This week Gary Lemke has look at the spectacular theatre of the Masters, who will hold their nerve in the Premier League title race and more!
WHY THE MASTERS IS SO DIFFERENT
Come the early hours of Monday morning and we’ll know who is the wearer of the iconic green jacket, awarded to the winner of golf’s Masters. If you feel like you want to have a bet during the event, be my guest. A word of advice though: There’s no other Major golf championship that ”starts on the back nine” of the Sunday like this one at Augusta.
A player can be four shots clear as he stands on the 10th tee, with “only” nine holes remaining. That lead is not safe. The Masters, with a perfectly manicured Augusta National course, is made for television sporting theatre. Sit back and enjoy every shot
WILL ‘BIG THREE’ CONTINUE WINNING WAYS?
The English Premier League continues this weekend and we’re still waiting to see who blinks first with seven matches to decide the 2023/24 champions. Man City fans will be confident of picking up three points when they host Luton, while Liverpool will similarly expect to beat Crystal Palace at Anfield.
For Arsenal, it’s no gimme in Saturday’s late match against Aston Villa, but being at home in a bouncing Emirates stadium will help the Gunners. In all honesty, there’s not much “sting” left in this season’s run-in apart from the title race as relegation looks likely for Sheffield United, Burnley and either of Luton or Nottingham Forest.
DRICUS HAS FEET UP AS UFC 300 HITS
UFC 300 takes place this weekend and it’s a stacked card befitting such an auspicious occasion. South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis isn’t defending his middleweight title, as he continues preparing for a possible August fight with Israel Adesanya. He’s also been recovering from a broken foot sustained in beating Sean Strickland.
“I don’t know if you know what adrenaline is and I’m tough and you’re not. I mean, you saw the next morning, I was in a wheelchair,” he told the media this week. The show goes on without him and headlining the programme are light-heavyweights Alex Pereira against Jamahal Hill. There’s also woman’s favourite Weili Zhang taking on Xiaonan Yan, while other mouth-watering fights include Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan. Overall on the card, a Kayla Harrison, Tsarukyan, Gaethje, Zhang and Pereira acca works out to 5/1.
You think @KaylaH is excited for Saturday night? #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/2as2i38mHV
— UFC (@ufc) April 12, 2024
GRAND NATIONAL SPLITS OPINION
To pardon the pun, you can’t sit on the fence when it comes to your views on the Grand National. The world’s most recognisable annual steeplechase event takes place at Aintree this weekend (Sat, 5pm SA time). The race itself is contested over some 7,000m and the horses have to navigate 30 fences over two laps.
Even to a seasoned observer, it’s a brutal test of jumping and stamina, and jockeyship. There are 34 horses who will line up for the starter. As to the winner, you can throw a dart at the dartboard and see what comes up. For me, I’ll be watching Limerick Lace, at odds of 20/1.
🚀 SIR GINO IS A SERIOUS WEAPON!! #Aintree #GrandNational pic.twitter.com/iPc2vIPFJ9
— Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) April 11, 2024
BULLS ARRIVE AFTER ROUGH RIDE
Much was made of the farcical travel arrangements planned for the Bulls ahead of this weekend’s Investec Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals. It was one of South Africa’s most passionate sporting sons, Johann Rupert, who first flagged the absurdity of the flights, with the Bulls travelling to Northampton on something like eight different planes.
The Bulls are South Africa’s last-standing hope in the event and I wouldn’t write them off against the Saints, despite the disruptions. Bordeaux (vs Harlequins), Leinster (vs La Rochelle) and Toulouse (vs Exeter) will be confident of all winning at home to reach the semi-finals.
Quarter Finals Loading 🔥🤝#BackTheBulls @Vodacom @ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/MgkkCjqaDF
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) April 9, 2024
IPL CONTINUES ON MERRY (BATTING) WAYS
The Indian Premier League continues this weekend – by the time Sunday turns into Monday, 29 of the 74 games will have been completed – and it’s still far too soon to pick an outright winner. The franchise which seems to be underperforming is Mumbai Indians, but there’s plenty still to play for, while my original choice Chennai Super Kings, are still in the playoff hunt.
The Rajasthan Royals have emerged as the new favourites, but at least seven of the 10 teams could argue that they still have a shot at the title. What remains consistent this far in, is that the average score is still in the early 180’s. Which means that 180 has become par score, when not too long ago 180 would have won nine out of 10 games.
From @Jaspritbumrah93's brilliance to that dominating chase! 👌 👌
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2024
A quick recap to sum up @mipaltan's 2️⃣nd win on the bounce at Wankhede Stadium 🎥 🔽 #TATAIPL | #MIvRCB pic.twitter.com/A8sroBjcm0
BINDER HEADS FOR US ADVENTURE
Petrol heads, there’s no Formula One for you this weekend, but there is MotoGP where Brad Binder has made a strong start to the 2024 season. The riders have moved across the pond for the Grand Prix of the Americans to be held in Texas. There’s plenty of interest in this race to see whether Binder is a legitimate contender – which we think he is – in the eventual title race as the season unfolds.
"This track is super special. It has a little bit of everything" 🎙️ - @BradBinder_33
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 11, 2024
COTA's one of the most unique venues on the calendar and Brad's hoping it'll be kinder to him than Portimao was! 🤞#AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fFVnFlq3WF
