Flintoff set for boxing debut

Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff is set to make his professional boxing debut against American Heavyweight Richard Dawson at the Manchester Arena tonight.

At 34 Flintoff is 11 years older and two stone lighter than his opponent, but has been training with ex-featherweight champ Barry McGuigan who believes Flintoff has what it takes.

However there are many others who believe that this is a bad idea and I’m with them, I think Flintoff is doing this for all the right reasons, but it’s still a bad idea.

At 34 he’s hardly got a much of a career in the sport whatever happens tonight, and perhaps most importantly he’s not properly trained in that he hasn’t been training like all the other pro boxers who start when their a kid.

Maybe he should have just been content with being an England cricket legend.

Ballon d’Or has to go to Messi

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta make up the three man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

You could make a case for Ronaldo and Iniesta winning but the award has to go to Messi, last season he produced a season of football that everybody thought was impossible.

He ended with 73 goals, 50 in the league, 29 assists and is on the verge of breaking Gerd Muller’s 40-year-old record of scoring 85 goals in a calendar year.

If he does win it would also mean another record of four titles, which would be consecutive, and all this at only 25.

Amazingly there are still some who are critical of Messi and say that it’s easy for him being supplied by Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas etc. but look at it from the other side where would Barcelona be without him.

Since the start of the 08-09 season Messi has scored 237 goals in 239 games no-one else in the game, not even Ronaldo, comes close to matching that.  

Leveson recommendations should be introduced

Lord Justice Leveson’s 2,000 page report has split the government over where to go next with regards to press regulation.

Labour and the Lib Dems want to unequivocally back Leveson’s recommendations while Conservatives are opposed to introducing a new law underpinning a new press regulator.

Judging by people’s reactions it seems a lot of people back Leveson, but the press were quick to say if Leveson’s recommendations are put in place we’ll have a state regulated press, nonsense, what Leveson proposes is that there is an independent regulator for the press that is backed by a law that means those who break the rules will be punished.

The whole point of Leveson’s investigation and report was to change the way the press is regulated as they have clearly shown they can’t be trusted to do it themselves, but rather than the press complaining about it, because it’s their own fault, they should sign up to the changes.

It’s like any law if you don’t break it and work within it you have nothing to worry about, it’s not like the changes will give politicians the power to ring editors and say you’re not running this story because I say so.

Draft legislation may be ready within a fortnight and hopefully after this incredibly lengthy and costly process, Leveson’s recommendations can be put on place and the politicians, police, press and public can all move on.  

BBC Sports Personality shortlist named

The shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the year award has been announced, with 11 Olympic and Paralympic athletes nominated.

In full the list is:

1.      Andy Murray

2.      Ben Ainslie

3.      Bradley Wiggins

4.      Chris Hoy

5.      David Weir

6.      Ellie Simmonds

7.      Jessica Ennis

8.      Katherine Grainger

9.      Mo Farah

10.  Nicola Adams

11.  Rory McIlroy

12.  Sarah Storey

Between them the nominees have 8 Olympic and 3 Paralympic gold medals, add to this Andy Murray’s US Open win and McIlroy’s many successes, from winning a 2^nd major to becoming world no.1, and you are faced with an almost impossible decision.

I did say almost, because for me there is only one person who should win and that is Bradley Wiggins.

He became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, which he did drug free, then a few days later he rode in the road race and then won gold in the time trial by 42 seconds, this has to put him above everyone else.

While this factor seems to have become obsolete for this award Wiggins also has a personality, and isn’t just another media trained don’t say anything because it might affect my reputation, sportsman.

In any other year any of the achievements by those listed would have been enough to win, but because it’s been such a special unique year of sport it needs a winner that reflects that and for me that = Bradley Wiggins.   

Vettel makes it three in a row

Sebastien Vettel just about did what he needed to do to win a third straight World Title, he finished sixth at the Brazilian Grand Prix to take the championship by three points from Fernando Alonso.

At 25, this makes Vettel the youngest triple World Champion by six years and makes him the only driver to win his first three titles consecutively.

Although he came to Brazil with a 13 point lead it was a tense race for Vettel after being hit on lap one and having to come from the back of the field, but despite that the rain and bodged pit-stop he made up the places needed.

Unsurprisingly Vettel’s hero is fellow German and F1 legend Michael Schumacher, and the question has to be asked can he emulate, or even surpass, his achievements in the sport.

Vettel is already a triple world champion and still has, if he chooses, at least 10 years more in F1 and with Red Bull’s ability to find that extra pace when they need to, right now you’d have to say he can.  

European Tour announces £19m season ending series

The European Tour is introducing a new £19m climax to the 2013 Race to Dubai with a ‘Final Series’ of four events.

The four tournaments will be the BMW Masters, HSBC Champions, Turkish Open and the DP World Tour Championship.

I’m pleased to see that the European Tour has taken a positive pro-active step and are changing their season ending finale, because ever since they introduced the race to Dubai in 2009, it’s always felt like it was missing something.

Particularly this season as Rory won the bonus prize long before the final event and just had to turn up, although he did make it interesting by finishing with five birdies for another win.

While the European Tour has made a big change it remains to be seen whether:

A.    It will be a success

B.     It will dent the dominance of the FedEx Cup Play-offs

C.     It will stem the flow of Europeans who are flocking stateside

Fergie time does exist

It’s well a known notion that Man United have benefited on a number of occasions from referees adding unusually long periods of extra time to the end of their games, particularly when their losing.  

But whereas before this phenomenon was seen as the other teams and fans jealousy of United’s ability to score late goals, research from Opta Sports shows ‘Fergie time’ actually does exist.

Opta found that when United were winning an average of 3 minutes and 18 seconds was added at the end of the 90, but when they were losing that number rose to 4 minutes and 37 seconds, an additional 79 seconds.

As Ferguson likes to play mind games with referees and opposition managers by bringing up incidents from previous games to try and pressurise them, maybe now the refs can get their own back, when Fergie stands on the touchline pointing at his watch demanding another minute that can be their cue to blow the final whistle.

That way we won’t be faced with a situation like when United were drawing 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday and the ref looked content to carry on playing until they scored, which they eventually did 7 minutes later, maybe we’ll soon see the end of Fergie time.  

UKIP couple have foster children taken

A couple have had their three foster children removed from their care because they belong to UKIP.

Rotherham Borough Council said they had concerns about UKIP’s stance on immigration, and local social workers had accused them of belonging to a “racist party”.

Naturally UKIP leader Nigel Farage wasn’t best pleased with the decision saying the couple had been subjected to “appalling prejudice”.

He’s absolutely right the actions of Rotherham Council are crazy, the couple’s decision to support UKIP shouldn’t be of any concern to the council whatsoever.

The couple have been approved foster parents for seven years, so why have their political views become a problem now, hopefully those who took the decision will be making a trip to the job centre very soon.      

Clattenburg cleared over Chelsea complaint

The FA will take no action against referee Mark Clattenburg over a complaint made by Chelsea that he racially abused one of their players.

After an investigation the FA decided that there was “no case to answer” over the allegation that Clattenburg said “shut up you monkey” to midfielder John Obi Mikel.

The FA said the complaint, which was made by fellow midfielder Ramires, was made in good faith.

Is there an initiative at Chelsea that all employees, players, coaches, backroom staff, directors and of course the owner must do all they can to turn Chelsea into the laughing stock of the Premier League, because that’s what’s happening.

There was very little justification for the managerial sackings made by Abramovich, but he could point to the fact that the managers he let go never won the Champions League, and yet he sacks Di Matteo who won the competition after only a few months in charge.

Yes they won’t be winning it again this season, but no team has defended the trophy in the Champions League era not even the Barcelona team recognised as one of, if not the, greatest ever.

Di Matteo’s sacking was laughable enough, and yet Chelsea have really gone that extra mile by accusing a referee of racially abusing one of their players.

It sounded absurd when I first heard it and it has got progressively more ridiculous as the details have been revealed, if Clattenburg abused Mikel then why didn’t he do something on the pitch when it happened, and then after the game why was it his team mate who made a complaint and not him.

The FA can really take a lead and make an example of Chelsea here and punish them to show that you can’t do what you like and expect to get away with it, because their behaviour has been appalling.

EU budget deal maybe out of reach

After more gruelling budget negotiations EU leaders are again struggling to come to an agreement, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying she doubted a deal could be reached.

The budget talks are faltering because most EU members want a budget increase, where as the remaining nations and biggest contributors like the UK and Germany, say a rise in the budget would be unacceptable at a time of austerity.

I happen to agree that a rise in the EU budget is unacceptable at a time when everyone across Europe is having to cut back, and it seems that both sides seem unwilling to back down, meaning a deal probably won’t be reached.

But with 27 members, and more set join, currently in the EU who come to negotiate on matters such as these and who all want to get the best deal for their people and be seen to be standing up to the other nations, is it any surprise they don’t agree.

It’s hard enough to get two world leaders to agree on anything so how can we expect 27 politicians from 27 different nations who come from a variety of cultures and background to agree, the whole thing is deeply flawed.

David Beckham should quit football after he leaves LA Galaxy

David Beckham has announced he will leave LA Galaxy after the MLS Cup final on December 1, ending his six season stint in America.

Beckham also said that he wanted to experience one last challenge before the end of his playing career.

But I think the best thing Beckham can do is retire from the game altogether, let’s be honest he’s been in semi-retirement ever since he moved California.

The standard of the MLS maybe growing but it’s still garbage and the only reason players like Beckham, Henry and others go there is because their careers at the top level in Europe are over and they want to earn as much as they can before they retire, it’s not a criticism of them it’s a fact.

Beckham has had an amazing career and he has been one of the very best there’s no doubt, you don’t play and win countless trophies for Manchester United and Real Madrid if you’re not, and on top of that he’s the most capped outfield player for England.           

He’s also been a great ambassador for the game and is easily the most recognisable footballer in the world, but what kind of message is he sending if after he finishes his MLS career he then goes to Australia or China and earns another fortune for playing in a rubbish league.

He has achieved a lot in the game on the pitch and has done a lot for the game away from the pitch but I hope he doesn’t go to Australia or China or anywhere I think the best thing he can do is retire and continue working to promote the game that way.

   

Brooks and Coulson face charges

Ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson and ex-News International executive Rebekah Brooks will be charged in connection with payments to police and public officials.

While both are being charged as part of Operation Elvden, I would like to know why both haven’t been behind bars already.

I think it was in 2003 when both were sat in front of a parliamentary committee and Brooks openly admitted to MP’s, journalists and the watching public that she did pay police for stories.  

Sitting next to her Coulson jumped in and tried to explain it away but it was too late she’d already admitted it, yet neither faced any charges and both walked free and carried on with their lives, despite acknowledging they were criminals.

Hopefully this time round they’ll be charged for their crimes and receive sufficient sentences so both can learn they can’t do what they like and expect to get away with it.

F1 makes successful return to the US

Given the chequered relationship F1 has had with the US the race in Austin was the chance to wipe the slate clean and start again.

Drivers, team principals and commentators were talking up the track, the fans were enthusiastic, so was it a success, in a word, yes.

There was a feast of wheel to wheel racing climaxing with Hamilton overtaking Vettel for the win and ensuring that the title race will go down to the final race in Brazil.

It means that Vettel needs a 4^th place finish to win his third title in a row, but given Red Bulls reliability issues and the fact that its meant to rain in Brazil, means Alonso’s chances are far from over.

I’m hoping we have one final twist and Alonso wins, because if he’d have been driving a Red Bull he would have been champion already.

One other interesting thing to come out of the race was Hamilton’s victory, yes McLaren have had a lot of problems this season, but that was still his 4^th win of the year and 21^st of his career, despite this he’s leaving for Mercedes who don’t look like they’re capable of winning anything.

Either this is just an ego trip for Lewis so he can have the whole team built around him, or he knows something we don’t and Mercedes will be genuine contenders next year, at the moment I’m going for the former.

As F1 will return to Austin again next year it means there is a real chance to build up a successful race and re-build the fractured relationship between F1 and the US fans.  

Labour take back Corby

After a 12% swing in the vote Labour have re-captured Corby, marking the first time Labour have taken a seat from the Conservatives in a by-election since February 1997.

Labour’s candidate Andy Sawford won the seat by taking 17,267 votes with Conservative candidate Christine Emmet a distant second with just 9,476 votes.

Mr Sawford said that his win was a “damning verdict” on David Cameron’s leadership.

In response Mr Cameron said “it’s a classic mid-term result and obviously made difficult by the fact that the Conservative MP left the seat in question.”

The former MP in question Louise Mensch said she “took the blame for the defeat and also said that the result “is not going to mean anything” to the PM’s leadership.

Well it should, Corby is a marginal seat and marginal seats are ultimately where general elections are won and lost and as the Conservatives are 20 odd seats short of a majority they can’t really afford to pass this off as a typical mid-term result that means nothing.

If anything this result is a continuation of the defeats they suffered in the local councillor elections earlier in the year.

Yes Cameron and co still have two and a half years to rectify the situation and halt the progress being made by Labour, but they can’t leave it too much longer otherwise it will be too late.    

PCC elections see record low turnout

The first police and crime commissioner elections (PCC) have come under scrutiny due to the record low number of voter turnouts.

In the Merseyside election just 12.9% of people voted, in Manchester it was 13.5%, in the West Midlands councils reported a turnout of 12-13% and at one polling station in Newport NOBODY showed up.

Election expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said: “it looks pretty likely that this will be the worst turnout in any nationwide set of elections ever.”

To me this whole exercise seems like a big waste of time and money, I like the majority yesterday decided not to vote and stay indoors and I did so for several reasons.

I didn’t know what I was voting for, I had no idea what a PCC could do once elected, and I didn’t know anything about any of the candidates who were standing in my area.

So given those set of circumstances there was no point in me voting, I wasn’t going to vote just for the sake of it and looking at the turnout numbers I wasn’t the only one.

Also those who have been elected are they going to be taken seriously, I mean most were probably elected with less than 10% of the vote.

Surely next time they are held there should be much more information so voters can make informed choices otherwise you’ll most likely see even less people vote next time.   

Pets beat grandparents

Britain’s shoppers are more likely to buy gifts for their pets than they are for their grandparents this Christmas.

A report by SAS and Verdict found that 15.8% of the 10,000 shoppers surveyed said they were buying presents for their pets, compared to the 14.3% buying for their grandparents.

I’m speechless, I mean really, I know in Britain we like to think of ourselves as animal lovers but isn’t this taking that a little too far.

Admittedly from my experience my grandparents usually don’t ask for anything or want anything, but to think that I would then go out and spend that money on a pet is crazy.

Yeah let’s buy presents for an animal that has no concept of Christmas or gift giving and has no concept of appreciation, what a productive way to spend your money, not!

I think we in the UK need a real change in attitude and priority, because as this figure shows this animal loving situation is getting out of control.   

Gerrard set for 100th cap

Steven Gerrard will become the 6^th England player to notch up 100 caps when he lines up to face Sweden on Wednesday.

Gerrard will skipper the side in Stockholm and add his name to the list of those distinguished names in the 100 club joining Billy Wright, Bobby Charlton, Booby Moore, Peter Shilton and David Beckham.

In his three lions career Gerrard has won 65% of matches played, won 54% of matches as captain, scored 19 goals, racked up 19 assists, completed 80% of his passes and won 75% of his tackles, pretty impressive although as is commonplace in sport these don’t tell the full story as Gerrard’s England trophy cabinet remains empty.

But looking at all of England’s performances since Gerrard first took to the field for his country in May 2000 against Ukraine, you can count on one hand the number of players who have consistently performed to the same level as him. (Beckham, Cole, Terry)

Despite not winning a major tournament on the international stage Gerrard has still performed and given his all, he’s scored three goals at the World Cup and was the only England player who bothered to show up in South Africa, and he was the only England player to be named in the all-star team at Euro 2012.

And who knows if at some point in the last 12 years an England boss had the guts to drop Lampard, as clearly he and Gerrard don’t work, then maybe we could have at least got to the semi-finals of a tournament.

Many people still are, in my opinion unfairly, critical of Gerrard, but perhaps that’s also the biggest indicator of just how good he is because people expect so much of him that when he doesn’t live up to that it’s seen as a failing.

Instead of complaining and saying he hasn’t done this and he hasn’t done that, just enjoying it while it lasts because once he retires after the 2014 World Cup there will be a noticeable hole in England’s midfield and as yet I haven’t seen anyone prove they are capable of filling it.  

BBC chaos continues

The list of questions and problems facing the BBC has grown exponentially in the last few days and the organisation is doing little to garner any sympathy.

Its director general George Entwistle, who resigned on Saturday, is being given a rather tidy £450,000 payoff for just 54 days work, most of which was spent botching an internal investigation into the Jimmy Savile allegations.

And today sees more bad news for the beeb, director of news Helen Boaden and her deputy Steve Mitchell have been asked to ‘step aside’ pending the outcome of an internal review into the handling of the Jimmy Savile claims, although they are expected to return to the posts once it’s completed.   

It follows a report into a Newsnight broadcast which said the BBC must resolve a “lack of clarity” in the chain of command. (Understatement alert)

I think the biggest problem here for the BBC is the word internal, if they want to repair and restore their reputation, which is worsening by the minute, they need to hold an independent/external inquiry.

That way we can truly get to the root of the problems and truly see who has to answer for what.  

CIA director resigns over affair

CIA director David Petraeus has resigned from his post, after admitting he had an extra-marital affair.

In a statement, Mr Petraeus described his behaviour as ‘unacceptable’ for the leader of the nation’s main intelligence agency.

Unnamed officials said Mr Petraeus conducted the affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

The words what were you thinking spring to mind, as director of the CIA working closely with the White House and the FBI he probably couldn’t have so much as taken a s**t without 100 people knowing about it, so how did he expect to conceal an affair.

Or maybe he’s a big supporter of the Republican Party and he couldn’t stand the idea of working with Obama for four years, and knowing he couldn’t just resign he had to concoct something to get out.

Either way it looks like a unsavoury end to an otherwise highly successful and distinguished career.

EU budget talks collapse

Talks to agree the EU’s 2013 budget have collapsed, after negotiators from the EU and member states were unable to agree on extra funding for 2012.

The EU Commission and European Parliament had asked for a budget rise of 6.8% in 2013, but most governments want to limit the rise to just 2.8%.

The juxtapose here is quite amusing, the EU are calling for a rise in funding at a time when most governments in Europe are outlining cut backs and austerity packages.

Furthermore where exactly is this extra 6.8% going to come from?

This is just another example of the EU unashamedly showing just how out of touch with reality they are, and it’s no surprise that their idiocy has steered this discussion onto the rocks.

An EU summit aimed at reaching a deal will be held on 22-23 November but unless there’s a drastic change in attitude the results will be exactly the same.      

Ohio judge makes driver wear idiot sign

A judge in Ohio has come up with an brilliant punishment for a dangerous driver.

Shena Hardin will have to hold up a sign saying “only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus” after she did just that.

Witnesses say she routinely used to drive on the pavement to avoid waiting for the school bus as it stopped to pick up and drop off children.

Hardin will also lose her licence for 30 days and pay a $250 fine.

I can’t praise this judge’s ingenuity enough, I wish more judges were this creative when handing out sentences.

Wilshere England return too soon

Unsurprisingly Arsene Wenger isn’t best pleased with Roy Hodgson’s decision to include Jack Wilshere in the latest England squad.

Unsurprisingly as an Arsenal fan I totally agree with Wenger, Wilshere has played just three, that’s three, competitive games since returning from a 16 month injury lay-off and yet he’s back in the England squad.

It’s too much too soon, he needs to be given a run of at least 10 games where he can gain his match sharpness and demonstrate conclusively that he is the same player we all got so excited about during the 2010-11 season.

His inclusion is made more frustrating by the fact that it’s only for a friendly, the first few games back from such a long lay-off are crucial and I think he shouldn’t be given the chance to aggravate his injury or pick up another one in an essentially meaningless game.

England have a friendly against Brazil in February which would be the perfect time for him to be brought back in.

While Hodgson and Wenger have reached a compromise that means Wilshere will only play 45 minutes, surely the most sensible thing to do would be to not pick him, it’s too soon, it’s only a friendly and it’s completely unnecessary.

UK to end financial aid to India

The UK will stop its financial aid to India by 2015, the international development secretary, Justine Greening, has announced.

Support will gradually be cut about £200m between 2013 and 2015 before being stopped completely.

This is a sensible decision taken by the government, but one that is rather overdue, India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies with its own space programme, I really don’t think they need a measly couple of hundred million pound contribution from us, it’s like a direct debit payment that we’ve only just realised we need to cancel.

The government has also re-evaluated our financial stance with India and will in future deal with them in a much more productive way that is beneficial to both, this new relationship will see a further shift towards skillsharing and bilateral trade.

Hopefully this important step will enable the government, which has a longstanding commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on aid, to focus on countries that need it most.

Tory MP heads for the jungle

Conservative backbencher Nadine Dorries is to swap the House of Commons for the Australian bush as she has agreed to be a contestant on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Ms Dorries who represents Mid Bedfordshire will be the first serving MP to participate in the programme, I don’t know where to begin with this, it’s beyond stupidity.

Let’s start with the fact that, like many others who’ve entered the jungle, she is not a celebrity in any sense of the word, another is that she is abandoning her constituents and could be in Australia for up to a month, obviously she won’t she’ll most likely be voted out first, but you know.

Maybe the only way to explain this bizarre decision is the fact that Ms Dorries isn’t a big fan of David Cameron and is doing this to bring negative attention to the Conservative party, but even using that logic her plan is still flawed because she’s leaving her constituents without an MP.

I hope she gets kicked out the jungle first, earns as little money as possible for this ego trip and gets back to have to face a by-election, oh and loses.

US election nears finish line

After what seems like an eternity the race for President is almost over as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have just one day of campaigning left before Tuesdays vote.

While the race is obviously very important, I’m surprised at just how much coverage it’s been given here in the UK, the press seem to be giving it more attention than they gave our own election in 2010.

I’ll say it again the election is obviously very important, I will be watching the results, and I want Obama to win, but what the media in the UK and many others seem to have failed to grasp is, it doesn’t matter what they or I think.

There have been so many stories about how Obama is more popular than Romney in Belgium and Romney is more popular in China etc, why it’s a waste of time, it doesn’t matter and I’m frankly getting bored of it all.

I can’t imagine how unbearable the coverage must be in America itself particularly in states like Ohio where coverage is said to be inescapable.

What makes this so galling from a UK point of view is that we don’t need to cover the US election so extensively and so thoroughly, by all means report on things like the Presidential debates and things like when Romney was caught saying 47% of Americans sponge of the state. (and obviously who wins)

We don’t need story after story, day after day, filled with stat after stat and fact after fact, it’s all getting a bit too much.