Bit late this week because of work commitments and a bit frustrating as I was originally going to predict England's cricketers to beat Sri Lanka yesterday which they achieved!
I have still got ten predictions for the weekend and will start with cricket and the India versus Pakistan match in the ICC Champions Trophy. My prediction is for an India win. In Rugby League's Superleague playoffs my thinking is that Wigan will emulate the feats of the Catalan Dragons last night and defy the rankings in their game with Hull KR. In rugby's other code I am going for two away wins in the Guinness Premiership this weekend with Leicester to beat Bath and Sale to win at Worcester.
The Barclay's Premier League continues this weekend and taking account of the fact this league has only produced four draws this season I am only going for one in my predictions this week, in the game between Birmingham and Bolton. My other three predictions this weekend are for home wins in the matches between Liverpool and Hull, Tottenham versus Burnley and Sunderland who host Wolves.
Finally, after another week where the main news in Formula One has been off the track after the race-fixing at last year's Singapore Grand Prix, the racing continues at the same venue this weekend. In yesterday's practice the Brawn's looked competitive and I think Jenson Button could take a significant step towards winning the world championship this weekend and will win the race. My other prediction is for Fisichella to get into the points in his Ferrari and I won't be surprised if Alonso's Renault is somewhere near the front of the race.
In summary the predictions are:
ICC Championship Cricket
India to beat Pakistan at 5/6
Rugby League
Wigan to beat Hull Kingston Rovers at 10/11
Rugby Union
Leicester to win at Bath at 11/10
Sale to win at Worcester at 22/19
Premier League Football
Birmingham to draw with Bolton at 23/10
Liverpool to beat Hull at 1/6
Tottenham to beat Burnley at 2/5
Sunderland to beat Wolves at 4/5
Singapore Grand Prix
Button to win at 6/1
Fisichella to score points at 13/8
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Prediction Updates
Just a quick update after last week's predictions. I managed five out of nine correct but ended up neutral from a financial perspective so still £10 down overall.
In the Premier League football two of my predictions were correct as Arsenal easily beat Wigan and Manchester United won their derby game but only after a questionable amount of extra time. However, there was again a lack of draws in this league meaning that my predictions for Hull and Birmingham as well as Everton and Blackburn were incorrect. I'll probably still go for some draws next weekend but may have to start re-thinking this strategy.
In Rugby League St. Helens defeated Huddersfield as predicted and in Rugby Union the All Blacks won the final Tri-Nations match against the Wallabies but Gloucester's poor start to the season continued as they were comprehensively defeated at home to Northampton. Their change of coach and clearout of players has not reaped any rewards as of yet - other than the opening day defeat of local rivals Bath.
My final two predictions were based on national teams and thankfully the England cricket team won a ODI against the Aussies but not sure it will benefit them too much in the ICC Champions Trophy that has started in South Africa this week. Yet again Britain showed their lack of depth in men's tennis as even though Andy Murray continued his winning streak in the singles there was no-one else capable of supporting him in either the doubles or as the second singles player, and the team are now in as low a level in Davis Cup tennis as they have ever been and they face the "mighty" Lithuania in their next match.
Will hopefully get some predictions for this week done either tomorrow or Saturday morning and it will include football, both rugby codes, the Singapore Grand Prix and maybe some cricket.
In the Premier League football two of my predictions were correct as Arsenal easily beat Wigan and Manchester United won their derby game but only after a questionable amount of extra time. However, there was again a lack of draws in this league meaning that my predictions for Hull and Birmingham as well as Everton and Blackburn were incorrect. I'll probably still go for some draws next weekend but may have to start re-thinking this strategy.
In Rugby League St. Helens defeated Huddersfield as predicted and in Rugby Union the All Blacks won the final Tri-Nations match against the Wallabies but Gloucester's poor start to the season continued as they were comprehensively defeated at home to Northampton. Their change of coach and clearout of players has not reaped any rewards as of yet - other than the opening day defeat of local rivals Bath.
My final two predictions were based on national teams and thankfully the England cricket team won a ODI against the Aussies but not sure it will benefit them too much in the ICC Champions Trophy that has started in South Africa this week. Yet again Britain showed their lack of depth in men's tennis as even though Andy Murray continued his winning streak in the singles there was no-one else capable of supporting him in either the doubles or as the second singles player, and the team are now in as low a level in Davis Cup tennis as they have ever been and they face the "mighty" Lithuania in their next match.
Will hopefully get some predictions for this week done either tomorrow or Saturday morning and it will include football, both rugby codes, the Singapore Grand Prix and maybe some cricket.
Friday, 18 September 2009
Another Weekend - Another set of predictions!
Friday again, how the last week before starting my new job seems to have flown by. This probably also means less blogging and tweeting action but we'll have to see. This weekend am making predictions on a range of sports including both codes of rugby, premiership football, international cricket and Davis Cup tennis.
The action gets under way at lunch time when Great Britain take on Poland in their relegation battle in the Davis Cup in Liverpool. Though one would expect Andy Murray to win both of his singles matches, the doubles and second singles being played by Dan Evans are more difficult to predict. However, with home advantage I am going for a Great Britain win but expect it will probably go to the last match, even though it would be nice if we could win with a bit of style.
In Rugby League the Superleague has reached the play-off stages which this year comprises of eight of the fourteen teams in the league but for the first time not the Bradford Bulls. I think the match of the weekend will be between St. Helens and Huddersfield and though St. Helens have faltered in recent weeks I am going from them to win and thereby qualify for the semi-finals in a fortnight's time.
The Tri-Nations may have a winner after the Springboks success last weekend but the tournament's concluding match has plenty of pride at stake between the All Blacks and the Wallabies. For this game I am going with home advantage and an All Blacks win but it won't be easy. My other rugby union prediction is for Gloucester to make use of their home advantage against Northampton in the Guinness Premiership and scrape a win to get their season back on track after their heavy defeat last weekend to London Irish.
In the Barclay's Premiership this weekend the top four teams are all in action against each other and the results could be significant in determining how these teams will progress this season. In the Manchester derby I am going for a home win for Alex Ferguson's Manchester United mainly based on the striker crisis that City are suddenly experiencing after all of their summer signings. For the London derby at Stamford Bridge I am not making an official prediction but as a Spur's fan I will be delighted if they can get a draw especially after their hiccup last week.
Even though there have only been three draws in the premier league all season so far, I am predicting two more this weekend between Hull and Birmingham, two teams whose main ambition this season will to not be relegated. At Goodison Park Everton host Blackburn and notwithstanding Everton's excellent win in the Europa Cup last night I think this match will end in stalemate. My last football prediction is that Arsenal will beat Wigan at The Emirates.
To complete my predictions for the week there is the final ODI between Australia and England at the Riverside. Based on the pretty abysmal performance of England to date in this series I probably should predict an Aussie win to set a record seven nil whitewash, but being of a patriotic nature I am trusting that Strauss' men will show some pride, win this match and give themselves something to build on as they fly off to South Africa next week for the ICC Champions Trophy.
In summary the predictions for the week are as follows:
Tennis
England to win Davis Cup tie with Poland at 1/3
Rugby League
St. Helens to beat Huddersfield at 4/9
Rugby Union
All Blacks to beat Australia at 3/5
Gloucester to beat Northampton at 4/9
Barclay's Premier League Football
Hull and Birmingham to draw at 12/5
Manchester United to beat Manchester City at 4/6
Arsenal to beat Wigan at 2/7
Everton to draw with Blackburn at 5/2
International Cricket
England to beat Australia at 15/8
The action gets under way at lunch time when Great Britain take on Poland in their relegation battle in the Davis Cup in Liverpool. Though one would expect Andy Murray to win both of his singles matches, the doubles and second singles being played by Dan Evans are more difficult to predict. However, with home advantage I am going for a Great Britain win but expect it will probably go to the last match, even though it would be nice if we could win with a bit of style.
In Rugby League the Superleague has reached the play-off stages which this year comprises of eight of the fourteen teams in the league but for the first time not the Bradford Bulls. I think the match of the weekend will be between St. Helens and Huddersfield and though St. Helens have faltered in recent weeks I am going from them to win and thereby qualify for the semi-finals in a fortnight's time.
The Tri-Nations may have a winner after the Springboks success last weekend but the tournament's concluding match has plenty of pride at stake between the All Blacks and the Wallabies. For this game I am going with home advantage and an All Blacks win but it won't be easy. My other rugby union prediction is for Gloucester to make use of their home advantage against Northampton in the Guinness Premiership and scrape a win to get their season back on track after their heavy defeat last weekend to London Irish.
In the Barclay's Premiership this weekend the top four teams are all in action against each other and the results could be significant in determining how these teams will progress this season. In the Manchester derby I am going for a home win for Alex Ferguson's Manchester United mainly based on the striker crisis that City are suddenly experiencing after all of their summer signings. For the London derby at Stamford Bridge I am not making an official prediction but as a Spur's fan I will be delighted if they can get a draw especially after their hiccup last week.
Even though there have only been three draws in the premier league all season so far, I am predicting two more this weekend between Hull and Birmingham, two teams whose main ambition this season will to not be relegated. At Goodison Park Everton host Blackburn and notwithstanding Everton's excellent win in the Europa Cup last night I think this match will end in stalemate. My last football prediction is that Arsenal will beat Wigan at The Emirates.
To complete my predictions for the week there is the final ODI between Australia and England at the Riverside. Based on the pretty abysmal performance of England to date in this series I probably should predict an Aussie win to set a record seven nil whitewash, but being of a patriotic nature I am trusting that Strauss' men will show some pride, win this match and give themselves something to build on as they fly off to South Africa next week for the ICC Champions Trophy.
In summary the predictions for the week are as follows:
Tennis
England to win Davis Cup tie with Poland at 1/3
Rugby League
St. Helens to beat Huddersfield at 4/9
Rugby Union
All Blacks to beat Australia at 3/5
Gloucester to beat Northampton at 4/9
Barclay's Premier League Football
Hull and Birmingham to draw at 12/5
Manchester United to beat Manchester City at 4/6
Arsenal to beat Wigan at 2/7
Everton to draw with Blackburn at 5/2
International Cricket
England to beat Australia at 15/8
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Last Week's Predictions
Only four out of ten last week but thankfully only resulted in a £1 loss for the week meaning I am £10 down in total.
With my football predictions I correctly surmised that Chelsea would beat Stoke, though they left it late and that Sunderland who have been resurgent this season with Steve Bruce in charge would beat Hull, a team that I think are going to be flirting with relegation all season. I also predicted that Manchester City and Arsenal would draw, but yet again there were no draws in the premiership last weekend meaning there has only been three in forty-six matches so far this season. It was a great result for Mark Hughes' team and leaves them along with leaders Chelsea as the only team with a 100% record so far. My other prediction was for Portsmouth to beat fellow strugglers Bolton but this turned out to be an away win giving Bolton their first points of the season.
In the rugby the Springboks held off a late challenge from the All Blacks to win both the match and the Tri-Nations. Having watched the game it does appear that like Australia in Test Cricket the All Blacks have lost their aura of invincibility and this doesn't bode well for them as they host the World Cup in two years for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, which to date is their only success. I did correctly predict that Saracens would beat Northampton in the first club game to be played at the new Wembley Stadium and this has given Saracens two wins from two so far this season and I for one hope they can challenge for honours this year.
England's cricketers again fell short in the ODI at Lord's and having subsequently lost at Trentbridge are now in serious danger of being whitewashed seven nil in the series with Australia unless they find some form today in Nottingham again or at the weekend in Chester-le-Street.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the weekend was Federer's loss to Del Potro in the delayed final of the men's tournament at the US Open tennis, especially having been only a couple of points from winning the tournament in the fourth set. However, I recall the great man being written off last season when Nadal seemed to have the upper hand for most of the year but he bounced back and I'm sure still has more Grand Slam wins in him, so no obituaries from me just yet.
My final predictions related to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, a sport that yet again this week has provided plenty of negative publicity with the alleged cheating of the Renault team at last year's Singapore Grand Prix. It was good to see the Brawn team back on the pace and it looks almost certain that one of their drivers will win this year's driver's championship as well as the team taking the constructor's championship. Button still has to be favourite after his second place to team mate Barichello in Italy with his fourteen point lead but let's not forget that Hamilton had a seventeen point lead with two races to go a couple of year's ago but still contrived to lose the championship to Raikkonen. In Italy I did predict a podium for Button but a Hamiton win which even though he achieved pole he was unable to claim before crashing out on the last lap trying to catch the Brawns.
There will be predictions for this weekend tomorrow so watch this space.
With my football predictions I correctly surmised that Chelsea would beat Stoke, though they left it late and that Sunderland who have been resurgent this season with Steve Bruce in charge would beat Hull, a team that I think are going to be flirting with relegation all season. I also predicted that Manchester City and Arsenal would draw, but yet again there were no draws in the premiership last weekend meaning there has only been three in forty-six matches so far this season. It was a great result for Mark Hughes' team and leaves them along with leaders Chelsea as the only team with a 100% record so far. My other prediction was for Portsmouth to beat fellow strugglers Bolton but this turned out to be an away win giving Bolton their first points of the season.
In the rugby the Springboks held off a late challenge from the All Blacks to win both the match and the Tri-Nations. Having watched the game it does appear that like Australia in Test Cricket the All Blacks have lost their aura of invincibility and this doesn't bode well for them as they host the World Cup in two years for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, which to date is their only success. I did correctly predict that Saracens would beat Northampton in the first club game to be played at the new Wembley Stadium and this has given Saracens two wins from two so far this season and I for one hope they can challenge for honours this year.
England's cricketers again fell short in the ODI at Lord's and having subsequently lost at Trentbridge are now in serious danger of being whitewashed seven nil in the series with Australia unless they find some form today in Nottingham again or at the weekend in Chester-le-Street.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the weekend was Federer's loss to Del Potro in the delayed final of the men's tournament at the US Open tennis, especially having been only a couple of points from winning the tournament in the fourth set. However, I recall the great man being written off last season when Nadal seemed to have the upper hand for most of the year but he bounced back and I'm sure still has more Grand Slam wins in him, so no obituaries from me just yet.
My final predictions related to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, a sport that yet again this week has provided plenty of negative publicity with the alleged cheating of the Renault team at last year's Singapore Grand Prix. It was good to see the Brawn team back on the pace and it looks almost certain that one of their drivers will win this year's driver's championship as well as the team taking the constructor's championship. Button still has to be favourite after his second place to team mate Barichello in Italy with his fourteen point lead but let's not forget that Hamilton had a seventeen point lead with two races to go a couple of year's ago but still contrived to lose the championship to Raikkonen. In Italy I did predict a podium for Button but a Hamiton win which even though he achieved pole he was unable to claim before crashing out on the last lap trying to catch the Brawns.
There will be predictions for this weekend tomorrow so watch this space.
Friday, 11 September 2009
Friday Prediction Time
Plenty of great sporting action again this weekend and being Friday I have some predictions for what hopefully should be the main highlights of the action.
As it's my first game of rugby since April tomorrow I will start with a couple of rugby predictions, though not for my own game! The Springboks take on the All Blacks in New Zealand tomorrow with the opportunity to wrap up the Tri-Nations title but as usual I'm going for the home side and therefore an All Blacks win, though this could still lead to the Boks winning the title if they can secure a bonus point. My other rugby prediction is from the first ever competitive club game at the new Wembley where I'm going for my local side Saracens to beat Northampton in the Guinness Premiership encounter.
Tomorrow also sees the fourth ODI cricket match between England and Australia at Lords. Whilst it is almost certain that the Aussies will win the series I think England will pick up their first win tomorrow as there will be at least two changes and probably more to the team, with the announcement that Anderson and Collingwood are being rested and the fresh blood may just make the difference.
In football the Barclay's Premier League is back after the two week international break which has seen England qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa with two games still to play. For those teams with players on England duty they should have no injury worries from those who took part but because of the international make-up of every team in the premier league these days there will be injuries and jet lag issues affecting most teams.
There has been a lack of draws in the premier league so far this season but my first prediction is for Manchester City to draw with Arsenal and thereby lose their 100% start to the season. One team who I predict will keep their 100% start to the season in place are Chelsea who I think will win at Stoke. Sunderland were one of the teams to have spent big this summer and with the team now assembled I think they will have too much for Hull and am going for a home win in this match. The final game I will make a prediction for this weekend is the bottom of the table clash at Fratton Park where Portsmouth who have imploded in recent months take on Bolton. Neither team has yet scored a point this season but I'm going with the home team and a narrow Portsmouth win but I suspect both of these teams will be stuck battling relegation all season, and one of them is likely to see the first managerial casualty in the premier league this season.
In New York the US Open is drawing to it's conclusion and whilst there could be a dream win for the Belgian Clijsters in the women's tournament the prediction I going to make is for Federer to win the men's competition giving him his sixth consecutive success at Flushing Meadows and confirming his status as the best player in men's tennis for another season.
My final predictions are for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. For many neutrals the dream result is probably a Fisichella win for Ferrari but as I intimated yesterday an Italian winning in a Ferrari is rare enough, and even rarer at their home Grand Prix so I am going down the patriotic route and a Hamilton win with Button getting his season back on track with a podium finish, though with Renault running KERS here and the recent upturn in form from the Force India team this could be my heart rather than head talking!
In summary the predictions are:
Rugby Union
All Blacks to beat the Springboks at 4/7
Saracens to beat Northampton at 13/17
ODI Cricket at Lords
England to beat Australia at 13/8
Barclay's Premier League Football
Manchester City to draw with Arsenal at 23/10
Chelsea to win at Stoke at 5/12
Sunderland to beat Hull at 4/5
Portsmouth to beat Bolton at 13/8
US Open Tennis
Federer to win at 8/13
Italian Grand Prix
Hamilton to win at 9/2
Button to podium at 3/1
As it's my first game of rugby since April tomorrow I will start with a couple of rugby predictions, though not for my own game! The Springboks take on the All Blacks in New Zealand tomorrow with the opportunity to wrap up the Tri-Nations title but as usual I'm going for the home side and therefore an All Blacks win, though this could still lead to the Boks winning the title if they can secure a bonus point. My other rugby prediction is from the first ever competitive club game at the new Wembley where I'm going for my local side Saracens to beat Northampton in the Guinness Premiership encounter.
Tomorrow also sees the fourth ODI cricket match between England and Australia at Lords. Whilst it is almost certain that the Aussies will win the series I think England will pick up their first win tomorrow as there will be at least two changes and probably more to the team, with the announcement that Anderson and Collingwood are being rested and the fresh blood may just make the difference.
In football the Barclay's Premier League is back after the two week international break which has seen England qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa with two games still to play. For those teams with players on England duty they should have no injury worries from those who took part but because of the international make-up of every team in the premier league these days there will be injuries and jet lag issues affecting most teams.
There has been a lack of draws in the premier league so far this season but my first prediction is for Manchester City to draw with Arsenal and thereby lose their 100% start to the season. One team who I predict will keep their 100% start to the season in place are Chelsea who I think will win at Stoke. Sunderland were one of the teams to have spent big this summer and with the team now assembled I think they will have too much for Hull and am going for a home win in this match. The final game I will make a prediction for this weekend is the bottom of the table clash at Fratton Park where Portsmouth who have imploded in recent months take on Bolton. Neither team has yet scored a point this season but I'm going with the home team and a narrow Portsmouth win but I suspect both of these teams will be stuck battling relegation all season, and one of them is likely to see the first managerial casualty in the premier league this season.
In New York the US Open is drawing to it's conclusion and whilst there could be a dream win for the Belgian Clijsters in the women's tournament the prediction I going to make is for Federer to win the men's competition giving him his sixth consecutive success at Flushing Meadows and confirming his status as the best player in men's tennis for another season.
My final predictions are for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. For many neutrals the dream result is probably a Fisichella win for Ferrari but as I intimated yesterday an Italian winning in a Ferrari is rare enough, and even rarer at their home Grand Prix so I am going down the patriotic route and a Hamilton win with Button getting his season back on track with a podium finish, though with Renault running KERS here and the recent upturn in form from the Force India team this could be my heart rather than head talking!
In summary the predictions are:
Rugby Union
All Blacks to beat the Springboks at 4/7
Saracens to beat Northampton at 13/17
ODI Cricket at Lords
England to beat Australia at 13/8
Barclay's Premier League Football
Manchester City to draw with Arsenal at 23/10
Chelsea to win at Stoke at 5/12
Sunderland to beat Hull at 4/5
Portsmouth to beat Bolton at 13/8
US Open Tennis
Federer to win at 8/13
Italian Grand Prix
Hamilton to win at 9/2
Button to podium at 3/1
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Formula One Season Hotting Up
Formula One has yet again managed to stay in the forefront of the news for most of the summer but not always because of the racing on the track, however, with only five races to go it is the action that is now of predominant interest.
At the start of the season it looked like being a one horse race as Jenson Button took six of the first seven races with only his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello and the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber looking like they would be any threat to Button's title credentials. Since then Button's title credentials have looked distinctly wobbly but then so have most of his competition and even following the five poor races he has had, he still has a lead of 16 points going into this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Whilst the four leading contenders for the championship have been taking points off each other there has been a resurgence from a number of the other teams including the big two of McLaren and Ferrari who have each now won a race this season when a few months ago they were nowhere near the front of the grid. In addition to a couple of the teams showing a resurgence a couple of the older drivers have also shown that their talent hasn't diminished. Firstly, we had Barichello winning in Valencia when for much of the season he has been very much in the wheel tracks of Button and is now the closest challenger to his team-mate in the Championship.
More remarkably was the performance of Fisichella in the Belgian Grand Prix who not only qualified on pole driving the Force India car, but was probably only denied victory because of the KERS system in Raikkonen's Ferrari. Now that he has made the switch to Ferrari himself he has a very real chance of adding to his tally of Grand Prix victories and what a fairytale it would be if he could win on Sunday - an Italian at the Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari. It is 43 years since this happened and nearly 25 years since Michele Alboreto won for Ferrari, the last Italian born driver to do so.
I imagine the one driver who all of the title contenders are keeping an eye on though is Raikkonen the 2007 World Champion, who has quietly picked up podium finishes in the last three races and could now threaten a late run for the title as he did two years ago. What makes this more intriguing is that it is rumoured he will be replaced at Ferrari by his predecessor as World Champion, Fernando Alonso, for next season and therefore could potentially be a champion without a drive!
It is certainly going to be an interesting climax to the season though I doubt history will repeat itself with the drivers championship being settled on the last lap of the last race of the season. Lets hope that the actual racing matches up to the competition for the championship and the politics take a back seat, at least until the season is over, though I somehow doubt that with the current inquiry into Renault's suspected actions at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
At the start of the season it looked like being a one horse race as Jenson Button took six of the first seven races with only his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello and the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber looking like they would be any threat to Button's title credentials. Since then Button's title credentials have looked distinctly wobbly but then so have most of his competition and even following the five poor races he has had, he still has a lead of 16 points going into this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Whilst the four leading contenders for the championship have been taking points off each other there has been a resurgence from a number of the other teams including the big two of McLaren and Ferrari who have each now won a race this season when a few months ago they were nowhere near the front of the grid. In addition to a couple of the teams showing a resurgence a couple of the older drivers have also shown that their talent hasn't diminished. Firstly, we had Barichello winning in Valencia when for much of the season he has been very much in the wheel tracks of Button and is now the closest challenger to his team-mate in the Championship.
More remarkably was the performance of Fisichella in the Belgian Grand Prix who not only qualified on pole driving the Force India car, but was probably only denied victory because of the KERS system in Raikkonen's Ferrari. Now that he has made the switch to Ferrari himself he has a very real chance of adding to his tally of Grand Prix victories and what a fairytale it would be if he could win on Sunday - an Italian at the Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari. It is 43 years since this happened and nearly 25 years since Michele Alboreto won for Ferrari, the last Italian born driver to do so.
I imagine the one driver who all of the title contenders are keeping an eye on though is Raikkonen the 2007 World Champion, who has quietly picked up podium finishes in the last three races and could now threaten a late run for the title as he did two years ago. What makes this more intriguing is that it is rumoured he will be replaced at Ferrari by his predecessor as World Champion, Fernando Alonso, for next season and therefore could potentially be a champion without a drive!
It is certainly going to be an interesting climax to the season though I doubt history will repeat itself with the drivers championship being settled on the last lap of the last race of the season. Lets hope that the actual racing matches up to the competition for the championship and the politics take a back seat, at least until the season is over, though I somehow doubt that with the current inquiry into Renault's suspected actions at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Back Again!
Having been away on hols for a couple of weeks, time to get back on the blogging horse as it were. During my absence England have regained the Ashes, Usain Bolt confirmed himself as a global superstar, old boys came good in F1, Rossi fell off his bike, the premier league rugby season got under way in the shadow of the bloodgate scandal, Cavendish continues to win bike races, Spurs, Newcastle and Leeds United have all started their football seasons strongly and against expectations, oh and Murray has come up short yet again in a Grand Slam! All goes to show the complete unpredictability of sport which thankfully gives me plenty to muse over.
I will start to address all of these issues in the coming days but in the meantime there is the unfinished business of my last predictions. The good news is I correctly predicted five from ten results meaning that I showed a profit of £3.50 and am down to an overall deficit of £9 since the blog began back in March.
The correct predictions started with the phenomenal Usain Bolt setting another massive world record in the men's 200 metres at the Athletics World Championships. In the tri-nations rugby Dan Carter was instrumental in sealing a narrow win for the All Blacks over Australia. In addition Chelsea's win over Fulham and Sunderland's win over Blackburn gave me a 50% record in my football predictions. Finally, England stormed to a resounding win in the final Ashes test resulting in them regaining the famous urn and maybe in Stuart Broad they have unearthed a talismanic all-rounder to take over from Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff who said farewell to Test cricket at the Oval.
As well as the two incorrect football predictions, the England women's 4x400 team just missed a medal in the World Athletics in Berlin. In F1 Barrichello re-asserted his title credentials after storming to a win in the European Grand Prix in Valencia edging Hamilton into second place who I'd predicted for the win and for the fourth consecutive race Button was well off the pace. With the Italian GP this coming weekend there will be more from me on developments in F1 over the last few weeks soon.
I will start to address all of these issues in the coming days but in the meantime there is the unfinished business of my last predictions. The good news is I correctly predicted five from ten results meaning that I showed a profit of £3.50 and am down to an overall deficit of £9 since the blog began back in March.
The correct predictions started with the phenomenal Usain Bolt setting another massive world record in the men's 200 metres at the Athletics World Championships. In the tri-nations rugby Dan Carter was instrumental in sealing a narrow win for the All Blacks over Australia. In addition Chelsea's win over Fulham and Sunderland's win over Blackburn gave me a 50% record in my football predictions. Finally, England stormed to a resounding win in the final Ashes test resulting in them regaining the famous urn and maybe in Stuart Broad they have unearthed a talismanic all-rounder to take over from Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff who said farewell to Test cricket at the Oval.
As well as the two incorrect football predictions, the England women's 4x400 team just missed a medal in the World Athletics in Berlin. In F1 Barrichello re-asserted his title credentials after storming to a win in the European Grand Prix in Valencia edging Hamilton into second place who I'd predicted for the win and for the fourth consecutive race Button was well off the pace. With the Italian GP this coming weekend there will be more from me on developments in F1 over the last few weeks soon.
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