It seems an utterly ridiculous statement to make about a young man who has just reached the pinnacle of his career and won the blue-ribboned event at the World Athletics Championship, but i do have an overriding sympathy for Blake today. The fact that the world's media are mostly concentrating on the world's arguably greatest athletics star in Usain Bolt, false starting in the 100 metres final and briefly giving a mention that Blake is the World Athletics 100 metres champion, says it all really. The "Winner By Default" badge was virtually pinned on the Jamaican vest of Blake the minute he crossed the line.
Let's get one thing straight, Yohan Blake is World 100 metres champion and deserves to be 100 metres champion. He did not false start and he beat the six remaining men who lined up in the final after Bolt's disqualification fair and square, no arguments. I am an absolute believer in the fact you can only beat what is put in front of you. It is not Yohan Blake's fault that the likes of Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell didn't even make it to the start line in Daegu and Bolt inexplicably false started in the final.
Let's get another thing straight as well, Bolt has no one else to blame for today's events other than himself. He knows the rules and if you have one strike you are out as they say. Bolt made an error of judgement without question today, whether it is due to not being focused enough as Michael Johnson suggested or just the fact he is actually human like everyone else on this planet. Who knows whether this moment will reignite his motivation to be the world's best and destroy the opposition in London in 12 months time. Whatever the case, athletics fans got a nasty shock watching the 100 metres final today and they did not like it. Calls for this one false start to be scrapped have been coming in thick and fast after fans have felt robbed of seeing Bolt fly down the Daegu track in a very quick time, no doubt having time to have a cup of tea before anyone else finishes.
And there's the point! With this one chance saloon in athletics we will never actually know what would have happened if Bolt did run that race. We could all summise what would probably have happened though, and that will virtually always detract from the fact Yohan Blake is the World 100 metres champion. Were we really having that many false starts in athletics to merit this false start and you're out rule? Is there no way to take into account mitigating circumstances, such as nerves, background noises and do a two false starts and you're out rule? Whatever the case, public opinion seems to be thinking that the IAAF have dug themselves in a hole with this rule, and have lost the chance to attract more spectators and audiences to athletics through its world' biggest star in Usain Bolt, by depriving them of the opportunity to actually see him race.
I reiterate though none of this really matters, because the fact remains Yohan Blake is the World 100 metres champion 2011 fact. Get over it!
Sunday 28 August 2011
Friday 19 August 2011
Should We Simply Accept the "Status Quo" in Sport?
As I was watching Hearts on the wrong end of a 5-0 home drubbing by English counterparts Tottenham in their Europa League football tie, I heard a rather disturbing fact about Scottish football muttered by the TV commentator.
Apparently there hasn't been a winner of the Scottish League title other than the Glaswegian giants of Celtic and Rangers since the 1984/85 season. Who were the champions that season? As it so happens it was an Aberdeen side managed by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson. In fact during his tenure as Aberdeen manager, he guided his side to three championship titles and a European Cup Winners Cup. All those years on, you can certainly see now why Manchester United employed his services.
In all seriousness though, has no one involved in Scottish football, be it the teams, business tycoons or administrators, felt the need to change the "status quo"of the past 25 odd years of Celtic and Rangers sharing the titles, for the benefit of Scottish League and Scottish football as a whole?
It is almost like we expect Celtic or Rangers to win the Scottish Premiership Title, no questions asked at all. The betting establishments certainly do this season, with Celtic 4/7 and Rangers 11/8 to win the title this season. The next best odds for any team you ask. It is Hearts at 66/1. Says it all really.
All evidence points to a "non-competitive" league and it does seem to be proving to the detriment of Scottish football and its status in European football. Exhibit A.: Rangers losing to the Swedish team Malmo in the Champions League qualifier. Exhibit B: Heart's humiliating home defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League yesterday. Only Celtic seem to have faired slightly better in not conceeding a goal to Sion in the Europa League.
It is of course abudantly clear the Scottish League cannot compete with the leagues of other nations in Europe, in terms of competiveness and finance. The English Premier League and Spanish La Liga come to mind. At the same time, the Scottish League cannot simply be a league of mediocraty where you can confidently predict the winner before the season has even started. The "status quo" tag has to be challenged. If it doesn't a league continues to be a two horse race, you can't help feeling Scottish football will sink without a trace in the realm of Europe.
Apparently there hasn't been a winner of the Scottish League title other than the Glaswegian giants of Celtic and Rangers since the 1984/85 season. Who were the champions that season? As it so happens it was an Aberdeen side managed by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson. In fact during his tenure as Aberdeen manager, he guided his side to three championship titles and a European Cup Winners Cup. All those years on, you can certainly see now why Manchester United employed his services.
In all seriousness though, has no one involved in Scottish football, be it the teams, business tycoons or administrators, felt the need to change the "status quo"of the past 25 odd years of Celtic and Rangers sharing the titles, for the benefit of Scottish League and Scottish football as a whole?
It is almost like we expect Celtic or Rangers to win the Scottish Premiership Title, no questions asked at all. The betting establishments certainly do this season, with Celtic 4/7 and Rangers 11/8 to win the title this season. The next best odds for any team you ask. It is Hearts at 66/1. Says it all really.
All evidence points to a "non-competitive" league and it does seem to be proving to the detriment of Scottish football and its status in European football. Exhibit A.: Rangers losing to the Swedish team Malmo in the Champions League qualifier. Exhibit B: Heart's humiliating home defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League yesterday. Only Celtic seem to have faired slightly better in not conceeding a goal to Sion in the Europa League.
It is of course abudantly clear the Scottish League cannot compete with the leagues of other nations in Europe, in terms of competiveness and finance. The English Premier League and Spanish La Liga come to mind. At the same time, the Scottish League cannot simply be a league of mediocraty where you can confidently predict the winner before the season has even started. The "status quo" tag has to be challenged. If it doesn't a league continues to be a two horse race, you can't help feeling Scottish football will sink without a trace in the realm of Europe.
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Andy Murray, Probably the Fourth Best Player in the World.
It's amazing in the world of sport, how one person can interpret a sporting encounter in a completely different manner to another. The classic example is the opposing football manager scenario. Manager 1: "It was definitely a penalty". Manager 2: "It was a disgraceful decision from the ref. Never a penalty".
I found myself in a similar scenario this evening, except this time the sport in question was tennis. After watching Andy Murray's 6-4, 6-1, victory over David Nalbandian in the Cincinnati Masters, the Sky TV commentators in the UK seemed convinced that this was a commanding victory by Murray which he would be absolutely delighted with. Yes the final result would suggest this was a walk in the park for Murray, the world's fourth best tennis player. Yet the match i saw today, displayed classic characteristics of an Andy Murray match. Characteristics of Murray's game that continue to plague his tennis career and potentially may halt his quest to become a Grand Slam Champion and ultimately the World's Best Tennis player.
A worrying feature in Andy Murray's play the past two years is his failure to defeat opponents in the first round he plays in certain tournaments. Let's face it no one is infallible. Rafa found out the hard way last week in Montreal. Murray can be the slowest of starters though and can give his opponent a two/three game lead before he even gets out of the blocks. As he has found to his cost though, some players can take advantage of this gift, the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer for three. Murray got off to an extremely slow start against Nalbandian today, losing his first service game, and failing to convert several break points in Nalbandian's first service game. As it so happens today, Murray was facing a good, bad and damn right ridiculously bad performance from Nalbandian. Nalbandian today looked like he wouldn't have much success serving a football within the service lines let alone a tennis ball. The point is Murray got away with the slow start today and avoided a first round defeat. You do worry for Murray though, and cannot help but feel he has to cut these "unnecessary" losses out of his game to reach to very top of the game.
Nalbandian, when he was good, also highlighted another concern in Murray's habit of being dictated to in tennis matches. Often Nalbandian took command of points, particularly in the first set, leaving Murray on the back foot, ten feet behind the base line, with no answer. This unfortunately has been a narrative in several of Murray's matches against the top three and it is so infuriating! We all know Murray has the tools in the box to dictate a match. Remember how he reached his first Grand Slam beating Nadal in the US Open semi-final? The trouble is he often leaves the tool box in the locker room. It makes you wonder, does he need a full-time coach who can instill the need to impose his game in a match? Or is it simply a mental fraility?
I remember John McEnroe making a comment after Murray's defeat to Nadal in this year's Wimbledon semi-final about Murray's body language and how the crowd to a degree feeds off the energy displayed by him be it positive or negative. Interestingly enough, the Sky Commentators were very impressed by Murray's composure during the match against Nalbandian today. To me Murray's body language for 60 % of the match suggested he needed an atom bomb up his backside. I would suggest his demeanour during the match was of a man who lacked energy and was there for the taking to a Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer if they were standing the other side of the net. If you look at a Nadal however, he could be having the worst day of his life as he walks on court, but you would never have thought it as he sprints to the service line to warm up. Is this another one those mental frailities as far as Murray is concerned. Quite possibly. You get the feeling Murray's chances of reaching the very top would be assisted if he learnt to channel positive energy whatever the situation in a match. With a Wimbledon crowd feeding off that energy, just imagine what a fabulous off court doubles partner they could be for Murray.
And this is basically why i think Murray remains probably the Fourth Best Player in the World.
I found myself in a similar scenario this evening, except this time the sport in question was tennis. After watching Andy Murray's 6-4, 6-1, victory over David Nalbandian in the Cincinnati Masters, the Sky TV commentators in the UK seemed convinced that this was a commanding victory by Murray which he would be absolutely delighted with. Yes the final result would suggest this was a walk in the park for Murray, the world's fourth best tennis player. Yet the match i saw today, displayed classic characteristics of an Andy Murray match. Characteristics of Murray's game that continue to plague his tennis career and potentially may halt his quest to become a Grand Slam Champion and ultimately the World's Best Tennis player.
A worrying feature in Andy Murray's play the past two years is his failure to defeat opponents in the first round he plays in certain tournaments. Let's face it no one is infallible. Rafa found out the hard way last week in Montreal. Murray can be the slowest of starters though and can give his opponent a two/three game lead before he even gets out of the blocks. As he has found to his cost though, some players can take advantage of this gift, the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer for three. Murray got off to an extremely slow start against Nalbandian today, losing his first service game, and failing to convert several break points in Nalbandian's first service game. As it so happens today, Murray was facing a good, bad and damn right ridiculously bad performance from Nalbandian. Nalbandian today looked like he wouldn't have much success serving a football within the service lines let alone a tennis ball. The point is Murray got away with the slow start today and avoided a first round defeat. You do worry for Murray though, and cannot help but feel he has to cut these "unnecessary" losses out of his game to reach to very top of the game.
Nalbandian, when he was good, also highlighted another concern in Murray's habit of being dictated to in tennis matches. Often Nalbandian took command of points, particularly in the first set, leaving Murray on the back foot, ten feet behind the base line, with no answer. This unfortunately has been a narrative in several of Murray's matches against the top three and it is so infuriating! We all know Murray has the tools in the box to dictate a match. Remember how he reached his first Grand Slam beating Nadal in the US Open semi-final? The trouble is he often leaves the tool box in the locker room. It makes you wonder, does he need a full-time coach who can instill the need to impose his game in a match? Or is it simply a mental fraility?
I remember John McEnroe making a comment after Murray's defeat to Nadal in this year's Wimbledon semi-final about Murray's body language and how the crowd to a degree feeds off the energy displayed by him be it positive or negative. Interestingly enough, the Sky Commentators were very impressed by Murray's composure during the match against Nalbandian today. To me Murray's body language for 60 % of the match suggested he needed an atom bomb up his backside. I would suggest his demeanour during the match was of a man who lacked energy and was there for the taking to a Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer if they were standing the other side of the net. If you look at a Nadal however, he could be having the worst day of his life as he walks on court, but you would never have thought it as he sprints to the service line to warm up. Is this another one those mental frailities as far as Murray is concerned. Quite possibly. You get the feeling Murray's chances of reaching the very top would be assisted if he learnt to channel positive energy whatever the situation in a match. With a Wimbledon crowd feeding off that energy, just imagine what a fabulous off court doubles partner they could be for Murray.
And this is basically why i think Murray remains probably the Fourth Best Player in the World.
Monday 15 August 2011
No, That's Not A Good Idea Awards Monday
Yes it's that time of the week folks. The time we add another two sporting candidates to the "Not So Clever" Hall of Fame.
Candidate 1.
Rory McIlroy appears to be a sporting personality who is extremely difficult to dislike. On a human level he seems like a thoroughly nice chap. This year alone he has also proved his courage and tenacity on the golf course, coming back from the horror of the final day of the US Masters where he blew a four shot lead, and then making mincemeat of the opposition winning the US Open a few months later. Yet in the first round of the US PGA tournament last Thursday, you almost wanted to hit him with a sledgehammer. Whether it was his burning desire to win or the invincibility of youth, the risk to his health and more importantly the risk to his career hitting that shot on the fourth hole so close to that now infamous tree root, could potentially have been catastrophic. He did continue to complete all four rounds of the tournament in considerable pain and displayed another admirable quality of not being a quitter. However, you wonder what may have happened had simply knocked that ball to the side on to the fairway. You live and learn in this life, but in Rory's case, hitting a golf shot be just under or just over a foot from a tree root, Not A Good Idea!
Candidate 2.
I reckon Gervinho of Arsenal has some serious potential as a heavyweight boxer. Even with a slap he managed to KO Newcastle's Joey Barton on Saturday. God forbid what may have happened if he had used a fist. Joking aside, and let it be known this blog does not condone violence and any sledgehammers used will be plastic, you cannot understand what the hell Gervinho and Song were thinking even getting involved with Joey Barton on Saturday. Gervinho has already paid for his misdemenour with a red card and three match ban. Song now appears to have paid the price retrospectively for his atrocious stamp on Joey Barton's ankle and will suffer a three match ban. Joey Barton is no saint, but there seems to have been a plan by teams to simply wind up Joey Barton and hope he takes the bait, and he did on Saturday. The trouble is teams seem to be taking baiting beyond the boundaries of decency, a dangerous policy which could lead to important players being banned at crucial times. Slapping and stamping Joey Barton. Not A Good Idea.
Candidate 1.
Rory McIlroy appears to be a sporting personality who is extremely difficult to dislike. On a human level he seems like a thoroughly nice chap. This year alone he has also proved his courage and tenacity on the golf course, coming back from the horror of the final day of the US Masters where he blew a four shot lead, and then making mincemeat of the opposition winning the US Open a few months later. Yet in the first round of the US PGA tournament last Thursday, you almost wanted to hit him with a sledgehammer. Whether it was his burning desire to win or the invincibility of youth, the risk to his health and more importantly the risk to his career hitting that shot on the fourth hole so close to that now infamous tree root, could potentially have been catastrophic. He did continue to complete all four rounds of the tournament in considerable pain and displayed another admirable quality of not being a quitter. However, you wonder what may have happened had simply knocked that ball to the side on to the fairway. You live and learn in this life, but in Rory's case, hitting a golf shot be just under or just over a foot from a tree root, Not A Good Idea!
Candidate 2.
I reckon Gervinho of Arsenal has some serious potential as a heavyweight boxer. Even with a slap he managed to KO Newcastle's Joey Barton on Saturday. God forbid what may have happened if he had used a fist. Joking aside, and let it be known this blog does not condone violence and any sledgehammers used will be plastic, you cannot understand what the hell Gervinho and Song were thinking even getting involved with Joey Barton on Saturday. Gervinho has already paid for his misdemenour with a red card and three match ban. Song now appears to have paid the price retrospectively for his atrocious stamp on Joey Barton's ankle and will suffer a three match ban. Joey Barton is no saint, but there seems to have been a plan by teams to simply wind up Joey Barton and hope he takes the bait, and he did on Saturday. The trouble is teams seem to be taking baiting beyond the boundaries of decency, a dangerous policy which could lead to important players being banned at crucial times. Slapping and stamping Joey Barton. Not A Good Idea.
Saturday 13 August 2011
I'm Bored! I'm the Chairman of the Bored!
England are officially the No.1 International cricket side in the world and i for one am absolutely delighted by this fact. After years of misery watching the likes of the West Indies knock our players' blocks off in the 80s and suffering more Ashes defeats than i've had hot dinners, it is a pleasure to finally feel proud of the cricketers that represent our nation, even though half of them were not born in England.
Yet deep down i have this peculiar feeling of being robbed. Yours truly like many people around the world has to earn a crust during the working week, so cannot watch live cricket on a daily basis. At the weekend though, you kind of hope to sit down to some quality, competitive cricket, where the result remains in doubt until the last hour of the fifth day of the test. Unfortunately, so far with England's test series with India, i've had to turn my attention to mind numbingly boring tasks such weekly shopping by tea time of the fourth day of matches.
So whose fault is it for robbing me of my sporting pleasures? Are England simply far too dominant and ruthless in all disciplines of test match cricket? There is certainly no denying that England's position as the number 1 test side in the world is truly deserved. They have been the most consistent international team for the past twelve months without question. England have had the odd hiccup here and there during recent matches, but when in trouble players have stood up and been counted, Stuart Broad the prime example at Nottingham. Are they a ruthless team? They are well on the way. You got the impression with previous England teams they have been scared to stick the knife in and go for the jugular. Yesterday, England had India by the short and curlies and frankly did not let go the entire test match.
Is ruthlessness and dominance boring then? It is according to an old England adversary in Shane Warne. In fact Sky TV commentators in general seemed a bit perplexed as to what to say about Alastair Cook's wonder 294 knock yesterday. Apparently all batsmen need to be flamboyant to be enjoyable to watch. I personally have a great deal of respect for any cricketer who displays the endurance and concentration that was demonstrated by Cook during his outstanding innings. Test cricket is a marathon not a sprint. and that's the point, it's a TEST of not only your skill with bat, ball or in the field, but your physical or mental strength over the course of potentially five days.
Which brings us very nicely to England's opponents India, the World Champions of the 50 Over One Day format and now ex no. 1 team in the Test arena. What can one say? I'm beginning to think someone evil has produced second rate clones of the Indian team, and locked the real Indian team in a cupboard in Mumbai. Tendulkar looks like he's got a sack of spuds on his shoulders weighted down by reaching this 100th ton. Dravid, who is test cricket's highest catch taker, looks like he couldn't catch a cold. Sehwag looks like he's never batted in his life. As for Dhoni, doesn't look like he has a clue what is going on. They also have had three players (possibly second rate clones) who have dropped like flies in Harbajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan and have flown home. As a consequence India have been on the wrong end of an absolute mauling from England which for the most part has been totally embarrassing to watch and ladies and gentlemen i am frankly angry they have denied me of some enjoyable competitive cricket viewing this month, especially as they were meant to be the no.1 side in test cricket. I mean seriously were they the no.1 side in a parallel universe! I wouldn't have minded if they had competed with England this past month and lost by the odd wicket or ten runs in 3 test matches, but they've lost by a gazillion runs. Frankly they probably would have been better playing in parallel universe. As a result of their failure to turn up for this test series, i have been bored and haven't been able to find an excuse not to do the weekly shopping. Thanks India!
So what's the explanation for India's dreadful performance? Maybe, just maybe, playing so many one day international sprints and Twenty20 mini sprints in the IPL, the players have forgotten the art of performing in a marathon.
Yet deep down i have this peculiar feeling of being robbed. Yours truly like many people around the world has to earn a crust during the working week, so cannot watch live cricket on a daily basis. At the weekend though, you kind of hope to sit down to some quality, competitive cricket, where the result remains in doubt until the last hour of the fifth day of the test. Unfortunately, so far with England's test series with India, i've had to turn my attention to mind numbingly boring tasks such weekly shopping by tea time of the fourth day of matches.
So whose fault is it for robbing me of my sporting pleasures? Are England simply far too dominant and ruthless in all disciplines of test match cricket? There is certainly no denying that England's position as the number 1 test side in the world is truly deserved. They have been the most consistent international team for the past twelve months without question. England have had the odd hiccup here and there during recent matches, but when in trouble players have stood up and been counted, Stuart Broad the prime example at Nottingham. Are they a ruthless team? They are well on the way. You got the impression with previous England teams they have been scared to stick the knife in and go for the jugular. Yesterday, England had India by the short and curlies and frankly did not let go the entire test match.
Is ruthlessness and dominance boring then? It is according to an old England adversary in Shane Warne. In fact Sky TV commentators in general seemed a bit perplexed as to what to say about Alastair Cook's wonder 294 knock yesterday. Apparently all batsmen need to be flamboyant to be enjoyable to watch. I personally have a great deal of respect for any cricketer who displays the endurance and concentration that was demonstrated by Cook during his outstanding innings. Test cricket is a marathon not a sprint. and that's the point, it's a TEST of not only your skill with bat, ball or in the field, but your physical or mental strength over the course of potentially five days.
Which brings us very nicely to England's opponents India, the World Champions of the 50 Over One Day format and now ex no. 1 team in the Test arena. What can one say? I'm beginning to think someone evil has produced second rate clones of the Indian team, and locked the real Indian team in a cupboard in Mumbai. Tendulkar looks like he's got a sack of spuds on his shoulders weighted down by reaching this 100th ton. Dravid, who is test cricket's highest catch taker, looks like he couldn't catch a cold. Sehwag looks like he's never batted in his life. As for Dhoni, doesn't look like he has a clue what is going on. They also have had three players (possibly second rate clones) who have dropped like flies in Harbajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan and have flown home. As a consequence India have been on the wrong end of an absolute mauling from England which for the most part has been totally embarrassing to watch and ladies and gentlemen i am frankly angry they have denied me of some enjoyable competitive cricket viewing this month, especially as they were meant to be the no.1 side in test cricket. I mean seriously were they the no.1 side in a parallel universe! I wouldn't have minded if they had competed with England this past month and lost by the odd wicket or ten runs in 3 test matches, but they've lost by a gazillion runs. Frankly they probably would have been better playing in parallel universe. As a result of their failure to turn up for this test series, i have been bored and haven't been able to find an excuse not to do the weekly shopping. Thanks India!
So what's the explanation for India's dreadful performance? Maybe, just maybe, playing so many one day international sprints and Twenty20 mini sprints in the IPL, the players have forgotten the art of performing in a marathon.
Tuesday 9 August 2011
Sport Simply Has No Choice But To Mix With Politics.
If, god forbid, the dreadful events in England these past few days continue, you can't help but think a new precedent will be set this coming weekend with the Pools Panel sitting in August. The riots taking place in various cities across the country now have already had a dramatic effect on the sporting calendar with several matches in the Carling Cup being postponed and England's friendly with the Netherlands being called off. It would be extremely difficult to argue that the reasons behind these mindless thugs causing havoc in our cities, does not have, be it directly or indirectly, political overtones. As a consequence the English sporting calendar has been dramatically affected this week and who knows, it may be for quite some time yet. If 16,000 coppers are protecting the streets around London from looters and arsonists, how on earth can they police a football international at Wembley?
There used to be a common phrase used in the world of sport "Sport and Politics do not mix". Rubbish! I suggest in the "modern" era, there has rarely been a time where sport has had any choice but to mix with politics, or suffer the consequences of political issues. Who decided that their countries should boycott Olympic Games, meaning athletes missed out on the opportunity to win a gold medal? Politicians. Who ultimately has control over the budget for the London 2012 Games? Make no mistake, it's Politicians. Who has run a dictatorship from the confines of Fifa for the past 13 years? Yes it's Sepp Blatter, the politician.
Let us not forget when our politicians pop in for five minutes at the end of campaign to host a major sporting event. Dave at the World Cup. What good did that do? At least Tony had more luck with the Olympics.
Whatever their political persuasions, athletes and sports fans alike, will simply have to get used to fact behind the pleasure of participating or watching sport, there will always be a political agenda. I have a nasty feeling at the pit of my stomach.
There used to be a common phrase used in the world of sport "Sport and Politics do not mix". Rubbish! I suggest in the "modern" era, there has rarely been a time where sport has had any choice but to mix with politics, or suffer the consequences of political issues. Who decided that their countries should boycott Olympic Games, meaning athletes missed out on the opportunity to win a gold medal? Politicians. Who ultimately has control over the budget for the London 2012 Games? Make no mistake, it's Politicians. Who has run a dictatorship from the confines of Fifa for the past 13 years? Yes it's Sepp Blatter, the politician.
Let us not forget when our politicians pop in for five minutes at the end of campaign to host a major sporting event. Dave at the World Cup. What good did that do? At least Tony had more luck with the Olympics.
Whatever their political persuasions, athletes and sports fans alike, will simply have to get used to fact behind the pleasure of participating or watching sport, there will always be a political agenda. I have a nasty feeling at the pit of my stomach.
Monday 8 August 2011
No, that's not a good idea awards Monday.
Candidate No. 1
After caddying for Tiger Woods and winning a zillion tournaments with one of the greatest golfers ever, Steve Williams declares this week as "the greatest" of his 33 year old career, after caddying Australian Adam Scott to an excellent victory at Akron. Hey it was a great win for Scott, but is Williams seriously saying this was the greatest week of his career after spending a zillion successful tournaments caddying the world's most successful golfer in Tiger Woods. Williams is clearly still angry at Woods for being sacked, but sometimes it pays to be dignified, no matter how much it hurts. Williams needs to get a grip and move on with his life. Holding a grudge against your previous employer. Not a good idea!
Candidate No. 2
Governing bodies of the English and Welsh Rugby Union, do you seriously want your teams to win the World Cup? Then stop playing each other. Seriously, what the hell do you learn in playing each other twice in the space of a week. Will England be prepared if they have to encounter against Samoa or Argentina, or more importantly New Zealand? I don't think so. Playing Wales twice in a space of a week. Not a good idea!
After caddying for Tiger Woods and winning a zillion tournaments with one of the greatest golfers ever, Steve Williams declares this week as "the greatest" of his 33 year old career, after caddying Australian Adam Scott to an excellent victory at Akron. Hey it was a great win for Scott, but is Williams seriously saying this was the greatest week of his career after spending a zillion successful tournaments caddying the world's most successful golfer in Tiger Woods. Williams is clearly still angry at Woods for being sacked, but sometimes it pays to be dignified, no matter how much it hurts. Williams needs to get a grip and move on with his life. Holding a grudge against your previous employer. Not a good idea!
Candidate No. 2
Governing bodies of the English and Welsh Rugby Union, do you seriously want your teams to win the World Cup? Then stop playing each other. Seriously, what the hell do you learn in playing each other twice in the space of a week. Will England be prepared if they have to encounter against Samoa or Argentina, or more importantly New Zealand? I don't think so. Playing Wales twice in a space of a week. Not a good idea!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)