It's my game!

Backpacking in Cork!

2005-11-18T10:46:00.000Z

Hey Kids,

Well it's been a while I know! But alas you need wait no longer, the great sportastic is back to save the day.

So who watched the game on Saturday - good old Owen.

Actually had a cracking weekend as went to Cork to celebrate my birthday with 17 girls plus family and friends that met up with over there. On the Friday we hit the bar where we were staying (the Bru Bar and Hostel - a kiwi run backpackers definitely worth a stay) whilst waiting for everyone else, then moved onto a nice Italian restaurant in town. Following which we were shuffled out the back door (despite having paid the bill!) and into the back alley which led to the back entrance of a little bar where we were escorted inside. Can I just say that I looooove Bulmers...the best cider around...unless your mates start trying to ruin it by adding vodka! Ugh! Knew it didn't taste right!

Anyway then had a couple of drinks in the bar including a Baby Guinness with the barman that let us in the back door. Then moved onto the bar in town that turns into a club. Had a live band on so hit the dancefloor and drank some more! Eventually made it back to the Bru after apparently having a nice heated discussion with some lad about something I really don't remember...for about an hour or so I'm told!

Then came Saturday - the short version as getting bored myself now - breakfast, pub by 11am, rugby on big screen to watch Ireland get hammered by the All Blacks - not a pretty sight and another seriously questionable tackle again all too similar to the one on O'Driscoll - then followed on with the England Vs Argentina game - cracking game. Bellies started rumbling and all restaurants booked up - or maybe just can't take 17 girls?!? - so we end up at a greasy spoon across the road. Filled a spot, back to get changed and then down to the bar again.

Sat night - I dress up as you do - but don't know why as ended up going out with an orange wig (theme for tonite was orange and monkeys - my fave colour and animal) big badge with a monkey and 3 on, monkey baby bib, forfeit dial pinned to my behind and shorts with fake plastic bumcheeks on so it looks like I have nothing covering my rear! Needless to say this caused a good few strange stares! And one of the tasks of the night was to see how many signatures I could get on my nice plastic cheeks....how I love my friends! Still don't quite understand the constant reasonings of revenge coming from all of them! They could at least have gotten me one of those cool little scooters to get from bar to bar on - I may now be an old fart but think they're great http://www.emart.co.uk/sport/prod_detail.php?EPid=1166817&ECid=1657. Check it out and def would recommend if you're organising a mate's birthday weekend.

Ended the night bowling at a 24 hour alley at 5am - and winning at air hockey! And haven't even got to Sunday but hey enough writing, finish that another time. Byeeee

Bloggers ahoy!

2005-09-22T09:46:00.000+01:00

So tell me why is there a supposed American 18 year old male telling everyone that they think their blogs are cool and that we might like to check out the link to a website that turns out to be a dating website! Hmmm - football and dating, a natural relationship - although in this day and age more and more girlies are beginning to appreciate the finer points of following a team and going to matches - or the pub - with their bloke:

You get to take in the effort these pro players put into their fine sporting physique - always nice to see!
You get to go to the pub too!
Forget cooking their dinner and feeding it to the dog, they can run round to the chippy and buy your dinner
They have to hold you up and help you get home rather than you lifting them up off the garden and helping them inside
You get to catch up with the other girls following suit and getting into footy

So what's the feeling on whether or not footy is getting boring and can money really buy the Premiership? Probably to both would be my answer - certainly going by the Liverpool V Man U match on Sunday - how long's it been since there was a nil-nil draw between them two? Liverpool can do so much better! We'll soon see eh?

Time out!

2005-07-26T09:27:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I've been very slack of late - I work hard what can I say? But how could I have missed all the juicy sports topics that have been happening? Obviously Liverpool's recent win - admittedly not too big a tale and probably not the greatest of play - how did they let Olympiakos come back like that? But old Baros did well - typical that now he's on the possible transfer list he starts setting up and scoring goals! But anyway, that was a friendly so time to move on - but Crouch did good at least - hopefully he'll help us get further up the table this season!

Cricket... does this really need discussing? In all honesty, I've only recently begun trying to make sense of cricket and the various rules that accompany it! But being in a slightly more advantaged position than I was, I can say that England did not impress! How on Earth did they not make the most of the Aussies opening innings - the various cricket fans in the office were overjoyed when they went out to 190...and then we went out to 155! How? Why? Did the pressure get to them? And 180 for our second innings? Not much more to say really except well done Pietersen!

And finally, a colleague has joyfully informed me that Spurs finally got some silverware - the Peace Cup which they beat Lyon to get in Seoul, South Korea! So well done - what I found funny was the lack of direct links to this on the BBC sport website - it's that notable! I admit I certainly hadn't heard about it... you...?

A ref's perspective

2005-07-13T09:28:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend I finally got back into reading and finished a cracking book that gives good insight into the game of football... from a ref's perspective! Pierluigi Collina, the best referee in the game. I still can't believe that he's no longer allowed to ref international matches because of an age issue - yet there's no limit on age for pro players, it's all based on whether they're deemed fit and capable - surely this should be the same for refs? Collina should definitely still be reffing. But I digress, what I started out talking about was 'The Rules of the Game'. I bought it initially for my brother, then once I'd read it I bought it for my other brother - two different types o. Makes you look at things differently, and MAYBE you might stop for a second before attacking the ref when you disagree with his take on something...maybe not but still worth a read. What surprised me was that he listed his all-time favourite players, all for various reasons, and Pele didn't get a mention yet at the end when he summised, he said for a variety of reasons, if asked who he felt to be the best player in football, he would inevitably say Beckham. Not what I expected, but a huge accolade for Davey boy!

Let the battle commence - according to the BBC sport site Rafa fears that TNS will present a physical threat - of course they will! Or at least they should as this is the one thing they can hold against a premiership team like Liverpool. I know I'd go physical if given the chance, scare the boys a bit with full on brute force just enough to settle into the game. All I can hope is that our boys hold their own and come out flying - it's always a possibility in this sort of set-up that things can go wrong, but they really wouldn't live that down irrespectively! Anyway, roll on tonight...

Gerard's staying home!

2005-07-06T18:15:00.000+01:00

So after my HUUUUUGE essay of yesterday, thought I'd go for a quickie today - Gerard's staying, and it's not like they can get him to sign a contract and be done - PLEEEEEASE Rafa, do the right thing for once and keep Stevie happy! London beats France - English food can't be all that bad then eh Chirac?

Sport Sport Sport...and more Sport!

2005-07-05T18:14:00.000+01:00

So was the weekend as sportastic for you as it was for me? Definitely went into sports overdrive and experienced a variety beyond belief - hadn't even heard of some of these sports? What is fistball? Will I ever know I wonder... more importantly, do I want to?

So anyway, what am I talking about I hear you cry? ISPO - the 63rd International Trade Fair For Sports Equipment and Fashion in Munich! There were 8 halls focusing on inline skating and skateboarding, surfing, athletics/running, racquet sports etc etc. The surfing hall with Quiksilver, Billabong, Below Zero, Roxy, Mistral and the fairly new UK entrant Cult to name but a few was VERY entertaining - with sand, deck chairs and bars giving away free beer! Was I imagining it? No, I definitely was not - nor were the hordes of scantily clad (sickeningly attractive with perfectly sculpted bods) boys and girls running around - or occasionally roller/skater/trainering around (wearing a pair of trainers with two small wheels only on the back of the trainers allowing you to walk oddly or slide coolly along) a figment of my occasionally vivid imagination! All in all a new experience in trade shows for me - doesn't quite compare to Ambiente and the various suited and booted attendees and exhibitors who frequent this other German trade show - I guess housewares doesn't sell in quite the same way as sports!

Other than this, forgot to mention Saturday - do I discuss the Rugby - maybe not - what about the cricket - again no - which leaves me with the tennis! So, did the best woman win? Well for my own personal point of view - as previously mentioned the main attraction (to me at least) of blogging is I get to give my opinion over and over again, what more can a girl ask for... - anyway, I digress, I would say the winner was she whom I had supported through the final, but by the end, although pleased that she regained her title - always nice to see someone who shows how happy they are and the zebedee type bouncing around the court that little Venus uncontrollably displayed definitely did this, however, I did feel more than a little gutted for Lindsay Davenport. She fought her heart out but despite it all, Venus would not give in - and that was what saw her through in the end to win what was definitely one of the best women's finals at Wimbledon that I've seen in a long time - in my opinion! What a fantastic game to watch - 2 hours 45 minutes no less - this is what tennis should be about. More of this and more kids would get into tennis - you have to admit it can be a little boring at times! Winning consecutive finals through the straight ace quantities never did make great viewing even if it was a fantastic skill to have! However, unfortunately some numpty sceduled it to be on at the same time as the Live8 concert started so I had to be TV remote queen and hold onto it for dear life to allow the (really annoying, want to throttle the person doing it..) incessant back and forth channel hopping required to enjoy the best of both, but obviously the nature of this final made it ever more difficult to do. Then finally when I was able to dedicate 100% of my time to Live8 I loved it but the late running meant my 4 hours of sleep didn't set me up too well for my early morning flight to Munich for two days at ISPO - thanks be for the Surf hall is all I can say...! Must end this essay with a non-sport comment - how good an entertainer is Robbie - the first person to be able to carry off a short trip into Freddie Mercury land and not offend all his fans because like all the rest he simply couldn't cut it - he may not have the power of voice but he definitely has the entertainment value! G'nite all, sleep calls

Fame at last - blog-style!

2005-06-29T14:01:00.000+01:00

So we have fame in the ranks! How is it that tech-talk gains more interest than sport-talk? Am I just not interesting enough? I promise I will try harder in the future but really can't do the IT talk that creative cog tries not to do but somehow still manages!!! But with 5 new bloggers registering not only an interest, but a comment.... all I can say is well done creative cog (AndyPandy).
Today, frustration is rife as the big sports brands still insist on retail premises in order to agree to supply you? Why is it that in the modern day era filled with increased computer literacy and growing online sales the conglomerates just don't seem to want to play the game? Is the sports industry still in the dark age and if so how do we pull it into the present day? The smaller brands and smaller companies are all at it - but not the big boys...shouldn't it be the other way around? We will get there in the end, of this I am certain - there's always a way around! Problems are there to be solved - and hopefully you come across some better opportunities along the way.
Anyway, for today, we congratulate AndyPandy on breaking ranks and making it out into the big old world - but remember, bring your compass as we don't want you to get lost, running shoes, a good backpack and lots of water may also be worth considering - who knows how long you'll be gone! Billyboy and Little Rich - feeling the pressure? Who will be next...

Monday Morning Blues

2005-06-27T17:44:00.000+01:00

Well the weekend's been and gone - and sadly so have our Wimbledon hopes...again! You have to feel sorry for young Murray though who did well but just tired towards the end - but next year, with all that extra experience and time on court, imagine the prospect!
Sadly our Rugby run isn't going great either with O'Driscoll being taken out by the Kiwis. Foul play or not? Hmmm - debatable is probably the only right answer to that.
But the good news is that Big Mo is soon to go on sale via a new retailer - not heard of it? You will soon - and no we're not talking about Eastenders and the Slaters, we're actually talking about a chopper! Retro funk on a bike - remember the days when...reminisce to your heart's content on Big Mo - I'll update you with all the latest news as and when!
Meanwhile, looking forward to seeing our football girls come back in September with the World Cup starting up and hopefully they'll manage to take women's footy to new levels and get more girls starting to play from an earlier age - am so impressed with Nottingham's set-up for girls footy - I coached U-10s girls last season in Notts and it was sooooo good to see them improve. K-O for now.

Let the fun begin...

2005-06-24T09:43:00.000+01:00

The long awaited, eagerly anticipated sportastic site at last takes its first breath - and begins to run....

So tell me, what do you want to hear - or more importantly what do I want to tell you? The joy of blogs - no-one to interrupt you mid-flow, I can tell the world how fantastic Liverpool are without the constant interruptions from the lesser informed part of the football world - obviously until the replies come in anyway. The bonus though is that I always get the last word here - so unlike me...
Anyway, more sport-talk awaits us. Firstly, we had a bad day at cricket but nothing to worry about. Oz'z captain Ponting said "The pressure we created with the ball and in the field was as good as it's been for a long time", which is fair comment, in other words they finally had a good day whereas we didn't, but it's not time to despair just yet... there's so much more to come.
Tennis - now there's a surprise, Tiger Tim is out. I really don't think I've ever seen much of a tiger in him, but I know there are those who may disagree with me - how many of them are women though who feel sorry for him and really just want to mother him? However, our new little protege is growing stronger. Come on Murray, show us what you're made of, still in and so much more to give!
Ok enough for now, work calls. But remember.....It's my game, and that's just the way I like it!