Something From The Weekend: Sachin Tendulkar; Football fans; Bernard Hopkins

The Good, the Bad and the Odd

The Good

Sachin Tendulkar

There is, so rumour has it, another Test series going on somewhere else in the world but no one cares about that. No, it's the South Africa-India encounter – No 2 against No 1 in the Test rankings – that really matters, and while the hosts have bossed it, Tendulkar has once again pressed his claim to be the second name on any "All-time Best XI". That he did so in a desperate situation only emphasises what a modern titan he is, and what cricket will have lost when he finally decides to call it a day.

The Bad

Football fans

Brrr. That's what lots of football supporters were saying this weekend – or at least they would have been if their teams' matches hadn't been called off. Yes, the snow put paid to large swathes of the footballing calendar, but this weekend may have more pain in store for supporters, given that talk of a winter break has been revived. It may sound like a nice idea, but won't anyone think of the fans? Say we had a break in January: there would be nothing whatsoever to distract us from the misery of life on a small island in the north Atlantic for four long weeks. I don't care if the players are tired. Get on with it.

The Odd

Bernard Hopkins

Remember when David Lloyd, then the national team coach, claimed England had "flippin' murdered" Zimbabwe in a Test match when in fact the game had ended in a draw? It appears Hopkins is a man of similar views. Seeking to become the oldest boxer to hold a major world title at the weekend, his bout with Jean Pascal ended in a technical draw. Not that Hopkins saw it that way. "I dominated," he said. "This was a robbery. I took him to school." Hopkins, twice knocked to the canvas by Pascal, is hoping for a second shot. "I come to Canada and face a 28-year-old guy and I get a draw, at 45 years old," said Hopkins. "You saw a young guy running from an old grandpa. Look at my record –anyone I fought twice I destroyed."