Sunday 17 May 2009

1722 Sporting Interlude on TV

The intention for Saturday was to catch up on project work registrations while watch the Test and the penultimate week of the Premiership Football season, followed by Britain’s Got Talent, the Eurovision Song Content and last week’s Lost which I missed. I will also listen to the Newcastle and Borough matches on the radio. It should be a full day. I started late with going to sleep from 7.30 to 9 additional to usual quantity and it was 10am before getting into gear dividing time between the Test Match and writing a Blog. This was dress up day at the Test with the added advantage that some costumes defended well against the cold weather although it was dry throughout the morning although there had been considerable rain overnight here. I had coffee and a cereal for a late breakfast.

The cricket went along as anticipated with England batting until tea time to reach 569 for six with Cook making his highest tests core 160. Petersen 49, Collingwood not out for 60 and Prior 63. Broad was not out for 28 at the declaration. West Indies were 94 for 3 at close still 250 short of avoiding the follow on after a stop for bad light and rain. The crowd enjoyed itself in everyway that it could, despite the conditions and the predictability. Ian Botham expressed the hope to one day see a Test match at ground in summer time.

I watched the last exciting overs of an IPL game in which one side had scored 54 runs off the last two overs to turn the match in their favour and then restricted their opponents with tight bowing so they need 27 runs of six balls. Then there was a contested no ball on the first ball and with some nervous bowling and brilliant batting the game was won. The losing team had only won one game before, so near yet so far.

I watched a boring unmemorable match between Manchester United and Arsenal which ended 0.0 thus giving United the Premiership title for the third year in succession as whatever Liverpool and Man U do in their remaining games they cannot be overtaken. In the middle of the afternoon there was opportunity for some teams to escape relegation or make their positions better or worse. The surprise result after last week was the 1.0 defeat of Newcastle at home. They appeared to equalise with a good goal which was disallowed. There was the nasty smell about the decision which appeared to be based on the reputation of the Kevin Nolan and his actions in the last game rather than this. Given the decision in the UEFA Championship Cup to ensure that there were not two English clubs in the final for the second year running, it is evident that the game has become even more corrupted at the top than I previously believed, or perhaps corrective rough justice. Cricket should beware and learn either way.

The Boro achieved a draw against the Villa but they need to win and score several goals away from home if they have any hope of staying in the top league. Hull and their magnificent fans achieved an away point and came close to winning and losing at different times, but are now out of the bottom three. Sunderland could do themselves the power of good by getting a point at Portsmouth which is on the telly on Monday evening. Fail and they would still be in trouble. West Brom also have to win twice to achieve the amazing escape of all time and win against Liverpool but given their recent performances, I would not bet against them, especially as Liverpool they have missed their best opportunity in two of not three decades to take the title.

I watched an amusing whimsical film called Four eyes and Six guns. The four eyes refers to the name I was called as a child at school. Those who wear glasses and who are also regarded as wimps as a consequence. In this instance the Four Eyes refers to an early optician with a romantic and idealistic hankering for the West, Tombstone and Marshall Wyatt Earp, and who had taught himself to sharp shoot as a hobby. After a bust up with his employer of six months he takes his savings and equipment off to make a fortune in guess where, only to be defrauded out of his savings into buying a shack of a hut and having many of his precious lens smashed by the leader of a ruthless gang of nine redheaded brothers. He is followed on he adventure by the niece of his employers who sees in him the fulfilment of her own day dreams.

In Tombstone he finds the Sheriff living off his reputation an in urgent need of glasses which he finds humiliating. There are various misadventures before the optician becomes the hero of the town and wins his bride and the brothers are all dealt with one way or the other. It was a good piece of silliness for what was to come.

The great silliness is the European song context where the organisers which include the UK who pay the annual ongoing costs demanded a change to the political voting of recent years in which regardless of the quality of the songs and their performances nations voted for their friends and against their enemies or rivals. The Idiots at the BBC had the ludicrous notion that a competition should be held in which the British public voted for an artist and an a song to represent the nation in the absurd belief that the British pubic could identify a song which would appeal and appease the hostile rest of Europe and in the knowledge that in the actual competition no one in the UK could vote for out song and we had to vote for others. Unsurprisingly the result was few and few votes until we got not votes. Being the paymasters fore the competition however badly we did we still qualify for the final 25 and did not have the humiliation of having to enter the preliminary contest. To avoid further humiliation we insisted on the voting being changed to give us a chance again. We then employed the great musical song writer Andrew Lloyd Webber to compose our entry and a Leone Lewis clone to sing it and hoped this would moves us from bottom to top. The rest of Europe thereupon cast the most ever for Norway also a regular no point country under the original system. We came a respectable fifth after much trying to win votes and influence people. It was all sadly pathetic with Graham Norton trying not to be Graham Norton and follow in the footsteps of cynic Terry Wogan. I am being grossly unfair because I only dipped into the programme now and again.

Britain’s Got talent is being padded and padded out this season with a large number of awfulness which I understand is popular along with the feeding Christians to the lions, trying to make bankers feel guilty and lynching greedy politicians. There were three gems which made the programme worthwhile. A ten year old girl with a contemporary voice of a teenager. An eleven year old boy with a brilliant street dance and the confidence to match, and shaky 76 year old grandparent and his twelve year old grand daughter. There were also two lots of girl street dancers who impressed the audience and the judges.

It was then time for Lost which gets better and better in terms of cleverness, story twists and the interactions between the main characters I defy anyone to say they know what the series outcome will be. Meanwhile a darkness has descended over the politicians and their lackeys, the political journalists who knew this went on and kept stumn

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