Conflict of Interest

Ricky Hatton not looking at his best.

Las Vegas boxing match this lunchtime.

Manny Pacquiao (Philippines) taking on Ricky Hatton (North West of England).

Irrestistable object meets immovable force.

Unfortunately for Hatton, the force of gravity beat him and he ended up like this. The reports say that this second round technical knockout had Hatton out cold before he hit the floor.

Conflict of interest because I have homes in both places!

Conflict of interest because it could have been an interesting conflict!

Ako'y Pilipino!

Celebray--shon!

This is Usain Bolt and a very witty satirism!


It's very funny!

Personal Vendetta

WARNING !!! VERY SUBJECTIVE POST INDEED !!!

At the moment of writng, the Olympics medals table tells me that China are on equal footing with the USA, with 32 medals each, DESPITE the fact that China have 20 gold medals, and the USA just 10.

This incenses me. Why can't the IOC allow a points distribution, say 3 for gold, 2 for sliver, 1 for bronze?

In that case, China would have 79 points and the USA would have 61 points. Korea are still third!!!

What confuses me even further is that China are seen to be top of the table because they have more golds.

I wish Michael Phelps well, but I await the women's gymnastics when in my opinion, China will sweep the board. They already have the team gold and I actually saw the performances on the A-Bars and the floor. Those two little girls were priceless. There are two more golds there ready for the taking, in the individual competitions.

Come in , number 254!

This ........ is Bob Beamon....






The Physics were thus...... Mexico City, 1968 Olympics. The Long Jump. The air is thinner there and no doubt contributed.

But My, oh My what a jump!.

"If You Can Meet With Triumph and Disaster...

...and treat those two impostors just the same".

are words from Kipling's "If", those that adorn the threshold to the Centre Court, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London SW19.

Never have those words meant more than in Last Sunday's epic Men's final between Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Rafael Nadal (Spain). It is of interest to note that Rafael Nadal does not read his lines, but has seemingly memorised them, as opposed to Roger Federer, who merely reads his (admittedly, the longer portions, but nevertheless........)

It went to five sets, was the longest ever final, was the latest final ever to finish at 21.15, and most commentators agree it was the most dramatic ever, and the BBC very wisely asked the two players to recite poem to be broadcast prior to their fantastic battle. Four hours Forty-Eight minutes of absolute delight cannot be condensed into one video, so the poem is presented here.

I may add that having seen it BEFORE the match, there was still a tear in my eye.

THIS is theatre as only the BBC know how to do.....

Simply Unbelievable

Czech Republic v Turkey, round robin match. Do or die - win and you are in, lose and you are out.

Here we go again. The European Soccer Championships is upon us. 16 National sides battle it out to become the COUNTRY best in soccer, as opposed to the CLUB Championship, which is called the European Champions League.

I am really glad we stayed up to watch this on Star Sports Asia this morning, as it turned out to be the most dramatic comeback ever seen in the competition.

For the first time ever, even though it was a group match, if the teams were level at the end the rules say it must decided by penalties, as they both would be level on points, goal difference and goals scored.

Then the Czech Republic scored a goal, and then soon after, another.

Czech Republic 2, Turkey 0

Then came the 75th minute, out of 90. I have never seen anything like this. Watch and enjoy.

Don't listen to the unenthusiatic EPSN reporters, they know nothing of the excitement that this match generated in Europe.

Pooling Resources

As a pool player myself, I usually have a fairly good game. I attribute this to knowing the angles the balls will go almost automatically from my knowledge of the 'billiard ball' equations of Newton's Laws of motion.

Professional players have to learn from experience only. I learn from both it would seem

Pool is played on a 2 meter table, and the pockets are large.

The game originated from another called 'Snooker' which was invented in India by the British in the days of the East India Company, circe 1770. This was played on a four meter table with smaller pockets and more balls. The rules were simple, pot a red, then another color, a red, then another color, and when all the reds are gone, pot the colors in sequence, viz yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and finally black. 90% of the time the game (called "frame") was won with still many balls on the table, each ball given a points value. red = 1, yellow = 2, green = 3, brown = 4, blue = 5, pink = 6, black = 7. Most times, a player had scored so many points it was not worth the opponenet carrying on.

Sometimes, a player would clear the table winning the frame, in one visit. One thing remained however. The MAXIMUM score from one visit to the table was 147 points (being 15 reds, 15 blacks, and then all the colors in sequence (27), total 147). This does not happen very often, as it is very difficult to use the white ball in such a way as to be able to pot the next ball afterwards (this is called 'positional' play).

The video below happened today at the Crucible theater in Sheffield, UK, at the World Championship.

Ronnie O'Sullivan not only scored 147, but did it in a very elegant way not seen before by anyone. The positional play is immaculate, especially on the shot where he pots a black and cannons into the red and pink in the middle of the table to set the red free.

It is notable that the British Commentary Team picked up that there was a chance of it as early as the 2nd ball.

I'm wide awake at 4am....

...without a friend in sight...
...I'm hangin' on a hook, but I'm alright...

One night in May. Istanbul. European Champions League Final.

Liverpool (my adopted City)

versus

AC Milan

A night no-one in Liverpool will ever forget. May 25th, 2005.

(The original video was taken away from youtube, but I replaced it with this one)

Since I lived in Korea for 5 years, I was lucky enough to experience the month-long World Cup of soccer there in 2002. Those memories will stay with me forever, especially as Korea came 4th.

However, the video below surpasses it all. Liverpool had won this competition 4 times previously, and interest in the UK was high. We set the alarm for 4 am (hence the song - name it anyone?) and waited for the kick-off at 5 am.

Those of you not in the know, "soccer" is called "football" in England. It was called "soccer" because the original name of the sport was "AsSOCiation Football".

Normally, in a game of soccer, you can expect only one or two goals. 3-4 is quite rare. The game below has six.

AC Milan are one of the best Italian teams, and in the first half, they took Liverpool apart like they weren't there. Liverpool 0 AC Milan 3.

Then came the second half. We only got Korean commentary and afterwards, I downloaded the full match with English commentary.

A few minutes after the second half began, Steven Gerrard, Liverpool's captain and mentor, scored a goal to make it 1-3.

The english commentator made a telling comment as the ball went into the net. He said "Ello! Ello! Here we go", a reference to the fact that in all their history, Liverpool Soccer Team "never say die", a point well-made owing to the Team's determination to win despite the odds.

So the commentator was remembering what had happened in previous years when Liverpool had been down, but at 0-3, Was it possible?

The answer came minutes later and the score became 2-3. The Commentator then said "Miracles CAN happen!".

The rest I leave to the video.

At this level, if matches are tied at the end, they play an extra 15 minutes, then, if still level, the two teams are given 5 "free kicks" each, with only the man in goal to beat. These are called penalties.

The team scoring the most goals wins.

Suffice it to say, at 7.30 am we were screaming and jumping around!

One Night. Two Teams. One Trophy. 22 players and six goals. For soccer fans, it was a treat

He wants to leg it but can't

A guy has been banned from the olympics because without legs he is better.

Story here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/7141302.stm

Where is Steve Austin when you need him?

This guy does not need him. I myself would be happy at my victory!

The mere ruling means he is superior to us. Good for him, I say!

Michelle Kwan, go home!

SUBJECTIVE POST!!!!

Once upon a time, there was a little Japanese girl from Nagoya called Midori Ito. Her passion for Ice Skating was unparalleled. She practiced from an early age, and soon rose to become one of Japan's best Figure Skaters. Then came the 1990 World Championships.

To understand Ice Skating as it was then, it has to be realised that the Single Men and Single Ladies' competitions ran as so, in 3 phases: Phase 1: the figures. This is where the skater had to do compulsory slow figure 8's and circles, much like dressage is for the Equine sports. Phase 2: the Short Programme. This is where each skater had to do a 3-4 minute dance rountine based upon certain "required elements" and "jumps", as asked for by the judges. Phase 3:
The Free Programme. This is where the skater was given Carte Blanche to show exactly what he/she could do, in 6-8 minutes.

In 1990, the closest rival was Jill Trenary, from the USA. And after a complete failure on Phase 1 (finishing 10th), and winning Phase 2, Midori Ito had to come out for the Free Programme and "Skate for her Life", as Irene Cara would say.

What came next was the single most beautiful, synchronised performance ever seen in ANY sport, let alone Figure Skating. Dancing to a concatenated and condensed "Sheherezade", by Rimsky Korsakov, what followed was something that had I been there, I would have been jumping for joy.

Look out for these jumps: 2nd Jump, a triple Axel. Most men even find a double Axel hard. She takes off from her left foot facing forwards, twirls round three and a half times, and lands on her right foot going backwards. Towards the end, she does two massive Triple Toe Loops (forward facing jumps) in succession and nearly ends up on a photographer's lap, and with a flourish , and in perfect timing with the Eastern music, finishes with a close spiral. Result, with three maximum 6.0 's she wins the Free Programme.

I urge my reader to see this to the end as it simply is poetry in motion, AND her name is Ito as well!

England Soccer "Blues"!!!!!!

First, England Soccer Club had this:







He was called Emlyn "crazy horse" Hughes. (the seventies)








Then, they got this:



He was called "Gazza" and was famous for crying. (the nineties)



























NOW, in the "noughties", (or should it be said "Naughties"?) they have this:



HE is just known as "LOONEY", whoops, sorry, Rooney.

This man is almost entirely responsible for England's defeat at the hands of Portugal in the World Cup. He committed a foul by stamping on another player's Family Allowance, and then, in a fit of petulance, pushed another player out of his way so that he could argue with the referee, only a yard away!!! First foul - Yellow Card. Second foul, for just being too stupid to know better, the Red Card. I say well done referee. I bet Sven Goran had a few choice words afterwards, and maybe even a boot flew in somebody's forehead's direction. (Ask David Beckham about that one) .

The England Team consist of One Genius (Gerrard), 8 or 9 fools, and one Looney, Whoops! I meant complete Idiot! Sorry Mr Roooooney!

All in the in the Best POSSIBLE taste!

Anybody who susses all the allusions in this one gets a Green Card.

Maria Full of "Grace"? Purrlease!!!

"Maria Full of Grace"


Thursday, 29 June, 2006

...." Ever since she won Wimbledon two summers ago Maria Sharapova has become accustomed to first-class attention, even in the courts allocated for her to play on. Show courts most of the time, naturally.

Today she won her second round match against Ashley Harkleroad on Court Two, the notorious ‘Graveyard of Champions’ where many top names have crashed to defeat in the past. For Sharapova, it was more a playground than a graveyard as she romped home for the loss of four games and it brought forth a few sentimental memories.

On her Wimbledon debut as a wild card in 2003, Sharapova was beaten on Court 18 by Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. "People were walking back and forth, just like on Court Two today," she said. "But it's good, the fans can get to see up close and personal......"

....or so says journalist Ronald Atkin on the official Wimbledon website. In the picture, he says she is "trying to "suppress" her emotions" during a bout of sniffles.

What a laugh!

His Headline was "Maria full of Grace"

If it is grace she has, she ejaculates it with her every tennis shot, from her mouth, throat and her other "nether" regions. I would hardly call a pretty girl vomiting non-verbal abuse with her every "stroke" the least bit graceful.

But then again, I am just a girl myself, who cannot watch this "graceful one" because of the distrsaction she causes with the noise. I mean, it must rate close to a jackhammer on the decibel level.

Poor opponents, who actually have to face this across the net!

I must confess, I cannot recall any other sport abused in this mannner.


Give me Ping Pong anytime. I challenge anyone at that, and I don't so much as "regurgitiate" anything, not even between points, despite any sniffles!

The World Cup suddenly gets "interesting"....

We are nearing the latter stage of stage 1 in the World Cup of Football (Soccer).

It is at this point that things really start to HOT up, so to speak. For example......

If Ecuador beat Germany then England will play them in the next round if they draw with Sweden or beat them. However, if South Korea draw with Switzerland then they MAY meet Ukraine if the Ukraine beat Spain.

If South Korea beat Switzerland then they may meet Spain if Spain beat Ukraine. If the price of tomatoes on Thursday increases by $0.39 per pound by Saturday in Caracas, then global warming will not take place unless any President’s birthday falls on a Friday AND there is an R in the month of the Judaic calendar, unless OJ Simpson confesses, in which case, it will only happen when Krakatoa erupts again and there is peace in the Middle East with Albert Einstein as the next Astronaut to go to Mars on consecutive missions.

....and even then, they may lose....!

Oh Woe is ME

It may have been a remarkable turnaround for Australia and the neutrals, but not for me.

The team from the country of my birth (Ok, ok, so I am supporting three!) got beaten yesterday in a remarkable first round World Cup Soccer match. My country, Japan, scored a lucky goal early on in the first half to go 1-0 up, clearly against the run of play. Despite heavy pressure from the Roos (Socceroos, nickname they have given themselves), Japan maintained this advantage.

That is, until the 84th minute (out of 90), when we conceded a goal.

During the next eight minutes, Japan were put through the wringer and two more goals for Australia were scored. The one in the 93rd minute, however, I have to say, was an absolute cracking long range shot.

Result: Australia 3, Japan 1.

However, we are not downhearted, to use a classic English idiom. We still have to play Croatia and Brazil (gulp!). We may manage a draw against Brazil (Yeah, right!), but we MUST beat Croatia to stand any chance at all of progressing. If we do, we may not "Roo" any of this!

Well, South Korea play Togo tonight, and I will be supporting the Koreans of course.

The bottom line is, though, that Football should be the real winner, not just individual teams.

....and it was last night.

The Face of Defeat

(NB Another subjective post - sorry, I will get to the "persistence" of numbers soon)


This is the face of the Ladies' Ice Hockey Goalminder from the Italian team. Her name is Deborah, or, to put it more succinctly, "Deb".

She is "reeling" from a 16-0 defeat by Canada in the recent Winter Olympics.

She is now famous for a completely bad reason - this was the single most heavy defeat by any Ice Hockey team since the beginning of the Winter Olympiade in 1924.

A shut-out of cataclysmic proportions.

AND what is worse, the team upon whom it was inflicted was the Host Nation! !!! (shrieks - computer guys, you know what I mean!) unlimited.

Come Shine but NOT Rain!

NB - ANOTHER subjective post - I shall have to curtail this annoying habit!



Well, the chap on the left had it "right" tonight!

His name is Marcos Baghdatis and he is from Cyprus. His tennis game has now won him a place in the Final of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament.

However, not before high drama.



In the final set, serving for the match, something even more incredible happened.

Rain interrupted play on a Tennis stadium with a roof.

Allow me to repeat that.

RAIN interrupted play on a Tennis stadium with a roof.

One of the most expensive and luxurious stadia in Tennis History, the Rod Laver Arena, in Melbourne Park, Australia, equipped with a retractable roof, had to halt play because the roof was open and nobody noticed that rain was imminent.

The rain drenched the central portion of the court.

Now, indoor courts are designed to be just that - INDOORS. This one, however, has a roof which can be opened to the summer (daylight) sky.

At the most crucial point in the match, the weather people were obviously watching The Match rather than the clouds, because the heavens opened and rain stopped play - on an INDOOR court!

What must poor little Michaella Krajicek be thinking?


(This post is unrefined - It stil needs vernacular adjustments. Does not say what it needs to say yet.)

Come Rain but NOT Shine!

NB This post is purely subjective



Isn't it ironic, that rain can halt play in a tennis tournament, but extreme heat cannot?

Granted, at the Australian Open this year, they have an Extreme Heat policy, which means play is halted if the temperature gets too high.

However, it obviously didn't work for poor Michaella Krajicek, right, who was forced to retire from heat exhaustion today.

Strikes me as wholly unjust when, if rain falls, play is halted, even though there is no danger to the players' health, yet, in extreme heat, play continues, despite the fact it is not the ability to play that is hampered, but the players' health.

Today , Ms Krajicek had to play until she fell ill, when play should have been stopped because of the heat by the Tournament Referee, Peter MacNamee.

On her doctor's advice, she was forced to choose not to play, the result being a forfeit, ie she lost the match.

No match , as far as I know, has ever been forfeited due to the effects of mere rain.

Such "weatherism" should be outlawed!

The Dalyrympalics return to Britain!

Well, there was both Bob Beamon AND Dick Fosbury doing their respective flops in '68, Dorando being "helped" over the finish line in 1908, Al Oerter in Helsinki '56 doing his discus thing, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis doing their things in '36 and '84.

Princess Anne of the British Royal Family doing the Doublet in Montreal '76, with Nadia Comaneci doing the perfect 10 the same year. Emil Zatopec, Ken Matthews, Fanny Blankers-Kohn, Cassius Clay, Mary Rand, Mark Spitz (7 gold), Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board, Jim Peters falling down, Dawn Fraser, Olga Korbut, Boris Onishenko, the cheat at Pentathlon, Stephen Redgrave, 5-times Gold Medal winner in 5 Olympics for Great Britain.....

...the latter being a record which will probably rarely be equalled, let alone bettered.

Yes, it has been Olympics Venue Selection time again, and this time, after hosting the 1908 and 1948 Olympiades, London, my adoptive city, is hosting again.

Large thanks will no doubt go out to Lord Coe.

The Marathon, being 26 miles, was officially changed in 1908 in London to 26 miles, 385 yards, because Queen Alexandra wanted the runners to finish in front of the Royal Box. The distance has stayed the same ever since.

In 2012, the Official Olympic Site for the Tennis Tournament will be the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, but to you and me, it will be at Wimbledon.

But first, we have to get Bejiing out of the way!

Party on, Britain!

Grunts or Groans?

Serena Williams, the loudest tennis "grunter" since Monica Seles was knifed during a match for it, exited Wimbledon yesterday.

Tournament referee at Wimbledon, Alan Mills, dumped Serena Williams' match from Centre Court to Court number 2, the infamous "Graveyard of the Champions", because of Andy Murray's extended 5-setter. Court 2 is so called because so many, many former Champions have "died" there in early rounds.

The British public wanted to watch the 18-year-old Scot, against a former finalist, Nalbandian.

So Alan Mills, a face well-known around the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club made a decision.

Serena's match was to be played on Court 2.

Dumped onto Court 2. How ignominious!

And dumped she was. Serenely. She was promptly beaten in straight sets. Despite the grunting. Or maybe because of it.........

.....Isn't it funny how earlier on in the week, Alan Mills himself said he would prefer measures taken against grunters (tennis players who utter loud noises when hitting the ball), so as to make the game fairer?

Well, either he was expedient in his choice of court, or he is just superstitious

Maybe he knows more about the Wimbledon grounds than we will ever know.

Either way, Wimbledon will be quieter during the second week by 101 decibels.

Henmania is back!

Congratulations to Brit Tim Henman who struggled rather manfully yesterday to overcome his first-round match opponent, Jarkko Nieminen, 3-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, in the
Perennial Tennis Tournament of the World, Wimbledon.

Henman, reknown for giving the British public a veritable rollercoaster ride of excitement on even his less important matches, came out in style in the fifth set to win seemingly comfortably, after losing the first two sets rather ignominiously.

But all was Fine and Dandy on Henman Hill that day, as he showed true Brit Spirit by finishing with an unshakeable Stiff Upper Lip. (For Those Not In The Know, "Henman Hill" is that portion of the inside of the All England Club that overlooks the huge screen attached to Center Court).

Tally Ho! Jolly Hockey Sticks, etc.

When all said and done, I actually do miss the nonstop coverage of Wimbledon by the BBC (12 noon till 8 pm continuous live TV with no commercials).

Perhaps I can wangle a trip there to SW19 in the guise of having a look at King's College's lab......they are based in London....Hmmmm.....or maybe the other way around......

Look out for me in the standing room only on Center Court on July 3rd!

Church Road here I come!