Outside Edge

Wellington in Somerset is proudly promoting what it claims is the World Wellington Boot Throwing Contest, to be held on 12 September. But hold on, doesn't the Yorkshire village of Upperthong already stage the World Welly Wanging Championship at its annual gala? And what about Rhayader in Powys, which is adamant it holds the rights to the World Wellie Wanging Championships? And don't even mention the New Zealand town of Taihape, which styles itself the world gumboot-throwing capital. Maybe none of them has a watertight claim, so instead we might slip over to tomorrow's third World Gravy Wrestling Championship in Stackstead, Rossendale. Slurp, slurp.

6

The number of players Brazilian side Rio Branco had left on the pitch after three sendings-off and two sudden injuries. so the match was abandoned at 2-2; a draw would have given their rivals the state title. Must try harder, Swansea.

Tall story of the week

It's official – you can be too tall to play basketball. In China's Dream League at least, because it was set up with a height limit of 6ft 2in (1.88m) to cater for players of less-than-skyscraper status. Then the Huizhou Qiaoxing team signed one Hu Guang, whose height is listed as 1.95m in his official Chinese Basketball Association profile. Cue outraged opponents and a remeasuring, but he is alleged to have "bowed his shoulders and bent his neck back" to achieve a suspect 1.87m. His team's next home match was abandoned at half-time as opposition fans disrupted it, then had their cars smashed up in retaliation. Next week: Dennis Wise declared too tall by Dwarf Tossing League.

Good week for

Mike Perham, 17-year-old from Hertfordshire who became the youngest person to sail round the world single-handed... Thomas Bjorn, Danish golfer, returned to European Tour action after being given all-clear following a brain scan... and Paul Goodison, English sailor from Rotherham, won the world Laser title to add to the Olympic gold he won last year.

Bad week for

Stephen Maguire, snooker world No 2, questioned by police with fellow Glaswegian Jamie Burnett over alleged irregular betting patterns in a match between the two last year... Gareth Hock, Wigan and England rugby league player, suspended for two years after testing positive for cocaine... and the Ethiopian athletics team, who lost four team members last week when they absconded in London.

Desperate measures of the week

As the economy shrinks in the US so do the drink measures, it seems. Beers sold at Reliant Stadium, home to the Houston Texans American football team, cost the same this season as last, $7.75, but thirsty fans have just discovered the quantity has quietly been reduced from 24 to 20 ounces (no, we don't understand the US measuring system either, but the maths is simple enough). In other news from the States, the golfer John Daly, who is rumoured to enjoy a beer or 10, tweets that he is close to completing an album in Nashville. Suggestions that it includes a ditty entitled "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy" have yet to be confirmed.

a.tong@independent.co.uk