Even by his own high standards Lewis Hamilton set a new benchmark in 2019. In a class of his own, his sixth championship was defined by opening with an almost crushing, relentless run that all but had the job done by the summer break. After Valtteri Bottas started strongly and the teammates shared two wins apiece, Hamilton found another plane. Four from four followed including harassing Sebastian Vettel into an error in Canada, a tyre management masterclass in Monaco and a clinical, precision dissection in France where he finished 18 seconds ahead.
Naturally, when teams shrug at the free-agent market, it manifests itself in salaries below players’ expectations. But the widespread rebuilding phenomenon — or tanking, as some call it — resulted in eight teams with at least 95 losses last season, the most in history. It was no coincidence that attendance also dropped by more than three million fans, falling below 70 million for the first time since 2003.
And sure enough, if they tune in to the upcoming Rugby World Cup in Japan, they will see many large players on the field. There are the wide bodies, the 275-pound-or-so prop forwards like Sekope Kepu of Australia, Charlie Faumuina of New Zealand or Steven Kitshoff of South Africa. Then there are the tall timber guys — most often in the lock position — like the 6-foot-10 Rory Arnold of Australia, his 6-foot-8 teammate Adam Coleman, or Brodie Retallick of New Zealand and Eben Etzebeth of South Africa, also both 6-foot-8, and quite a few others who look like they would be comfortable in the N. B. A.