No sooner does one accusation of cheating get resolved in the sporting world when another storm is blowing up. As I discussed a few weeks ago in the FIA See Sense blog (http://stanonsport.blogspot.com/2009/04/fia-see-sense.html), my recommendation was that McLaren at worst should be fined and have a suspended sentence for their "lying" to the stewards at the Australian Grand Prix. As it was they only received the suspended sentence of a three race ban after fully admitting to all five charges levelled against them and having made fundamental cultural changes within the team i.e. they sacked their Sporting Director and Ross Dennis former team principal has left the F1 side of the business.
Of course the biggest punishment had already been imposed which was the loss of the six points they would have gained for third place in the race and at the end of the season those points could be the difference between Lewis Hamilton winning and losing this year's drivers championship. At the beginning of the season McLaren probably thought it was highly unlikely they would be challenging for any sort of championship, but of all the teams they appear to have made the most progress in recent races and it is highly likely they will take another step forward when the European leg of the season begins next weekend.
However, just as this issue is resolved the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced that six athletes from the Beijing Olympics have tested positive for doping following a new test that only became available after the games. At this time the details of those involved are still fairly sketchy but the Italian Olympic authorities has said that one of their cyclists is involved, Davide Rebellin who won silver in the Men's road race.
When the news first broke yesterday evening my immediate thoughts were that I hope no Brit is involved, and secondly, for a change cycling isn't involved. The British Olympic Association has said they have not been contacted by the IOC and therefore understand none of their athletes are among those with positive tests, however my second fear was well founded
Doping in cycling has been around since cycling became a modern sport in the early 20th Century and in recent years the doping stories have threatened to become bigger than the sport. I had hoped the worst was over but following the irregularities (albeit in procedure) that Lance Armstrong has been charged with by the French authorities, and now the Rebellin case, the negative aspects of the sport are yet again taking the headlines when there was a chance for the sport to be a winner this year with the likelihood of Armstrong and Contador battling for Tour de France supremacy, even if just in their own Astana team.
I hope that the issue is sorted out quickly, especially as Rebellin has recently won the Fleche Wallone spring classic joining greats like Eddy Merckx in becoming a three time winner of this event. Then the tarnished reputation of the sport can start to regain its lustre when the first of the grand tours - the Giro d'Italia begins in ten days time.
The IOC are to be congratulated on unearthing these "probable" cheats and hopefully it will be a lesson to all sportsmen and women that these days it is becoming increasingly difficult to prosper in their given sports by illegitimate means.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Congratulations to HRFC - That's Harpenden Rugby Football Club
Whilst this blog normally looks at the bigger picture and allows me to indulge a commentary on sport at the higher levels, this time I am using it for the ultimate indulgence to congratulate the club I have played for during the last 19 years. In this time Harpenden RFC have had their fair share of ups and downs as most local grass roots clubs do, and until this year the highlight was winning the RFU's intermediate cup at Twickenham a dozen years ago.
This year though Harpenden has plenty to cheer with the 1st XV finishing as clear champions of London North West 3 and being promoted to London North 2 and as I write this I'm sure the players involved can't wait for those trips through the flat frosty wastes of East Anglia in the middle of January! Much of this success has to be attributed to Ali Barton and his team of coaches but while the 1st XV quite rightly take the plaudits for their success it has been built on solid foundations with both the 2nd and 3rd XVs (my level these days) coming second in their respective merit tables. It is from these foundations that the club can continue to progress and challenge for more honours in the future and why I believe that this has been Harpenden's best year in the time that I've had the opportunity to represent them.
Onwards and upwards in 2009/10!
This year though Harpenden has plenty to cheer with the 1st XV finishing as clear champions of London North West 3 and being promoted to London North 2 and as I write this I'm sure the players involved can't wait for those trips through the flat frosty wastes of East Anglia in the middle of January! Much of this success has to be attributed to Ali Barton and his team of coaches but while the 1st XV quite rightly take the plaudits for their success it has been built on solid foundations with both the 2nd and 3rd XVs (my level these days) coming second in their respective merit tables. It is from these foundations that the club can continue to progress and challenge for more honours in the future and why I believe that this has been Harpenden's best year in the time that I've had the opportunity to represent them.
Onwards and upwards in 2009/10!
How the Once Mighty Are Falling!
In the sixteen years of the English Football Premier League only seven teams have been ever present and they are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and once again in August they will all be lining up for another crack at the best (football / soccer) club competition in the world. However, in the same intervening period some forty other clubs have tried to establish themselves in the top tier of English football and only one of them has actually finished a season on top of the pile - Blackburn Rovers!
This suggests that it is a very difficult league to stay in and this season has proved the point as up until Easter any team outside of the top 6 (which just happened to be six of the ever-present teams) could have been relegated. Now it is looking more clear cut as it is likely that three of West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough, Newcastle or Hull will fall through the trap door though a couple of others shouldn't start rejoicing just yet!
What is often forgotten is that getting into the FA Premier League is often far more difficult and it is often remarked that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of in English football. This is undoubtedly true at the top end of the league when it can be seen that going into the final round of matches at the weekend only Wolves are assured of promotion with Birmingham, Reading and Sheffield United fighting over the other guaranteed promotion spot and then two of these teams along with Cardiff and either Burnley or Preston will enter the excitement (at least for the neutral) of the play-offs.
Whilst the Championship may be very difficult to get promoted from, it doesn't take any prisoners when it comes to relegation with both Charlton Athletic and Southampton definitely down and Norwich City having to win at the weekend and rely on Barnsley being beaten. Which ever of these two teams do get relegated will mean that all three teams entering League One next season are former members of the Premier League.
As Leeds have shown a previous reputation in the highest echelons of English and European football means nothing and it is highly unlikely that the three teams going down will be able to repeat the success that Leicester City have had this season and bounce straight back to where they came from. Therefore the likes of Middlesbrough and Newcastle who both consider themselves Premier League teams will need to be aware of this because football no longer respects either history or the size of your fan base!
This suggests that it is a very difficult league to stay in and this season has proved the point as up until Easter any team outside of the top 6 (which just happened to be six of the ever-present teams) could have been relegated. Now it is looking more clear cut as it is likely that three of West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough, Newcastle or Hull will fall through the trap door though a couple of others shouldn't start rejoicing just yet!
What is often forgotten is that getting into the FA Premier League is often far more difficult and it is often remarked that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of in English football. This is undoubtedly true at the top end of the league when it can be seen that going into the final round of matches at the weekend only Wolves are assured of promotion with Birmingham, Reading and Sheffield United fighting over the other guaranteed promotion spot and then two of these teams along with Cardiff and either Burnley or Preston will enter the excitement (at least for the neutral) of the play-offs.
Whilst the Championship may be very difficult to get promoted from, it doesn't take any prisoners when it comes to relegation with both Charlton Athletic and Southampton definitely down and Norwich City having to win at the weekend and rely on Barnsley being beaten. Which ever of these two teams do get relegated will mean that all three teams entering League One next season are former members of the Premier League.
As Leeds have shown a previous reputation in the highest echelons of English and European football means nothing and it is highly unlikely that the three teams going down will be able to repeat the success that Leicester City have had this season and bounce straight back to where they came from. Therefore the likes of Middlesbrough and Newcastle who both consider themselves Premier League teams will need to be aware of this because football no longer respects either history or the size of your fan base!
Another Good Week for the Bookies
Now that all of the matches / events I made a prediction for at the weekend have been completed it turned out to be another good weekend for the bookmakers as I only predicted two correct results from my 10 predictions! However, thankfully I had reasonable odds on both Wanjiru to win the London Marathon and Button to win the Bahrain Grand Prix and so the total loss was only £3 for the week. This means that after a month of predictions I am on top by £2 or a 20% return on my initial £10 stake over a month which I guess we wouldn't sniff at if on offer from a bank or an investment in the stock market.
That said much of the success can be attributed to Vettel winning the Chinese Grand Prix at odds of 16/1 so I will probably need to improve my strike rate in the future if I am to stay ahead as the bookies have beaten me four weekends out of five!
That said much of the success can be attributed to Vettel winning the Chinese Grand Prix at odds of 16/1 so I will probably need to improve my strike rate in the future if I am to stay ahead as the bookies have beaten me four weekends out of five!
Monday, 27 April 2009
The Weekend's Winners and Losers
An interesting if not great weekend of sport that has just gone by, but there were definitely some winners and losers and at the end of the day that is why any competitor will take part in a sporting event in the first place.
Topping the winners list has to be Rafael Nadal who has become just about invincible on clay and not too easy to beat on any other surface for that matter. Another winner is Jenson Button who completed his third win of the F1 Grand Prix season but this time with some real competition as it looks like the early season benefits the Brawn car had are being quickly eroded by the competition but see below why I think that F1 may have been a loser after the latest race in Bahrain.
In football (or at least the Barclays Premier League) the big winners were Manchester United who came from 2 goals down to beat Tottenham 5 - 2 and the title would now appear to be their's to lose. The other big winner in the premiership were Blackburn who suddenly look like a mid-table finish is not beyond them and the threat of relegation should only be a memory of this season. West Brom gave themselves a lifeline but my belief is it was too little too late.
The final winners this weekend were Mara Yamauchi who whilst she only came second in the Woman's London Marathon has shown that she is now an elite athlete and has stepped out of the shadows of her more illustrious countrywomen at this distance such as Paula Radcliffe. Ryan Giggs won the PFA player of the year which considering it was voted for by his fellow professionals is a great achievement and whilst he may not have been the "best" player on the pitch this season this award has been based on both the influence he has at Manchester United and the commitment he has shown to both the club and his sport over the last 20 years. Let's hope that he is not a dying breed but that more professional sportsman will follow his lead in the years to come.
The biggest loser of the weekend was Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Professional Snooker Championships. He always has something to say - particularly with regards to the decline of his sport but he has never dominated his sport in the way that Nadal is currently doing at tennis, that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher did in F1 and Lance Armstrong did in the Tour de France. In fact, even though he is still a young man he is still a long way from the dominance exerted by two other current professionals in his sport showed earlier in their careers, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry.
In football the big losers were Hull City who have gone into free fall after their marvellous start to the season and strangely the team that beat them on Saturday, Liverpool who look like they will end the season trophy less even though they have arguably been the most entertaining team in the premier league this season. The big loser in Rugby was Gloucester and their coach Dean Ryan may be lucky to keep his job as the club has faltered in recent weeks, getting thrashed in the EDF Energy Cup Final and then losing their last two regular season games so that they did not qualify for the play-offs of the guiness premiership.
The unlucky loser in Rugby was Tomas O'Leary who broke his ankle in his Magner's League match and besides missing out on a semi-final and potential final in the Heineken Cup will also miss out on the Lions tour to South Africa in the summer. As these tours only happen every four years this could well have been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Finally, I think that F1 is looking like losing its appeal to its new band of followers. The reason for this is not the current dominance of Button and Brawn GP, because as I mentioned above the other teams are hot on their heels. My biggest concern was the lack of overtaking that took place during the race when we had a raft of new rules introduced with the key purpose of providing more entertainment through more overtaking. Once the scramble in the first couple of laps was complete and the likes of Hamilton, Button and Webber had made a couple of moves there was barely an overtaking manoeuvre in the remainder of the race. This was even the case when quicker cars were on the better tyre option (which made a difference of at least one second a lap), as they could not get past the slower cars until pit stops. At a tight circuit like Monaco one accepts that overtaking will be limited but at a relatively modern circuit, as Bahrain is, this should not be an issue.
The F1 season will continue to enthrall not least because of the way the grid has been turned on its head this season but the administrators need to look at the spectacle and ensure that the new rules really are delivering the racing that we were promised!
Topping the winners list has to be Rafael Nadal who has become just about invincible on clay and not too easy to beat on any other surface for that matter. Another winner is Jenson Button who completed his third win of the F1 Grand Prix season but this time with some real competition as it looks like the early season benefits the Brawn car had are being quickly eroded by the competition but see below why I think that F1 may have been a loser after the latest race in Bahrain.
In football (or at least the Barclays Premier League) the big winners were Manchester United who came from 2 goals down to beat Tottenham 5 - 2 and the title would now appear to be their's to lose. The other big winner in the premiership were Blackburn who suddenly look like a mid-table finish is not beyond them and the threat of relegation should only be a memory of this season. West Brom gave themselves a lifeline but my belief is it was too little too late.
The final winners this weekend were Mara Yamauchi who whilst she only came second in the Woman's London Marathon has shown that she is now an elite athlete and has stepped out of the shadows of her more illustrious countrywomen at this distance such as Paula Radcliffe. Ryan Giggs won the PFA player of the year which considering it was voted for by his fellow professionals is a great achievement and whilst he may not have been the "best" player on the pitch this season this award has been based on both the influence he has at Manchester United and the commitment he has shown to both the club and his sport over the last 20 years. Let's hope that he is not a dying breed but that more professional sportsman will follow his lead in the years to come.
The biggest loser of the weekend was Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Professional Snooker Championships. He always has something to say - particularly with regards to the decline of his sport but he has never dominated his sport in the way that Nadal is currently doing at tennis, that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher did in F1 and Lance Armstrong did in the Tour de France. In fact, even though he is still a young man he is still a long way from the dominance exerted by two other current professionals in his sport showed earlier in their careers, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry.
In football the big losers were Hull City who have gone into free fall after their marvellous start to the season and strangely the team that beat them on Saturday, Liverpool who look like they will end the season trophy less even though they have arguably been the most entertaining team in the premier league this season. The big loser in Rugby was Gloucester and their coach Dean Ryan may be lucky to keep his job as the club has faltered in recent weeks, getting thrashed in the EDF Energy Cup Final and then losing their last two regular season games so that they did not qualify for the play-offs of the guiness premiership.
The unlucky loser in Rugby was Tomas O'Leary who broke his ankle in his Magner's League match and besides missing out on a semi-final and potential final in the Heineken Cup will also miss out on the Lions tour to South Africa in the summer. As these tours only happen every four years this could well have been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Finally, I think that F1 is looking like losing its appeal to its new band of followers. The reason for this is not the current dominance of Button and Brawn GP, because as I mentioned above the other teams are hot on their heels. My biggest concern was the lack of overtaking that took place during the race when we had a raft of new rules introduced with the key purpose of providing more entertainment through more overtaking. Once the scramble in the first couple of laps was complete and the likes of Hamilton, Button and Webber had made a couple of moves there was barely an overtaking manoeuvre in the remainder of the race. This was even the case when quicker cars were on the better tyre option (which made a difference of at least one second a lap), as they could not get past the slower cars until pit stops. At a tight circuit like Monaco one accepts that overtaking will be limited but at a relatively modern circuit, as Bahrain is, this should not be an issue.
The F1 season will continue to enthrall not least because of the way the grid has been turned on its head this season but the administrators need to look at the spectacle and ensure that the new rules really are delivering the racing that we were promised!
Friday, 24 April 2009
Marathon Weekend
Friday again and so must be time for a prediction or two! The undoubted highlight of the weekend is the London Marathon and looks like the weather is not going to be too kind for the 30,000 odd runners. I think it will be a surprise if anyone other than an East African (and probably Kenyan) wins the Mens race and every possibility of the African's dominating the women's race too. My predictions are Samuel Wanjiru for the men and Catherine Ndereba for the women.
As usual there will be plenty of other sporting action throughout the weekend with the Football Premier League heading towards its climax and the relegation battle hotting up by the week. In the Rugby Guinness Premiership the final weekend looks more clear cut with Leicester safely into the play-offs and Bath, Harlequins and London Irish almost certain of joining them.
It will be another busy weekend for motor sport aficionados with the Moto GP in Japan and the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. I am going to plump for Rossi in the motorcycling and Button in the cars but neither of these will have it easy and it should make for some exciting watching. In addition there is tennis in Barcelona where the bet should be on who will take the most points off Nadal as he doesn't look like losing on the clay.
Around the rest of the world, albeit with less British interest the IPL cricket continues in South Africa and the Super 14 Rugby is also getting towards the sharp end, so for all sports fans there will be plenty to keep us entertained.
Predictions and odds for the weekend are as follows:
London Marathon
Samuel Wanjiru - 10/3
Catherine Ndereba - 6/1
Formula 1
Button to win - 13/8
Alonso to podium - 7/2
Moto GP
Rossi to win - 5/4
Capirossi to podium - 6/1
Football (Premier League)
Sunderland to beat West Brom - 2/1
Arsenal to draw with Middlesbrough - 10/3
Man Utd to draw with Tottenham - 7/2
Newcastle to beat Portsmouth - 11/10
As usual there will be plenty of other sporting action throughout the weekend with the Football Premier League heading towards its climax and the relegation battle hotting up by the week. In the Rugby Guinness Premiership the final weekend looks more clear cut with Leicester safely into the play-offs and Bath, Harlequins and London Irish almost certain of joining them.
It will be another busy weekend for motor sport aficionados with the Moto GP in Japan and the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. I am going to plump for Rossi in the motorcycling and Button in the cars but neither of these will have it easy and it should make for some exciting watching. In addition there is tennis in Barcelona where the bet should be on who will take the most points off Nadal as he doesn't look like losing on the clay.
Around the rest of the world, albeit with less British interest the IPL cricket continues in South Africa and the Super 14 Rugby is also getting towards the sharp end, so for all sports fans there will be plenty to keep us entertained.
Predictions and odds for the weekend are as follows:
London Marathon
Samuel Wanjiru - 10/3
Catherine Ndereba - 6/1
Formula 1
Button to win - 13/8
Alonso to podium - 7/2
Moto GP
Rossi to win - 5/4
Capirossi to podium - 6/1
Football (Premier League)
Sunderland to beat West Brom - 2/1
Arsenal to draw with Middlesbrough - 10/3
Man Utd to draw with Tottenham - 7/2
Newcastle to beat Portsmouth - 11/10
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Four to the Fore!
So has the premier league title been resolved this week? For the second Tuesday running Liverpool scored four goals but conceded the same number and now find themselves 3 points and a game in hand behind Manchester United at the top of the Premier League, after United's nervy win against Portsmouth. This win came at a cost with injuries to both Gary Neville and John O'Shea getting injured and this could leave Ferguson's team short at the back for the next few weeks as they continue to challenge for both the Premier League and the Champions League trophies they are defending.
As for Liverpool, they have now scored four goals against all of the other big 3 English teams in recent weeks but find themselves out of the Champions League and looking distinct second favourites for the premiership. To me it looks like they are going to be this season's plucky losers. Chelsea would appear to be out of the race and their manager Guus Hiddink has conceded as much after their lacklustre goalless draw with Everton in a preview of next month's FA Cup Final.
It does look like next season's Champions League spots have been allocated to the Big 4 yet again with Everton and Aston Villa in pole position to take two of the three Europa Cup spots. Behind them West Ham, Fulham, Spurs, Manchester City and Wigan are chasing the final spot and its likely this will go all the way to the last match of the season.
While West Brom look almost certainties for relegation almost any one of the remaining teams could still go down with them and Sunderland's visit to West Brom on Saturday along with Portsmouth's visit to Newcastle on Monday are taking on the title of being real "six pointers".
As of yet nothing has been finalised and this means that there will still be some very exciting games as the season draws to a conclusion because nearly all 20 clubs in the Premier League have something to play for. Some more eight goal thrillers will certainly keep the neutral fan interested!
As for Liverpool, they have now scored four goals against all of the other big 3 English teams in recent weeks but find themselves out of the Champions League and looking distinct second favourites for the premiership. To me it looks like they are going to be this season's plucky losers. Chelsea would appear to be out of the race and their manager Guus Hiddink has conceded as much after their lacklustre goalless draw with Everton in a preview of next month's FA Cup Final.
It does look like next season's Champions League spots have been allocated to the Big 4 yet again with Everton and Aston Villa in pole position to take two of the three Europa Cup spots. Behind them West Ham, Fulham, Spurs, Manchester City and Wigan are chasing the final spot and its likely this will go all the way to the last match of the season.
While West Brom look almost certainties for relegation almost any one of the remaining teams could still go down with them and Sunderland's visit to West Brom on Saturday along with Portsmouth's visit to Newcastle on Monday are taking on the title of being real "six pointers".
As of yet nothing has been finalised and this means that there will still be some very exciting games as the season draws to a conclusion because nearly all 20 clubs in the Premier League have something to play for. Some more eight goal thrillers will certainly keep the neutral fan interested!
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Lions Ready to Roar
The waiting is over and Ian McGeechan and his team have selected the 37 players to tour South Africa this summer. On balance the selection is probably fairly close to what most pundits predicted with the odd surprise omission as opposed to inclusion. Paul O'Connell being chosen as captain was I imagine a close run thing with his Ireland teammate Brian O'Driscoll, but you see the logic the selectors have followed following the success of Martin Johnson on the previous tour in 1997. Having said that, I feel sorry for O'Driscoll who not only led Ireland to their first Grand Slam in over 60 years last month, but was also the last Lions Captain in New Zealand and he barely lasted the first minute of the first test before being cruelly injured out of the series.
Of course O'Connell has been a superb leader for Munster in recent years and led them to Heineken Cup victory. He is probably one of only a few players who is a certain starter in the Test line-up. That fact could have influenced the thinking of the selectors as they may not be sure O'Driscoll is a certainty to start - it would surprise me as I still believe he is the best centre in the world and he continually demonstrated this throughout the six nations in both attack and defence, but maybe he wouldn't fit the selectors preliminary game plan thoughts!
As for the remaining 35 players in the party, the main surprise for me is the omission of Tom Croft (as it is to many) and the risk they have taken in only selecting 2 specialist fly-halves in Ronan O'Gara and Stephen Jones. This latter fact will mean that they will almost certainly have to be involved in every match of the tour, either in the starting line-up or from the bench and in O'Gara's case he is highly likely to be involved in the Heineken Cup Final the day before the tourists depart and will therefore get no rest.
It was expected the "lions share" of the touring party are made up of Irish and Welshmen following their Grand Slam triumphs in the last two seasons and the selectors didn't disappoint. The shame is that because of the unique nature of Lion's tours there is no room to groom the stars of the future or for sentimentality. This has led to the likes of Croft, Delon Armitage, Danny Care or Danny Cipriani not making the squad because even though they may be great Lions in the future they are not necessarily the finished article here and now. From the other perspective the tour has probably come 12 months to late for Josh Lewsey, Ryan Jones, Gordon D'Arcy and Chris Patterson as their form has not matched their talent this season and by all accounts the same was nearly true for Shane Williams who is the current IRB World Player of the Year.
It shouldn't be forgotten that there is still a fair amount of rugby to be played before the plane departs Heathrow and this includes Heineken Cup semi-finals and final where it should be remembered Munster, Leinster and Cardiff Blues are involved, and these teams are contributing a sizeable proportion of the Lion's tourists. I will be surprised if the 37 selected yesterday are the same 37 that arrive in South Africa at the end of May. One clash that is already intriguing me is when Croft comes up against Andy Powell in ten days time!
There are probably ten players out there who shouldn't make any other plans for the summer just yet and maybe that could be just the incentive they need to prove to McGeechan, Gatland et al that they should have been selected from the start.
Who ever finally walks out in the Lions shirt for the first test in Durban will have my wholehearted support and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
Of course O'Connell has been a superb leader for Munster in recent years and led them to Heineken Cup victory. He is probably one of only a few players who is a certain starter in the Test line-up. That fact could have influenced the thinking of the selectors as they may not be sure O'Driscoll is a certainty to start - it would surprise me as I still believe he is the best centre in the world and he continually demonstrated this throughout the six nations in both attack and defence, but maybe he wouldn't fit the selectors preliminary game plan thoughts!
As for the remaining 35 players in the party, the main surprise for me is the omission of Tom Croft (as it is to many) and the risk they have taken in only selecting 2 specialist fly-halves in Ronan O'Gara and Stephen Jones. This latter fact will mean that they will almost certainly have to be involved in every match of the tour, either in the starting line-up or from the bench and in O'Gara's case he is highly likely to be involved in the Heineken Cup Final the day before the tourists depart and will therefore get no rest.
It was expected the "lions share" of the touring party are made up of Irish and Welshmen following their Grand Slam triumphs in the last two seasons and the selectors didn't disappoint. The shame is that because of the unique nature of Lion's tours there is no room to groom the stars of the future or for sentimentality. This has led to the likes of Croft, Delon Armitage, Danny Care or Danny Cipriani not making the squad because even though they may be great Lions in the future they are not necessarily the finished article here and now. From the other perspective the tour has probably come 12 months to late for Josh Lewsey, Ryan Jones, Gordon D'Arcy and Chris Patterson as their form has not matched their talent this season and by all accounts the same was nearly true for Shane Williams who is the current IRB World Player of the Year.
It shouldn't be forgotten that there is still a fair amount of rugby to be played before the plane departs Heathrow and this includes Heineken Cup semi-finals and final where it should be remembered Munster, Leinster and Cardiff Blues are involved, and these teams are contributing a sizeable proportion of the Lion's tourists. I will be surprised if the 37 selected yesterday are the same 37 that arrive in South Africa at the end of May. One clash that is already intriguing me is when Croft comes up against Andy Powell in ten days time!
There are probably ten players out there who shouldn't make any other plans for the summer just yet and maybe that could be just the incentive they need to prove to McGeechan, Gatland et al that they should have been selected from the start.
Who ever finally walks out in the Lions shirt for the first test in Durban will have my wholehearted support and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Do Red Bull Really Have Wings?
The weight of recent history would appear to be against them after their first and second finish at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. A number of teams when they won their first Grand Prix also achieved second place in the same Grand Prix, and on many of these occasions this one-two finish has happened at a rain affected race.
Each time this has happened it has been hailed as a breakthrough for the team and the first step for the team to push on to greater things but in many cases it has been the highlight of the teams success. To prove this we have to look at the facts. In 1998 after nearly a decade in F1 the Jordan team secured their first win in a rain affected race through Damon Hill and his teammate Ralf Schumacher was second. Three more wins were achieved over the next few years but the team was still no better than a midfield battler. A couple of years later Stewart GP (a former incarnation of Red Bull) won their first Grand Prix through Jonny Herbert in another rain affected race and his teammate Rubens Barichello was third but only a couple of tenths of a second behind the second place car.
We then jump forward a few years when Jenson Button won Honda's one and only Grand Prix since the 60s in another rain affected race but that was the high point of Honda's latest association with F1 before they pulled out at the end of last season leading to the birth of Brawn GP.
Last season we had two new teams achieving their first win and BMW like Jordan achieved a one-two finish in Canada but this time in a dry race. This looked like a serious breakthrough with the team finishing third in the constructors' championship over the season and Kubica (the race winner) in with a shout of the driver's title up until the last couple of races. However, even though the race was dry the outcome was largely decided by an error from (Lewis) Hamilton in the pit lane when he drove in to the back of (Kimi) Raikonnen, either of whom was probably likely to win at the time. Kubica has gone on record to say that he was disappointed BMW decided soon after that race to concentrate development on this year's car rather than concentrating on his title challenge last season. This looked as though it might pay off as he came on strongly in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix last month until clashing with Vettel, but since then the BMW has looked far from competitive in the last two Grand Prix despite Heidfeld's second place in the rain affected and abbreviated Malaysian race.
The other team to acheive their first win last season was Toro Rosso (the former Minardi team), who again during a rain affected weekend took the chequered flag first with Vettel at the wheel. This was a great result for the team and for Vettel whose reputation has gone from strength to strength in the last 18 months. However, they are the junior Red Bull team and I think even they will be surprised if they are chasing anything other than the odd point this season even though they have the benefit of essentially the same car as the senior team, albeit with Ferrari as opposed to Renault power.
That brings us neatly to this season and the stunning performance of Brawn and their achievement of a one-two finish at the opening race in Melbourne. This was not rain affected and Button dominated from start to finish though Barichello lucked into second place because of the clash between Vettel and Kubica. Button followed this up with a win in Malaysia but it should be remembered that Vettel had a ten place grid penalty and Webber in the sister Red Bull looked very good in both the dry and wet but strategy didn't play into his hands.
So what can be gleaned from this? For me, I think both Brawn and Red Bull have an excellent chance to establish themselves as serious players in F1 not just this season but into the future. The reasons why are twofold.
Firstly, the individuals involved in the teams. At Brawn you have the team principal Ross Brawn who has seen it all over the last two decades at Benetton (now Renault) and Ferrari where his strategic skills enabled his drivers (mainly Michael Schumacher who won seven world titles) to win many races which maybe they shouldn't have. At Red Bull the designer is Adrian Newey who has designed title winning cars for Williams and McLaren and now for Red Bull and Torro Rosso. In both teams you also have drivers who are capable of not just winning races but potentially the championship. Button may have taken time to mature and maybe made some impetuous decisions with regards to team choices early in his career but lets not forget that until the emergence of Schumacher (Michael) in the early 1990s most world champions served long apprentices in F1 before they became genuine title challengers. Barichello is the most experienced driver of all time in F1 and has been runner-up in the drivers championship and this background will be vital as the going gets tougher as the season progresses.
At Red Bull, Vettel needs little introduction and is well on the way to picking up the mantle of Schumacher. Webber until this season has always tended to come out on top against his teammates and this raw pace and years of experience means he is at Red Bull not just to make up the numbers but to want a shot at the world title itself.
Secondly, these teams can establish themselves because of the new rules that have been introduced into F1 this season. Both teams have taken different approaches to their car design but both have taken a step ahead of the established order and if they can build on these early season successes, and I can currently see no reason why they shouldn't then they can break into the established order very much like Williams did in the early 1980s. That was another era of great change in the sport with the advent of turbo powered cars and in 1982 there was a record 11 different individual winners of Grand Prix. That figure may not be achievable this season, but just the thought it might be possible certainly excites me in what is already turning out to be an intriguing season and we haven't even reached the European races yet!
So do Red Bull really have wings? Yes.
Each time this has happened it has been hailed as a breakthrough for the team and the first step for the team to push on to greater things but in many cases it has been the highlight of the teams success. To prove this we have to look at the facts. In 1998 after nearly a decade in F1 the Jordan team secured their first win in a rain affected race through Damon Hill and his teammate Ralf Schumacher was second. Three more wins were achieved over the next few years but the team was still no better than a midfield battler. A couple of years later Stewart GP (a former incarnation of Red Bull) won their first Grand Prix through Jonny Herbert in another rain affected race and his teammate Rubens Barichello was third but only a couple of tenths of a second behind the second place car.
We then jump forward a few years when Jenson Button won Honda's one and only Grand Prix since the 60s in another rain affected race but that was the high point of Honda's latest association with F1 before they pulled out at the end of last season leading to the birth of Brawn GP.
Last season we had two new teams achieving their first win and BMW like Jordan achieved a one-two finish in Canada but this time in a dry race. This looked like a serious breakthrough with the team finishing third in the constructors' championship over the season and Kubica (the race winner) in with a shout of the driver's title up until the last couple of races. However, even though the race was dry the outcome was largely decided by an error from (Lewis) Hamilton in the pit lane when he drove in to the back of (Kimi) Raikonnen, either of whom was probably likely to win at the time. Kubica has gone on record to say that he was disappointed BMW decided soon after that race to concentrate development on this year's car rather than concentrating on his title challenge last season. This looked as though it might pay off as he came on strongly in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix last month until clashing with Vettel, but since then the BMW has looked far from competitive in the last two Grand Prix despite Heidfeld's second place in the rain affected and abbreviated Malaysian race.
The other team to acheive their first win last season was Toro Rosso (the former Minardi team), who again during a rain affected weekend took the chequered flag first with Vettel at the wheel. This was a great result for the team and for Vettel whose reputation has gone from strength to strength in the last 18 months. However, they are the junior Red Bull team and I think even they will be surprised if they are chasing anything other than the odd point this season even though they have the benefit of essentially the same car as the senior team, albeit with Ferrari as opposed to Renault power.
That brings us neatly to this season and the stunning performance of Brawn and their achievement of a one-two finish at the opening race in Melbourne. This was not rain affected and Button dominated from start to finish though Barichello lucked into second place because of the clash between Vettel and Kubica. Button followed this up with a win in Malaysia but it should be remembered that Vettel had a ten place grid penalty and Webber in the sister Red Bull looked very good in both the dry and wet but strategy didn't play into his hands.
So what can be gleaned from this? For me, I think both Brawn and Red Bull have an excellent chance to establish themselves as serious players in F1 not just this season but into the future. The reasons why are twofold.
Firstly, the individuals involved in the teams. At Brawn you have the team principal Ross Brawn who has seen it all over the last two decades at Benetton (now Renault) and Ferrari where his strategic skills enabled his drivers (mainly Michael Schumacher who won seven world titles) to win many races which maybe they shouldn't have. At Red Bull the designer is Adrian Newey who has designed title winning cars for Williams and McLaren and now for Red Bull and Torro Rosso. In both teams you also have drivers who are capable of not just winning races but potentially the championship. Button may have taken time to mature and maybe made some impetuous decisions with regards to team choices early in his career but lets not forget that until the emergence of Schumacher (Michael) in the early 1990s most world champions served long apprentices in F1 before they became genuine title challengers. Barichello is the most experienced driver of all time in F1 and has been runner-up in the drivers championship and this background will be vital as the going gets tougher as the season progresses.
At Red Bull, Vettel needs little introduction and is well on the way to picking up the mantle of Schumacher. Webber until this season has always tended to come out on top against his teammates and this raw pace and years of experience means he is at Red Bull not just to make up the numbers but to want a shot at the world title itself.
Secondly, these teams can establish themselves because of the new rules that have been introduced into F1 this season. Both teams have taken different approaches to their car design but both have taken a step ahead of the established order and if they can build on these early season successes, and I can currently see no reason why they shouldn't then they can break into the established order very much like Williams did in the early 1980s. That was another era of great change in the sport with the advent of turbo powered cars and in 1982 there was a record 11 different individual winners of Grand Prix. That figure may not be achievable this season, but just the thought it might be possible certainly excites me in what is already turning out to be an intriguing season and we haven't even reached the European races yet!
So do Red Bull really have wings? Yes.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Prediction Profit
Another good weekend for sport but maybe nothing quite as exciting as the champions league football we had earlier in the week. Neither of the FA Cup semi-finals produced the exciting open football that we had seen at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday but well done to both Everton and Chelsea in reaching the final and Everton in particular for ending Manchester United's quintuple dreams, and a penalty shoot-out always provides plenty of drama.
A superb result for Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the Chinese Grand Prix and it proved that you don't need a clever diffuser to win races this season. It will be interesting to see how close the Red Bulls and Brawn are at this weekend's Grand Prix where it is almost a certainty not to rain (local knowledge!) and let's not forget Vettel was on pole in dry conditions albeit with less fuel on board. Of the other teams McLaren appear to have made progress whilst Toyota, BMW and to an extent Ferrari appear to be going backwards at the moment.
Cardiff thrashed Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup final at Twickenham which was not what I had predicted, Leicester guaranteed themselves a slot in the Premiership play-offs and one would think that Bath have done enough after their comeback against Newcastle. In tennis Nadal, as predicted won the Monte Carlo Masters tournament but a good showing from Andy Murray in getting to the semi-finals for the first time in a clay court tournament. West Brom's stay in the premiership looks all but over but assuming they do get relegated they will be replaced by another team from the West Midlands with Wolverhampton Wanderers confirming promotion and congratulations to them. As for the other two teams who will suffer the drop neither Newcastle or Middlesbrough did anything to help their plight but there are still enough games for them to scramble to safety and keep the North East's contingent in the Premier League at three.
In total I predicted 5 correct results and this would have entailed a profit of £15.40 in total (mainly thanks to Vettel's win) and after three weeks have now cleared the earlier losses and would see a profit of £5.
A superb result for Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the Chinese Grand Prix and it proved that you don't need a clever diffuser to win races this season. It will be interesting to see how close the Red Bulls and Brawn are at this weekend's Grand Prix where it is almost a certainty not to rain (local knowledge!) and let's not forget Vettel was on pole in dry conditions albeit with less fuel on board. Of the other teams McLaren appear to have made progress whilst Toyota, BMW and to an extent Ferrari appear to be going backwards at the moment.
Cardiff thrashed Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup final at Twickenham which was not what I had predicted, Leicester guaranteed themselves a slot in the Premiership play-offs and one would think that Bath have done enough after their comeback against Newcastle. In tennis Nadal, as predicted won the Monte Carlo Masters tournament but a good showing from Andy Murray in getting to the semi-finals for the first time in a clay court tournament. West Brom's stay in the premiership looks all but over but assuming they do get relegated they will be replaced by another team from the West Midlands with Wolverhampton Wanderers confirming promotion and congratulations to them. As for the other two teams who will suffer the drop neither Newcastle or Middlesbrough did anything to help their plight but there are still enough games for them to scramble to safety and keep the North East's contingent in the Premier League at three.
In total I predicted 5 correct results and this would have entailed a profit of £15.40 in total (mainly thanks to Vettel's win) and after three weeks have now cleared the earlier losses and would see a profit of £5.
Friday, 17 April 2009
Friday Predictions
Another week nearly gone but the good news is that it promises to be another great weekend of sport! I am particularly looking forward to the Rugby Union EDF Cup Final at Twickenham between Gloucester and the Cardiff Blues and it will be interesting to see if Cardiff can lift themselves for another big game so soon after defeating Toulouse in the Heineken Cup last week. Cardiff have the form having already beaten Gloucester twice in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup but as it is Twickenham I think the English team will prevail on the day.
The other key highlight for me will be the third round of the F1 Grand Prix season in China and for the third race running it looks like Button and the Brawn team will be the ones to beat. However, now that the diffuser row has been settled McLaren and Renault have some modifications to their cars and the Red Bulls have looked very competitive all season - probably the best of the non "double-decker" diffuser teams which shows that Adrian Newey hasn't lost his touch as being one of the best designers in F1 racing. Therefore I think the Brawn team luck may run out here and I'm going for Vettel to win with Rosberg's Williams on the podium.
At Wembley over the next couple of days will be the two FA Cup semi-finals which feature the three English clubs through to the semis of the Champions League and it will be interesting to see how much these teams have left in the tank after their exertions earlier in the week. I am going to go for Arsenal against Chelsea as they had an easier time of it against Villareal than Chelsea did versus Liverpool and Manchester United in their match with Everton as Ferguson tends to have the upper hand over meetings with David Moyes.
The full list of predictions and latest odds are below and hopefully these will give the bookies more of a run for their money this week.
Formula 1
Vettel to win 16/1
Rosberg to podium 4/1
FA Cup Semi-Finals
Arsenal to beat Chelsea 21/10
Man United to beat Everton 4/5
FA Premier League
Sunderland to beat Hull 10/11
Aston Villa to draw with West Ham 45/17
Monte Carlo Tennis Masters
Nadal to win 1/4
EDF Energy Cup
Gloucester to beat Cardiff Blues 5/4
Rugby Union Premiership
Harlequins to beat Sale 9/4
Leicester to beat Saracens 4/7
Note that the Tennis is still only at the quarter-final stage as I write but you can still get odds of 14/1 for Murray to win which considering his form seems long but then he has not got much of a track record on clay.
The other key highlight for me will be the third round of the F1 Grand Prix season in China and for the third race running it looks like Button and the Brawn team will be the ones to beat. However, now that the diffuser row has been settled McLaren and Renault have some modifications to their cars and the Red Bulls have looked very competitive all season - probably the best of the non "double-decker" diffuser teams which shows that Adrian Newey hasn't lost his touch as being one of the best designers in F1 racing. Therefore I think the Brawn team luck may run out here and I'm going for Vettel to win with Rosberg's Williams on the podium.
At Wembley over the next couple of days will be the two FA Cup semi-finals which feature the three English clubs through to the semis of the Champions League and it will be interesting to see how much these teams have left in the tank after their exertions earlier in the week. I am going to go for Arsenal against Chelsea as they had an easier time of it against Villareal than Chelsea did versus Liverpool and Manchester United in their match with Everton as Ferguson tends to have the upper hand over meetings with David Moyes.
The full list of predictions and latest odds are below and hopefully these will give the bookies more of a run for their money this week.
Formula 1
Vettel to win 16/1
Rosberg to podium 4/1
FA Cup Semi-Finals
Arsenal to beat Chelsea 21/10
Man United to beat Everton 4/5
FA Premier League
Sunderland to beat Hull 10/11
Aston Villa to draw with West Ham 45/17
Monte Carlo Tennis Masters
Nadal to win 1/4
EDF Energy Cup
Gloucester to beat Cardiff Blues 5/4
Rugby Union Premiership
Harlequins to beat Sale 9/4
Leicester to beat Saracens 4/7
Note that the Tennis is still only at the quarter-final stage as I write but you can still get odds of 14/1 for Murray to win which considering his form seems long but then he has not got much of a track record on clay.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Football Becomes Entertainment
What a great week for the Premier League sides in Europe this week. Like last year three teams are through to the semi-finals of the Champions League (probably much to the annoyance of Platini at UEFA and Blatter at FIFA) and that means there will be at least one English team in the final and every chance of a repeat of last years final between Manchester United and Chelsea.
None of the three teams that got through (Arsenal being the third) had it easy and for Chelsea to prevail over Liverpool there was one of the most exciting matches of football I have watched in many a year. It wasn't a great night for defenders or goalkeepers but superb entertainment with the necessary element of tension for the neutral viewer. It's just a shame that there is so much football on TV these days that one can waste their time watching a lot of dross in the hope that you will catch a classic like we did on Tuesday night.
This was not the first time that Liverpool have been involved in such a classic but the first time since that night in Istanbul in 2005 when they won the Champions League final having come from 3 goals down at half-time. Having scored four goals away to both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent weeks it would be good to see them win something this season but they only have the Premier League left and to win that will not be an easy task.
If I have one gripe from this weeks footie entertainment it is that of the four English teams that played they would struggle to provide one "English" team but that is a discussion for another time.
None of the three teams that got through (Arsenal being the third) had it easy and for Chelsea to prevail over Liverpool there was one of the most exciting matches of football I have watched in many a year. It wasn't a great night for defenders or goalkeepers but superb entertainment with the necessary element of tension for the neutral viewer. It's just a shame that there is so much football on TV these days that one can waste their time watching a lot of dross in the hope that you will catch a classic like we did on Tuesday night.
This was not the first time that Liverpool have been involved in such a classic but the first time since that night in Istanbul in 2005 when they won the Champions League final having come from 3 goals down at half-time. Having scored four goals away to both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent weeks it would be good to see them win something this season but they only have the Premier League left and to win that will not be an easy task.
If I have one gripe from this weeks footie entertainment it is that of the four English teams that played they would struggle to provide one "English" team but that is a discussion for another time.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
FIA See Sense!
So Brawn, Toyota and Williams haven't transgressed the rules with their "different" diffusers. Was the outcome really going to be any different after the teams had consulted with the FIA technical delegation during the design phase and the diffusers were passed legal by the stewards at both the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix.
For me the most amusing aspect of the whole affair was the Ferrari lawyer (Nigel Tozzi QC) accusing Ross Brawn of "being supremely arrogant"! Is this not the same Ross Brawn who as Technical Director of Ferrari was instrumental in returning Ferrari not just to the good times but a decade of almost total domination of the sport partly through the influence they seemed to exert over the FIA. Sounds like sour grapes to me and perhaps Ferrari, Red Bull et al should have spent their money on designing new diffusers rather than expensive lawyers.
No doubt the other teams will catch-up as the season progresses but in the meantime I will be quite happy watching Brawn, Toyota and Williams fight for supremacy in China this weekend.
Let's hope that when the FIA reconvene again to discuss the Hamilton and McLaren "liargate" scandal in a couple of weeks, that this is sensibly dealt with. The team have already lost their points from Australia (where it shouldn't be forgotten they were actually entitled to third place), a well-respected individual who spent 35 years with the team has been sacked and McLaren aren't exactly challenging for race wins at the moment. Yes, it was a serious misjudgment by McLaren to get into this situation in the first place as all of the evidence was tape recorded but was it cheating in the sense that it gave the team an advantage over the other teams - No! A fine, slap on the wrist and maybe a suspended sentence for the remainder of the season should be sufficient and lets get down to the racing and spending the team's "tight" budget on car development and not expensive lawyers.
Finally, news just in that F1's Button has been involved in a serious incident (see below):
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Is Snooker Going Loopy?
Next weekend the Snooker World Championships begin at the Crucible in Sheffield. Back in the eighties this would have been one of the highlights of the sporting year (at least in the UK) but in more recent years the glamour and popularity of the game has dwindled. I believe that this is mainly due to the increasing popularity of other sports which have followed Snooker's lead in making themselves more attractive to television audiences and through their increased appeal have attracted more of the available television money and sponsors.
The wide appeal of snooker, and lets face it everyone from the age of five through to grannies in their nineties, was because it was an ideal sport to televise once we moved from our old black and white sets to the modern colour tvs. The players themselves became celebrities and we all had our favourites whether it was "interesting" Steve Davis, the rather large Bill Werbeniuk with his propensity for lager to calm his nerves or the erratic genius of Alex "Hurricane" Higgins and his successor Jimmy "Whirlwind" White.
A large part of the appeal of the sport was not that it was a quick game but it was the tension and drama as the game wore on into the early hours of the morning. These days though we are being fed ever shorter games of various sports because we might get bored and go and do something else. This though is not a modern phenomenon, lest we forget the introduction of one day cricket in the 70s championed by the likes of Kerry Packer. The alternative activities are still the same, there are still gardens to be dug, shelves to be hung and computer games to be played (who can forget the Atari games) but more about an increasing choice of what we can watch including plenty of alternative sport.
Out of this Snooker has come up with its own abbreviated form of the game in super sixes where instead of the traditional 15 red balls there will only be six. The rest of the rules will remain the same (lets hope that the snooker players don't follow cricket's lead with multicoloured pyjamas) but the idea is that the game will be quicker and will satisfy our shorter attention spans. I for one think it is a good idea as long as the major tournaments such as the World Championship retain their traditional formats. Another idea under consideration is to move the tournament to different venues and away from the Crucible which has hosted the tournament for the last thirty year. Again, I believe that this has its merits and if it attracts more money and hopefully more players it should be explored but like most other world championship events should be rotated between venues and countries (its not an American sport after all) and not fixed to one home.
Abbreviated forms of other sports now have their place in the calendar (Cricket's 20/20, Rugby 7s etc.) so let's give this new form of snooker a try and perhaps produce the next batch of snooker celebrities because other than Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan how many of the other serious contenders can you name? But, lets not forget the roots of the game and the tension and excitement that can build in a best of 35 frame match, because whilst the likes of 20/20 cricket are thriving many true sports fans can't wait until the Ashes series of cricket - five matches of five days - and the tension and drama that will be created in the hope of replicating the England success of four years ago.
The wide appeal of snooker, and lets face it everyone from the age of five through to grannies in their nineties, was because it was an ideal sport to televise once we moved from our old black and white sets to the modern colour tvs. The players themselves became celebrities and we all had our favourites whether it was "interesting" Steve Davis, the rather large Bill Werbeniuk with his propensity for lager to calm his nerves or the erratic genius of Alex "Hurricane" Higgins and his successor Jimmy "Whirlwind" White.
A large part of the appeal of the sport was not that it was a quick game but it was the tension and drama as the game wore on into the early hours of the morning. These days though we are being fed ever shorter games of various sports because we might get bored and go and do something else. This though is not a modern phenomenon, lest we forget the introduction of one day cricket in the 70s championed by the likes of Kerry Packer. The alternative activities are still the same, there are still gardens to be dug, shelves to be hung and computer games to be played (who can forget the Atari games) but more about an increasing choice of what we can watch including plenty of alternative sport.
Out of this Snooker has come up with its own abbreviated form of the game in super sixes where instead of the traditional 15 red balls there will only be six. The rest of the rules will remain the same (lets hope that the snooker players don't follow cricket's lead with multicoloured pyjamas) but the idea is that the game will be quicker and will satisfy our shorter attention spans. I for one think it is a good idea as long as the major tournaments such as the World Championship retain their traditional formats. Another idea under consideration is to move the tournament to different venues and away from the Crucible which has hosted the tournament for the last thirty year. Again, I believe that this has its merits and if it attracts more money and hopefully more players it should be explored but like most other world championship events should be rotated between venues and countries (its not an American sport after all) and not fixed to one home.
Abbreviated forms of other sports now have their place in the calendar (Cricket's 20/20, Rugby 7s etc.) so let's give this new form of snooker a try and perhaps produce the next batch of snooker celebrities because other than Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan how many of the other serious contenders can you name? But, lets not forget the roots of the game and the tension and excitement that can build in a best of 35 frame match, because whilst the likes of 20/20 cricket are thriving many true sports fans can't wait until the Ashes series of cricket - five matches of five days - and the tension and drama that will be created in the hope of replicating the England success of four years ago.
Bookies Continue Winning Run!
So had to wait to update this as the MotoGP event was postponed because of the weather but unfortunately made no difference to my prediction as the Doctor could only manage second place but I suppose that was better than my predictions for the masters where the Tiger didn't roar until it was too late and there was hardly a purr from any Brits / Europeans but Poulter was one of the best of a not very good lot!
When all the results are collated I would have ended up being down £5.40 on the week which added to last week means that my current prediction losses are running at £10.40! Was saved by a couple of correct predictions in both the rugby and the football premier league.
When all the results are collated I would have ended up being down £5.40 on the week which added to last week means that my current prediction losses are running at £10.40! Was saved by a couple of correct predictions in both the rugby and the football premier league.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Rugby Union Continues to Come up with the Goods!
Once again Rugby Union came up with some thrilling matches at the weekend with three of the four Heineken cup matches going right down to the wire and the defending champions showing just how hard it is going to be to loosen their grip on the trophy.
What was shown at the weekend was that whilst most rugby fans love to see tries being run in from all corners of the pitch, a good defence can be just as exciting and this was typified in particular by the Leinster and Cardiff wins as both teams soaked up relentless pressure close to their lines, but held out time and again. What was also so impressive was the discipline under pressure shown by all of the teams taking part because of the lack of kickable penalties that were conceded in these matches which put pressure on the attacking teams to be innovative with their attacking moves. Perhaps this was best typified by Leicester when Dupuy their scrum-half was looking for the pass for the drop goal and sucked Bath into thinking this was the only option and left the door open for him to score under the posts.
Considering seven of the eight teams were from the British Isles this weekend's rugby has probably caused more headaches for the Lion's selectors in a couple of weeks as there were some awesome performances not least by the two leading contenders for the captaincy O'Driscoll and O'Connor.
Looking forward to the next Bank Holiday and some more cracking rugby but don't expect me to have a clue in predicting the semi-final winners!
What was shown at the weekend was that whilst most rugby fans love to see tries being run in from all corners of the pitch, a good defence can be just as exciting and this was typified in particular by the Leinster and Cardiff wins as both teams soaked up relentless pressure close to their lines, but held out time and again. What was also so impressive was the discipline under pressure shown by all of the teams taking part because of the lack of kickable penalties that were conceded in these matches which put pressure on the attacking teams to be innovative with their attacking moves. Perhaps this was best typified by Leicester when Dupuy their scrum-half was looking for the pass for the drop goal and sucked Bath into thinking this was the only option and left the door open for him to score under the posts.
Considering seven of the eight teams were from the British Isles this weekend's rugby has probably caused more headaches for the Lion's selectors in a couple of weeks as there were some awesome performances not least by the two leading contenders for the captaincy O'Driscoll and O'Connor.
Looking forward to the next Bank Holiday and some more cracking rugby but don't expect me to have a clue in predicting the semi-final winners!
Thursday, 9 April 2009
This weekend's Sporting Predictions
Now that the summer sporting season has started the big events are coming thick and fast. Once more I have some predictions for this weekend's action and submitting today as the Augusta Masters will be teeing off in just a few hours.
Golf
Woods to win at 5/2
Poulter to place (top 5) at 19/1
Moto GP in Qatar
Rossi to win at 13/8
Vermuelen to podium at 11/2
Heineken Cup Quarter Finals (Rugby Union)
Leicester v Bath - home win at 4/7
Cardiff v Toulouse - away win at 4/5
Munster v Ospreys - home win at 1/3
Harlequins v Leinster - home win at 4/5
Premiership Football
Middlesbrough v Hull - home win at 6/5
Liverpool v Blackburn - draw at 9/2
Sunderland v Manchester United - away win at 1/2
Stoke v Newcastle - away win at 21/10
If you followed my post from last week (http://stanonsport.blogspot.com/2009/04/not-tipster.html) you will no that I would have ended up £5 down so hopefully I can do better this week!
The odds were as of last night and the best I could find and I imagine have not changed too much in the last few hours.
Golf
Woods to win at 5/2
Poulter to place (top 5) at 19/1
Moto GP in Qatar
Rossi to win at 13/8
Vermuelen to podium at 11/2
Heineken Cup Quarter Finals (Rugby Union)
Leicester v Bath - home win at 4/7
Cardiff v Toulouse - away win at 4/5
Munster v Ospreys - home win at 1/3
Harlequins v Leinster - home win at 4/5
Premiership Football
Middlesbrough v Hull - home win at 6/5
Liverpool v Blackburn - draw at 9/2
Sunderland v Manchester United - away win at 1/2
Stoke v Newcastle - away win at 21/10
If you followed my post from last week (http://stanonsport.blogspot.com/2009/04/not-tipster.html) you will no that I would have ended up £5 down so hopefully I can do better this week!
The odds were as of last night and the best I could find and I imagine have not changed too much in the last few hours.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
England Crickets Captaincy Conundrum
Earlier this week the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced their extended squad for the upcoming World 20/20 championships that will be taking place in England in June. The surprise omission was that of Andrew Strauss who was installed as captain for all forms of cricket prior to the West Indies tour and with this responsibility led from the front in both the Test and 1 day series and it would be difficult to argue against him as the best English player in both forms of the game during the series.
Strauss himself has claimed that it was mutually agreed that he would not be involved in the 20/20 tournament as his game is not ideally suited to that form of cricket. However, after all the leadership turmoil English cricket has gone through over the last few months it seemed that if there was one guy who could both unify the dressing room and actually improve his game it was Strauss.
There are a number of other obvious candidates in the squad but in my opinion two of these should immediately be ruled out.
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff has never performed at his best with the burdens of captaincy and with all of the injury problems he has had in recent years it can't even be guaranteed he will be fit for the tournament.
The second to be ruled out should be (Kevin) Pietersen who was supposed to become the unifying captain of all forms of the game for England just a few short months ago. He however, had this responsibility relieved from him after the India tour because of disagreements with the coaching structure and it is rumoured that he didn't have the full support of the dressing room. Whilst there is probably the opportunity in the future for him to resume the role, it is too soon to bring him back now and then have him returned to the ranks when it comes to the Ashes series.
That to me leaves two other potential candidates, Paul Collingwood and Rob Key. Collingwood was the one day captain up to the appointment of Pietersen and stood aside to allow one person to captain in all forms of the game. Whilst his captaincy was not without periods of controversy he meets all the criteria needed for the job i.e. experience, guaranteed to be in the team, popular in the dressing room etc. He also wouldn't have any problem in returning to the ranks after the tournament as he has never been a serious candidate as a Test match captain as he can't always be guaranteed his place.
The final and possibly outside candidate is Rob Key. He has plenty of captaincy experience both with Kent and the England academy squads and has led Kent to the final of the 20/20 tournaments in England for the last two years. The main argument against him is that he is possibly not one of the best eleven 20/20 players in England but then as a country we have not been very successful in this format. He is also known to be popular in the dressing room and having a unified dressing room and team is probably better at this stage than the best 11 individuals. The final thing with Key is that he probably won't be involved in the Australia matches and so it can just be a one-off appointment.
It will be interesting to see the decision of the ECB but as my first choice would have been Strauss just for the sake of consistency, my second choice is Key because it will probably have a less detrimental affect on the more important part of the English season - regaining the Ashes.
Of course the British and Irish Lions are currently facing the same dilemma and no doubt there will be more to discuss on that in the coming weeks.
Strauss himself has claimed that it was mutually agreed that he would not be involved in the 20/20 tournament as his game is not ideally suited to that form of cricket. However, after all the leadership turmoil English cricket has gone through over the last few months it seemed that if there was one guy who could both unify the dressing room and actually improve his game it was Strauss.
There are a number of other obvious candidates in the squad but in my opinion two of these should immediately be ruled out.
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff has never performed at his best with the burdens of captaincy and with all of the injury problems he has had in recent years it can't even be guaranteed he will be fit for the tournament.
The second to be ruled out should be (Kevin) Pietersen who was supposed to become the unifying captain of all forms of the game for England just a few short months ago. He however, had this responsibility relieved from him after the India tour because of disagreements with the coaching structure and it is rumoured that he didn't have the full support of the dressing room. Whilst there is probably the opportunity in the future for him to resume the role, it is too soon to bring him back now and then have him returned to the ranks when it comes to the Ashes series.
That to me leaves two other potential candidates, Paul Collingwood and Rob Key. Collingwood was the one day captain up to the appointment of Pietersen and stood aside to allow one person to captain in all forms of the game. Whilst his captaincy was not without periods of controversy he meets all the criteria needed for the job i.e. experience, guaranteed to be in the team, popular in the dressing room etc. He also wouldn't have any problem in returning to the ranks after the tournament as he has never been a serious candidate as a Test match captain as he can't always be guaranteed his place.
The final and possibly outside candidate is Rob Key. He has plenty of captaincy experience both with Kent and the England academy squads and has led Kent to the final of the 20/20 tournaments in England for the last two years. The main argument against him is that he is possibly not one of the best eleven 20/20 players in England but then as a country we have not been very successful in this format. He is also known to be popular in the dressing room and having a unified dressing room and team is probably better at this stage than the best 11 individuals. The final thing with Key is that he probably won't be involved in the Australia matches and so it can just be a one-off appointment.
It will be interesting to see the decision of the ECB but as my first choice would have been Strauss just for the sake of consistency, my second choice is Key because it will probably have a less detrimental affect on the more important part of the English season - regaining the Ashes.
Of course the British and Irish Lions are currently facing the same dilemma and no doubt there will be more to discuss on that in the coming weeks.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Superb Entertainment & Brits doing well
There was some great sport over the weekend all of which in their own way produced some great entertainment but for me the best action of the weekend was the Rugby League Challenge Cup between the Catalan Dragons and the Bradford Bulls in Perpignan. The Bulls were 20 – 0 up at half time and then scored another converted try almost immediately to make the score 26 – 0. In most circumstances I would have given up watching at this time but am I glad I persisted but because what followed in the next 35 minutes was classic open rugby (from which ever denomination you follow) with the Dragons scoring 7 tries – converting 6 - and the Bulls a further 2 converted tries leaving the final score as 40 – 38 to the home side. Brilliant entertainment and that is part of what sport is all about, but I guess the coaches of both sides will have something to say about their teams’ defensive lapses.
As for the rest of the weekend there were a variety of sports on the go with Brits doing well in pretty much all of the major events. Andy Murray goes from strength to strength in tennis and picked up his third Masters Crown since the US Open last year, in fact he is looking so good at the moment in the latter stages of tournaments that one almost forgets he is a British tennis player.
The Malaysian Grand Prix produced its own unique brand of entertainment and until the premature end because of the atrocious weather looked set to be as exciting if not more so than the season opener in Australia. Yet again the plaudits go to Jenson Button and the Brawn team. Whilst Jenson didn’t get the best of starts off pole and soon found himself in fourth, nearly everything that came afterwards was flawless. A superb if not little audacious manoeuvre to go round the outside of Alonso and then taking advantage of his pit-stop strategy to leap-frog from third to first in the space of a couple of laps. Ross Brawn would have been purring with satisfaction as Jensen set fastest laps and sector times in that run-up to his first pit stop and it reminded me of Schumacher (Michael) when he was at his peerless best! Of course “non-racing” matters are again taking the headlines with McLaren’s “lie gate” scandal, the timing of the Grand Prix and the time it took the authorities to work out and tell the watching public what order the race finished in – no doubt more on these in the future.
Other Brits on top were Beth Tweddle winning two golds at the European Gymnastics Championships which should bode well if she does continue through to the London Olympics, and Paul Casey winning the final tournament before this week’s Masters which has pushed him up to a career high ranking of World No. 6 and hopefully we will see him flying high again at Augusta. Finally, this actually happened at the end of last week but Mark Cavendish won two and Bradley Wiggins won a stage of the Three days of De Panne race and hopefully we will continue to hear of more victories from these guys as the cycling season progresses, and maybe even a sprinters jersey for Cavendish in one of the three major tours.
I know it’s very early in the year but the Sports Personality of the Year could get interesting over the next few months!
As for the rest of the weekend there were a variety of sports on the go with Brits doing well in pretty much all of the major events. Andy Murray goes from strength to strength in tennis and picked up his third Masters Crown since the US Open last year, in fact he is looking so good at the moment in the latter stages of tournaments that one almost forgets he is a British tennis player.
The Malaysian Grand Prix produced its own unique brand of entertainment and until the premature end because of the atrocious weather looked set to be as exciting if not more so than the season opener in Australia. Yet again the plaudits go to Jenson Button and the Brawn team. Whilst Jenson didn’t get the best of starts off pole and soon found himself in fourth, nearly everything that came afterwards was flawless. A superb if not little audacious manoeuvre to go round the outside of Alonso and then taking advantage of his pit-stop strategy to leap-frog from third to first in the space of a couple of laps. Ross Brawn would have been purring with satisfaction as Jensen set fastest laps and sector times in that run-up to his first pit stop and it reminded me of Schumacher (Michael) when he was at his peerless best! Of course “non-racing” matters are again taking the headlines with McLaren’s “lie gate” scandal, the timing of the Grand Prix and the time it took the authorities to work out and tell the watching public what order the race finished in – no doubt more on these in the future.
Other Brits on top were Beth Tweddle winning two golds at the European Gymnastics Championships which should bode well if she does continue through to the London Olympics, and Paul Casey winning the final tournament before this week’s Masters which has pushed him up to a career high ranking of World No. 6 and hopefully we will see him flying high again at Augusta. Finally, this actually happened at the end of last week but Mark Cavendish won two and Bradley Wiggins won a stage of the Three days of De Panne race and hopefully we will continue to hear of more victories from these guys as the cycling season progresses, and maybe even a sprinters jersey for Cavendish in one of the three major tours.
I know it’s very early in the year but the Sports Personality of the Year could get interesting over the next few months!
Not a Tipster...
What a great weekend of sport and if you were following any of my tips you will have seen that I am not a great predictor. Assuming that £1 was put on all of the predictions I made on Friday then your wallet would be £5 lighter this morning - thankfully I won the Grand National sweep at work!
Where I was right was predicting Murray to win the tennis and got 3 out for 4 correct results in the Rugby (Union). In addition both of the horses I tipped for the National did finish but then so did about half of the field! As for the Grand Prix, I'll blame my lack of skill in predicting that on the weather they had out there which turned the last few laps into a lottery of Grand National proportions. However, good to see the Germans (http://stanonsport.blogspot.com/2009/03/germans-are-coming-chain.html) coming to the fore with second and third places and Rosberg looked good until the first round of pit-stops.
Where I was right was predicting Murray to win the tennis and got 3 out for 4 correct results in the Rugby (Union). In addition both of the horses I tipped for the National did finish but then so did about half of the field! As for the Grand Prix, I'll blame my lack of skill in predicting that on the weather they had out there which turned the last few laps into a lottery of Grand National proportions. However, good to see the Germans (http://stanonsport.blogspot.com/2009/03/germans-are-coming-chain.html) coming to the fore with second and third places and Rosberg looked good until the first round of pit-stops.
Friday, 3 April 2009
Money where my mouth is!
Further to my last post below are my predictions for those events with the current odds:
Grand National
Butlers Cabin 9/1 to win
Offshore Account 33/1 each way (just had to include this bet!)
Barclays Premier League
Newcastle v Chelsea, a draw at 11/4
Fulham v Liverpool, a draw at 11/4
Manchester United v AstonVilla, a home win at 4/11
West Brom v Stoke, a home win at 5/4
Tennis
Murray at 7/5 to win tournament
Rugby Union - Guinness Premiership
Bath v Harlequins, away win at 7/4
London Irish v Bristol, home win at 1/8
Leicester v Sale, home win at 4/11
Wasps v Newcastle, away win at 11/5
Malaysian Grand Prix
Raikkonen to win at 7/1
Webber to finish on podium 6/1
Next week we'll see what profit or loss I would have made on the weekend's action.
Grand National
Butlers Cabin 9/1 to win
Offshore Account 33/1 each way (just had to include this bet!)
Barclays Premier League
Newcastle v Chelsea, a draw at 11/4
Fulham v Liverpool, a draw at 11/4
Manchester United v AstonVilla, a home win at 4/11
West Brom v Stoke, a home win at 5/4
Tennis
Murray at 7/5 to win tournament
Rugby Union - Guinness Premiership
Bath v Harlequins, away win at 7/4
London Irish v Bristol, home win at 1/8
Leicester v Sale, home win at 4/11
Wasps v Newcastle, away win at 11/5
Malaysian Grand Prix
Raikkonen to win at 7/1
Webber to finish on podium 6/1
Next week we'll see what profit or loss I would have made on the weekend's action.
Bookies Payday?
Looks like there is another cracking weekend in store for sports lovers perhaps led by the Grand National at Aintree tomorrow. As I am no expert on horse racing don't ask me for any tips but I hope that Tony McCoy's mount of Butlers Cabin wins as it is amazing that this must be the one race that McCoy hasn't won in his glittering career. Hopefully the weather will stay fine and it will be a good race without too much incident.
The Grand National is not the only event this weekend where it is hard to pick a winner. The ATP Masters tournament in Miami is down to the semi-final stage and even though Nadal is out it will be tough to choose a winner from the four left. From a British point of view it would be good to see Murray win and as he has progressed through the tournament his wins have become more emphatic, and if he ends meeting Federer in the final he will fancy his chances having had the upper hand in their last few meetings.
Premier League football returns and with only a handful of games left they all count now towards becoming champions, getting relegated or qualifying for Europe. The top three all have tough games with Chelsea at Newcastle where the atmosphere is going to be electric when Shearer enters the dugout for his first game as manager, surely must be worth a punt on Michael Owen scoring the winner! Liverpool visit Fulham who have a super home record and lets not forget had a great win over Manchester United in their last game at Craven Cottage. Liverpool could probably have done without the international break with the run of form they were on and will hope to pick up where they left off two weeks ago as they will go top at least for 24 hours. Meanwhile the current leaders, Manchester United host Aston Villa. Both teams have a had a couple of poor results lately and will be looking to get back on the winning track so they can achieve their goals for the season.
As for the bottom of the league, this is the time when every game becomes a six pointer and the big game will be Stoke at West Brom as defeat for the latter will certainly be a nail in the coffin of their survival hopes.
In the English Premier Rugby League it is even tighter with the top 5 teams only separated by 2 points and all of the teams in action this weekend. This season has shown that any team can beat anyone else and the form teams are Harlequins and Leicester who are joint top as well as Newcastle so if money was going to be gambled these are probably the teams to go for. Bristol had a great win against their only rivals for relegation last week (Worcester) but it looks like it might be too late for them, especially as they visit high-flying London Irish this weekend.
Finally, after all the waiting for the Grand Prix season to get under way, we are straight into the second race. From the first day of practice it looks like the Ferraris, Williams and Red Bulls with maybe the Brawns competing for pole but then as we saw last week the race can be very different from qualifying.
It looks like that the best that Hamilton, Alonso and Kubica can hope for is being middle of the field at the start and both will probably hoping for a wet race. They will be joined midfield by Vettel as he is due a 10 place penalty after his crash into Kubica last week and that will place three of the best wet weather drivers close together and if it does rain as forecast then we could see some great charges through the field from these guys. If it stays dry then looks like Raikkonen will be the man to beat but if I was going to stick my neck out and the we have variable weather then keep an eye on Webber who if he qualifies well should be in the mix! To be honest all I really hope for is that the racing and not the politics become centre of attention for the remainder of the weekend and the result stands in the order the cars and drivers cross the line.
Looks like it will be great but am still no clearer now where I'd put my money on the outcome of any of these sports.
The Grand National is not the only event this weekend where it is hard to pick a winner. The ATP Masters tournament in Miami is down to the semi-final stage and even though Nadal is out it will be tough to choose a winner from the four left. From a British point of view it would be good to see Murray win and as he has progressed through the tournament his wins have become more emphatic, and if he ends meeting Federer in the final he will fancy his chances having had the upper hand in their last few meetings.
Premier League football returns and with only a handful of games left they all count now towards becoming champions, getting relegated or qualifying for Europe. The top three all have tough games with Chelsea at Newcastle where the atmosphere is going to be electric when Shearer enters the dugout for his first game as manager, surely must be worth a punt on Michael Owen scoring the winner! Liverpool visit Fulham who have a super home record and lets not forget had a great win over Manchester United in their last game at Craven Cottage. Liverpool could probably have done without the international break with the run of form they were on and will hope to pick up where they left off two weeks ago as they will go top at least for 24 hours. Meanwhile the current leaders, Manchester United host Aston Villa. Both teams have a had a couple of poor results lately and will be looking to get back on the winning track so they can achieve their goals for the season.
As for the bottom of the league, this is the time when every game becomes a six pointer and the big game will be Stoke at West Brom as defeat for the latter will certainly be a nail in the coffin of their survival hopes.
In the English Premier Rugby League it is even tighter with the top 5 teams only separated by 2 points and all of the teams in action this weekend. This season has shown that any team can beat anyone else and the form teams are Harlequins and Leicester who are joint top as well as Newcastle so if money was going to be gambled these are probably the teams to go for. Bristol had a great win against their only rivals for relegation last week (Worcester) but it looks like it might be too late for them, especially as they visit high-flying London Irish this weekend.
Finally, after all the waiting for the Grand Prix season to get under way, we are straight into the second race. From the first day of practice it looks like the Ferraris, Williams and Red Bulls with maybe the Brawns competing for pole but then as we saw last week the race can be very different from qualifying.
It looks like that the best that Hamilton, Alonso and Kubica can hope for is being middle of the field at the start and both will probably hoping for a wet race. They will be joined midfield by Vettel as he is due a 10 place penalty after his crash into Kubica last week and that will place three of the best wet weather drivers close together and if it does rain as forecast then we could see some great charges through the field from these guys. If it stays dry then looks like Raikkonen will be the man to beat but if I was going to stick my neck out and the we have variable weather then keep an eye on Webber who if he qualifies well should be in the mix! To be honest all I really hope for is that the racing and not the politics become centre of attention for the remainder of the weekend and the result stands in the order the cars and drivers cross the line.
Looks like it will be great but am still no clearer now where I'd put my money on the outcome of any of these sports.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
F1 Farce
Was going to save myself from writing anything more on F1 until the weekend but with the farcial events that have taken place this afternoon prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix I can't help myself.
For the millions of us around the world that watched the race it was a great opening to the season but since then the result (thankfully excluding the Brawn cars) has become a farce. Firstly, Trulli is docked 25 seconds effectively moving him from 3rd to last of the finishers and even though disappointed both he and Toyota decide against appealing the decision. Then we get to the next race and that decision is overturned and it is decided to completely disqualify Hamilton and Mclaren.
There are no doubt facts that we are not all aware off but what does appear to be abundantly clear was that there was a lot of confusion not just amongst the teams but also amongst the race controllers. This led to first Hamilton passing Trulli as he braked and slid off the track and then Hamilton slowing right down to allow Trulli back past. Surely with all the confusion would not the fairest result have been to declare the result as the order in which the cars crossed the line at the end because even though mistakes were made they did not materially effect what had taken place over the previous 55 laps where Hamilton (starting 18th) and Trulli (from the pit lane) provided a spectacle as they worked their way through the field as the race progressed. Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't that the idea of the new rules - more overtaking and more entertainment for the viewing public!!
All this followed Toyota having been penalised for breaking rules regarding their rear wing in qualifying and lets hope that we don't have the same shenanigans before during or after this weekend's race which I will write more about later.
For the millions of us around the world that watched the race it was a great opening to the season but since then the result (thankfully excluding the Brawn cars) has become a farce. Firstly, Trulli is docked 25 seconds effectively moving him from 3rd to last of the finishers and even though disappointed both he and Toyota decide against appealing the decision. Then we get to the next race and that decision is overturned and it is decided to completely disqualify Hamilton and Mclaren.
There are no doubt facts that we are not all aware off but what does appear to be abundantly clear was that there was a lot of confusion not just amongst the teams but also amongst the race controllers. This led to first Hamilton passing Trulli as he braked and slid off the track and then Hamilton slowing right down to allow Trulli back past. Surely with all the confusion would not the fairest result have been to declare the result as the order in which the cars crossed the line at the end because even though mistakes were made they did not materially effect what had taken place over the previous 55 laps where Hamilton (starting 18th) and Trulli (from the pit lane) provided a spectacle as they worked their way through the field as the race progressed. Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't that the idea of the new rules - more overtaking and more entertainment for the viewing public!!
All this followed Toyota having been penalised for breaking rules regarding their rear wing in qualifying and lets hope that we don't have the same shenanigans before during or after this weekend's race which I will write more about later.
Return of the Messiah
When I heard the news yesterday morning that Alan Shearer was returning to Newcastle United as their manager, I was sure that it was an April fool!
However, that is what has happened and good luck to him as Newcastle need a great deal of inspiration if they are going to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season. Along with Glasgow there is no other City in the UK that is so consumed with what happens on a football field and therefore it would be a great shame if Newcastle were relegated. Having said that sport is all about winning and that is something that Newcastle United have to do to avoid the dreaded drop.
As for Shearer, it is an interesting decision to take on this role now but I guess if the stories are right and he is being paid £1 million for 8 matches with a further £1 million if he staves off relegation that had to help. It will cost Mike Ashley and the club much more if come August the team are plying their trade in the Championship. Shearer though is already hero-worshipped by supporters following his playing career at the club and even should they go down this status will probably be little diminished because it will be seen by the supporters, that it was not his fault and really was the last throw of the dice by Ashley. For the man himself it starts becoming a win - win situation then.
However, that is what has happened and good luck to him as Newcastle need a great deal of inspiration if they are going to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season. Along with Glasgow there is no other City in the UK that is so consumed with what happens on a football field and therefore it would be a great shame if Newcastle were relegated. Having said that sport is all about winning and that is something that Newcastle United have to do to avoid the dreaded drop.
As for Shearer, it is an interesting decision to take on this role now but I guess if the stories are right and he is being paid £1 million for 8 matches with a further £1 million if he staves off relegation that had to help. It will cost Mike Ashley and the club much more if come August the team are plying their trade in the Championship. Shearer though is already hero-worshipped by supporters following his playing career at the club and even should they go down this status will probably be little diminished because it will be seen by the supporters, that it was not his fault and really was the last throw of the dice by Ashley. For the man himself it starts becoming a win - win situation then.
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