Sport Opinion

WHETHER the Magic still remains or not, it is time for everybody to simply embrace Magic Weekend. For two days, at least.

A JOURNEY that began in Wigan on an August afternoon that underlined why Jos Luhukay was not the right fit for Sheffield Wednesday came to an end amid a contrasting mix of devastation and pride for Doncaster Rovers at The Valley.

HOW great was it to see Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons doing Super League battle in the Nou Camp?

ENGLAND selectors name their final squad for the ICC World Cup next week and we have two obvious spinners in Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid – and the question for me is do they need to carry a batsman who bowls spin in Joe Denly?

THERE is no more inspiring figure in cricket than Shaun Udal.

I have got to say it was very disappointing to see Yorkshire knocked out of the Royal London One-Day Cup.

FOR ONE of the worst-looking organisations in sport, the England and Wales Cricket Board seems curiously obsessed with its appearance.

IT WILL be great to see the old Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls rivalry renewed this week.

ENGLAND meet up today and, with Easter finished and 13 rounds played, it is a good time to start thinking who might be involved on that Great Britain tour at the end of the year.

IT promises to be a definitive weekend in the Championship promotion race with Sheffield United favourites to reach the Premier League and Leeds United likely to miss out and having to settle for the play-offs.

IT is commonly held that Joe Root is England’s best batsman of the present day.

A SEASON that began for Bradford City with a rookie head coach in charge who had never applied for the job in the first place will end next week with a return to the basement division.

HEADING into a cryotherapy chamber in your boxer shorts might not be everyone’s idea of a happy Easter but it is one of the things some rugby league players do to get the maximum rewards from this busy Easter period.

YORKSHIRE have made a great start to the County Championship season but the real test starts now.

NO matter what you think about The Hundred – and what I think about it would have to be beeped out if it was broadcast before the 9pm watershed – it is a crying shame that 50-over cricket in this country is being devalued as a consequence.

FOOTBALL managers are a funny old breed and none funnier – in the nicest sense of the word – than Colin Murphy, who turns 75 today.

COLIN MURPHY is not the only football man to have made a mark in the field of words.

THE final indignity for Jose Mourinho was both cruel and crushing.

It’s not been a good week. An allergic reaction to some dreaded root canal work ended up with a face the size of a football and a trip to A&E.