Saturday night's alright for fighting

So I'm a pretty big fan of the Klitschko brothers. They're clever, they're charming, they're very very good at what they do. I follow them on twitter, I read stuff about them, I keep up with their results. But I've never actually had chance to watch one of their fights in full. Now (thank you VERY much ESPN) I finally had that chance. It was an interesting match-up Wladimir Klitschko was taking on Mariusz Wach from Poland who at 6'7 and a half is actually taller than Wlad, he also boasted an unbeaten record of 27 wins, 15 by knockout. He's a big, imposing guy if a little rough around the edges. Wladimir is, of course, his usual composed self, focussed and polished as befits a world champion. While the fight was perhaps unspectacular, lacking a big showy dramatic moment but that's not to say it wasn't still entertaining. It was, very much so. I really enjoyed watching Wlad get into his rhythm and watching his strategy evolve. It was really great to watch all of his movements, his footwork, thee little drops of his shoulder. There's definitely a sort of beauty to it all and I can definitely see how people get hooked on watching these fights. However, that's not to say i don't acknowledge the reality of it all, those slow-motion shots of all the punches connecting are absolutely brutal. And there were plenty of replays. Wlad dominated pretty much every round, landing almost every swing and sticking to a tiight gameplan and not allowing himself to get caught. Wach did however land one big right hand on Wlad in the 5th but was unable to capitalize afterwards. He wasn't lacking in power but unfortunately wasn't very quick which hindered him more and more as the fight went on. He was pretty much out on his feet by the end of the 12th but he did acquit himself well. And so the Klitschko party goes on.

A celebration of Sporting Brothers

A while back I got an idea. Now its coming into fruition. Since it seems to have become a theme in my sporting consciousness of late here is my celebration of my favourite sets of brothers in sports.

1. Team Schleck. I've explained my love for them before but briefly here's why: they're from Luxembourg, they have a weird name, but most importantly they seem like really really nice guys and the brotherly love just radiates off them.

2. The Klitschkos. Once again the brotherly love is palpable. Also much like Frank and Andy their mother seems to have done a hell of a job raising them into all round nice guys. BOTH brothers have managed to earn a Phd in Sports Science. What an example.

3. Fabio and Paolo Cannavaro. Some families are just really blessed in the genes department. These two are a case in point. Not just one colossus of central defending but two.

4. Niko and Robert Kovac. Firm favourites of mine for a long long time. Once again, some people just win the gene lottery. Eternally classy players, criminally underrated.

5. Eirik and Espen Valheim. A recent discovery of mine. Brothers from Norway who do synchronised diving. How cool is that? Plus Espen might be the most beautiful name ever.

And an honourable mention for Tomas Rosicky and his brother Jiri. Simply because when I found out that 'little dumpling' had an older brother, my excited response was "oh my God. There's a big dumpling!"

Cycling Carnage and Boxing Brothers

I managed to catch some of the Tour de France on sunday and apparently I dropped in on an eventful day. The main talking point was of course the TV car incident. A TV car actually swerved right in to Juan Antonio Flecha  which caused him to hit Johnny Hoogerland. Flecha hit the ground and Hoogerland flew into a barbed wire fence. It looked as painful as it sounds. Both riders were in an absolute state but somehow managed to remount and finish the stage which frankly is nothing short of heroic. Apparently Hoogerland's leg wound needed 33 stitches afterwaards and he still raced today. Surely the definition of hardcore. Luis Leon Sanchez won the stage with a neat bit of tactics sprinting off the second Thomas Voeckler approached behind him. Our Andy Schleck watch total was one sighting. Today we indulged another of our traditional Tour de France pass times was looking out for sculptures of bikes in local fields made from agricultural stuff like tractors and hay bales. Unfortunatley there was onlly one sighting on this front too although it was a cool one with two people made of hay.
Yesterday morning I was rudely awoken at an outrageous hour as the neighbours are doing some kind of loud kitchen remodelling however this did allow me to catch an interview with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko on BBC breakfast. I'd seen part of Wladimir's fight against David Haye the day before and I was really impressed with him as I'd never seen him box before. I always thought that he seemed like a really decent guy and both he and his brother more than proved me right duing the interview. They both came across really really well with the particular highlights being anytime their family relationship was brought up. Wladimir's story about his elder brother teaching him how to box when they were young was adorable, revealing that he "saw stars" the first time Vitali hit him, equally charming was his slightly lost in translation reaction that it "didn't taste well." Also the fact that his brother calls him 'Wladi' is just too sweet for words. The brotherly love was evident the whole way through with their answer to the question of who was the better fighter being to simultaneously point to the other one. Similarly when asked if they'd ever fight each other, they said no on the basis that it would upset their mother. Now there is a pairof well brought up boys.