| Digital - teacher | Education in a technological world

Formula1. The Final Curtain.

I felt a little sad this afternoon, as I geared up (sorry for the pun) for the race from Brazil, because it was the last one of a live season [for me]. There will be no more. It's the end of an era.

Formula1: Procession or Racing?

Let me start by saying that I love watching Formula1. I love the sport. It's not just the racing, its the tactics that take place before a race, and even during a race. It's watching how teams react to each others decisions and try and outwit them. It's like a high speed chess match to some extent, but...

It all comes down to just one race...

I've always liked Formula1. Ever since I was a young lad and I was given a Formula1 racing car model and posters of the Black and Gold JPS cars (family members worked at the JPS factory and so were able to get the merchandise).

Yes!!

What a roller coaster season this has been - especially OFF the field, but at long last it has happened. Notts are crowned champions this evening. Who'd have thought this in March when we were 14 points behind the league leaders?

The Premier League - the choice of dinosaurs?

The Premier League. Supposedly the best football league in the entire world, at least according to their own PR. Which then leaves me rather surprised at their media strategy with the BBC. 

On a different topic

Are you sitting comfortably, then let me tell you a story.

Unexpected Golds

Doesn't the olympics spit out some strange results every so often. You have an expectation that a particular person / team or country will win based on previous knowledge or experience.

Take the football for example - you know that Brazil or Argentina will win. They are both class squads that perform well in the world cup too. It was no suprise that Argentina did indeed collect the gold medal.

But, what came as a hilarious result was the baseball. There is only one country (they'd have you believe) that plays baseball at a high level. They even have the nerve to call the cup competition they play the WORLD series. So - gold medal guaranteed then yes?

No!  They only managed to get the bronze. To make it worse for them Cuba beat them to the silver, and South Korea took the gold. You know Korea - that baseball loving country who sit and munch hot dogs at the stadium and have their own WORLD series.

Whatever next will these olympics throw at us. Britain doing better than the Australians? Now that would be amusing.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Americans settle for baseball bronze

Ah football, how I missed you!

It's August 11th and thank goodness that today sees the start of the new football season. Since the end of last years campaign, I've had that horrible  nothing-to-do-with-my-Saturday-afternoon syndrome.

Now though, I'm sat in the garden, laptop connected wirelessly to the BBC sport interactive live stream, and mobile phone tuned in to the local radio station for live commentary.

Can anything be better than a sunny afternoon and football?

Just an idea

I was watching a news item about cricket - in particular the investigation into the murder of the Pakistan coach - and the possibility that his death might have had something to do with illegal gambling in Pakistan.
The interesting part of the report was how the future generation of national cricketers are being trained. Not only are they learning to play the game well, but they are also being taught "ethics" to avoid the potential of falling foul of the criminal underworld who are out to corrupt them.

What a great idea - children being taught the correct ethics to make good future adults.

How the self righteous have fallen

There is at last some good news for the other football team in my town.
You see, as a Notts County fan, I can't help but enjoy seeing a certain other club suffer.
They might be languishing in the 3rd division (as it used to known), they might be able to only claw an embarrasing draw at home against a non-league side in the FACup, but....

Banning orders 2004 - 2005

Portsmouth - 133
Leeds United - 128

Manchester United 101

Millwall - 101

Nottingham Forest - 77
Middlesbrough - 73
Sheffield Wednesday - 61

They're in the Top 5 when it comes to hooligans who have been arrested. Congratulations.
See, you are good at something - violence, whinging and abusive chanting.
Bet you're really proud.

You have to laugh

"Two-time European Champions Nottingham Forest were relegated to League One as they limped to defeat at QPR.

Never before has a club who have reigned in Europe slipped into the third tier of their domestic league."

So said the first lines of a report on the BBC sport website. I struggled to read it, through my tears of laughter. So much for the "mighty" Forest, where are those cries of "We are a premiership team" now that they always call out when things are going against them.

Accept it Forest fans - those who aren't fickle enough to walk away - you are where you are because that is as good (or should I say as poor) as you are.

Right, now I'm off for a few pints and to celebrate this great piece of news.

Biased?

It's FACup weekend, and my lowly league two side were playing at home to premiership Middlesborough. I know, I  know, I should have assumed that we would never make it through, but it's the FACup and you never know what will happen. Especially after 90 seconds of the match, and we're leading 1-0. For the rest of the first half things looked quite good. But then came half time, teamtalks and a new premiership formation.
Pretty soon it was 1-1. Then it was 1-2. Full time. Dream over for another year.

It's not so much the fact that we are lost to a premiership club. I expected it really, It's more the fact that across the river our nearest team hasn't been able to win a match for months, they've slumped to the foot of their division, there fans have gone quiet (what a relief that has been!) and the flags, pendants and scarves removed from their cars. That was until they won yesterday. Now the local press, local website, local radio are suddenly full of nothing but praise for them. Fickle. 'You only crow when you're winning'. How apt.

"We've turned the corner" one fan was quoted as saying. I hope not. A relegation battle, financial hardship and then maybe the realisation that they are not premiership material - as they keep falsely claiming - will finally dawn on them.

However, while the local press keep focusing on them only, ignoring the other teams in the region, they'll only go on thinking that they are better than they are.

Biased against them? I might be. But at least I accept that my team are where we are because that is how good we are. Why can't they accept the same?