumes. Come happy. Come in your team colours. Rugby fans looking for a unique and colourful Sevens experience should book their tickets now for the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s, happening on April 15 and 16. The Singapore 7s tournament is played under the world’s largest free-spanning dome at the iconic National Stadium. Fans can enjoy Rugby 7s, come rain or shine, from the comfort of air-cooled seats or grab a beer and capture selfies with fellow fans (many in fancy dress) without missing any of the action. Singapore is the only Southeast Asian stop on the ten-leg HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and is supported by Sport Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board. Fans around the world can expect an integrated 7s experience in Singapore. Besides…