Right, so here is the lo-down. For roughly some 16 hours I watched sport on Saturday. And I recorded some running thoughts as the day and the beer progressed. Here they are. Imagine this like a Twitter feed, except I've blogged it as I have like one follower and I think they are just some Eastern European porn site spambot.
Here are my thoughts from throughout the day. If you like, I'll do another on an NFL Sunday.
2:35pm – Is it me or are England just not very good at rugby any more? Well we are but we are just the worst good team ever.
2:37pm – Oh Cueto... if only you weren't so fumbly.
2:57pm – Lewis Moody is playing like his sex is on fire and tackling the Argies is the only relief he can get.
3:41pm – What happened to smash mouth England rugby? Maybe we should try to find out seeing as out kicking game is absolutely rubbish...
4:00pm – So where has THAT form been all day!? What a try
4:24pm – Bit of culture on the Rugby – Ludivicio Enaudi on the outro music. Yes, I know I spelt his name wrong. Sue me.
4:34pm – I can tell you now that the Sky interview man nearly got mauled to death by Martin Johnson
4:58pm – Well, that was the rugby. Now on to the football. Let's watch Brazil sacrifice England's second stringers.
5:00pm – Hmm, probably should save this doc at some point. Nice little tribute to Robert Enke, the German keeper who committed suicide at the weekend pre game.
5:13pm – An England defensive mistake!? I don't believe it...
5:35pm – Pretty impressed with the atmosphere in the Qatar stadium. Also, my backside hurts after being sat in the same spot. Only about 12 hours to go... yay...
5:38pm – Good continuity by the ref. He didn't give Brazil a blatant free kick on the edge of the area and just denied England.
6:17pm – Good old England and their defensive cock ups. Good old Brazil and their inability to score penalties.
6:34pm – England look properly rubbish up front. Rooney is getting no service and they don't have a big guy to lob the ball at.
6:50pm – I'm not calling the match boring, but I'm looking at cars, video games and holidays.
7:08pm – Ahh, a small break from my sporting schedule. UFC 105 is up next at 8. Although for some reason, I'm watching Merlin. This concerns me.
8:01pm – Merlin was actually quite good. Luckily, I can rebalance the man-karma by now watching UFC. I really wish they would change their tacky intro video though.
8:02pm – Did Mike Goldberg just say 'beautiful Manchester, England'?
8:05pm – There is something childishly hilarious about the fighters who have 'Condom Depot' on the backside portion of their shorts.
8:08pm – First beer of the night. I am willing to bet it will be nowhere near the last.
8:22pm – Dominating fight by Pearson here. Would be good to see if he can get a KO and go to ground at least once.
8:24pm – Bloody win by TKO for Ross Pearson. That isn't a posh swear word, Riley is bloodied heavily as the doc stops the match.
8:29pm – I love the Twingo advert where the mother is just so glad that her daughter got a job, she doesn't mind that it is as a whore. Sort of actually sums up the modern working climate.
8:32pm – Dammit America! Leicester is pronounced Less-ter not Lie-chester!
8:39pm – One of the fighters has a mouse under their eye. That must be uncomfortable and a bit of a distraction. Oh, it's now a bad mouse. Very bad mouse. Joe Rogan is very worried about it.
8:51pm – I really think that France may not make it past the Republic of Ireland here. Also, Greece have to go to the Ukraine and win to get through. That is unlikely at best.
8:52pm – Really good fight with Matt Brown picking up the W. The bad mouse, who I just learned has recently finished a 3 year stretch in the hole, clearly was on his team.
9:04pm – Apparently, the UFC might contain scenes that some viewers could find disturbing. I know – Joe Rogan only has light stubble, not the full manly beard!
9:10pm – Bisping comes out to Song 2 by Blur. Whenever I hear that song, I just think about FIFA 1998
9:24pm – Atta Boy Bisping! Great come back for the win.
9:44pm – How much product must Dan Hardy use to keep his hair maintained throughout a fight?
9:45pm – Dan Hardy just got kicked in the nuuuuuuts
9:58pm – Is Joe Rogan slurring into a bad British accent at times?
10:16pm – Main event time in the UFC. All of this is being eclipsed by the prospect of Pacman vs Cotto. No matter how good UFC gets, boxing will always be better.
10:29pm – Randy is still a good fighter, I mean he could beat 7 shades of crap out of me, but he just seems to be lacking a little something at the moment. I think his age his finally catching up to him.
10:32pm – And as I said that, he is having the round of the night against Vera.
10:38pm – Not 100% sure on that unanimous decision for Randy. But I think he did win 2-1 round wise. Then again, I rarely guess UFC score cards.
10:40pm – Joe Rogan and Brandon Vera both slag of the judges for that decision without saying it. There is something about the scorecard decisions in a lot of these fights that stink a bit. Quite often they are very shocking. And in a monopoly MMA company that is completely self regulating, it is going to start hurting the company and industry soon. I mean, you can bet on this shit and the judges often seem to have a mind unto themselves. Little bit odd.
10:43pm – I am stopping gambling for the day now. At the start of the day my bankroll was $250. I'm down $100. That is bad times. I've forgotten what a tournament cash or cash table double up feels like.
10:47pm – Just flicked over to the replay of the Haye vs Valuev fight. I never watched it live as I was in London at the time. I also never realised just how quick Haye was.
11:00pm – With the joy of hindsight, I know that Haye won. But the commentators weren't half pessimistic on the night.
11:35pm – First bit of promo came on for the fight tonight. I cannot wait.
00:03am – Not much on the sporting front at the moment. The Haye vs Valuev undercard is whetting my appetite nicely though.
00:26am – Wohoo, live bobsleigh!
00:55pm – As if knowing what is to come in a few hours, ESPN is showing an old Ali fight
1:59am – FINALLY, now we only have to wait for the undercard and it's show time.
2:28am – Why are under card fights so bad? At the moment this is just a contest to see who will either bleed to death or get DQed for ball smacking.
2:48am – I'm sure these prelim fights are good, but I'm just a tad too excited for the main event. A bit like the way a support band is often ace at a concert, but people don't care. Also, I've now moved back to the original position I was in earlier after a brief few hour sojourn to my office. And I've run out of beer. Boo!
2:54am – How the heck can a World Champ only defend his title once a year for 4 years? Also, I found rum. Yay!
3:00am – Looks like Mr. I'm Too Important To Defend My Title is getting his ass handed to him, Hazzar! Also, all the pro's are backing Cotto. He is a beast, but I think Pacquiao will do it. Did I spell his name right?
3:04am – Boxing is the only sport in the world where a guy more cut than 90% of the population is described as a bit 'soft around the middle'.
3:16am – Cotto's boys are watching Pacman get his hands taped. Antonio Margarito, the person who had put the one blemish on Cotto's otherwise perfect professional record, was suspended for illegally wrapping his hands. Apparently, the amount of tape Margarito used equated to having two cinder blocks on his fists. Cotto are making sure Pacman's camp aren't up to any such shennanigans.
3:23am – Daniel Santos is currently being beaten up by a rabbi. True story.
3:28am – I've just realised that I haven't tended to my aquarium today. Poor fish.
3:48am – Chavez Jr isn't old enough to be out this late, never mind be a pro boxer.
3:52am – Why do people always randomly whistle at boxing events...
4:02am – This fight was meant to be a gimmie for Chavez Jr. He is currently behind...
4:03am – I've also resorted to chain smoking to stay awake. Bad times. Not as bad as my buddy, who has resorted to smoking weed to build up for a game. Because we all know that smoking weed makes you be able to stay up late.
4:12am – No, the crowd aren't getting bored of this fight per se. It's more along the lines of 'GIVE US THE MAIN EVENT NOW YOU BASTARDS!'
4:14am – Chavez wouldn't just get bullied by John Duddy. He would get raped. Also, 41 fights at age 23? Bloody hell...
4:23am – I refuse to believe Nicky Piper was ever a boxer. A geography teacher maybe, but not a boxer.
4:29am – Is it weird that I'm not sold on Pacquiao? I mean he beat an old and obviously ill De La Hoya and ripped through a Hatton who was completely undone by a rubbish training camp. Where as Cotto is a beast at this weight who has only lost once, and that may have been due to the illegal hand wrapping we discussed earlier.
4:39am – Out comes Pacquiao, and I reckon already I've spelt his name 4 different ways.
4:48am – Here we go... Cagey stuff from both, but so far Cotto has the edge.
4:50am – First round Cotto I'd say. You can feel the atmosphere bubbling.
4:54am – Round two Pacquiao. For a minute it was close, but in the end Cotto made some mistakes and the Pacman absolutely ravaged each and every one of them.
4:56am – Cotto went down. Not in a major way, but his gloves hit the canvas to steady himself, and that is all you need. Pacman seems to be shrugging off Cotto's big hits.
4:58am – Got to give that one to Pacquiao as well, along with a nice knockdown. 10-8 to Pacman, making it 29-27 to the little man from the Philippines. Although, Pacman looks cocky just standing there and letting Cotto hit him.
5:02am – A very convincing knockdown on Cotto and he is hurt. That was so nearly Cotto's round too, then the little man let loose and floored him with a huge thwack. Cotto keeps doing well, wearing him down then loosing his head, letting loose and getting caught. 10 – 8 again, so 39 – 35 but I tell you now that the scores will be irrelevant.
5:05 – I think I'm going to give this round to Cotto, although I would not by any stretch begrudge anyone giving it to Pacquiao. Or should I give it to Pacman? Lets give it to Cotto and say 48 – 45
5:10 – That round was Pacquiao all over. He so nearly rocked Cotto a few times. 58-54 on my card. Although, the wee man hasn't looked as lively as before. Maybe all that extra weight is pulling on him. Saying that, Cotto is hurting badly all over. I can see a quiet round or two. Now, watch a KO happen...
5:14am – That round was all Pacman. 68 – 63 and Cotto is either going to get KOed or have his corner stop this mess. I have never seen a more dominant fighter than Pacquiao. He will beat Mayweather Jr at this rate. Easily one of the greatest ever. Easily
5:18am – Cotto cannot win this fight now. His punches are impotent, movement slow and he is just taking a beating. Freddie Roach just said 'next round'. Pull Cotto now and save his skin. 78 – 72. That said, I want this to go the distance so I can see how my score cards are doing. I think I'm a point off but close.
5:22am – 88-81. This is now just uncomfortable to watch. If they don't pull Cotto, then Freddie Roach needs to do the right thing and tell Pacquiao to go easy on him. Same as Calzaghe did against Jones Jr.
5:26am – Another Pacman round making it 98 – 90. Either Pacquiao is taking my advice and going easy on Cotto, knowing his corner won't pull him and having no wish to hurt his fellow boxer or Pacman is hurting. I'm not sure which it is, although I'm willing to bet Pacquiao knows that even Cotto doesn't have enough for one more big punch left in him.
5:30am – The crown begin to boo as the fight winds down. You know, I'm actually giving that round to Cotto. It may have been back foot boxing but he was better I thought. 107 – 100. Final round coming up, and I don't think Pacquiao will inflict the hurt on Cotto with a final KO. On an annoying note, I shunned a £20 bet on Pacman for a points win at 5/1. I'm gutted.
5:32am – The ref steps in and doesn't let the fight have the formality of going to the cards. If he was going to do that any time that Pacquiao looked lively, he could have done it 3 rounds ago. Odd decision, but Cotto was never winning this from round 3 onwards. Apparently Pacquiao has a concert he is playing later tonight. Insanity.
5:33am – I wasn't sold on Pacquiao at welterweight coming into this fight. He had a spar with De La Hoya in the dismantlement of the Mexican legend and he beat an aged Hatton. He has now beaten a dominant fighter in an amazing fashion. He is by far the best fighter on the planet today. If he stepped into an Octagon with no training, he would beat Brock Lesnar. Not really, but right now I'm that sold on him I'd back him for it.
5:35am – That is it, I'm going the fuck to bed. Then I can do it all over again tomorrow for NFL Sunday. I love working freelance!
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
My Top 10 Favourite Websites
Right then children, after yesterdays little sojourn into the serious, let's have some fun. This will be a bit like one of those times at school when teacher announced that you would be watching a video instead of doing actual work. God, I loved those days. And it was usually in either Geography or History as well, two of the most god awful boring subjects there are. No offence intended to Historians or Geographers. Deep down I'm sure you're cool.
Today, we are going to have fun in the form of links. Links to some of my favourite websites mainly, the sort of stuff that makes up my RSS bar. I know it's a bit of a cop out, but its fun and easy. It also means that the stack of press releases building up for me to finish off turning into articles won't crush me like a little bug.
Shall we get started? I think I'll do these in a little top 10 list counting down my favourite sites.
10 – Prey Tell
I can't make out if Prey Tell is an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) or real. If it is real, it's amazing. It it is an ARG, it was one of the most captivating out there. You can feel the tension, the need and desperation. You easily want to read on and the whole website is a masterpiece. Check out The Skinny to find out the background, and read it through from the beginning. Masterful.
9 – Ctrl Alt Del (aka Cad-Comic)
Tim Buckley's successful tellings of two gamer best friends inter sliced with one off strips satirising the video games industry. I will admit, I'm a bit of a huge gamer and so love this strip. The characters are well defined and it is quite nice seeing the story telling evolve from the absurd to dramatic. There is also a nice animated series that accompanies the strip should you feel like spending a few hard earned bucks extra.
8 – The Listverse
I love The Listverse. I think I like accumulating knowledge and although you can't exactly take everything you read on the internet as gospel, The Lisverse is always pretty accurate. There you will find lists detailing everything from the wonderful, unbelievable, cute and funny to the disturbing, disgusting and downright macabre. Well worth a good old fashioned SWF browse.
7 – The BBC
Ahh, the good old Beeb. I know that this site is probably visited by most people at least 7 thousand times a day, but the fact it is regularly my most visited website I thought warranted a spot on the list. News, articles sports and the ever wonderful BBC iPlayer. What more can you ask for?
6 – Kissing Suzy Kolber
Now, one of my pet hates in writing is people who just swear for swearings sake and call it humour. It isn't big, it isn't clever and it really isn't funny. That is, unless you write for KSK. Between the merry gang of writers, spearheaded by Big Daddy Drew, their foul mouthed ranting, rambling and genius analysis of the NFL makes for one of the most entertaining websites out there. Although you do need to be an NFL fan to appreciate most of the humour, and being keyed up on the internal site memes doesn't exactly hurt either, I have learnt so many new swear words from that site it is unreal.
5 – Shutdown Corner
Lets get the two NFL sites out the way back to back, eh? Shutdown Corner is actually the NFL blog run by Yahoo! over at their American website. Usually, the inbuilt anti-establishment part of me says that as it is controlled by a major corporation, it will suck. Actually, all of the Yahoo! Sports Blogs are pretty amazing. They have them for basketball, ice hockey, tennis, golf, baseball and a few others. Well worth checking out, even though they are pretty high on the American-isms.
4 – Questionable Content
This is without a doubt my most favouritist webcomic ever. There are currently over 1,500 strips and watching the evolution from the first to the latest in terms of character development, artwork improvement, cast depth and storytelling is a joy to behold. Oh yeah, it is also funny as hell too. Much like CAD, QC was first conceived as a vehicle to poke fun at a specific niche culture. For QC, that was the indie music scene. However, in the 1,500 strips which followed it has evolved into something well beyond.
3 – Justin.tv
I probably shouldn't admit that I use Justin.tv seeing as it is both pretty much illegal and a bit hypocritical of me as I work in a royalty based industry, but still. I love it. My big problem is I spend about 12 hours a day in my office at home. I don't really have any co-workers or anything. So I find it quite nice to just stick on a JTV stream in the background and listen. I can pop up on the chat if I'm having a break and natter on. Oh, it's all jolly good.
On an unrelated note, I do other stuff while I'm working in order to keep me a bit sane. One of the things I do is play poker. I admitted this in front of a potential client once. Didn't get that contract...
2 – Modern Drunkard Magazine
I love this site. Although it varies immensely on how often it is updated – sometimes regularly every 6 weeks and sometimes 9 months apart – all of the content is golden. Modern Drunkard Magazine is a publication that fully supports the finer aspects in life of being a lush. If you picture a 1950's advertising guy wearing a snappy suite and a fedora while drinking martinis, that sums up this website. It is downright drunk fun. I guarantee after a browse you will fancy a wander down to your local pub. Or a quick flight to Vegas. Depends how the night turns out.
1 – The Daily Mash
Imagine The Onion but aimed at a UK based audience. That sums this site up. It shamelessly mocks the news and just needs to be read to be believed. My two favourite headlines this year have been 'Everyone Dead By Tea Time' (also the title of the Mash's new book) and 'Survivors Of Pork Flu To Enjoy Nice Summer'.
That is a nice summation of where I spend my internet time. Have a browse, have a click and I hope I've introduced you to something new. See you Sunday!
Today, we are going to have fun in the form of links. Links to some of my favourite websites mainly, the sort of stuff that makes up my RSS bar. I know it's a bit of a cop out, but its fun and easy. It also means that the stack of press releases building up for me to finish off turning into articles won't crush me like a little bug.
Shall we get started? I think I'll do these in a little top 10 list counting down my favourite sites.
10 – Prey Tell
I can't make out if Prey Tell is an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) or real. If it is real, it's amazing. It it is an ARG, it was one of the most captivating out there. You can feel the tension, the need and desperation. You easily want to read on and the whole website is a masterpiece. Check out The Skinny to find out the background, and read it through from the beginning. Masterful.
9 – Ctrl Alt Del (aka Cad-Comic)
Tim Buckley's successful tellings of two gamer best friends inter sliced with one off strips satirising the video games industry. I will admit, I'm a bit of a huge gamer and so love this strip. The characters are well defined and it is quite nice seeing the story telling evolve from the absurd to dramatic. There is also a nice animated series that accompanies the strip should you feel like spending a few hard earned bucks extra.
8 – The Listverse
I love The Listverse. I think I like accumulating knowledge and although you can't exactly take everything you read on the internet as gospel, The Lisverse is always pretty accurate. There you will find lists detailing everything from the wonderful, unbelievable, cute and funny to the disturbing, disgusting and downright macabre. Well worth a good old fashioned SWF browse.
7 – The BBC
Ahh, the good old Beeb. I know that this site is probably visited by most people at least 7 thousand times a day, but the fact it is regularly my most visited website I thought warranted a spot on the list. News, articles sports and the ever wonderful BBC iPlayer. What more can you ask for?
6 – Kissing Suzy Kolber
Now, one of my pet hates in writing is people who just swear for swearings sake and call it humour. It isn't big, it isn't clever and it really isn't funny. That is, unless you write for KSK. Between the merry gang of writers, spearheaded by Big Daddy Drew, their foul mouthed ranting, rambling and genius analysis of the NFL makes for one of the most entertaining websites out there. Although you do need to be an NFL fan to appreciate most of the humour, and being keyed up on the internal site memes doesn't exactly hurt either, I have learnt so many new swear words from that site it is unreal.
5 – Shutdown Corner
Lets get the two NFL sites out the way back to back, eh? Shutdown Corner is actually the NFL blog run by Yahoo! over at their American website. Usually, the inbuilt anti-establishment part of me says that as it is controlled by a major corporation, it will suck. Actually, all of the Yahoo! Sports Blogs are pretty amazing. They have them for basketball, ice hockey, tennis, golf, baseball and a few others. Well worth checking out, even though they are pretty high on the American-isms.
4 – Questionable Content
This is without a doubt my most favouritist webcomic ever. There are currently over 1,500 strips and watching the evolution from the first to the latest in terms of character development, artwork improvement, cast depth and storytelling is a joy to behold. Oh yeah, it is also funny as hell too. Much like CAD, QC was first conceived as a vehicle to poke fun at a specific niche culture. For QC, that was the indie music scene. However, in the 1,500 strips which followed it has evolved into something well beyond.
3 – Justin.tv
I probably shouldn't admit that I use Justin.tv seeing as it is both pretty much illegal and a bit hypocritical of me as I work in a royalty based industry, but still. I love it. My big problem is I spend about 12 hours a day in my office at home. I don't really have any co-workers or anything. So I find it quite nice to just stick on a JTV stream in the background and listen. I can pop up on the chat if I'm having a break and natter on. Oh, it's all jolly good.
On an unrelated note, I do other stuff while I'm working in order to keep me a bit sane. One of the things I do is play poker. I admitted this in front of a potential client once. Didn't get that contract...
2 – Modern Drunkard Magazine
I love this site. Although it varies immensely on how often it is updated – sometimes regularly every 6 weeks and sometimes 9 months apart – all of the content is golden. Modern Drunkard Magazine is a publication that fully supports the finer aspects in life of being a lush. If you picture a 1950's advertising guy wearing a snappy suite and a fedora while drinking martinis, that sums up this website. It is downright drunk fun. I guarantee after a browse you will fancy a wander down to your local pub. Or a quick flight to Vegas. Depends how the night turns out.
1 – The Daily Mash
Imagine The Onion but aimed at a UK based audience. That sums this site up. It shamelessly mocks the news and just needs to be read to be believed. My two favourite headlines this year have been 'Everyone Dead By Tea Time' (also the title of the Mash's new book) and 'Survivors Of Pork Flu To Enjoy Nice Summer'.
That is a nice summation of where I spend my internet time. Have a browse, have a click and I hope I've introduced you to something new. See you Sunday!
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
11th November
I was going to write a post today about how silly my life is working for both UK and USA based people, how I have no body clock and how I fell asleep at my desk only to wake up at 4am with a bit of a headache last night. I was going to write an article saying about how I hate blogs who don't update on time, as I didn't yesterday. When I woke up at 4am I still had a few other articles to finish off and just finished them off and went to bed.
Then I realised what today was. 11th November. If you're an American reading this, it's Veterans Day. If you're a fellow Brit, it's Armistice Day. Suddenly, I felt deeply ashamed about complaining how doing a job I love with all my soul means I keep odd waking hours . At least my day to day occupational hazards are things like carpal tunnel, stubbing my toe on the desk and staring at blank white pages long enough to send me a bit mad. I don't have to worry about RPGs, snipers, gun locks and road side bombs. I don't have to worry about mortar fire, suicide bombs and death.
I'm a big supporter of troops. I don't like the politics behind the current wars our troops are in, but I've always held the point of view that at the end of the day they are there and you have to support them. What they do day in day out is incredible, and I know in my heart of hearts I couldn't do it. I'm also a firm believer of the 'The lowest paid soldier should be given more than the highest paid footballer' theory. If people ask me about my views on it, I just say 'Pro-Troop-Anti-War'.
I've had two thoughts about today. About what it means and all that. I'll voice them now. And I promise I'll make some cock jokes tomorrow when we return to our regularly scheduled sort of update.
I read this post by one of the Kissing Suzy Kolber bloggers, Matt Ufford, earlier, and it shook me up. I didn't actually know that the guy had been to war as a tank commander for the Marines in the initial invasion of Iraq a few years ago. But his piece is just such a human response to the whole thing. As much as soldiering is about bravado and brawn and strength and courage, soldiers are human too. I know to me soldiers are super heroes, so its odd to hear them say they are scared. And I think it is becoming increasingly apparent that that is what makes them the amazing people they are. More and more, soldiers are speaking about not only the times when they won the day, but also what happens when they come off second best. They are scared, and endure. Read it, as it is an amazing piece of writing. It gives a slant on soldiering that most people don't consider.
The other thought is more a rhetorical one.
Tonight, there will be two types of people. One will be sat at home pounding Red Bull's and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The biggest game of the year was released this week, and no doubt Xbox Live will full of people playing it. Full of people shooting and killing, complaining about re-spawns and snipers. Full of pawnage and 1337 and everything. Full of celebrating the big kills.
One will be sat at home pounding a bottle of whiskey and trying to keep out the memories of their time at war. Trying not to think of lives they have taken, trying not to think of any of their friends who didn't make it and trying to keep out of a dark place. I know not every soldier who comes home is broken, but war affects people in many different ways. For every person who took today to pay respects to their fallen comrades and feel the sense of pride that only a veteran is entitled to, there will be someone who hasn't handled combat as well.
In WW1, Sigfried Sassoon wrote the following.
'Pray that you will never know the hell where youth and laughter go.'
On a day where we remember veterans, remember the fallen and give our eternal thanks, millions of the youth will be playing a war game recreating the horrors that defined a generation.
I just think that is fucked up.
Then I realised what today was. 11th November. If you're an American reading this, it's Veterans Day. If you're a fellow Brit, it's Armistice Day. Suddenly, I felt deeply ashamed about complaining how doing a job I love with all my soul means I keep odd waking hours . At least my day to day occupational hazards are things like carpal tunnel, stubbing my toe on the desk and staring at blank white pages long enough to send me a bit mad. I don't have to worry about RPGs, snipers, gun locks and road side bombs. I don't have to worry about mortar fire, suicide bombs and death.
I'm a big supporter of troops. I don't like the politics behind the current wars our troops are in, but I've always held the point of view that at the end of the day they are there and you have to support them. What they do day in day out is incredible, and I know in my heart of hearts I couldn't do it. I'm also a firm believer of the 'The lowest paid soldier should be given more than the highest paid footballer' theory. If people ask me about my views on it, I just say 'Pro-Troop-Anti-War'.
I've had two thoughts about today. About what it means and all that. I'll voice them now. And I promise I'll make some cock jokes tomorrow when we return to our regularly scheduled sort of update.
I read this post by one of the Kissing Suzy Kolber bloggers, Matt Ufford, earlier, and it shook me up. I didn't actually know that the guy had been to war as a tank commander for the Marines in the initial invasion of Iraq a few years ago. But his piece is just such a human response to the whole thing. As much as soldiering is about bravado and brawn and strength and courage, soldiers are human too. I know to me soldiers are super heroes, so its odd to hear them say they are scared. And I think it is becoming increasingly apparent that that is what makes them the amazing people they are. More and more, soldiers are speaking about not only the times when they won the day, but also what happens when they come off second best. They are scared, and endure. Read it, as it is an amazing piece of writing. It gives a slant on soldiering that most people don't consider.
The other thought is more a rhetorical one.
Tonight, there will be two types of people. One will be sat at home pounding Red Bull's and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The biggest game of the year was released this week, and no doubt Xbox Live will full of people playing it. Full of people shooting and killing, complaining about re-spawns and snipers. Full of pawnage and 1337 and everything. Full of celebrating the big kills.
One will be sat at home pounding a bottle of whiskey and trying to keep out the memories of their time at war. Trying not to think of lives they have taken, trying not to think of any of their friends who didn't make it and trying to keep out of a dark place. I know not every soldier who comes home is broken, but war affects people in many different ways. For every person who took today to pay respects to their fallen comrades and feel the sense of pride that only a veteran is entitled to, there will be someone who hasn't handled combat as well.
In WW1, Sigfried Sassoon wrote the following.
'Pray that you will never know the hell where youth and laughter go.'
On a day where we remember veterans, remember the fallen and give our eternal thanks, millions of the youth will be playing a war game recreating the horrors that defined a generation.
I just think that is fucked up.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
How about some Chelsea and Manchester United feedback?
For those of you who have been living with their head firmly buried in the sand this weekend, let me enlighten you to something quite important.
Manchester United paid a little visit to Chelsea.
Yeah. Bet you feel silly for having your head firmly hidden now, huh?
I thought I should pipe in with some feedback. I do supposedly offer some sporting opinion in the tag line round here. It's only polite. You want to know how I would sum up that match?
The officiating was just plain and simple inept.
I'm a Manchester United fan. We lost, and I hate loosing to Chelsea more than anything I can think of. But, I can be a man about it. Although I think we were possibly the better team, overall Chelsea have been better this year. So long as we can be a comfortable second and don't get dragged into the dog fight for 4th I'm happy.
But honestly, the entire officiating crew needs to be looked at after that mess. From inconsistent calls to phantom fouls, make believe timing rules to making decisions that just go completely against the rule book... it was a mess. In the first half, Terry takes down Valencia with a fist full of shirt in the penalty box. No penalty. A few times the ball crossed the line for corner kicks, and all the officials missed it. People kicked the ball away after play was brought back with no reprimand. Drogba gets kicked in the chest and gets a yellow card for it. Players were left on the sideline after being treated for injuries. There was no compulsory 30 seconds added on to extra time for the substitution. This is just stuff off the top of my head, if I actually did my job and put in some research, I'm sure I could find more.
Oh, how could I forget. The goal.
From the free kick that wasn't that set it up, to the awfully suspicious shoulder that knocked it on to Drogba standing a country mile offside waving a boot in Van Der Sar's face.... just pick some reasons as to why the goal was a summation of the refereeing performance.
I'm not bitter that United lost. I can accept that. I'm incredibly annoyed that we lost, but putting in a strong performance doesn't mean that you get what you deserve. What is the most galling of all is that once again officiating has defined a top game.
I know that all the referees are very highly trained and all that, but they need to stop being the be all and end all of the match. Instead of writing about how Valencia did a better job than Ronaldo ever did against Ashley Cole, or how Brown and Evans were as solid as Ferdinand and Vidic at their best, or how Ancelotti has guided Chelsea to a 5 point lead after just 12 games, I'm writing about refs.
The Premier League needs to do something, as more often than not the top of the table is decided by the handful of games the big clubs play against each other. Maybe give a special title to the top refereeing crews, and say flat out at the beginning of the season “These same guys will handle all the times that the four Champions League teams play each other.” Then stand behind them absolutely. Tell the managers that it is an automatic ban for questioning them, tell the refs to yellow card immediately for dissent and put in the strong officiating that is needed to control and better these matches.
Once again, it is ridiculous that the emphasis of these matches is not on the players after the final whistle is blown.
Manchester United paid a little visit to Chelsea.
Yeah. Bet you feel silly for having your head firmly hidden now, huh?
I thought I should pipe in with some feedback. I do supposedly offer some sporting opinion in the tag line round here. It's only polite. You want to know how I would sum up that match?
The officiating was just plain and simple inept.
I'm a Manchester United fan. We lost, and I hate loosing to Chelsea more than anything I can think of. But, I can be a man about it. Although I think we were possibly the better team, overall Chelsea have been better this year. So long as we can be a comfortable second and don't get dragged into the dog fight for 4th I'm happy.
But honestly, the entire officiating crew needs to be looked at after that mess. From inconsistent calls to phantom fouls, make believe timing rules to making decisions that just go completely against the rule book... it was a mess. In the first half, Terry takes down Valencia with a fist full of shirt in the penalty box. No penalty. A few times the ball crossed the line for corner kicks, and all the officials missed it. People kicked the ball away after play was brought back with no reprimand. Drogba gets kicked in the chest and gets a yellow card for it. Players were left on the sideline after being treated for injuries. There was no compulsory 30 seconds added on to extra time for the substitution. This is just stuff off the top of my head, if I actually did my job and put in some research, I'm sure I could find more.
Oh, how could I forget. The goal.
From the free kick that wasn't that set it up, to the awfully suspicious shoulder that knocked it on to Drogba standing a country mile offside waving a boot in Van Der Sar's face.... just pick some reasons as to why the goal was a summation of the refereeing performance.
I'm not bitter that United lost. I can accept that. I'm incredibly annoyed that we lost, but putting in a strong performance doesn't mean that you get what you deserve. What is the most galling of all is that once again officiating has defined a top game.
I know that all the referees are very highly trained and all that, but they need to stop being the be all and end all of the match. Instead of writing about how Valencia did a better job than Ronaldo ever did against Ashley Cole, or how Brown and Evans were as solid as Ferdinand and Vidic at their best, or how Ancelotti has guided Chelsea to a 5 point lead after just 12 games, I'm writing about refs.
The Premier League needs to do something, as more often than not the top of the table is decided by the handful of games the big clubs play against each other. Maybe give a special title to the top refereeing crews, and say flat out at the beginning of the season “These same guys will handle all the times that the four Champions League teams play each other.” Then stand behind them absolutely. Tell the managers that it is an automatic ban for questioning them, tell the refs to yellow card immediately for dissent and put in the strong officiating that is needed to control and better these matches.
Once again, it is ridiculous that the emphasis of these matches is not on the players after the final whistle is blown.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Oh poker....
Oh poker, thou art one heartless bitch.
I'm a strong believer in karma. I don't exactly go throughout the day while helping small birds fly and nursing injured butterflies back to full health, but I try not be a complete and utter bastard. I would like to think that the arsehole in the BMW who cut me up will at some point suffer some calamity in order to right the scales.
I think in a much, much smaller way karma applies to poker. You get some bad luck and some good luck. If you get a massive, massive stroke of good luck then at some point you are likely to come a cropper. I think this is what I'm experiencing.
I'm not usually one to bitch, moan and complain if I loose at poker. So long as I'm happy with the decision I made, I'm don't mind if I've been outplayed. I'm not one of these sorts who troll around the internet going “Derp Derp DONK Derp Derp” every time they loose a hand. I'm angry at times, sure, but try to at least fake some decorum.
On Tuesday I managed to sneak a win in a little “friendly” pub game I play in possibly the cheekiest manner possible. After getting heads up, I did a pure bluff all in to try to steal a small raise. Except they of course called, as they had an Ace and a King. And I only sort of had a seven and a two... and I sort of hit a seven and won. Yikes. That is sort of like an F1 car being beaten by a Smart Car.
Since then, I've been paying. I've sat down for two little online poker sessions since then and have suffered from some sort of poker karma. Honestly, it is just ridiculous. As I type this, my King Queen suited was beaten by nine seven off because they flopped a full house. This no longer worries me and I perceive it as normal.
So I am using this posting to formally regret the poker gods to cut me some slack. Please. I mean, I didn't mean to get cheeky. Honest. I would have done the dummy all in shove with any two cards. Please, I'm sorry I won. I even said that at the time. At least give me a fighting chance!
I'm a strong believer in karma. I don't exactly go throughout the day while helping small birds fly and nursing injured butterflies back to full health, but I try not be a complete and utter bastard. I would like to think that the arsehole in the BMW who cut me up will at some point suffer some calamity in order to right the scales.
I think in a much, much smaller way karma applies to poker. You get some bad luck and some good luck. If you get a massive, massive stroke of good luck then at some point you are likely to come a cropper. I think this is what I'm experiencing.
I'm not usually one to bitch, moan and complain if I loose at poker. So long as I'm happy with the decision I made, I'm don't mind if I've been outplayed. I'm not one of these sorts who troll around the internet going “Derp Derp DONK Derp Derp” every time they loose a hand. I'm angry at times, sure, but try to at least fake some decorum.
On Tuesday I managed to sneak a win in a little “friendly” pub game I play in possibly the cheekiest manner possible. After getting heads up, I did a pure bluff all in to try to steal a small raise. Except they of course called, as they had an Ace and a King. And I only sort of had a seven and a two... and I sort of hit a seven and won. Yikes. That is sort of like an F1 car being beaten by a Smart Car.
Since then, I've been paying. I've sat down for two little online poker sessions since then and have suffered from some sort of poker karma. Honestly, it is just ridiculous. As I type this, my King Queen suited was beaten by nine seven off because they flopped a full house. This no longer worries me and I perceive it as normal.
So I am using this posting to formally regret the poker gods to cut me some slack. Please. I mean, I didn't mean to get cheeky. Honest. I would have done the dummy all in shove with any two cards. Please, I'm sorry I won. I even said that at the time. At least give me a fighting chance!
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
My Big MLS Rant
I wrote this little rant about Major League Soccer for one of my London Chronicles pieces over at Elevation Radio. Except it is horrendously off topic so did a little bit of self editing. I can post it here though.... enjoy!
Now, last week I got a wrapping of the knuckles for making fun of David Beckham's beard. To quote Mr. Elevation - “He is all (MLS) has”. Well, once again, you don't have him. It is all but a done deal now that will see Sir David of Beckham return to Milan in order to ensure he gets his ticket to South Africa for the World Cup. Let's look at this two ways (as The Premiership isn't that full of scandal this week, I have some column space).
It is very, very good for England. Beckham lifts England. Not having Beckham in the England squad is awfully reminiscent of the mismanagement of England from a few years ago. He can still distribute the ball and deal with dead ball situations better than anyone else in that squad. When he was initially dropped, the argument was that he was not a part of England's future. That was true. He is still a massive part of England's present. Being in Milan will see Beckham gearing up for his last World Cup playing in one of the world's top leagues and for one of the world's top teams. Now, let's see if he continues his tradition of breaking his foot just before the tournament starts...
The down side is it shows MLS up for what it sort of is. I watch a fair bit of MLS when it's on ESPN over here. I mean absolutely no offence, but the standard isn't great. Football in the States has a lot of potential – just look at how good the USA National Team are – but MLS by their very nature are choking the game. I'm not even talking about player quality, as that can only get better as more young people choose to play soccer and the collegiate game improves. I'm talking in the nature of it's set up.
The season is out of sync with Europe as MLS team's can't play in the winter due to sharing stadia with NLF teams. The salary cap, draft and player caps that are present in MLS are unique to US soccer, and incompatible with the rest of the world. In terms of soccer, I also have real issues with the two conference system, although with the massive distances teams have to travel it is more than understandable.
I suppose it boils down to this – MLS will never, ever be able to integrate itself into the world game while it insists on it's current model. I know a lot of it is designed to give sustained growth both financially and in terms of player development, but it cannot work. You cannot expect one league to be able to join in when it does absolutely everything differently. This isn't like the designated hitter rule. This is square shape into a round hole stuff. If Chelsea wanted to sign Landon Donavan for about £7m (a fair price, probably) then LA Galaxy would see about £250,000 of that money. They couldn't go out and spend it all to replace him. This is the only league where that happens.
I really, really want soccer to take off in the States. Soccer has been 'on the brink' since the 70's, except nobody has dared to shove their chips onto the table and put the ante up. Look at the short term exposure that Beckham got. Now imagine if that was happening every season, because the MLS was viable option for top players. Top players attract top sponsors, which attracts top TV and fans through the turnstiles. Imagine if the MLS could field competitive sides against top European clubs. Imagine if when a player like Robinho gets unsettled and could move on, he could just as likely play in Houston as he could Barcelona.
MLS needs to take a look at Manchester City and Chelsea. They were pushed that next step by throwing money at it. I know I bemoan the money in football, but if it was used to propel soccer in the States then it would be a glorious thing. It would equal the karma.
Beckham must have repaid most, if not all and then some, of his price tag back in merchandising and marketing rights for LA Galaxy. If the New York Red Bulls threw $100m at Anelka, or if the Chicago Fire threw $200m Tevez, or whatever, it would get a fair bit of interest as well. It would also sustain interest. Players of that calibre also sustain financial interest, which is equal to that of fans.
Also, are you telling me that between any sports' minor league teams, colleges, midweek use of NFL stadiums and the like, MLS can't find a few 20,000 capacity venues to use during the winter? Are you telling me Red Bull or Mark Cuban don't have an extra $500m to invest?
More to the point, MLS appears to think that attracting one or two big players and money is the be all and end all. The absolute number one problem they have, even above the way the league is made up, is that no non-American player really cares about winning the MLS Cup. The reason some players are so desperate to play in The Premiership, Serie A, La Liga and the rest of them is because they are prestigious. To be able to say you won two or three of the biggest leagues in the world in your career is huge. It puts you in another class of athlete. It needs to be something an athlete wants to do. MLS won't take off overnight. Nor will it be able to slowly burble into life, like it is trying to do now. If the MLS puts in serious money and effort into recruiting players like Beckham, and spread the players around the league, the league itself becomes more prestigious. The league becomes a more viable option for players both financially and competitively. The increase in sponsor, TV and fan interest means bigger growth. Only then can the MLS really shine.
Now, last week I got a wrapping of the knuckles for making fun of David Beckham's beard. To quote Mr. Elevation - “He is all (MLS) has”. Well, once again, you don't have him. It is all but a done deal now that will see Sir David of Beckham return to Milan in order to ensure he gets his ticket to South Africa for the World Cup. Let's look at this two ways (as The Premiership isn't that full of scandal this week, I have some column space).
It is very, very good for England. Beckham lifts England. Not having Beckham in the England squad is awfully reminiscent of the mismanagement of England from a few years ago. He can still distribute the ball and deal with dead ball situations better than anyone else in that squad. When he was initially dropped, the argument was that he was not a part of England's future. That was true. He is still a massive part of England's present. Being in Milan will see Beckham gearing up for his last World Cup playing in one of the world's top leagues and for one of the world's top teams. Now, let's see if he continues his tradition of breaking his foot just before the tournament starts...
The down side is it shows MLS up for what it sort of is. I watch a fair bit of MLS when it's on ESPN over here. I mean absolutely no offence, but the standard isn't great. Football in the States has a lot of potential – just look at how good the USA National Team are – but MLS by their very nature are choking the game. I'm not even talking about player quality, as that can only get better as more young people choose to play soccer and the collegiate game improves. I'm talking in the nature of it's set up.
The season is out of sync with Europe as MLS team's can't play in the winter due to sharing stadia with NLF teams. The salary cap, draft and player caps that are present in MLS are unique to US soccer, and incompatible with the rest of the world. In terms of soccer, I also have real issues with the two conference system, although with the massive distances teams have to travel it is more than understandable.
I suppose it boils down to this – MLS will never, ever be able to integrate itself into the world game while it insists on it's current model. I know a lot of it is designed to give sustained growth both financially and in terms of player development, but it cannot work. You cannot expect one league to be able to join in when it does absolutely everything differently. This isn't like the designated hitter rule. This is square shape into a round hole stuff. If Chelsea wanted to sign Landon Donavan for about £7m (a fair price, probably) then LA Galaxy would see about £250,000 of that money. They couldn't go out and spend it all to replace him. This is the only league where that happens.
I really, really want soccer to take off in the States. Soccer has been 'on the brink' since the 70's, except nobody has dared to shove their chips onto the table and put the ante up. Look at the short term exposure that Beckham got. Now imagine if that was happening every season, because the MLS was viable option for top players. Top players attract top sponsors, which attracts top TV and fans through the turnstiles. Imagine if the MLS could field competitive sides against top European clubs. Imagine if when a player like Robinho gets unsettled and could move on, he could just as likely play in Houston as he could Barcelona.
MLS needs to take a look at Manchester City and Chelsea. They were pushed that next step by throwing money at it. I know I bemoan the money in football, but if it was used to propel soccer in the States then it would be a glorious thing. It would equal the karma.
Beckham must have repaid most, if not all and then some, of his price tag back in merchandising and marketing rights for LA Galaxy. If the New York Red Bulls threw $100m at Anelka, or if the Chicago Fire threw $200m Tevez, or whatever, it would get a fair bit of interest as well. It would also sustain interest. Players of that calibre also sustain financial interest, which is equal to that of fans.
Also, are you telling me that between any sports' minor league teams, colleges, midweek use of NFL stadiums and the like, MLS can't find a few 20,000 capacity venues to use during the winter? Are you telling me Red Bull or Mark Cuban don't have an extra $500m to invest?
More to the point, MLS appears to think that attracting one or two big players and money is the be all and end all. The absolute number one problem they have, even above the way the league is made up, is that no non-American player really cares about winning the MLS Cup. The reason some players are so desperate to play in The Premiership, Serie A, La Liga and the rest of them is because they are prestigious. To be able to say you won two or three of the biggest leagues in the world in your career is huge. It puts you in another class of athlete. It needs to be something an athlete wants to do. MLS won't take off overnight. Nor will it be able to slowly burble into life, like it is trying to do now. If the MLS puts in serious money and effort into recruiting players like Beckham, and spread the players around the league, the league itself becomes more prestigious. The league becomes a more viable option for players both financially and competitively. The increase in sponsor, TV and fan interest means bigger growth. Only then can the MLS really shine.
Monday, 2 November 2009
How you know if you had a good Halloween...
4am - Somehow make it to bed. Pass Out.
11am – Wake up in agony. Use bathroom, drink whatever liquid is on bedside table. Go back to sleep.
Midday – Wake up again. Eat rest of chow mein that was somehow obtained the night before. Go back to sleep.
1pm – Finally get up. Stumble downstairs. First flashbacks of inappropriate behaviour. Spend next hour breathing quietly in the corner. Take first aspirin.
2pm – Consider eating something. Think better of it.
2:30pm – Eat something. Regret it quickly. Spend more time breathing quietly in corner.
3pm – Track down phone. Check for drunken calls, texts and emails that may have been sent.
3:30pm – Firm reminders of inappropriate behaviour return. Breathe quietly in the corner while groaning.
4pm – Regain will to live.
4:30pm – Attempt first cigarette of day. Big mistake. Take two drags, dry heave and stub out. Will to live retreats again.
5pm – Check credit card balance. Pray that nothing was bought online.
5:30pm – Check wallet for cash. Find no notes but a small fortune in change.
6pm – Get phone call to check if you're still alive. When the answer is yes, get surprised answer.
8pm – Finally get enough liquid back in body to urinate. Get cocky and try another cigarette.
9pm – Finally the blood alcohol levels drop down to sane levels. Drive to fast food place and buy as much food as change allows.
10pm – Slink in front of sofa and suffer the affects of fast food. Check poker account to make sure no gambling occurred.
11pm – Go back to bed. Check Facebook on laptop. Loose will to live again.
11:30pm – Beer poo.
12:30am – Try to sleep. Body too broken to even achieve that.
1am – Start playing video games. Big mistake. Start feeling much better.
4am – Realise it is 4am. Feel almost back to full health.
6am – Go to sleep.
10am – Alarm clock goes off as you have to start working. Will to live completely goes.
7pm – Return to scene of crime. Be told of full details. Be surprised you were even allowed back in. Start planning fireworks night party to do it all over again.
11am – Wake up in agony. Use bathroom, drink whatever liquid is on bedside table. Go back to sleep.
Midday – Wake up again. Eat rest of chow mein that was somehow obtained the night before. Go back to sleep.
1pm – Finally get up. Stumble downstairs. First flashbacks of inappropriate behaviour. Spend next hour breathing quietly in the corner. Take first aspirin.
2pm – Consider eating something. Think better of it.
2:30pm – Eat something. Regret it quickly. Spend more time breathing quietly in corner.
3pm – Track down phone. Check for drunken calls, texts and emails that may have been sent.
3:30pm – Firm reminders of inappropriate behaviour return. Breathe quietly in the corner while groaning.
4pm – Regain will to live.
4:30pm – Attempt first cigarette of day. Big mistake. Take two drags, dry heave and stub out. Will to live retreats again.
5pm – Check credit card balance. Pray that nothing was bought online.
5:30pm – Check wallet for cash. Find no notes but a small fortune in change.
6pm – Get phone call to check if you're still alive. When the answer is yes, get surprised answer.
8pm – Finally get enough liquid back in body to urinate. Get cocky and try another cigarette.
9pm – Finally the blood alcohol levels drop down to sane levels. Drive to fast food place and buy as much food as change allows.
10pm – Slink in front of sofa and suffer the affects of fast food. Check poker account to make sure no gambling occurred.
11pm – Go back to bed. Check Facebook on laptop. Loose will to live again.
11:30pm – Beer poo.
12:30am – Try to sleep. Body too broken to even achieve that.
1am – Start playing video games. Big mistake. Start feeling much better.
4am – Realise it is 4am. Feel almost back to full health.
6am – Go to sleep.
10am – Alarm clock goes off as you have to start working. Will to live completely goes.
7pm – Return to scene of crime. Be told of full details. Be surprised you were even allowed back in. Start planning fireworks night party to do it all over again.
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