Sports Ladder (8th - 14th July)

UP - Lewis Hamilton - Last weekend's British Grand Prix has reopened the race for the Championship after a mesmerising drive from Lewis Hamilton coupled with a gearbox failure for Nico Rosberg left the Mercedes pair just four points apart. Hamilton worked his way from sixth up to first after an excellent start before the red flags emerged following Kimi Raikkonen crash. This leaves a very tasty looking second half to the season.

UP - Novak Djokovic - A second Wimbledon title and a sixth Grand Slam ensured that Novak Djokovic had a week to remember. What he may lack in the elegance of Roger Federer or the relentlessness of Rafael Nadal he more than makes up for with his gritty determination and is more of a complete player than either of those two. He is perhaps yet to fully win the support of the British public but if he keeps going at this rate it can only be a matter of time.

UP - James Anderson - In a period of instability and disappointment in English cricket it was welcoming this week to see a moment of brief, record-breaking success. Jimmy Anderson alongside Joe Root set the record for the highest last wicket stand as the pair of them made 198 runs, including 81 from Anderson himself, also a record for an English closing batsman. Could this be the start of a change in fortune? It seems unlikely, but we may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

UP - Horse-Racing Seagull - I just couldn't ignore the cheeky antics of an audacious seagull in Brighton this week. In a photo-finish between Jewelled and Sagesse it emerged that there was in fact a third competitor when a seagull photo-bombed, sticking his neck out and just losing to Jewelled by a few beaks. It is not known whether the animal is merely confused about its origins or fancies himself as a bit of a racer but unfortunately the bookmakers refused to pay out on any bets on the unfancied bird.


UP - Rory McIlroy - Considering his sporting prowess it does surprise me how rarely, if ever he has actually made my weekly ladder. The Northern Irishman has had mixed success in recent times but this week shot a phenomenal round of 64 to break the course record in the first round of the Scottish Open at Aberdeen. As well as they he also took advantage of a strong tail wind to slog a drive 436 yards to set the record for this year.

DOWN - Rory McIlroy - And yet sport is a world of swings and roundabouts and just the next day Rory undid all his good work by carding a shocking 78 to plummet down the leaderboard. More depressing is the fact that this is the second time he has collapsed this year after an astounding first round where he shot a 63 then a 78 at the Memorial Tournament in May. With the youngster struggling for consistency and struggling off the course after ending his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki, should he take a break from golf?

DOWN - Blackpool - The recruitment staff at Blackpool seem to have been spending too much time watching the World Cup and not enough time finding some players to don the tangerine kit next year as they currently have just eight registered first team players. Now for those of you with any knowledge of football you will be aware that eleven players are needed just to field an actual team so probably you see the dilemma. I'll keep my phone on loud for the next few days waiting for the call from Barry Ferguson.

DOWN - Chris Froome - After the recent Tour de Triumphs of Chris Froome and Sir Bradley Wiggins in the last two years we have become accustomed to success in the greatest cycling race on the planet. However after the loss of Mark Cavendish last week we were treated to more disappointment as defending champion Chris Froome also departed with multiple wrist injuries. Very sad to see him go but Bradley Wiggins must be gutted he wasn't given the call by Team Sky. Will they live to regret not including him?

DOWN - Paris Saint-Germain - Don't you hate it when you pay over the odds for something such as a t-shirt or a pint? Well imagine how Paris Saint-Germain feel after watching the simply shocking performances of everyone's favourite Sideshow Bob lookalike, David Luiz, their £50 million summer acquisition. The 'defender' has a tendency to wander aimlessly and was largely at fault for numerous of the ten goals conceded in Brazil's last two games. Let's hope they've kept the receipt somewhere safe.


DOWN - Brazil - A record-breaking 7-1 loss in the semi-finals of your home tournament. No more words are needed.



Disclaimer: This was written before the finale of that football tournament that everyone seems to be talking about.

Sports Ladder (23rd-30th March)

UP - Liverpool - Well it's been a long time coming, but this week Liverpool have finally risen back to the top of the Premier League. Whilst teams around them have faltered in recent weeks, the Reds have won eight consecutive matches and under the leadership of Brendan Rogers and the form of the SASASAS it looks like they legitimately could win their first Premier League title ever.

UP - Lewis Hamilton - We've had to wait some time to see a convincing smile emblazoned across the face of Lewis Hamilton but it was certainly present after the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend. A technical failure in the Championship's opening race in Australia meant he had to wait a few weeks for his second victory in the Mercedes car but it was an outstanding, commanding and controlling performance from the Brit.

UP - Laura Massaro - Massaro is not exactly a household name, but one thing is for sure, she is a world champion. This week she became the first female British Squash World Champion since 1999 after her 11-7 6-11 11-9 5-11 11-9 victory over Egyptian teenager Nour El Sherbini down in Penang in Malaysia. Massaro joins Brit Nick Matthew in currently holding world champion status in the world of squash..

UP - Martina Hingis - As both the men's and women's singles finals in Miami were contested by the first and second seed it was up to the doubles to provide something a bit different. And provide it did as the veteran Martina Hingis won her first title since 2007 as she surged to victory with smiley partner Sabine Lisicki. The pair defeated the Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina on their way to the title.

UP - Benedict Cumberbatch - It's not everyday you see a 'high-functioning sociopath' conducting the post-race interview after a Formula One race but on Sunday the actor who plays Sherlock was indeed up on the podium with Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel. It was a surreal moment but if you weren't aware of who Cumberbatch was you probably wouldn't have guessed he was an actor as he was calm, composed and collected in his new role as interviewer.

DOWN - Kosuke Hashino - It's rare that an event from Rugby breaks into my Ladder as it isn't a sport I follow very closely. However I couldn't help but have a little chuckle at the attempted 'swan dive' of Kosuke Hashino. After a brilliant interception Hashino found himself completely through but rather audaciously tried and failed the Chris Ashton 'swan dive'. Luckily Hashino and his team mates saw the funny side as Japan ran out eventual winners.

DOWN - Tom Cleverley - We haven't seen much of Cleverley in the news recently. He has had less game time recently under Moyes and hence we have less to complain about. However today the new England kit was released and many England fans will have been disheartened to see the Manchester United midfielder modelling the kit, suggesting he is going to the World Cup. I feel as though some sort of petition is in order.

DOWN - England Cricket - It hasn't been a particularly pleasant six months for the England Cricket team since their Ashes victory last summer and that trend continued this week. With just one win in their four matches Stuart Broad's team crashed limply out of the Twenty20 World Cup. Their dismal run of form continues after their demolition in the winter Ashes and the retirement of Kevin Pietersen.

DOWN - Andy Murray - Andy Murray's poor start to 2014 continued with yet another early exit after departing the Sony Open in the quarterfinals, albeit to Novak Djokovic, the eventual winner. It was not necessarily a poor tournament for Murray, but the loss means he moves down to 8th in the World Rankings, an extremely disappointing position for a current Grand Slam holder.

DOWN - Manchester United Fans - Interestingly Manchester United fans on the whole had a good week but there was a select few who really were an embarrassment to themselves and to football on the whole. The decision to hire a plane with the message 'Wrong One - Moyes Out' was both childish and pathetic as far as I am concerned. Moyes has clearly had a tough start as United manager but  stupid stunts like this will hardly improve his confidence.

Sports Ladder (2nd-8th August)

UP - Wrestling - A good week for wrestling as it re-enters the Olympics. As one of the original events in the 1896 inaugural games it was important for it to regain a spot, even if it did mean that Squash sadly missed out. All we need now is to get rid of non-Olympic-spirit sports such as football, golf, tennis etc and it will be restored to its former glory.

UP - Sebastian Vettel - After yet another commanding victory, Vettel has now gained himself a 53 point lead with only 175 points remaining and looks dead set to win his fourth consecutive Formula 1 crown. As much as it pains me to say it, it might actually be skill rather than luck which has driven Vettel to success and I might finally have to bite the bullet and say congratulations.

UP - Arsene Wenger - How do you appease the fans questioning your ability? Beat your closest rivals and then sign one of the best playmakers on the planet. After a summer of discontent amongst Arsenal fans they will feel that the future is much brighter following Wenger smashing their transfer record by about £27 million. Perhaps they will eclipse their regular fourth spot this year.

UP - Jordan Spieth - Spieth has had an outstanding debut year on the PGA Tour, currently 10th in the Fed-Ex Standings and 28th in the World Rankings, the 20 year old's year got even better as he was handed a spot on the American Presidents Cup team courtesy of Fred Couples. After Charley Hull recently highlighted the success a youngster can have, Spieth will be looking to emulate that success.

UP - Ben Maher - It's always nice to highlight a small success story and few will have heard of Ben Maher. However, an Olympic gold medalist at London last year, Maher has just become the world's top-ranked showjumper after successfully winning team gold and individual silver at last months European Championships.

DOWN - Chris Coleman - Oh Chris, we've all been there. Actually, well, I haven't. There is a lot of pressure being a National team manager, but one thing that is usually required for away trips is a passport. A disappointing week for Coleman who after missing his flight with the team, then lost 2-1 to Macedonia.

DOWN - Gabriel Agbonlahor - It's a good thing Gabby is fast, because he'll have around 13 million of Louis Tomlinson's fans chasing him after causing the One Direction singer to leave the field during Stiliyan Petrov's Charity Match with a late tackle. The footballing world enjoyed it thoroughly although I'm pretty sure Agbonlahor will be getting plenty of hate mail over the coming days.

DOWN - Lewis Hamilton - Probably not the debut season that Lewis Hamilton had in mind when he left McLaren for Mercedes last year. Plenty of poles but poor race pace has meant only one victory and this weekend pushed himself completely out of the title race. Will we ever see him win a Championship again? Sadly I think not.

DOWN - Greg Dyke - Same old, same old as Greg Dyke, the new Football Association Chairman announces that England should aim to win the 2022 World Cup. You know that World Cup which we might boycott. Incredible that Dyke was under the impression that to date we have not been aiming to win the major tournaments. Sort it out at grassroots level first and perhaps we'll aim for 2038!

DOWN - Roger Federer - Form is temporary, class is permanent. Federer will have to take solace from this saying as he suffers his first year since 2003 where he has not made a Grand Slam final. Coming into the twilight of his career, Federer now has to make the bold decision whether to bow out as a hero or risk threatening his great legacy by continuing to play.