Not by the Playbook

The thing about Not by the Playbook is you never quite know where we'll end up. What you might not realise is that we have no idea either!  So, we present four guests who took us to completely unexpected places and even surprised themselves!
Cyclist Pete Mitchell, who recently competed at the Commonwealth Games and is riding faster than he ever has all at the ripe old age of thirty-six. Pete's been on a long ride to success which has taken many unusual turns, including giving up his Olympic dream to pilot blind riders to achieve their paralympic dreams. Now back in able bodied sport Pete has been reflecting on his lifelong relationship with the sport of cycling, one that has given him so much, and at times taken its toll.
Emma Wiggs, the most decorated athlete in paracanoeing history. Last month she won her 13th world Paracanoe World Championships to go alongside her gold medals from the Paralympics in Rio, Tokyo and Paris. As such, you might think that Emma's confidence is pretty impenetrable, but it isn't. At forty-six Emma's body is beginning to show the signs of wear a long pro sport career will provide, the most recent a serious shoulder injury has forced her to reevaluate everything, and yet Emma just keeps on going! Emma also explains why she is taking part in the UK's first festival to place elite Paralympic-pathway sport and disabled-led arts and culture on the same stage. The Inclusive Sport & Culture Festival is happening in Liverpool waterfront from 2nd to 8th May 2027.
Connie Henry had a decent athletics career. She won bronze representing England at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, but it's perhaps what she did once she stepped off the track that has left the most significant legacy. For the last 20 years or so Connie has been the silent figure quietly enabling others to achieve their sporting goals whatever they might be. Having seen the influence a positive role model can have, she leaned on some of her friends, who also happen to be some of the most successful sports stars of recent years, from Daly Thompson to Lord Sebastian Coe, and Denise Lewis to write a book "Behind the Brilliance"
In 1977 Englishman Michael Jay became the first foreigner to take part in Japan's "Soma Nomaoi" which celebrates classical martial arts and military horsemanship, and dates back to the 10th Century.
PHOTO: Matt Crampton and Peter Mitchell of Great Britain in the Open Sprint during day four of the British National Cycling Track Championships at Manchester Velodrome on October 1, 2011 (CREDIT: by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

This week athletes who went the extra mile, but the thing that makes them particularly remarkable is they kept going, eventually completing some of the most mind-boggling challenges on earth.
Rob Pope's latest challenge is a 500-mile coast-to-coast run across the British Isles. As ever, he's raising awareness and money for good causes. This time it's food poverty. The previous challenge was in Australia running the route of rock band AC/DC's latest tour, whilst holding an inflatable guitar! But Rob is perhaps most famous for his Forest Gump impression. Actually, less of an impression and more imitation. Exactly 10 years ago he began a 422-day, 15,700-mile run crossing of the United States multiple times to become the first person to trace the route run by Tom Hanks' fictional character.
Three brothers Lachlan, Ewan and Jamie Maclean have now successfully rowed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, doing it non-stop and without any support whatsoever. They've just written a book about their experiences called "Three Brothers in a Boat: A True Story of Adventure and Purpose Rowing the Pacific" They tell us about their silent retreat in the ocean, a terrifying overboard moment and burning bagpipes
At 200 miles, it might not be the world's longest race, but Tunnel Ultra is certainly the darkest. It is a gruelling two-day endurance event where competitors run underground laps in single file, to a backdrop of classical music. Headphones are banned but hallucinations are all but guaranteed, with sightings of abominable snowmen, giant slugs and orange blobby monsters all reported. So why do people do it? This is the story of those who do, including one who suffered temporary blindness, then thanked the race organiser for the privilege.
In 2002, a middle-aged mother made history by winning one of the toughest races in the world outright. Pam Reed beat all the elite men competing in the 135-mile Badwater marathon through the desert of Death Valley, California. After, her victory was seen by some as a fluke. She responded by defeating all the male runners again the following year!
Photo: Rob Pope aka the real Forest Gump finishes another run (CREDIT: Erik SAMPERS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

There's no business, like show business, like no business I know! Whether it be sport or art, books or movies, we're all looking to occasionally escape from our daily life and be entertained. So, sit back and enjoy as we introduce you to the stars of sport who have also made it onto the big and small screen.
Stranger Things has been one of the most popular television shows of the last decade. Although set in Indiana, most of the filming was done in Atlanta, Georgia. So, when Aimee Mullins turned up to set on the first day of filming, it represented something of a full circle moment. Aimee was playing the role of Terry, the biological mother of lead character Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Atlanta is a special place for Aimee. Born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee when she was young, she went on to represent the USA at the 1996 Paralympics Games in Atlanta. Now she was back there fulfilling her lifelong dream of acting.
The Oscar nominated Hollywood hit Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, tells the story of a table tennis player and hustler. Chalamet says he spent roughly seven years training for the role, performing many of the fast-paced matches on screen himself. No CGI needed. To add to the authenticity many of the other players in the film were professionals, like Yasiris Ortez. Yasiris came to the USA from the Dominican Republic in 2018 and set up "Spin and Learn" a project that goes into schools in New York and provides kids with the opportunity to learn and play table tennis. As for the movie, Yasiris didn't really know what she was getting into when she turned up on the first day of filming!
Vicky Anstey whose life changed when she agreed to appear on a survival style television show - testing physical and mental stamina in the harshest conditions going. Since her TV appearance Vicky has become an adventurer and rowed across the Pacific Ocean. It's a far cry from the Vicky that had wandered through the first forty years of her life. That change is charted in her new book "Other People Are Like The Weather" and when we chatted, she started by explaining what her life was like before taking to the small screen.
In the 1990s, the biggest clubs in English football decided to form a new league. Spearheaded by the ‘big five’ of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, the top teams broke away from the Football League. The Premier League began in August 1992, having securing a $500 million TV deal. David Dein was the vice-chairman of Arsenal at the time and was one of the main drivers of the new league.
PHOTO: Timothée Chalamet attends the "Marty Supreme" New York Premiere (CREDIT: Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)

American Football is back and won't stop until the Super Bowl champions are crowned in Los Angeles on Valentines day. But maybe you are more of a baseball or BBall fan. Maybe it is the action on the ice that really does it for you. This week, one athlete from each of America's most popular sports details the amazing and inspiring stories of their lives on and off the field of play
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said: "Winners never quit and quitters never win". American Football is a tough physical sport played in all weathers, with nuances and strategy. Only a tiny percentage ever make it to the NFL. Shaquem Griffin did. He was a Linebacker for the Seattle Seahawk. When he made his debut in 2018 he made history, becoming the first known one-handed player in NFL history. Born with a condition that caused him great pain in his left hand, by the time he was four years old, he had attempted to cut off his own fingers with a knife. Eventually he had surgery to amputate his hand and never looked back. Shaquem's journey to the NFL was always going to be an extra ordinary struggle, but this is not just his story, it's the story of his twin brother and fellow NFL star Shaquil. Both attended UCF (University of Central Florida) and after many years of struggle Shaquem and Shaquil took to the field together, first at College and then in the NFL.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". So said ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky and it is that philosophy that propelled Zoe Boyd to become a professional ice hockey player for the PWHL Hamilton, an expansion team in the Professional Women's Hockley League. She has grown up in a sports mad family - encouraged to get involved with anything and everything. In 2005, aged just five years old, everything turned upside down. Zoe's mum Tammy was involved in a car accident that left her with brain damage that irrevocably changed both of their lives. Zoe is part of a new generation of players with the opportunity to make a career in Ice Hockey, a responsibility she takes very seriously. She hosts a podcast called No Straight Answers and wants to be a role model and show others what is now possible.
Michael Jordan said "I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed". But you have to have the opportunity to play to get that chance. Not something that was afforded to Connie Hawkins. A once-in-a-generation basketball superstar, in the early '60s he was blackballed from the NBA for a crime he did not commit. His downfall? His association with Jack Molinas, an ex-NBA All-Star turned mob fixer. The story is the subject of a new podcast called Connie and Jack: A Rigged Game.
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” So said Babe Ruth and Tommy John certainly proved that. Back in 1974 baseball pitcher Tommy John suffered a serious elbow injury. His career was over, until he underwent a revolutionary surgery that was named after him. He became known as the Bionic Man. Tommy passed away just a few weeks ago, aged 83. A couple of years ago he told his story
(Photo: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on after the preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on 22 August, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Andrea Jaeger takes us the behind the scenes and reveals the secrets of her remarkable rise to stardom as one of the youngest players to make a Grand Slam final. How she beat Billy-Jean King, in what was the legends final grand slam match, and the conversation they had after! Andrea's star burned exceptionally bright, but it was a shooting star, retiring at the age of just 19. What the early end of her career allowed her to do was pursue what has become a lifetime's passion. Charitable work supporting children with cancer!
Joanne Schickerling is a racquet wizard. Born in South Africa it was her tennis ability that brought her to the USA. In 2023 she became a Racketlon World Champion, and if you don't know what that is, you are not alone!  All you need to know is that you have to be very very good at many sports played with a racquet. Joanne explained what's needed to win and also how Street Squash, the non-profit she is part of run is helping the children of Harlem not only discover the joy of squash, and provides a safe place to be.
Sport is by definition a cutthroat business, but is it "The Cruellest Game" there is? Well, that's the question author and tennis journalist Matt Futterman has set out to answer in his new book of the same name. Is there something specific about tennis that seems to demand more than any other sport - and why do so many players walk away from the sport?
Nearly thirty years ago Australian tennis player Pat Rafter was the surprise winner of the Men's US Open. Dismissed as a “fluke” victory by John McEnroe, Rafter returned to Flushing Meadows the following year and retained the title, becoming world number one in the process. He tells his story.
Photo: The US Open at Flushing Meadow Credit: Joel Hammer/BBC)