Monday cannon fodder: world records

It would be wrong for me to open CF with anything other than Simone Biles and Brigid Kosgei. Over the weekend, Biles became the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in history, winning her 24th and 25th world medals. She does things that no other gymnast can do, and she makes them look easy. Brigid Kosgei finished the Chicago Marathon in a blistering 2:14:04, shaving 81 seconds off the world record. Links to the full articles are below.

Euro 2020 Qualifiers

Czech Republic 2 - England 1
Substitute Zdenek Ondrasek’s 85th minute goal hands the Three Lions their first qualifier loss in 10 years.

Wales 1 - Croatia 1
Gareth Bale’s first half, injury time goal earns the Dragons a point, but they no longer control their qualification fate. They need the full points from their remaining two matches and for Slovakia to drop points to qualify for the Euros.

Other notable matches
Italy qualified by topping Greece 2-0. Norway delays Spain’s qualification with 1-1 draw. Netherlands beat Belarus 2-1, need a draw against Northern Ireland to qualify. Poland and Russia both punched their tickets with wins over North Macedonia and Cyprus respectively. John McGinn scored a hat-trick in playoff-bound Scotland’s 6-0 win over San Marino.

Daniel James finishes match after appearing to have been knocked unconscious
The Manchester United winger said he did not lose consciousness. Wales manager Ryan Giggs said it was “a bit of acting” and that he passed all the necessary tests. Either way, not a good look. FIFA and the footballing world NEED to take head injuries more seriously.

CONCACAF Nations League

United States 7 - Cuba 0
Weston McKennie scored a hat trick in the first 13 minutes of a match that was basically over before it started.

Mexico 5 - Bermuda 1
Goals from Uriel Antuna, Hirving Lozano, Hector Herrera, and a Jose Juan Macias double saw El Tri cruise past the Gombey Warriors.

NWSL

The NWSL playoffs are set. Next Sunday, October 20th, the N.C Courage take on the Seattle Reign and the Chicago Red Stars take on the Portland Thorns.

Washington Spirit 0 - Portland Thorns 0
The Thorns out-shot the Spirit 21-5 but couldn’t find the back of the net. Mallory Pugh picked up an injury in the first half for D.C.

N.C. Courage 3 - Sky Blue 2
The Courage had already secured the NWSL Shield and rested a number of their top players.

Seattle Reign 2 - Orlando Pride 2
Marta’s 86th minute goal earned Orlando the draw and ensured that Seattle would remain in fourth regardless of the result in the Portland match.

Utah Royals 2 - Houston Dash 1
Goals from Christen Press and Amy Rodriguez were small consolation for a Utah team that crashed out of playoff position with a late-season losing skid.

Other Soccer

An interview with new Antigua & Barbuda head coach Lisa Cole
A great, wide-ranging interview from our friends over at All for XI. Highly recommend you check it out. Part 2 here.

Arsene Wenger to pen autobiography with publisher Weidenfeld and Nicolson
The book will be released simultaneously in the UK and France in Fall 2020.

Other Sports

Simone Biles wins 25th gold medal, breaks record
She has now won the most world championships of any gymnast, male or female, ever. Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe her.

Brigid Kosgei breaks marathon world record
The Kenyan finished the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04, lowering the record by a whopping 81 seconds.

Eliud Kipchoge runs world-first sub-two-hour marathon
But the feat is not considered a world record because it was run on a closed course under conditions designed to break the two-hour mark — specifically chosen course, elite-level runners as pace-setters breaking the wind, constant access to his favorite carb-rich drink, etc. Many in the competitive marathoning community have decried the event as a publicity stunt, but slice it however you want, the guy ran 26.2 miles at a sub 4:34 minute mile pace. That’s ridiculous.

Petr Cech makes his professional ice hockey debut
Big Pete stopped three penalty shots in the shootout to lift fourth division team Guilford Phoenix to the win. The penalty save jokes write themselves, don’t they?

High school football player tackles teammate to prevent safety
Kha-Ron Thrower ran 50 yards to take down his teammate who took off in the wrong direction after picking off the opposing quarterback.