The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Wednesday, January 19

Hi, everyone!

I either never knew or completely forgot that that there’s a Tottenham game on the schedule for today. I am going to have a very rough time keeping track of all of the rescheduled matches in April and May.

Ramble of the Day

I don’t remember every opinion I’ve shared in the Hoddle, but I imagine one of them was that HGTV has a generally boring set of shows. It seems like they’re changing things a little bit and embracing a true sense of drama in home renovation these days. I caught most of Ugliest House in America the other day, and it was the most entertaining thing I’d seen on the channel.

Over the course of a few episodes, comedian-actress Retta tours some truly horrifying homes. Each makes a remarkable case for being the worst in the country — one home is the worst version of a Barbie home from the 1960s, another has old spray-on insulation that is not covered and is falling off the roof. It’s a quick and horrifying watch with an eventual winner, and the renovation is a cathartic experience.

The sad thing about the show is that not everyone gets the renovation. Just about everyone deserves it — it is genuinely shocking how ugly the homes are. That trailer above does not do a good enough job of showcasing the ugliness. I can take comfort in the fact that the right house won — a father bought his daughter a home that was super grimy as a gift, and I would bet crimes were committed there. It was a very cruel gift, and the father truly lucked out that HGTV was willing to bail him out in the first place.

It’s a very short binge if you have the hours, and the rare item of HGTV programming I’d recommend regardless of one’s interest in home renovations.

Stay informed, read this: Kyle Hightower on the Boston Bruins retiring the jersey of Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first Black player for the Associated Press

Links of the Day

Former Real Madrid winger Paco Gento died aged 88.

The Mexican FA will issue five year bans to supporters caught using anti-gay chants.

Shrewsbury banned two supporters for a total of eight years for singing chants about the Hillsborough disaster during the team’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool.

Everton appointed Duncan Ferguson as the team’s caretaker manager.

Transfers: Aston Villa signed Robin Olsen on loan from Roma; Arsenal signed Rafaelle Souza from Changchun Zhuoyue

A longer read: Murad Ahmed profiles Rocco Commisso on the battles he continues to face as the Fiorentina owner for the Financial Times