The Week in Review: Sport

SIR Matt Busby dies. The former Manchester United manager was, simply, a visionary. A man who drew the best from Best, inspired the rule of Law and was the pride of Manchester. 'Nobody,' asserted the late Jock Stein, 'had a keener eye for real talent and how it could be best used.'

The FA decides Terry Venables is the nearest approximation to managerial perfection only for his anointment to be delayed by a bittersweet Alan Sugar, who insists Tottenham be cleared of all charges over illegal payments.

Ma Junren says the secret of his record-breaking Chinese distance runners is a potion called 'The Secret of Life's Inner Strength'. For this revelation the controversial coach receives a sum not unadjacent to pounds 900,000 from a state-run drinks firm. That same day, Primo Nebiolo, the head of the IAAF, claims that the mandatory four-year ban for drug-abuse is too harsh. Do we detect a pattern here?

More reality in Pasadena, where the Rose Bowl, roughly 20 miles from the epicentre of the LA earthquake, needs a structural inspection before being cleared to stage the World Cup final. The show, after all, must go on.