Luke Campbell and George Reynolds

OJ BORG 00:00:07

Hello, welcome to the good time sports club. I'm OJ Borg and

RAYA HUBBELL 00:00:10

And I'm Raya Hubbell

OJ BORG 00:00:11

You most certainly are. Welcome along to this, the second podcast on it today, we have Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell. He calls him from his car to say why Ryan Garcia really shouldn't relish taking him on.

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:00:25

I think I’m the toughest fight out there for any world class opponent.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:00:27

We have NFL Academy prospect George Reynolds tell us about the incredible receivers he's been playing with, like Odell Beckham Jnr., Jerry Rice and his dad, Neil.

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:00:41

I don’t think he’s quite got the pace but his hands are good

OJ BORG 00:0042

And we have our first challenger for the big sports quiz; Catherine Whittaker from the tennis podcast, but how well does she know her sport and Raya I've seen the questions. How many do you think you'd get right on the sports quiz?

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:00:52

Given the fact we're both presenters on a podcast, all about sport. I really want to say a lot. But my confidence is low

OJ BORG 00:00:59 Well, I bizarrely during this time of lockdown, I've been sort of avoiding the sport. Obviously until the last two weeks when I have re-emerged myself into it, like being baptised back into a world of balls. But yeah, until that point, I hadn't really been keeping up with any sport whatsoever, just because I was so distraught that there wasn't any happening, but now sport is back. We're going to do that and I'm looking forward to see how Catherine does with the quiz a little bit later on. First the news. Raya!

RAYA HUBBELL 00:01:25

Yes. Well, Dwayne, ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his wife Dany Garcia have recently bought the struggling American football league, the XFL for a mere 11 and a half million pounds. The league, which has seen as a springboard to the NFL appeared doomed when the games were cancelled back in March.

OJ BORG 00:01:42

If we move from strain shaped footballs to normal shape, footballs or soccer, depending on where you are in the world, and Fulham beat Brentford in the Championship playoff final to earn a spot in the English Premier League, that was after a 2-1 win at Wembley. The game known as the most valuable single fixture in sports believe to have earned Fulham in the region of and, wait for it, I think we're all used to when we talk about the Premier League of massive sums, but they think it's worth around 170 million pounds.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:02:08

Well, I always struggle with the value that football puts on sport. But moving over cross continent to Australia where the SuperNetball season is finally underway in Australia, the best players from across the globe have gathered in the state of Queensland for a compressed fixture list with the whole tournament, expected finish in September

OJ BORG 00:02:26

And on next week's podcast, we have some big netball news as well as a big netball interview more about that next week. So make sure if you haven't yet, make sure you subscribe to the podcast and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here. If you want to rate us, we would love a rating. Five stars would be great. Anything lower than that - we're not talking to you. To our first guest then, and we moved from netball to boxing. And this week we caught up with British boxed Luke Campbell from his car. Now we had planned the interview, but sometimes when you have bookings, things go a little awry, especially in the current world we're living in. And instead of being sat down somewhere lovely, maybe with a cup of tea to talk us through his career and the upcoming fight he was actually driving around. Now the audio isn't the best. I think a couple of times you can hear him swerving round. But, people believe me, it was all recorded in a safe way. It was all hands free. So don't worry about that. But I think it lends a certain piquancy to this interview. So let's get into it because Luke Campbell has been called Britain's greatest ever amateur boxer. He's earned two English titles, as well as medals at European and world level before securing the biggest amateur prize of the lot. He won Olympic gold in 2012 fulfilling his dad's prophecy

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:03:40

My dad always believed in me, and he always said for years and years when I was a kid that I was gonna be Olympic champion, and I was a million miles away. I never believed him, but he was right, the old boy was right.

OJ BORG 00:04:02

His adjustment to the pro-ranks has been just as impressive, but is lacking one thing. And that is what all boxers want a world title after the world boxing council or the WBC is you've probably heard it called, announced that Luke would fight Ryan Garcia for the interim belt, that opportunity just got a little closer. Victory would give Luke a place at the front of the queue to fight current WBC champion Devin Haney when he returns from injury. So does Luke know where the fight will take place?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:04:29

No, I know nothing about it.

OJ BORG 00:04:31

Turns out there are still a few details to iron out, both Campbell and Garcia camps are confirmed that talks with positive and ongoing, but Luke is not alone in not knowing where, or even when the fight will take place. So where would Luke stream destination be for a fight?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:04:45

The KC Stadium in Hull selling that stadium out would be unbelievable also the main venues in Las Vegas would be pretty cool too.

OJ BORG 00:04:58

Between Hull and Vegas. Well, there’s another option. The back garden of his promoter Eddie Hearn. The unlikely destination already has some huge fights scheduled, including Katie Taylor defending her world title and Britain's Dillian Whyte taking on Russia's Alexander Povetkin for the WBC interim title in the heavyweight class, the big boys. So does Luke fancy fighting for the lightweight equivalent in an Essex garden?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:05:19

I’d fight anywhere. It doesn’t bother me. I’d love the opportunity to fight in Eddie’s back garden. So for me it doesn’t really matter.

OJ BORG 00:05:20

An actual garden! That willingness to fight anyone anywhere is one of Luke's most admirable traits. There aren't many people that would have taken on a man who's won titles at three different weight categories - Vasyl Lomachenko at short notice, but that's exactly what Luke did. His two world title shots have been far from easy.

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:05:44

At the time, both of them were currently ranked in the top 10 pound for pound ratings

OJ BORG 00:05:50

His first title shot against Jorge Linares came two weeks after his dad's death from cancer. Luke was exceptionally close to his dad and kept his passing a secret after the contest. Despite the emotional turmoil Luke was more than a match for him

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:06:06

I thought I beat Linares 7 rounds out of 12. I thought I won the fight.

OJ BORG 00:06:07

He lost on a split decision. His next title shot would be an even bigger step up when Luke's expected opponent was replaced.

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:06:14

The guy I should have been fighting was a Russian guy. So I planned for it and then Lomachenko comes in for it and I fight another, number one pound for pound in the world. So it is what it is. I want to prove myself. I want to test my self against the best of the best and that’s what I’ll do.

OJ BORG 00:06:33

His defeat to the best pound for pound boxer on the planet was no disgrace, especially as at several points in the fight Luke looked to have hurt the Ukrainian. But what did he they learn in losing to Lomachenko?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:06:44

I learned a lot from it. I learned from just tweaking a few things in my style and a few adjustments, I feel like I could do so much more.

OJ BORG 00:06:56

Last time out Luke prepared for the fast hands of Lomachenko by sparring with three partners in the ring at one time. Does he have plans for anything similarly unusual as prepares for Ryan Garcia

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:07:07

No I don’t think so, I just do what Shane tells me to do.

OJ BORG 00:07:12

Shane is Luke’d trainer Shane McGuiggan, son of featherweight, world champion, Barry and trainer of world champions Carl Frampton and George Groves. So what has he added to Luke boxing career the last two years the pair have been working?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:07:26

Everything really. The footwork, the boxing, it’s all round. The power of my punches. He’s added a lot of things.

OJ BORG 00:07:36

But what about his latest opponent, who claimed on social media that he loved fighting left-handed boxes like Luke when the fight was announced.

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:07:42

I'm not too concerned about what he's doing. I don't think he's fought anybody like me. I think I'm the best fight out there for any world class opponent.

OJ BORG 00:07:53

While Luke’s fight is yet to be fully confirmed. One fight announcement that did rock the boxing world was the announcement of Mike Tyson and Roy Jones jr who’ll both return to the ring for an exhibition fight. We asked for Luke’s thoughts on the fight as the pair, both now in their fifties, prepared to step through the ropes.

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:08:14

Mike Tyson was a legend and the same with Roy Jones Jr as well. I look at Roy Jones Jr and think “what an absolute legend.” But I think , just stay legends, because when you come back, you’re never gonna be anywhere near what you was. So I don't know why they’re doing it. It wouldn’t be nice to see a legend come back, and be like a tiny shadow of himself. I just think legends should stay legends, they’ve done everything in the world of boxing. I don’t know what they’ve asked for. Maybe if it’s just for them, and they just fancy doing it, then fair play to them. But for a fan of both guys, I’d rather them stay legends and not fight.

OJ BORG 00:09:01

Finally, would Luke take a rematch with Lomachenko or Linares if he beats Garcia?

LUKE CAMPBELL 00:09:06 Yeah. hopefully Linares and Lomachenko - they’re certainly fights I would love to get back into. But whatever my team choses, whatever they pick for me it’s what we do.

OJ BORG 00:09:22

Luke Campbell there speaking to us on the Good Time Sports Club. Raya, just the news that we came to at the end of that there, the news that Mike Tyson was stepping back into the ring. Was that one that filled you full of joy, or do you think fighters when they reach that age and they've been out of the ring for decades, should possibly stick to punditry and Instagram?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:09:41

Well, punditry with Mike Tyson would be brilliant and epic. In fact, actually Tyson on Instagram. I'm sure it is also brilliant and Epic. Back in the ring. I don't know. I mean, I'm sure it'll be a real fun experience for us to watch.

OJ BORG 00:09:58

I think it will be, I think it will be one of the biggest grossing fights of all time, but you all want to see Mike Tyson fight again, just off the back of the couple of clips of him sparring that have been shared. I mean, he's a fascinating character is Mike Tyson. You wonder.. if it differently if it not had, you know, maybe the background he had or the dubious management at times, whether he would have gone on to win more world titles, I guess we'll never know. We'll never know.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:10:23

No, but also I'm a big fan of seeing the likes of Mike Tyson do, you know, movie cameo roles. So I hope he doesn't, you know, quit his new day job.

OJ BORG 00:10:30

Will he bring a tiger? That's what you're saying. Will you bring a tiger to the fight?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:10:35

Exactly

OJ BORG 00:10:36

Last week we talked about obscure sports stars and I dropped a name and we were chatting before we recorded this podcast. I dropped a name which was Elvis Stojko of which do you know him?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:10:45

No. Come on. OJ surely you must know him just because I'm from Canada. Doesn't mean we were neighbours. However, I do have quite an interesting family link. So I know we've worked quite a bit together OJ but one thing you might not know about me is that my father is an ex-professional figure skater.

OJ BORG 00:11:09

Hang on. Are you about to tell me that Elvis Stojko is your dad?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:11:13

Well, no, because Elvis Stojko and I are relatively close in age and he's like, he might be a little bit older than me, but certainly not old enough to be my dad. However, I'm pretty sure that the, the generation that trained with my dad, was Elvis Stojko’s coach. So via proxy from my dad, I kind of know him.

OJ BORG 00:11:37

Wow. I mean, because I just remember being blown away by the fact, I mean, he was basically the Will Ferrell character before Will Ferrell came up with that character in Blades of Glory. I remember being, and when everyone else was wearing really tight, flamboyant Lycra, he came out with fireballs and leather jackets.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:11:54

Yeah, no, I mean, he rocked it and he certainly changed the image that figure skating had at the time. Cause obviously my dad is a much earlier generation, and he tells these amazing stories that the reason why he got into figure skating in the first place was that he had rocked up for speed skating classes and looked out on the ice and realised there was like 40 girls on the ice the hour before his bigger skating class. And he thought that was a pretty bad deal. So yeah, there's definitely a stigmatism before that. So Elvis did an amazing job to sort of change that and turn it off and turn it on its head.

OJ BORG 00:12:32

If you want to let us know about your obscure sports star, hashtag it and we'll find it on Twitter or on Instagram, whatever your social media of choices, then please do, would always love to hear you obscure sports star. And now let's hear about George Reynolds

RAYA HUBBELL 00:12:54

Last September the NFL opened its Academy in North London. Students from the age of 16-19 could compete for a place at the academy, which is designed to mimic the US high school experience. They take their academic lessons at Barnet and Southgate College and their American Football classes from some of the best coaches and players around. One man who’s been in the academy since it opened, is 18-year-old George Reynolds. A man aiming to become the NFL’s first ever British Quarterback. The Good Time Sports Club asked him how he’d found year one at the Academy

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:13:24

When this came up, I really knew that for me, this was the opportunity to take myself to the next level. So it's just a great and exciting time - great place to be. Training with the best athletes in the country and with the best coaches I can get. So really it's just an amazing opportunity. And I can't wait to get back this year.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:13:44

George has played for his club side Kent Exiles since he was 13 and represented Great Britain at junior levels in European tournaments, but as he told us, some of the players at the academy had never played before:

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:13:56

So the recruitment process for the Academy was very much based on athletic ability when we went to the trial. So it was one at Tottenham and then several around London, the trial was really focused on 40 yard dash. So speed agility, power, and like how high you can jump etc. There was really no football drills. Obviously it played a part if you sent film in, but they really want to know who were the best athletes. Because a lot of times the best football players are people who can translate skills from another sport. So we have on our team, we have rugby players, we have basketball players. We even have a swimmer runners, sprinters, and really train in high level can translate over sports. So rugby players can take tackling. For example, we had the linebacker come in this year, never touched a football before, but learned so quick how to play the game and became one of the best players on the teams

RAYA HUBBELL 00:14:52

In the short-term George’s ambitions are to secure his A-Levels and head to the US for University. In doing so he plans to earn a scholarship at an elite football college. Schools are ranked in terms of their sporting prowess with the top schools earning Division 1 status. Students at this level play in front of thousands in a stadium and millions at home but are required to continue their studies alongside. We asked George if the Academy has been good preparations for his future.

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:15:17

Yeah, definitely because for me, as much as I see the sport, I can see the games that the quarterbacks play when they're out in college. I don't understand, or I didn't understand what they, what a day would entail for them. How much work would have to be put in outside of game day, how much it really is balancing your studies as well as getting enough rest, eating enough. So really this year just helped me prepare and understand what life the next level would be like, where I have to make sure I'm eating three or four meals a day at good times, because it becomes easy to just fall into a habit where you're walking around London at seven o'clock at night, and you can just pick up a takeaway instead of coming home and making food. You have to really create habits, good habits where you come home and make food, get enough sleep and just focus every day.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:16:10

One of the Academy's biggest selling points has been the NFL talent that has turned up to help out and show support. Elite NFL receivers, Odell Beckham, jr. And Juju Smith-Schuster were among the players that had visited, but we couldn't help wondering if George had taken the opportunity to throw a pass to the greatest receiver of all time; Jerry Rice when he popped into the Academy

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:16:31

Yeah. Jerry Rice she managed to catch one of my balls. So that was a great experience for me. Just being able to say that I’ve thrown a pass to him is really exciting. Them coming down is a great motivation for us. It shows that we all get in like the exposure out in America, and these guys are excited about us. They want to come down and see what we're doing. And for us that's really good motivation

RAYA HUBBELL 00:16:53

But with the Academy suspended George has been throwing to a different receiver, his dad, Neil, how does he compare it to the greatest receiver of all time?

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:17:01

I don't think he's quite got the pace, but his hands are good.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:17:03

Neil is the host of Sky Sports’ NFL coverage, writes for UK American football magazine Gridiron and was the editor of the NFL’s own European website before that. He’s been involved in the game professionally for thirty years and is one of the sport’s biggest names in the UK. But how had he helped George during the break?

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:17:20

He’s actually really helped me. Being able to go out three or four times a week, and him catching the balls is better than throwing into a net in the garden, for example, because I can actually throw to a moving target. I can work on foot work, different throws. So really just that and being able to focus cause lockdown has been tough, not being able to be on the field with my teammates, but just being able to do something to improve wherever I watch my own throws and see that my footwork’s off or something that I can go practice this. And just=being able to throw to him in the park has been really good.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:17:53

Another influence on George's playing career is the man selected highest in 2011 NFL draft Andrew Luck

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:17:58

I've grown up a fan of him. I really loved the way he played. For me, whenever I looked at how I would play football, I tried to replicate what he did. So if I looked at his form of how he threw it or how often he ran the ball himself, I really tried to replicate that myself. It really helps because as a British person, I didn't have too many coaches when I was really young to tell me, “Oh, you need to do this”. So that, so it really is about finding the idol for you. So yeah, having learned from him, he trained me a couple of times. It really does help because I just want to get to his level.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:18:33

And Andrew Luck isn’t the only superstar who’s helped to train George - Kurt Warner, who went from stacking supermarket shelves to winning the Superbowl and the NFL’s most valuable player award on his way to the hall of fame - has also visited George. But did Kurt’s unconventional NFL journey inspire George?

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:18:50

Yeah, well I was lucky enough to meet him as well. And he gave me, he really inspired me knowing that his story wasn't the perfect American story where he's grown up through high school college, and then straight into the NFL. He not only went out, played arena football and then came back into it really, really intrigued me and the way that he's done it. And when he spoke to me and gave me advice about how to play football and how's were decent defences and stuff, it really showed that I can do this. And like other people from Europe can do this because a route is not the same for everyone. It's not, you have to play from age five or whatever in America to get into the NFL. It really can show that we can get the

RAYA HUBBELL 00:19:34

One major boost to George’s NFL prospects has been Quicny Avery, one of the highest rated quarterback coaches in the world. The biggest name on his books is Deshawn Watson, who like George, and his idol Andrew Luck, combines passing and running ability. But what impact has Quincy had on George?

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:19:49

Yeah. So a lot of the drills I do and focus on have been drills that have come from him and what he's taught me, which is to be light on your feet and ready to move every time. And you can see that when you look at Deshawn Watson’s game. There's rarely a time where it gets sacked because he's always moving and he can move and get the ball out. So I tried to replicate that when I get into games. But also learning from him. It really gives me another aspect rather than just focusing on the throw. And it focuses on how to throw on the run and how to run yourself.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:20:21

Quincy then invited him to a quarterback camp for the best high school players in the US. Unfortunately the coronavirus outbreak has restricted George’s participation to sending videos back and forth from home. And it’s not just Quincy Avery who’s recognised George’s talent. Top high school scout Tom Lemming rated George amongst the top Quarterback’s in the land giving him a three star grade. It’s a sign of legitimacy, and opens the eyes of the division one colleges he’s pursuing:

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:20:48 The exposure's been really good for me. And I'm getting interest from high-level schools, D1 schools to down to D3 schools, not any secure yet. So I'm not gonna say names, but is very helpful to get this exposure and just be able to prove myself. The three star rating is only a start because that doesn't mean I'm necessarily getting scholarship. I still want to work for this and prove to the coaches that I am a good fit for their school and that I would make a difference and be able to compete out there.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:21:15

George strikes you as mature, motivated, and resilient and while there's a long way to go and thousands of other 18-year-olds to compete with, he seems destined to play college football at the highest level very soon. And who knows, maybe he'll become the NFL’s first British quarterback too.

GEORGE REYNOLDS 00:21:30

It would mean the world to me, because I feel like it could just be, it could just open so many doors for other people around the world where they can see this as an inspiration and understand that they can do this as well. But for me personally, it just be a lifelong dream of mine to be able to step out on that field, lead a team in front of thousands of fans. So yeah, it would just, it would just mean the world to me to be able to do that.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:22:01

Hello. And with us today for our quiz is Catherine Whittaker from The Tennis Podcast. Catherine how are you?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:22:11

I'm very well, thanks Raya. Yeah. I didn't mean for the lighting that I'm appearing to you in to be quite as moody and sensual as it is. it's just, it's just very late at night.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:22:24

It is absolutely beautiful. But for the purpose of the podcast, medium, we're the only ones that can see it. So

OJ BORG 00:22:30

I can imagine guttering candles, just outside of the frame, what is on the tennis podcast this week?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:22:37

Actual tennis,

OJ BORG 00:22:38

Actual real tennis?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:22:38

Actual tennis for the first time in five months. Yeah, it's not quite come back with a bang tennis it's come back. So as much as there's been all this talk about unifying the men's and women's tours over the course of lockdown, actually what's happened is they have restarted with absolutely no unity whatsoever. So we've got the, the Women's Tour starting this week with an event in Palermo that has sort of a smattering of players from the world's top 30, but nobody with all due respect, nobody of major note. It's kind of not the big, fun, fair return of tennis that we're all hoping for. Men's tennis gets underway in a couple of weeks. Where is an event next week in, in the US, which Serena Williams is supposed to be playing. I mean, it all feels, I don't know whether I'm just a total pessimist and party pooper, but it all feels built on a little bit of a house of cards, at the moment. So I kind of I'll believe everything when I see it.

OJ BORG 00:23:42

Ah don't worry about being a pessimist. Don't worry. A pessimist is just an optimist with real world experience. That’s all

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:23:46

Thanks very much

OJ BORG 00:23:48

Yeah. now, before we get into the quiz, we ask people for their favourite obscure sports star and one of our listeners Stuart Court said this, “I struggled with this for a little bit than an epiphany. As a kid watching Wimbledon, the man who acted the fool on Court. I remember his play more than most of those late nineties, early noughties winners. And that's Mansour Bahrami, I've probably pronounced his name completely incorrect here Catherine

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:24:10

No you’re bang on

OJ BORG 00:24:12

Okay. I think I remember him. He does all the tricks. He does the shots through his legs around the back. What is he like as a player? You must have met him surely over the years.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:24:20

Yeah. Well, I used to work on the champions tour, actually. That was where I cut my teeth in tennis, travelling around the world as a 22 year old with a bunch of retired tennis players. Very weird life. Wonderful but strange for awhile. And Mansour Bahrami was, and still is, he's well into his 60’s now, a huge feature of the champion’s Tour. He is the most gentle man you will ever meet with sort of this really soft, gentle charisma about him and this extraordinary talent. His backstory, and for anyone that wants to know more about it; he’s got an autobiography called the man behind the moustache. And his backstory is extraordinary. He grew up in Iran. There weren't any tennis courts where he was, he wasn't allowed to play tennis. He learned to play with a frying pan and, and the tennis ball that he had acquired from somewhere. And then he managed to get to France and get entry into a local tennis tournament. And then he gambled all his money away in a casino. It's one of those stranger than fiction life stories that beggars belief a bit he's one of those kind of guys, you know

RAYA HUBBELL 00:25:28

Do you know? I didn't know anything about the gambling, all of his money away, but oddly, there's a strange sense that when you see him and the comedy value that he gives you on the Court, he almost, you could almost tell he's done that because everything is almost a joke. He simply has to be larger than life. Doesn't he? Y’know, it’s brilliant

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:25:43

He simply has to be larger than life. Doesn't he?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:25:47

Yeah, absolutely.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:25:48

But it's the moustache. It's all about the moustache

OJ BORG 00:25:50

Oh God, I'm a sucker for a moustache. He's like, the Persian Tom Selleck. I like to think.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:25:56

Oh, he’ll have to rename his autobiography!

OJ BORG 00:26:00

It should be the Persian Tom Selleck. Catherine how are you on quizzes during this lockdown? Have you done many zoom quizzes?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:26:05

Oh, I have. I was over zoom quizzes several months ago, but I've had a bit of a break from them now. So I'm ready and raring. Yeah. I always, I throw a bit of a stop with zoom quizzes when there's no sport round.

OJ BORG 00:26:19

Well, luckily Catherine, this is just one big sports round. This is 10 questions, from across the week of things that have happened in sport.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:26:30

Okay.

OJ BORG 00:26:31

Raya would you like to ask the question? Shall I ask the questions?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:26:32

Well, we could, we can take turns if you want

OJ BORG 00:26:35

Flip flop. Okay.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:26:37

Is it you against myself?

OJ BORG 00:26:40

Yeah it’s you against yourself. Your high score goes onto a leaderboard. As you're the first person. I can guarantee you a top three spot here. You're going to do very well.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:26:47

I do like a low bar?

OJ BORG 00:26:50

Alright, here we go. Then let's do the quiz 10 questions. This is stuff that's happened in sport across the week. Catherine the US open is the next grand slam on the calendar, which Canadian tennis star defeated Serena Williams to win their last year.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:27:04

Oh, Bianca Andreescu

RAYA HUBBELL 00:27:08

Yes. Excellent. Number two Catherine. Which world cup winning Spanish Goalkeeper has retired from football at the age of 39.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:27:15

Oh, this week? Yes. Yes. Ages 39. Oh, um, Oh God Shakira’s husband. No, no,

OJ BORG 00:27:31

I don't know who Shakira’s married to so I can't give you that.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:27:34

No it’s not Shakira’s husband, but I can see him in my head. Casillias?

OJ BORG 00:27:38

It is Casillas congratulations. Correct? England are currently playing host to which cricket team.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:27:45

Oh, Pakistan,

OJ BORG 00:27:47

Correct

RAYA HUBBELL 00:27:48

Yes. Excellent. Number four. The US PGA championships take place this weekend. Who is the defending champion?.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:27:56

I was hoping the question. The golf question would be about Bryson DeChambeau saying he was going to live for 130 years or that he was planning to live for 130 years. Who's the defending PGA champion? I don't think I know that. Uh, so I will say a guess.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:28:17

Nice. Like the attitude

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:28:21

uh, uh, um, Dustin Johnson?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:28:30

No, Brooks Koepka

OJ BORG 00:28:32

All right. Question five. The NBA's currently playing all of its games in which the US theme park

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:28:38

Disney world isn't it.

OJ BORG 00:28:39

It is indeed.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:28:41

Right. Number six. Which driver won the British grand Prix on Sunday with only three wheels on his wagon.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:28:47

Lewis Hamilton.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:28:48

Yeah. You got it in one

OJ BORG 00:28:51

Which world champion cyclist and former guest on the podcast celebrated her fifth straight win last week with at Strade Bianche.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:28:58

Ooh. Is it Lizzie Armitstead?

OJ BORG 00:29:01

No it wasn't, it was Annemiek Van Vleuten who absolutely monstered it. She absolutely killed the race it was amazing

RAYA HUBBELL 00:29:05

Yeah. She is unstoppable at the moment. Right? Number eight. This week marks eight years since super Saturday, but who were the three British athletes who won gold in the Olympic stadium in 2012?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:29:17

Uh Greg Rutherford Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah yeah.

OJ BORG 00:29:21

Do you know? I was offered tickets for that. And instead I went to the gymnastics. I blame my wife totally. For that decision.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:29:28

I don’t know how you ever get over that

OJ BORG 00:29:29

I can't, I mean, don't get wrong. We saw the first day of a British gymnastics medal, but I was at the side of the room having a strop into a bit of pizza when that happened.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:29:36

Has a day gone by in the last eight years that you haven’t thought about that?

OJ BORG 00:29:38

No, no, no. I’ve thought about divorce because she ruined the chance to be there on Super Saturday. Um, the world sneaker championships are currently underway at which Sheffield venue?

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:29:47

The crucible.

OJ BORG 00:29:49

Yeah. I mean, I thought the crucible only showed snooker. I didn't realise it was a theatre, that showed of stuff. I thought it was just a snooker venue.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:29:57

Oh god! I thought so too. Last question. Number 10. Which sport restarted this week when St. Helen's clashed at Catalan Dragons.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:30:05

Rugby League

OJ BORG 00:30:06

It is indeed Rugby League. Yeah. Well done. Let me look at Mark. our, faithful handler. You've got eight out of 10, which is a fine start Catherine congratulations. Let me have a look at the leaderboard and see - you’re top! Congratulations Well done. Well, thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure to talk to you. When do you think tennis will be vaguely back to normal,

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:30:28

Back to norma…, you're not allowed to use the words back to normal,

OJ BORG 00:30:32

Back to normal ish. When do you think there'll be? The, the tour will be happening properly again, there'll be a proper tournament.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:30:39

By properly do you mean crowds?

OJ BORG 00:30:32

I do. I tell you what, here's the question? Let me phrase the question. When do you think Wimbledon happen? What year 21, 22 or 23.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:30:46

Do you know what until Glastonbury made its announcement this week about not being likely to happen until 2022? I just sort of assumed I had Wimbledon is this beacon of hope, this rainbow on the horizon for next year. And then Glastonbury poops on all our parties and said was probably not going to happen in 2021. Let's be realistic. But, given that I've already done a bit of pessimism, uh, I'll do a bit of optimism and say Wimbledon will happen in 2021.

OJ BORG 00:31:21

Yes. Lovely.

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:31:23

Because if it doesn’t I’ll just, have to you know, descend into a puddle of despair. I think

OJ BORG 00:31:30

My favorite band, Catherine from The Tennis Podcast. Thank you so much for your time. It's been actually a pleasure. Thank you for taking the time

CATHERINE WHITTAKER 00:31:35

You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:31:38

Thanks. Catherine bye.

OJ BORG 00:31:38

Go on Raya be honest with me. How many did you get right in the sports quiz? Go on.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:31:43

I feel a little too embarrassed to answer, but it might've been three.

OJ BORG 00:31:47

Oh, but that's seven less than me. I got all 10 absolutely right can you believe it all 10?

RAYA HUBBELL 00:31:51

Whatever!

OJ BORG 00:31:55

Well that is it for this week. We hope you've enjoyed your time at the Good Time Sports Club. If you have, please give us a follow and a five star review wherever you get your podcasts from that would make a massive difference and put smiles on our faces. It means that more people can find us and join in to

RAYA HUBBELL 00:32:09

That brings us to thank our very special guests this week. Luke Campbell, George Reynolds and Catherine Whittaker OJ.

OJ BORG 00:32:15

Thank you very much Raya it’s been a joy to be with you.

The Good Time Sports Club is a Shocked Giraffe production and was presented by me OJ Borg

RAYA HUBBELL 00:32:23

And me Raya Hubbell

OJ BORG 00:32:25

The show is produced by Mr. Payne himself Mark Payne with additional production by James Watkins. Until next week. Raya goodbye.

RAYA HUBBELL 00:32:32

See you!