By Steven Lynch, ESPN
Andy Murray has now lost in three Grand Slam singles finals. Has anyone ever lost in more without winning one? asked Pete Thomas
Andy Murray is currently one of six men who have played in three Grand Slam singles finals and lost the lot: the only one of the others who did so since the Second World War was the South African Eric Sturgess. The others were Frank Riseley, Frank Hunter, Harry Hopman and Bunny Austin. There are three women - Elizabeth "Bunny" Ryan, Jan Lehane and Helena Sukova - who played in four finals without winning one. But Andy Murray shouldn't get too depressed just yet: the affable Australian Fred Stolle lost in five straight Grand Slam singles finals before finally winning in France in 1965, while Ivan Lendl, Jaroslav Drobny and Herbert Lawford all lost four before finally landing a major title.
Who is the only man to play in five successive Super Bowls? asked Richard Bartlett via Facebook
The only man to do this was Gale Gilbert, a quarterback who played for the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls XXV to XXVIII (1991-94) and also for the San Diego Chargers in 1995. The bad news is that poor Gilbert lost on all five occasions! The only man to be on the winning side in five Super Bowls was Charles Haley, but his victories - for the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys - did not come in consecutive years.
Which boxer has won world titles at the most different weights? asked Colin Reed
Manny Pacquiao has been recognised as a world champion at no fewer than eight different weights, which is unprecedented. Pacquiao's first title came in December 1998, not long before his 20th birthday, when he won the WBC flyweight belt. Since then he's lifted the IBF super-bantamweight crown (2001), The Ring's linear featherweight title (beating Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003), the WBC super-featherweight title (2008), the WBC lightweight crown (2008), The Ring light-welterweight title (defeating Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas in 2009), the WBO welterweight belt (2009), and most recently - in November 2010 - the WBC light-middleweight title, thanks to with a victory over Antonio Margarito. Just in case he didn't have enough on his plate, last year Pacquiao was elected as a congressman in the Philippines.
Which teams have won and lost the most matches in a regular Football League season? asked Michael Morrison
Rather remarkably, the same team holds both these records. In 1946-47 Doncaster Rovers won 33 of their 42 matches in the Third Division North. But in 1997-98 they finished bottom of Division Three (the old Fourth Division) after losing 34 of their 46 matches. Doncaster lost their league status after that, only regaining it in time for the 2003-04 season. They were promoted after their first season back, and are now in the Championship (the second tier of English league football).
Who has played the most matches in the Ryder Cup, and has anyone got a perfect winning record? asked Simeon Bragg
Sir Nick Faldo holds the overall record for playing in the most different Ryder Cups - he took part in 11 as a player between 1977 and 1997. The American record is eight, by Billy Casper, Ray Floyd, Phil Mickelson and Lanny Wadkins. Faldo, with 46, has played the most individual matches, ahead of Bernhard Langer (42), Neil Coles (40), Seve Ballesteros and Billy Casper (both 37). As for the best winning record, the only man to have played six matches in Ryder Cups and won all six was the colourful American golfer Jimmy Demaret, who took part in 1947, 1949 and 1951.
Has anyone ever won the 100, 200 and 400 metres at the Olympic Games? And has anyone ever been in all three finals at the same Olympics? asked Alex McDonald
The answers here are yes, and no. The Australian "Golden Girl" Betty Cuthbert did the sprint (100/200m) double at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, and eight years later in Tokyo completed her set by winning the 400 metres, just ahead of the favourite Ann Packer (who went on to win the 800m, an event she had only rarely tried before). The great Polish runner Irena Szewinska almost emulated Cuthbert, with bronze in the 100m in 1968, gold in the 200m in 1968, and gold in the 400m in 1976. A few other women have reached all three finals: I think the most recent one was Kathy Cook of Great Britain in 1980 (100m) and 1984 (200 and 400m). But no-one - not even Cuthbert - has reached all three finals in the same year. The only man who has ever been in all three finals is the versatile Jamaican Herb McKenley, who was second in the 100 and 400m in Helsinki in 1952, and fourth in the 200m in London in 1948 (he won another silver in the 400m that year too). McKenley did finally get his hands on a gold medal, when the Jamaican team won the 4x400m relay at Helsinki.
Source: espn.co.uk
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