Scotch and Ginger Ale

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2011-08-03T13:03:00.001+01:00

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Speaking of Tea

2011-07-30T23:27:00.004+01:00

WRITING a post when you haven't done so in a while is always difficult. Day to-day I am a journalist, so the thought of writing reportage, which I do for a living, does not appeal at all. Writing about myself won’t do either. Not because I’m not interesting, although people will probably say I amn’t, but because everyone on the ‘net seems to be writing about themself.

No, the first post in a while has to be something different. And for different, let’s have a look at the impending doom that appears to be getting ready to envelop the world on Tuesday, namely a default on its debts by the United States of America.

The debt ceiling is an interesting one. From an outsider’s standpoint (I’m Irish), it’s difficult to understand the logic of even having a ceiling to the national debt [More on this in a later post].

Yes a country needs to be fiscally responsible. If they aren’t you end up with a situation like Greece, Portugal or Ireland. But, unlike the European periphery, The US is the biggest economy in the world. It has natural resources that dwarf most countries on this planet. It has the world’s reserve currency. And it is the single most important plank in the global economy. People talk about China overtaking the States and how it now holds such a huge proportion of Treasuries. That is true, but the Chinese do not hold all the cards. There is an old saying: if someone owes you a million dollars, you own them, if they owe you a billion dollars, they own you. That is precisely the position China is in now. It holds so much US debt, it has no choice but to keep financing American spending, otherwise the value of its Treasuries would collapse overnight. Is it America’s creditor? Yes. Would it be as screwed as America if it called in its debts? Yes.

Which brings me back to the ceiling. Unfortunately it’s not just China that would be screwed if the US defaults on Tuesday. Every institutional investor in the world -you’re pension fund, my pension fund – carrys T-Bills as a matter of course. If a default comes then goodbye pensions.

And for Americans, once they default, they can kiss goodbye to services they take for granted. With nobody willing to buy American debt, the government runs out of money, and the subway, the buses, social security, all grind to a shuddering halt.

The 2.65m (estimated) federal workers will find themselves without paychecks, so they wont make their rent or mortgages, the local shop that lives off selling newspapers and coffee to workers in the morning is put out of business because his customers arent going to work, and so on.

In short, what happened in the credit markets in September 2008, happens in the everyday market of life. And all this when the US economy is barely avoiding a double dip recession as it is.

Shockingly, it seems one group will be pleased with this. The Tea Party appear to be placing intellectual and political purity above the future of their country. Through ignorance or something more sinister, they’re actions are the exact opposite of the patriotism they claim to represent.

Zuck steps back

2010-05-24T17:18:00.001+01:00

THE FOUNDER of Facebook, which has over 1.5m users in Ireland, said yesterday that the website would simplify its privacy settings and give users more control over what information is passed onto third parties.

Mark Zuckerberg, who is also chief executive of the social networking website, said that new, simpler, privacy settings would be rolled out across the site "in the coming weeks". The move comes after criticism from privacy groups and politicians across the world that Facebook's privacy settings were too complicated and accusations that the website shared private information with third party websites.

Writing in the Washington Post, Mr. Zuckerberg, admitted that Facebook had "moved too fast" in loosening its privacy settings and that "people want easier control over their information" and vowed to right the system.

"Many of you thought our controls were too complex. We…missed the mark," he said. Mr. Zuckerberg also said that the new privacy settings would make it easier for users to turn off all third party services and applications such as the well known "Farmville" and "Mafia Wars"

"Many people choose to make some of their information visible to everyone. We already offer controls to limit the visibility of that information and we intend to make them even stronger," he added.

Mr. Zuckerberg's mea culpa may be seen as a significant climb down from his long time position of making as much information as possible freely available on the web.

At the launch of "Web Graphs" (an application that allowed users to "like" content across the web), the 26-year-old billionaire said, "we're building a web where the default is social".

Web Graphs and the ensuing changes to the website's privacy policy led to outrage across the world, however. Four US senators called on the site to reverse the new policy of sharing users information more widely with third party websites while privacy groups also raised concerns.

At the end of last year a change to the privacy settings made everybody's personal information available to search engines unless they changed those settings to prevent it. The move resulted in an angry letter from the EU calling the move "unacceptable", and resulted in some users quitting the site.

Facebook's latest controversy has also led to an online campaign for people to delete their Facebook profiles.

Quit Facebook day has been set for May 31st. An accompanying website, QuitFacebook.com claims to have 14,382 members committed to removing their account.

Ireland team leaves a lot to be desired

2010-02-23T15:22:00.002Z

It was one of the many images we were left with in Paris. Tomas O'Leary (for once) had quick ball too work with and he had Ronan O'Gara flat on the gain line. An attack was ready to be launched. And then Jerry Flannery arrived, and O'Leary decied to let Flannery pick and go. The ensuing ball was so slow as to be unusable, and the attack petered out.

It was symptomatic of Ireland, and O'Leary's, performance all day. After the game, the general consensus was that changes would have to be made for Twickenham, and changes have been made.

But they are the wrong ones.

Geordan Murphy in for the injured Rob Kearney was expected and is right. Johnny Sexton for the out of sorts Ronan O'Gara was inevitable as was Rory Best coming in for the suspended Jerry Flannery. The decision to retain Tomas O'Leary ahead of Eoin Reddan and to drop Leo Cullen for a fit again Donncha O'Callaghan however beggars belief.

O'Leary two weeks ago was slow, indecisive and lacked urgency. His delivery to O'Gara was too slow and innaccurate. To be sure, O'Gara had a stinker, but it was not all of his making. When he has to reach for a slow pass as he had to too often in Paris, it makes it all but impossible for him to run a backline effectively. O'Leary's decision making was not of international standard and he seemed almost cowed by the French pack. Too often he called for a pick and go or just let the forwards do what they wanted. A scrum half must boss his pack. He must be vocal, he must give direction, and he must be willing to have a go at his pack if they are in the way. O'Leary demonstrated none of these qualities. Eoin Reddan is by nature a more vocal character and his delivery was demonstrably faster when he came on. As well as his physical skills, his inclusion would have ensured that Sexton had his regular Leinster team mates either side of him, this could only improve the understanding amongst the backs.

As for the decision to include O'Callaghan instead of Cullen, well, it is hard to credit. Cullen was probably the stand out Irish forward against France. He repeatedly won lineouts against the throw and was far more noticeable around the park than Paul O'Connell. Indeed, when he was called ashore in the 65th minute, it is fair to say that it should have been O'Connnell who was taken off.

Donncha O'Callaghan is an honest to god player who has been a fixture for Ireland the last four years. He's also a limited player who has not played a competitive game since injuring knee ligaments on January 22nd.Will he matchfit? Is he a better bet than Cullen on Saturday?

England may have played poorly but they are slowly building momentum and are still unbeaten in t he tournament. Ireland are coming off a first defeat in a year and need to make a statement at Twickenham this Saturday. declan Kidney needed to make changes but two errors could be costly.

Old Master?

2010-02-09T13:55:00.002Z

Nicos has been a fixture on the Dublin restaurant scene for decades. Peter Flanagan finds out if it still has the genius of old.

Restaurants are ten a penny these days. It seems that they appear and disappear with disconcerting regularity. In the New York of the book American Psycho, a restaurant that Patrick Bateman (the main character) simply must have a table in at the start, is a vacant lot by the end. Dublin is getting a bit like that, albeit without the psychotic serial killer.

Fortunately, in a restaurant world of “here today, gone tomorrow”, Nicos is the exception. It has been around for years and although a recent refit has changed the décor dramatically - the red velvet is gone and replaced with a modern mixture of brown and white - the ambience has changed little, and that is a very good thing. Therefore it’s a real pity that the food does not seem to be quite what it was.

Our coats were taken by a polite young waiter and we were seated in what was a practically empty restaurant, but it was early on a Monday night, and it would fill up later on. Very few restaurants can pack them in on a cold Monday night but Nico’s does a pretty good job of it.

Our starters arrived promptly and they were excellent. My minestrone soup was packed full of flavour. It’s easy to make a decent bowl of minestrone but hard to make a top class one. This was near top class. Plenty of vegetables and the soup was just the right thickness. It probably helped that it was freezing outside. The paté on the other hand was very average. Too much of it and very garlicky, it is something to be avoided.

The main courses arrived a short time after – a pheasant breast drowned in a tomato sauce and a fillet steak. While the steak was excellent, it soon became clear why there was so much sauce on the pheasant. It was dry as a bone and had little flavour. Think Christmas turkey three days later and that’s the level of dryness you are talking about. Fortunately the steak was excellent – almost burnt on the outside but fabulously juicy on the inside. When I order a steak medium this is what I’m talking about. The vegetables – green beans and cauliflower au gratin – were overdone and the gratin dominated the flavour of everything it touched. Lashings of thin cut chips made up for the vegetables though and when the meal was washed down with a fabulous valpolicella, the problems with the pheasant and the cauliflower were almost forgotten.

By now the restaurant had filled up substantially and the piano that sits just inside the main door had been opened. This is the part I usually enjoy most about Nico’s. The soft, unidentifiable, music is perfect for a relaxing meal for two. Unfortunately tonight we were greeted with such classics as the Toploader’s “Dancing In The Moonlight” and “Are we Human” by The Killers. While the music was well played as you’d expect, when you spend more time trying to identify the tunes than enjoying your meal, it certainly detracts from the overall experience. In any case, pop songs did not seem to fit with the mostly middle aged clientele. It was the kind of music you’d expect in a Burger King, not the venerable Nico’s.

The waiters left us to our own devices for just the right length of time before offering us dessert menus. Gateau Nico’s is a sponge cake with custard and chocolate cream and it is magnificent. The custard and chocolate combine perfectly to produce terrific flavours. I can’t recommend it enough. Coffee is, as you’d expect from an Italian restaurant, superb.

When the bill came, as expected, it wasn’t cheap. €137 for two people is a little on the high side but we didn’t hold back. The steak and the pheasant were two of the most expensive mains on the menu while our bottle of wine was at the higher end of the scale.

Overall Nico’s has definitely slipped in quality. It gives the reputation of a place living of its reputation rather than trying to maintain excellence. It is still worth going to but don’t expect it to be a life changing experience. This is no longer a place Pat Bateman would kill for a table in.

Nicos, 53 Dame Street, Dublin 2. Telephone: +353 (0)1 677 3062

The Other Side of the Wall Street Recession

2010-02-09T13:49:00.002Z

“Why isn’t the report ready yet? I need it by one!”

Jamie Richardson comes out of his boss’s office and returns to his three computer screens. He doesn’t say anything but the look of exasperation on his face says more than any words could. It’s 12.45 and five hours since he arrived at his desk, Jamie still hasn’t had breakfast. He sits down in his Aeron chair, and glances at his inbox. Sixty five emails are sitting unread. There are 3 voicemails waiting on his phone, and he’s a pile of bank transfers to authorise. Such is the life of the underling.

Jamie works in Dublin for a top Wall Street investment bank. Once one of the most prestigious banks in the world, It was taken over when on the verge of collapse in during the meltdown of 2008. Like the vast majority of Wall Street employees, his is not a glamorous job. He does not make the million dollar bonuses. In a world where the term “wall street bonus” is a dirty word, Jamie represents the other side of the argument. For every one of the traders who nearly destroyed the global financial system and then picked up a multi-million euro bonus, there are thousands like Jamie who work for an average wage, and get a very average bonus, if any. It’s a side of the bonus row that has not been heard, until now.

Like most people working on The Street, as Wall Street is known among its drones, these days, Jamie does not have an MBA from Harvard or Wharton, or Smurfit for that matter. After a degree in medicinal chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, he realised that he would have to pursue a PhD to go anywhere in the science world, and after four years of slaving over Petri dishes and Bunsen burners, he knew that wasn’t for him. He also knew that he wanted to get out into the “real world” and start earning. €80 a week from the local Spar was no longer enough. At the height of the boom in 2004, banking was the obvious career. After speaking to a recruitment agency he was put forward for a handful of interviews. None were quite like the interview he did for this firm.

“When they called me for an interview, they asked me to come in at 6.30 in the evening which seemed a bit odd to say the least. When I arrived in, the first thing I was asked was what I liked most about golf (he is a keen golfer). The role I was being interviewed for and the talk through my CV all came later.”

He survived the interview and was made an offer. It wasn’t the only one he got, but it was certainly the most intriguing. He jumped at it.

Day 1 in a new office job usually follows a fairly simple structure. Arrive in the office, be met at reception by your new boss, get shown around the office, shake a few hands, drink some coffee, go home around 4.30. Jamie found himself sitting at a desk with more computer screens than he knew was possible to hook up to one computer and the phone ringing. It was 8.30am. He finally got out around seven that night.

“The attitude in there was really ‘sink or swim’. There was little on the job training as such. I basically had to work things out and ask questions as I went,” he said.

“Survival of the fittest” is the way another employee describes it. “It’s a tough job and not everyone can hack it. I know of at least 3 people who were gone within 2 weeks. They (the firm) put a lot of pressure on you and you have to deal with it,” said the employee.

Jamie did deal with it, and still does. The day starts at 6am, he’s at his desk by 7.30 – 7.45 every morning.

His job is to complete the trades a company trader executes. For example, a trader might sell 5,000 shares in Apple with a delivery date of January 2nd 2010. Jamie’s job is to deliver the 5,000 Apple shares to the person the trader is selling the shares to (the counterparty) on January 2nd 2010 (the value date). It sounds like a relatively straightforward task but the deal described above is replicated thousands of times a month, as are much more complex trades. The deal above is about as “vanilla” as it gets.

After he checks his email, he usually goes downstairs to get breakfast which he brings back to his desk (everyone’s desk has some sort of cup or plate on them, lunch at your desk is the norm). This morning though is one of those days when breakfast is an afterthought. A mail came in from Tokyo during the night. A senior manager over there wants a trade report for the last quarter ASAP (nobody says “as soon as possible” – it’s too long), and they copied his manager on the mail. This means his boss will want the report long before it is sent to Tokyo. These kinds of things tend to be relatively common occurrences. That doesn’t make them any easier. The “big dogs” in investment banks tend to want the world yesterday. That is the nature of the business at their level. People at Jamie’s level provide the info that allows one big dog to eat another. They just hope they aren’t eaten too.

Jamie and his team produce a stream of reports for management as a matter of course. The report the man in Tokyo wants isn’t one of them. Trade details have to be downloaded, value dates have to be correlated and the data has to be sorted. The report should include “Vanilla Interest Rate Swaps” but not “Butterfly Interest Rate Swaps”. “FX Forwards (G10)” should be included but “FX Forwards (emerging)” should be excluded. The only way to do this is manually on the biggest Excel Spreadsheet I’ve ever seen. Actually 3 spreadsheets totalling 180,354 lines of gibberish. Numbers are interspersed with dates, company names and currency signs. Finally the report is cut down to a mere 65,000 lines. After he goes through it with his manager, Jamie emails the report to Japan. A one word “thanks” which has been “sent from a Blackberry © wireless handheld” is received back almost before the mail had left Jamie’s screen. It’s now just after 1.30 in Dublin – 10.30 at night in Tokyo.

Lunch is a sandwich at the desk. While eating Jamie cleans up his inbox (Outlook is permanently on the screen on the left), checks for any news on Tiger’s sabbatical from golf (middle screen), and ignores the trade data on the right hand screen. After lunch the golf news is replaced by an excel spreadsheet.

The day ends around 7.30. Jamie’s team works mainly with the London and Tokyo markets so he doesn’t have anyone in the States on the phone in the evening. He is going home for a pizza or something similar. And a beer. Before he leaves I ask him if this was a normal day. He breaks out into the broadest grin I’ve seen from anyone in the building all day.

“Normal? There’s no such thing as ‘normal’ in this world.”

Last year Jamie took home €27,000 gross, plus a bonus of €16,000. This year his base has been reduced to under €25,000. He pays rent of €500 a month plus bills. He is like a lot of people getting through the Great Recession as best they can, holding onto their job for dear life and keeping out of trouble. Unlike most people though, he is working for a firm in an industry which has been hung upside down from a lamppost by politicians worldwide.

In the UK, Lord Myners, the city minister has called on bankers to “return to the real world” on bonuses. The Labour government will introduce a 50% super-tax on City bonuses at the next budget. The move has been widely welcomed. In the US President Obama has rounded on Wall Street for its bonus culture.

The argument is simple: the banks brought the world to the verge of financial meltdown last year and had to be saved by the government. They plunged the world into the worst recession since the 1930s. Therefore everyone in the business should be punished.

It is a perfect argument. Cogent, easy to understand, and populist. No politician would dare to go against it.

People in the business take a different view. Lord Griffith is a former economic advisor to Margaret Thatcher and now works part time for Goldman Sachs. Speaking at an event in St. Paul’s Cathedral about morality in the marketplace, Griffith said that bonuses were a good thing.

“If we said we’re not going to have as big bonuses or the same bonuses as last year, I think you’d find that lots of City firms could easily hive off their operations to Switzerland or the Far East.” The comments set off a wave of disgust amongst the press and people not working in investment banking.

Jamie doesn’t necessarily agree with Lord Griffith, but he heartily disagrees with the public anger as well.

“What people forget is that we (bankers) aren’t all multi-millionaires. The vast majority of us are working long hours for not much money. There is a myth that we all get bonuses of 700k (the average bonus in Goldman Sachs) and above.

“The bonus isn’t something that allows most of us to buy a new yacht. It’s something that allows us to pay the rent every month. A friend left here after two years to go back to college. She is working as a waitress at weekends. She told me that per hour, she’s making more as a waitress than she was here.”

It sounds absurd, but Jamie does have a point. As he logs off his computer and turns off his three screens, I glance around the floor. At least half of the desks are still occupied. Most would be on a wage comparable to Jamie’s. If the money isn’t what we are all supposed to think it is, if the stress is so high and he has a boss that has no hesitation in chewing him out in public, why do it?

He shrugs. “You know, I’ve asked myself the same question, and I honestly don’t know. I guess it’s just what we do.”

Unbelievable

2010-01-19T00:54:00.001Z

This is crazy. Reuters captured a car bomb in Kabul today. As Gregg Mitchell at E&P in exile said, this is really like a scene from The Hurt Locker...

Ravens storm Foxborough

2010-01-10T22:52:00.002Z

The Baltimore Ravens marched on to the NFL Divisional round with a stunning 34-14 victory over the New England Patriots at Foxborough today.

It was a performance that few expected from either side - the Ravens were as good as the Patriots were poor - and one that will send a message to Indianapolis where the Ravens will play next week.

Baltimore set the tone for the performance when running back Ray Rice was sprung for an eighty-three yard touchdown run on the first play of the game. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was strip-sacked by Terrel Suggs on the following series and then threw two uncharacteristically awful interceptions as the Ravens stormed to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter.

Brady was obviously missing his security blanket, the injured Wes Welker. Time and again he had plenty of tme but could not find an open receiver. An uninterested Randy Moss was a non factor again and Julian Edeleman, for all his endeavour, clearly lacked the elusiveness of Welker whom he replaced.

The Patriots comeback began when Tom Zbikowski muffed a punt and Kyle Arrington recovered. Arrington seemed to not have control of the ball when he fell out of bounds but Ravens headcoach John Harbaugh chose not to challenge the fumble recovery. Brady found Edelman on a 3rd and goal to get the Pats on the board.

With the Patriots on the board, the raucous crowd at Gillette Stadium stopped booing their team and started cheering but the anticipated onslaught never materialised.

Brady found Edelman again with a three yard strike in the third quarter but by then it only reduced the deficit to 27-14. It was a strangely listless New England Patriot team that never really looked like challenging Baltimore on either side of the ball. Everytime the Patriots' offense sputtered the defense could not get the stop they desperately needed. As the Ravens started to play to defend their lead, Jarod Mayo and the rest of the defense could not stop a power running game new England used to pride itself in stopping. Time and again third and short became first and ten. When Willis McGahee punched it in from three yards for his second score early in the fourth quarter, the lead was 19 and the match was over. The Ravens loaded the left side of the line and obviously showed the Patriots what they were going to do. Still, McGahee walked into the endzone more or less untouched. It was the final humiliation for three time Superbowl Champions. A fourth down sack of Brady by late on put the period to the paragraph.

Tough Choices for Obama

2009-12-11T14:01:00.000Z

When the news came through that the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TARP) would cost USD 200 billion less than expected, it was universally accepted that this was good news. As Mitul Kotecha, the head of global foreign-exchange strategy at Calyon, the investment banking unit of France's Credit Agricole said in an Irish Times report, "The fact that they are spending less TARP money means that recovery is better and stronger than expected, and that's all positive for growth.”

Since then however, the extra USD 200 billion has become a political headache for President Barack Obama. With unemployment still above ten percent in the United States, he is under pressure from his party to spend the money on another stimulus package, specifically on a jobs package. The fiscal conservatives on the right of his party and across the aisle however, want the money to be ploughed into reducing the budget deficit. The president looks set to spend the money on a jobs stimulus but either path is problematic.

The budget deficit currently stands at around USD 1.4 trillion. Essentially the federal government spent USD 1.4 TR more than it took in through tax revenue and other revenue streams. The problem with not reducing the deficit is that as long as the deficit is allowed to grow, the federal debt will increase and only makes the US more vulnerable to a dollar sell off by the likes of China as well as potentially making it harder for the United States to raise money on the international bond markets.

The day Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said the TARP would cost less than previously thought, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives (the lower house of parliament), John Boehner, said that the savings should be used to cut the deficit. Any other spending would only “grow the size of government”. Last night a bipartisan group of budget officials called on the government to reduce the size of the deficit as part of a plan to reduce the overall National Debt. The group includes Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former head of the Congressional Budget Office and Jim Jones, the former chairman of the House Budget Committee.

The argument to reduce the deficit first is clearly reasonable and nuanced but it would be next to impossible for Mr. Obama to articulate this argument to a country enduring an unemployment rate of ten percent. That figure goes past seventeen percent when it includes people who have given up looking for a job.

Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats and Speaker of the House of Representatives, has already said legislation is being written to use some of the TARP funds to help small businesses while the White House is “actively looking” at ways to use the TARP to spur job growth.

Last week, the president’s approval rating fell below fifty percent for the first time since he took office. The unemployment rate is thought to have been a huge factor in this, especially as people in trouble financially watch Mr. Obama emphasise the war in Afghanistan and healthcare reform while he also travels to Oslo to accept a Nobel Peace Prize and then goes to Copenhagen to try to strike a deal over climate change.

Mike Barnicle, a former Boston Globe columnist and now a contributor to the cable news channel MSNBC, believes it is creating a perception of an uncaring president.

“People look at this and they think, ‘that’s fine, I want a job’. In what was billed as an economic speech, the president offered a tax incentive to weatherise my house but I haven’t got any work,” he says.

“There is a growing resentment of his celebrity – going to Copenhagen and getting his Nobel peace prize when I lost my job seven months ago. He’s in the White House surrounded academics when I want my job back,” Mr. Barnicle added.

Assuming Mr. Obama chooses to spend the money on jobs, there is no guarantee it will be successful. Despite the multiple bailouts since the recession started, the unemployment rate in the US has continued to rise. Either choice is a gamble for the president. It is a gamble he would rather not make.

The Genius of Brad Childress

2009-10-09T03:18:00.003+01:00

Mea Culpa mea culpa.

In my last post I slated Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress for what I perceived as a boneheaded move to sign Brett Favre and his bending over backwards to accommodate the man from Louisiana, possibly at the expense of the rest of his team.

Well, four weeks into the season and the Vikings record is four wins and no losses. They sit atop the NFC North and their last two wins have been because of Favre. One tends to think that only Favre could have made the 32 yard pass to Greg Lewis with two seconds left to beat the 49ers and last week, on a night when Adrian Peterson was restricted to 55 yards rushing, Favre strafed his old Green Bay Packers for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

So far so good for Childress. That decision is just one of the many, many reasons why he is a head-coach and I am sitting at a lap top in the dead of night.

The Madness of Brad Childress

2009-08-20T02:39:00.000+01:00

Well he's finally done it. Brett Favre, who Sports Illustrated rightfully described as the wishiest washiest person in sport, has returned to the NFL and signed for the Minnesota Vikings - something that he was expected to do all summer until he announced he would not do so on July 28th. I have no problem with Favre coming back. One of the oldest sayings in sport is "you're a long time retired". Favre obviously still wants to play and he's found a team that will have him. I do however, have a huge problem with the Vikings and specifically Brad Childress for taking him on.

Let's look at the facts.

Favre is 40 in October and coming off surgery for a torn bicep in his throwing arm. How many 40 year olds have been successful quarterbacks in the league?

Last season his decline had begun before he injured his bicep. In September he three 12 touchdowns against 4 interceptions while completing 70% of his passes. From October on his record was 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The nadir, of course, was December (2TDs. 8ints, no playoffs). The injury was not the only factor in Brett Favre's decline. If this was anyone other than Favre would those kind of numbers not be taken into account by a coach?

While getting surgery on his bicep, his surgeon - the renowned Dr. James Andrews spotted a partially torn rotator cuff. This injury nearly ended Chad Pannington's career. Twice.

When Favre announced back in July that he would not be coming back, he cited soreness in his knees and ankles and worried that his body would not last a whole season. In the space of three weeks what changed?

What kind of effect does this have on the quarterbacks the Vikings already have? Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels may not be long term prospects but having watched their coach chase the man from Hattiesburg all summer like a crazed lover what must they and the rest of the team think? The headcoach has basically turned around to them and said I have no confidence in you to lead this team to the playoffs. What if Favre's body does give out like he feared? Are they going to have the confidence or desire to step in and do a job for the team?

Madness. Absolute madness.

Australia take the honours

2009-07-31T02:38:00.000+01:00

England got off to the worst possible start at Edgbaston this evening when Australia stormed out of the gate to reach 112/1 a short time before close of play. Shane Watson, in for Phil Hughes claimed his first 50 against England while Smon Katich helped himself to 46 at just under a run a ball. The England bowlers were guilty of bowling an inconsistent line and length and only Graeme Swann could give any sort of control; he eventually had Katich LBW trying to pull a ball off middle stump.

There was drama just before the start of play when Aussie keeper Brad Haddin was forced out of the test when he broke his left index finger when warming up. The teams had already tossed and Ricky Ponting requested to Andrew Strauss that Graeme Manou be allowed to take his place. Strauss consented.

D-Day for Ponting and Johnson

2009-07-30T02:37:00.000+01:00

“Rain, rain go away, come again another day”, or words to that effect, will undoubtedly be washing around Ricky Ponting’s head this morning. With the crucial third test now only 24 hours away, the grim weather forecast may match Australia’s prospects for salvaging a result from the forthcoming five days. The complexion of this series changed completely once Graeme Swann bowled Nathan Hauritz ten days ago. Whereas at tea on day five at the Swalec stadium Australia were going to win the series five nil, England are now going to win the series four nil. The domination Australia displayed for four days and two sessions at Cardiff is now a distant memory, The momentum is all England’s; once again the great and the good of Australian cricket and the press box are questioning Ricky’s captaincy – a theme Ponting will be finding tiresome after the struggles at home to South Africa this past winter.

After inclement weather prevented him from working on the pitch for much of the last two weeks, the groundsman, Steve Rouse, has already described the pitch as “jelly” and fears an under prepared strip. He said the same though in 2005 and Punter Ponting is not putting his money where the Warwickshire groundsman’s mouth is this time after being suckered into
putting England in here in 2005. The rest of that first day was spent watching Marcus Trescothick lead an English charge past 400 before the end of the day as the groundwork was laid for the dramatic denouement four days later. After looking at the pitch with his own eyes though, the Australian captain may well end up advising his selectors to give him the four seamers Rouse has recommended after all. The pitch looks like a return to the tracks that bowlersfrom all parts so loved in the 90s. If it still has the green sheen to it tomorrow morning that it currently displays then it would be a foolish or extremely confident captain who goes into the game with only three frontline quicks.

Australia, while not desperately needing to win at Edgbaston, will want to at least take the wind out of the English sails that have been billowing since Lords. To have the better of a rain effected draw may be no bad thing going into Headingley.

To this end, the gods seem to have favoured them this time. As we all know by now, Kevin Pietersen is out and Ian Bell, save for one innings against South Africa, has been uncertain at best when facing the top tier of test match bowling. Without Pietersen coming in at four the middle order suddenly seems vulnerable. KP guided a troubled Ravi Bopara through the afternoon session at Lords on day four. Could Bell do the same? Paul Collingwood, who could nearly be picked purely because he brings the best out of Pietersen when they’re at the crease together, undoubtedly loses some of his aura (if he has one) without the man from Port Elizabeth at the other end. If these three can’t put a score on the board, Matt Prior’s loose technique and overly attacking mindset means he is not someone who can be trusted to come in at six to gut out an Australian onslaught. The English middle order suddenly takes on a whole new level of
vulnerability without their best player. Andrew Strauss will be all too aware of this.

That is the positive for Australia. The major question though is even with the potentially weak middle order of England, will the Aussies have the fire power to even get that far? Mitchell Johnson’s travails have been well documented since Lords. Four wickets in four innings with an economy rate of over five might be acceptable in Twenty20. It is a disaster in test cricket.
Alistair Cooke may have a weakness against the straight ball angled into the stumps but he and Andrew Strauss maybe a compulsive hooker but both are perfectly capable of clipping leg stump half volleys through mid wicket and cutting wide long hops through point all day. At Lords they was asked to do little else by Johnson when putting together an opening stand of 196 on the
first day.

Johnson has cut a lonely figure since the second innings at Cardiff . It is not unusual for star bowlers from the southern hemisphere to struggle the first time they play in England. Even Glenn McGrath was caned by Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain the first test he played here in 1997. The difference between Johnson and most of the other Australian bowlers who have struggled in English conditions is that most were guilty of bowling too short initially, and they quickly rectified the problem. In 1997 McGrath followed 1/104 at Edgbaston with 8/38 at Lords. Johnson was barely been able to land it on the cut strip at Lords.

For his own sake, and for the sake of his future development, he should be dropped for Edgbaston. The lack of alternatives may see him reprieved though. Stuart Clarke is the obvious candidate but he may yet come in for Nathan Hauritz. If he does then it would be a straight choice between Johnson and Shane Watson. Watson is a better batsman but even in his current state, Johnson has more penetration with the ball. Watson is a batting all rounder to be sure but whether he can be trusted as anything more than a fourth or fifth seamer, especially given his injury history is open to question. Peter Siddle too has been full of hustle and bustle but has rarely looked like blowing through anyone on the tour to date. Only the excellent Ben Hilfenhaus has been exempt from criticism all series. It has been argued that Hilfenhaus and Clarke are too similar to have in the same attack. If that was the case then no team would want two Glenn McGraths sharing the new ball. It is an absurd argument to make. Both players can give Ricky Ponting the control he has lacked all series but especially so on day one at Lords. Not every ball need take a wicket, as McGrath himself demonstrated. A persistent line around off stump and an ability to keep it tight will always bring rewards. If only Johnson could find that combination.

If Australia’s problems with the ball can be sorted out they stand a great chance of getting the result they need at Edgbaston. Unfortunately, no matter how well they do with the ball themselves they may be denied by the weather. The forecast is horrendous until the weekend. It may be a case of gaining the ascendancy before launching an all out assault at Leeds.

Just a Thought

2009-07-22T02:36:00.000+01:00

England's day so far, no doubt about it. At tea on the first day at Lords England were 225/2 with captain Andrew Strauss unbeaten on an even century. He shared a partnership of 196 with Alistair Cooke. Cooke was unluckily out lbw to Mitchell for a well made 95. He was unlucky not because he wasn't out - he was plumb - but rather it was the only straight ball Johnson had bowled all day. The left armer continued his bad form from Cardiff except he was much worse than the first test. Mixing wide long hops with leg stump half volleys, he cut a sorry figure for the first two sessions of the day, conceding 77 in eleven overs. The pick of the Australian bowlers was Ben Hilfenhaus. On the money from ball one, Hilfenhaus deservedly clamed a wicket when he brought one back into Ravi Bopara's pads. The Essex man may have got an awful decision in the last test but he could not dispute this one.

Kevin Pietersen looked uncomfortable to Hilfenhaus as the ball started to swing but Strauss continued on his serene way bring up his hundred two balls before tea.

It has been a tough two sessions for Ricky Ponting. After he lost the toss he then had to watch his bowlers get taken apart by the English batsmen. To add insult to injury he also lost his spinner, Nathan Haurits to a dislocated fingure when he tried to take a low return catch off Strauss.

Tea at Lords

2009-07-17T06:17:00.000+01:00

The End for Fred

2009-07-16T16:29:00.000+01:00

Andrew Flintoff today announced he will retire from Test match cricket at the end of the current Ashes series against Australia. The Lancashireman, who has passed a late fitness test before tomorrow’s second test after injuring a knee in the first test, cited his injury history and the toll the five days of a test takes on his body. He will remain available for one day and twenty20 cricket.

The 31 year old came into the England team as a precocious teenager against South Africa in 1998 but was hopelessly outclassed. Like nearly everyone has since Ian Botham retired, he struggled with the tag of “the new Botham” and was in and out of the England team for several years. His reputation for living life to the full off the pitch as well as troubles with his own weight and fitness left him open to widespread criticism from the press and within the cricket world. However, he finally established himself under the management of Duncan Fletcher and the captaincy of Michael Vaughan, averaging 52 with the bat including a dramatic 142 at Lords against South Africa in 2003. He followed that up with fine performances the following summer but that would be only a prelude to the Ashes series of 2005. In a series acclaimed by many as the greatest of all time, Flintoff dominated the stage, inspiring Englandto a first win against Australia since 1986/87. His stats for the series – 24 wickets and over 400 runs – were excellent but they told only half the story. Every time he took the ball in his hand he made something happen. His over at Edgbaston when he took the wickets of Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting was described by Mark Nicholas commentating as “the over of the series”, he followed that with a 102 in the 4th Test that Wisden described as “ a century of murderous purpose.” At the end of that historic series it seemed the world was his oyster and only greatness awaited. Ultimately the fates would conspire against him.

Just as the England management a generation earlier had mistaken a great player for a great captain in Ian Botham, Duncan Fletcher and co did the same with Flintoff. When Michael Vaughan was injured before the next summer, Flintoff was named as captain. He led England for three test against Sri Lanka only for he himself to go down with injury. Andrew Strauss promptly stepped in and led England to a series win over Pakistan. England were to travel to Australia to defend the Ashes the following winter and with Flintoff feeling his way back to full fitness, Strauss seemed the obvious choice to continue as captain. Instead they picked Flintoff to lead the party.

Targeted relentlessly by the Australians, Flintoff could only watch as an outclassed England were whitewashed to the delight of the natives. He would never reclaim the greatness that briefly shone on him in 2005. Since that summer he has missed more tests than he has played and whispers had begun that perhaps England were a better team without him and maybe the test team could not continue to wait for him as he recovered from his latest ailment.

The latest knee problem seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. He informed the players on Monday of his intentions and as rumours started to fill the air he formally made his announcement though the Press Association and followed that with a press conference at Lords.

The timing of the announcement does put the selectors in a bit of a spot. What if his form does not merit a place in the last test? Will they drop him as they would with other players or will they allow him to say good bye to his adoring fans publicly? In any case it may not matter. “Fred” will continue to play one day and Twenty20 cricket which his bank manager will be very pleased to hear. Like Darren Gough before him, he seems destined to see out his days on the international 20 overs circuit and playing for England in the shorter forms if he is selected.

After 2005 Wisden described Andrew Flintoff as having made the “quantum, the Beamon leap, from excellence to greatness”. Ultimately it would be just a fleeting moment before his own body would pull him back to ranks of the merely mortal. He was a very fine test cricketer, but not a great one. If he had been blessed with a more rugged frame he may have made that quantum leap a permanent one, but maybe a fleeting moment was enough.

The squad has been picked, now for the test team

2009-04-25T02:27:00.000+01:00

Rugby Union: The first shock came when the back rows were named. No to Ryan Jones and Tom Croft, but yes to Alan Quinlan and Andy Powell. In the second row, yes to Simon Shaw but no to Steve Borthwick. And perhaps most surprising of all, yes to Keith Earls and Ugo Monye but no Mark Cueto and Delon Armitage. Even the choosing of Paul O’Connell over his international captain Brian O’Driscoll to lead the team, although widely expected, carries an element of risk. The British and Irish Lions squad that Ian McGeechan selected this weekend (with a little input from Warren Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley) has brought several surprises and, perhaps, the possibility of recriminations if the tour does not go as planned. The main talking points right now among the fans are obviously who didn’t make the touring party. In a six weeks time though the question will no longer be who should have been picked for the tour but rather who should be picked for the first test on June 20^th. To that end, here is a best guess at what the management team may do if the first test was this Saturday. As happens on every tour though, somebody will emerge from relative obscurity to take a test place. Few would have expected Jeremy Davidson to make the impact he did in 1997 or Ryan Jones in 2005. So please, don’t read this and then head straight for the nearest bookmakers to put the mortgage on this XV lining out at Durban two months from now.

In the back three, Tommy Bowe and Luke FitzGerald go into the tour as favourites for the wing spots. Both had solid Six Nations but both may have to show excellent for form to cement places in a position that is notable as much for those omitted as those picked. Mark Cueto had a fine Six Nations and has returned to the form he showed when he made it into the England team in the first place a few years ago. He will be disappointed that he hasn’t made the plane, as will be Delon Armitage. Armitage arguably over took Rob Kearney for the second full back spot towards the end of the tournament and had shown a willingness to attack that the Irishman seems to have forgotten. His scything runs against the French stand out and he has continued his form with London Irish. A place should have been found for him. In fairness though, Leigh Halfpenny has electric pace along with the strength to match while Ugo Monye, a few years later than advertised, has finally turned in to the international winger he was supposed to be when he was 20. Lee Byrne is unquestionably the man in possession of the 15 shirt right now and don’t be surprised if Halfpenny and Shane Williams (if he can find his form) make it an all Welsh test back three.

The gamble taken on Keith Earls may be where this tour lives or dies. Keith Earls is a young tyro who played for Ireland in the autumn but didn’t feature in the Six Nations. He has been in fine form for Munsterand undoubtedly has a bright future. The selection team obviously see him as a Will Greenwood type selection in 1997. There is a lingering fear though that this tour may have come a year too early for him. Gordon D’Arcy completed his comeback from along term injury this spring and showed he was back in form. Considering he has kept Earls out of the Ireland team his non-selection has to be a surprise. If Earls doesn’t make it and inside centre becomes a question mark position then the second guessing will start quickly. There is a danger Earls may end up like Matthew Tait out of his depth so early in his career. In any case, with O’Driscoll guaranteed his place barring some apocalyptic event, it becomes four players looking for one position. Tom Shanklin will probably shade it as of right now but the fast tracks of the High Veld will suit Riki Flutey and his distribution skills may be key to running the Lions backline.

As of today, the half backs seem relatively straightforward. The faster hands and longer kicking range of Ronan O’Gara will see him picked ahead of Stephen Jones at ten but he needs to pick up his form. It has been sheer grit that has got him though this season. Both these players can count themselves fortunate that neither Danny Cipriani nor James Hook were able to make a late charge for the plane. Dwayne Peel’s injury problems and the inability of Chris Cusiter to find favour with Frank Hadden this year mean neither will be in South Africa and the Lions will be weaker for it. Mike Phillips is big and strong but his pass it too slow for international rugby while Tomás O’Leary has also struggled with his distribution. Once Harry Ellis regained his Englandplace at the expense of the unfortunate Danny Care the Leicester scrum half was outstanding. He scored tries, was a live wire around the park and bossed his pack well. He is the unquestioned starter.

The pack is where things start to get a little more complicated. The Lions seem to want to shift the Springboks around the park and tire them out (hence the selection of someone like Earls) but they also need a pack that will not be intimidated and can ultimately dominate the South African forwards (hence the selection of Alan Quinlan). Let’s start at the front.

Euan Murray has emerged as the best tight head prop in the Home Nations, likewise Gethin Jenkins is seen as the top loose head inEurope. If they were on form both Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan would be worth their place but neither player has shown their best in at least a year. Vickery especially seems to be playing from memory at the moment and it may have been a lack of alternatives that has seen him travel. None of the three hookers picked have had outstanding seasons. Matthew Rees was taken apart at the lineout by the Irish jumpers while both Jerry Flannery and Lee Mears have been considered too small at times. With Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha awaiting them, the one thing the Lions hooker must be able to do is find his jumper consistently. This is where Flannery may separate himself from the pack. If Rory Best was in the party he would be the early favourite because of his throwing but Flannery is excellent in this department. Rees’ traumatic experience in the Irish game may cost him his place in the test team while Mears can be expected to make an impact from the bench.

With Paul O’Connell captaining the side there are essentially four players fighting for one spot. Donncha O’Callaghan started all three tests in 2005, Simon Shaw knows what it takes to win a Lions tour having been there in 1997, and Nathan Hines has taken over from Scott Murray as Scotland’s premier lineout technician while Alun Wyn-Jones is probably the best young forward in Europe. O’Callaghan is abrasive but was anonymous for long periods of the Six Nations. He does not carry a lot of ball but does a lot of the work in the trenches. Unfortunately for the Lions that is not enough. Nathan Hines is a fine player and shone in a poor Scottish team yet he can go missing for long periods of games. Wyn-Jones is a superb middle of the line jumper but that’s something his captain will be doing while he has suffered as part of a struggling Ospreys team. Which leaves the old warrior Shaw. He may be 35 but he has shown the form this year that would have earned him a heck of a lot more than 52 caps for England if it wasn’t for a certain Martin Johnson. He has superb hands for a big man and is a strong ball carrier while he does the dirty work brilliantly. He should start alongside O’Connell.

The back row is probably the most competitive area of the squad. Martyn Williams is thought to be the favourite at openside but to take on the Springbok backrow of Schalk Burger, Danie Rossouw and Pierre Spies – none of whom are under 6’4” – significant bulk will be required. That is why David Wallace has to be considered. Apart from being a brilliant open field runner and a turnover machine for Ireland andMunster, Wallace is 6’2”. He was the outstanding back row for Irelandand deserves his chance. Similarly at blindside, the need for a big, no nonsense player opens the door for Joe Worsley. He is possibly the most anonymous England player ever that had more than 70 caps. He is one of the best tacklers in the game and that skill will be invaluable when trying to mark Pierre Spies. Although Stephen Ferris started every game for Ireland this year, Alan Quinlan is the perfect impact sub. At 34 he may not be able to last the full 80 minutes but will be more than capable of a frantic 30 minutes. He also has something of a wildness about his game that could prove invaluable against the Boks.

Number 8 could prove the most controversial position, and it will be more to do with the player left behind than the battle between Jamie Heaslip and Andy Powell. Ryan Jones should be the test 8. If he ends up on tour due to injury, he will force his way into the first XV. In the meantime, of the two out and out 8s that have been chosen, Jamie Heaslip is probably the more refined player while Andy Powell, although more of a straight ahead runner, can bring an intensity of purpose that Heaslip may struggle to match.

So there it is; a tour that has been looked forward to for four years is almost upon us. All the talk will be thrown out the window when the first game against a High Veld XV kicks off on May 30^th and the inevitable injuries start to pile up. In the meantime, all we can do is wait. Whatever the final result, it promises to be a fascinating tour and if the result of the series is still in doubt with ten minutes left in the final test at Ellis Park, well, we can but dream can’t we?.

Possible team for first test: 15) Lee Byrne, 14) Leigh Halfpenny, 13) Brian O’Driscoll, 12) Riki Flutey, 11) Shane Williams, 10) Ronan O’Gara, 9) Harry Ellis, 1) Gethin Jenkins, 2) Jerry Flannery, 3) Euan Murray, 4) Simon Shaw, 5) Paul O’Connell [c], 6) Joe Worsley, 7) David Wallace, 8) Jamie Heaslip Subs: 16) Lee Mears, 17) Andrew Sheridan, 18) Alun Wyn-Jones, 19) Alan Quinlan, 20) Tomás O’Leary, 21) Stephen Jones, 22) Tommy Bowe.

Andy Flower named England coach

2009-04-16T02:26:00.000+01:00

Cricket: Andy Flower has, as expected, been named as the new England Team Director. Flower, who had the job on an interim basis for the recent tour of the West Indies, has signed a contract worth around £250,000 per year.

The new coach has a solid pedigree as a player - a former Zimbabwe captain he finished his career with over 4,500 runs at an average of 51, and earned widespread praise during the 2003 World Cup when he and Henry Olonga wore black armbands to signify "the death of democracy in Zimbabwe."

As the England batting coach under the Peter Moores' regime he is known to have impressed the players with his ideas and attitude and earned widespread praise when leading England though a difficult tour of the West Indies. After a collapsing to 51 all out and losing the first test on that tour, England then declared for six straight innings but could not get a victory, as a result England lost the Wisden trophy for the first time since 2000. A disastrous opening to the one day series seemed to take a toll on the team but they bounced back to win the One Day series - a rare victory for England in that format.

Having already built a strong relationship with his captain Andrew Strauss, Flower will now have to solidify his relationship with Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen is known to have lobbied for Flower's dismissal following the tour of India before Christmas and newspaper comments made by the star batsman while in the West Indies led some to question whether Pietersen would continue to be part of the England team.

That will be just one task facing Flower and with the international summer beginning on May 6th he will not have a lot of time to put his plans in place.

Ugly

2009-03-29T02:25:00.000+01:00

Jenson Button stormed to pole position in tommorow's Australian Grand Prix with a brilliant performance in the new Brawn GP car. He was joined on the front row by team mate Rubens Barrichello. It was a stunning turnaround for a team that barely two months ago seemed to be on the way out of F1 after Honda pulled out of the sport.

Undoubtedly the team has been helped by the new regulations brought in by the FIA to level the playing field on the grid and the regulations seem to have caused problems for some of the established teams, most notably McLaren.

Although the rule changes are undoubtedly a good thing both for the sport and the environment, one thing they have done is make the cars incredibly ugly. The elongated nose is okay but just look at the tiny rear wing. It just looks absurd. It's almost as if they designed an ultra hi-tech Formula 1 car and then a 19 year old boy racer bought it and instead of adding a body kit and various flashing lights, he bolted a wing from a 1992 Opal Corsa onto the back of it. Completely absurd.

Okay, I admit I'm completely shallow when it comes to how a car looks but JEEZ!!!

On to Cardiff

2009-03-15T01:24:00.000Z

Four down, one to go. Ireland stayed on course for a first grand slam since 1948 with a tense 22-15 victory over scotland here at Murrayfield tonight.

Two nervous sides played out a first half low on endeavour with Chris Patterson kicking four penalties to Ronan O'Gara's three. As the game restarted, someone needed to provide a spark. It was provided by Peter Stringer. In a pre-planned move off a line out about 30m out on the left touchline, the recalled scrum half took a ball off the top and burst through the gap in the middle of the line, drew Patterson the full back and off loaded to a celebrating Jamie Heaslip who ploughed over from a yard out. O'Gara followed with a drop goal to take the lead to 7 and despite anoter kick from Patterson, O'Gara sealed the win with a late penalty.

Bravery missing in a team that needs to win

2009-03-11T01:22:00.000Z

The West Indies claimed a draw here at Trinidad to win their test series with England 1-0 and reclaim the Wisden Trophy for the first time in nine years. Fidel Edwards blocked out the last over from Monty Panesar as the West Indies finished their second innings on 114/8 in pursuit of a nominal target of 241. It is a huge blow to England as they look forward to the Ashes this summer and especially the captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower.

Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar shared eight wickets but Danesh Ramdin, surrounded by close in fielders, saw off 87 balls for an unbeaten 17 while captain Chris Gayle, nursing a partially torn hamstring, batted 42 balls for 4 runs. Earlier Kevin Pietersen scored a brilliant 102 off 92 balls to get England to 237/6 declared but Andrew Strauss delayed his declaration until lunch thus depriving his bowlers of what turned out to be crucial overs.

It was the second time in four tests that England were left just short of victory and the new captain's judgement will now come under severe scrutiny after this series. By the close of play last night, the general consensus was that a target of around 210 in 70 overs should be enough. With 71 overs left today, England's lead was 209. Even with the change of innings they would have had 69 overs left. Three overs is all they would have gained but when you are left two wickets short then 2 balls seems like a lot.

Two tests ago England set the West Indies an absurd 502 runs to win in 128 overs. On a dead pitch in Antigua wickets were always going to be at a premium and England batted too long and were left one wicket short. Today, they again delayed too long with the same result. Strauss surely discussed a target with coach Andy Flower. He must share some of the blame here and it will have done his prospects of getting the coach's job on a permanent basis no favours. What would Kevin Pietersen have done if he had still been the man in charge? It is a question that will inevitably be asked in the post mortems that will follow. It is also a question that the current captain would do anything to avoid being asked.

At a time when England, and Strauss in particular, needed to be prepared to lose in order to win, they could not take that final leap. This summer's Ashes hors d'ouevres against a resurgent West Indies suddenly became a lot more interesting. If this England team are to become the team they think they can, their captain needs to have made that leap by the start of the summer.

Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries

2009-03-10T01:21:00.000Z

Well I've finally done it. I've taken the plunge and got myself a Blackberry.

And I love it.

It's got everything and by everything I mean everything. I'm writing this post on it. I get my email in work. I've got the net on the move. Pure escape. I never really got the "crackberry" thing before, the same way I never understood the whole Apple thing. I have an iPod Touch but feel no loyalty to Apple whatsoever.

This is so, so, different though. The 8900 is a pure joy to use. The buttons are so satisfying to press, the screen is so clear. And don't let anyone tell you the menu system is too complicated. It's completely text based but otherwise is great.

I go to lunch, I write a post, I need to know what's happening in the world, I turn to this. I can get my thoughts down at any time, and don't have to worry about having a pen & paper in my pocket; and for me being able to get my thoughts down in writing is a really big deal.

Overall, if you are a news junkie, need your email all the time or just need to access to the world in general all the time then have the means I highly recommend picking one up.

Three Months Later

2009-02-22T02:17:00.000Z

I'm back. And having been caught up in the Credit Crunch for the last 18 months I figured I'd finally make a post on the subject.

I'm afraid it's not going to be very nuanced, more a demonstration that not everybody on the street is making millions at Wall Street's expense. Without giving the actual name of my firm away, we were taken over back in September the weekend Lehmann collapsed. Our new owner has had to get TARP money and our former CEO was forced out of the new firm when it emerged he had spent over USD 1 million refurbishing his executive suite when he joined our firm 15 months ago.

There has been a lot of controversy over the magnitude of Wall Street bonuses, especially in my firm. The staff have been branded as selfish, greedy, inconsiderate and horrendous people in general. The perception is that we are all millionaires taking the tax payer for a ride.

Which is why it might surprise you to learn the circumstances the underlings face. I am with my firm for the past three years. I supervise a team of 9 people and an outsourcing team in India; 19 people in total. I work around 50-55 hours a week. It is not unusual for me to be in the office at 10.30 pm on a Friday night. We recently moved offices. What was a 40 minute commute door to door is now at least a 90 minute commute. My team was cut by 75% last week. The workload and targets remain the same. For this I earn EUR 33,000 a year (about USD42,000). My bonus this year was EUR 1,400. I did not get a pay rise.

My point is not "woe is me" or "I have it so much worse than everyone else". Far from it. All I'm trying to say is that we are not all the millionaire thieves you think we are with the house in the Hamptons and the apartment overlooking central Park. We are suffering the same as most people these days and it is not nice at ll to be reading about how we are such bastards for working our guts out every day.

Screen Grabs from the MSM

2008-11-05T12:49:00.000Z

Barack Obama has been elected President

2008-11-05T12:18:00.000Z

Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States with a landslide victory over John McCain. By CNN's count Obama has 333 Electoral College votes after winning Virginia and Ohio from the GOP.

I really don't know what to say. Except this: in Barack Obama's lifetime, he would have not been allowed to share a bus with white people or even be educated in the same schools as white people. Now he will be the face of the United States to the world. Think about that.

Unbelievable. Incredible. Fabulous.

God Bless America.

It's All Over

2008-11-05T10:18:00.000Z

Ohio's gone, Pennsylvania's gone, Virginia and Indiana (INDIANA!!!) are too close to call. Barring a shocking comeback in the west it's all over. Senator Obama will be inaugurated on January 20th.

Also, CNN have called North Dakota for McCain. Gutted. I know it was a reach but I had given it to BO. Now let's see if the McDaddy can hold onto Arizona...

An Absent Friend

2008-11-05T02:04:00.000Z

It's here at last. Election night has finally arrived. I've MSNBC live online, I've CNN on TV and I'm keeping an eye on numerous websites and blogs. I've got Wolfe and John and Anderson and on CNN. I've David and Chris and Keith on MSNBC and I expect Tom to arrive in soon. Alas there is one glaring absentee. One huge, unavoidable hole in the MSNBC coverage. As I'm sure a lot of you will also notice tonight, there will be no jovial Irishman from Buffalo holding a whiteboard with "Florida Florida Florida" on it or adding his opinion on the night's events. And let's be honest, his was the opinion we looked to and trusted above all others.

Tim Russert, who died back in June aged 58 is not in the studio watching the results coming in. The world is a much worse off place because of this sad fact. However, I'm sure he's looking down on us tonight from above and will be every bit as riveted by it as we all will be.

Tim, your missed. Badly.

Camelot

2008-11-04T02:02:00.000Z

The election and the candidacy of Barack Obama has reminded a lot of people of the the 1960 race. My dad mentions the hope that JFK brought. "You've no idea of the hope he brought," he'll say. One thing he mentions almost as much is the admiration he had for Bobby. The showdown with Jimmy Hoffa really struck him. Here was a man who would stand up to anybody. He would do whatever it took to the right thing. It is a regret of his that Ted Kennedy never secured the nomination.

Will any family ever have such influence over American politics again? The Bushes do not count. The son was unworthy. The three Kennedys could all have been great. I just wish I had been alive to see them in action.

My Prediction

2008-11-04T01:58:00.000Z

People it's going to be a landslide. I guarantee it. Arizona is a reach for sure but I get the feeling that if the momentum builds it could be a wipeout. Then again, it could still end up 269-269...

Palin?

2008-08-31T01:53:00.000+01:00

Okay, first things first. Who is Sarah Palin? I mean seriously. The 2008 election campaign has been going for around 18 months and the first time her name was mentioned was today when it started to leak that McCain had chosen her to be his Veep. This is bizarre. Truly bizarre.

As Joe Klein says here, this move makes perfect sense politically. Female, staunchly pro-life, pro-gun, governor of a swing state. She's ticking a lot of boxes right there.

Couple of problems though. She is a woman all right but her beliefs (eg. creationism, pro-gun, anti gay marriage) are so, so different from Hilary's that it's very unlikely that many Hilary women will even consider voting for her.

She is young (44) and obviously an outsider to Washington thus matching Barack Obama's supposed trump card but she will be vice-president to a 72 year old who has had cancer four times. God forbid if something happened to McCain then she would be president. President Palin???

You can argue that Barack Obama lacks executive and foreign policy experience but Obama is currently running one of the slickest campaigns in recent history to snatch the Democratic nomination from Hilary and has visited Iraq while asking probing questions of General David Petraeus on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Now compare that to a Republican VP who's experience runs to two terms as mayor of a town with a population of 12,000 and 18 months as governor of the most remote state in the USA.

In short, give me a break.

The Bush Man

2008-07-23T01:52:00.000+01:00

So I like to think of myself as politically engaged. US politics is a passion of mine. For some reason though, even though I knew Bush was a fool, I had just kind of ignored his stupidity. I mean, the president of the United States has to be reasonably engaged with the issues, doesn't he? He has to have some sort of intelligence right?

See below, I really don't know what to say about these...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD7BDP3XMG0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8ChWyZZAaA&feature=related

The Enigma Moves On

2008-02-10T01:56:00.000Z

A part of my youth ended today. Graeme Hick, the prolific Worcestershire batsman and my only true sporting idol, has announced he will retire at the end of this season. Hick made his Worcester debut in 1983 as a 17 year old and scored 82 not out while batting at number eight. He score 2,000 runs in 1986, was named one of the Five Cricketers of the Year by the Wisden in 1987, and scored 405* againstSomerset in 1988 while becoming the first Englishman in a generation to score 1,000 runs before June. And on June 8th 1990, Graeme Hick scored his second fifty off 13 balls on his way to an unbeaten 101 against

Ireland

at Castle Avenue.

My old man had told me all about this Graeme Hick guy. He had scored 400 runs in a match, he was the greatest player ever, you have to see him! I was eight years old and not too bothered either way to be honest. But off we went, up Kincora Road to Clontarf Cricket Club to see the Worcester of Graeme Hick. To us, the county’s other start - Ian Botham - was only a minor bonus. Al we cared about was Hicky.

My memories of that day are few but vivid. The ground was packed. I had started playing with the under 9s there the year before and on that day the ground seemed impossibly full. Hick was bowled off a no ball on zero (apparently the call was a dubious one to say the least) but then he and Beefy took control. Botham hit the ball miles over the pavillion and in to the car park. Hick hit it further. I was beside the players' entrance when they walked back in after their innings (along with every other kid in Dublin it seemed). Beefy was huge. Hick was the biggest man I had ever seen. A week later my dad bought me my first proper cricket bat. It was a size 4 Duncan Fearnley "Hick 405". It was love at first sight. From that day on I was captivated by the "flat track bully".

Any time he came into bat I had to watch. And it wasn't just "watch" in the normal sense of the word. I treated every ball he faced like the last kick of a penalty shoot out in the World Cup final. Whether it was a quaint 40 overs match on Sunday Grandstand or Lords Test Match Saturday, my experience of watching Graeme Hick bat ranged from something like uneasiness to pure terror. By the mid 1990s this had progressed (or should it be digressed?) to "watching" his matches on Ceefax. Nothing else mattered. I simply couldn't bare the thought of him not making any runs. This sort of irrational behaviour continues to this day.

A year later in 1991 I was riveted and then perplexed by Hick's entrance to the test arena. How could someone so perfect not score millions against the West Indies? When he was eventually dropped I went into a sulk (a pattern that would continue for the next ten years). When he finally made his first test century in

India

in 1992/3 I rejoiced. I still have my Playfair annual from 1993 which displays proudly that the man now called "The Enigma" in our house topped the batting and bowling averages of that ill fated tour as well as taking the most catches for England. I stayed up for hours listening (we hadn’t got Sky Sports yet) to him and Graham Thorpe trying to save the first test in Brisbane in 1994 and then waited in vain for him to get his hundred against Australia two months later in Sydney. It was a normal for me that whenever he was dropped or had a bad spell, it was never his fault. I quite liked Michael Atherton until his fateful declaration with my hero on 98. From that moment on Athers became the focus of my hatred. Far more than, say, Raymond Illingworth. Everytime he was dropped it was a conspiracy led by the hated Lancastrian. I suppose the nuances of selection policy were just too much for a 13 year old.

By the end of the 90s it had become clear to most of the cricketing world (but definitely not me), that Graeme Hick would never reproduce his county form on the world stage. In 1998 he had made a triumphant return to the test team after a two year hiatus with a glorious 108 against Sri Lanka. "That had to have booked his flight to Australia," I thought. Wrong. John Crawley bagged 156 and with it the last seat Down Under. My hero who supposedly couldn't play fast bowling did end up flying down as a replacement that winter and beat up the Aussies with thrilling half century on a lightning pitch in Perth (my Dad woke me on a Saturday morning to watch that) but, save for the odd flash, in Test cricket he was on a permanent downward spiral. Although he would continue to be a force in One Day Internationals (he should have been in England's 2003 World Cup squad and a case could have been made for 2007 as well) He would only have one more truly significant innings at the highest level - a forty against Pakistan which helped secure England's first series win in Pakistan in a generation. His average fell from 38.66 after the tour of

South Africa

in 1996 to a mere 31.32 by the end.

Why did he never quite make it to the top of the Test game? I do not know (and believe me I've thought about it). My own opinion is that ifZimbabwe had been a test nation back in the 80s, or if had been allowed play for

England

in 1987 or 88, I would now be reminiscing about my idol playing 120 tests and averaging about 62. Instead, he was allowed to plunder attacks at will and didn’t have to tighten up his technique the way a player has to if he wants to make it in tests. All the bad habits he had picked up had to ironed at 27 instead of 21 or 22. Obviously the older you get the harder it is to change your ways and he paid the price for it.

Then again, if had played 120 tests and averaged 62, would he have been my hero? Perhaps his failings, his all too human weaknesses made him more real to me. Perhaps I was able to relate to him much more as a result. For me, The Enigma has always fascinated me because he was, well, an enigma. Kevin Pietersen is a terrific player but he could never fascinate me the way Hick could. His otherworldly ability combined with his very human frailties and retiring personality showed me that you don't have to be Mr. Bombastic to succeed. Hick proved (to me at least) that you can be yourself and still be a success. In a hundred years time will anyone be talking about Hick's failings in tests? Or will they talk about his 63,000 runs and 176 hundreds? My money is on the latter. And if you think Hick failed because he only averaged only 31 in tests, I leave you with this stat. WG Grace finished with a test average of 32. Do we recall him as a failure?

Kiss the Crest

2007-06-01T01:48:00.000+01:00

The West Indies are as close to a rabble in international cricket these days. It's a terrible site. Twenty years ago, when Marshall, Daniel, Ambrose, Walsh and the rest roamed the world's cricket grounds few would have believed that they could disintegrate as they have done. And nothing is more symbolic of their collapse as the crest, or lack thereof, on their helmets.

Time and again in this series we have seen their batsman march out to the middle dressed like club cricketers. No crest on their helmet, all odds and ends on their gear, surely Denis O'Brien can at least give them the money to cover these little costs that matter so important?

While England, even Ireland have personalised jerseys and personalised tracksuits, the men from the Carribean shamble around in whatever they can find.

If you look like a bad side chances are you will be a bad side. If you look the part, you may still lose, but at least you'll have a chance.

Cut Portis, Samuels

2007-05-23T01:45:00.000+01:00

So Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels have played down accusations of dog fighting involving Mike Vick.

My reaction?

Trade them, cut them, do what you want with them but get them the Redskin's roster asap. There is no place for that attitude in society, never mind a football team.

Ashes to Ashes, funky to funky, we know Major Tom's a junky

2006-11-24T01:41:00.000Z

So it's finally here. The Ashes. The biggy. The bee's knees. The cat's pyjamas.

And already it's a cop out.

Australia won the toss and are 198/3. Game over. It's 4.23am in Ireland watching Ingerland getting trounced, and I'm loving it.

Stumps prediction: Australia 345/6 (Ponting 131*)

Series prediction: Australia 3, Ingerland 1.

The War hits home

2006-09-26T01:41:00.000+01:00

Just read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback on Si.com. He’s in touch with a Sergeant Mike Maguire in Iraq. Maguire lost one of his men, Sargeant Bevington, on Sunday. I’m not an American, and for the first time the war really hit home.

* * *

Senator John Danforth- a former Republican and now ordained minister- someone who can discuss the influence of the Far Right on the GOP without going crazy.

Five Years On

2006-09-12T01:39:00.000+01:00

Today is the 5th anniversary of 9/11. At the time I was on a train from Rome to Bologna when I got a text off my sister to say that US airspace was closed but I should be okay for getting home (I was leaving on the 14th). I hadn't got a clue what she was talking about. It was only when we were reached the hostel in Bologna that we found out what happened. We then went into town and were accosted by a distraught American girl (who was quite hot) on the street asking us if we had heard what happened. One of the lads had an American Airlines tag on his bag and she had latched on to that.

It was bizarre day, the rumours of dozens of planes, the talk in the hostel that night. A strange night. And nobody knew what it all meant. I look back on it now like it was a dream.

I didn't quite grasp it though. To some degree it passed me by. Then I went to New York, saw the void of Ground Zero, and looked up at the sky scrapers and tried to imagine looking up and seeing a plane fly into one of them.

Since then I've developed an unhealthy interest in the events. I find myself online late at night watching the news coverage on You Tube, replaying the gasps and exclamations from the broadcasters as they watched the second plane hit, David Letterman's charged interview with Dan Rather a few days after the attacks. A documentary made by two French brothers who happened to be filming a fire crew at the time has become required viewing. The sound of the bodies crashing to the ground outside the Towers is one that endures.

And now I work for an American investment bank. I deal with the New York head office all day. The firm occupies one of the World Financial Centre buildings and part of another. Those buildings are part of my enduring image of 9/11. When I see the WTC site, my enduring memory is of the WFC buildings overlooking the site.

I talk to the guys in New York all day. We make jokes, we have a laugh, I'm in the NFL Fantasy League with the guys. And I try to imagine what it would have been like five years ago if I had been in the office, chatting with the guys, and then That happened.

It makes you think.

Chaos at Kennington

2006-08-21T01:36:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting watching the chaos at the Oval in the 5th Test this evening. Darrel Hair is refusing to come out for the remainder of the Test after a dispute over a ball tampering accusation made against the Pakistanis.

Pakistan refused to come out after tea and eventually were persuaded to take the field, only for Umpire Hair to decide not to come out.

Now, my thought is this. Would this happen in a football match? Or a rugby match? It is a nonsense, and it sums up the ICC's incompetence in running the game. There should have been no dispute. Part of the initial dispute seems to have been centred on the fact that Pakistan cannot appeal the accusation at stumps tonight. When they refused to take the pitch after tea, the umpires removed the bails indicating the that Pakistan had forfeited the match and the match was over. Now the law is an ass, but the law's the law. The umpires have made the decision and their decision is final. When a team tries to undermine the umpires' authority then that is the ball game. It is indicative of the ICC that they cannot even back their people in such an important time.

One more thing, and once again it is a gripe against the ICC. Nobody in the ground seemed to know what was going on. There were no announcements, no nothing. If you didn't have a radio to listen to TMS, or a pocket sized TV with Sky, then you would not have known what was going on and be left hanging for ages.

Holy Hell

2006-07-09T01:34:00.000+01:00

I'm after seeing the new and controversial Haka performed by the All Blacks against the Aussies this morning. Terrifying.

Pulllllll!

2006-02-14T01:31:00.000Z

So Vice-President Dick Cheney has accidentally shot a man on a quail hunt in South Texas. Harry Whittington, 78, is said to be "doing fine" after Cheney sprayed him in the cheek, chest and neck with shotgun pellets.

I've just one thought on this: it's reassuring to know that the second most powerful man in the world's most powerful country, the guy who's next in line for the launch codes, can mistake a man for a bird about six inches in length, isn't it.

An XL Prediction

2006-02-06T22:10:00.000Z

Seattle v Pittsburgh (Ford Field, Detroit)
Well this is it, the big kahuna burger. It’s Superbowl time, and it’s time for my final prediction of the season (well maybe I’ll predict the Pro Bowl, who knows). I was going to do a big long piece about this game. About how the combination of Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis on the ground with Big Ben to Hines Ward and Randle El through the air would be too much for the Seahawks but it’s now three minutes before kick off so time is short.

I don’t know why, but I’ve had a late change of heart. Until yesterday I was all Pittsburgh but the last twenty four hours I’ve looked at Matt Hasselbeck and his no name receiver corps and Sean Alexander on the ground, and crucially I’m looking at the Seahawks D against Carolina in the NFC Championship game.

I still can’t believe it but I’m picking the Seahawks.
Seahawks 21 Steelers 18

A Dissenting Voice

2006-01-31T21:33:00.000Z

When the Redskins hired Al Saunders last week, it was widely hailed as another excellent piece of work by Dan Snyder. Following on the retention of Assistant Head Coach (Defence) Greg Williams immediately after the playoffs, the general opinion was that Saunders, who had ran the most prolific offense in the NFL over the last three years in Kansas, would solve a Redskins offense that had struggled badly in the playoffs.

The only caveat, it seemed, came from Mike Shanahan who had mentioned to Sports Illustrated's Peter King that there were now an awful lot of coaches in Redskins Park and that it could be a case of too many chefs.

Well, that is a very valid opinion and one that I tend to agree with. For example, just what are Joe Bugel and Don Breaux going to do now that Saunders has come in and effectively taken their jobs? We've already seen Bill Musgrave resign from his position as Quarterbacks Coach to take a similar position with Atlanta. Was that a direct result of Saunders appointment?

I have another question though. One that does not seem to have been addressed in the various column inches that have followed Saunders' appointment. Is he really needed?

Yes, the Skins struggled terribly in the post-season, especially against Tampa. Yes, Clinton Portis has averaged only 4.1 yards per carry since he arrived in the capital after averaging 5.5 in Denver. Yes, time and time again the offense could not match the superb efforts of the defense. But, no, the problems did not stem from the offensive system in place. It had more to do with the personnel, or more specifically the lack thereof. And that is a problem that could be easily solved.

Let's look at the basic numbers this past year:

This season Portis ran for a franchise record 1,516yds and eleven touchdowns. He also had a franchise record eight games when he ran for 100yds or more. Wide receiver Santana Moss caught 84 balls for a record 1,483yds with ten catches worth forty yards or more. Chris Cooley, a second year tight end/H Back remember, had 71 catches for over 700 yards. Even Mark Brunell, almost run out of town last year, returned as starter and threw a career high twenty-three touchdowns against ten interceptions and probably shoud have gone to the Pro Bowl.

Not that bad for a team that apparently so struggled with the ball.

The problem for Washington, and what killed them in the post-season, was the lack of a second wide receiver, a battered running back, an injured quarterback, and a shattered offensive line. Not the run heavy offensive system.

David Patten, who was signed as a possesion wideout from New England, was put on Injured Reserve after nine games but up to then had not been a factor with only twenty-two catches for 217 yards. Come free agency in March it is widely expected that the 'Skins will go after either Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle-El or Indy's Reggie Wayne. If they get either of these two, then you can expect that second receiver problem to be solved. Even Terrell Owens, for all his disruptive influence off the pitch, is a heck of a player and may come under consideration. With any of these three you can expect Joe Bugel's job would be a lot easier.

Clinton Portis hardly carried in Tampa or Seattle due to sore shoulders. This was wear and tear after a long season. Portis is a terrific player, a tough player. He loves nothing better than going up the middle where only the crazy or foolish dare go. He also blocks like a full back. His body though cannot take the battering it takes. There is just not enough of him. He's the same height as Jerome Bettis but some four stone lighter. You could have expected his workload to be lightened next year as Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright get more action. The plays Coach Gibbs called weren't at fault in the playoffs, he just didn't have his star half back available to him.

Mark Brunell was excellent all season but his accuracy collapsed after straining his knee against the Giants in week sixteen. He was clearly unfit in the games that followed but Gibbs stuck him in there even after Patrick Ramsey had come in and finished off the Giants and generally played well. Once again, the system didn't cause Brunell's late season struggles; it was injury.

The offensive line was in trouble once Randy Thomas went down against Dallas with a broken leg and they struggled thereafter but once again it wasn't the system that wore down the O line.

All in all the Redskins had a fine season. After going 6-10 last year did anybody honestly think they would come within an ace of making it to the Championship game? Does anybody really feel the offense was thatbad? So bad in fact, that Joe Bugel had to have his job essentially taken off him and for Joe Gibbs, one of the great offensive minds of all time, to cede control of an offense he cherishes?

One more question. What does Gregg Williams make of all this? He has been earmarked as the heir apparent to Gibbs since he joined two years ago. He could have had his choice of head coaching jobs this off season after helping create one of the most feared defensive units in the league. Only when Snyder broke the bank did he agree to stay. Now, a fortnight after he signed on the dotted line, he sees a possible contender walk through the door to great fanfare. Did he know Saunders was coming when he signed?

Depending on who you are Dan Snyder is a great owner and Joe Gibbs is undoubtedly a great coach. I just hope he knows exactly what he's doing here. Al Saunders, offensive guru that he is, may just be more trouble that he's worth.

Championship Weekend

2006-01-23T02:56:00.000Z

Right I'm writing this during the first quarter of Seattle and Carolina. I don't know the score of the first game and I haven't yet seen a play in this game so you can take these as honest predictions. Then again after last weeks debacle I'm probably better off waiting till after the games to predict them...

Pittsburgh @ Denver
This is a tough one. Denver are at home and have beaten the reigning champions last week. Jake Plummer's been excellent this season as has the Denver running game but speaking of running games the Steeler's is second to none and the force is with the Bus and you saw the game against the Colts.
Steelers 24 Broncos 17

Carolina @ Seattle
Seattle have been the standout team in the NFC all season but the Panther's are the form team of the playoffs in NFC and after watching Steve Smith take apart the Bears last week I'm going to have to go with them.
Panthers 27 Seahawks 17

It's Divisional Time!

2006-01-13T01:17:00.000Z

Right, after my success in calling the Wildcard results (3-0, Manning 3 picks while Brady throws 3 TDs, anyone??), here's my shot at the divisional round. Dr. Z thinks this is the best week in football. The Championship games are too tense while the Superbowl is all hype and I can't say I disagree with him, especially when the Redskins are still there. Anyways, enough with the waxing lyrical about the weekend, on to predictions.

Washington @ Seattle
Everything is against Washington this week. Their quarterback is injured, their D line is battered, their secondary is in pieces. They're facing the League MVP and the most accurate quarterback in the NFL, surely they don't have a chance? Think again. If Clinton Portis has shaken off his sore shoulders and he can get the Washington running game going, then that opens up Santana Moss and the passing game. The Skins can contain Alexander and won when the sides met back in September, and Joe Gibbs will be on the sideline.
Redskins 24 Seahawks 17

New England @ Denver
This will be the toughest match either side have on the way to the Superbowl. Tougher even than if they play Indy in the Championship game. Denver are a fine side. They have run the ball tremendously all season while Jake Plummer has had his most accurate season of his career. Their secondary is second to none. But look who they're playing. The Patriots are back. The only question mark is can Corey Dillon get going on the ground because without a running game even Tom Brady will struggle to beat the Broncos through the air. The Broncos should be favourites, but they haven't won 3 World titles in 4 years.
Patriots 31 Broncos 28

Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis
The Colts' starters haven played a full game in a month. Will they be rested or rusty? I say rested. Peyton throws for 4 TDs and Edge runs for 125yds. The Steelers are a solid side. But solid isn't going to cut it in a dome against these Colts.
Steelers 14 Colts 38

Carolina @ Chicago
You thought the Redskins and the Buccs was a defensive struggle? Wait till you see this one! Two top defenses and two struggling offenses make this game one for the purists. One touchdown could be the difference and I fancy Dellhomme to Smith could be it.
Panthers 13 Bears 6

Playoffs!!!

2006-01-09T02:28:00.000Z

In honor of Sports Illustrated's Peter King here are my picks for wildcard weekend:

Jacksonville @ New England
Tom Brady throws for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns, Byron Leftwich gets sacked 6 times. Jimmy Smith is shut out, while Deoin Branch repeats his Superbowl performance last year.
Jaguars 10 Patriots 31

Carolina @ New York
Eli Manning will lead the Giants to a Superbowl, but not this year. He throws 3 picks while Jake Dellhome and the Panthers do just enough to keep New York, and especially Tiki Barber, at arms length.
Panthers 17 Giants 14

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnatti
I love this game. Carson Palmer's probably equaled only by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the NFL but he struggled at home against the Steelers earlier on in the season. He redeemed himself at Heinz Field a few weeks ago but this time will be different. The Bengals won't stop The Bus who'll run for 3 TDs and Troy Palumalu will cause havoc for the Steelers.
Steelers 28 Bengals 14

The Skin's game is already over and my boys have won an epic over Tampa 17-10. For the record I called Washington 24-17

A disasterous protest vote

2005-05-09T01:07:00.000+01:00

Is this the end for the moderate viewpoint in Northern Ireland? It would appear to be so. The UUP's vote has collapsed. They now have only one seat left in Westminster. The SDLP have taken a hit from Sinn Fein. Now the two extreme parties from both communities are in the ascendency.

Was this an endorsement of the DUP and Sinn Fein's position, however, or was it a protest vote in either community? In other words, did people vote for the DUP as the anti-Sinn Fein party or did they genuinely believe in what the DUP are doing and vice-versa? I believe it was a protest vote.

The UUP were always the strongest party of the Union in the North. They were also relative moderates compared to Ian Paisley and the Democratic Unionist Party as were the SDLP in the Nationalist community. Ian Paisley has been the face of extreme Unionism and leader of the DUP for thirty years. Why should he suddenly become so popular now? It is not what he has done recently- he has not changed in all his time in politics. What has changed is the Good Friday agreement and the "appeasement" of Sinn Fein in Loyalist minds. Paisley's message of the Catholic threat to the Ulster Protestant way of life now rings true where in the past he has been easy to dismiss as the unacceptable face of Loyalism and a crack on the extreme right of reason never mind Unionism. For many Protestants in the North, the IRA and Sinn Fein have got all the gains out of Good Friday, whether its prisoner early release (which Loyalists have also been granted) or delays in decommisioning (all the protests have been from the Unionist side about IRA decommisioning; there has been little or no mention about Loyalist extremists handing in their weapons). This has emboldened the Reverand to push for more. The demand that the IRA provide a photo of their decommisioning- something which Paisley must have known the IRA would never agree to- was as much for political gain as it was for proving that decommisioning was taking place.

Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, his strategy seems to have worked. By playing on the supposed threat on the Protestant way of life from Nationalists his party has become the dominant representative of Protestants in the province. His message has also become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By raising passions as he has, the Republican community has looked at the two parties on offer and, even after the Northern Bank Raid and the Robert MacCartney controversy has chosen the more extreme of the two; the "best" defender of Republicanism, Sinn Fein.

Like in Hamlet, it has been appearance rather than reality which has mattered in this election and now things look grim for the North. A few days ago I heard a commentator say that Election 2005 in the North was about finding a negotiating team for both communities. I hope they do end up around a table but I highly doubt it. It could be a long time before we see devolved government in Stormont again.

Benedict XVI: Conservative or Right Winger

2005-04-22T19:32:00.000+01:00

So to some surprise Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Tuesday. It was not thought he had enough votes in the Conclave to claim a 2/3s majority but he got in on the fourth (or possibly fifth) vote. The fear that seems to be present in many quarters of his church now, especially in the developed world, is that Benedict will be a radical conservative pope and thus alienate even more a flock that has drifted away from the Catholic Church in alarming numbers over recent years. This is based primarily on Benedict's writings and speeches during his time as Pope John Paul II's "enforcer" over the last quarter century. He has suggested that because Christ took the male form it proves man's intrinsic superiority to women. He has also suggested that homosexuality is morally abhorrent and at a mass recently he spoke out against rampant liberalism and the dangers of changing to suit "fads" in the modern world.

This attitude alarms many people but I am not one of them. What else should a Pope be? He is, after all, the defender of the Catholic faith on Earth. The Church has not accepted homosexuality for 2,000 years. Why should it accept it now? Women priests have not been permitted for 2,000 years. Why should they be allowed now? One need only look at the Church of England to see what can happen to a church that seeks to change itself in order to attract a new generation. Religion should not feel the need to change to suit the people. If somebody doesn't like the idea of mass being in Latin or drowned in incense then that's not the church's problem (that's one thing about George Bush- I may hate him but I know exactly what he stands for). Hamlet doesn't change because solliloquys and brooding young men go out of fashion. Why should the church be any different?

Of course the Pope is a Conservative, as he should be. A liberal Pope runs the risk of the Church changing where change is unneccessary. Yes some changes should be made. The official stance on contraceptives and specifically condoms, for example, is not just outdated but plain irresponsible. Apart from the obvious risk of contracting STDs, surely it is as big a sin to bring a child into this world when the parents are incapable of raising that child officiently as it is to prevent conception in the first place. This, however, would not be changing just for change's sake. This would be common sense as much as anything else. It is not as if sex out of wedlock is a modern issue after all. In general though, the Pope should maintain the status quo and I believe Benedict to be able to do this effectively.

At the end of the day though, what the death of John Paul and succession of Benedict has thought me is that whoever is the Pope has little effect on my everyday life. If I'm about to have sex I'm not going to think of a guy 800 miles away who says it's a sin to use a condom and I'm not going to tell a gay friend that I think he is evil. Perhaps that is why I believe the Pope should always be a Conservative. It's reassuring to know what my church stands for and that it won't be forever changing what it stands for but it will make little difference to me whether I live up to certain aspects of its teachings or not.

Welcome

2005-01-03T23:25:00.000Z

Welcome to my blog. God knows what will appear here, although hopefully it will be worth reading. Enjoy...