Weekly Roundup 05.11.25

In the Rowe household, the month of May is always a busy one, with both our children celebrating birthdays during this time. From a sporting perspective, May can also be hectic: cricket begins to gather momentum, golf and tennis enter the heart of their seasons, and football reaches its final moments.

One disappointment this year has been the lack of excitement around the conclusion of the English Premier League, with many outcomes already decided. I had to laugh when I saw a Sky Sports advert trying to build hype for the upcoming Liverpool vs. Arsenal match.

That said, we do have an all-English final to look forward to—congratulations to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for reaching the Europa League final and setting up what's being billed as the “Save Your Season” showdown.

Onto the round-up: we have a wide range of vizzes to dissect this week, beginning with the fabulous Samuel Epley, who shares his fantasy Baseball tracker. There's plenty to enjoy with the variety of views available, but what I enjoyed best was the simplicity of the league itself. As someone who remembers the days of Premier League fantasy football, when all you had to do was pick 11 players (no weekly subs, no captains, etc.), I think tracking only the number of home runs is a fantastic idea. Good luck, Samuel!

There are plenty of football documentaries out there: 'Sunderland till I die', the 'All or Nothing' series and 'Class of 92' immediately spring to mind. From a global appeal perspective, I'd imagine each of these pales in comparison to the might of 'Welcome to Wrexham'. I'll admit, I wasn't a fan at first, but having watched the first series, I was impressed by the humility and genuine nature of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. And, whatever your views on the series or the owners, you can't deny the success that Wrexham have had on the pitch. In this viz by Rob Taylor, he tracks the incredible rise of three successive promotions (a record) with a timeline of matches set out in a diverging style, making it easy to see the incredible success Wrexham have had.

Sticking with football, we focus on a player who has divided opinion throughout their career: Trent Alexander-Arnold. Seen by some as a generational talent and others as a defensive liability, the question of how to make the best of Trent's talents while compensating for his shortcomings is arguably yet to be answered. Aurel Nazmiu provides a compelling case for the creativity argument with a brilliantly designed 'chances created' comparison across the last 9 years of Premier League football. It's clear his creativity will be missed at Liverpool next season, and the dilemma now switches to Real Madrid. Intriguing.

Just a week before London's 26-mile 'dash', there was an equally fantastic event taking place on the other side of the Atlantic: the Boston marathon. I continue to admire everyone who takes part in these events, and whether they are hunting medals, personal bests, or 'simply' completing the course, their efforts are inspirational. It's this mix that makes the marathon such a remarkable event, and Whitney visualises this brilliantly with a time-completed distribution. At a glance, it's a beautiful design, but dig deeper and you'll find times for each and every runner who took part. Quick fact: 81-year-old Oscar Comadurn completed the course in under 4 hours. What?!

I've seen some stellar health and fitness tracker dashboards over the years, but this creation by Valerie Madojemo on LinkedIn is incredible both in its design and the wealth of information it contains. Tracking health, fitness, nutrition, activity, and recovery, this is a resource any budding athlete or trainer could use to stay motivated.

That's all for this week. If you missed it, check out our April favourites round-up where CJ & I talk through our favourites from the previous month.

Until next time, keep vizzing!

Simon & the #sportsvizsunday team