The Upshot podcast
@UpshotTowers • 292,209 subscribers
Drunken antics, dressing room squabbles, and everything else BBC Sport won't touch with a bargepole.
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1:09
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Derek Chisora headbutting a Deliveroo driver in Hampstead yesterday morning
The Upshot podcast3,497,426 views • 2 years ago
He stole millions from footballers until his knob gave him away...
The Upshot podcast2,071,592 views • 1 year ago
Ian Botham has made a few enemies in his time. But nothing matches the poison of his 45 year feud with former Australia captain Ian Chappell. In fact, it's still simmering today... Their hatred began in a smoky bar in Melbourne back in 1977, where the pair got into a raging row. Botham claims he threw Chappell across a table and chased him down the street when the Aussie batsman insulted English cricket, while Chappell accuses Botham of shoving a smashed pint glass in his face and threatening to cut him "from ear to ear". Both men refused to apologise, and their loathing seethed on for decades. In 2010 - 33 years later - they got in a scrap in a car park and had to be dragged apart. Earlier this year, Australian broadcaster Channel 9 brought Botham and Chappell together to finally bury the hatchet. But the pair could barely look at each other and it soon descended into name-calling. Asked to say one positive thing about Botham, Chappell went for: "Gutless coward", leading Beefy to brand him "sad and lonely", invite him outside for round three and then storm out.
The Upshot podcast3,379,647 views • 2 years ago
As Eddie Jones faces the sack again, here's an incredible story from Joe Simpson about the ex-England coach's savage management style... A former assistant coach once made a minor mistake in training and received a humiliating bollocking from Eddie in front of the entire squad. Later on, Jones sat him down and apologised for losing his rag. "I wanna apologise for how I spoke to you earlier, mate," the Aussie told him. "I've bought you a steak, take it home and eat it with your missus. Enjoy it and please accept my apology". The slightly puzzled coach went home, told his wife about his bizarre day, and fired up a griddle pan to cook the peace offering. But when he opened up the bag there was no steak in there - just a pack of sausages... He then received a text from Eddie, "You're not ready for steak. You're a sausage. Up your game."
The Upshot podcast2,793,373 views • 2 years ago
1986 was Ian Botham's year from hell. Ian had promised his wife no more tabloid scandals, but within weeks the papers falsely accused him of shooting up heroin and having a "coke-fuelled shagathon" with Miss Barbados. And he was banned from cricket for three months after confessing to smoking weed. So when he was invited on a televised Q&A with some Scottish students, Beefy was hoping to meet some like-minded stoners and sign a few autographs. Instead, a hungover Botham was ambushed by a relentless cast of unsmiling Scottish teenagers who grilled him about his drug use, love of bloodsports, and refusal to help with domestic chores. Increasingly annoyed, Ian hits back with flippant replies, telling one tormentor: "You must have a sense of humour in there somewhere, love." It's TV gold.
The Upshot podcast2,125,543 views • 2 years ago
After dispatching Lou Savarese in 38 seconds, a wild-eyed Tyson calls out Lennox Lewis with a terrifying speech. "My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable. And I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children." Lewis accepts the challenge.
The Upshot podcast1,319,400 views • 1 year ago
Nobody embodied the sadistic carnage of the Crazy Gang like striker John Fashanu. The ex-Millwall headcase savagely beat up Man Utd's Viv Anderson in the tunnel before a match, and hospitalised Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt with a fractured skull. But he saved the worst for his teammates... To toughen them up, Fash would drag his terrified Wimbledon colleagues naked through the snow, lock them in the boot of his car, and starve them for days on end. When one teammate dared to stand up to him, Fash locked the dressing room door, and unleashed hellfire. "Fash threw him around like a rag doll" explained fellow nutjob Vinnie Jones. "I’ve never seen anything like it. He lifted him up, swung him around and smashed him down on the floor. The fella had to have 20 stitches or 30 stitches.” But if you ask Fash, it was all worth it... In a recent documentary he reflected: "if they saw us today, they would say 'Thank you, Fash', you may have beaten the hell out of us but you changed our character."
The Upshot podcast1,874,759 views • 2 years ago
In 2009, he gets his big Hollywood break in the Hangover. He's high on coke for the entirety of filming, and has an escort on set who he shags between scenes. But the film's success motivates him to kick the cocaine. He spends $34k a month on weed and shrooms instead.
The Upshot podcast1,195,219 views • 1 year ago
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Iker Casillas' pornstar date brands him "stingy and not at all generous".
The Upshot podcast985,766 views • 1 year ago
When Joey Barton joined Marseille, the club's unhinged ultras unveiled a banner: "Welcome sweet and tender hooligan". And the Scouse midfielder was soon blending in with the locals... In a press conference after his first game, Joey slipped into his best French accent, even perfecting the trademark Gallic gestures. "Yesterday I mek one tackle, and all everyone speak about is zis tackle", he explained with a nonchalant shrug. But it wasn't long before Joey reverted to his usual turn of phrase. He was banned for two matches after branding Thiago Silva an "overweight ladyboy" on Twitter.
The Upshot podcast1,334,623 views • 2 years ago