GOOD
Spanish soccer fans
Everyone knows soccer fans are crazy, but new research shows the Spanish are the craziest of the lot. Scientists from the Netherlands and Spain studied the hormone levels of Spanish supporters watching a match and found that levels of the sex hormone testosterone soared in male and female soccer fans, irrespective of their team's success. True or not, it certainly raises an interesting point. After all, who needs porn when you've got Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps going at it?
Martin Brodeur
The Devils netminder may have eclipsed Patrick Roy with his 24th playoff shutout Thursday night, but that was hardly surprising for the man who holds virtually every NHL goaltending record. What was surprising was seeing Brodeur surpass fellow three-time Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ward when he registered his 11th playoff point with a third-period assist. To his credit, the self-deprecating former defenceman turned analyst took to Twitter to respond: "He plays with a goalie stick, I looked like I did."
Oscar Pistorius
What does the Blade Runner have in common with Hillary Clinton, Adele and Lionel Messi? Well, other than inspiring people the world over, on Thursday they all made Time magazine's 100 most influential people list. The first amputee to win a track medal when he took silver as part of South Africa's 4x400-metre relay squad at last year's world championships, Pistorius has yet to achieve the qualifying time for the London Olympics and with less than 100 days to go he's running out of time to do it.
BAD
Joel Quenneville
Having witnessed Chicago's Marian Hossa getting his brain rearranged Tuesday, no one can blame the Blackhawks coach for his outburst on the officiating – except maybe his accountant. Quenneville was hit with a $10,000 (U.S.) fine by the NHL, which might help him keep his mouth shut in future and use other methods of making his point. Remember, shoving someone's head through the wall, Shea Weber style, sends a similarly impactful message but at a quarter of the price.
Sebastian Vettel
The two-time world champion's start to the new F1 season has been anything but sterling, but clearly he's been working hard – so hard he hasn't even had time to read a newspaper. Speaking in Bahrain, where violent clashes have claimed more than 60 lives in the past year and are overshadowing Sunday's Grand Prix, the German summed it up simply: "It is not a big problem and I am happy once we start testing … because then we can start worrying about the stuff that really matters like tire temperatures, cars." And people say athletes are out of touch with reality.
Paul Attfield