So the Australian Open is well under way, and for once there was decent representation in the singles draws for GB. 2 in the men (Murray, Ward) and 4 in the women (Watson, Robson, Keothavong and Baltacha).
By the end of the first day, all bar Murray were gone without so much as winning a set, or even getting as far as 5-5 in a set. There were still decent points in it for Robson and Ward after they came through the qualifying, plus apparently Keothavong was ill. Robson and Watson had horrible draws, but for the rest a wasted opportunity, and even those two (who won 3 games between them) could have done better.
It was a strong positive to have that many singles players in the draw, but when the majority have gone by end of day 1, what's the point? Few British players will fancy the French and then it's Wimbledon, who knows. Going well at slams is vital for image as despite them being just some tournaments out of a calender, most of the British public think tennis players only play the 4 in a year!
So then came Murray, who had an awkward draw against Ryan Harrison, who is only 19 and has the potential to be very good. A potential Tsonga match if ever there was one. Murray even began by making it a 11th British set dropped in a row, before coming through in 4. He has a strong chance this year, but I can't see him winning it.
So Brits first round: Played 6, Won 1, Lost 5, Sets won 3 Sets lost 11. Not the worst it's ever been but not pleasant reading.
At least there's more chance in the doubles. In the mens Fleming/Hutchins are seeded 15 and (J) Murray/Hanley (Who's an Aussie) are seeded 16. Plus Delgado/Marry are in there too. In the womens Keothavong is playing (if fit) with the woman who beat her in the singles and Robson is playing with an Aussie. Maybe they can win a match, maybe not.
As for the winner? Hard to look past Djokovic, plus I expect Tomic to do well... all year.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Merthyr Town / Non league football
I took the bank holiday weekend to revisit the world of non-league football.
I support Arsenal as I'd imagine the vast majority of people reading this will know are not non-league, far from it (and no I don't want to talk about Sunday). But as much as I want them (and Swansea) to do well, my team has always been and will always be Merthyr Town (formerly Tydfil) FC.
The team has just returned to play in Penydarren Park, after a year in exile (which I didn't make a single game in) 20 or so miles away in Taffs Well. So I trotted down to the park yesterday to watch them play league pace setters, the undefeated Brislington Town (where??). It was then I realised I quite missed watching football like this, TV is comfortable, gives you replays, you can stop, rewind and all that shit, you have commentators telling you whjat to think any any given moment, stats popping up on screen, and generally speaking it's of a higher standard.
But being right up next to the pitch, taking it all in yourself, the experience is so much better.
The game itself was quite decent, Merthyr looked tidy passed the ball quite well, sometimes overly so and they could have done with taking a shot more. While at the back, but punts forward were a bit haphazard. Brislington had one or two tidy players, their left back looked good, while on the reverse their no4 looked like we was as likely to fall over at any given moment than successfully run in a straight line. Both keepers showed some... interesting positioning, but proved to be good shot stoppers when needed.
There was a few moments of marking (mainly the English side to be fair) that would I'm sure would give both sides coaches nightmares for a while. Even the ref had mostly a good game (although the away penalty was a bit of a mystery).
Happily Merthyr won 2-1 and moved 3rd in the table. Next week they have 2 matches in 2 days in 2 different cups (FA Prelim Round, Welsh Cup 2Q) and if I'm able I'll take the chance to pop down for the Welsh Cup game on Sunday.
Next week is an international break, no Prem games, no Championship games, which means come the weekend many football fans are at a loose end (Wales playing Friday). So if that applies to you, why not go see a team a bit further down the pyramid than you're used too? Go see Newport, Merthyr, whatever lower league teams are around, whoever's closer, you might like it! It's not always a comfortable as a sofa and sky sports, it's likely to be less conformable than a seat in the Liberty or CCS, but it's fun!
But speaking of armchair fans, the US Open started yesterday and I do love my tennis. I'll happily go see it in person if anyone wants to shout me flights and tickets. Please?
I support Arsenal as I'd imagine the vast majority of people reading this will know are not non-league, far from it (and no I don't want to talk about Sunday). But as much as I want them (and Swansea) to do well, my team has always been and will always be Merthyr Town (formerly Tydfil) FC.
The team has just returned to play in Penydarren Park, after a year in exile (which I didn't make a single game in) 20 or so miles away in Taffs Well. So I trotted down to the park yesterday to watch them play league pace setters, the undefeated Brislington Town (where??). It was then I realised I quite missed watching football like this, TV is comfortable, gives you replays, you can stop, rewind and all that shit, you have commentators telling you whjat to think any any given moment, stats popping up on screen, and generally speaking it's of a higher standard.
But being right up next to the pitch, taking it all in yourself, the experience is so much better.
The game itself was quite decent, Merthyr looked tidy passed the ball quite well, sometimes overly so and they could have done with taking a shot more. While at the back, but punts forward were a bit haphazard. Brislington had one or two tidy players, their left back looked good, while on the reverse their no4 looked like we was as likely to fall over at any given moment than successfully run in a straight line. Both keepers showed some... interesting positioning, but proved to be good shot stoppers when needed.
There was a few moments of marking (mainly the English side to be fair) that would I'm sure would give both sides coaches nightmares for a while. Even the ref had mostly a good game (although the away penalty was a bit of a mystery).
Happily Merthyr won 2-1 and moved 3rd in the table. Next week they have 2 matches in 2 days in 2 different cups (FA Prelim Round, Welsh Cup 2Q) and if I'm able I'll take the chance to pop down for the Welsh Cup game on Sunday.
Next week is an international break, no Prem games, no Championship games, which means come the weekend many football fans are at a loose end (Wales playing Friday). So if that applies to you, why not go see a team a bit further down the pyramid than you're used too? Go see Newport, Merthyr, whatever lower league teams are around, whoever's closer, you might like it! It's not always a comfortable as a sofa and sky sports, it's likely to be less conformable than a seat in the Liberty or CCS, but it's fun!
But speaking of armchair fans, the US Open started yesterday and I do love my tennis. I'll happily go see it in person if anyone wants to shout me flights and tickets. Please?
Monday, 8 August 2011
Rogers cup time!
Probably my favourite time of the tennis season is under way, pity it's all played over in North America and therefore at some ungodly hour over here, but its still good!
The Rogers cup has started today in Montreal (the women are in Toronto) (main draw) with a massive 1 British entrant into the singles (Murray) and one team in the doubles (Murray/Murray). Notice a pattern there?
Murray is the defending champion here, having retained the title for the last 2 years and will be looking to level Ivan Lendl's 3-in-a-row record this time, but with the form of Nadal and Djokovic I really can't see it, as much as I'd love him to win it. He'll start probably with a game against Ryan Harrison in round 2. Awkward draw though as his R16 could be Stanislas Wawrinka, followed by Mardy Fish then Nadal in the semi. But 2 wins in a row means you can't count him out. Although it's hard to look past Nadal or Djokovic for the title.
From here it's Cincinnati for another masters (Murray only defending 180 there!) and then the US Open, my favourite of the grand slam of the year. I need to get myself skysports for my xbox again. Plus the football season is starting...
The Rogers cup has started today in Montreal (the women are in Toronto) (main draw) with a massive 1 British entrant into the singles (Murray) and one team in the doubles (Murray/Murray). Notice a pattern there?
Murray is the defending champion here, having retained the title for the last 2 years and will be looking to level Ivan Lendl's 3-in-a-row record this time, but with the form of Nadal and Djokovic I really can't see it, as much as I'd love him to win it. He'll start probably with a game against Ryan Harrison in round 2. Awkward draw though as his R16 could be Stanislas Wawrinka, followed by Mardy Fish then Nadal in the semi. But 2 wins in a row means you can't count him out. Although it's hard to look past Nadal or Djokovic for the title.
From here it's Cincinnati for another masters (Murray only defending 180 there!) and then the US Open, my favourite of the grand slam of the year. I need to get myself skysports for my xbox again. Plus the football season is starting...
A massive well done though to James Ward for winning a 100k challenger in Vancouver last week, beating Boggo in the quarters (he still deserves to be higher than 344 in my opinion). Ward up to 144, pretty good, I'm assuming he'll be off to US Open Quallies quite soon. Anyone kow when the draw is out?
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Wimbledon
As regular readers may know (if there are any) I like a bit of tennis (mainly men's to be honest, the women's tends to be 'big beefy US/Russian girl beating up poor 19 year old from Belgium' or something). I'm not a sporty type, I'm an overweight, greying, diabetic about to hit 30 so that's not exactly a surprise, but I was always OK with a racquet but these days, I watch. Mainly this is as I have nobody to play with, I've even signed up to that all play tennis site and... nothing. But that's off topic.
As a result of this love Wimbledon fortnight as the only non clay grand slam in the right time zone to watch comfortably (well work hours is a pain, but you know what I mean). So far this years as been quite interesting, as long as Nadal's foot holds up I can't see it being anything than a 1v4, 2v3 semi line up but here's hoping Tomic can do something after the other 'up n comer' Milos bowed out early.
From a UK perspective, Murray is playing well, he's had a couple of awkward matches in a row and has come through them quite easily. If Nadal is hurt and he get's a Fish semi... I think he's a finalist (I think I got the draw right anyway). The UK expectation doesn't seem to be so bad this year, and I think that's a good thing. Everyone is expecting a Nadal win, with maybe Djokovic or Fed or indeed Murray having an outside shot. It was obvious from the Del Potro game, Nadal can be beaten, so who knows.
It's womens quarter finals day today, so I'm not bothered about seeing it, but tomorrow should be an excellent day, chances are with the top 4 seeds coming through, but I wouldn't mind the semis being Tomic V Tsonga and Murray v Fish!
Never gonna happen.
Good points though, the BBC coverage has actually been pretty good, almost every night programs have been moved/cancelled/delayed to allow for late finishes. If only they held a few more of the rights to 1000s and the like. Although most of them are in the middle of the night to be fair...
I'm still expecting them to be straight on Murray's back as soon as he looks like bowing out though, that's the British way after all, support respectfully while circling ready to lay a boot in!
On an unrelated note I've purchased myself a bit of XBOX 360 Kinect, thoughts to follow!
As a result of this love Wimbledon fortnight as the only non clay grand slam in the right time zone to watch comfortably (well work hours is a pain, but you know what I mean). So far this years as been quite interesting, as long as Nadal's foot holds up I can't see it being anything than a 1v4, 2v3 semi line up but here's hoping Tomic can do something after the other 'up n comer' Milos bowed out early.
From a UK perspective, Murray is playing well, he's had a couple of awkward matches in a row and has come through them quite easily. If Nadal is hurt and he get's a Fish semi... I think he's a finalist (I think I got the draw right anyway). The UK expectation doesn't seem to be so bad this year, and I think that's a good thing. Everyone is expecting a Nadal win, with maybe Djokovic or Fed or indeed Murray having an outside shot. It was obvious from the Del Potro game, Nadal can be beaten, so who knows.
It's womens quarter finals day today, so I'm not bothered about seeing it, but tomorrow should be an excellent day, chances are with the top 4 seeds coming through, but I wouldn't mind the semis being Tomic V Tsonga and Murray v Fish!
Never gonna happen.
Good points though, the BBC coverage has actually been pretty good, almost every night programs have been moved/cancelled/delayed to allow for late finishes. If only they held a few more of the rights to 1000s and the like. Although most of them are in the middle of the night to be fair...
I'm still expecting them to be straight on Murray's back as soon as he looks like bowing out though, that's the British way after all, support respectfully while circling ready to lay a boot in!
On an unrelated note I've purchased myself a bit of XBOX 360 Kinect, thoughts to follow!
Friday, 3 June 2011
Andy Murray
OK this is only partially about him, it's also partially about the attitudes towards him especially with Wimbledon on the horizon.
Yes, today he lost, he lost 3 good sets to arguably one of the greatest clay court players that has ever been, he lost to someone that in 7 Roland Garros appearances has ever lost 1 solitary match (take a bow Rob Soderling), he lost to (until later on tonight at least) the #1 ranked player in the world. He enjoyed his best ever run in RG, playing on a surface he enjoys about as much as he enjoys major surgery, won himself 720 (up from 180) ranking points and pulled further away from #5 ranked player in the process.
Then why is the general public's reaction to pan and criticise? There's a good proportion of people who love seeing Murray fail. They probably be gutted if he did win anything. These people generally watch tennis when it's occasionally on BBC 2 (when Murray indeed gets to a decent round of a major), Queens and Wimbledon, they know of few other tournaments but think they are an authority and what they see is all there is.
Having something to have a good rant and moan about is far more fun than saying unlucky to a gallant loser and this brand of people lap it up with honours. They spout comments about his mental strength, but made no such comments when he was pretty damn excellent to come back in the 4th round from 2-0 down. They say he'll never win anything, but have never seen him win one of the 6 masters series titles he's won, at that level he's only ever lost 1 final. They say he's winy and moans... but generally the same people idolise footballers so let's say no more there.
Some people don't like him for a football related joke, I've made that joke too so they must hate me as well! If I look bothered, it's wind...
Was Murray perfect today? No, of course not, he wasted more break points than some people get in a season, but look at the company he was keeping. There's little doubt he made errors, but also, playing to the standard he was there's little doubt he'd have battered most players on the tour today. He should feel gutted he lost today, as he lost and if he was happy losing... well that's just not the right mentality, but he should also be happy with the performance, he did well. It was straight sets, but god they were long, so many games were deuce, it was close.
Wimbledon is coming and once again Murray will be on a hiding to nothing. Win it, yay! Don't win it, even if he loses 65-63 in the final set of the final and he'll be a bottler, mentally unstable, perennial loser all over again.
Yes, today he lost, he lost 3 good sets to arguably one of the greatest clay court players that has ever been, he lost to someone that in 7 Roland Garros appearances has ever lost 1 solitary match (take a bow Rob Soderling), he lost to (until later on tonight at least) the #1 ranked player in the world. He enjoyed his best ever run in RG, playing on a surface he enjoys about as much as he enjoys major surgery, won himself 720 (up from 180) ranking points and pulled further away from #5 ranked player in the process.
Then why is the general public's reaction to pan and criticise? There's a good proportion of people who love seeing Murray fail. They probably be gutted if he did win anything. These people generally watch tennis when it's occasionally on BBC 2 (when Murray indeed gets to a decent round of a major), Queens and Wimbledon, they know of few other tournaments but think they are an authority and what they see is all there is.
Having something to have a good rant and moan about is far more fun than saying unlucky to a gallant loser and this brand of people lap it up with honours. They spout comments about his mental strength, but made no such comments when he was pretty damn excellent to come back in the 4th round from 2-0 down. They say he'll never win anything, but have never seen him win one of the 6 masters series titles he's won, at that level he's only ever lost 1 final. They say he's winy and moans... but generally the same people idolise footballers so let's say no more there.
Some people don't like him for a football related joke, I've made that joke too so they must hate me as well! If I look bothered, it's wind...
Was Murray perfect today? No, of course not, he wasted more break points than some people get in a season, but look at the company he was keeping. There's little doubt he made errors, but also, playing to the standard he was there's little doubt he'd have battered most players on the tour today. He should feel gutted he lost today, as he lost and if he was happy losing... well that's just not the right mentality, but he should also be happy with the performance, he did well. It was straight sets, but god they were long, so many games were deuce, it was close.
Wimbledon is coming and once again Murray will be on a hiding to nothing. Win it, yay! Don't win it, even if he loses 65-63 in the final set of the final and he'll be a bottler, mentally unstable, perennial loser all over again.
Truth is allot of people love a 'failure' as they then feel better about themselves, that's nothing Andy's done, that's just a bit of human nature.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
French Open
As regular readers of this blog should know (are there any?? I doubt it) I do like a bit of tennis, and at the moment we're just over half way through the 2nd Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros (which has seemingly been re-branded with the location to be a bit more like Wimbledon). I'll be honest it's not my favourite GS, infact it's my 4th, but it's proving to be quite enjoyable this time around.
Already it could force the number one ranking to change hands. If Nadal loses at any point or Djokovic wins his Semi against Federer/Monfils, he's #1. Murray's hanging on in it after being battered for 2 sets yesterday he won the next two before the French night drew in and they pulled them off, they start again in a single set 'shoot out' (not my words) at 13:00BST, just half hour after I'm writing this! I doubt he'll win as with a tight ankle, he'll start slow, with no time to come back.
The only downside of the tournament is some of the arrangements, big games played late on with little hope of finishing (Del Po v Djok the main example). The low key start was also questionable, in Wimbeldon the defending champion starts things off, it sets a tempo from the very start, while the French kind of limped to a start.
Here's hoping Murray wins anyway, if he does he's got Chela, unseeded, in the quarters with a great chance to become the first Brit in the FO semis since... Tim Henman in 2004, ok maybe it wasn't that long ago, but a semi would help his old points total along quite nicely (720 for a last 4 spot I think, only 180 won last year), at the semi stage he'd meet Nadal, and although he's given him a good game of late, even on the dirty red stuff, I think that'd be goodnight Andy.
Wimbeldon has to be a real target for him this year, and maybe more so the US, here's hoping!
Already it could force the number one ranking to change hands. If Nadal loses at any point or Djokovic wins his Semi against Federer/Monfils, he's #1. Murray's hanging on in it after being battered for 2 sets yesterday he won the next two before the French night drew in and they pulled them off, they start again in a single set 'shoot out' (not my words) at 13:00BST, just half hour after I'm writing this! I doubt he'll win as with a tight ankle, he'll start slow, with no time to come back.
The only downside of the tournament is some of the arrangements, big games played late on with little hope of finishing (Del Po v Djok the main example). The low key start was also questionable, in Wimbeldon the defending champion starts things off, it sets a tempo from the very start, while the French kind of limped to a start.
Here's hoping Murray wins anyway, if he does he's got Chela, unseeded, in the quarters with a great chance to become the first Brit in the FO semis since... Tim Henman in 2004, ok maybe it wasn't that long ago, but a semi would help his old points total along quite nicely (720 for a last 4 spot I think, only 180 won last year), at the semi stage he'd meet Nadal, and although he's given him a good game of late, even on the dirty red stuff, I think that'd be goodnight Andy.
Wimbeldon has to be a real target for him this year, and maybe more so the US, here's hoping!
BBC 606
Today sees the closure of 606, the BBC's 99% football but pushed as a general sports discussion board. Apparently killed due to cuts in the BBC's online budget, effectively leaving them without a discussion board.
Not a great loss if I'm honest.
Generally it always seemed to be filled with angry morons with little knowledge about what they were trying to 'talk' about, and no interest in trying to find out or take others points on board. In fact you could easily say the majority of the posts were intentionally aimed to wind up other users. As a result very little if any constructive debate ever went on. Users were permitted to set up multiple accounts and (particularly on the tennis board) would do so, pretend to agree with themselves to start arguments.
This made the board home to some very very weird (reclusive?) people.
Yes, some people on there tried to have genuine discussions, but it usually ended up boiling down to a slagging match whatever the topic. Whether it was Cardiff v Swansea fans, Spurs v Arsenal, everyone v Man Utd, Nadal v Federer, and so on.
The BBC introduced tighter moderation of posts, and the ability to delete posts from threads you set up, but only retrospectively, and while all this crap was being spouted it was never going to be money well spent. It's a shame the BBC will not be offering this kind of service any more, but to say it's a loss, or a tragedy as some posters have tried to do, is just not realistic.
So the confirmation of the closure went out yesterday and come middle of today it'll be gone. Already there are about 50 'alternatives' banging round, none of which I'll name as they'll be filled with smaller populations of the same no doubt, each new forum 'owner' hoping he'll make some decent advertising revenue from the closure no doubt.
So it's farewell 606, good riddance!
Not a great loss if I'm honest.
Generally it always seemed to be filled with angry morons with little knowledge about what they were trying to 'talk' about, and no interest in trying to find out or take others points on board. In fact you could easily say the majority of the posts were intentionally aimed to wind up other users. As a result very little if any constructive debate ever went on. Users were permitted to set up multiple accounts and (particularly on the tennis board) would do so, pretend to agree with themselves to start arguments.
This made the board home to some very very weird (reclusive?) people.
Yes, some people on there tried to have genuine discussions, but it usually ended up boiling down to a slagging match whatever the topic. Whether it was Cardiff v Swansea fans, Spurs v Arsenal, everyone v Man Utd, Nadal v Federer, and so on.
The BBC introduced tighter moderation of posts, and the ability to delete posts from threads you set up, but only retrospectively, and while all this crap was being spouted it was never going to be money well spent. It's a shame the BBC will not be offering this kind of service any more, but to say it's a loss, or a tragedy as some posters have tried to do, is just not realistic.
So the confirmation of the closure went out yesterday and come middle of today it'll be gone. Already there are about 50 'alternatives' banging round, none of which I'll name as they'll be filled with smaller populations of the same no doubt, each new forum 'owner' hoping he'll make some decent advertising revenue from the closure no doubt.
So it's farewell 606, good riddance!
Saturday, 27 November 2010
The death of a netbook, snow joke!
Yes, I know I've been quiet.
Frequent runs to hospital to see my father (who is now thankfully home) combined with the sad death of my netbook (the main place I typed from) have conspired against me. However I now sit in a snowy Merthyr with half hour spare while my daughter watches Dora the Explorer struggle to put on a Pirate play as she can't find the costumes, I'm back!
The netbook isn't dead really. The power supply is broken, so I can't charge it, I can replace it with a new one, but I can just as easily get a new netbook free with a new mobi broadband contract, so I'll do that some time soon! Anyone know any good ones, leave me a comment and I'll have a nose! Until then I've been entertaining myself on the train by reading Alan Sugar's autobiography. Quite well written really, a kind of sense of superiority running through it I feel though.
I was expecting panic this morning, it's snowed quite well yesterday, I remained thoroughly unconcerned, no desire to leg it home from work and the roads were all fine. I got home no concerns in the slightest. But then it snowed a bit more last night, quite a bit more, and the outside o my house looked like Pepper Pigs Christmas this morning (sorry, you have to watch them with her don't you. Don't you??)
However while taking the other half to work, I'm shoc\ked, almost aghast, to find, the roads as a rule are clear and passable. Well done Merthyr council, and I don't think I've ever said that before! The builders got here no sweat this morning to carry on (and hopefully finish) my conservatory. The world isn't a snow dead place! The sky is even clear so I don't think we're going to get any more. But don't quote me, I'm not a weatherman.
More excitingly, the semi finals of the ATP tennis finals are today, and I'm pleased Brit #1 Murray is in there. He'll prob get battered against a well up for it Nadal, but hey ho. he's back to 4 in the world now at least. There's also rugby, which will be the final leg of an shocking autumn(?) international series for Wales. Wooden Spoon contenders for 2011! 20 or 30 point win for NZ anyone?
I also noticed the blog had a hit from someone searching google for Peter Gabriel Tennis. now that be an odd search, I'm proud I matched it, somehow... (I think it was the tennis post that made the homeless Christmas single request, as that's a Peter Gabriel cover, so once again pls follow @QRistmas and buy the single Dec 13th pls, keep someone less fortunate warm and fed this Christmas, as it's bloody freezing out there
PS, I just realised, this post would now generate a hit too, woohoo, double random search results!
Frequent runs to hospital to see my father (who is now thankfully home) combined with the sad death of my netbook (the main place I typed from) have conspired against me. However I now sit in a snowy Merthyr with half hour spare while my daughter watches Dora the Explorer struggle to put on a Pirate play as she can't find the costumes, I'm back!
The netbook isn't dead really. The power supply is broken, so I can't charge it, I can replace it with a new one, but I can just as easily get a new netbook free with a new mobi broadband contract, so I'll do that some time soon! Anyone know any good ones, leave me a comment and I'll have a nose! Until then I've been entertaining myself on the train by reading Alan Sugar's autobiography. Quite well written really, a kind of sense of superiority running through it I feel though.
I was expecting panic this morning, it's snowed quite well yesterday, I remained thoroughly unconcerned, no desire to leg it home from work and the roads were all fine. I got home no concerns in the slightest. But then it snowed a bit more last night, quite a bit more, and the outside o my house looked like Pepper Pigs Christmas this morning (sorry, you have to watch them with her don't you. Don't you??)
However while taking the other half to work, I'm shoc\ked, almost aghast, to find, the roads as a rule are clear and passable. Well done Merthyr council, and I don't think I've ever said that before! The builders got here no sweat this morning to carry on (and hopefully finish) my conservatory. The world isn't a snow dead place! The sky is even clear so I don't think we're going to get any more. But don't quote me, I'm not a weatherman.
More excitingly, the semi finals of the ATP tennis finals are today, and I'm pleased Brit #1 Murray is in there. He'll prob get battered against a well up for it Nadal, but hey ho. he's back to 4 in the world now at least. There's also rugby, which will be the final leg of an shocking autumn(?) international series for Wales. Wooden Spoon contenders for 2011! 20 or 30 point win for NZ anyone?
I also noticed the blog had a hit from someone searching google for Peter Gabriel Tennis. now that be an odd search, I'm proud I matched it, somehow... (I think it was the tennis post that made the homeless Christmas single request, as that's a Peter Gabriel cover, so once again pls follow @QRistmas and buy the single Dec 13th pls, keep someone less fortunate warm and fed this Christmas, as it's bloody freezing out there
PS, I just realised, this post would now generate a hit too, woohoo, double random search results!
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Rugby, football, tennis and a request
I'm Welsh so I love rugby yeah? Well no, not all that much.
I don't dislike rugby, I do like it as a sport. I like to watch international games, I support my nation, I'd even go as far to say I know a good % of the rules and can spot infringements. I'll get carried away in the moment when they are playing, I'll shout at the TV and a rugby day is always a good excuse to meet some friends in a pub. But there are sports I would rather watch.
I didn't get overly excited when Admiral announced they were the new WRU sponsors, while other staff members were almost rolling round on the floor in excitement. I haven't bought a shirt, as I don't really like them although the all blue training top is pretty snazzy, I haven't entered competitions and raffles for the steady stream of tickets that seem to be going round, and I have no intention of starting. Thinking about it the 20,000 empty seats for the (highly expensive) Australia game on the weekend seems to hint at the chance other people like me exist. Or at least at £60+ a ticket in places it's dropped down peoples priority lists.
I like football, I follow my home town club and Arsenal, but honestly if they lose, I don't get upset or worried. Of course I want them to do well, but when Arsenal got done 1-0 by Newcastle, my reaction was, "D'oh, oh well..." I'm not the kind of supporter that wants reflected glory from choosing a team, and believe me I know a fair few who do. I personally don't see how a team I support (Arsenal) beating a team Bob from number 44 supports (lets say Eastborne Borough for arguments sake) is any kind of personal victory for me. I wasn't there, I didn't play, I didn't coach I didn't even pump the balls up.
Although saying that, i do want to get back to reffing. I qualified a few years ago, did half a season then was in a crash and had to stop for a while. Never really got going again, seems such a waste now, I fricking aced the exams too.
I even don't like referring to the team as 'us' or 'we' but I do sometimes find myself falling into that habit. Must do better!!
Don't get me started on some of the local rivalries.. the Cardiff Swansea game on the weekend, some of the vitriol coming out of (mainly Cardiff to be fair) fans was laughable, and I was happy when Swansea won, purely down to that fact!
Honestly, if there was some funked up new rule that came into force tomorrow that dictated I could only ever watch one type of sport again, I'd choose Tennis. I enjoy Tennis far more than Rugby, Football, etc and by quite a distance. I would also love to be a participant in the sport, but unfortunately (weirdly??) the Tennis club sessions in Merthyr Tydfil leisure centre are 2-4 Tuesdays and Thursdays, work dictates that I can't attend as a result! I mean who can go then??
I also quite fancy playing squash, but have nobody to play with (any fellow novices who want to try, comment or find me on twitter!!)
How many people do you think were disappointed Alex Bogdanovic lost in the first round of a 80 point challenger tournament in Germany yesterday, well apart from him, his coach etc, prob only me! To be fair he got to a semi the week before, and lost to the same guy!! At least he took a set this time! Andy Murray plays the 2nd round of the Paris Masters today, I'll be watching with keen interest. Well I wont be watching I'll be in work but there's be something on the BBC site to tell me the result.
Oh and of course I love the dodgeball, how could anyone not??? Go Hoffmesiters!
Oh and as a footnote, any twitter users I have a suggested follow. QRistmas. A Christmas single is coming out sung by former xfactor winner Steve Brookstein with the proceeds going to UK homeless charities, got to be worth a quid download of anyones iTunes cash? I believe it's a Peter Gabriel cover, I do love Peter Gabriel, maybe we could convince him to do Solsbury Hill, Shock the Monkey or Games Without Frontiers as a b-side?
Anyway, til next time...
Oh and the woman sat opposite me has a pink kindle... didn't know you could get them, they look quite snazzy! (Yes I've used snazzy twice in an blog, my vocab is the same as my daughters, head hung in shame)
I don't dislike rugby, I do like it as a sport. I like to watch international games, I support my nation, I'd even go as far to say I know a good % of the rules and can spot infringements. I'll get carried away in the moment when they are playing, I'll shout at the TV and a rugby day is always a good excuse to meet some friends in a pub. But there are sports I would rather watch.
I didn't get overly excited when Admiral announced they were the new WRU sponsors, while other staff members were almost rolling round on the floor in excitement. I haven't bought a shirt, as I don't really like them although the all blue training top is pretty snazzy, I haven't entered competitions and raffles for the steady stream of tickets that seem to be going round, and I have no intention of starting. Thinking about it the 20,000 empty seats for the (highly expensive) Australia game on the weekend seems to hint at the chance other people like me exist. Or at least at £60+ a ticket in places it's dropped down peoples priority lists.
I like football, I follow my home town club and Arsenal, but honestly if they lose, I don't get upset or worried. Of course I want them to do well, but when Arsenal got done 1-0 by Newcastle, my reaction was, "D'oh, oh well..." I'm not the kind of supporter that wants reflected glory from choosing a team, and believe me I know a fair few who do. I personally don't see how a team I support (Arsenal) beating a team Bob from number 44 supports (lets say Eastborne Borough for arguments sake) is any kind of personal victory for me. I wasn't there, I didn't play, I didn't coach I didn't even pump the balls up.
Although saying that, i do want to get back to reffing. I qualified a few years ago, did half a season then was in a crash and had to stop for a while. Never really got going again, seems such a waste now, I fricking aced the exams too.
I even don't like referring to the team as 'us' or 'we' but I do sometimes find myself falling into that habit. Must do better!!
Don't get me started on some of the local rivalries.. the Cardiff Swansea game on the weekend, some of the vitriol coming out of (mainly Cardiff to be fair) fans was laughable, and I was happy when Swansea won, purely down to that fact!
Honestly, if there was some funked up new rule that came into force tomorrow that dictated I could only ever watch one type of sport again, I'd choose Tennis. I enjoy Tennis far more than Rugby, Football, etc and by quite a distance. I would also love to be a participant in the sport, but unfortunately (weirdly??) the Tennis club sessions in Merthyr Tydfil leisure centre are 2-4 Tuesdays and Thursdays, work dictates that I can't attend as a result! I mean who can go then??
I also quite fancy playing squash, but have nobody to play with (any fellow novices who want to try, comment or find me on twitter!!)
How many people do you think were disappointed Alex Bogdanovic lost in the first round of a 80 point challenger tournament in Germany yesterday, well apart from him, his coach etc, prob only me! To be fair he got to a semi the week before, and lost to the same guy!! At least he took a set this time! Andy Murray plays the 2nd round of the Paris Masters today, I'll be watching with keen interest. Well I wont be watching I'll be in work but there's be something on the BBC site to tell me the result.
Oh and of course I love the dodgeball, how could anyone not??? Go Hoffmesiters!
Oh and as a footnote, any twitter users I have a suggested follow. QRistmas. A Christmas single is coming out sung by former xfactor winner Steve Brookstein with the proceeds going to UK homeless charities, got to be worth a quid download of anyones iTunes cash? I believe it's a Peter Gabriel cover, I do love Peter Gabriel, maybe we could convince him to do Solsbury Hill, Shock the Monkey or Games Without Frontiers as a b-side?
Anyway, til next time...
Oh and the woman sat opposite me has a pink kindle... didn't know you could get them, they look quite snazzy! (Yes I've used snazzy twice in an blog, my vocab is the same as my daughters, head hung in shame)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)