Something From The Weekend: Shane Warne; Gary Speed and Brett Favre

The Good, the Bad and the Odd

The Good: Shane Warne

OK Shane, you've got a choice. Either you can risk your legacy as one of the greatest proponents of spin bowling in the history of cricket by making a shock return to the Australia side for an Ashes battle that is beginning to look like the biggest lost cause since the Titanic started to list a bit. Or, you can spend a couple of nights in a luxury £1,750-a-night suite at a five-star London hotel "exchanging lingering kisses" (according to a Sunday newspaper) with actress and swimwear model Liz Hurley. So what'll it be Shane?

The Bad: Gary Speed

If he is offered the Wales manager's job this week, as is widely predicted, Speed's first games in charge will be against the Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. That's a rare run of games against local rivals that will test his nerve to the limits. Speed was involved in some testy local rivalry on Saturday as his Sheffield United side faced South Yorkshire foes Barnsley. This was a perfect opportunity to show his prospective employers at the Welsh FA that he could cope with the pressure of neighbourly clashes, but Speed's men slumped to a 1-0 defeat. He'll probably leave that off his CV.

The Odd: Brett Favre

The legendary quarterback has many celebrity fans, including rapper Lil Wayne, but it turns out that perhaps his greatest admirer is God. With the Minnesota Viking struggling for fitness last week and his 297-game record of consecutive starts in danger of coming to an end, God made it snow in Minneapolis, meaning the Vikings' game against New York Giants was postponed yesterday and rescheduled for tonight. Then, when it looked like the extra day's preparation still wouldn't be enough for Favre to be fit, what did God do? He sent down even more snow. So much in fact that the Metrodome stadium's roof collapsed. Favre's record goes on. For the Almighty hath decreed it.