Rory McIlroy makes a splash, and knock-on effect claims George W Bush

STRANGE days indeed when a golfer from Northern Ireland can tip a bucket of freezing cold water over a perfectly good American.

Rory makes a splash

THERE’S a Rory McIlroy behind you.

Strange days indeed when a golfer from Northern Ireland can tip a bucket of freezing cold water over a perfectly good American.

For those who missed the current craze of people daring each other to tip a bucket of iced water over their heads, it’s to raise awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. And so far the campaign has raised $US42 million in less than a month.

It does seem, however, that just about every athlete is currently doing it.
Strangely, footballers — who spend most of their lives in iced baths — have been making some of the biggest scenes.

But world golfing No 1 McIlroy took it to a whole other level when he nominated perpetual England disappointment Wayne Rooney, actor Meghan Markle and . . . former US president George W. Bush.

Markle, of course, accepted Rory’s challenge but only on one condition: that McIlroy was the one who dumped the ice water on her — so you can see where that’s going. And Rooney was last seen throwing a bucket of cold water at his wife Coleen — well, he is the captain now.

As for George W, showing the growing influence of the Open and the PGA Championship winner, he answered the call and made a little movie too.

“I don’t think it is presidential for me to be splashed with ice water, so I’m simply going to write a cheque,” Bush says, before wife Laura drenches him.

But he did get some sort of revenge when he nominated ... Bill Clinton.

Where will it end, Rory?

A turn for the verse

THE clever Kiwi mind games continue ...

Strangely though, this time it wasn’t All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

Fronting the media in Auckland ahead of tonight’s Test, Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie and captain Michael Hooper were ambushed by none other than . . . Chopper Read.

Well a comedian for the Kiwi sports show The Crowd Goes Wild dressed as the late Read, who proceeded to read them a poem.

(Much in the same mould as Adam Ashley-Cooper, whose well chosen pre-match verse helped inspire his Waratahs to victory over the Crusaders to win the Super Rugby premiership ... same but slightly different.)

Over to you, Chopper:

“They take their name from the Wallaby, the most fearsome creature you’ll ever see,

Like a soft and fluffy little kangaroo eating grass and pooping out pellet poo.”

Yep, he went after the proud but humble Wallaby. McKenzie and Hooper didn’t appear too fussed by the intrusion, however, with Hoops just retorting “nice one, Chopper”.

Talking Ashley-Cooper — it’s Saturday morning quiz time.

a) Who is only one person to have has scored more Test tries against New Zealand than AAC’s seven.?
Answer: David Campese (8).

b, and slightly sadder) Who is the only player to have lost more times to the All Blacks than AAC’s 18 defeats.

Answer: Nathan Sharpe (20).

Time stands still

AS a wise man once said: “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

And this week there were two events Albert Einstein would no doubt have agreed were worth the wait.

The first came courtesy of 70-year-old Bondi Surf Life Saving Club legend Cyril Baldock — who became the oldest man to swim the English Channel, smashing the previous record by almost six hours in a time of 12 hours and 45 minutes.

After writing himself into the record books, Cyril had a few beers for “medicinal purposes only” that night and was last seen heading to the channel-swimming pub, The White Horse in Dover, where tradition dictates you sign the wall when you’ve completed the swim.

“Things might get a bit rowdy,” Baldock told AWAAT’S man with a towel.

And second, a big ten-gallon hats off to 99-year-old Ida Keeling of the Good Ol’ USofA who more than likely became the first woman in her age group to break a minute in the 100m.

Keeling finished the race last at the Gay Games in Akron, Ohio, her time of 59.8 seconds made her the world-record among 99-year-old women, according to her coach Shelley Keeling — who is also her daughter

“My doctor told me two years straight that I’m as healthy as a healthy 20-year old,” Keeling said after the race. “I feel that I’m still a winner.”

It was particularly impressive as the older vintage of women’s running is generally dominated by the Japanese.

“I feel like a puppy,” the 135cm, 37.6kg New York pocket rocket, who only took up athletics at 67, said.

And it won’t stop there.

“Every year I am going to keep doing what I am doing, and when running time comes, if I feel I am ready, I will go at it,” she said.

Beefy down under

AS cruel old father time would have it, AWAAT just happened to be staring right at Twitter when big Beefy Botham sent out little beefy Botham to bat.

Appearing with the caption, “What are you thinking ... xx” — AWAAT’s immediate response was, “not pretty”.

Anyway it turns out you can’t unsee something and that the 58-year-old former England captain would go on to claim his phone was hacked and later tweeted “not very funny, whoever did that”.

That nonsense was followed by a different line just outside of off stump: “I would like to thank the hacker . . . I’ve just got 500 hits in 20mins . . . make that 700 in 25 mins !!!” But by that stage it was too late, Twitter had spoken.

A photo appeared with Beefy and Piers Morgan with, “Hardly the most embarrassing dick Ian Botham has appeared with”.

Then former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted a fully dressed picture of himself in the same unerotic position with a dumb look on his face and the words: “hacker has got me as well”.

And commentator Jonathan Agnew tweeted: “Was going to have a full English with a couple of Lincolnshire sausages for breakfast. Just seen Twitter and changed my mind.”

As The Times was quick to point out, in 2001 Botham admitted having an affair with an Aussie waitress during England’s Ashes tour in 1998-99. She claimed the big fella had swept her off her feet with an email in which he wrote: “Babe, you ain’t seen nothing yet! The mighty Beefy sword awaits . . . and that’s just for starters.”

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