The Belgians

I'm feeling smug: I tipped Kim Clijsters for the top 5 & to be a Slam contender in my 18 Aug blog. I never expected her to win the US Open, but who did, in only her third comeback tournament ? I was also musing how great it would be if Henin came back as well. Guess what ? This week Henin called a press conference to announce her comeback. Henin said Clijster's’ success was only a small part of her decision to unretire, though announcing it only a week after the US Open suggests it played a much larger part in her decision than she is letting on.

Fakers & Cheats

No-one likes to lose, from amateur to professional. When the desire or need to win is overwhelming then the temptation to cheat can increase, but the viewing public expects professional sport to be played in a fair spirit. This week has seen two high profile cases when the line has been crossed.

The Harlequins 'Bloodgate' scandal was a premeditated (though bungled) attempt to cheat which was planned by the Director of Rugby, Dean Richards. The ERC hearing even revealed that the same blood capsule ruse had been tried by Harlequins twice before but hadn't worked as the capsules were swallowed & dropped respectively.

I'm an Arsenal fan but I thought Eduardo definitely dived against Celtic. Diving has been in the game for years- Franny Lee springs to mind-but diving seems more prevalent now because of the widespread TV coverage. UEFA' s retrospective action was justified but will they now apply similar punishments to all instances of cheating & violent conduct which are missed by the officials in games under their jurisdiction ?