The Cut And Thrust Of Debate – Good For The Soul

Unless you are shrieking climate change harridan who thinks it appropriate to lobby BBC journalists to ban any questioning of the climate change mantra.

If you read one link on this blog at all, read this. Then tell me how this approach is different in any way to totalitarian regimes. I’m right, everyone else is a paid-for crook. Climate change’s biggest figurehead? Al Gore. And he’s not made any money out of it at all, has he?

The breathtaking insanity screams at you across the paragraphs. “I am willing to purchase a copy of James Hoggan’s book for you and each of your Science/Technology/Environment colleagues if you promise to read it and get your heads around what has been going on in “denial” land.” she says. Could you be any more patronising. Why is Hoggan so right and sceptical scientists (which should be all scientists) are not? Who is paying Hoggan, can we ask?

I am not in the pay of anyone on this topic. I see what I see. I don’t believe everything I’m told. I’m a notorious sceptic. When people tell me something is proven, and I doubt it, just screaming at me ain’t going to make me believe. But they don’t want me to believe, they just don’t want me (or anyone else) to speak. Watts up with That (linked right) is a brilliant site, and yet he’s supposed to shut his hole? The BBC is not allowed to raise any of his concerns, because some Canadian said that we are in the pay of big oil (who will do very well out of anything climate change related, believe me).

Staggering stuff. Please do read it. You may agree with climate change, that is your right. But if you can’t see the breathtaking hypocrisy of this, then I fear. As Old Holborn puts, succinctly, in the comments “Are you mental?”

More on Favre / Peter King

Look, this probably interests only me in the limited readership of this blog, but as I write this most of the time for myself, and if anyone is interested enough to read my thoughts then thanks a lot, I am continuing on this line.  If only to remind myself in future why I feel like I do about Favre.

In the US the obsession in certain quarters of the media with Brett Favre  is not something that has passed by many bloggers. Peter King’s love/love relationship with Brett Favre has been noted for years, and some blogs (see link at the end of this piece make good capital out of it). This sort of relationship isn’t on the level at all – when a journalist is basically Favre’s chief Fan Boy and he isn’t afraid to show it, it puts all his other stuff into question – is he really saying what he thinks, or is he letting his rampant idolisation obscure what we all saw. In my view it taints his writing. For example, in this Q&A in his mailbag on CNNSI today:

AIKMAN MADE A GOOD POINT TO ME ABOUT THIS SUNDAY NIGHT. From T. Smith of St. Paul, Minn.: “I read your stats about Brett Favre playing well in these so-called pressure games, but I think it’s a little flimsy. He’s had a lot of bad games too — the six-interception playoff game against the Rams, the end of the game against the Giants in the championship game a couple of years ago. I’m happy he’s here, but I want to see how well he plays in the playoffs before we judge him.”

Good point, and I’m sure Favre would say the same thing. My point was the three games in which Favre has the 11-to-0 TD-to-interception ratio were games with a different kind of pressure, with his father’s death laying on him and the two games against the Packers this year.

When I spoke with Troy Aikman on Sunday night, I thought he made a great case for why he thought Favre would play well Sunday. He said this on the air too, about how he expected Favre to play well, because he’d won 76 percent of his games on this field, and because once the hoopla was over and it was a football game, Favre has played in a lot of pressure games in his life and it’d pretty quickly turn into a football game and not a circus. That’s exactly what Favre said to me after the game. Smart call by Aikman.

Absolutely brilliant. He gets a question from a punter casting doubts on the flawed logic fanboy King uses and the fanboy himself barely hesitates in utilisings it to throw in the fact he chats with all the big stars with a blatant name drop. Imagine Martin Samuel, if you must, saying, “well, yes, when I was speaking to Franz Beckenbauer he made a great point as to why he thought Lionel Messi might play brilliantly for Barcelona in the Champions League final”. If Samuel did that (and fuck me blind, Henry Winter does that sort of thing and it makes me want to scratch his eyeballs out) we’d be screaming, and his editor would rightly ask what the hell he is up to. It is puffery, ego boosting. I’m inwith the in-crowd. It is crap. Who cares what Dallas Troy thinks in answer to a question that points out that the semi-deity that is Favre needs to perform in the play-offs before this Viking fan is convinced? The point wasn’t directed at Troy, it was directed at you. Don’t get some shrill to do your work for you because it backs you up. Why didn’t you ask Thomas Jones instead?

The reason Minnesota won is that they have a better team at this point in time – it really isn’t hard. Favre is an upgrade on Jackson or Rosenfels in all likelihood, but so are pretty much every starting QB in the league – he’s a piece of the puzzle, not the reason for it all, despite what King would have you believe. The Vikings defense is great, and they have if not the best, then one of the best running backs in the league to focus defensive minds. To cherry pick two games against the Packers, and one a few years ago after his father died to show how well he plays in adversity is selective bullshit. Apart from the mid-to-late 90s, Favre has not performed well in the play-offs. The questioner is right, but alas, he doesn’t get to talk to Troy Aikman, so he’s a nobody. There’s no adversity more than trying to battle your team to the Superbowl. In the most recent massive game he played in, Brett Favre threw the key interception.

• THE CASE OF THE THROBBING GROIN. From Fred in Houston, Texas: “Favre’s a drama queen. It can’t just be about the game — it has to be about him and how he overcame this big injury to play.”

The Twitterverse — at least those people who follow me and write me Monday — were all over Favre for his admission to me that he hurt his groin in practice Wednesday, strained it Sunday, and told offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson he might not be able to make it through the game. I guess I’d ask you this question: Would you rather have an athlete who didn’t tell you what was wrong with him, or would you rather have an athlete who leveled with you about how he felt? Now, Favre took a lot of heat for hiding his arm injury last year with the Jets. Now he tells me he had a sore groin that affected Packer play-calling in the game and you don’t think he should talk about that? Can’t have it both ways, I’d say.

How dare this questioner even suggest that Brett Favre is a drama queen. Where on earth would he get that idea from? And did he really hide his arm injury from everyone last year? I am not sure he did, I thought it was common knowledge it was toast at the end of the season, and it is why Thomas Jones, for one, was calling for him to sit as he was hurting the team. The only one having it both ways is Peter King. He wants to show he is in the loop by being Brett Favre’s press boy, and then gets all uppity when people call him on it. Oh look, Peter King has a twitter saying Favre’s injured in the run-up to his big game. Oooooh, look, Brett’s playing. Ooooooh, isn’t Brett a real man for taking all that abuse and still winning a game when injured.

Someone may well be having it both ways, but that would be a crass, crude metaphor. Better not call him on it…

HERO WORSHIP, HE ACCUSES ME OF. From Luke Fleeman of Tulare, Calif.: “Peter, you were one of the voices of reason in the Favre retirement saga, pointing out when he fibbed. But now it seems like you’ve joined the choir, falling down to help worship Favre with the rest of the media. I have to say I am disappointed, because I think most of us are just sick of hearing about him.”

My job is to report on what happens in the NFL. On Sunday, the story of the day in the NFL was the all-time passing leader’s return to the place where he parted so bitterly in 2008. Favre played well for the second time this year against the Packers under pressurized circumstances. I wrote about it. I’m not kneeling at his feet. I’m reporting the story of the day in the NFL, interviewing the player, like him or not, who is a polarizing figure.

Hey, look. Peter King gets what he wants – people reading his stuff, which I have to say I find mostly dull, but do read as I love the NFL. But his lover boy relationship with Favre had about a two week cooling off period which King has now forgotten and Brett has obviously forgiven. I am sick and tired with Favre, and actively want him to fail because he’s a prima donna. He should look at great QBs like John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino and, yes, Troy Aikman as retired players and the likes of Peyton Manning (who I dislike purely because he took most of Dan’s records), Drew Brees and Tom Brady (shenanigans with models and actresses apart) who make the game the thing and not themselves. Favre is the show. He wants to be the show. He has people making him the show. That’s why he is loathed.

As always, someone always does it better, so let me pass anyone with the remotest interest in this topic onto this post.

We’re Walking Up That Hill….

LATEST UPDATE – Injuries, Ikea and Inclines….

A minor setback on the road to SE9, as the fatter of the two walkers has come down with a minor calf injury. The bloody lump can’t take a couple of days uphill walking before squealing about a pain or other in his leg. Still, it is an improvement on where the previous pain was coming from – very tender I can assure you.

This week Dan and Dmitri have sort of upped their game a little. On the route home from work we will be confronted by one of the various routes up from Greenwich to Blackheath. Greenwich Park will be out of the question as it will be closing that bit earlier due to the darkness, so this means it will be either Crooms Hill or Hyde Vale. As both are roughly the same distance to Lewisham Station from the office we tried them both out this week.

Monday saw Crooms Hill. It was a last minute decision after we had received unexpected largesse from the woman in Greggs who donated us a couple of bottles of water. According to Dan, Michael Winner once called him a c*** on this hill, so it has pleasant memories. The pavement is narrow here, and when you get past the church, the pathway veers off to the right and gets exceedingly steep for us fat boys. But the pain is short, the hill flattens out and a pleasant walk across the heath ensues. Once across the A2, the route is grass on Wat Tyler Road and then turns into steep pavement downhill to Lewisham Station. 55 minutes from door to train was good going.

Yesterday we went a different route, passing the Union pub with its excellent Meantime beer (which, of course, we passed by) and then taking the first left up Hyde Vale. This is a gentler slope but seemed a lot longer, and by the end this particular undertall gent was definitely feeling it. But nothing ventured nothing gained, especially as the niggle in the calf / Achilles had turned into a full blown strain and walking started to hurt. After my jibes at Geoff Capes Syndrome, karma was inflicting its own blow on me. I hobbled into Lewisham station and the leg got worse. However, the euphoria had clearly got to Dan who challenged Dmitri to a friendly agreement that we would “walk a marathon”. I think my answer rhymed with duck toff.

So, today, we have one night off, as I rest the leg and Dan goes to Ikea with the Mrs. Once the niggle has gone it is back on the path to the long walk home. No flat routes now – it is inclines when we have the inclination. Uphill when we feel uplifted. Ascending when we feel assertive…. You get the picture.

THE LONG WALK HOME CONTINUES….DOUBTERS!

Purgatory Postponed….

The Phillies delayed the inevitable last night, by actually winning a game agianst the Yankees. Still, they let the lead drop from 8-2 to 8-6, and Jeter’s double play out in the 9th sealed the vistory when the Phillies threatened to blow it, but still, with Pettitte resuming his deal with the devil and pitching on full rest against the 2009 (and not 1999) Pedro tomorrow night, I think the inevitable triumph of evil over less evil is just postponed.

Again, though, you have to look at a $200m team that are scared shitless to use a 4th starter in the play-offs. They put Burnett in on short rest, and he got slammed. His low pitch count may mean he is available for more meaningful duty in any deciding game, but still, even with Pettitte drinking the elixir of life, you think that Burnett would have been a better bet, especially at home. This overwhelming desire to pitch CC in three games has meant that the Yankees compromised their chances last night against Cliff Lee (who wasn’t on his game as much as the opening salvo). Hey, who am I to second guess these chumps? The Phillies trusted their 4th starter and Blanton gave them a decent start, and it was Lidge’s effort that lost the game, not Blanton’s. Burnett choked early and it was done (almost).

But let us not get our hopes up. It is over in Game 6. It was lost in Game 4.

Don’t Call It A Comeback…

On Sunday, for those of you not in the USA, Brett Favre played at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings in their victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Would it be so that this was the simple truth. A game that looked to be an easy win for the superior visitors became a bit close for comfort before the better team won.

Of course, most of the United States had one thing in mind in making this the most watched Sunday regular season game since the mid-1990s. This was akin, somewhat, to Sol Campbell returning to Spurs in Arsenal colours; if Sol Campbell had been, say, David Beckham, who had made a promise not to move to Arsenal, went off and played for Manchester City for a year, and then transferred to Arsenal. Something like that.

Except here you need to add the personality. Brett Favre was a Green Bay icon. He won the Superbowl with them in the 1990s. He broke quarterback records with them throughout his career. He was the Packers for over a decade. But like all organisations in American sport, you need to plan for the future, and the way Green Bay wanted to go was to get a quarterback in through a high draft pick, let him learn from Favre for a couple of years, then take over. Especially as Favre had given off plenty of vibes, and quotes to the likes of Peter King on CNNSi, that he wanted to retire. In 2005 the Packers drafted with their first round pick Aaron Rodgers. He knew he’d have to bide his time in taking over from a legend….

Rodgers shadowed Favre in the 2005/6 season, a disappointing one for the Packers in which they finished 4-12. The following year Rodgers broke his foot mid-season while filling in for Favre, and missed the rest of the campaign. Rodgers probably would have expected Favre to carry on in 2007 as he was approaching a number of Dan Marino’s records. But the nonsense of Favre’s on/off retirement plans had their germination in January 2006, and it is this sorry saga that will taint Favre in many fan’s eyes…

In January 2006, Favre’s coach, Mike Sherman was fired. Favre indicated in an interview that he was undecided on a return but if he had to say right then “I’d say I’m not coming back”.

OK, everyone can get a bit emotional when your friend has got the boot, and Favre was entitled to change his tune, and did so in April. The Packers were prepared to wait but the new coach, Mike McCarthy wanted a decision reasonably early in the season as to whether Favre would be back for 2007. When the Packers season ended in December, Favre was non-committal  “If today’s my last game,” he said, “I want to remember it. It’s tough. It’s tough. I’ll miss these guys, I’ll miss this game.” 

As we were all to find out, this would be classic Favre obfuscation, but again this would be relatively short-lived delays as in February 2007 he committed to a return. Aaron Rodgers was just two years through a five year deal, and could now be thinking of moving on without wasting too much of his career. Green Bay knew this and although allowed Favre to stay, the lines seemed to be strained. For Green Bay it was a great move, as they recorded a 13-3 record and were a Giants field goal away from meeting the Patriots in the Superbowl. On March 4, 2008, Brett Favre announced his retirement from the NFL.

Six weeks later, the day before the NFL draft, Favre went on the David Letterman show and said he was having second thoughts, and pointedly refused to rule out a comeback. By now the Packers were in a real quandary. Do you say thanks, but no thanks, to a Green Bay legend, or do you make overtures to him to make him stay, knowing that Aaron Rodgers would be well within his rights to demand a trade. If that was the case, then the Packers may have considered drafting another QB for a couple of years down the line. It is hard enough replacing a living legend in your line-up – Miami have never replaced Dan Marino with anything resembling a league-rated QB (although Pennington was superb last season) so Green Bay were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Knowing that the Packers had decided to go with Rodgers, Favre asked for an unconditional release from Green Bay. Now the Packers had his contract, had his registration and also knew full well that one of the teams interested in him were bitter divisional rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay were not going to allow Favre to be released then have the potential to embarrass them in the purple of the Vikings straight away. So the Packers declined. Having not been granted the release in July, Favre “unretired” in August (after much of pre-season had passed) and was traded to the Jets (who the Packers would not meet in interleague play until 2010, by which time they hoped he would have hung up his spikes). In the trade, there was a specific clause that the Jets could not trade Favre to an NFC North team without the penalty of some pretty high draft choices.

Favre started well with the Jets, and had them at 8-3 at week 12, but an embarrassing collapse in the team, and Favre’s form culminated in a home loss at Giants Stadium to the Dolphins in Week 17, with Favre abject in a game that could have seen the Jets reach the postseason. Common knowledge was that Favre was finished. There were stories of favourable treatment, elusiveness, exclusivity, which is common in the voracious New York media, but it was clear the Jets thought it was a mistake. Chad Pennington’s form for the Dolphins, after he’d been released to make way for Favre, rubbed salt in the wounds.

On February 11, 2009, Favre announced he was retiring (you keeping count) saying he was unwilling to have the necessary surgery on his bicep tendon to allow him to play again. On February 13 he told ESPN that there was no way he would ever play another NFL game. On April 28 he was granted his unconditional release from the Jets and said that “he had no intention of returning to football.” That last statement is classic Favre – it was not a No. No-one believed him. No-one thought that there was no way he would play again. We all waited. Rumours started to circle about him playing again, almost as if Favre wanted to be wanted, teasing media and fans alike while in retirement. Like Shearer did about playing for England (only he stuck to it). In June the rumours had grown so that Brad Childress, the Vikings coach, made a statement that he was not pressing for Favre to make a decision (going into the season with Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels was not appealing to Vikings fans).

Five days after Childress made this statement, the first signs of a tedious turnaround became obvious. Favre was thinking about it and was interested in playing again AND importantly, he’d had the shoulder surgery. On 17 July he made a promise to the Vikings to commit or not by 30 July. On 28 July Favre announced that he would not come back, saying it was the hardest decision he’d ever had to make (bet that pleased Packer fans). This “retirement” lasted three weeks. On 18 August he announced he would play for the Vikings… The Jets did not have to forfeit anything to the Packers as they had released him into retirement, and the Packers now faced the prospect of playing the Vikings with their icon lining up against them.

They met in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago, and the Vikings won comfortably. The real meeting would be at Lambeau Field, and this took place last weekend.

After this long contextual piece (thanks to links here and here - since writing this piece, I’ve come across a more detailed one here) it now remains for me to say that I absolutely feel for the Green Bay Packers in this, and the re-deification of this obfuscating self-publicist is the most nauseating sports story of the year. If there were any justice in this world, Favre would get a proper career-ending injury, although it is uncharitable to wish for that. I’d probably settle for getting his arse handed to him in the NFC Championship game by the New Orleans Saints. Throughout this tiresome timeline his chief cheerleaderhas been Peter King on CNNSi. Even he seemed to signal he’d had enough this summer, but his volte face, as witnessed by his columns up to and after this weekends, have been, to quote Private Eye, arslikhan of the highest order.

This Sunday Fox employed a camera that was trained on Favre throughout the game, and afterwards. The stations covering the NFL decided to forego the highlights of other games, and carry live the alway tedious, why the fuck do they bother, press conference with Brett Favre. Deadspin’s take on this hit the nail firmly on the head from my perspective. You know what I think of post-match interviews. Peter King was never going to let go, and his regular column Monday Morning Quarterback was a tribute to fanboyship rather than journalism.

Take this… Favre auditioning for Geoff Capes Syndrome, King lapping it up like the faithful spaniel…

He’s relieved in many ways, as it turns out. Favre told me he pulled or strained his groin in practice on Wednesday and took it easy in practice for the rest of the week. There was never any question he’d play, he said. But about an hour before the game, during pregame warmups at Lambeau with the groin wrapped tightly, he aggravated the muscle on the field. “I told T-Jack [backup Tarvaris Jackson] and [offensive coordinator] Darrell Bevell I may not be able to do it,” he said. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to drop back very well. After I aggravated it, there was no way I was going to be able to move around in the pocket very much. We never called one bootleg the whole game. But we made it through OK.”

And now, I wondered, how was the groin four hours and a lot of lost adrenalin later?

“It’s throbbing right now,” he said.

I’ll bet that wasn’t the only thing throbbing…

King then goes into a eulogy for Favre on Sunday including these gems..

“He got emotional after the game. I was surprised to see him choke up a couple of times to Pam Oliver on the field, but that happened in part because he’d just left an embrace with longtime Packer director of security Jerry Parins, one of his favorite people. “I knew it’d probably be the last time I’d ever step foot on Lambeau Field, and it got a little emotional,” he said.

OK, now: the last time? You sure?

Nope. “I’m reluctant to say that,” Favre said. “You know me. At this stage, I’m game to game. That’s it.’”

Because we are all fucked off with him, that if he tells us his name is Brett now, we ain’t going to believe him.

“He hopes, someday, he’ll be able to go back to Green Bay and get a better reception. One of the things Favre doesn’t often show is how much he wants to be liked in Green Bay. But he does. “I hope the people who booed at least watched the way I played today — with passion, like I always do — and say, ‘That’s why we loved him. He lays it out there on every play.’”

This shows his arrogance in so many ways. Supporters are a strange bunch, we worship players to the point of deities and beyond, yet we know it is always unrequited love. They don’t really care about you. They wouldn’t play for nothing, none of them would. If there was a perceived better place to play, they’d play there. You know, there’s something I will always hold that hopes that Sir Edward of the Norfolk Coastal Town holds something dear in his heart for us loyal WindyBricks, but he doesn’t. I just can’t admit it. Those who have, now despise him with a passion. Favre doesn’t understand that – he thinks you can betray a team by worming your way out of a contract to play for your most hated rivals, and then try to put the blame on your club, and you don’t expect your reputation to be tarnished in their eyes? That’s arrogance. They’ll always respect your game, they might not be in a hurry to respect the person. People who aren’t fans will never accept that.

Peter King then proves what an arse he is with this in the Offensive Player of the Week

Really, could the day have been any more perfect? Four touchdown passes, tying him with Dan Marino for most four-TD games in an NFL career. Watching the man the Packers kept instead of him, Aaron Rodgers, come up short in the fourth quarter when Favre himself came up big. “This one will hurt for a couple of days, physically and mentally,” said Rodgers. Not for Favre. For the second straight game against his former mates, he didn’t try to do too much. Just win. And that was enough. Other players in Week 8 had better statistical days, but no one played as well with the heat turned up as high as did Favre.

This bit – Watching the man the Packers kept instead of him, Aaron Rodgers, come up short in the fourth quarter when Favre himself came up big – is disingenuous. Rodgers outplayed Favre last season (QB ratings 93.8 – 81.0) with teams of, I would say, comparable talent. Aaron Rodgers does not have the twin threat of Adrian Peterson in his Packer line-up. Brett Favre does not have to face that excellent run defense of Minnesota. Comparing the two is like apples and oranges. To try to imply that the Packers made a mistake is cheap shot journalism based on Favre’s superior team beating Rodgers’ inferior one.

It is odious. I hope the Saints take them apart when the time comes.

Geoff Capes’ Syndrome…Alive and Well….

Aahh, Dmitri, I hear none of you ask. What are you on about now? What the hell has the ex-policeman shot putter got to do with anything? And when you  hear that I am linking this incredible hulk to the frail waif-like Paula Radcliffe, you may be stretching your brains (if you care) that bit further.

Geoff Capes was a stalwart of those early runs of the blatant schedule filling “Britain’s / World’s Strongest Man” competitions. Individuals who had obviously never taken a steroid or two in their life pitted themselves against each other by pulling trucks, carrying concrete balls, running with various weighty things, arm wrestling or what not. Capesy used to be in with a shout many a time in these shin-digs. However, among my childhood friends (former Channel 5 presenter Lee Wellings, I mean you) Geoff Capes syndrome manifested itself thus…

Capesy would be close to the leaders, usually in the world competition it was the late Jon-Pall Sigmarsson. On a couple of occasions Capesy would prevail, but when he didn’t, it wasn’t because of the strength of the competition. No, Capesy always got an injury, usually to the bicep. He didn’t want to use it as an excuse, but it manifested itself when he failed, and he usually wore copious amounts of strapping to “point out” where he was hurting.

Capesy was a legend all right. But to be fair, he did win a couple of World’s Strongest Man competitions, he was a decent shot-putter when the Eastern Europeans were swallowing steroids like smarties, and he has been a world champion in another discipline… breeding budgies.

Anyway, Geoff Capes syndrome is now achieved when a sporting star collapses in injury after they’ve lost. Andy Murray in his early career was a candidate for this particular honour, but yesterday, after Radcliffe lost the New York Marathon, she joined the esteemed club. Having run 26 miles and 385 yards (around 20 miles longer than my walk), she crossed the line, and then limped as if a sniper had put a bullet in her leg. Jesus, girl, if it hurt that much, why stop running? Add to that her Olympic performances, and brave failures, the Radcliffe legend of futility is gaining great ground. An induction into the Geoff Capes’ Syndrome pantheon of fame is her greatest triumph.

Moonbats

Dmitri’s younger brother sent me an e-mail last week. This is not a particularly common event, but I put it down to him missing the wife and kids. He’s a sentimental sort.

Anyway, the message went as follows:

Waiting on your views on Lord Stern’s lets all become Veggies to save the planet.

Why would he need to wait? You don’t have to be Derek Acorah (ha ha) to know that this sort of utter fuckwittery is just what those of us who aren’t in hock to cult of climate change need. If you spew out enough ridiculous bollocks to last a lifetime, all you are going to do is laugh at it. If people laugh at it, the thing lacks credibility. Then the mock science can be put to rest and the powers that be can just do what they really want us to do – pay tax and allow them to control us. Debunking climate change really will only be a Pyrrhic victory. It isn’t as if when the planet doesn’t provide the apocalypse and we all do live much the same as we do now that the twats who sold it to us are going to say “ooops sorry” and then proceed to drop their “green taxes”.

Nope, brother. I don’t really think there is any mileage in commenting on such utter nonsense as Lord Stern’s assertion that if we were all vegetarian, it would be better for the planet. What good does it do? Just as it doesn’t really play well to comment on the ridiculous nonsense that keeping a pet is as unenvironmentally sound as running an SUV. I knew that border collie was a problem.

What’s irresponsible behaviour anyhow? Is it me going to see the wife’s family for which I’ll be royally fucked in taxes for my one flight – let alone Transatlantic, it is my only flight – this year; or is it President Obama, wife, kith and kin going to Copenhagen to bid for the Olympics using all manner of aviational means to get there, and all paid for by the US taxpayer (and as I have a Tax Identification Number, I am now in that bracket! Well, I need to pay a cent or two first, but hey, I can comment). Or am I the danger, or all those thousands of tax enthusiasts joining together in Copenhagen next month to tell me to cut out things from my life, while they don’t give a shit because they still live the life of the lord?

You can’t parody it any more. Al Gore can still stick a hurricane on the front of his latest work of fiction, and because this has been the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in many a year, it is stuck in the Pacific this year, and they’ve had a few, he can keep to his yarn about destructive storms blah blah blah. He certainly hasn’t got poor on the back of his powerpoint presentation, even though his hockey stick graph as been shown up to be pretty crap, frankly.

So no, bro. No more on this for now. Well, not until my blood pressure rises due to the next item of moonbattery.

 

The Tonic and Not Thierry

My two sporting men of the week, purely because they did the business for my two teams in action, were..

Not Thierry…

Not Thierry’s injury-time free-lick saw off Charlie’s Community Singing Bunker in Unison (I’m not writing that again) in a thrilling game on Saturday. After the “You looking At My Bird” lot took a lead in the first half from a poetic free-kick that deflected in, the Bricks had their backs to the wall against a team who had not lost since their new genius manager (just ask him) took over. That the Bricks did come back was might testament to their spirit. Having missed a few decent chances (as did the Army lot) a low drive through a crowd of players by Grandad Allan levelled the scores. The two lumps the oppo had up front created mayhem, and in injury time they had another poetic free-kick cannon off the same bar the dog chain’s former Brick loanee walloped the last week. However, we broke, won a dodgy free-kick, and Not Thierry hit a low drive which squirmed under the keeper’s body. Gins all round…

Which takes me nicely on to Ted Ginn… aka the Tonic.

 

 

Ted Ginn Jr had not had a good week. Lambasted by the notoriously impatient Dolphins support for being a first round draft bust, especially in the wake of a demoralising loss to the Saints last week, Ginn lost his place in the starting line-up as a wide receiver. Ginn heard it from Dolphins legends, who called him a coward.

His response was a 100 yard kick-off return touchdown. If that wasn’t enough, a few minutes later he returned one 101 yards. It proved the difference in the game. A wise man, well ZS actually, introduced me to the phrase “it is always darkest before the dawn”. I hope this is the case for Ted Ginn. The Dolphins certainly hope so.

Football Manager 2010… All The Features

I used to like Championship Manager – on one of its many iterations I managed to get a WindyBricks team all the way to the Champions League final where I won with goals from a fictional Bulgarian called Todorov, and Charley Hearn. I then rechristened the game Final Fantasy.

But the new version of the football manager format – and they had an Oasis style split at the creators a few years ago, so I’m not sure if this is the good or bad one – has all the features. Indeed, in an amazing revelation, they have enlisted the human twitch, honest ‘Arry to act as a consultant to one lucky winner. Yes, you can have ‘Arry advise you how to manage better.

Obviously this game includes bent transfers, more bungs than B&Q and an agent not called Willy McKay selling you a load of old foreign nonsense. It also includes a feature where your reserve full-back sprains an ankle and you say to the press that “you are down to the bare bones”, and another astonishing feature where you openly approach another club to be their manager, and then dismiss the claims when leaked as “nonsense”.

In another feature, you take time out as manager to write a bollocks column in a daily newspaper, advocating such greatly thought through proposals of re-drawing an entire Cup draw if WindyBricks and the Occidental Cured Pork get drawn against each other, and perfecting the Mockney persona while putting your ill-gotten gains into a nice drum near Poole.

If I won the prize, I’d ask him the best method of tapping up players, and how to keep all the financial stuff secret. Reckon he’d tell me? I have absolutely no idea why I should ask ‘Arry these things, but you never know. He might know someone who does know the answers.

And I’d hire Kevin (nice suit) Bond as my assistant in a heartbeat.

On The Edge Of Purgatory

As soon as tonight the worst could happen. The New York Yankees, who somehow have branded themselves as some sort of underdog upstarts, battling against adversity and impediments, with a loose playing staff you could just love, are now one game away from the World Series championship.

Let me get some facts straight. OK, not strictly facts, but certainly admissions.

The Yankees have the best batting line-up in baseball. On any given night they can take anything other than stellar pitching apart. The line-up is very good. The best in baseball by a fair way.

The Yankees have one of the elite starters in the league, a very decent number two man, and a more than decent number three pitcher. That they have over 100 wins in the regular season was down to point 1 above. That, and the best closer in the history of the game.

The Yankees pay more money, can buy more players of quality than anyone else. It is a fact. Imagine Manchester United beating Aston Villa in a best of seven series. Then imagine Manchester United branding themselves as the underdogs. It is that laughable.

To me, ever since the Red Sox went out, it has been inevitable in my mind that the Yankees would win it all. They got a lucky Game 2 win against the Twins, which saw them through the series comfortably, rather than squeaky bum time. They then got another fortunate Game 2 win against the Angels, who seemed content to field like bumbling amateurs happy to have got the Red Sox monkey off their back. I’m not saying the Red Sox would have won, but I’ll bet it would have gone 7. I had hoped the Phillies would do it, but this isn’t the 2008 version, and they are not playing the Rays. That they got (and wasted) such a great start by Pedro, and managed to keep the Blanton / Sabathia game close emphasises that Cole Hamels has gone backwards, and Brad Lidge is a liability.

So the richest team in all of sports will today buck its underdog status and win the main prize. If not tonight, then Wednesday when Pedro may be asked to repeat his luck again. The first win since 2009, and the sight of Joe Girardi as a World Series winning manager will only go to prove that money can pretty much buy you anything if you have the most of it.

Still, it will please the wife.

Bart Scott Is A Moron…

Who is Bart Scott, I hear you ask?

Yesterday Sky showed the second instalment of the New York Jets v Miami Dolphins. Last season, after beating the Dolphins in a close game in Miami on the opening day, vanquishing a team that had gone 1-15 the season before, the New York media annointed the Jets as potential Superbowl contenders. On the last day of the regular season, Miami went into New York, won comfortably and ended their season. The Jets, who have not been to the Superbowl in my lifetime, had another year to wait.

They appointed Rex Ryan as their coach. Ryan was the defensive brains behind the Baltimore Ravens last season and in the first round of the play-offs, those Ravens handed Miami a heavy defeat, stopping the Dolphins trick plays from the Wildcat. Of course, this mouthpiece of charm came out and proclaimed he knew how to stop the Wildcat, and when the Jets went into Miami a couple of weeks ago, the Dolphins won a brilliant game with the final touchdown coming with a couple of seconds remaining via…. The Wildcat! Nice one mouth.

Now I know I can be biased in favour of my teams, but I can also be honest… Last night the Dolphins won a game that statistically, they should have lost. The Jets can point to those stats all they like – what they proved is what we know about Miami – they are dreadful front runners, playing the most woeful prevent defense you could hope to see. They took the Saints apart in the first half last week, and promptly fell apart in the second. The Saints are the best team in the NFL right now.

So while the Jets had 380+ offensive yards compared to Miami just getting over 100, the vast majority of those stat-padding yards were by Sanchez throwing to his receivers after the Dolphins turned off the pressure, for whatever reason. Sanchez looked good, but Miami’s weakened secondary, never their strong point, were always going to be put under pressure with the Jets receivers. Miami know their weaknesses, but are looking to address them and get better. If you believe the Jets, they have a great running game (league’s number 1), two very decent receivers (Edwards and Cotchery), the new Joe Montana taking snaps (Sanchez) and an amazing defense. How come they are 4-4 and lost twice to this Dolphins team and to the Bills (at home)? How come?

Bart Scott, though, thinks the Dolphins are really good. I’m not saying the grapes are sour in Bart Scott’s world, but the brains of the outfit Jets’ linebacker had this comment about the team which has beaten them twice…

“They’re a great team,” Jets linebacker Bart Scott said sarcastically. “They’ll probably contend for the Super Bowl.”

But you lost to them, moron. TWICE. Home and Away. So where are you going with this mouthy outfit then? I’m realistic – Miami are too inconsistent, they do miss the poise of Chad Pennington (who the Jets blew out of town in favour of Brett Favre – sorry, I just cried laughing) who is done for the season. I don’t think any realistic Dolphin fan believes this is our year. But you Jets just seem to think every year is your year.

Armando Salguero nails it in his column in the Miami Herald. Don’t talk trash when you lose. You just look like an idiot. You may have dominated the defensive battle, but you dropped the ball for a TD, and failed to tackle Ted Ginn on two kick-return TDs, the second of which was brilliant on the one hand, but a laughing embarrassment for the Jets Special Team. I then saw this piece by Armando (great name that) which nails it even better than the other link… I particularly like the following little piece..

“They [the Jets] are a beaten, battered bunch that has lost four of five games but still, inexplicably, don’t know when to shut up.

After losing to Miami for the second time in three weeks, their blowhard coach actually talked about how his team outplayed the Dolphins.”

I have no doubt I will find more gems as I trawl the web for this sort of stuff, but this was sweet. Just a pity that when the Jets converted that 4th and 10 near the end I couldn’t take it any more and went out to walk the dog!

The Walk Of Strife

Upping the ante now…

To report, fat boy Dmitri has now ascended the Greenwich Foot Tunnel on two occasions via the stairs. He nearly expired the first time, and on the second occasion, he just wheezed all the way along Greenwich High Road.

Last night the length of the walk was lengthened to take us up to Deptford Bridge station. This is around 2 miles in length and finished with the ascent of the steps at the DLR Station. It took around 45 minutes and was negotiated successfully. Tonight it is our first walk to Lewisham. If you see a tall bloke followed by a bloody chunky one behind, that’ll be us. Our route tonight will take us via Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich High Road, turning left onto Greenwich South Street at Halcyon Books, crossing the A2 somehow and then the walk down the Lewisham Road. It is relatively flat…..

I have not discussed how we ramp up the training from here with the drill master, but we could always look to make the walk to Lewisham harder by going up Crooms Hill, or Royal Hill, and then down Wat Tyler Road and Lewisham Hill, but let us get tonight out of the way first.

By way of training, I am also walking to Mottingham most mornings and stretching the route out making it longer and longer….. We will get there.

Tonight will be a lot tougher, though, as I am a bit sore after yesterday, and once I get home, I’ve got to go food shopping. Happy days indeed.

UPDATE – 55 minutes it took, and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel was the main impediment as always as the chest wasn’t too pleased with the ascent! But that was easier than I thought….

What wasn’t welcome was the encounter with pondlife at Crossharbour. Little herberts who can’t shave yet are all well and good shouting “fat boy” at me, because, surprise surprise, I’ve heard it before. Hell, I even call myself it. So it is just tough that I don’t react to it. But I don’t really appreciate rocks being thrown at me! But I will not be denied….

Anyway, the feet hurt this morning and I was whingeing and moaning (what? me? Whinge and moan?) about getting the bus, but still walked on barking dogs to Mottingham. No march tonight as I have a night out, so all focus is on next week’s walk to Lewisham which will be via Croom’s Hill…..

Last but not least…thanks to Dan’s mate Shiv for joining us.. So we are now three…

The “S” Word

Question – In a previous life your humble blogger railed against the use of which “s” word?

If you are struggling, then the first line of this e-mail I received today gives you a clue.

We Need A Strategy. At this point someone has affixed a vice on my head, is squeezing it as hard as it can, in order to extract the remnants of my brain through any facial orifice that puts up the least resistance. 

For my take on the use of this word, I would refer you to an old friend…

There are more details behind today’s nonsense that of course I cannot put online, but Jesus, there really are some people who wouldn’t have a clue about strategy…..

 

Some Early Game Pictures – NFL International Series

And so…to the game….

Point After Is Good

Another Kick-Off - So Soon

Brady Passes To Welker

Brady Looks Left

The Ball Is In There Somewhere...

Touchdown!

Point After Is Good

2009 International Series – Pictures 1 – Pre-Game

A difficult night, with funny light and the distances, but here are some of my efforts…

Pre-game warm-ups

Tom Brady Warming Up

Wembley In The Evening

A Big Flag....

Calvin Harris Performs!

Dirigibles...

Enter The Patriots

Spot The Players...

Out Come The Bucs

Pyrotechnics

Enter Lambs To The Slaughter

I'm a very happily married man

Being Patronised By Dan Shaughnessy

Unlike Dan, who seems to know naff all squared about the Mother Country, I know a fair bit about him and how he is perceived in Red Sox Nation. Carl Everett has done two momentous things in his chequered Boston Red Sox career. He broke up Mike Mussina’s prefect game at Fenway when he needed just the last out – and he christened Dan Shaughnessy CHB – it stands for Curly Haired Boyfriend.

At the moment I’ll let this article stand for itself. When I have more time I will comment more on it. It is the sort of crap I expect from a lazy journalist. We understand the NFL, we have watched it for over 20 years here, and we do “get it”. Our crowds are very different to your crowds. In some respects your crowds are better, in some respects our crowds are better. If you had been at the WindyBricks on Saturday, you’d have seen something all right, CHB.

He is a weapons grade bell-end all right.

I’m with PatsFanUK who commented thus…

“Thanks Dan Shaugnessy – I don’t think you could have written a more patronising article if you tried.

The vast majority of the fans attending the game have been following football for many years, so trust me when I say that we knew precisely what was going on in front of us. There wasn’t much cheering as the game was effectively over by the end of the 1st quarter – it was not an exciting game to watch.

Oh, and as for the Red Sox flag – we have a Sox London Supporters Club and we were all sitting together. We haven’t made a Patriots version yet!”

Wish Them Luck

I know I will be…. and especially for the man who really got me into baseball.

So for Pedro…. win it Phillies….

I would, of course, have been saying this if the Angels hadn’t asphyxiated against the mortal enemy, as I have no love for those whingeing, classless ass-hats (I speako Americano), but, of course, I have to watch what I say as I am in union with a Yankee wife. I knew it would come to this…..

The NFL in London

I was part of the 84,000 plus people at Wembley last night to watch the Patriots square off against the Buccaneers. Witht he Patriots coming off a 59-0 thrashing of the Titans, and the Bucs 0-6, this looked like a horrendous mismatch, and in many circumstances it was. It is hard to blame the NFL for this as when the match-up was probably finalised, the Patriots were a strong team with their talisman quarterback due to come back, and the Bucs were a decent team, with a decent coach and a not too distant superbowl win in their locker.

Photos are going to follow (inevitably) but some observations;

• I have been to all three games now and last night’s had the best atmosphere. I felt the first year was an “event” and those who like being at “events” may have supplanted those that would have loved to be there. The second year had two teams to which the UK has little affiliation as they were not high profile in the zenith for the NFL in the UK (the 1980s). However, they provided a cracking game. Last night we had the Rock Star New England Patriots, the most supported team in the UK according to most, and also probably the one most loathed. The sound of the Patriots being booed was excellent…. as a Dolphins fan I approve of this message.
• Because it was a blow-out at least we got home earlier. When Brady left the game, so did we, and although WembleyPark was crowded, we weren’t held up. Indeed, if we hadn’t missed the Victoria train by four minutes, I’d have been home earlier this year than the time we got into Wembley Park last year.
• The Wembley sound system was appalling. I could not hear what the announcer was saying.
• £4 for a pint of watered-down Carlsberg is piss-taking in more ways than one. £10 for a programme too….
• They really should stick at one game at Wembley if they know what they are doing. It would be sad if they tried another and it wasn’t well attended. So far the NFL have dipped their toe in the water and like the temperature, but they are confusing the enormity of one event a year with two or more games all attracting the same interest. You want to guarantee a sell-out next season, you’ll have to send the big boys over. If Dallas, Chicago, Washington, Oakland, Pittsburgh or San Francisco aren’t on the list, you will need to sell hard. (I leave Miami, Giants and Jets out of this as they have been over before and I doubt will be back soon).
• Despite everything, it was a great night out, as always, and I’ll certainly be looking to get tickets for next year’s game.

As an aside, I saw this thread on the NFLUK Forum. A fan is upset because people left early. Oh diddums. When are people going to get over themselves. Just because you wanted to stay until the bitter end, to see the last rites of a game which had been determined, had no tension and was all over, including replacing Tom Brady, then why should we. The teams were going through the motions. As they were (and are perfectly entitled to do so) those of us who would rather beat the queues of those who would like to stay, on the way up to Wembley Park, left early and got home earlier rather than shuffle up Wembley Way for an hour in a human crush. I wouldn’t have a go at those that stay, as that is their choice, but don’t have a pop at the likes of me who would rather miss out on practice sessions and beat the crowds. It doesn’t mean I’m less of a fan than you.

And then, when I thought this forum had had its fill of knobheads, I read this…

“Wembley – National Stadium – National Disappointment”

“I know it has been debated elsewhere, but with all the talk of the prospect of two NFL games in 2010 surely the time has come to think about using a different stadium?

I paid £140 plus booking fees for a seat in club Wembley and while the view was reasonable it did not justify the price. But more importantly Wembley failed for me because of its shoddy attitude towards its paying customers.

When I arrived at my seat some thoughtless individual had doused it in beer. I approached the steward and asked for it to be cleaned and he had to go an speak to someone else as he could do nothing. The individual he spoke to was also unable to do anything as they were not permitted to leave their station. The upshot being I had to wait in the hope of a cleaner passing the section. After 15 minutes one cleaner appeared, but was reluctant to do anything so they went off to find another cleaner. By the time a cleaner willing to do the job they were paid for arrived 20 minutes had passed. The cleaner then proceeded to mop the floor where the beer had been spilt but ignored my comments about the need to clean the seat. They then disappeared and I had to return to the steward and tell him that the problem was not resolved and asked to speak to a supervisor. After wandering around the stadium a supervisor was found and finally the seat was cleaned. However, as a result of Wembley’s shoddy treatment I missed the players warming-up.

I have visited many stadiums in the UK and I can confirm that they are all miles better than Wembley. I now know that the Wembley experience is about making money and not giving two hoots for the paying customer.”

Now I’ve been to all but Twickenham in Wembley’s rivals as the best stadium in England. I’ve heard the cries that the Emirates is better, but they are just being contrary, and more importantly for the NFL, it holds 25000 less people. Old Trafford may hold 75000, but Ferguson freaks that it is used for Rugby League, so what the NFL would do to it would be good only if you could catch the look on the Snide’s face. And I was there in 2004 and while it is a great stadium, I am sorry, it doesn’t lace Wembley’s boots. Wembley does have that “wow” factor in my eyes. It is enormous, it has great sight lines, and the “cheap” seats are certainly all I would want. Some have a jaundiced view of American venues. All five NFL stadia I’ve seen from the outside – Miami, Tampa, Baltimore, Giants/Jets and Philadelphia – would have this bloke pissing his knickers if there were a drop of rain – there is no cover. None.

I could not have put it better than the final poster on this thread…

When I arrived at my seat some thoughtless individual had doused it in beer.

Heard of paper napkins?

It’s football not the opera!

Except it is NFL, or American Football in this country. We have the proper game which entails using your feet as the predominant way of moving the ball.

Driven To Distraction

I am a worker in the father-feed ‘em all that is the UK public service. As such I am paid a salary akin to my job security (relative) and try to do a decent job. I don’t see that I should be the focus of public rage because the banks were slipshod and a bit like a gambler who had a big win and started to lump its money on worse outsiders. I know we attract the ire of a population suffering at the moment, but we are just like you. We just took the lower risk route. You didn’t listen to our bleats in the good times, did you? (My department cut by over a half in the “good times).

But I tell you what does get my ire. Fucking consultants, that’s who. Where I work I have two people who have been brought in from outside behind me. One is quiet and very softly spoken. I hardly know he is there. The other is as noisy as hell, a real sloanie, trying to sell houses when she is charging the public purse a fortune, talking about her property portfolio, and generally getting on my nerves as she talks about her life loudly. Add to that, and I can’t really say the nature of her work, but it isn’t rocket science, they are making the task sound like the Labours of Hercules. I see ker-farking-ching as they continue to conceptualise, talk about what is stopping them from moving on, doing memoranda and business cases, scoping and Quality-reviewing talks, but as yet, no sign of any, you know, product.

I’ll bet it over-runs. I’ll bet it comes in over-budget. And I’ll bet it is fucking awful.

It isn’t all the public sector’s fault. You know the private contractors see them as a soft touch, get themselves in, place themselves in the department’s bloodstream like a Herpes virus, and continue to infect us on certain occasions. They also charge a lot of money to cure the illness, and like bloody coldsores, none of them fucking work.

And if that fucking mobile goes off again….

Unless You Personally Took This Picture..

Why would you have this as a signature if you are a Marching Altogether Dog Chain supporter. It must remind you every time you post that you are still in THIS division. That a team “who played Real Madrid and got to the semi-finals of the Champions League” are facing the mighty Exeter and Wycombe in league football. Why have a picture from a game that ended in misery?

Why not have this one?

Or this one, taken at Wembley!

They are all over their board saying it was our “Cup Final”. I love this big club mentality – they seriously believe that we view them as our Cup Final. Memo. WindyBricks played in THE Cup Final in 2004. Dog Chains last made it in 1973. So you lost your Cup Final yesterday, just as you did last May.

Away you go!