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Tour tear-ups, vintage Wimbledon and shirt pulling done properly | Classic YouTube

Helen Wills-Moody
‘Invincible’ Helen Wills-Moody, in action at Wimbledon in 1933. Photograph: Len Putnam/AP

1) Need a Wimbledon mood-setter? Here’s 1961’s Pathé guide, featuring a trademark jaunty soundtrack, details on how the balls were made, and footage of a school chaplain training the ball boys. “Practice makes perfect, and for Wimbledon the preparations couldn’t be more punctilious.” See also Pathé’s 1954 “The Way To Wimbledon” documentary, which starts here. “There’s something besides the conflict of strings and tennis balls that extends Wimbledon beyond the simple courts into a function, a ritual and a challenge.” There’s plenty of vintage tennis action in the Pathé vaults too – including Helen Wills-Moody (“Invincible Helen”) winning again in 1930, and Fred Perry’s 1934 highlights.

2) It’s Tour de France time, too, so here’s a first-person view of last year’s most unlikely moment: an inflatable advertising arch taking a dislike to Adam Yates. Among other edgy Tour clips: a support car staff member’s perspective on dealing with a nasty pile-up in 2015; Lance Armstrong’s crash and recovery in 2003 via an, erm, “massive surge of adrenaline”; and the rider Kevin Reza deftly scooping up a fan’s dropped camera in 2014, and shooting a film of his legs in action.

3) Firefighters parked up at the World Touring Car Championship in Vila Real last week were given a jolt when the driver Tom Coronel went straight on at a corner. They all emerged unscathed, but the car was left crumpled. “The engine was dislocated, the suspension was broken, there was damage to the bodywork and chassis,” said Coronel. “The car really was like a banana.”

4) Good news for continuity fans: England’s football identity is safe with the next generation. Here’s the senior side’s complete set of penalty shootout memories: World Cup 1990, Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle doing their thing against West Germany; Gareth Southgate stepping up against Germany in 1996; Paul Ince and David Batty folding against Argentina in 1998; David Beckham and Darius Vassell missing at Euro 2004; Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher matching them in 2006; and Ashley Young and Ashley Cole staying on message in 2012. But it doesn’t always follow the script: here’s England’s 1996 quarter-final effort against Spain, with Pearce, sort of, making amends.

5) Inspired by this cow at Kerridge v Mossley, this bull gets a pre-season friendly under its belt in Bulgaria.

6) And here’s some shirt-pulling done properly, via Sandefjord midfielder Pau Morer. His effort joins the list of other shirt-based hits: this subtle tug going unpunished but still leaving its mark; another player hitching a ride; why grabbing your own shirt is neither big nor clever; and Jan Vertonghen showing that even if the shirt is out of reach, there’s always an another option.

Highlights from last week’s blog

1) An elegant new entry in the always engaging Best Dive Ever category. Nice work, Lucas Fonseca.

2) Here’s some vintage lollipop mayhem from Roma’s Mancini against Lyon in 2007. Always looks so good when it comes off. And so bad when it doesn’t.

3) Hype fans will relish this stirring unofficial McGregor v Mayweather promo trailer. It contains ripe language, Gangsta’s Paradise and hot takes: “This is the biggest fight ever in the history of two people punching each other.”

4) All the darts referees, in alphabetical order, shouting “180”. Unsettling.

5) And marvel as an unassuming-looking robot spends a few moments weighing up its heftier Robot Wars opponent, then makes a decisive move. Don’t blink.

Spotters’ badges: TheCedarRoom, whobroughtoranges, Denothemeno, microm1987, LeeWall.

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