Thursday 23 May 2013
The margin was so fine, so gnawing at his peace of mind, that Arsène Wenger now knows how it is to step down from the dock freed from the heaviest of charges.
You may have hated the harsh, even brutal swagger of his nature. You might always argue that no one ever pursued his advantages more cynically, more relentlessly. But then if you also love football, its power to capture the attention of the world, what do you inhabit today?
Why do we want Ronnie O'Sullivan to soldier on through another year of angst? Why do we argue with those who say that he should make up his mind about either playing snooker or hiding away down on the farm and then give us all a bit of peace?
When he is streaming forward he is a force of football nature. It is hard to find a more uplifting sight than David Luiz. Chelsea's explosive Brazilian frequently makes the blood race. Such a pity, then, that from now on it will be impossible to forget that he can also make the stomach crawl.
Sir Bradley Wiggins would not be the man he is if he didn't believe in his right to win everything that is put before him. However, in the case of the Tour de France, which is also known as La Grande Boucle – the Big Loop – he should really remember that, as in life, what goes round also comes round.
Now we are told that Amir Khan, having recently been required to yet again climb up from the canvas, this against a 33-year-old Mexican named Julio Diaz who has eight defeats on his record, may be just one fight away from a collision with the ageing but still masterful Floyd Mayweather.
Jamie Carragher can carry many plaudits from his last Merseyside derby and maybe one of the most enduring is the assessment offered by the World Cup-winning full back George Cohen.
Fabregas thought he was riding the tide of history when he went home to Barcelona. Unfortunately for him, at almost precisely the same time his new boss Pep Guardiola was shrewdly anticipating it.
The FA is right to ban Luis Suarez for 10 games and as the ensuing furore will largely come down to a matter of numbers rather than the meaning of one disgusting act of recidivism, it is no hardship to say it at least a thousand times.
They say you should start at the beginning. Examine the boy and the young man, the drive of his nature and his influences, and you pretty much have the unfolding story. In the case of Sir Alex Ferguson, though, it is not quite so straightforward.
How jolly it apparently is that Mike Tyson, who delivered the first bite to briefly nauseate the modern sports world, has enlisted as a Twitter follower of Luis Suarez.
What are Liverpool going to do about Luis Suarez? Is one of the great football clubs going to live on in the extreme and desperate belief that they need his talent much more than the cleansing effect of saying, "Adios hombre, thanks but in the end no thanks".
As America is once again traumatised by the random horrors of terrorism, as tragic and gruesome details are piled one on top of the other, sport does not need telling its own fate.
In all the overheated circumstances they might have played "Eye of the Tiger" when he came to the first tee. But then you probably had to scour the most distant pine forests to find someone unaware he was back.
There are quite a number of rituals going on here in the extraordinary re-creation of Tiger Woods.
Maybe it is a little early in the year for the committee men of Augusta National to say the fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. However, before a shot is fired in the 77th US Masters it is hard to remember when their sense of well-being was so tangible down Magnolia Lane.
Jack Nicklaus won the last of his 18 majors here in Augusta and, with tears in his eyes, he said it was something you can have only once in your lifetime. It came in 1986, when he was 46 and had gone six years without one of the big titles.
It is a remarkable, even miraculous seeing of the light and maybe we should put aside the thought that Paolo Di Canio's sudden rejection of fascism is also extremely convenient. For one thing it means that maybe we can all get a little sleep.
Bayern march on beyond any slight evidence that they might be a team who once again have reached the limits of their ambition.
Even though we all know quite how much political posturing masquerades as bone-deep conviction it is still no hardship applauding David Miliband's resignation as vice-chairman of Sunderland over the appointment of Paolo Di Canio.
It hasn't always been a bed of roses
Christian Wade was "shocked and humbled" to learn he had gone one better than Jonny Wilkinson by scooping a unique double at the Rugby Players' Association awards.
Former Manchester United and England defender Brian Greenhoff has died, aged 60.
Mike Tindall is relishing the chance to test his experience against Gloucester's youth when he lines up for the Barbarians against England on Sunday.
Malaga have confirmed that Manuel Pellegrini will not be in charge of the club next season.
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