Not by the Playbook

Sarah Mulkerrins takes part in a 1000 year-old sporting tradition in our global look at the week in sport which includes... Shrovetide Football While many Christians around the mark the beginning of Lent with Pancakes, the residents of Ashbourne in Derby engage in one of football’s strangest contests. The ‘pitch’ is three miles long, with hundreds of players on each side. The Jump - A step too far...

As the Super Bowl prepares for its 50th anniversary, we look at the historical and cultural significance of America's greatest game. Our backdrop is California, venue for some of the most significant moments in the game’s history. Our backing track is the US billboard number one on the day of the Super Bowl. Back to the Start: 1967 January 1967, the LA Coliseum the venue of Super Bowl I in the com...

Is the greatest danger to the future of some of the world’s most popular sports the potential for brain injury? We investigate if research can be trusted in light of the pressures doctors might feel under if findings adversely affect the standing of sport. Or is it simply enough for athletes to be aware of the risks posed before participating or should some sports be amended or even banned? www.co...

Ashley Giles was an England cricketer playing on the biggest stage of all, contesting an Ashes series in Australia, when the call came from home. His wife, Stine, had been diagnosed with a brain tumour – the size of a cricket ball. A decade ago she had surgery to remove it, and then -- later -- further treatment when a second tumour was discovered. Now, Ashley and Stine have founded the Giles Trus...

We’re in St. Louis as the city’s American football franchise packs up and moves to Los Angeles. We speak to one fan looking at making a 3000 mile round trip just to watch home games! Real Life Action Man: We hear from Tony Schiena the former undefeated karate world champion turned Hollywood action man who in his spare time fights for the rights of the victims of sex trafficking. Baseball Pioneer:...

Suzy Favor Hamilton had competed in the final of the 1500m at the Sydney Olympics before apparently settling into family life. However it emerged that she'd been working as a high-class escort in Las Vegas. She's been telling Sportshour how she has bipolar disorder, a condition that results in dramatic mood swings and at times contributed to her becoming, as she describes it, 'hypersexual'. Anothe...

We look back at two of the big sporting events we brought you the show from in 2015 Photo: President Obama welcomes the successful USA women's football team after winning the World Cup (L) Credit: Getty Tom Brady on his way to leading the New England Patriots to another Super Bowl victory (R) Credit: Getty

The best of Sportshour in 2015. Sometimes serious, sometimes quirky, always interesting!

Cristiano Ronaldo: Football, the Future and Fatherhood We speak to Cristiano Ronaldo about life off the pitch. He tells us how fatherhood has changed him and he wants more children “so let’s find the right woman” He also hints at the prospect of playing in America one day. Roger Federer: I’ve Missed My Best Chance Roger Federer tells Caroline Rigby that he has “missed his best chance” of gold in t...

The death of the 10 year old Eduardo de Jesus is being seen as a watershed moment in the way Rio’s favelas are policed after an officer was charged in connection with his death. Alex Capstick has been speaking to Eduardo’s mother Terezinha Maria de Jesus about this recent development. With Rio 2016 just months away, she says the methods used by police to clean up favelas is coming at too high a pr...

From the X Factor to the 'Got Talent' and 'Idol' formats we all love a good reality show. But, in Nigeria, they're using the same idea to find future World and Olympic champions. The TV show 'Top Sprinter Genesis' is focussed on young athletes. The first few episodes have already been shown, with the series due to finish it's run next year. The show's creator, Bambo Akani, and former Olympic medal...

Imagine thinking you had qualified for the Olympics by being the best on the continent, but then finding out you still aren't going to Rio. That's what happened to South Africa's men and women's hockey teams. Despite winning the African championships, the country's Olympic Committee SASCOC, say they haven't met the qualification requirements they agreed with the South African Hockey Association. W...

Caroline Barker was at Wembley as France and England met just a few days after the devastating terrorist attacks in Paris, included one attack at a football match involving the French national team. We look at the significance of a night full of emotion and the implications of hosting Euro 2016. The First Family of African Football We meet the man who gave his name to the Kaizer Chiefs, Kaizer Mot...

With Sierra Leone looking set to join Liberia in being declared Ebola free we visit both countries to find out how sport is playing a crucial role in rehabilitating survivors of the disease and bringing a sense of normality back to the region. The Bhutan Clan: We're hitting the bullseye in Bhutan as we find out the secrets behind this sparsely populated countries archery success. Could they be on...

As the Rugby World comes to an end, we look at the high-profile injuries in the tournament and whether it’s time for all players wear scrum caps. We have been to the British Standard Institution’s testing facility to see what difference they can make. The Best of Enemies So who will come out on top in the battle of the Antipodeans? We look at what binds and divides these two nations with Australia...

Former boxing world champion Mark Prince steps back into the ring on Friday despite having initially retired in 1999. However he continues to fight in memory of his son, Kiyan Prince a former QPR youth team player, who was murdered outside his school in 2006. Mark has vowed to continue to fight both in the ring and knife crime outside it, but at 47 how long can he keep going? Chinese Follow Wenger...

Baltimore Ravens' John Urschel explains how he juggles being a maths genius and NFL star. Athlete Abuse Should romantic relationships between athletes and coaches be banned? That is the view of Safe4athletes founder, former British Olympic swimmer and abuse survivor Katherine Starr. We discuss that issue and others around athlete safety with Katherine and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jenn Heil P...

We hear from business, political and sporting leaders all so we can offer Liverpool's new manager Jürgen Klopp a guaranteed blueprint for managerial success. We also preview this weekend's Ironman World Championship in Hawaii with 6 time winner and triathlon legend Mark Allen. After revelations emerged that Wayne Rooney was a secret poet we hear from football's only poet in resident. Thomas Clark...

Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Soa Palelei has been asked not to attend a charity event at a children’s hospital in Perth, Australia. Although the sport of Mixed Martial Art is not banned in Western Australia, UFC is, because of the use of a cage in bouts. As such Palelei’s attendance was not seen as having a suitable influence on the children. We hear from the fighter and explore if cage...

2-time national Motocross champion Adrianne Cooper has at the age of just 27 had her career ended after losing a kidney. However the loss of that kidney was deliberate. She made a conscious decision to gift the organ to 10 year old Logan Carson saving his life and in the process having her career terminated early. The Medieval Maul Whilst listening to the Rugby World Cup the Sportshour team were s...

A mix of some of the Rugby World Cup's biggest characters, important issues and global stories. We’re with the Japanese team as they acclimatise to new surroundings with the help of some food, especially shipped in from home. We join the Italian squad as they test out some of the state-of-the-art technology that allows players to recover quicker. Plus we delve in to the history of the sport and th...

Meet the man determined to make every football stadium in England and Scotland out of Lego. Death, Deafness and Dominating the World When his father was murdered in 2000 the career of England rugby union star Ben Cohen fell away. He lost his international place, and couldn't even make the starting fifteen for his club. Three years later he was a World Cup winner. With the 2015 tournament starting...

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is often the preferred destination for those fleeing conflict. Whilst the debate continues in countries that make up the European Union, German football fans have been expressing their feelings by unfurling banners at many matches that simply read "Refugees Welcome". So what has caused this open support in stadia? We hear from German football experts Ronald Reng...

The killing of Cameroon footballer Albert Ebosse moments after a match he played in for his team in Algeria, shocked the world of football. Exactly a year on we ask why so many questions about his death have remained unanswered and why no one has been brought to justice. John Bennett has been speaking to Albert’s brother, as well as looking at the mounting evidence that counters the claims made by...

The election of the new president of the IAAF, athletics world governing body, will take place next week against the backdrop of more allegations of doping. So what is wrong with the IAAF? In his only BBC interview, Olympic champion Robert Harting speaks to Sportshour about how he has lost faith in the organisation, and Don Catlin, one of the world’s most famous anti-doping testers, gives his view...