Carling Cup...

I've tried to avoid writing this post (Lord knows. I tried). Yesterday, in case one missed it, Tottenham won the Carling (aka League) Cup, beating Chelski 2-1 in the final at Wembley stadium.
OK, (grudging) congrats to Spurs - after all it's their first bit of silverware in almost a decade, and they were definitely the better team. But after going to work this morning and listen to those once-quiet fans droning incessantly about their success over the weekend...
Let's put things in perspective: Juande Ramos achieved what George Graham did - no more, no less. So let's cease with all the gloating (yeah, some chance)....
Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea

The (Irish) road to Eurovision 2008

A puppet bird has been chosen by a public vote to represent Ireland in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Serbia in May.
Dustin The Turkey was selected from a group of six finalists, winning a televised vote on Saturday night with a song called Irelande Douze Pointe, which is a take-off of Eurovision scoring.
Dustin has been a star of various local television programmes for almost 20 years and has already released 14 singles and six albums. His last album - Bling When You're Minging - was released in 2005 and featured a duet with Chris De Burgh.

Well we in the UK selected Daz Sampson and Scooch as our respective Eurovision entries for 2006 & 2007, so another turkey won't make a difference in this competition....

Fowl Eurovision entry for Ireland

Eduardo da Silva

I dearly wish Eduardo a speedy recovery after his horrific (certainly career threatening) injury against Birmingham today, when his leg was broken.
At this moment I don't really care about the result (Arsenal drew 2-2). I'm still gutted about Edu - I really hope that he can still play football after this setback, but I'm not feeling optimistic.
Wenger fury after Eduardo injury

DNA

The British government has rejected calls from senior police officers for a compulsory DNA database following two high profile murder convictions - Suffolk serial murderer Steve Wright and Mark Dixie, who murdered teenage model Sally Anne Bowman.
Both men were captured because their DNA was taken after unrelated offences, hence the recent calls for universal registration to the database.
The current DNA database, which covers England and Wales, contains around 4.5m profiles - routinely taken from criminal suspects after most arrests and is already the largest of its kind in the world.
Mandatory DNA database rejected

While I'm glad the idea of a mandatory DNA database has been rejected, one's DNA sample remains indefinitely on the current database even if one is subsequently released by the police. Our law states "innocent until proven guilty", not vice-versa.
Furthermore I would have reservations on the security of the database. This government is already in trouble trying to protect our current data anyway, and there's no telling what agenda a future government might have - for example, monitoring people whose DNA "suggest" aggressive tendencies, or tagging the entire population at birth.
We could be on the road to this scenario....

Gambler to sue bookie...

A compulsive gambler is suing a betting chain which let him lose approx. £2m (€2.7m) after he asked to be barred.
Greyhound trainer Graham Calvert, 28, from Tyne & Wear, wants William Hill to pay back his losses on the grounds they failed in their duty of care.
Mr Calvert said he told William Hill to ban him in May 2006, but later opened another account and lost £2 million, including £347,000 on a bet that the US would win the Ryder Cup.

I wonder....would he have sued the betting chain if he won £2 million instead?
How a gambling addict lost £2.1m

The running man...

Dwain Chambers, competing after serving a two-year doping ban, won the 60m title at the world indoor trials in Sheffield to guarantee a place in the Great Britain squad. Chambers winning time was 6.55 seconds - the fastest time in Britain this year.
Chambers's win guarantees him a place in the Great Britain squad for next month's for next month's World Indoor Championships in Valencia under UK Athletics's (UKA) selection policy. But whether Chambers will be selected for the British squad remains to be seen.
UKA had wanted to stop Chambers running because he has not been in its drugs testing programme since 2006. But it had to let him run after admitting it did not "sufficiently strong legal grounds" to stop him.
Chambers gives selectors headache

The following article in today's Sunday Times gets to the centre of this conundrum:
'Singling out Dwain Chambers is not fair. It's the rules that need to be looked at'

This might sound draconian, but I believe lifetime bans should be issued to drug cheats. Once convicted of that offence, cheaters should never be allowed back into international athletics. Make the rules tougher.

The Archbishop and the Sharia...

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is said to be shocked by the "hostility of the response" after claiming the adoption of certain aspects of the Islamic Sharia law in the British legal system is "unavoidable".
All the main political parties have said they are dismayed by his comments and there has been calls for his resignation.

I've already stated my opinion of Sharia Law in an earlier post.

But I think Dr Williams has been very naive, despite his honest intentions. He has the right to make his opinions public. But in trying to be well-meaning, all the Archbishop has done is generate (predictable) fury in the British tabloid press and help instigate animosity against Muslims residing in this country (the majority of which might not even agree with his views anyway).
Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'
Archbishop defends Sharia remarks

Welcome to the New Football League (NFL)

Following a meeting in London yesterday, the English Premier League is considering plans to extend the season to 39 games by staging some matches abroad.

These extra games would be played at different venues across the globe, with cities bidding for the right to stage them. Several destinations - US, south-east Asia and Dubai - could be interested in staging Premier League games, such is the demand for English football around the planet.

The points won in these one-off games would count towards teams' end-of-season totals, meaning they could be the difference between winning and losing the title and staying up or suffering relegation. It is understood the additional fixtures could be determined by a draw but that the top-five teams could be seeded to avoid playing each other.

Sorry, but this is money-induced lunacy. If it took off, how soon would it be before these "one-off" games became two? Then three? These matches would be soulless, bastardized mutations of a traditional sport once created for the masses, but now catering more and more for the "prawn sandwich brigade". And don't think this would be confined to the Premiership. Will Serie A and La Liga stand idly by while the cash rolls in for the EPL, if these overseas matches prove successful?

This is "fantasy football" of the worst kind possible.
Top clubs consider overseas games
The Football Supporters' Federation - NO TO GAM£ 39 - Supporters' Petition

Iraq (continued)....

Iraq's suffering continues.....

The death toll from yesterday's market bombs in Baghdad, carried by mentally disabled women, has risen to nearly 100, according to officials. The blasts on Friday left 99 people dead and up to 200 wounded and is the Iraqi capital's deadliest attack since violence fell in the wake of a US troop surge in the second half of 2007.
The attacks targeted pet markets in the city, which had been crowded with Iraqis out shopping or meeting friends shortly before the call to Friday prayers.
Iraq market bombs toll nears 100

No Becks.....

Fabio Capello's first England squad to play Switzerland on 6 February:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (Liverpool on loan at Aston Villa), Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool)

Regarding the omission of one David Beckham, I'm in agreement with Capello. It's all good and well that our fickle press and some sentimental football managers are supportive of Beck's quest for his 100th cap, but a few weeks training with Arsenal and playing keepie-uppie on a beach in Brazil doesn't qualify as being match fit in my book.
Let's face facts - Capello is doing what is right for England, NOT Brand Beckham. Otherwise we might as well continue selecting players their star factor instead of their current form (for that matter, I'd leave out Ashley Cole too).
Capello keeps Agbonlahor in squad
Beckham left out of England squad