Chris Froome rejects Bradley Wiggins Team Sky leadership bid

Chris Froome insists he will lead Team Sky’s Tour de France charge this summer despite team-mate Bradley Wiggins claiming he wants to defend his title.

Froome, who was runner-up to Wiggins last year, was told he would be Sky’s main man this summer, with Wiggins prioritising the Giro d’Italia.

But Wiggins said on Monday he wants to win both of the Grand Tour events.

Froome replied: “I have been reassured by the management at Team Sky that I have their full backing.”

This is an interesting development; ever since Wiggins said after last year’s Tour that he would ride and support Froome he has slowly, but surely, retracted his original comments, and has now for the first time admitted he wants to be the main man again.

Wiggins feels that the decision won’t be made until just before the Tour, but Froome seems convinced he’ll lead the team regardless, someone’s not going to happy in about 7-8 weeks time.  

In fairness to Froome he rode last year on the understanding that he would lead this year and so far he’s been in much better form he’s already won two tours and a stage race, while Wiggins has yet to win anything, although if he were to win the Giro that would only complicate things further.

Happily, however, there is an obvious solution make them have a bike race whoever wins leads Team Sky at the Tour.

It should be over three stages one in the mountains, which would favour Froome, a time trial stage, which would favour Wiggins, and a flat stage.

It would be one on one, no domestiques, no team cars and tactics just man and machine the one who completes all three stages in the shortest time wins, simples.   

Team Sky probably won’t do that, but I think you’ll agree it would be much more entertaining if they did.

Prisoners ‘must work harder’ for privileges

Male prisoners in England and Wales must work harder for privileges such as TVs in cells, the government has said.

Inmates will be made to wear a uniform during their first two weeks in jail and their access to private cash to call home will be restricted.

Satellite and cable TV channels, currently available in some private prisons, will be banned altogether.

The Prison Reform Trust said “getting rid of tellies” was not going to cut re-conviction rates.

Of course the single act of removing TVs won’t cut conviction rates, but if they are incorporated with the other measures being proposed then maybe there’s a chance they could.

Recently there have been several programmes where camera crews have gone into prisons and filmed convicts as they go about their lives, and some of them had TVs, games consoles etc. which made me ask at the time is there some sort of new Call of Duty themed rehabilitation initiative that I didn’t hear about? If you reach the rank of Major you get let out six weeks early.

When Chris Grayling became justice secretary we the electorate were promised a tough, no-nonsense approach, and thankfully that’s just what we’re getting.    

Gareth Bale wins both PFA awards

Tottenham’s Gareth Bale has been named Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.

“It’s a massive honour,” said the 23-year-old. “To be voted by your peers is one of the biggest things in the game.”

He becomes only the third player to win both awards in the same season.

You can certainly make a case for Bale winning the main award, although personally I’d have opted for RVP for obvious reasons, but at least Bale winning saved English football the embarrassment of having Suarez win the award.  

I also think the system urgently needs to be changed so a player can only be nominated for one category, the nominees for the Young Player of the Year should be 21 and under and I would have chosen Lukaku for that one, Bale has been around too long to still be considered a young player.

Interesting to see how upset everyone got with Reg D. Hunter using the n-word a few times during his stand-up routine, even though that’s a part of his routine and he’s been doing it for years, would love to sit all those who were offended by his stand-up down and put on a DVD of Chris Rock’s Black People vs. Niggas routine and see what they’d make of that.

As well as the player and young player awards team of the year was also decided with the PFA going for this:

GK David de Gea

RB Zabaleta

CB Jan Vertonghen  

CB Rio Ferdinand

LB Leighton Baines

RM Eden Hazard

CM Michael Carrick

CM Juan Mata

LM Gareth Bale

ST Luis Suarez

ST Robin van Persie  

This is all wrong, nobody plays 4-4-2 anymore, Mata isn’t a CM, and selecting De Gea as the best goalkeeper this season, are you kidding me.   

My team of the year makes much more sense:

GK: Begovic

RB Zabaleta

CB Ivanovic

CB Vertonghen

LB Baines

CM Carrick

CM Fellaini  

LW Bale

AM Mata

RW Cazorla

ST Van Persie

Coach: Michael Laudrup

4-2-3-1 is the formation most teams play nowadays and as that only allows for one out and out striker I chose RVP over Michu and Suarez for two reasons, 1) his performances are the reason Man United are champions and 2) He’ll finish as top-scorer.

I went for Laudrup over Ferguson as coach because we all expect United to be up there competing for the title, whereas Laudrup has surprised everybody, me included, with just how well he has done this year. 

FA: Suarez didn’t grasp severity of situation

Luis Suarez did not appreciate “the seriousness” of biting Branislav Ivanovic when he argued against a long ban, says a Football Association panel.

The Liverpool striker accepted a three-game violent conduct ban, but claimed the incident did not deserve more.

However when he was banned for 10 games he decided not to appeal. 

The FA's written reasons for the ban stated it should send out a "strong message that such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football".

When it was first announced that Suarez had received a 10 game ban, I thought it was harsh and was confused how he got 10 games for biting and only eight games for racially abusing Patrice Evra.

But reading the rationale behind the decision and taking into account that he got a seven game ban for biting someone in an Eredivisie game, you’d have expected him to receive at least seven games so when you think about it 10 isn’t actually that harsh or that much of a surprise.

What it does mean, however, is that the FA clearly got it wrong by not punishing Suarez, and John Terry for that matter, enough for racially abusing opponents.

There have been some reports that Suarez might try to leave Liverpool in the summer as his ban means he won’t be able to play again until October, but if he does decide to leave I hope the FA did what they did with Joey Barton and reached an agreement with the French FA to ensure his 12 game ban carried over.

But if those rumours of Suarez leaving are false and he does stay at Anfield, he will be walking on incredibly thin ice because he’s shown on numerous occasions that he has a serious anger problem when he’s playing, and if he loses it again and does something of a similar vein to some of his other past discretions, he could face missing half a season.   

Armed drones operated from RAF base

Armed drone aircraft have been operated remotely from Britain for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has said.

It said Reaper drones had flown missions controlled from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, where campaign groups are expected to protest against the practice later.

The MoD said it respected people's rights to protest peacefully.

The drones are mainly used for surveillance, but could use weapons if commanded to by their pilots in the UK.

Not sure what these hippies are protesting about, would they prefer to send the armed forces in and risk putting their lives in danger instead.

Drones just represent the next stage of technological development in warfare, so we’re just adapting to the times.   

It’s also worth keeping in mind that drones aren’t autonomous they still need someone to fly them and crucially decide whether or not to go ahead with a strike. 

Store pulls peanuts from shelves over 'peanut warning'

A supermarket chain has withdrawn bags of nuts - after failing to declare they may contain peanuts.

The Food Standards Agency issued an allergy alert saying the presence of peanuts was not declared on Booths' own brand packets of monkey nuts.

The supermarket has removed 300 packets of 350g Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts from its shelves.

Booths has apologised and warned customers with a peanut allergy not to consume the product.

This really is the stupidest and most unnecessary sequence of events, do you really need to have a warning notice saying may contain nuts on a bag of nuts.

If anyone with a peanut allergy was mad enough consume a bag of those monkey nuts, odd name, because they didn’t think there would be a problem, then they deserved to go into anaphylactic shock.

Finally given the recent horsemeat scandal, how can the FDA be sure that the product in question doesn’t actually contain the nuts of monkeys? 

Struggling hospitals losing patients, say nurses

Patients are getting lost in hospitals across the UK because they are constantly being switched from ward to ward amid pressures on A&E, nurses say.

The situation has got so bad staff are carrying out what have been dubbed “safari rounds”, where consultants go searching for their lost patients.

Figures show it is common for patients, particularly elderly ones, to get moved four or five times during their stay.

One nursing union representative said it was a “constant juggle” of patients.

Wow! This is a pretty shocking set of circumstances we’ve ended up with; consultants are now essentially going on reconnaissance missions in an attempt to look for patients that have been lost in a large scale game of musical beds. I wonder how many patients have died as a result of a doctor or nurse not being able to find them? 

NHS England has announced a review of emergency and urgent care, but the phrase closing the gate after the horse has bolted springs to mind.

Instead of spending the time it will take them to produce a report that highlights the problems that everyone already knows, shouldn’t they, and the government, be offering up reforms and solutions? 

McDonald’s burger bought in 1999 looks exactly the same today

A Utah man has unearthed a McDonald's hamburger he bought in 1999, and the sandwich looks exactly the same as the day it was first flipped.

David Whipple kept the fast food meal for a month to show friends how the preservative-packed hamburger would keep its composure.

But he forgot about it, finding it two years later in his coat pocket and then he decided to continue the bizarre experiment.

However, even he was shocked to see that the hamburger still looks the same a whopping 14 years later.

This is unsettling to say the least, I wonder if all those McDonald’s burgers I gobbled up as a child are still  floating around in my colon somewhere, my stomach acid unable to digest the mutant meat. 

I would also like to know exactly what quantities of preservatives need to be put into a burger for it to last 14 years, I await with great interest to see how McDonald’s PR department are going to handle this one.  

Burglar arrested after calling the police because he was frightened of a cat

A burglar was arrested after he became frightened when he heard a strange noise and rang police from under a bed.

Marius Ionescu, 31, mistook the family cat for another burglar in the house in Benesti, Romania, causing him to head for cover and wait for the authorities to come and rescue him.

When the police turned up they did not discover anyone else in the house except for the burglar himself and promptly arrested him.

What a bona-fide idiot this guy is, although on the bright side he has just been awarded the Guinness World Record for the most useless burglar ever. 

How could he not tell it was a cat making the noises, what did he think Catwoman, Batman and Robin where in the vicinity and would at any moment smash through the windows and tie him up?

While that was fairly stupid it was nothing compared to that fact that he called the police, I’d love to read the transcript from that call: hello I’ve broken into a house and there were some strange noises so I’m now hiding under a bed can you come and help me.

I would like to know how they managed to drive him back to the station without crashing because they were, I imagine, laughing so much.

Still if Mr Ionescu is sent to prison and is put in a cold cramped cell, he could always buy a cat to keep him company.

TV anchor sacked after swearing with first words on air

Anchor AJ Clemente’s, short-lived, career a presenter for a North Dakota television station was brief but memorable after a hilarious on-air gaffe.

Viewers of NBC North Dakota News could be forgiven for thinking they had switched on the wrong channel after he made his debut on the programme with the words “f***ing s**t”.

Believing that he was not yet live on air, Clemente could be heard uttering the profanities as he looked down intently at his computer in the opening seconds of the programme.

He has since been fired as a result, despite an online campaign urging the station to keep him.

First day nerves in any job are understandable, but why is it that people are so quick to forget that they are on camera?

Think of the viewers they’ve tuned in for the headlines only to find out the new anchor man has got tourettes.

What was his segway to the weather, oh f**k the meteorologists they haven’t got a f***ing clue what they’re talking about its all bull**it.

I’d love to have seen how he signed off, I’m AJ Clemente thanks for watching a**holes.

We all wonder what anchors do when the credits are rolling yet we can still see them shuffling their papers and mumbling to themselves, but I think I can guess what this guy was saying: I well and truly f***ed that up.

Tory councillor quits over remarks about ethnic children

A councillor has resigned from the Conservative Party over remarks made about children from ethnic minorities.

John Cherry claimed Pakistani children would fail to “rise to the top” and that some nationalities were “uncertain” when it came to hard work.

He was responding to reports that an Eton-style boarding school could be opened in West Sussex.

In resigning, Mr Cherry, 73, who sits on Chichester District Council, said the comments were “extremely foolish”.

I’m not sure what century this guy is living in because it certainly isn’t the 21^st.

Describing his comments as “extremely foolish” are an understatement to say the least, and why wasn’t he sacked before he had the opportunity to resign?

His comments were printed in The Mail on Sunday where he also said that bringing ethic minority children from inner city London to a Home Counties boarding school will create a “sexual volcano”.

While this guy is clearly a bigot, credit where credit is due he has, inadvertently, stumbled on a brilliant business idea, a sex volcano.

That’s a fantastic idea who wouldn’t want one those., look out for me on the next series of Dragons Den I'm off to the drawing board.

Suarez apologises for biting Ivanovic

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has apologised for his “inexcusable behaviour” after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

The incident occurred in the second half of Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.

“I've spoken to Ivanovic on the phone and I could apologise directly to him,” Suarez tweeted. “Thanks for accepting.”

The incident itself was appalling what possessed Suarez to try and take a chunk out an opponent’s arm is beyond anybody who has any interest in football whatsoever, kudos to Ivanovic for the way he reacted to the whole thing. 

Suarez will rightly face a lengthy ban for his mad behaviour, and while many are right to say he’s damaged the reputation of Liverpool and the Premier Legaue, there’s a more worrying factor here.

Liverpool, despite the statements they’ve released, won’t sack or sell Suarez, because they simply can’t afford to, that’s the worst part of all this.

I love football and will defend it against anyone who questions it's integrity, but if Liverpool were to sack or sell him other clubs ftom all over the world would be lining up to sign him, that’s both a damning indictment of the game and sad.

Although, as is always the case, there is some humour to be found in the wake of this incident, for starters Suarez is being offered anger management counselling, I think it’s a bit late for that seeing as though this isn’t the first time he’s bitten someone.

But the best bit by far is that after Suarez took to Twitter to initially apologise, he gained a new follower none other than Mike Tyson, you honestly couldn’t make it up.

What next is Suarez going to threaten to eat the children of his opponents?

Ofcom to abolish 0800 call charges

The UK communications watchdog Ofcom has told mobile phone networks to stop charging customers for dialling “free phone” 0800 numbers.

Under the current system, the cost of calling your bank or energy provider can vary enormously depending on your service provider, and whether you are dialling from a mobile or landline.

Some mobile phone providers currently charge for up to 40p a minute for calls to 0800 numbers, and reportedly generate more than £100m a year from what should be a free service.

While this is good news, these measures won’t actually be implemented until 2015 at the earliest.

I find it very strange that Ofcom has said to mobile phone networks, it’s wrong of you to charge people for dialling free phone numbers, however, you can carrying on charging them until at least 2015, call me simple but I just don’t understand the thought process there.

If the networks are charging people when they shouldn’t be why won’t they be made to stop doing it as soon as possible? 

Npower admits paying no taxes for three years

Npower has admitted it has not paid corporation tax in the UK for three years, saying it has invested “billions” in new power stations and wind technology.

RWE npower’s chief executive Paul Massara told the Energy and Climate Change select committee that the company had not paid corporation tax after he was asked by Labour MP Ian Lavery if he could confirm how much it had paid in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Mr Massara said: “So we will not have paid corporation tax in those three years.”

What is it with companies and tax arrangements in this country?

Last year it was Starbucks, Google and Amazon, now this year we have Npower, whose next? 

Who will be the next CEO to flippantly declare my firm pays no taxes?

In fairness not paying taxes has worked wonders for Npower the company reported a 34% rise in profits to £413m last year, and just to rub in some salt Npower decided they weren’t charging their customers enough so in November gas and electricity prices rose by 8.8% and 9.1% respectively, what a lovely company.

I wonder what Npower would say if their customers took their approach and decided not to pay their bills, I wonder what the bigwigs in charge would say about that, you could even send them a note telling them that instead of giving your money to them you’re investing it in a technology of your choosing. 

US Senate opens first gun control debate for 19 years

The US Senate has opened debate on a proposal to expand criminal background checks on gun buyers.

The bipartisan move marks the most serious consideration of gun control legislation in 19 years, though many hurdles remain before final passage.

This is significant in that it’s the furthest into the legislative process any gun control bill has moved since 1994, however, at that time the bill passed saw a ban on assault weapons, but nothing like that is going to happen.

All that’s on the table is extended (proper) background checks, which should be in place anyway, so this really isn’t historic or significant, if anything it’s pretty tame.   

The states of New York, Colorado and Connecticut have already passed much stronger gun control reforms, and have also, inadvertently, highlighted that on the issue of gun control there is much more power at state and local level than there is at national level.  

Google launches death data tool

Google will allow users to decide what happens to their data after they die or become inactive online, the first major company to deal with the sensitive issue.

The feature applies to email, social network Google Plus and other accounts.

Users can choose to delete data after a set period of time, or pass it on to specific people.

This is a neat little idea, although judging by some of the idiotic things people post online many could do with this tool right now.

For those people I guess it’s not so bad, Google say you can have everything wiped after as little as three months of internet inactivity, although the people who need their stuff wiping now can’t seem to go three minutes without updating something or other, that could be a problem. 

New dangerous dogs law

Dog owners in England and Wales will no longer be immune from prosecution for attacks on their own property under new proposals from the government.

People could face a two-year jail sentence if their animals are found to be "dangerously out of control" in their own or others' homes.

Existing laws only cover attacks in public places and prohibited areas.

The move follows public outcry over the death of 14-year old Jade Anderson who was mauled by dogs last month.

Finally the government has recognised that there is a huge gap in the law that needs to be closed.

It’s saddening that it takes, as it usually does in alarmingly high number of cases, a death to get a reaction and get a piece of flawed law changed, but better late than never.

Afghanistan peace deal with Taliban needed, say MPs

The start of an Afghan-led peace deal with the Taliban is needed to secure the future of Afghanistan after British troops leave, a group of MPs has said.

The defence select committee said a failure to initiate such a move could lead to civil war in Afghanistan.

The UK had a responsibility to use its influence to "make Afghanistan work" after 2014, the MPs added.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the UK would help Afghans to reach "a sustainable political settlement".

The more months that go by, the nearer to the date we get when the last of the troops will leave Afghanistan, and the more nervous the government appear to be getting about what will happen after 2014.

There are already major concerns about whether the Afghan National Security Force is capable of keeping the Taliban at bay, and judging by the recommendation of the defence select committee, negotiating with terrorists, it’s a big thumbs down.  

The government are in an awkward position here, if the troops pull out and six months later the Taliban are running riot again then they will be in for some hefty criticism.

David Cameron said to judge him mainly on his handling of the economy at the next election, but don’t rule out the situation in Afghanistan playing a major role in deciding who will be PM in 2015. 

Goal-line technology set to be adopted

The Football Association expects goal-line technology (GLT) to be adopted by Premier League clubs this week.

Premier League clubs meet on Thursday with GLT set to be agreed for next season, while the FA wishes to install the technology at Wembley.

"I always thought it was an ideal piece of technology to allow into the game," said FA general secretary Alex Horne.

While this is now merely a formality, it’s nice to see football finally joining every other sport and adopting this technology.

Some, mostly ex-players, have said that this is a bad idea because if you introduce it where do you stop, blah, blah, blah.

I would urge them to pull their head out of the sand, open their eyes and realise that GLT will actually improve the game no-end.  

Just look at how it enhances the atmosphere in Rugby and Tennis, it works well for those sports and I think it will work well for football, roll on next season. 

Celebrated film critic Roger Ebert dies

Numerous Hollywood actors and directors have paid tribute to US film critic Roger Ebert who has died aged 70 after a long battle with cancer.

Director Martin Scorsese, who is producing a documentary on Ebert, said it was “an incalculable loss”.

Steven Spielberg, who Ebert praised for his “talent and his flexibility”, said it was “the end of an era”.

I’ll keep my tribute short and sweet because I know there are much more interesting people with much more articulate things about the great man.

His reviews were always the first ones I looked for whenever a new movie came out, his love of cinema transcended his critiquing.

Reading his reviews were often more interesting and entertaining than actually watching the movie he writing about, I’ll miss looking out for them in future.

George Osborne benefit comments spark row

Chancellor George Osborne is at the centre of a political row after questioning whether the state should “subsidise” the lifestyles of people such as Mick Philpott.

Unemployed father-of-17 Philpott was jailed for life on Thursday for killing six of his children in a house fire.

Mr Osborne said there was a "question for government and society" about the influence of benefits on behaviour.

Many people have many reasons to criticise George Osborne but for once you have to say he’s right on the money.

He is absolutely right ask why should the state fund people like Philpott, who before his horrendous crimes had already been labelled Britain’s biggest scrounger.

As recognising a problem is half the battle, maybe now Osborne and co will aim to put a stop to this kind of lifestyle being a choice for people in the future. 

Connecticut backs gun controls

The state legislature in Connecticut has approved gun control measures which campaigners say are the most comprehensive in America.

The sweeping new restrictions include a ban on new high-capacity magazines and background checks on all gun buyers.

President Barack Obama and gun control advocates say the measures are needed to curb an epidemic of gun violence.

In Washington, the US Congress is set to debate new gun control legislation this month.

As we live in a world where he who shouts loudest gets heard, it’s nice to hear something other than gun nuts spouting nonsense about how Hitler and Stalin took away the guns in their societies and look what happened there. People with that point of view clearly didn’t pay much attention in history class at school.

The sensible measures put in place by the Connecticut state legislature will show that if you regulate guns properly then it will make an area much safer and, despite the bleating of organisations like the NRA, gun controls won’t suddenly turn America into 1930s Germany.

Hopefully when this issue is discussed in Washington the Democrats and Republicans will arrive at a similar conclusion, and show once and for all that they are prepared to tackle gun violence.

Prison inmates face legal aid ban

Prisoners are set to be prevented from claiming legal aid to pursue complaints against the prison system, the government has announced.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said taxpayers' money was being used for "unnecessary legal cases" that could be dealt with by the prison service.

The Ministry of Justice will consult on the proposals which it said would mean 11,000 fewer cases and save £4m a year.

Prison campaigners said the plans were "profoundly unfair" and "negative".

I’m not sure what these ‘prison campaigners’ are complaining about, the whole point of a prison is that it takes away certain rights from an individual, because they gave them up when they decided to break the law.

So why should they be allowed to spend taxpayers’ money pursuing legal claims, which I’m guessing most are bogus and most of them are probably only doing it because they’re bored and have nothing better to do.

I have no doubt that there will be some genuine claims hidden in the pile somewhere, but it could have all been avoided if they’d decided to be a law-abiding citizen.

Bieber fever halts Norwegian exams

Five schools in Norway have rescheduled their mid-term exams to allow pupils to attend Justin Bieber concerts in Oslo.

The 19-year-old Canadian pop star is scheduled to perform in the capital on April 16 and 17 - stoking fears that some children in remote schools will skip exams scheduled at the same time.

The singer is extremely popular in Norway, where his free concert in Oslo last year resulted in dozens of injuries as teenage girls fought to get glimpses of him.

To accommodate this Bieber-mania, five schools in the Alesund region - located 230 miles from Oslo - have rescheduled exams.

What are these schools thinking; they should have the exams on the day they were pencilled in for regardless of whether there is a Justin Bieber concert.

Think about it for a moment, if a pupil chooses to skip an exam to go to a Justin Bieber concert then chances are they’re pretty brain-dead and won’t be making much of a contribution to Norwegian society when they grow up, so let them go and enjoy themselves before they become adults living a life of regret and misery