Well blog readers we are still in the festive season and i feel it is time to hand out some awards for sporting excellence and lunacy before 2011 draws to the end.
Oddly enough, as i write this blog i am watching the 1st cricket test match between Australia and India in Melbourne and i feel obliged, in fact i am highly tempted to travel to India, to personally hand the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) the award for the most bizarre decision in sport this year.
You get the feeling BCCI don't like the introduction of the Decision Review System (DRS) to cricket. Apparently they have major reservations about the accuracy of the whole system particularly when it comes to Hawk/Eagle Eye and LBW decisions or something. I'm sure they don't like Hot Spot or Snicko either, but hey ho each to their own. Anyway, at this present time India are allowed to do a David Cameron and veto any attempt for progress in the game in terms getting correct decisions in games, by refusing the implementation of DRS in a test series, as they have chosen to do the series.
Now call me competitive, but if i was bowling against the likes of a Michael Hussey, who has the uncanny knack of doing an impression of a immovable brick wall a large majority of time in his innings, I would employ every resource known to man in an attempt in getting him out. It appears the BCCI are not of the same opinion however, and as a consequence thanks to their players not being able to use the DRS they had missed the opportunity to dismiss Hussey three times before he reached the dizzy heights of 89 in his innings, according to the dulcet tones of Tony Greig in the Channel Nine commentary box this morning. Apparently Hussey should have in fact been having a beverage of his own choice back in the pavillion last night.
The fact of the matter is Hussey not being dismissed yesterday could well be costly to India as they now require 292 runs in the final innings to win the test match, when they could have been firmly in the box seat to win the test.
I mean seriously am i missing something here. If it was the England Cricket Board deciding on the implementation of the DRS system in this test series, then Hussey would have been having tea, dinner, breakfast and lunch in the pavillion.
ICC, don't think you don't get a mention here. In fact i'm tempted to give them an award for incompetency of the year. Why oh why do India even have the choice to allow or veto the use of technology in a test series based on their own agenda? The fact of the matter is the ICC as cricket's governing body should show authority and decide whether to employ the DRS accross the board in cricket, or simply leave it as a game of decision making by an umpire with an element of possible human error and leave international cricket boards in no doubt that if the DRS is democratically voted for, every country has no choice but to use it whether they like it or not.
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Today's Footballing News Is Brought To You By The Word "Abuse".
As the writer of this blog, I face an interesting dilemma when considering the actual written content of this blog. For I am a Liverpool supporter blog readers. Yes I have supported Liverpool FC since my glory hunting days at the age of five.
From a purely footballing perspective, Luis Suarez being banned for eight matches and potentially more if Liverpool FC were to appeal the decision delivered by the FA yesterday, we would be in a "up the creek without a paddle" situation. I mean it frankly looks like Andy Carroll would have more luck scoring off the pitch rather than on it at the moment, so Kenny Dalgish may have to ask the boardroom bosses to use the cheque book during the January transfer window.
Turning to the more serious issue of Luis Suarez being found guilty of a racial slur against Man United's Patrice Evra, well put it this way, having read the views and opinions of various members of the footballing community I think you can safely say that the issue is "complex". There are those who think the issue (i am so going to regret this pun) is black and white (i knew i would), and think the FA were correct to throw the book at Suarez. It's like make an example of one star, other footballers will think twice before considering making abusive comments towards another player based on the colour of their skin. In the purest sense, it could be deemed a very fair decision. Suarez did admit to using a term in front of Evra which in his own Uruguayan culture would not be considered offensive, however, in English culture is considered racially offensive. Cultural ignorance is not an excuse.
Reading the Liverpool FC statement in response to Suarez decision last night, it was meant to have the effect of a JCB Digger digging holes in every aspect of the FA decision and quite a few digs at Patrice Evra at the same time. You would have to say that Liverpool's main issues lie with the guilty verdict based on the evidence of Patrice Evra alone apparently; no one, not even Patrice Evra has indicated during the hearing that Suarez is a racist, yet the fact Suarez was found guilty of a racial slur and given a lengthy ban and fine would imply to the contrary. The players of Liverpool FC have left us in no doubt of what they think about this accusation against Suarez, with a joint statement on the website and then the Luis Suarez T-shirt fashion brigade this evening in the match against Wigan.
As for my thoughts well that's the 1000 dollar question isn't it. Having discovered what Suarez had allegedly said towards Evra well i knew things were not looking too clever and the fact of the matter in England what he said is found to be racially offensive fact. The fact is though Suarez does come from an entirely different culture to that of England. To Suarez, what he said does not have racial overtones based on his cultural upbringing. Which leads us to surely the point that people do need to be educated properly in terms of a country's culture and what is deemed appropriate behaviour and speech, whether visiting, working or living there.
My work colleague told me an interesting story while watching the QVC shopping the other day. Apparently an American woman referred to a bum/belt bag as a fanny bag. The English presenter was absolutely aghast when she heard the term "fanny" and made it clear to our American friend should could not employ that word again. Apparently she still continued to employ the word "fanny" as she had learnt to employ that term for a bum/belt bag.
My point is that yes ok punish Suarez, but is it appropriate to hang him out to dry. The fact is mud sticks and at the moment the punishment dished out could have potentially serious implications for his career. Is an eight match ban and a £40,000 fine seriously going to win the victory against racism in football. I very much doubt that. As Tony Blair once said at a party conference, Education, Education, Education is what is needed. Get Suarez involved in the fight against racism in football.
Whatever happens Suarezgate is not going to go away very fast. Neither is Terrygate either and he faces a potentially even worse fate. Jail!
Not forgetting this footballing news is brought to you by the word "abuse" i would like to personally express my disgust at what i witnessed during Blackburn's match against Bolton last night. Steve Kean, not the greatest manager of a Blackburn team ever admittedly, was copping the most astonishing abuse from fans during the match. At one point i spotted an old bearded man giving Kean abuse literally within five yards from where he was standing. Firstly, where were the police and secondly, what on earth gives an alleged football fan the right to do that? It seems England is creating a new brand of football fan, who thinks if everything is not right with his or her team, they have devine right to hurl abuse at a manager or players. No doubt the argument we pay their wages and so we have a right to say what we want will come out and we are passionate about our club. Don't care, if you were a true fan you would cheer your side to the final whistle and hold on a second, maybe even support the representatives of your team.
From a purely footballing perspective, Luis Suarez being banned for eight matches and potentially more if Liverpool FC were to appeal the decision delivered by the FA yesterday, we would be in a "up the creek without a paddle" situation. I mean it frankly looks like Andy Carroll would have more luck scoring off the pitch rather than on it at the moment, so Kenny Dalgish may have to ask the boardroom bosses to use the cheque book during the January transfer window.
Turning to the more serious issue of Luis Suarez being found guilty of a racial slur against Man United's Patrice Evra, well put it this way, having read the views and opinions of various members of the footballing community I think you can safely say that the issue is "complex". There are those who think the issue (i am so going to regret this pun) is black and white (i knew i would), and think the FA were correct to throw the book at Suarez. It's like make an example of one star, other footballers will think twice before considering making abusive comments towards another player based on the colour of their skin. In the purest sense, it could be deemed a very fair decision. Suarez did admit to using a term in front of Evra which in his own Uruguayan culture would not be considered offensive, however, in English culture is considered racially offensive. Cultural ignorance is not an excuse.
Reading the Liverpool FC statement in response to Suarez decision last night, it was meant to have the effect of a JCB Digger digging holes in every aspect of the FA decision and quite a few digs at Patrice Evra at the same time. You would have to say that Liverpool's main issues lie with the guilty verdict based on the evidence of Patrice Evra alone apparently; no one, not even Patrice Evra has indicated during the hearing that Suarez is a racist, yet the fact Suarez was found guilty of a racial slur and given a lengthy ban and fine would imply to the contrary. The players of Liverpool FC have left us in no doubt of what they think about this accusation against Suarez, with a joint statement on the website and then the Luis Suarez T-shirt fashion brigade this evening in the match against Wigan.
As for my thoughts well that's the 1000 dollar question isn't it. Having discovered what Suarez had allegedly said towards Evra well i knew things were not looking too clever and the fact of the matter in England what he said is found to be racially offensive fact. The fact is though Suarez does come from an entirely different culture to that of England. To Suarez, what he said does not have racial overtones based on his cultural upbringing. Which leads us to surely the point that people do need to be educated properly in terms of a country's culture and what is deemed appropriate behaviour and speech, whether visiting, working or living there.
My work colleague told me an interesting story while watching the QVC shopping the other day. Apparently an American woman referred to a bum/belt bag as a fanny bag. The English presenter was absolutely aghast when she heard the term "fanny" and made it clear to our American friend should could not employ that word again. Apparently she still continued to employ the word "fanny" as she had learnt to employ that term for a bum/belt bag.
My point is that yes ok punish Suarez, but is it appropriate to hang him out to dry. The fact is mud sticks and at the moment the punishment dished out could have potentially serious implications for his career. Is an eight match ban and a £40,000 fine seriously going to win the victory against racism in football. I very much doubt that. As Tony Blair once said at a party conference, Education, Education, Education is what is needed. Get Suarez involved in the fight against racism in football.
Whatever happens Suarezgate is not going to go away very fast. Neither is Terrygate either and he faces a potentially even worse fate. Jail!
Not forgetting this footballing news is brought to you by the word "abuse" i would like to personally express my disgust at what i witnessed during Blackburn's match against Bolton last night. Steve Kean, not the greatest manager of a Blackburn team ever admittedly, was copping the most astonishing abuse from fans during the match. At one point i spotted an old bearded man giving Kean abuse literally within five yards from where he was standing. Firstly, where were the police and secondly, what on earth gives an alleged football fan the right to do that? It seems England is creating a new brand of football fan, who thinks if everything is not right with his or her team, they have devine right to hurl abuse at a manager or players. No doubt the argument we pay their wages and so we have a right to say what we want will come out and we are passionate about our club. Don't care, if you were a true fan you would cheer your side to the final whistle and hold on a second, maybe even support the representatives of your team.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Now, Now Amir, It's Time You Learn Some Sporting Manners!
This blogger has a confession to make. I'm not the greatest fan of boxing. Oddly enough i did quite enjoy boxing when i was younger but then all of sudden something clicked. This sport can damage a person's life beyond repair. Take for example Muhammad Ali, arguably greatest sports personality the world has ever seen. When he said something, you listened, because he was an artist with words. Several years later however, his brain function has been destroyed by the punches he suffered as a boxer and he now suffers from Parkinson's Disease.
The reason i mention boxing however is because i actually caught the end couple of rounds of the Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson today, which Peterson ended up winning on a points decision. There were two things that struck me about Khan's defeat.
Firstly if you consider the fight in it's entirety you would actually have to concede that Peterson deserved to win and for one reason only. Peterson was prepared to actually fight for 12 rounds. Khan apparently knocked down Peterson in the early rounds, but you could almost read the mind of Khan by the final round. He was thinking "Damn, why are you still standing?", while running 100 circuits of the ring to try and avoid Peterson head butting him. The point is everyone knows the world's greatest boxers may have the ability to knock the living daylights out of another fella, but they also have the ability to win ugly and slug it out for 12 rounds. Whether Khan has the ability to win ugly, and i should say within the rules, he may struggle to be treated as a serious boxing contender in any weight catergory.
Secondly, how ungracious was Khan in defeat. Virtually no credit to his opponent for slugging it out and being able to get up from the canvas and beat him. All Khan wanted to do was bemoan the fact the referee deducted two points from his score for misdermeanours. Yes blog readers, this blogger is from the old school of good sportsmanship and graciousness in victory and defeat. I find those sportsmen and women who get intp the "blaming"culture, where everyone else is culpable for their defeat except themselves.
So here is my advice to you Amir Khan. Be gracious in defeat, man up, take responsibility in dealing with your frailities in the boxing ring, and most importantly learn from the defeat and use what you learn to be a better boxer.
The reason i mention boxing however is because i actually caught the end couple of rounds of the Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson today, which Peterson ended up winning on a points decision. There were two things that struck me about Khan's defeat.
Firstly if you consider the fight in it's entirety you would actually have to concede that Peterson deserved to win and for one reason only. Peterson was prepared to actually fight for 12 rounds. Khan apparently knocked down Peterson in the early rounds, but you could almost read the mind of Khan by the final round. He was thinking "Damn, why are you still standing?", while running 100 circuits of the ring to try and avoid Peterson head butting him. The point is everyone knows the world's greatest boxers may have the ability to knock the living daylights out of another fella, but they also have the ability to win ugly and slug it out for 12 rounds. Whether Khan has the ability to win ugly, and i should say within the rules, he may struggle to be treated as a serious boxing contender in any weight catergory.
Secondly, how ungracious was Khan in defeat. Virtually no credit to his opponent for slugging it out and being able to get up from the canvas and beat him. All Khan wanted to do was bemoan the fact the referee deducted two points from his score for misdermeanours. Yes blog readers, this blogger is from the old school of good sportsmanship and graciousness in victory and defeat. I find those sportsmen and women who get intp the "blaming"culture, where everyone else is culpable for their defeat except themselves.
So here is my advice to you Amir Khan. Be gracious in defeat, man up, take responsibility in dealing with your frailities in the boxing ring, and most importantly learn from the defeat and use what you learn to be a better boxer.
Monday, 5 December 2011
You May Well Have A Point There Ladies!
You could have been mistaken for thinking last week was a quiet sporting week. The fact that Crystal Palace beat a Manchester United Z team barely caused a tremor on the sporting richter scale. England's opponents in the Euro 2012 Football finals didn't really bother people and probably won't bother most people till the start of the Euro 2012 finals. In fact the burning issue of the week thAe BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominations did not include a single nomination for a British female sports star. Yes apparently 27 editors from various British publications concluded that not one single British female sportswoman was worthy of a nomination for the prestigious award this year.
The furore this has caused amongst British female sports stars has created several column inches in those exact publications that created the nominations for the Sports Personality of the Year. Of course in 2011 their question is, why on earth is a woman not nominated in one of the most prestigious awards of the sporting calendar?
There are of course two questions that need answering here, the first one being for own satisfaction.
Firstly why in the god name's hell is the award entitled Sports Personality of the Year? For anyone who witnesses this event every December, they would know that this award has absolutely nothing to do with personality. It is purely as simply a measurement of sporting achievement for the year. Why pretend it is anything but?
Secondly, i'm the sort of person who is of the belief that irrespective of whether you are are sportsman or sportwoman, if your nomination for an award is merited then fair play to you, you have earned the right to be lauded by the Great British public. I personally think it is an insult to women to simply have a nomination for an award purely because of their gender. If their sporting achievement justifies recognition however, that's a whole different kettle of fish.
Which leads us neatly to the runners and riders for the 2011 Sports Personality of the Year. I have placed these gentlemen in three particular categories.
1) Merited - 100% - No arguments if you see them standing with a Sports Personality trophy in their arms.
2) The Jury is Out - Can't see them lifting the trophy, but they've had a reasonable sporting year.
3) Really! - Why on earth were they nominated?
Mark Cavendish - Merited
The Manx man became the first British man to win the Tour De France Green Sprinter Jersey in 2011, taking his overall career number of stage wins to 20. He then went on to win the World Road Race title in Denmark. Pretty good year by anyone's standards really.
Darren Clarke - Merited
The Northern Irish golfer delighted sports fans around the world with is victory at the British Open this year, after years of often emotional toil on the tour, especially during time his late wife Heather became ill. If this was purely about personality then Darren Clarke would win hands down. Who can forget Guiness O'Clock.
Alastair Cook - Merited
The fact of the matter is that this year thanks to Cook scoring a gazillion runs in test cricket, England have had an almightily successful year in test cricket. He wasn't bad leading the side as Captain in his first series in One Day International Cricket against India. Less said about his first overseas tour in this position the better.
Luke Donald - Really!
No denying this fella is a great golfer and his consistent results have meant he has become World Number One golfer, but he hasn't won a major yet, and that is what you he will be remembered for at the end of his career, not the fact he won the BP Open in Ohio (made that up by the way, but i'm sure you catch my drift).
Mo Farah - Merited!
Impressive is what can be described as Mo Farah's season. A World Championship Gold Medal in the 5000 metres, and literally metres away from achieving a golden double in the 10,000 metres.
Dai Greene - Merited!
This 400 metres hurdler carried on his success of 2010, by beating an impressive line-up to win Wold Championship Gold in Daegu, Korea this year.
Amir Khan - The Jury's Out
It cannot be denied that after a shaky start to his professional career, Amir Khan is going from strength to strength having unified the World WBA and IBF Light Welterweight crowns. For Amir to reach the next level, he may well have to step up in weight to Welterweight where the likes of Floyd Mayweather awaits. Rather him than me and i'll personally hand him the award if he is successful.
Rory McIlroy - Merited!
What a year for the young Northern Irish golfing star. Having had in anyone's parlons a nightmare on the final day at the US Masters at Augusta, he then proceeded to leave the rest of the field out of sight at the US Open a few months later to win his first major. Added to consistent results and victories throughout the course of the season, McIlroy is now on the tails of Luke Donald for the Number one spot.
Andy Murray - The Jury's Out
You could argue Murray has had a pretty decent season on the tennis circuit. He reached the final of the Australian Open and the semis of all the other Grand Slams. Add to that a few titles and it's been ok. However, these is an underlying feeling that at present he is not getting closer to winning a Grand Slam. Whether that is simply due to three certain players being simply better than him or Murray's mental frailities who knows, but you sense until he wins a Grand Slam he will not be worthy of the the Sports Personality trophy.
Andrew Strauss - Really!
Not sure leading a succesful test side justifies a nomination in a Sports Personality award. As per any captain in a team, you do lead by example and that means performing to the highest levels yourself, and i'm afraid in the case of Strauss he did not perform to nearly as high a level as his colleague Alastair Cook this year.
I think you can safely say women have made a worthy point. The likes of Rebecca Adlington, Kerry Anne Payne and Chrissie Wellington should be there with at least a chance of winning the spoils. Editors, what the hell were you thinking!
The furore this has caused amongst British female sports stars has created several column inches in those exact publications that created the nominations for the Sports Personality of the Year. Of course in 2011 their question is, why on earth is a woman not nominated in one of the most prestigious awards of the sporting calendar?
There are of course two questions that need answering here, the first one being for own satisfaction.
Firstly why in the god name's hell is the award entitled Sports Personality of the Year? For anyone who witnesses this event every December, they would know that this award has absolutely nothing to do with personality. It is purely as simply a measurement of sporting achievement for the year. Why pretend it is anything but?
Secondly, i'm the sort of person who is of the belief that irrespective of whether you are are sportsman or sportwoman, if your nomination for an award is merited then fair play to you, you have earned the right to be lauded by the Great British public. I personally think it is an insult to women to simply have a nomination for an award purely because of their gender. If their sporting achievement justifies recognition however, that's a whole different kettle of fish.
Which leads us neatly to the runners and riders for the 2011 Sports Personality of the Year. I have placed these gentlemen in three particular categories.
1) Merited - 100% - No arguments if you see them standing with a Sports Personality trophy in their arms.
2) The Jury is Out - Can't see them lifting the trophy, but they've had a reasonable sporting year.
3) Really! - Why on earth were they nominated?
Mark Cavendish - Merited
The Manx man became the first British man to win the Tour De France Green Sprinter Jersey in 2011, taking his overall career number of stage wins to 20. He then went on to win the World Road Race title in Denmark. Pretty good year by anyone's standards really.
Darren Clarke - Merited
The Northern Irish golfer delighted sports fans around the world with is victory at the British Open this year, after years of often emotional toil on the tour, especially during time his late wife Heather became ill. If this was purely about personality then Darren Clarke would win hands down. Who can forget Guiness O'Clock.
Alastair Cook - Merited
The fact of the matter is that this year thanks to Cook scoring a gazillion runs in test cricket, England have had an almightily successful year in test cricket. He wasn't bad leading the side as Captain in his first series in One Day International Cricket against India. Less said about his first overseas tour in this position the better.
Luke Donald - Really!
No denying this fella is a great golfer and his consistent results have meant he has become World Number One golfer, but he hasn't won a major yet, and that is what you he will be remembered for at the end of his career, not the fact he won the BP Open in Ohio (made that up by the way, but i'm sure you catch my drift).
Mo Farah - Merited!
Impressive is what can be described as Mo Farah's season. A World Championship Gold Medal in the 5000 metres, and literally metres away from achieving a golden double in the 10,000 metres.
Dai Greene - Merited!
This 400 metres hurdler carried on his success of 2010, by beating an impressive line-up to win Wold Championship Gold in Daegu, Korea this year.
Amir Khan - The Jury's Out
It cannot be denied that after a shaky start to his professional career, Amir Khan is going from strength to strength having unified the World WBA and IBF Light Welterweight crowns. For Amir to reach the next level, he may well have to step up in weight to Welterweight where the likes of Floyd Mayweather awaits. Rather him than me and i'll personally hand him the award if he is successful.
Rory McIlroy - Merited!
What a year for the young Northern Irish golfing star. Having had in anyone's parlons a nightmare on the final day at the US Masters at Augusta, he then proceeded to leave the rest of the field out of sight at the US Open a few months later to win his first major. Added to consistent results and victories throughout the course of the season, McIlroy is now on the tails of Luke Donald for the Number one spot.
Andy Murray - The Jury's Out
You could argue Murray has had a pretty decent season on the tennis circuit. He reached the final of the Australian Open and the semis of all the other Grand Slams. Add to that a few titles and it's been ok. However, these is an underlying feeling that at present he is not getting closer to winning a Grand Slam. Whether that is simply due to three certain players being simply better than him or Murray's mental frailities who knows, but you sense until he wins a Grand Slam he will not be worthy of the the Sports Personality trophy.
Andrew Strauss - Really!
Not sure leading a succesful test side justifies a nomination in a Sports Personality award. As per any captain in a team, you do lead by example and that means performing to the highest levels yourself, and i'm afraid in the case of Strauss he did not perform to nearly as high a level as his colleague Alastair Cook this year.
I think you can safely say women have made a worthy point. The likes of Rebecca Adlington, Kerry Anne Payne and Chrissie Wellington should be there with at least a chance of winning the spoils. Editors, what the hell were you thinking!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Congratulations to Roger Federer, Winner of the ATP "Last Man Standing" Tour Finals.
Yours truly was lucky enough to attend the ATP World Tour Final at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday. Federer and Tsonga put on a feast of tennis for the 17,000 capacity crowd, with Federer just about having the edge and deservedly taking the end of season spoils.
It's strange but if the ATP Tour rankings this year were purely based on the results of the last month, we would be talking about Federer returning to the world number one ranking yet again. Indeed if you witnessed his demolition of Nadal last week at the O2, you would have been quite easily mistaken him for still being the world number one, such was the astonishing quality of his play that evening.
So why was Federer playing so incredibly well after 11 months of toil on the tour, when his greatest enemies on a tennis court seemed to be dropping like flies? Djokovic looked like he couldn't hit a football within the lines let alone a tennis ball, Nadal resembled my skin colour (let's just say i'm pale) for the majority of the week, and Murray was literally having difficulties standing on a court, let alone playing on one.
Well in true "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" style i will give you four answers to choose from:
a) Federer has the common sense to have break every so often and who knows he may even have a Kit Kat in the process.
b) Djokovic and Nadal had played more matches this season than most people have had hot dinners by September and their bodies simply screamed "Enough".
c) Murray clearly only enjoys Asian cities and the Autumn season. The minute the continent and season changes he tends to hibernate for the winter.
d) The tennis season is simply too long. Unless you're sensible and do what Roger does. Revert back to answer a)
You decide!
Whatever the next tennis season holds, we will all be excited for the year ahead if we see glimpses of the same form from Roger as we have seen in the last week, as quite frankly he was awesome.
Monday, 28 November 2011
RIP Gary Speed
The footballing community is in a state of shock after the news of the death of Gary Speed, and the tragic circumstances surrounding his death.
When we face difficult times, such as the death of a loved one, we often look for answers as to why someone has been taken away from us. It is simply part of our grieving process. People, not least Gary Speed's family, are today struggling to comprehend why a young man with a wonderful family, a brilliant career as a footballer and what appeared to be a bright future as an international football manager, would want to end his life. The truth is we will probably never have a definitive answer to that question.
Sportsmen and women are often portrayed as strong, invincible human beings, with not a single physical and more importantly mental fraility in sight. We can only hope that Gary Speed's death brings about a positive change in the way that the professional sporting community handles issues surrounding mental health, through compassion to those sufferers and educating everyone involved in sport to recognise potential signs of any mental illness be it in their colleagues or even themselves.
For now we say Rest In Peace Gary Speed. A true gentleman and a great footballer.
When we face difficult times, such as the death of a loved one, we often look for answers as to why someone has been taken away from us. It is simply part of our grieving process. People, not least Gary Speed's family, are today struggling to comprehend why a young man with a wonderful family, a brilliant career as a footballer and what appeared to be a bright future as an international football manager, would want to end his life. The truth is we will probably never have a definitive answer to that question.
Sportsmen and women are often portrayed as strong, invincible human beings, with not a single physical and more importantly mental fraility in sight. We can only hope that Gary Speed's death brings about a positive change in the way that the professional sporting community handles issues surrounding mental health, through compassion to those sufferers and educating everyone involved in sport to recognise potential signs of any mental illness be it in their colleagues or even themselves.
For now we say Rest In Peace Gary Speed. A true gentleman and a great footballer.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
We What Do You Know!
The day has finally come! WADA are finally questioning the British Olympic Association's Anti-Doping By-law that bans British athletes from future Olympic Games if they have served bans for drug cheating. Apparently BOA can now be deemed as "non-compliant" with world rules when it comes to bans on drug cheats.
Let's get one thing clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong in principle with the British Olympic Association stance of banning athletes from participating in future Olympics if they have served bans of over a period of six months for drug cheating. In fact, having the courage to stand up to the drug cheats is commendable.
The problem arises in that Britain is one of the few countries in the world that take this hard line stance. It's a British Olympic law not an Olympic one and it makes it extremely difficult for WADA to create a viable drug policy if every country does as it pleases. Let's not forget LaShawn Merritt, the 400 metres American runner who had served a drug ban, was successful in quashing his imposed ban in participating in the proceeding Olympics, as his lawyers successfully won the argument that the ban from the Olympics was additional sanction on top of his ban and therefore not compliant with WADA.
So we could well see the likes of Dwayne Chambers and David Millar partcipating at London 2012, through numerous legal loopholes created by incompetance of organisations at the highest global to come up with a credible stance that really does tackle the drug taking in sport. Embarrasing really.
Let's get one thing clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong in principle with the British Olympic Association stance of banning athletes from participating in future Olympics if they have served bans of over a period of six months for drug cheating. In fact, having the courage to stand up to the drug cheats is commendable.
The problem arises in that Britain is one of the few countries in the world that take this hard line stance. It's a British Olympic law not an Olympic one and it makes it extremely difficult for WADA to create a viable drug policy if every country does as it pleases. Let's not forget LaShawn Merritt, the 400 metres American runner who had served a drug ban, was successful in quashing his imposed ban in participating in the proceeding Olympics, as his lawyers successfully won the argument that the ban from the Olympics was additional sanction on top of his ban and therefore not compliant with WADA.
So we could well see the likes of Dwayne Chambers and David Millar partcipating at London 2012, through numerous legal loopholes created by incompetance of organisations at the highest global to come up with a credible stance that really does tackle the drug taking in sport. Embarrasing really.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Someone Please Explain.................
British Olympic Association Chief Colin Moynihan clearly is not a happy bunny. He certainly had a few choice words for WADA at a International Federations Forum in Lausanne today. You get the feeling Colin Moynihan has a pretty hard line stance on the drug cheaters. As per the current British Olympic Bylaw, if you are banned from any sport for a period longer than six months then your opportunity to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympics is down the plug hole, flushed down toilet, gone. Moynihan doesn't forgive and forget. He simply thinks of all the opportunities denied to "clean" athletes because of cheating colleagues.
What i've never been able to understand is Britain holds a hard line stance against drug cheaters by banning them from participating in Olympic Games, yet they can represent their country at other championships after they have served their drug ban. I appreciate the British Olympic Association is a totally separate entity to other Sporting Bodies staging championships, but surely the same principle arises Mr Moynihan. These drug cheats have previously denied "clean" athletes winning medals or achieving the honour of representing their country at World, European and Commonwealth championships. The Olympics are well the Olympics, the greatest sporting festival on this earth, but surely you can't say that the World or European championships are simply less important because of their scale. Athletes from any sport take pride in representing their country (mostly), whatever the event.
That is why the powers that be need to decide are they simply going to be a token gesture as a deterrant for sportsmen and women considering taking drugs by banning them for a certain period of time or are they going to have the courage to ban drug cheats for life. Uniformity is the name of the game. Otherwise we'll be playing let's have fun in court with the cheats' lawyers finding legal loop holes left right and centre to ensure they are standing on the starting line at London 2012.
What i've never been able to understand is Britain holds a hard line stance against drug cheaters by banning them from participating in Olympic Games, yet they can represent their country at other championships after they have served their drug ban. I appreciate the British Olympic Association is a totally separate entity to other Sporting Bodies staging championships, but surely the same principle arises Mr Moynihan. These drug cheats have previously denied "clean" athletes winning medals or achieving the honour of representing their country at World, European and Commonwealth championships. The Olympics are well the Olympics, the greatest sporting festival on this earth, but surely you can't say that the World or European championships are simply less important because of their scale. Athletes from any sport take pride in representing their country (mostly), whatever the event.
That is why the powers that be need to decide are they simply going to be a token gesture as a deterrant for sportsmen and women considering taking drugs by banning them for a certain period of time or are they going to have the courage to ban drug cheats for life. Uniformity is the name of the game. Otherwise we'll be playing let's have fun in court with the cheats' lawyers finding legal loop holes left right and centre to ensure they are standing on the starting line at London 2012.
Monday, 14 November 2011
What Have You We Learnt From The Sporting Weekend?
On Saturday afternoon sometime between the hours of 5pm and 6pm I was sitting in my living room watching the TV and all of a sudden I found myself with a new career as a statistician. I actually calculated that England were in possession of the football against Spain for approximately 2 % of the first half of the supposed "Friendly" match. Actually i lie, but i was slowly losing the will to stay awake as Spain played their own unique version of pass the parcel with a football for at least 43 minutes of the first half and i didn't need a statistician to work that one out.
You could imagine my excitement as the second half approached. Another 43 minutes of England chasing round after a ball. Put it on Sky Plus x30 it would resemble something out of a Benny Hill sketch, just add music.
Then all of a sudden it was like some devine power came down from a high and told Fabio Capello and his Lions some pearls of wisdom. "Thou shall only score a goal against the footballing enemy that is Spain, if you manage to keep possession of the football for more than five seconds".
What do you know! England get a free kick and a Darren Bent header rebounds off the post and in the direction of Frank Lampard for probably what will the easiest goal of his career. Spain can't score a goal for love nor money and starting kicking the living daylights out of the England players, and England end up beating the World Champions 1-0.
So in terms of this match, what have we learnt from this sporting weekend?
Well there is an argument for absolutely nothing. After all we didn't require a 90 minute exhibition from our Spanish cousins to realise they are a class apart in keeping possession of a football. Let's face it as well, on another day Spain could well have had two or three goals themselves.
There is another argument that we learnt a lot more from the young England players coming through the ranks such as the likes of Rodwell. You know the fearless ones who are not afraid to attack on a football pitch and are not weighed down by the guilt of losing several times in penalty shoot outs. A breath of fresh air you may say.
Then there's the fact that Fabio Capello has either come accross the most genius tactic to employ against potentially four or five teams that are ranked higher than England at Euro 2012, or he is stark raving bonkers. Getting most of England players to stand behind the ball and soak up pressure from teams for 88 minutes of a match and hope they get a corner to score off and win the match 1-0 actually sounds like a ridiculous plan and if employed during Euro 2012 will be most England fan's living and viewing nightmare, and most likely England's demise in tournament.
The truth of the matter is that it is very difficult to know what to take out of this game, simply because it was one of the most bizarre matches i've ever seen between two renowned footballing countries. There is certainly the positive for England that they have beaten the World Champions irrespective of the manor the victory was accomplished. There certainly could potentially be more positives, but i think a lot of England fans are reluctant to mould these positives in cast iron.
All we can really do is wait, see and spend an awful lot of time hoping.
You could imagine my excitement as the second half approached. Another 43 minutes of England chasing round after a ball. Put it on Sky Plus x30 it would resemble something out of a Benny Hill sketch, just add music.
Then all of a sudden it was like some devine power came down from a high and told Fabio Capello and his Lions some pearls of wisdom. "Thou shall only score a goal against the footballing enemy that is Spain, if you manage to keep possession of the football for more than five seconds".
What do you know! England get a free kick and a Darren Bent header rebounds off the post and in the direction of Frank Lampard for probably what will the easiest goal of his career. Spain can't score a goal for love nor money and starting kicking the living daylights out of the England players, and England end up beating the World Champions 1-0.
So in terms of this match, what have we learnt from this sporting weekend?
Well there is an argument for absolutely nothing. After all we didn't require a 90 minute exhibition from our Spanish cousins to realise they are a class apart in keeping possession of a football. Let's face it as well, on another day Spain could well have had two or three goals themselves.
There is another argument that we learnt a lot more from the young England players coming through the ranks such as the likes of Rodwell. You know the fearless ones who are not afraid to attack on a football pitch and are not weighed down by the guilt of losing several times in penalty shoot outs. A breath of fresh air you may say.
Then there's the fact that Fabio Capello has either come accross the most genius tactic to employ against potentially four or five teams that are ranked higher than England at Euro 2012, or he is stark raving bonkers. Getting most of England players to stand behind the ball and soak up pressure from teams for 88 minutes of a match and hope they get a corner to score off and win the match 1-0 actually sounds like a ridiculous plan and if employed during Euro 2012 will be most England fan's living and viewing nightmare, and most likely England's demise in tournament.
The truth of the matter is that it is very difficult to know what to take out of this game, simply because it was one of the most bizarre matches i've ever seen between two renowned footballing countries. There is certainly the positive for England that they have beaten the World Champions irrespective of the manor the victory was accomplished. There certainly could potentially be more positives, but i think a lot of England fans are reluctant to mould these positives in cast iron.
All we can really do is wait, see and spend an awful lot of time hoping.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Do Sports Governing Bodies Really Have Any Power To Stop Cheating/Corruption/Racism Or Any Other Form Of Inappropriate Behaviour?
The Cricketing world finds itself in a very peculiar position tonight. Three Pakistani international cricketers have been found guilty of spot fixing in an English court of law and have been sentenced to imprisonment for varying periods of time.
There is of course the positive note that three cricketers who have cheated, corrupted and shamed the game of cricket are now behind bars, and no longer a threat to the spirit and conduct of those playing the sport. Then of course "hopefully" a deterrent is now in place to prevent other cricketers following the same doomed path as Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
On the other hand, there is now plenty to worry the cricketing community. No doubt many an honest cricketer and cricketing fan alike are now questioning whether the results of matches they have played in or witnessed, were legitimate battles between two nations, based on cricketing skill, or someone cheating and deliberately bowling a no-ball, in order to finance a property.
What would be slightly more worrying for the ICC is the fact it basically took a now defunct newspaper in the shape of the News of the World and the Metropolitan Police to bring these three Pakistani cricketers to justice. The Anti-Corruption Panel set up by the ICC with a mission to investigate and irradicate corruption from cricket, do not appear to have had any initial involvement in uncovering this scandal. It makes you wonder what else they have missed taking place under their noses.
Like most Sports Governing Bodies however, the ICC suffer one major underlying problem in that they do not really have the powers to truly ensure inappropriate behaviour is entirely irradicated from their sport. Cheaters in sport do not fear Sports Governing Bodies. There will always be an existing culture of inappropriate behaviour in whatever context you can think of. For the most part, you, me, them, whoever, will never know what and where it is taking place. The Sports Governing Bodies are and will continue to play catch up for some time yet.
Oddly enough though, when the police or criminal enforcement organisation become involved in discovering the real truth, a sportsman or woman often crumbles. Mohammad Amir is a classic case. The threat of a long prison sentence clearly scared the living daylights out of the young man. He is now serving 6 months in comparison to Butt and Asif's longer sentences.
Today's events in some ways have brought back memories of Marion Jones, the US athlete who literally run from WADA for a very, very, long time. Ironically it took the FBI, to pin the drug fuelled athletic career charge on her, and they were investigating her involvement in a cheque scam concerning her ex. Jones got a six months prison sentence for lying to a federal investigation. The way WADA were speaking however, you would have thought they had drummed the drug confession out of her, when in truth they have always been ten steps behind the drugs cheats.
Is it a way forward for Sports Governing Bodies in the future then? Could there be a statute written into the laws of countries, where sportsmen and women can automatically be prosecuted in a court of law, if it is believed they have taken drugs, they are believed to have used racist behaviour, or attempted to fix the result of a sporting contest? Would the firm deterrent of having their freedom taken away, make them think twice before no-balling by six feet?
Sports Governing Bodies are undoubtedly going to have to box clever in the future if they wish to keep their houses in order, and that means using every resource at their disposal, be it the media or legal avenues. Cases like the three Pakistani cricketers and Marion Jones prove beyond all doubt Sports Governing Bodies simply cannot irradicate problems on their own. They often need external support. The cheaters of this world in a perverse kind of way are imaginative. Sports Governing Bodies have to become even more imaginative.
There is of course the positive note that three cricketers who have cheated, corrupted and shamed the game of cricket are now behind bars, and no longer a threat to the spirit and conduct of those playing the sport. Then of course "hopefully" a deterrent is now in place to prevent other cricketers following the same doomed path as Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
On the other hand, there is now plenty to worry the cricketing community. No doubt many an honest cricketer and cricketing fan alike are now questioning whether the results of matches they have played in or witnessed, were legitimate battles between two nations, based on cricketing skill, or someone cheating and deliberately bowling a no-ball, in order to finance a property.
What would be slightly more worrying for the ICC is the fact it basically took a now defunct newspaper in the shape of the News of the World and the Metropolitan Police to bring these three Pakistani cricketers to justice. The Anti-Corruption Panel set up by the ICC with a mission to investigate and irradicate corruption from cricket, do not appear to have had any initial involvement in uncovering this scandal. It makes you wonder what else they have missed taking place under their noses.
Like most Sports Governing Bodies however, the ICC suffer one major underlying problem in that they do not really have the powers to truly ensure inappropriate behaviour is entirely irradicated from their sport. Cheaters in sport do not fear Sports Governing Bodies. There will always be an existing culture of inappropriate behaviour in whatever context you can think of. For the most part, you, me, them, whoever, will never know what and where it is taking place. The Sports Governing Bodies are and will continue to play catch up for some time yet.
Oddly enough though, when the police or criminal enforcement organisation become involved in discovering the real truth, a sportsman or woman often crumbles. Mohammad Amir is a classic case. The threat of a long prison sentence clearly scared the living daylights out of the young man. He is now serving 6 months in comparison to Butt and Asif's longer sentences.
Today's events in some ways have brought back memories of Marion Jones, the US athlete who literally run from WADA for a very, very, long time. Ironically it took the FBI, to pin the drug fuelled athletic career charge on her, and they were investigating her involvement in a cheque scam concerning her ex. Jones got a six months prison sentence for lying to a federal investigation. The way WADA were speaking however, you would have thought they had drummed the drug confession out of her, when in truth they have always been ten steps behind the drugs cheats.
Is it a way forward for Sports Governing Bodies in the future then? Could there be a statute written into the laws of countries, where sportsmen and women can automatically be prosecuted in a court of law, if it is believed they have taken drugs, they are believed to have used racist behaviour, or attempted to fix the result of a sporting contest? Would the firm deterrent of having their freedom taken away, make them think twice before no-balling by six feet?
Sports Governing Bodies are undoubtedly going to have to box clever in the future if they wish to keep their houses in order, and that means using every resource at their disposal, be it the media or legal avenues. Cases like the three Pakistani cricketers and Marion Jones prove beyond all doubt Sports Governing Bodies simply cannot irradicate problems on their own. They often need external support. The cheaters of this world in a perverse kind of way are imaginative. Sports Governing Bodies have to become even more imaginative.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
The World of Sport is Quite Simply Bizarre!
There have been some bizarre occurrences in the world of sport this week so far.
Take the recent One Day Cricket Series played between India and England in India. A few months ago when the Indian cricket team came to English shores, their cricketers appeared to be absolutely clueless on how to win a cricket match. I mean lets face it, they would of had more chance of catching a cold than a cricket ball during the summer. As far England goes, well everything they touched turned to cricketing gold. Two months on the cricketing pyjama party between the two nations has been transported to Indian shores for the past two weeks and there appears to have been a bizarre reversal in fortune. Indian players are knocking balls out of stadiums, bowling players around their legs, and produce 10.0 dives to take phenomenal catches. England meanwhile, appear to have mastered the art of collapsing in a heap. Losing 10 wickets for 47 runs yesterday was mightily impressive by any one's standards. Anyway, this culminated in England losing the series 5-0. So how has this come about? Well as far as i can see there is only one explanation. Quite clearly to anyone born outside of the Asian Subcontinent, playing cricket in this part of the world in an alien concept. Conversely, whenever an Asian Subcontient player travels outside this territory, cricket grounds and stadiums clearly baffle them. Joking aside, England has been taken down a peg or two in the past few weeks and possibly realise now world domination is not proved by simply playing well in England and Australia. To conquer the cricketing world, you also have conquer every cricketing environment you play in. Not just a cold day in Cardiff.
The other sports related topic that is slightly puzzling to me this week is that UEFA have apparently delayed their written response to the FA as to why they imposed a three match ban on Wayne Rooney for his red card mister meanour against Montenegro. I mean seriously do UEFA need an extra week to write a 10 page report basically saying Rooney was an idiot. Or did they draw straws to see what length of ban Rooney got. Maybe it's because UEFA are employing cost cutting exercises throughout the organisation and the one secretary they have has gone on holiday till next week. In all seriousness, what the hell is complicated about this. He kicked the fella end of. Maybe the FA will appeal the three match ban, but you can't help feeling UEFA will probably ban Rooney from all of Euro 2012.
Bizarre!
Take the recent One Day Cricket Series played between India and England in India. A few months ago when the Indian cricket team came to English shores, their cricketers appeared to be absolutely clueless on how to win a cricket match. I mean lets face it, they would of had more chance of catching a cold than a cricket ball during the summer. As far England goes, well everything they touched turned to cricketing gold. Two months on the cricketing pyjama party between the two nations has been transported to Indian shores for the past two weeks and there appears to have been a bizarre reversal in fortune. Indian players are knocking balls out of stadiums, bowling players around their legs, and produce 10.0 dives to take phenomenal catches. England meanwhile, appear to have mastered the art of collapsing in a heap. Losing 10 wickets for 47 runs yesterday was mightily impressive by any one's standards. Anyway, this culminated in England losing the series 5-0. So how has this come about? Well as far as i can see there is only one explanation. Quite clearly to anyone born outside of the Asian Subcontinent, playing cricket in this part of the world in an alien concept. Conversely, whenever an Asian Subcontient player travels outside this territory, cricket grounds and stadiums clearly baffle them. Joking aside, England has been taken down a peg or two in the past few weeks and possibly realise now world domination is not proved by simply playing well in England and Australia. To conquer the cricketing world, you also have conquer every cricketing environment you play in. Not just a cold day in Cardiff.
The other sports related topic that is slightly puzzling to me this week is that UEFA have apparently delayed their written response to the FA as to why they imposed a three match ban on Wayne Rooney for his red card mister meanour against Montenegro. I mean seriously do UEFA need an extra week to write a 10 page report basically saying Rooney was an idiot. Or did they draw straws to see what length of ban Rooney got. Maybe it's because UEFA are employing cost cutting exercises throughout the organisation and the one secretary they have has gone on holiday till next week. In all seriousness, what the hell is complicated about this. He kicked the fella end of. Maybe the FA will appeal the three match ban, but you can't help feeling UEFA will probably ban Rooney from all of Euro 2012.
Bizarre!
Sunday, 23 October 2011
What have we learned from the sporting weekend?
If there is one thing this sporting weekend has highlighted is that sport, just like in life, has extreme physical, mental and emotional highs and adversely some painful, incomprehensible, tragic lows.
Take the world of Motorsport for example. In the space of only a week the Motorsport community has lost two of its stars. Last Sunday, Dan Wheldon died as a result of a truly horrific crash involving 15 cars in an IndyCar race in Las Vegas. Today, Motorcycling is mourning the death of Marco Simoncelli, the Italian MotoGP rider tragically killed in a freakish accident on the Sepang track in Malaysia. It is certainly not difficult to understand the reactions of people within the Motorsport community during the past week. Questions surrounding the safety of Motorsport have been paramount in the minds of many. Were there too many cars lining up on the Las Vegas track last Sunday? Could anything have been done to ensure Simoncelli's helmet remained securely in place on accident impact? The painful truth is we will never know if the deaths of Wheldon or Simoncelli could have been prevented if certain "safety" precautions were in place. Participants in Motorsport are fully aware of the potential dangers of their disciplines, everytime they enter a car or sit on a bike. Mercifully in this day and age we rarely have to discuss the tragedy of fatalities in Motorsport, such are the safety precautions already employed by disciplines. Having witnessed the deaths of two of its stars in the space of week however, emotions will understandably run high and people will start to question the safety of Motorsport disciplines in the coming weeks. Once the raw emotions have settled, we can only hope there is a sensible review of safety procedures based on fact, and no knee jerk reactions. For today we will simply say rest in peace Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli.
New Zealand as a nation has gone through some truly awful lows this past year. The Pike River mine disaster and the Christchurch earthquake are two events that have had a dramatic effect on the country. New Zealand was in need of a lift, and boy did they find the perfect tonic in hosting the Rugby World Cup Finals this past month and a half. Not one bad word has passed the lips of anyone concerning the hosts. England may have some concerns about CCTV cameras, Ferry Police and other certain incidents but hey that's a story for another day. And so it came to the final of the Rugby World Cup contested between France and the host nation. I really would not even want to begin to comtemplate the physical, mental and emotional rollercoaster those players went through today. Every single player in that New Zealand team had the weight of the nation on their shoulders and possibly for the first time in the entire tournament it was actually clear to see today. If the truth be told it was an ugly match, but name a Kiwi in the world today who really cares. The fact is New Zealand are Rugby World Champions and the nation is on an emotional high. Party On New Zealand!
Take the world of Motorsport for example. In the space of only a week the Motorsport community has lost two of its stars. Last Sunday, Dan Wheldon died as a result of a truly horrific crash involving 15 cars in an IndyCar race in Las Vegas. Today, Motorcycling is mourning the death of Marco Simoncelli, the Italian MotoGP rider tragically killed in a freakish accident on the Sepang track in Malaysia. It is certainly not difficult to understand the reactions of people within the Motorsport community during the past week. Questions surrounding the safety of Motorsport have been paramount in the minds of many. Were there too many cars lining up on the Las Vegas track last Sunday? Could anything have been done to ensure Simoncelli's helmet remained securely in place on accident impact? The painful truth is we will never know if the deaths of Wheldon or Simoncelli could have been prevented if certain "safety" precautions were in place. Participants in Motorsport are fully aware of the potential dangers of their disciplines, everytime they enter a car or sit on a bike. Mercifully in this day and age we rarely have to discuss the tragedy of fatalities in Motorsport, such are the safety precautions already employed by disciplines. Having witnessed the deaths of two of its stars in the space of week however, emotions will understandably run high and people will start to question the safety of Motorsport disciplines in the coming weeks. Once the raw emotions have settled, we can only hope there is a sensible review of safety procedures based on fact, and no knee jerk reactions. For today we will simply say rest in peace Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli.
New Zealand as a nation has gone through some truly awful lows this past year. The Pike River mine disaster and the Christchurch earthquake are two events that have had a dramatic effect on the country. New Zealand was in need of a lift, and boy did they find the perfect tonic in hosting the Rugby World Cup Finals this past month and a half. Not one bad word has passed the lips of anyone concerning the hosts. England may have some concerns about CCTV cameras, Ferry Police and other certain incidents but hey that's a story for another day. And so it came to the final of the Rugby World Cup contested between France and the host nation. I really would not even want to begin to comtemplate the physical, mental and emotional rollercoaster those players went through today. Every single player in that New Zealand team had the weight of the nation on their shoulders and possibly for the first time in the entire tournament it was actually clear to see today. If the truth be told it was an ugly match, but name a Kiwi in the world today who really cares. The fact is New Zealand are Rugby World Champions and the nation is on an emotional high. Party On New Zealand!
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