Gallery: Roll up, roll up for the very best of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony in pictures …
Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the sixth end and Team GB have extended their lead over Canada to 7-2. Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat are quite literally sweeping all before them in the round robin stages of this comepetition and heading for their sixth consecutive victory.
Despite Aston Villa’s twin-engine strike force being linked with moves elsewhere just over a year ago, Unai Emery was dreaming of a dynasty. “Hopefully we can be together with Ollie Watkins and Jhon Durán for 10 years,” he told reporters with the optimistic tone of a man who hadn’t yet checked the young Colombian’s WhatsApp status. “Maybe 12 years, maybe 15!” Despite interest at the time from Arsenal, Watkins remains at Villa but his considerably younger former teammate has just forced a move to his third club in three different time zones since leaving Birmingham. Of course, it’s no secret that he has form in the itchy feet department, as Villa fans who remember his ill-advised crossed-arms ‘Irons’ pose on a live Social Media Disgrace feed before a move to West Ham that never materialised will attest.
Football Daily gave me a great idea (imagine that!) in yesterday’s Quote of the Day. In every article and letter that you publish, let’s declare the main participant’s age, as of James Milner’s top-flight debut in 2002. I feel like I could learn a lot about Noble Francis and the other regulars like this” – Mike Wilner (Milner +36).
I was at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco last weekend for the Manet & Morisot exhibition when I saw a fellow museum-goer wearing a Manchester City scarf, but looking distinguished otherwise. I was tempted to ask him what he was doing there because the Monet exhibition isn’t until next month” – Peter Oh.
Our writers had the latest news on a day when Swindon Town’s manager admitted that watching The Terminator had given him a fear of computers
Quiz of the week: I guessed my way to a rather decent 12/16.
Virgil van Dijk has hit out at ex-pro pundits in an interview with, er, Gary Neville, ahead of Sky’s broadcast of Liverpool v Manchester City.
For me personally, I can deal with it, but I’m a bit worried for the next generation. I feel like the ex-top players have a responsibility to the new generation. Criticism is absolutely normal and part of the game, and I think it should stay that way. But sometimes criticism also goes into being clickbait, saying things to provoke things, and without thinking about the repercussions for a mental side of players, and especially the younger generation, who are constantly on social media.
Given their near misses in recent seasons, it is entirely understandable that most sentient Arsenal fans are not prepared to publicly entertain the notion that their team will almost certainly win the Premier League this season. While they’re all lying in bed at night secretly fantasising about Martin Ødegaard’s trophy lift, most remain too scarred by ridicule over perceived “bottle jobs” to confidently state that as far as the title is concerned, nothing can possibly go wrong. While they have gladly accepted Mikel Arteta’s invitation to jump on the fun boat, all are wearing life preservers. Quite what these same Arsenal fans make of various pundits blithely weighing up their chances of winning an unprecedented quadruple is anyone’s guess, but since they booked their place in the Fizzy Cup final, the external chatter has begun. Having won the square root of eff all in over five years, assorted experts are seriously suggesting Arsenal – Arsenal! – could win four shiny pots in the next four months.
I have to feel sorry for the Ipswich fans who made plans to visit Fratton Park last night with the game being called off for the second time (frozen pitch previously, now waterlogged). Not sure how we are going to stop the next rearrangement if it doesn’t suit our knack-list but I hear floodlights do lose power sometimes” – Ben North (and no other devious Pompey fans).
No disrespect to anyone – least of all Matt Atkinson – but comparing Timo Werner to the Yorkshire Stakhanovite that is James Milner (Monday’s Football Daily letters) is like comparing a pony to a thoroughbred” – Kev McCready.
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