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Your support makes all the difference.If you want to get ahead, wear red. So say academics who analysed all the Football League results since 1945 – it must have been a slow day – to conclude that teams with red kit do far better over time than those kitted out in other colours. Why? It seems red is a "testosterone-driven signal of male quality", leading to red-clad teams gaining more support and therefore more resources than their rivals. And why does it matter? After all, it's unlikely to inspire the likes of Everton and Manchester City to change strips. Perhaps the researchers should read another recent article in the 'Journal of Sports Science': 'Use and misuse of the term significant.'
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Number of pairs of underpants David Coulthard was spotted buying in Australia before the opening grand prix of the season. At speeds of 200mph-plus we can understand why nervous drivers might require a frequent change, but the Red Bull man has always seemed such a cool customer.
Bible basher of the week
Oh Dear, more trouble at the Clericus Cup, the football tournament for priests and seminarians held on Vatican playing fields. After complaints of rowdy crowds in earlier rounds, last weekend a priest from Burkina Faso – which translates as "land of men of integrity" – playing for Paul the Apostle's College, was sent off for throwing his shirt at the referee. His team were then thrown out of the tournament. It was St Paul who observed: "Whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7).
Good week for
Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, took skiing's overall World Cup crowns for the US... Cardiff City, promised a Uefa Cup place if they win the FA Cup... Tim Ambrose, England wicketkeeper, hit maiden Test century against New Zealand... and England's women cricketers, offered 10 professional coaching posts by the ECB.
Bad week for
Jimmy White failed to qualify for this year's snooker World Championship... Mike Coughlan, fired as chief designer by McLaren F1 team after receiving confidential Ferrari documents... Bradley Wright-Phillips, Southampton striker, allegedly caught on CCTV watching friends rifle through waitresses' handbags at a nightclub... and the Florida Marlins baseball team, facing animal-rights protests after their pitcher Logan Kensing admitted shooting hogs from a helicopter.
Bad decision of the week
Your son's late for tennis practice, the traffic's bad; what to do? If you're Robert Kadera of Illinois, the answer's simple: hop into your vintage airplane and take to the skies, landing on the golf course opposite the tennis club. No need to worry about any golfers, as there's snow on the ground. But then the police arrived. Not only did young Isaac Kadera fail to make it on court, but dad was refused permission to take off again, and had to dismantle the air-craft and transport it home in bits by road. There'sa moral in here somewhere, but we're running too close to deadline ourselves to figure it out.
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