Days, 7 Good News: With Mr. Sweet Sixteen and Mr. Number 41, the Eternal Barbara and a Whole Lot of Resilience

16 years, 15 days - this boy is still sweet sixteen for quite a long time. And sure, without Corona, Paul Wanner would probably never have been allowed to play for FC Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga at such a young age. Now the youngest debutant in the history of the record champion, he received lavishly blooming advance praise from his coach Julian Nagelsmann. "He is an incredible talent, very fast, very ball-secure, courageous." Even if Wanner's first professional game ended with a 1-2 against Mönchengladbach, maybe we'll see the 16-year-old more often in the future?!

Dear America, chapeau, you really know pathos. The way you honored Dirk Nowitzki for his many years with the Dallas Mavericks was the very best cinema. But the icing on the cake for us was not that his number 41 will now never again be given to a player of the NBA team. No, we laughed our heads off at the humor of the "German wunderkind," who is sometimes mocked as a giant baby. His family, including his wife, children, parents and father-in-law, was in the hall with him. And the father-in-law, of all people, got a humorous side blow: "Thank you, too, that my father-in-law came all the way from Sweden. The best thing about you is your daughter."

She stumbled and now she may still get Olympic gold: speed skater Erin Jackson is already a winner of the Beijing Games. Her triumph is that she is allowed to compete at all. Because after her stumbles she was only third in the elimination race of the US team with two starting places. But the 29-year-old Jackson, who leads the World Cup and is also the U.S. record holder, benefited from her friendship with Brittany Bowe. The ten-time world champion gave up her starting spot - she will now "only" compete in the 1000 and 1500 meters. "I'm especially grateful and humbled," said Jackson, who grew up with Bowe.

Will Dabo be there soon? Marcel Dabo, a great German football talent, was nominated by the US league NFL one day after his 22nd birthday for its so-called International Pathway Program. This is a unique opportunity for the former cornerback of the Stuttgart Surge. In February he travels to Florida and gets the opportunity to recommend himself for an NFL team. Dabo has no jitters: "I think I have the maturity to compete at that level. Getting into the NFL is a huge thing for any athlete in Europe."

It's like a never-ending tiebreaker: Barbara Rittner, Germany's first female national tennis coach, has extended her contract yet again. The 48-year-old will continue in the post, which she has held since 2009, until at least the end of 2023. This means that Rittner, who was overshadowed by Steffi Graf in her active days, is the supreme figure in German women's tennis. The German women's game is currently in a serious slump - hopefully the eternal Barbara will be able to turn things around.

Officially, he is unemployed, the sports promotion no longer pays him a cent. Yet Paul Fentz still stands tall on the ice. The 27-year-old, sidelined by officials, is competing in the European Figure Skating Championships that have just begun. Again. Fentz made the qualifying cut because, despite being kicked out of all funding pots in December, he became German champion for the fourth time. His ice dance works up his story: Fentz skates to "I'm still standing" by Elton John. The Berliner is even allowed to go to the Olympic Games despite having failed to qualify. The German Skating Union takes him along for the team competition.

When Marcel Meisen goes to the gym, it usually gets dirty. Meisen is the best German in cyclo-cross, and at the end of a competition his jersey is regularly covered in dirt. The 33-year-old just became German champion for the seventh (!) time in a row. For the first time, he has now won the title for the Hamburg-based Stevens Racing Team, which he has just joined. For despite his unbroken winning streak in Germany, he had to leave his previous team from Belgium. However, Meisen remains unchallenged in the German cyclo-cross - team change or not.