Yeah, ever since the world cup where the sissy git Christian Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney clashed, the talk was how could these two work together ever again. They have and managed to fashion on heck of a partnership.

So the latest reports out of Spain and Britian overnight suggest that there has been a deal made between Manchester United and Real Madrid at the end of the season.

This from the UK tabloid The Sun

REAL MADRID claim to have struck a sensational secret agreement to buy Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bernabeu director Pedro Trapote has alleged that the transfer of the European Footballer of the Year is already agreed but clauses in the arrangement prevent the news being made official.

Spanish daily El Mundo reported Trapote told a confidante of the deal after Real’s 2-0 defeat against Barcelona last weekend.

The newspaper claimed Ronaldo agreed to stay at United this season only provided they let him go next summer.

Trapote was reported as saying to a friend: “If you are asking me what we are going to do now then I would tell you that we have already signed the best player for the summer.”

The friend replied: “Are you talking about Cristiano?”

Trapote responded: “The best of the best. It is Cristiano, there is no other.

He may be the best, only problem is he’s a git and I can’t stand the bugger, so if he’s off fantastic. I may never forgive Wayne Rooney for leaving Everton, but to me he’s a better all round player, just last week he stole the ball from his own goal box back in defence. And he doesn’t cry and writhe around in absolute agony every time someone touches him (or looks at him). BTW he should have been carded for mockery of the ref a couple of weeks back, that sort of idol worship/leniency bugs the bejesus out of me.

Unlike many other sports pages in New Zealand, this blog is going to celebrate the noble and historical sport of Harness Racing in New Zealand. We have a rich and world beating history in this sport, with names like Cardigan Bay and Christian Cullen known not only in New Zealand households, but in the global Harness Racing community.

It’s well and truly time to add to the long list of champion horses in New Zealand that of Auckland Reactor. As a 4 year old (very young for an Open Class horse) he is unbeaten in 15 races, from his age group peers through to the very best in the country, culminating in the New Zealand Free For All race on the second day of the New Zealand Cup Carnival at Addington Raceway.

Here is that race. Remember although unbeaten in 13 races to this point, he was still only a 4 year old, and he’s racing against the best in the country including the newly crowned New Zealand Cup winner (from the previous Tuesday) Changeover. Even if you don’t really get horse racing, think of a young Jonah Lomu who despite the hype still needed to prove himself, and then came that storming run in which he ran right over the last English defender to seal his place in history, this is the harness racing equivalent to that moment. Enjoy Auckland Reactor in full flight against the best Cup Class horses in the country;

From his web site

“Auckland Reactor made it 14 from 14 and proved himself the best pacer in New Zealand with an emphatic success in the $300,000 Woodlands NZ Free For All (2000 metres) in national record time of 2:21.8 at Addington Raceway in Christchurch this afternoon Friday 14 November.”

However, deciding not to got to Australia to chase the big money on the Aussie circuit, the owners have decided to keep him in NZ for the mean time to see out the season, with the very real possibility to have the perfect season. 14 became 15 wins with an emphatic win over the weekend at the Franklin Trotting Cup in Auckland, again a top class field. Enjoy this win;

This 4 million dollar horse, owned by Canadian and US interests won’t have too long to go before his name is known the length and breadth of the country, and not just in Harness Racing circles.

Here’s a background news clip on the seasons’s prospects for the horse from TVOne News;

Links:
http://www.aucklandreactor.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Reactor

Christian Ronaldo is not a model for any aspiring footballer or for any parent to put up as a model for kids to follow. He may be fleet footed, he may have a killer free kick, he may be astoundingly skilful on the ball, but he’s a supreme twat and one hell of a cry baby.

He’s a classic example of a guy who thinks he’s above the law when it comes to football, and god forbid if anyone even taps his ankles, there’s an Oscar performance on the cards.

This morning’s game Manchester United vs Manchester City was a prime example of his best and worst. He showed sublime skill and fierce combative moves, he also showed that he was a sarcastic SOB who really thinks he’s better than any ref, never does anything wrong and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Problem is that his first tackle was a shocking hack from behind – he wasn’t going to let the player get away, Yellow Card. He was bloody luck not to have been sent off however as the ironic clap he gave the ref is seen as dissent and is punishable by a second yellow card and thus automatic red card.

{source:mirror.co.uk}

The second yellow was from a brain explosion, he claimed he heard the whistle – you still don’t put your hands in from of your face, you head the ball and try to score and wait till the ref says yes or no I didn’t blow my whistle. So he jumps ups up from a corner and puts both hands in front of his face for a deliberate hand ball – simple straight yellow card, hence the red card and sending off.

{source:mirror.co.uk}

So, when you are shown a red card you ‘holier than thou twat, get off the pitch’, it’s no longer about you, you have been sent off.

{source:mirror.co.uk}

I was loathed to start this blog with a classic Kiwi moan, but watching the Kiwi cricketers capitulate on what is by all accounts a good batting surface (just ask the inexperienced new Aussie wicket keeper), it’s pretty dammed obvious that the out going New Zealand cricket coach John Bracewell should be taking a very long holiday away from New Zealand after this test.

Quite simply we are embarrassing, and this is coming from someone who is a staunch defender of NZ Cricket (the pool of players we have to choose from always means we have to punch well above our weight).  I like the team we have, but not the order, but for whatever reason these guys have been taught the skill of surrendering wickets too bloody easy.

To say the papers weren’t too kind over the weekend was an understatement, and that was when the team was still showing some pride.  Take for instance Michael Donaldson’s comments in the Sunday Star Times

“I’ll leave the niceties to others, but for me John Bracewell is the man who has presided over New Zealand’s swan dive towards the empty swimming pool which is the bottom of cricket’s test world rankings.”

He’s not wrong, when Bracewell took over the squad we were third in the world, that’s right third!!! Now we are to be 8th, and that’s only just above Bangladesh. I disagree with Donaldson’s assumption that One Day Cricket will be meaningless soon, I just can’t see that happening, so to still be in the top 4 for this is good.

Somehow, whoever is in charge of the players and their harvesting their abilities at test level (which ultimately must be the coach), has managed to set in motion the processes which could see the ruin of many a potentially great player. Lets just hope that the next coach puts a premium on players not giving away their wickets, no matter what version of the game they are playing.

Before the Bledisloe Cup match, I made sod all of the Deans v Henry match up, but after tonights game, I have to rethink my position.

The exceedingly well coached Dean’s boys outthought the lack lustre Henry boys. I don’t care what anyone says’, it was the ability of a deans team to think on it’ feet, that simply out played the all blacks.

So in initial thoughts. Brad Thron. SO you get sin binned now for tackling around the chest and going up the body – nice product guys, soflty softly. It was not a sin binning offense. He hit Gitto around the chest and his arm ended up on his chets. It’s not a fucking yellow card offense to say the least.

From, what I saw, the ABs were hustled off the ball, out played and out thought, and that was only the coaching stff

Apart from the ‘beautiful game’ there isn’t a game on this earth that gets my attention like cricket does. While I was growing up, listening to the radio under my pillow to cricket commentary from the UK tours was the stuff of magic.

To this day, I still have the sound of the TV down and the radio on, but then that’s not surprising considering the lack of commentary that comes out of TV commentators. I wonder sometimes what they are getting paid for? So for the last few weeks it’s been an absolute treat to have the cricket from the UK again. Despite the results I am still loving the spectacle of the whole thing, a Lords Test is right up there with the US Masters for tradition and spectacle.

As for the Black Caps, I have several thoughts. Bracewell needs to be replaced before his time is up, the damage he is doing to the team is almost a crime. Well, I say Bracewell, for me, it’s whoever has the final say as far as team selection and batting positions go. I fail to understand why McCullum was selected as a batsman only. Sure he scored a half decent 70 odd, but in all reality, if those 70 odd had come further down the order, with potentially a batsman ahead of him scoring some runs, the outcome of the last test could possibly been quite a bit different.

I have never been a fan of dumping players just because their form is slightly down. I would rather see the whole team go down for a year or two, and then be rebuilt as a whole unit, than the continual dumping of players. England has shown the value of sticking with players, whom are from time to time out of form. I would love to see Peter Fulton in at number 3 permanently, go with an opening pair and ride out some hit’s and misses to see if it settles down, and the rest of the order will sort it’s self out.

Jamie How (22 innings – av 26. 1st class 120 innings, av 34
Aaron Redmond (6 innings – av 9, 1st class 124 innings av 31)
Peter Fulton (10 innings – av 26. 1st class 106 innings av 45)
Ross Taylor
Jesse Ryder
Jacob Oram
Brendon McCullum
Daniel Vettori
Kyle Mills
Tim Southee / Jeetan Patel (pitch allowing)
Chris Martin

Bowlers are a different breed. They can be changed to suit the conditions without affecting their performance to a certain degree. We have some quality bowlers and we have some up and coming bowlers. So the likes of O’Brien, Mason and Franklin all have a place in the squad. For me though, there is a fundamental failing in the sport of cricket that only 12 can be selected for a game, then if there is an injury some shumck off the street needs to be called in as 12 man. I’d prefer a squad of 15-16 to be able to be called upon right up to the toss of the coin, and then used if there are any injuries. That would allow for a full and stable squad to be called upon.

Back to that last test. Fulton called into the squad and then not used, was a failing of a massive proportion. I fail to see how he could have been called in, if they were thinking about using McCullum in the position he played all along. I would have rather seen us loose with a solid squad and players in the correct position, than what looked like a patch up job.

Lets develop a solid squad. Let’s watch the games they drop, but then also watch solid long careers develop. How many players have we lost along the way, whom if they were in squads like Australia and the England squad would have been given the time to develop into test match players.

I’ve been meaning for a while to give a plug and praise my beloved Canterbury Crusaders in their taking out of the Super 14 title again. It was a monumental achievement, considering they were again going through a period of rebuilding, and have some very exciting talent in that squad.

Much praise, as has been the case, must go to Robbie Deans. I’ve been a fan of his ever since his playing days and those glory days of the Ranfurly Shield in the 1980s.

Relive the moments here.

and

As pointed out, there is a culture in the Crusaders outfit that is bigger than the individuals, and it’s this as much as the talent they perpetually breed, that is fostering the success. I have no doubt that the replacement for Robbie will be in house and will have a great understanding of the culture of the outfit.

Well done Cantabs. However, as great as Richie McCaw is, as a captain, he’s no Todd Blackadder, but that’s a personal thing.

Also well done to the All Blacks. I thankfully was out of the country during the Rugby World Cup, and having to pay $20 to see a game in a pub in Vancouver was too much to handle. I actually watched NZ loose through the window of an Irish Pub in Boston, along with the 40 other people who didn’t want to pay (more outside than in – now there’s bad management). I was kinda relieved to be away from it all, because 10 minutes and 1 block away from the game, not a single solitary person around me knew or even cared about the result of a rugby match on the other side of the world.

So there was much pressure on the All Blacks and huge criticism of the reinstatement of the coaching staff, considering Robbie Deans was available. The All Blacks did a good job tonight, in the rain and the wind of Wellington.

It wasn’t vintage All Blacks and I am starting to wonder if we haven’t seen the best of Dan Carter (holly cow did he just question the golden one?). I don’t like the force back version of the game we play these days, unless it is done well and not countered. The break that Carter made with ball in hand to set up the second try (?) was excellent, why doesn’t he run with the ball more? Still for all my money, he’s no Andrew Mehrtens, but again that’s personal opinion.

Ireland were strong in defence and were very combative at times, turning us over in the rucks and malls. They’re pretty big all over the team, but in the end they had to play catch-up fottie and that’s always going to be hard against the All Blacks.

I didn’t like the selection of the front row, but they played well. I think Richie was outstanding, and Rodney was incredible in getting the ball and going forward. I just wish the All Blacks would use the ball in hand more. Perhaps if the weather is better we’ll see some of those silky moves.

I’ve been a passing fan of league at best. I’ve followed the Warriors since day one, and before that was a default Manly fan (as most NZ was – or the Bulldogs).

Those who know me, I like the purity of sport and I hate the interpretation of refs and TV umpires. Watching the Warriors strange loss to the hapless and pathetic Rabbitohs, if I was a serious leaguie, I’d be pulling my hair out. Blimey I even managed to get worked up in that last 10 mins.

What I want to know is, why does league have Refs? In the last 8mins, I counted 4 knock ons that were either missed or called play on. From my experience with League, you only need to drop the ball (and in many cases backwards) and the ref calls knock on. But no not tonight, and the funniest one, was right at the end which went to the video ref and he concluded that the ball wasn’t knocked on, and that it was a Rabbitohs feed. WTF, are you blind and taking the piss, or are you just incompetent, or worse are you a cheating bastard who’s been paid off by an over paid ex-kiwi actor (if that’s what it’s called).

The ball was a long throw, it was touched by the Rabbitohs’ player, hit the kneed of the Warrior and then picked up by a Warrior in an offside position. So if it wasn’t a knock on (which it was) then it was a penalty to the Rabbitohs as the Warrior player was offside. That is beyond incomptent, and these people get paid for this. They’re not some weekend volunteer whom you can forgive the slight inability to understand the game. These people get paid to make the right call, and if you, me and the commentators saw that it was a knock on, how the hell didn’t the guy with the TV and the job as a ref?

Further the law about the scrums. Despite the silly tradition, the ball actually needs to be put into the scrum down the middle, not the back of the hookers feet on a 45°. Law section 12, 6a. But also the player is not allowed to jump into the scum and dive on the ball in a tackle situation. He’s not allowed in the bloody scrum at all, but the ref called play on and started the tackle count.

I’d hate to be a true League fan, as week in and week out the officials prove themselves to possibly be amongst the worst officials of the laws of any sport anywhere in the professional sporting world. And I don’t mean that lightly.

League laws are a joke (do a proper scrum or loose it, it just looks well …), but the officials who control the games are an even bigger joke.

Sorry League fans, it’s actually a good game to watch, just loose the bloody officials (and they get paid for it, seriously?).

Holly heck, loosing to the bottom team with 12 straight losses in a row, at home, what the hell’s with that Warriors?

Does anyone remember that episode of Sienfeld where Kramer is at the airport waiting to pick up Gerry. While waiting he meets a Texan who can’t resist a bet, and Kramer being Kramer likes a quirky challenge, so they devise a game as to which plane from the arrivals board will land next, and they bet on it.

Somewhat like Kramer turning aeroplanes landing into a port, I will give most sports a shot and watch anything once. Sometimes that sport will stick. As it is with Ice Hockey, or Hockey as it is commonly called in North America. Back in about 1993-ish (?) I started watching Ice Hockey on Sky (you know the old 3 channel only version, Sports, Movies and News). I had already been watching American Football (or Football as they call it) for a number of years and had developed a passion for well, the passion for sport that Americans have. By default I became a Bears fan (they were the biggest and best when I started), then graduate to my own team the Denver Broncos. Luckily enough they were about to go through a golden period with John Elway at the helm (quarterback).

There’s one thing that the American media does wonderfully (all in the name of entertainment?) and that is foster the sense of occasion and history around their sporting achievements and competitions. As it was with the first games of Hockey that I started watching, there were references and imagery of the giants of the sport, Bobby Orr and Geordie Howe. However I started watching Hockey in a special time too, there were the modern greats still plying their trade on the boards right in front of me, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Pavel Bure, Patrick Roy (pronounced – Whar) and Mark Messier.

I had to get a team and real quick, and again in the finest tradition of Jerry Seinfeld, I picked the team with the coolest tops, and at that stage it was Vancouver. This turned out to be a good move as within a couple of years they were in the Stanley Cup (Grand Finals of the National Hockey League – NHL). And as modern Ice Hockey started in Canada, and it’s considered Canada’s game, this again was a good move. The third reason this became a good move, was I have now lived in Vancouver on 3 different occasions and get to go to Canucks games at GM Place in Vancouver.

I have a good friend from British Columbia, and he was pretty good in his day, almost made it to the draft for the NHL. Lucky for me, he didn’t and came to NZ to study, where we met in Wellington. We spent many a long afternoon at the bar in Zebos on Wellington watching Hockey, and was one of the several dozen who filled the bar each year for the Stanley Cup finals. Alas Hockey went through a painful and disruptive players strike which saw the entire 2004 season cancelled (the first in any professional sport). This was particularly painful for Kiwis who love Hockey, because the strike saw many media contracts re-negotiated, and unfortunately Hockey wasn’t resigned to ESPN in the Asia-Pacific region.

So for nearly 4 years I have been starved of Hockey. That was until last year when I spent 6 months in Vancouver, and for the first time I got to see just how important this sport is to Canadians. We think that the All Blacks are big here, bah, nothing compared to the media and fan frenzy that surrounds Hockey in Canada. The league just below the NHL is divided into regions, and the local Vancouver team were the defending champions. The WHL was primarily a competition for up and coming youngsters to show off their skills to the scouts. But with tickets coming in around $15CD compared to the $95-150CD per game for the Canucks, going to a Giants game was a slice of traditional Canadian life I will never forget.

So to get to a short point via a long story, welcome back to the Stanley Cup on Sky Sports. It was unadvertised and certainly a plesant surprise to see the finals series on TV here in NZ. It’s a sport with a big following here in NZ, the numbers of kids playing this sport across NZ are pretty remarkable really, and this exposure is great. I only hope that Sky somehow finds a broadcaster that is bringing the NHL to this part of the world, for the whole of next season, not just the last 7 games.

Cheers and thanks Sky.

The Country has been following the fortunes and ambitions of this sports star since the days before he had a car licence yet was racing – fast. And now he is the winning driver of the Indy 500, one of the most prestigious car races in North America and the world.

There has been much debate as to where this phenomenal achievement ranks amongst the annals of Kiwi sporting achievements. For me, it’s up there, yet suprisingly for me (a list maker) I haven’t placed it in a list yet. Quite possibly on the international scene, in modern times this is right up there with achievements. We’ll see where this plays out in the media over the next few weeks. There’s one thing for sure though. As this is right up there with the Monaco Grand Prix F1, Wimbledon, The US Masters, The World Cup (football) to name a few, there aren’t many sporting peaks as high as these, and a Kiwi has just climbed to the summit and knocked the bugger off.

Within minutes of the achievement, the win was splashed across the web sites of the world. Here’s a snap shot of what they were doing with this story.

Of course USA Today was onto it pretty quickly. But somewhat surprisingly the only other major US newspaper to go with the story was the NY Times.

The story was of course big here. Sorry about the blur, but the story I have blurred out was too disturbing, and out of respect for Sophie Elliot, I have done this. However this doesn’t take away from the achievements of Scott Dixon.

A couple of days later and the story was still big news in the US, this from the Indianapolis Star a couple of days later. By now Scott is big news in the US, with media appearances being par for the course. He states that his main aim is to win the following race this weekend and then the Indy title this year.

Well done Scott, I know you will be showered with the accolades you deserve, this is a huge victory for you and a massive shot in the arm for racing fans back here in NZ.

One of the more curious aspects of this has been the rise in popularity of Emma Dixon, Scott’s wife. It’s natural that the world’s media would be interested in her, as she is obviously a young attractive woman, whom more or less nobody knew about, and now the wife of the winner of the Indy 500. But in the finest traditions of the web, all manner of sites have been plastering her pictures all over the web.