A Frenchman, an Englishman and an Aussie: Bob Hawke tells a joke – video
Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, wearing his now famous 1983 America's Cup jacket, tells a joke to illustrate Australian irreverence
View ArticleThe greatest sporting comebacks – in pictures
After Oracle Team USA's remarkable victory in the America's Cup, we bring you some of the greatest fightbacks in sport
View ArticleBill Callahan – review
The Ritz, Manchester The lo-fi pioneer makes few concessions to showbiz, but is an artist at the peak of his songwriting power When Bill Callahan stared out as Smog in the 1990s, his band name and...
View ArticleChampions of choke: countries that excel at falling short
Australia, England and New Zealand have unenviable records at choking but does one nation outrank the others? For any sports fan the debate over the great chokers can be an emotive one but it is also...
View ArticleSan Francisco given America's Cup go-ahead after last-ditch talks
2013 Cup to be raced in 72ft wing-sailed catamarans Sailing's premier event is worth $1.4bn to San Francisco The next staging of the America's Cup will be held in San Francisco in 2013. The decision...
View ArticleOracle Team USA still America's Cup underdogs, says skipper
Comeback ties series with Emirates Team New Zealand at 8-8 Sir Ben Ainslie helps set up winners-take-all final race Jimmy Spithill, the Oracle Team USA skipper, insists his men are still the underdogs...
View ArticleThis much I know: Mike Golding
The round-the-world yachtsman, 52, on sleep, being a fireman, and his glamour years I've broken records I didn't even know about. Some say I've crossed the equator 27 times I don't know, I don't count...
View ArticleBMW Oracle Racing names Jimmy Spithill as helmsman
Spithill previously the youngest skipper in Cup history UAE to host February showdown The America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing has named the Australian Jimmy Spithill as helmsman for the team's...
View ArticleBMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi resolve legal dispute
Long-standing America's Cup row brought to a close Claims over design and construction dropped One of the bitterest chapters in America's Cup history has officially ended with the new and old champions...
View ArticleAustralian 'did not invent winged keel on yacht that won America's Cup'
Dutch designer claims Ben Lexcen played minor role in creating revolutionary keel for 1983 cup-winning boat It was a sporting victory that inspired Australia's then prime minister, Bob Hawke, to...
View ArticleAmerica's Cup: Ben Ainslie's tactics help Oracle set up thrilling finale
Greatest comeback in 162 years brings Larry Ellison's Americans and Emirates Team New Zealand to 8-8 with decider due today America's Cup victory for Oracle Team USA The fiasco was going so well. Just...
View ArticleHow many Americans does it take to win the America's Cup?
Oracle Team USA have completed a stunning turnaround in the America's Cup but few were watching a mostly overseas crew until they won Consider this new Zen koan: If an America's Cup team stages one of...
View ArticleAmerica's Cup: Team USA close gap on New Zealand
Series now poised at 8-6 New Zealand still need one more victory Skipper James Spithill says Oracle Team USA are on a huge roll after a fifth successive victory over Team New Zealand in the America's...
View ArticleSir Ben Ainslie offers no change of tide for flailing Oracle - video
Oracle Team USA call in sailing superstar Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, in an attempt to turn around their America's Cup campaign. But the top tactician could do little...
View ArticleSports picture of the day: not making a big splash in the America's Cup
The America's Cup reaches San Francisco and Oracle Team USA are making waves, but the biggest splash goes to Emirates Team New Zealand who won race six and seven. The Kiwis lead the series 6-0 and are...
View ArticleSport picture of the day: skirting Alcatraz
Here's an image that looks like it could be a chase scene from a movie. The billowing fog, the helicopter overhead and the speeding boats all combine to dramatic effect. The yachts are racing in the...
View ArticleWho in sport should follow Team USA and take some time out? open thread
After suffering a heavy defeat in the America's Cup, Oracle Team USA have asked for a time-out to 'regroup'. Who else in sport should take their lead and sit out the next couple of plays? For a...
View ArticleLabor's embrace of Alan Bond was grotesque. But at least it wasn't bland |...
It’s customary to distinguish between two Alan Bonds: the shonky high-flyer, and the yachting victor. Truth is, in Labor’s embrace they were the same man “Any employer who sacks a worker for not...
View ArticleAlan Bond obituary
Charismatic business tycoon who bankrolled Australia’s triumph in the America’s Cup but later faced bankruptcy and imprisonment for fraud Alan Bond, the controversial business tycoon who backed...
View ArticleBen Ainslie hails Portsmouth after high winds hit America’s Cup racing
• No racing on Sunday due to winds of more than 30 knots • ‘We have seen what a great race course it is,’ says Ainslie Portsmouth has proved a worthy venue for the America’s Cup, according to Britain’s...
View ArticleAmerica's Cup World Series: Artemis Racing collides with umpire's boat – video
Artemis Racing hits the umpire’s boat on the final day of the America’s Cup World Series in Bermuda on Sunday. Fortunately no one was hurt in the collision, which would have been in excess of 25...
View ArticleIn Ainslie’s hi-tech HQ, experts perfect a craft fit to bring America’s Cup home
It’s the oldest sporting trophy in the world, but Britain has never won it. Now Sir Ben Ainslie’s Portsmouth-based team is at work on a ‘Batman boat’ they hope will achieve that feat Sir Ben Ainslie is...
View ArticleHigh water marks for Ben Ainslie and his £100m America’s Cup dream
Ainslie’s all-British Land Rover BAR team begin to fulfil the vast investment and wow the fans with a victory and a second place in the Solent Ben Ainslie’s £100m America’s Cup dream finally hit the...
View ArticleSir Ben Ainslie sets out on dream to bring 2021 America’s Cup to Portsmouth
The most successful sailor in Olympic history attempts to guide his Land Rover BAR team to a winning start in their quest to qualify for Bermuda in 2017 Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in...
View ArticleSir Ben Ainslie believes his team can be first British crew to win America’s Cup
• Six teams took to the Solent ahead of World Series competition • Qualification points for 2017 America’s Cup can be earned this weekend Sir Ben Ainslie believes his Land Rover BAR team can be the...
View ArticlePhoto highlights of the day
The Guardian’s picture editors bring you a selection of the best photographs from around the world, including wildfires in Spain and the arrival in the UK of the America’s Cup Continue reading...
View ArticleLetter: Alan Bond was a fierce, outspoken competitor
Alan Bond , or Bondy, as he was universally known to sailors, was a man who let nothing stand in his way. From his early competitive sailing on the Swan river to the beginnings of his international...
View ArticleBen Ainslie says Team New Zealand will still be an America’s Cup force
• Team New Zealand had criticised boat size reduction • Briton’s team renamed Land Rover BAR in new commercial deal Ben Ainslie is confident that rivals Team New Zealand will be strong challengers at...
View ArticleBen Ainslie is the man to beat in the World Series says Jimmy Spithill
• Four-times Olympic gold medallist in action in Portsmouth • British boat is one to watch in battle of 45-foot twin-hulled catamarans Jimmy Spithill, skipper of the America’s Cup holders Oracle Team...
View ArticleAlan Bond remembered by hundreds of mourners at Fremantle funeral
The winning skipper of Australia II and Bond’s first wife, Eileen ‘Big Red’ Bond, joined family and friends to farewell the colourful businessman in Perth Hundreds of mourners gathered in Fremantle,...
View ArticleLabor's embrace of Alan Bond was grotesque. But at least it wasn't bland |...
It’s customary to distinguish between two Alan Bonds: the shonky high-flyer, and the yachting victor. Truth is, in Labor’s embrace they were the same man “Any employer who sacks a worker for not...
View ArticleAlan Bond: the rise, spectacular fall and rise again of the America's Cup hero
The buccaneering tycoon scored one of Australian sport’s most spectacular successes before being jailed for a billion-dollar fraud On 19 January 1974, a pack of journalists and dignitaries descended...
View ArticleAlan Bond obituary
Charismatic business tycoon who bankrolled Australia’s triumph in the America’s Cup but later faced bankruptcy and imprisonment for fraud Alan Bond, the controversial business tycoon who backed...
View ArticleAmerica’s Cup boat size row escalates as teams close ranks after Luna Rossa exit
• Four teams including Ben Ainslie’s BAR issue joint statement • Statement criticises Team New Zealand who had supported Luna Rossa • Luna Rossa pull out of America’s Cup in protest over reduced boat...
View ArticleAlan Bond's family at his side as former billionaire remains on life support
The businessman best known for winning the America’s Cup is stable in a Perth hospital after having open heart surgery, family say The family and friends of Alan Bond are rallying at his side as the...
View ArticleLuna Rossa pull out of America’s Cup in protest over reduced boat size
• Italian team withdraw from competition after change to voting process • 2017 Bermuda regatta will see reduction in size of boats to 48ft • America’s Cup teams in controversial move to reduce boat...
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