Dale's random and mostly movie based blog

What if they stopped after just one Star Wars movie?

2020-05-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Star Wars movie series is arguably the biggest franchise in cinematic history, spanning over 40 years with 11 live action films (13 if you include the two Ewok movies), cartoon series like Droids, Ewoks, Clone Wars and Rebels and now a live action series of the bounty hunter Boba Hutt from The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi in The Mandalorian not to mention countless computer games, comics/ graphic novels and more merchandise than you can shake a Tusken raider's gaderffii stick at.

What if after the original 1977 ‘Star Wars’ George Lucas had decided that was it even before it had a chance to be rebranded as ‘Episode IV : A New Hope’? Well we would not have met the likes of Emporer Palpatine, Lando Calrissian, Jabba The Hutt or evenYoda (but we also wouldn’t have had to endure Jar Jar Binks or Hayden Christensen trying the be a believable young Darth Vader), there would be no AT-AT’s or pod racing, no Tauntans or Sarlacc Pits but would George Lucas have been able to achieve more visionary works? While he co-created Indiana Jones post Star Wars, would he even worked on solo (not Han) projects and gone on to win Oscars much like his Indiana Jones partner Stephen Spielberg did with Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan? Could he have helmed great movies like Back To The Future or Forrest Gump much like another Spielberg alumni in Robert Zemeckis? What if he had used his Lucasfilm and Industrial Light And Magic special effects studios to direct Jurassic Park or had a chance to give his version of Titanic? He could have worked with Warner Bros. and created a D.C. universe years before Marvel ever did with 1989s Batman adding heavyweights like Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman to Tim Burton’s dark gothic version. It would mean we would never have had the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special which was so bad, there is a reason that Lucas has never allowed it to be shown again with IMDB scoring it lower than the likes of Jaws: The Revenge, Caddyshack II or the 1998 remake of Psycho.

All the Star Wars films that followed Lucas' ground-breaking original story have somewhat taken away from just how phenomenal this was on release in 1977 as it's a film that break the mould with special effects and allowed the viewers imaginations to divulge but it still left questions that made fans want even more as it hinted at a rich history of secretive monk like Jedi's and events that happened previously to set up Luke meeting Ben or why Chewie and Han were so good at what they did it seems but owed so much money. Also how would billions have been spent over the years that has been used to buy Star Wars merchandise (how many households can confidently say they have nothing Star Wars related in it, particularly if it has someone aged 45 or under living there?).

Imagine speaking to other fans today if there was just the single movie and swapping theories you had heard over the years wondering if Obi-Wan Kenobi was actually a bad guy turned good and it was he who changed and not Darth Vader? Or you would presume Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin was the ruler of the Empire as Emperor Palpatine had never been mentioned until the sequel?

What Lucas did though is constantly stay at the helm of his Star Wars universe throughout, writing and producing the two sequels before re-mastering the original Star Wars films to be re-released again in 1997 (for purists he did allow the original theatrical releases to come out on dvd in 2007). He let other companies create multiple video games and novels with his guidance based and characters and worlds he created to keep the Star Wars universe rich, can you think of any other movie franchise that is as big and bountiful as Star Wars has become over the past 40 years? That has been George Lucas’ focus mostly until he sold all the rights to Disney in 2012 for a total of over $4 billion (that much would get you a ride easily on any ship that can do the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs) so in all fairness, if it’s about money he did something over the years no other film maker could match financially which anyone would be right to do.

While we will never know what would have happened if there was just the one Star Wars film, what we do know is that it has created memories and joy for the generations that followed with each trilogy and while Avengers Endgame, Avatar and Titanic have taken made more money at the box office globally, Star Wars : The Force Awakens is the highest grossing movie in the USA and UK as multiple generations of fans have built and grown over the past 40+ years to such an extent that they crave new stories in droves to such a point that between 2015 and 2019 Disney released 5 live action fans with The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, A Solo Story and The Rise Of Skywalker grossing almost $6bn dollars in ticket sales (making Disney back the $4bn they spent acquiring the rights as well as almost $2bn on top of that before other licenses and merchandise are even added to the amount) which shows the Star Wars universe is a juggernaut that isn't slowing down anytime soon with Disney announcing Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit and who ironically voiced the robot IG-11 in The Mandalorian) starting work on a new trilogy which is currently expected to start in 2022 which makes you wonder, one day will someone do a blog about if there was only ever 100 Star Wars movies in a not too distant future not too far, far away.

Great Britain all time XI

2012-06-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

With the Olympics fast approaching and Great Britain forming a football (soccer) team specifically for the London games, I thought it would be fun to look at not who will be in the starting 11 this summer but who would make the greatest ever line-up of players from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I wanted to incorporate at least 2 players from each country to make a fair and ballanced team in a traditional 4-4-2 formation

Goalkeeper
When looking at the greatest goalkeeprs from each nation, it's sometimes hard to narrow it down to one, while Wales have the stand out Neveille Southall and Northern Ireland have the one and only Pat Jennings, Scotland have Andy Goram while England have Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton (Shilton was capped 125 times, his dentist must of been able to retire early). Each of these has a claim to be considered the greatest British 'keeper but ultimately I have gone with Gordon Banks, his saves helped England to win the World Cup in 1966, 'that save' against Pele in particular stands out.

Right Back
In this position I considered Scotland's Danny McGrain, Jimmy Nicholl for Northern Ireland and England's Emlyn Hughes but ultimately and maybe controversially, I have opted for Gary Neville, the reason is that he won 85 caps and played at a high level of consistency, he gave support to whoever was on the right of midfield and was able there in defence to block any attacks coming at him

Left Back

Enlgand's Ashley Cole is similar to Gary Neville in reasons why he should be selected, it's only a matter of time until he reaches the 100 cap mark. Dave Mackay from Scotland was a model defender who George Best said was 'the hardest defender i ever played against'. Wales have Gareth Bale, just starting to find his feet and beginning his career and previously Joey Jones who amassed 72 appearances but ultimately i have gone with Mal Donaghy. The Luton Town defender finished with 91 games for Northern Ireland and similar to Gary Neville, had a level of consistency and support to drive his team.

Centre Backs
It isn't hard to pick the two players that would play at the centre of defence, it's more difficult to decide which one would be captain, there are MANY names that could be considered for this postition but the best ever Welsh player is generally considered to be John Charles and for England it's Bobby Moore so i have gone for them at centre back, not many forwards past or present would get much of an oppurtunity against these two.

Right Midfield
This was possibly the easiest position to fill, Wales' Cliff Jones was good, Stanley Matthews was better but George....Best. Northern Ireland's George Best was arguably the most naturally gifted and skilful player of all time in the whole world, not just Great Britain, oddly he only played 37 games for his country (Emile Heskey somehow played 62 games for England!) though he scored 9 goals, an average of almost 1 in 4 games, not bad for a winger. In his prime Best was tremendously skilled, an innovative footballer. Unsurpassed on dribble and penetration, would often pass off the score after rather than take the goal himself. He was one of a few players with virtually ambidextrous ball control with both feet. David Beckham played 115 times for England, the most capped outfield player for any of the Great Britian sides, yet he doesn't compare to the Best

Left Midfielder
England's John Barnes won 79 caps and played in a side that reached the World Cup semi-finals, while Scotland's Billy Liddell played 28 times for the Scots and twice played for a Great Britain XI against Europe in 1947 and 1955 but one man stands above all others in this position, Ryan Giggs. The most decorated player in the history of English football, Ryan Giggs has been a mainstay of Manchester United's highly successful era under Sir Alex Ferguson. He holds a plethora of records in both English and European football.With United, Giggs has won ten league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and two Champions Leagues. He also played 64 times for Wales yet like George Best, never played in a major international tournament. He is being strongly linked with playing in this summer's Olympic games, he could be like a Big Brother to the younger players.

Central Midfield
These two positions were always going to be controversial to fill as so many players would be overlooked, England's Captain Marvel Bryan Robson and Paul Gascoigne, Wales' Gary Speed, Scotland's Graham Souness but ultimately I have gone for two players who always consistently played to a high level and would drive the team forward. Scotland's Billy Bremner would rival Bobby Moore and John Charles for the captaincy, when the team loses possesion he'll be there to win it back, and play the ball forward. Equally Northern Ireland's Danny Blanchflower would control the game alongside Bremner, tackling back and playing the ball past the opposition.

Attackers
This is the easiest position of all to select by selecting the two highest scorer's across the four nations....or is it. First pick is simple, the leading international scorer in British history is Sir Bobby Charlton, England's all time leading goalscorer netted 49 times in 106 games and his goals led England to the World Cup final in 1966. Second is harder, two Scot's, Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool fans have always thought of Kenny Dalglish as one of their own, that feeling must be even stronger now he's unemployed) scored 30 goals each, though Law did this in just 55 games, I will select Dalglish as he caused teams more problems and his trophy haul at Liverpool shows the quality he had for club and country.

So there it is, selecting players from all 4 nations is never an easy feat though comparing the skills and qualities of players across generations is always going to be an eternal debate, feel free to comment with any suggestions for who you'd pick or with my team who you wouldn't pick. In total the aforementioned 11 players amassed 814 appearances and 122 goals between them, they would be tough to beat.

Euro 2012: Group D, why England CAN progress

2012-06-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

The final group in Euro 2012 kicks off tonight and it's also possible the hardest one to judge, each team is playing down their chances but really they will all feel they have a chance to go through. Ukraine as hosts will either feel the pressure of being a host nation too much or be spurred on by home support. Sweden have talented players yet play well as a team, France are a team that have dramatically rebuilt since the collapse at World Cup 2010 and England have a manager a month into the job, players missing or suspended but have arguably the best looking defence on paper. Watching this group play out will be fascinating.

England
England fans aren't expecting much this summer, with new manager 'Woy' Hodgson appointed just over a month ago, key players like Gary Cahill and Frank Lampard injured and key player Wayne Rooney suspended for the first 2 games, why should optimism be high? Well in my opinion, England have one the of the best defences on paper. Manchester City's Joe Hart has just finished a season where his side won the English league title, Hart was a key part of that. Look at the best left back's across the world, is there anyone better than Ashley Cole? (Ashley Cole could be out of the France game from a knock in training...
Roy may call up Rio now...And ask him if he's got Sol Campbell's number) In central defence they have John Terry, while some may question his personality, on the pitch Terry is a born leader. Alongside him will be Joleon Lescott who like Joe Hart has completed a league winning season at Manchester City and can be a colossus in defence. At right back England will have Glen Johnson, not as articulate or technical as Ashley Cole on the right but the Liverpool man likes to get forward and support the attack and has pace to come back and cover. Where England can come unstuck is their attacking options. Manchester United's Wayne Rooney misses the first two games through suspension (he petulantly kicked Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovic in a game when England had already qualified) and no-one is in the calibre of class that he is for England. Danny Welbeck looks likely to start the first game against France and has looked impressive for Manchester United though in the so called big games, he can fade away and he can't do that at this level. The other option is the wayward Andy Carroll, the Liverpool man has had a mixed season and his electric form in the final weeks of the season have gained him a place in this squad (Roy Hodgson only selected four strikers in his Euro 2012squad; Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll. With Rooney suspended for the first two games and Defoe sent home for family reasons, we're left with only two striking options, Danny Welbeck's right foot, and his left foot.). England will look to counter attack opponents and will rely on the defence to perform admirably and be a platform for the rest of the team. Though Hodgson has just days to decide his team, some of his inclusions have been surprising, particually picking 6 players from a poor Liverpool side. Steven Gerrard is the England and Liverpool captain and deserves his place but why was Andy Carroll picked before Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge or Norwich's Grant Holt? Stuart Downing never got a goal OR an assist on the wing for Liverpool and has been picked (Downing has hit back at critics who questioned his lack of goals and assists this season but unfortunately, he missed), why not Everton's Leon Osman or Manchester United's Tom Cleverley, both who had good solid season's at their respective clubs. Much fuss has been made over Hodgson's decision not to include Rio Ferdinand when Martin Kelly was picked but why not select Micah Richards or Chris Smalling. Lastly is the inclusion of Jordan Henderson, why not pick Manchester United's Michael Carrick or City's James Milner? England could of come here with a lot more experience and more quality, players have been omitted that have won leagues, domestic and European titles, the reason we are told is to look at the bigger picture with the World Cup in 2 years but I don't buy that as surely more youth players would be picked, plus England fans want the best players for the team here and now, England could over-exceed all expectations or fail miserably, if it's the latter, the excuses are already waiting.
Star Man - Steven Gerrard will be key driving the team on but Ashley Young from Manchester United will be the creative spark and look to link up between midfield and attack, if he has a good tournament then England will follow suit.
Prediction - Much is made of the first game against France, if they win that they will escape the group with the returning Wayne Rooney, as I expect a draw I don't think England can get out the group and fans will hear about 'lack of time to prepare', 'unfortunate injuries' and 'bad luck', maybe England just aren't that good right now

France
Coach Laurent Blanc took over the squad 2 years ago after the embarrassing debacle at the World Cup in South Africa after previous manager Raymond Domenach had the team implode. In that time former France player and World Cup winner Blanc has been able to experiment with different formations and players in that time. Lyon's Hugo Loris the captain and the goalkeeper is a player Blanc has stuck with. Defenders Adil Rami from Valencia and Milan's Philippe Mexes always play when they are available to, Rennes 21 year old midfielder Yann M'Vila is so good he's slowly having the team build around him and their first choice striker is Real Madrid's Karim Benzema. The past two years have seen Les Blues become a lot more attack minded and they look to keep possession and complete short passes, relying on wingers Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) and Manchester City's Samir Nasri to break through defences.
Key player - Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid man scored 32 goals last season and will look at this tournament as his chance to truly shine for France, if the French team progress, he could well be the tournament's top scorer (expect Benzema and Ribery to be in single digits and not under age prostitutes this tournament)
Prediction - France flatter to deceive, they have a decent side and will give anyone a good game, if they do make it out of the group I expect them to fall in the quarter finals

Sweden
The Swedes are always well balanced and organised and as ever, they go into this set of games the same. In defence they have Olympiacos and former Aston Villa centre back Olaf Mellberg alongside West Brom's Jonas Olsson, midfielders see's the likes of Lyon's Kim Kallstrom and Sunderland's Seb Larsson looking to run at defenders and create opportunities for the mystifying Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I have never bought into this belief he is one of the world's best players yet I have never seen him perform well when it comes to the big games, he once claimed he is the world's best player, well I'd like to see him go out there and prove that.
Key player - Kim Kallstrom, he can pull the strings in midfield, with 92 caps to his name he has plenty of experience and he is a constant performer in the Sweden squad
Prediction - the group is hard to call but teams need to be patient against Sweden as they are beatable and I feel that will show, expect them to end the tournament after the three group games

Ukraine
Ukraine haven't been lucky with injuries but with all but two of the squad picked played their club football in Ukraine (and 15 either playing for Dynamo Kyiv or Shaktyr Donetsk), they will all know each other well and with playing at home, this is an added advantage for them. Kyiv midfielders Yevhan Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko can provide the opportunities for Andriy Shevchenko and Andriy Voronin. The hosts will look to counter attack opposition but with key players like Donetsk's Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Kyiv's veteran goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovsky missing, the other teams in this group should be able to exploit that added to the fact the Ukrainians don't have the same quality or technical prowess, they don't often qualify for tournaments and as hosts, they won't progress but they will leave their mark against one of the teams
Key player -Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko has, at the tender age of 22, scored 8 goals in 22 goals, he will look to produce chances for his team and given the chance, will drive Ukraine forward.
Prediction - the hosts nation usually get buoyed by home support but Ukraine aren't as good as the other 3 teams in this group, ranked 52 in the world, they won't make it out of the group.

Group C, where Irish eyes won't be smiling

2012-06-10T05:54:00.001-07:00

Looking at Group C at Euro 2012, a group that see's the holders Spain, Italy, Croatia and Republic of Ireland competing and presuming Spain will win the group, the battle for second spot could be very interesting though a step too far for Ireland.

Croatia

   Since the Kovac brothers, Robert and Niko, have retired, Croatia (I asked a couple of mates where I should go in Croatia, opinions were Split) have struggled somewhat with replacing them. They will struggle in defence though over the past 16 years Croatia have always over-relied on key players and those players have always performed for their country so Tottenham Hotspur's midfielder Luka Modric will have a lot of responsibility, he will be the creative spark for his side though it remains to be seen if the likes Shaktyr Donetsk's Eduardo or Everton's Nikica Jelavic will be able to score the goals to make them a force.
Key player - Luka Modric, he is easily one of the best midfielders in the English Premier League and had Chelsea (possibly after John Terry heard Modric has a nice wife) trying to sign him all last summer and it seems Manchester United will be after his services this summer. He led Tottenham to a 4th place finish last season, only missing out on Champions League football as Chelsea won the trophy. In Euro 2008 he was picked in the team of the tournament and aged just 26, he will strive to get the best out of this Croatia side.
Prediction - With coach Slavan Bilic stepping down after 6 years in charge to go to Lokomotiv Moscow after the games, I feel Croatian minds won't be fully on the job at hand and will look good and play well but not make it out of the group stages

Italy
Under coach Cesare Prandelli, Italy have made a huge effort to change their style of play, no longer are they a negative, defence minded team that look t counter attack. They play a style that imposes themselves on the opponents, they have a keep-possession mentality based around the likes of Juventus' Andrea Pirlo and Roma's Daniele De Rossi controlling the play and with players like Ricardo Montolivio running off them. Italy haven't got a great deal of experience in goalscorers, to date only 2 players have scored double figures for the 'azzuro', De Rossi with 10 in 72 games and Udinese's Antonio Di Natale, the striker having scored 10 in 37 games.
   Key player - Antonio Cassano, AC Milan's striker was left out of squads by previous manager Marcello Lippi but under Prandelli, he has more assists than goals but this could be a tournament where he finds his scoring boots and makes the Italian no. 9 shirt his own.
   Prediction - They'll edge qualification from the group but will fall in either the quart-finals or the finals

Republic Of Ireland
Unfairly missing out on the World Cup 2 years ago thanks to Thierry Henry's handball in the playoffs, Ireland haven't let this effect them with dropping their heads, instead they have maintained a good record in qualifying and are a tough side for anyone to beat, reflected by being ranked 18th in the world right now. Giovanni Trapattoni is one of the most celebrated managers in football history and at 73 he must be closing in on retirement but getting Ireland (the only country where dialing a phone number can end in tree sex) to qualify for this tournament will matter just as much as league and European trophies he won at club level. LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane continues to be the focal point of attack, he has now scored 53 goals in 117 games and will look to add to that total over the next few weeks. Ireland don't' rely on individuals, they play as a unit, they keep to their positions and stifle the opposition and have vast experience with the likes of Sunderland's John O'Shea Fulham midfielder Damien Duff. The Irish always have huge support in any tournament and it's believed of all the travelling sides, they will have the most fans cheering them on so each match will ahve a great atmosphere. Expect Ireland to ruffle some feathers and to go down fighting.
Key player - Robbie Keane, the veteran striker is the spearhead of any Irish attack and if he's missing Ireland don't pose that same threat
Prediction - In a group with Spain and Italy, Ireland could be fighting it out with Croatia for rd spot, they have nothing to lose though so don't be surprised to see them cause an upset somewhere.

Spain
   Where do you start with the current Europe and World champions? they currently hold those titles and are favourites to retain this summer for a reason, they are outstanding. They have so much experience, amongst the 23 man squad there have been over 1000 caps which averages out at over 44 appearances each. With Real Madrid's Iker Casillas in goal and Sergio Ramos in defence and the Barcelona players Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea's Fernando Torres up front, this team oozes class and has strength in depth in all positions.
Key player - Xavi, the Barcelona midfielder will constantly play his team out of trouble, his eye for a pass can carve any side open and simply dominates matches
   Prediction - Spain will be disappointed if they don't make the final, possibly playing England or France once out of the group, they could be the first nation to win 3 international tournaments in a row (John Terry has written to Spain, Germany, Holland, France and 5 other countries to be sure asking to join their celebrations if they win Euro 2012)

Euro 2012: Group B, a threeway with added bacon

2012-06-09T04:18:00.001-07:00

Group B is the so called 'group of death' as it has 3 sides that are favourites to at least reach the semi finals in Germany, Portugal and Holland with Euro 1992 winners Denmark added into the mix as well. The fact one of those sides has to leave before the knock out stages isn't a blow to the tournament as it makes Group B the most competitive group of all to qualify from and some entertaining matches are in store.

Denmark
Manager Morton Olsen has been at the helm of the Danish squad now for 12 years (in that time England have had 7) and continues to impress in getting Denmark to major tournaments. A fairly experienced has been selected for Denmark except in goal where back up goalkeeper Stephan Anderson who plays in France for Evian (4 of the team selected play for Evian) has only played 10 times for his country, Manchester United's Anders Lindergaard has been first choice but only has 5 caps and third choice is Kasper Schmeichel (son of the legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel) who has yet to make an appearance.
Denmark play a 4-3-3 formation, it's tried and tested for them and gets them overacheiving. Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner will be relied upon to get the goals and his ratio of 18 in 48 games suggests he can be a threat. Midfield see's the experience of Christian Poulsen and Thomas Kahlenberg who have almost 130 caps between them and provide the basis of the team play around them.
Key player - Christian Eriksen, the Ajax midfielder is only 20 and already has played 23 games for Denmark, likened to Danish great Michael Laudrup, at the 2010 World Cup he was the youngest player though only made 2 brief substitute appearances and will be more of a key player in this tournament for the Danes.
Prediction - Denmark are in the hardest group of all and will look to not lose all three games with maybe gaining a creditable draw against either Portugal, Germany or Spain but ultimately should finish bottom of the group and they won't get to sizzle like their bacon.

Germany

Scarily, since the 2010 World Cup, Germany's style of play ha become MORE possession based as they look to control games through midfield and can quickly change positions around up front and if veteren Lazio striker Miroslav Klose is back fully fit and in form then Germany are potential champions. In recent games manager Joachim Lowe has slightly altered the dynamics of the style of play to make them less predictable to beat and should be that bit better than at the World Cup two years ago where they finished third. With players like Philipp Lahm, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Germans will be entertaining to watch and hard to beat.

Key player - Mesut Ozil, the Real Madrid attacking midfielder exploded onto the global stage in South Africa at the World Cup two years ago and now with two more years experience, he is an integral part of the German team. He has already ammassed 33 caps and scored 8 goals for is country and should add to that over the next few weeks and he looks a bit like a bug.

Prediction - Germany will AT LEAST expect to get to the quarter-finals and avoiding injuries and suspensions, they could win the tournament

Holland
Holland play with two defensive midfielders which may seem unorthodox but has seen them succeed and get to the World Cup final two years ago. Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder's form is vastly improved going into this tournament and with fellow attackers Arjen Robben (Yeah ok, Robben is good, but let's face it, he's no Batman) and Robin Van Persie Holland are considered contenders to win this summer. One issue however is the formation means they play a lone striker which will be Van Persie where Klass-Jan Huntelaar has been in great form since regaining his confidence after moving to Schalke and always looks a danger in scoring.
Key player - Robin Van Persie, the Arsenal striker scored 30 goals in last season's Premier League and won the Player Of The Year award in England as well, he has been in scintillating form and has almost every club after him right now should contract talks with Arsenal not work out (Details of Arsenal's contract offer to Robin van Persie have been leaked. He's to be offered £130,000-a-week wages, a £5mil signing on fee and a chiropractor to help his back from carrying the rest of the team all season)
Prediction - It's between Holland and Portugal to get out of the group presuming Germany will and the game between the two will most likely decide it.

Portugal

Portugal have slowly changed over the past year and a half under coach Paulo Bento, they now move the ball more fluidly and attack with a lot more ease, the key to this has simply been making Cristiano Ronaldo happy and adapting a formation around him. Portugal have a lot of experience going into this tournament and could be real dark horse contenders in winning the trophy. Goalkeeping is their weakness though it's not to say they don't have quality in youngster Rui Patricio though the 24 year old Sporting Lisbon player has only 11 games to his name. With the likes of Real Madrid's Pepe and Fabio Contrao in defence, Chelsea's Raul Meirelles and Nani from Manchester United providing attacking option from midfielder and arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo (he was bowled over by his player of the year award. Even though slow-motion replays showed that it clearly never touched him), leading the attack, Portugal will do well in this tournament....if they get out of the group.

Key player - Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive footballer of all time when Real Madrid paid £80m for his services from Manchester United, he has scored and outrageous 112 goals in 102 league games. Ronaldo loves the limelight and it will be shining directly on him this summer, can he finally live up to his billing for Portugal?

Prediction - If Portugal can get out of the group then they could go all the way to the final, no-one will want to face them, especially if Ronaldo is on form.

American food compared to my British tastes

2012-06-08T12:36:00.004-07:00

One of the great things about America is the fast food, it’s what they have given to the cuisine world and have mastered down to a fine art. The rest of the world is following suit so you really have to travel with intent to not see a McDonald’s, outside the pyramids in Egypt is a Pizza Hut (located above the KFC!), a Starbucks (not strictly fast food but fast drink) at the Great Wall Of China and even a McDonald’s on the hallowed grounds of the Louvre in Paris (the French did petition against it but eventually gave in, some things never change) and surely it’s only a matter of time before Burger ‘King’ opens outside Buckingham Palace (I should trademark that idea). Who doesn’t come to the US and not want to try fast food, to see if it tastes the same, try new ones and see how fast the service really is?

Over the past few weeks, off the top of my head, I have eaten at Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonalds, Taco Bell (They say that Mexican food is so good, it makes your mouth water. That's nothing, I've eaten Scottish cuisine and it makes my left arm ache), Hardees’s, Arby’s, Tim Hortons (a doughnut fast food place….seriously!), KFC, Subway and Sonic. It’s amazing that each one can be uniquely different in such a fierce competitive market. First of all, the price of food is so cheap, for $1 (62p) I can get a McDouble, that’s a bun, two burgers and a slice of cheese (I opt out of the pickle and onion, I could make out it’s from amazement at them having to be losing money and them trying to recoup some of this back…..but it’s because I don’t like pickle and onion) and in a drive through, it’s ordered, paid for, received and eaten in less than a minute! Nowhere else in the world could I do this. I don’t need to preach of the calorie content as we all know about this but any hunger pains can be vanquished in record time without having to leave the car seat, that’s incredible. Though we have the same service from the same people in the UK, if you order without the standard set-up, ie pickle and onion, it takes a few minutes for this to be processed. Cars can be queued for the drive through or a queue inside could lead back out the door but I know I’ll get a meal (I say meal lightly) in no time. There was a saying in Victorian London (due to the lack of working sewage systems) that you were never more than 3 feet away from a rat, here I feel I’m never more than 3 feet away from a ‘restaurant’.

A good friend, Scott, recently came over to visit and made a good point, American food has a lot of additives and preservatives, a loaf of bread can last weeks and taste okay, a British loaf will last only a few days, he pointed out that all these additions to the food is what makes Americans taller in general (presumably Lilliputians only eat organic then). I still struggle to accept that milk bought more than 3 days ago is still ‘fresh’, even then I’ll add it to a cup of tea but I don’t want cereal (mmm….Lucky Charms) with the milk or even just a glass of milk. American food is cheap and it’s made to last, in many ways that’s a good thing but I wonder what an American would make living in the UK, having to shop once a week rather than once a month (in those little tiny Tesco Extras rather than a Wal*Mart superstore which has EVERYTHING under one roof, beef, bullets, baseball bats and a new BBQ all in one trip).

I do like the American diner experience, small town cafes have such a personal touch (and usually floor to ceiling in trinkets, posters or some paraphernalia, there’s always something to look at), waitresses survive on tips so they friendliness and over the top helpfulness seems a nice change rather than a grunt and sigh I’d expect in the UK, here in the States, after ordering a drink, it’s continuous free refills, before I’m even halfway through a glass of Mountain Dew I’ll have another on the table, it has a less commercial feel than what I am used to because of this attitude, I like that.

Food in the UK seems a generational thing, there’s a lady over the road that’s 70+, she drinks Dr. Pepper (so misunderstood) and eats pizza, my grandparents would think Dr. Pepper was a new GP and they can’t even pronounce the word pizza correctly. Seeing older people drinking ‘soda’ seems odd, imagine seeing a Chelsea pensioner drinking 7up! It’s just not right. It would be interesting to have my grandparents to visit here, I remember them once cautiously eating BBQ food (they were adamant it was raw in the middle, no matter how well cooked) whereas here I’ve grilled out at least every other day, I have even bought a BBQ cookbook (signed by the auther no less) and it would be easily to fill a shopping cart/trolley with different marinades and BBQ sauces, though they have the right temperatures (usually too hot, I sweat more than Michael J. Fox playing Operation) to cook outside. Brits usually BBQ cheap Tesco value burgers or Asda own sausages (where there’s most likely more meat content in a Linda McCartney pea fritter), Americans cook top value steak, full chicken breasts and juicy chops, it makes a huge difference to the experience.

I’ve enjoyed trying new foods such as funnel cake, corn dogs, biscuits and gravy and Hot Pockets but still having the comfort zone of similar tastes, so much so I’ve put on about 15-20lbs already while being here.

Euro 2012, new stars set to shine

2012-06-08T03:17:00.000-07:00

With the 2012 European Championships due to start today, it's a chance for young players to shine, players that have established themselves at their clubs and are just finding their feet at international level. Traditionally, the Euros have been a platform for younger players to make a name for themselves and here I look at 7 players who could be household names after the tournament ends in three weeks

Danny Welbeck
Manchester United and England
21 year old centre forward
International games/goals: 5/1
Welbeck came through the youth ranks at Manchester United and after loan spells at Preston North End and Sunderland, last season was his first full senior season with the Premier League runner ups. Keeping out the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez he went on to make 30 appearances and score 9 goals in that time, mainly while partnering his England colleague Wayne Rooney. Making his international debut in March 2011 he has played 5 games for England to date, scoring his only goal in his last game against Belgium. Oddly, with Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games, Welbeck will look to replace the man he partners at club level.

Jodi Alba
Valencia and Spain
23 year old left sided defender/midfielder
International games/goal: 4/0
Having been an ever present in the Valencia team since 2009, Alba is now getting recognition at international level, with Capdevilla not in the squad (he was starting left back when Spain won Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010), Alba is an exciting prospect to watch who could well move on to another club after this tournament (both Manchester United and Barcelona are reportedly interested), this is one exciting left back who could really make his mark over the next few weeks

Rui Patricio
Sporting Lisbon and Portugal
24 year old goalkeeper
International games/goals: 11/0
Having made his debut for Sporting in 2006, he has played almost 150 games for his club and is looking to cement himself as his countries no. 1. Having started the last 5 games for Portugal, it does seem manager Paulo Bento will stick with him and at just 24, this is the first tournament of potentially many that will feature Rui Patricio. If Portugal are to do well then he will have to perform though with the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Nani in the team, the weight of a nation isn't on his shoulders, Portugal could be a very dangerous team in this tournament and one to watch.

Mario Gotze
Borussia Dortmund and Germany
20 year old attacking midfielder
International games/goals: 14/2
Germany are favourites to win the tournament just behind Spain and scarily, they have selected only one player over 30 so they will nly get better over the next few years. Gotze is a product of the Dortmund youth academy, making his first team debut in 2009 and making 25 appearances for them last season where he was part of the league and cup winning side. Ironically making his debut in November 2010 with Andre Schurrle, both players simultaneously became the first players born in the re-unified Germany to represent their country. In less than 2 years Gotze has scored 2 goals in his 14 international games and is ready to take the world by storm, having already allegedly turned down a transfer to Arsenal, Dortmund may have to work hard to keep one of the best young players in the world right now after Euro 2012.

Christian Eriksen
Ajax and Denmark
20 year old midfielder
International games/goals: 22/2
The youngest player at the World Cup in 2010 and has spent the last 2 years having a rising influence on that Danish squad. In February 2011 after a match against England, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand both praised the midfielders performance. Having become a main part of the Ajax team over the past 2 and a half years and winning league titles, this is a tournament set up for Eriksen to make a name for himself and the 20 year old WILL start for a country that has nothing to lose, this Danish wonderkid has already attracted the attention of some of Europe's other major sides.

Alan Dzagoev
CSKA Moscow and Russia
21 year old attacking midfielder
International games/goals: 20/4
By the time the World Cup heads to Russia in 2018, Dzagoev should be the figurehead head of the Russian side and potentially the face of the tournament. Making his debut for CSKA Moscow in 2008, Dzagoev has been an ever-present for his club ever since and already won the Russian cup 3 times. When he made his debut for Russia in October 2008 he became the youngest ever outfield player for Russia and gone on to score 4 goals in 20 games for the Soviets. This set piece specialist has already attracted attention from clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham and is someone who is a diligent hard worker and can achieve whatever he wants to achieve.

Yann M'Vila
Rennes and France
21 year old defensive midfielder
International games/goals: 19/1
As of writing M'Vila was still in the French squad though had taken a knock in the weekend fixture against Serbia. Losing M'Vila would be a blow to French coach Laurent Blanc and disrupt his plans, that's how good this young defensive midfielder is for his country. Having played 130 games for his club Rennes since 2009, in August 2010 he won his first cap for France and has become a mainstay of a rejuvenated France squad that spectacularly imploded at the last World Cup. Strongly linked with a move to Arsenal, opposition sides won't enjoy coming up against the tough tackling Frenchman who will look to restore some national pride.

Racism and voilence set to be the abiding memory of Euro 2012

2012-06-07T16:29:00.002-07:00

The 2012 European Championships hasn't even kicked off yet but has already been plunged into what looks to be its first racism controversy after the black players from the Holland squad were subjected to monkey chants while the team had an open training session on Thursday. This was in Krakow, the very same city were England will also be inviting the public to watch them train today (Friday).

A crowd of several hundred from the 25,000 that attended the session at the home stadium of Wisla Krakow aimed the abuse at players such as Jetro Willems and Nigel de Jong.

Dutch captain Mark van Bommel reacted by moving the training to the other side of the ground and was quoted as saying "It is a real disgrace, especially after getting back from Auschwitz (the Holland team visited the World War II concentration camp the previous day, Dutch players were so traumatised by Auschwitz they advised other squads not to go to the camp where a million Jewish people died.
Arsenal’s Robin van Persie was visibly shaken. Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart said: “It’s not something you forget. I’m not sure it was a good idea — the squad is in a state of shock.”, personally I have visited Theresienstadt concentration camp in the Czech Republic and it's lived with me ever since) that you are confronted by this, we will take it up with UEFA and if it happens at a match we will talk to the referee and ask him to take us off the field"

The chants began as the Dutch players started to jog a lap of the pitch to warm up where at one end of the stadium, monkey noises and loud heckling was plain to hear. As they jogged round a second time, these jeers became more vocal and the players quite rightly decided not to circle the field a third time.

UEFA are trying to deny there is a racial motive to the taunts, they claim after checking with the Dutch contingent that the crowd were making themselves heard as Krakow wasn't selected as one of the host cities for the tournament or that some fans didn't want another side to train in their stadium, that it was for Wisla Krakow alone and were simply booing the Dutch players over these concerns.

Back to Dutch captain Mark van Bommel who has since reacted angrily when it was suggested it wasn't a racial motive by saying "You need to open your ears, if you did hear it and don't want to hear it, then that is even worse" and it's evident PSV's veteran midfielder is clearly unhappy that the powers that be at UEFA are not treating this issue with more seriousness and this is coming as a HUGE embarrassment for UEFA before a ball has even been kicked and means all eyes will be on the Polish supporters when they open the tournament against Greece in Warsaw later today.

The authorities in Poland are trying to ensure this tournament won't be remembered for racism and Donald Tusk, the country's prime minister has been on an extensive public relations exercise to stress this after BBC's Panorama showed the documentary called 'Stadiums Of Hate' that openly showed the racism and anti-Semitic abuse throughout club matches in Poland, focusing on the two major side's from Krakow, Wisla and Cracovia and also showing the same issue in Ukraine as well.

UEFA president Michel Platini has said referee's have the power to take teams off the pitch if they feel there is serious racial abuse from the terraces though has made a point of saying after Italy's Mario Balotelli said he would walk of the pitch if he heard racial abuse, that any player leaving the pitch would be booked. If racism is a serious issue throughout the tournament, there may be calls for Platini to step down as ultimately he's responsible for the games being played in Poland and the Ukraine. Hopefully this is the peak of the situation and we have three weeks of football as a talking point, not bigoted abuse from the hosts.

Why North Americans don't like soccer

2012-06-07T15:10:00.001-07:00

Why don't Americans like soccer?

With U.S.A. competing in their 5th finals in a row (England are only playing in their fourth after ironically failing to qualify for USA '94) and a team ranked 14th in the world by FIFA (not to mention the largest bonus scheme for the event for any nation in World Cup history, potentially worth $20.6m of $895,000 per player for winning the tournament (about £620,000), I'm taking a look at why a country with such a large base to pick players (population approximately 309m), evidently a large money figure to improve players and training complexes, this is a country that could be a world leader in the world's most popular sport, yet they choose not to have an interest.

Despite decades of strenuous efforts to promote soccer to American youth and sports fans and despite the phenomenal success of the American women's soccer team in international competition, 'soccer' remains the neglected stepchild of the American sports scene. The fact the country don't progress past the group stages hardly raises an eyebrow within the nation, compare this to the black cloud that descended over the country when the American men's basketball team failed to win the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

So why don't Americans like 'soccer'? there appear to be two basic explanations, the first is 'marketplace' as sports in this country are filled with baseball, basketball, American football and to a lesser degree, ice hockey, leaving no room for popularity to grow. Andrei Markovits, the Boston Globe's soccer correspondent wrote;-

'America filled its own sports space with three games thus 'crowding out' soccer's chances of becoming part of America's sports culture'

I'm not convinced, marketplaces are inherently dynamic, if 'soccer' were a worthy object of American sports fans interests, it would enjoy greater popularity.....but it doesn't. Which brings me to the second common explanation for it's lack of popularity and the answer i get when asking most Americans why they aren't excited about the World Cup, " 'soccer' is boring". They like high scoring games (basketball scores are rarely under 100, American football has high scores) but in my opinion, a goal scored in football is rarer than a 'touchdown' and even rarer compared to a 'slam dunk', so what that elusive goal is scored, ear shattering howls of euphoria erupt from players, announcers and fans alike, as if their very souls were being released from the depths of hell, compared to a '2 pointer' in basketball which gets another round of applause.

Goals are indeed a rare commodity in 'soccer', so much so that 'soccer' is essentially, a zero sum game. The number of goals is meager, it never grows (a 4-0 thrashing isn't all that common), so games are fought over an intensity that is almost never found in American sports, this isn't boring, it's just deeply unsatisfying to Americans brought up on deskilled levels of competitive games where the final result isn't applauded as much as in 'soccer'.

The fact of the matter is, Americans don't subscribe to the 'zero sum' mentality, nor have the belief system nor the temperament for such an endless sport as 'soccer', they like their sports teams to score and to score plenty, they believe this gives value to their 'buck', why labour for the sake of labouring, it's perhaps a lack of sophistication or maybe a large enjoyment of exceptionalism, needing goals galore to gain any enjoyment, whatever it is, i feel it's a shame that such a patriotic nation won't be fully behind a team and able to take joy at competing with the world's best, their interior sports (baseball has the World Series, well......American teams take part as only really America plays baseball, same with American football, a few small pockets of people may play the sport but most nations would play rugby instead) meaning they only compete against themselves. Maybe this tournament will catch the public eye, it can only be for the benefit of the sport if it does.

Now, let's look at what some of the American celebrity's are saying about the tournament, High School Musical star Zac Effron said he can't wait for the States' game on Saturday....against Manchester United!

Actor Jason Segel (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Slackers) called the England team 'the UK' and got his dates wrong saying 'my best friend is British and left the room crying five years ago during the World Cup'

Jackie Chan said his favourites to win are 'Barcelona and Milan'. I approached wrestling personality Jeremy Borash to do an interview for the blog, the reply i got back on 31st May, 12 days before a ball is even kicked, was 'sorry for the delay, hope you enjoyed the World Cup!'

Other stars like Eva Mendes and Vanessa Hudgens had no idea the tournament was about to start but to give him credit, rapper Snoop Dog was more knowledgeable, saying 'I believe Brazil are going to win'

Euro 2012: Group A, the most open group

2012-06-07T08:50:00.002-07:00

With the opening games of the tournament set to come from this group on Friday, it's interesting to look at the 4 teams in Group A. This group is the most open of all 4 and feasibly, any 2 of the sides can qualify for the quarter-finals and once out of the group, anything can happen as Greece themselves proved by winning the tournament in 2004.

Czech Republic

At the start of qualifying, head coach Michal Bilek identified the team had a lack of width and switched his formation to have either Nurnberg's Tomas Peckhart or Milan Baros from Galatasary as the lone striker with Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky in support. Jaroslav Plasil, the defensive midfielder who plies his trade in France for Bordeaux has been the key for the Czech's success in qualifying, he allows them team to have more creative freedom with the likes of Vaclav Pilar (Wolfsburg) at his side. The Czech's are a very well organised side that are dangerous on the counter attack with team captain Petr Cech from Chelsea in goal able to set the team on their way forward.

Key player - Petr Cech, the 29 year old goalkeeper will need to be in fine form and keeping clean sheets for the Czech's to even get out of the group, let alone progress further but if he plays as well as he did for Chelsea in their winning Champions League campaign last season the Czech have a fighting chance.

Prediction - with Poland having home support and Russia not far behind with fans surely to travel to support them, Czech Republic may find it hard to get through the group and should potentially finish 3rd

Greece

After Otto Rehhagel left as manager in 2010 after 9 years, new Portuguese manager Fernando Santos brought with him a new mentality and changed the style of the team to be more direct. They have over the past 2 years become a more controlled team that tries to build play from the back. A side not littered with star names but who, as in 2004, play as a strong team unit, have experience in players like Celtic's Georgios Samaras, captain from Panathinaikos Georgios Karagounis and Kostas Katsourninis, all who played in 2004.

Key Player - Sotiris Ninis, the Panathinaikos playmaker missed most of last season for his club through injury so may be rusty going into this tournament but has a chance to make a name for himself. The 22 year old left sided winger has played 19 games for Greece already and scored 2 goals and will look to impress to potentially attract interest from bigger clubs across Europe

Prediction - Much like the Czech Republic, Greece could well struggle in the anticipated hostile crowds and could well finish bottom of the group

Poland

With managerial experience stretching back all the way to the early 70's (and managing George Best no less at Los Angeles Aztecs), hugely experienced head coach Francciszek Smuda has been happy to select players that have Polish roots though raised in other countries after families have moved nations following World War II (Tesco has announced 20,000 new jobs are to be created in the UK, Poland's Prime Minister has welcomed the news), this has allowed Smuda the luxury of fielding a side with a more high energy side than seen over previous years, beating the likes of Germany and Argentina in friendlies over the past 2 years. The midfield look to keep possession with team captain Jakub Blaszczykowski from Borussia Dortmund integral in the centre. They are perhaps over-reliant on fellow Dortmund player Robert Lewandowski up front and if he was injured or suspended, it's hard to see where they would score goals though Celtic's Pawel Brozek does aid the side though not as prolifically.

Key player - Robert Lewandowski, he will be in the form of his life having won the German Bundesliga's Player Of The Year Award in leading Dortmund to a league and cup double scoring 30 goals last season and 8 assists. Lewandowski could well be the top goal scorer in this tournament or at least in the group stages.

Prediction - home advantage should mean they qualify for the quarter-finals but there they could struggle against superior opponents from Group B like Germany, Netherlands or Portugal

Russia

Succeeding Guus Hiddink as manager, Dutchman Dick Advocaat hasn't really changed the side or stamped his own authority in the two years he's been in charge and it's likely that he will stay with the same tried and trusted set of players throughout. The likes of Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin, Zenit St Petersburg's Aleksandr Kerzhakov and current Lokomotiv Moscow (and former Tottenham) striker Roman Pavlyuchenko will be the main threat on goal for opposition to worry about but it's young Alan Dzagoev from CSKA Moscow who could really impress in this squad from midfield. With Arshavin and defender Sergei Ignashevich both able to score from free-kicks, watch for the Russians to be deadly at set pieces or with crosses into the goal area to their tall forwards.

Key player - Alan Dzagoev, so far scoring 4 goals in just 20 appearances and current winner of Best Young Player Of The Year in Russia, this is a stage where the young CSKA Moscow midfielder could make a name for himself. The 21 year old attacking midfielder will be a threat and I expect him to stand out amongst the younger players in the tournament

Prediction - Much like Poland, they should progress from the group and then fall at the quarter final stage, they will have travelling support who will get behind them and they will be a danger to any side that face them.

Who's 1st amongst the 2nd string quarterbacks in 2012?

2012-06-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

We all had to endure Tebowmania during the run in for the play offs and then in the play offs themselves, Tim Tebow was heralded to a level he couldn't really match and the Denver Bronco's agreed with this, bringing in the hottest ever free agent in Peyton Manning (released by Indianapolis Colts) and trading Tebow to the New York Jets, a Jets side where head coach Rex Ryan has sided with current quarterback Mark Sanchez in being the starting QB for the coming season and giving Sanchez a new 3 year contract guaranteeing $20m.

This got me wondering who are the top 5 backup quarterbacks in the NFL right now? here is a list of the 5 who could potentially be starters in week 1 and what could work well right now

5. T.J. Yates - Houston Texans
When starting QB Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinhart went down with injury in the first half of the last campaign, Yates stepped up as a rookie and showed great potential. The Georgian native helped guide the team into the playoffs and was astounding in his second game against Cincinnati Bengals where he completed 26 out of 44 passes for 300 yards and two TDs. This was the first time the Texans had made the playoffs and with a fully fit Matt Schaub ready to return, things are looking up in Houston with Yates snapping at his heels...Houston, we don't have a problem.

4. Jason Campbell - Chicago Bears
Last year while at Oakland Raiders, Campbell started 6 games, throwing for over 1000 yards and 6 touchdowns and leading to a career best season before getting injured and was out on the sidelines recovering for the rest of the campaign. The Raiders quickly snapped up Carson Palmer, the 8 year veteran from Cincinnati Bengals who played well enough in the 10 games he was there that the Raiders felt Campbell was expendable and the Chicago Bears snapped him up in March of this year. While Campbell will be the understudy to the enigmatic Jay Cutler, he could easily step up if required and if that chance arises, could form an explosive partnership with Brandon Marshall

3. Jake Locker - Tennessee Titans
The one player out of this 5 most likely to start in week 1, Jake Locker spent his rookie season as understudy to the veteran Matt Hasselbeck in Tennessee, though he has yet to start a game, he did appear in 5 completing 34 out of 66 passes for 542 yards and scoring 4 pass TDs and 1 rushing and not having one interception, not bad stats at all when given the chance. Whether he'll start for the Titans as the Tennessee franchises QB or will continue to understudy Hasselbeck remains to be seen though head coach Mike Munchak has stated there'll be a competition to start this season (a clash of the Titans). It depends on how adventurous and how much faith they have in Locker to build on a side that narrowly missed out on the play offs, finishing 9-7, the same as Superbowl winners New York Giants.

2. Tim Tebow - New York Jets
Earlier this year, even people who weren't fans of the NFL knew who Tim Tebow was as Tebowmania swept the world and people copying the Tebow pose all over the globe. Last season at Denver Broncos, Tim was reserve to Kyle Orton and after a season starting 1-4, Tebow was given a chance after coming on at half time against the San Diego Chargers and down by 16 points, almost snatching a victory. Scoring 18 TDs in 14 games and throwing 1729 yards, he led the team to the playoffs, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime with a 80 yard pass to Demaryius Thomas and scoring a career high 316 yards and 2 TDs. The following game they were destroyed 45-10 by the Superbowl finalists New England Patriots though it was indicated that Tebow would be the starting QB again for the following season. When Peyton Manning became a free agent after being released by the Colts, it was the Denver Broncos who eventually gained his services, feeling that arguably the best QB of all time in the twilight of his career was a better acquisition than the youthful and fearless Tebow (time will surely tell on this decision), he was traded to the Jets where he will be back up to Mark Sanchez and after last season's heroics, this puts more pressure on Sanchez to perform to maintain that starting role than it does for Tebow.

1. Kyle Orton - Dallas Cowboys
The man eclipsed by Tim Tebow takes my number one spot simply as it's astounding he joined the Cowboys to be a backup player. Prior to last year, Orton averaged nearly 3500 yards passing with 20 TDs, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of around 85 in the previous 3 seasons. As big a move in the media that Peyton Manning was in going to the Broncos in my opinion is Orton moving south to Texas as his sheer pedigree as a 7 year veteran means the Cowboys don't even need a backup plan should starting quarterback Tony Romo not be able to play. It's only 2 years ago he threw for 476 yards against the Colts which he then followed up with 4 TDs against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dallas Cowboys adding Orton means they become a major threat in the NFC East and Superbowl champions NY Giants will feel the full force of that come September 5th in the season's opener.

England's chances at the Euro's.....nil

2012-06-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's today that the England football squad fly out to the 2012 European Championships and look to be taking their weakest squad to an international tournament. A team decimated by injuries and Wayne Rooney's 2 game suspension, they'll struggle to not just score goals but also to create chances.

This squad includes SIX players from Liverpool, a team that languished in 8th in the Premier League and performed so badly their much idolised manager was given the sack (are the FA are due to change the team song to "You'll Never Walk Alone"?, at least in England's group the Liverpool players will know what it's like to finish 4th) . Added to this is the controversy of the non-selection over Rio Ferdinand which threatens to destabilise the squad and undermine new manager Roy Hodgson.

It's easy to see why England aren't fancied to win this tournament and indeed, to struggle to get out of a group which only contains France, Sweden and Ukraine (It's hardly like they have to come against Germany or Spain), add to this the withdrawal of Champions League winners Gary Cahill and Frank Lampard and it's plain to see good news has been scarce (apart from someone fisted Joey Barton in a nightclub (fisting as in punching....not that)).

The whole Rio Ferdinand situation threatens to overshadow the whole tournament for England and The FA, Roy Hodgson and his seniors would of been hoping this whole situation would of blown over by the time they face the press in Donetsk this Sunday, though with 6 players due to meet the media tomorrow in Krakow, it's going to be the burning topic everyone wants to talk about. It promises to be uneasy for England both on and off the pitch as they cope with the tournament pressures and the press.

In England's favour, the expectations for them are low and new manager Roy Hodgson has a whole catalogue of excuses readymade to wheel out when needed, the injuries, the little time he has had to prepare since taking charge only 5 weeks ago and also his claim this tournament is merely being used for experience as a stepping stone to the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil and Euro 2016 in France. So if it goes wrong against France, Sweden and Ukraine, while the fans won't be happy or impressed, the FA will think of this as the transition as managers and players bed in. Looking at the bigger picture they would claim which really seems to store problems for the future.

Under Hodgson, there have been encouraging signs, apart from the style of the way England have played, they have won 2 games, scored 2 goals and not conceded any (albeit against Norway and Belgium), they have looked well organised and solid in defence and it's an okay start given the circumstances. Then when you look at other England manager's starts they mostly start well. Glenn Hoddle won his first three and won nine out of his first ten games, Kevin Keegan was unbeaten in eight games and Sven compiled five straight victories (the only England manager ironically to lose their first game was Sir Alf Ramsey and he was the most successful of all), even Steve 'wally with the brolly' McLaren won his first three games.

In the 52 year history of the European Championships, taking out of the equation Euro 96 which was held in England, the Three Lions have only won 4 games so what chance do they have against a France side who are unbeaten in their last 20 games next Monday? Tournament play is also about ball-retention and passing, both of which England were poor with against Norway and Belgium.

Scott Parker is clearly trying to bust a gut to impress and make a name for himself at this level but his tackles in the centre of midfield have been just as scary as David Beckham's new V for Vendetta style facial hair. If he continues to play this way, he'll get himself sent off. Out wide there is a lack of penetration and selecting players simply for pace like Theo Walcott will show they are simply 'athletes in boots' on the bigger stage. James Milner simply doesn't hurt defences and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain simply hasn't shown he is a world beater, the most confounding selection though is Stewart Downing, a player who never to score a goal or even an assist, I simply don't understand why he was selected for England when Liverpool have to be thinking of offloading him surely.

Previously we have gone into tournaments with the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes and it was understandable why expectations were always high, now we have Martin Kelly, Jordan Henderson (who's family friend is Bigfoot) and Andy Carroll, these three would never of got into the squad between 1998-2010 and that shows the lack of quality and strength in depth going into these Euros.

It's not all bad however, Joe Hart is being compared to the likes of Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, he's a huge figure and can inspire confidence in the defenders in front of him. Danny Welbeck took his goal against Belgium brilliantly and has pace and quick feet that has seen him keep the impressive Javier Hernandez and the previous seasons top league goal scorer Dimitar Berbatov out of the Manchester United team. Ashley Young has scored or set up a goal in 11 of England's last 20 goals, he is priceless to the national cause right now.

The England team aren't just a ramshackle bunch of players, they are functional as you'd expect with the likes of Scott Parker and Ashley Young though they won't really get anyone excited so Hodgson is proudly making the best of a bad job and needs to make England raise their game against better sides but really, it looks to be a tournament where the nation could rue the experience of Rio Ferdinand and that will be the big talking point and abiding memory.

Do the Royal Family deserve the jubilee?

2012-06-05T02:16:00.002-07:00

Today we mark 60 years of her royal highness and the final day of celebrations (Sunday saw over 1000 boats sailing up the River Thames, that`s the most seamen for an 85 year old grandmother since Wayne Rooney went for a massage) of Queen Elizabeth II being on the throne and head of the British monarchy, as street parties and celebrations reign over the nation (and around the world), I ask, do the royals deserve to be celebrated as I look back over 5 recent royal mess-ups

5. Prince Charles isn't really a fan of the press

More than 50 journalists had gathered at Kloisters, a Swiss ski resort in 2005 for photo's to mark Prince Charles' upcoming nuptials to Camilla Parker Bowles. However during this photoshoot, Prince Charles could not hide the contempt he had for such occasions, unaware that his microphone was picking up every word he spoke he could be heard muttering 'I hate doing this..I hate these people' to his two sons, William and Harry. Then when asked by BBC royal reporter Nicholas Witchell how he felt about the impending ceremony he sarcastically answered 'I'm very glad you've heard of it', then turning his head slightly towards the two young princes he whispers 'Bloody people, I can't bear that man, he so awful he really is'. As part of the jubilee celebrations Prince Charles presented the weather on the BBC, what's next? the Queen on Antique's Roadshow? Camilla in the Grand National?

4. Princess Anne upsets a seasonal wellwisher

A 75 year old fan spent three hours making a flower display to give to the Queen Mother on Christmas Day in 2000, waiting patiently outside Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, the traditional Christmas royal residence, in hope of being able to present it to her. Instead the Queen Elizabeth's only daughter, Princess Anne grabbed the bouquet and groaned 'What a ridiculous thing to do!' while her un-princesslike attitude didn't end there as she then told her nieces Beatrice and Eugenie to 'get a move on', not wanting them to take further flowers as gifts from well-wishers.

3. Prince Edward knows that death sells

Prince Edward (is he named after a potato), the Queen's youngest son, is the current chairman of The Duke Of Edinburgh Scheme (basically encourages teenagers to participate in voluntary work, sports, trekking etc) and when asked in Australia about a 17 year old Australian schoolboy who had died while trekking in the outback unsupervised as part of this scheme, Edward referenced the death of a British boy who died in 1956 by saying "Obviously we don't want that to happen ... But its reputation among young people was, 'Wow, this is serious. You could die doing this.' "

2. Prince Phillip upsets a whole race

Australia's native Aborigines seek freedom from poverty, oppression and want to cast away the long held stereotype of them being warring tribesmen. In 2002 while visiting the Aboriginal Cultural Park in Queensland he asked successful Aborigine entrepreneur William Brin 'Do you still throw spears at each other?'. Buckingham Palace had to issue a statement saying the comments were 'light-hearted' and 'there was no offense intended' (I just Googled Prince Phillip to get his age and saw 'Prince Phillip at 90', at first I thought it was a documentary about the death of Dian)

1. Prince Harry is a Nazi

Two weeks before Holocaust Memorial Day in 2005, Prince Harry thought it would be funny to turn up to a fancy dress party as a Nazi. He was pictured wearing a swastika armband on the German uniform which was splashed all over the tabloids (ironic as I thought gingers weren't allowed in The Sun).. In a statement Harry said 'I'm very sorry if i have caused any offense, it was a poor choice of costume and i apologise', presumably his Ku Klux Klan outfit had stains on it.

The royal family are people (in olden days they were believed to of been chosen by God to be born into that role!) and people make mistakes but when they are ambassadors to a country, they need to remember they are looked upon by millions across the nation. Today is about the Queen and in her 60 years of reign she has genuinely been a great leader for Great Britain though the rest of the family leave something to be desired.The jubilee isn't so much about the family as about Great B ritian and Britian does deserve a jubilee, in these times of recession where comanies are struggling to make end meet, what we need is another day of work, thanks Liz.

20 things that didn't exist 20 years ago

2012-06-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

The past 20 years has seen a lot of change, from how we can watch TV to the style and quality of TVs, with unlimited channels and radio stations today, we live in an ever indulgent world where the consumer rules supreme

Cameras
We now have digital cameras but once upon a time, camera film had to be developed....and didn't have full LCD screens either. We had to take the lens cap off, look through the viewfinder, take the photo and couldn't review them or take 'a better one', simply waiting for the film to be developed and come back from the lab. Long gone are camera shops who specialised in this area, now we can take photo's on our phone, publish them online in a moment or print off when we get home. The ever increasing quality of pictures taken now shows every wrinkle, spot and hair out of place so you can be 30 but look 50.

DVDs/DVD players
In my opinion the greatest invention of the past 20 years, prior to 1995, fanatical film fans had to make plenty of shelf space to store their VHS collection, a serious collection meant owning serious real estate to store it all. The sleeker and more robust DVD soon pushed video's off the shelf and with the added features such as audio commentaries, documentaries and Easter Eggs, it made DVD releases for favourite films something to look forward to (What's the best way to enjoy the Twilight movies? Never put them in the DVD player).

Facebook
There was once a dark, primitive time when it would of been nigh on impossible to count your friends and then 'unfriend' them with just a click of a button, though you don't have to go too far back, just to before February 2004 which saw the launch of Mark Zuckerberg's social network behemoth.
Since then however, the famous blue and white Facebook logo has infiltrated nearly everything and everyone, which shouldn't eb a surprise when it's reported 900 million people have their own Facebook page and a movie, 'The Social Network', even being made about the site and it's founder. 20 years ago, 'Facebook' meant about as much as 'Headnovel' and the idea of cultivating digital crops, writing on peoples walls and 'liking' someone's status (I have a friend on Facebook whose status says "Suicidal - Standing on the edge of a cliff", so I poked him) was as far fetched as someone using MySpace in 2012.

Mobile phones
20 years ago, mobile phones were still in their infancy and their general bulky 'brick' design is worlds away from the sleek iPhone 4S. Besides the physical differences between a phone 20 years ago and a smartphone now, there are a world of apps and anything can be found (service provided, whoever invented internet for mobile phones wants a pat on the back, going to the toilet has never been so interesting ) online, nothing has evolved as quickly as the mobile phone over the past 20 years and continues to at a fast pace

Texting

Along with the use of mobile phones has come texting or TXTNG, this has opened up a whole new world of communication for some, a deaf person could own a phone and have almost full usage. If someone doesn't answer a call, text them. It's through this medium we have gained new words such as 'lol' and 'omg'(My girlfriend told me last night that I spend far too much time texting. I just tilted my head sideways and smiled at her.)

Sky+/iPlayer

No longer do we need to HAVE to sit and wait patiently to see our favourite shows or even have to sit through tedious adverts, now we have the power and can watch what we want, whenever we want at the click of a button, whether this is from pre-setting our digital boxes to record in advance or by watching online or through on demand services. Now the only problem is making sure programmes are watched before the memory capacity on boxes is full.

YouTube

February 2005 saw the advent of the breakthrough videosharing website YouTube, where people in search of obscure clips of all manner of subjects had a place to search. Going onto the site i can find the original Thundercats intro, find adverts I've not seen for years and even watch TV shows or full concerts in some cases. Who hasn't spent at least 3 hours once just clicking through a collection of videos? Sadly though, the downside is it can make overnight celebrities, the good side is it can also be a never ending episode of You've Been Framed

Playstation

December 1994 saw the launch of the console that would change video gaming forever, the Sony PlayStation. The graphics and revolutionary game play changed the video game market overnight, no longer were Sega and Nintendo fighting it out to be the top console manufacturer, they quickly succumbed to making games for the PlayStation. 2000 saw the launch of the PlayStation 2 and is credited for its built-in DVD player which helped drive down prices of those discs as well as expanded the graphics and game play of the video game world and also dabbling at online gaming. The current model, PlayStation 3, was released in 2006 and features a blu-ray player which currently no other console has that feature and takes gaming into the realm of high definition. Online gaming is as essential now to offline gaming with most games now featuring both methods of game play.

Touch screens

Making even the mouse and keyboard redundant, everything is becoming more and more touchscreen, laptop and phones right down to booking tickets outside a cinema, we're getting more touchy.

Twitter

To ask someone 20 years ago to 'Tweet' you would of been nonsensical gibberish that could of caused offense, now though it's a social network for people on the go. Launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey (@jack), this social media juggernaut can boast more than 500 million registered users including Lady Gaga, President Barack Obama and even former WWE wrestler Scotty 2 Hotty.

Other than updating followers on what's for dinner, Twitter is used by news media all over the world to break stories and up to the second images and has even been discussed in British Parliament over celebrities being named in stories they have been able to ban the press from reporting

Plasma/3D tvs

20 years ago we would of been watching small portable televisions in bedroom with a larger one in the main room (complete with Ceefax), today we can buy TVs in all sizes and HD has revolutionised how we see pictures and 3D images have come a long way over the past few years, long gone are the need for flimsy red and green cellophane plastic lenses, now the movie really can jump out the TV

Internet

Not just used for porn, we can also watch TV, send video's to one another, download music and interact with almost anyone in the world at any moment. The internet has changed the whole world entirely, many industries have had to adapt, some industries have died out and new ones started. Gone are the days of 'dial up' where connecting to the internet would take over the household phone line and an incoming call would disconnect you

Justin Bieber

Born in 1994 so still only 18....i didn't say all these things that didn't exist were good things. Looking like the result of Alvin from Alvin & The Chipmunks having a lovechild with a lesbian, where are all these Bieber fans who adulate him so much? do they actually exist?

Toyota Prius

Although hybrid cars have gained a lot of traction from both buyers and manufacturers previously, they were still considered a rarity in the early 90's. Debuting in Japan in 1997, the Toyota Prius became the first mass-produced hybrid car on the market.

Since 1997, the total number of Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide have led to fewer than the approximately 26 million tons of CO2 emissions that “would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance,” the company estimates.

Harry Potter
The seven series of novels that make the Harry Potter franchise (and oddly 8 movies) started with 1997's debut publication of 'Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and since then, kids the world over would cue at midnight for each release of the subsequent books upon release, not wanting to waste a second of reading time. Arguably as big a franchise as Star Wars, these books have sold more than any others over the past 20 years.

Reality TV
Giving birth to 'celebs' who had no talent and giving the likes of Jordan TV time, whatever happened to good drama, documentaries or family entertainment. Big Brother gave us Jade Goody's racism, Channel 5 gave us someone David Beckham supposedly had an affair with pleasuring a pig and Simon Cowell gave us Jedward, like Justin Bieber, not everything has been good

iPod
This gadget changed the way we listen to music. It ushered out the era of the 'walkman' and portable (yet always chunky) CD player and was a small, easy to pocket device that could carry an entire music collection and still have room for some TV shows or movies. It's this device that also led the way for 'podcasts' and the joys of Karl Pilkington, head like an orange but strangely made famous by an Apple.

The Euro

Lire, francs, drachmae? Way too confusing for everyone. 20 years ago, each European country had its own currency, but now, the bulk of the European Union stands united under the almighty euro. So now, when looking for hummus in Italy, you don't have to worry about the exchange rate of those francs or deutschmarks

Book readers
A fairly new creation, mainly banked by Amazon, the Kindle was launched in 2007 and gave no need to chop down those tree's any longer to make books, just download them and read off the screen. It can't replace that feel of looking through a book shop though and rarely do the books online seem cheap. Plus it's all words, can't read graphic novels on one.....yet (Amazon Kindle,The poor man's iPad and the rich man's book)

Encyclopdias
Slowly becoming obsolete folling the launch of book readrers and the internet generally. Wikipedia is always up to date and it's free

Comparing British and American sport

2012-06-03T11:51:00.003-07:00

The most dominant sport by far in the United States is ‘American’ football, the most dominant in the UK by far is ‘soccer’, only by virtue of the fact that sports like baseball, hockey and basketball get a fair bit of coverage in the States compared to rugby, cricket and boxing in the UK could I have the opinion that the dominant sport in the UK is bigger and more popular than in the States (though NFL runs from September to February and they play less than half the games compared to soccer in the UK). Though the English Premiership (top national soccer league) is the most profitable league in the world (not bad considering there are 229 international teams, each with a league of some sort), Forbes recently compiled the 50 most valuable sports teams http://blogs.forbes.com/kurtbadenhausen/2011/07/12/the-worlds-50-most-valuable-sports-teams/ where, although the former English champions were ranked no. 1 on the list ($1.86billion/£1.14billion), all 32 NFL (America’s American football league) had each of it’s 32 teams listed in the 50 compared to a total of 3 English ‘soccer’ teams and 7 ‘soccer’ clubs in total. This shows that as a sports league, the NFL is the most financially rich sports league in the world; amazing considering that about 95% of the global audience IS Americans!

I recently went to see the Nashville Sounds baseball team, though I saw a handful of Sounds shirts, I also saw 2 Manchester United shirts (oddly, the only other English soccer team shirt I have seen is Derby County which was in a doughnut shop in Detroit), so this shows that the most valuable sports team sells merchandise all over the world, it made me smile. The most valuable NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys ($1.5billion/£0.91billion) though I can’t say I’ve ever seen someone wearing any of their merchandise.

I was lucky enough to spend a day at a county soccer tournament for children of various ages in Macon County, Tennessee and there is two huge differences between participation in the States and the UK, first is the amount of children joining in and wanting to play, in the UK at each age there would be a team, ie under 6, under 7, under 8, all the way up to under 16 or 18 and then an adult team and in most cases, there is more than one team at that age level and teams travel from across the area to play each other, at the event I went to, they have up to four teams but only at under 4, under 6, under 8, under 12 and under 18, a 13 year old would have to play against people 5 years older than them which means they can have less physical ability and lose interest. The other point is that they have mixed sex teams at all ages, I have never seen this before and an 18 year old boy tackling a 13 year old girl seems….wrong, though ultimately, the people that want to play, get the opportunity to play and that’s all that counts.

There is a huge difference in crowds at sporting events between the two countries, at the baseball game I went to, it was a family event, husbands, wives and their children all went together, it was a pleasant atmosphere where if the home team hit a home run or caught someone out they cheered, if the opposition did, the home fans applauded. This is completely different to most sports games in the UK, go to watch a local game such as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur (2 local teams from north London less than 4 miles apart) and you’ll hear every swearword you can imagine and a whole load of new ones, there will be anti-Semitic chants towards Tottenham due to links with the Jewish community and anti-French abuse aimed at Arsenal as they have a French manager and a handful of French players, last November I was in north London to attend a concert and arrived early, this was on the day of a match between these two and it was almost impossible to find a pub or bar that would let us in as we couldn’t show allegiance to either side, only ticket holders would be allowed to enter drinking establishments to avoid any confrontation and violence. Compared to a baseball game, the only confrontation would be fans wanting to buy the other fans a drink or congratulating them for their team’s performance. This was a culture shock for me and I’d love to attend an NFL game to see if this is the same crowd that attends American football games or if It trends to a more male dominated arena (literally). The only difference I can think of is passion, though I can’t believe people could be more passionate that American fans, before any event, they play the national anthem, someone will hold the American flag and everyone stands with their left hand on their heart and sings along (I stand but feel a traitor if I was to copy the action and sing) and I have huge respect at that national pride and that shows the passion Americans have. Therefore I can’t give an excuse to the abuse heard in English football/soccer, it stems from a past of hooliganism and gangs that went purely to fight other fans, this was supposed to of been wiped out in the 90’s and I can only suggest the physical abuse has transferred to vocal abuse and still exists today. It would be interesting to take an MLS soccer fan to watch Manchester United play Liverpool (traditionally the biggest rivalry to England) and see what they made of it.

Another American tradition is wrestling, not amateur like in the Olympics but the showmanship and spectacle like WWE/F, TNA or WCW. It seems most towns have a wrestling promotion locally as again, it’s a family tradition to go watch. The show we went to was run by SWA, a promotion based in Kentucky http://swawrestling.2ya.com/ who with roughly 75 people in attendance (mostly out back smoking or running after their children) put on a show where it was evident the grapplers in the ring where living their dreams, this has to be the epitome of the American dream (not a reference to Dusty Rhodes), working all week and on a Saturday night, they feel like kings as they wrestle. The quality of the wrestling isn’t what you’d see on TV but why would it be, these guys are amateurs and most likely not getting paid, I’d highly recommend it.

11 best sidekicks (no Jar Jar Binks here)

2012-05-30T17:33:00.001-07:00

It's always the leading person that claims all the glory, grabs all the headlines and that everyone remembers but where would Captain Hook be without Smee (who had no rank oddly), Shrek without Donkey or The Beatles without Ringo Starr? No-one gets through sidekicks like Dr. Who but here's another random list of those closely linked to the main person in books/games/tv/films.

11. Patrick Starfish from SpongeBob SquarePants
Where would SpongeBob be without Patrick, the loveable pink blob that lives under a rock next door, when SpongeBob goes on an adventure, Patrick is always by his side. Portrayed as being fat, lazy, ignorant and unintelligent (not to mention the only character without a nose), it has to be asked in an underwater world where everyone works for a living, why doesn't Patrick (presumably he borrows from a loan shark) though this means he's always at SpongeBob's beck and call. That you can follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/Patrick_Star and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/patrickstar show he is clearly as much of a fans favourite as SpongeBob himself.

10. Lewis from Inspector Morse
Lewis (not to be confused with Officer Anne Lewis from RoboCop) is a Detective Sergeant who was the sidekick to Inspector Morse in all 13 books by Colin Dexter. Set in Oxford, England (who would of thought so much crime needed solving there). A bit like the great detective predecessor Sherlock Holmes having Dr. Watson, Lewis was constantly put down with comments or demeaned by Morse who meant this in a playful manner.

9. Luigi from Super Mario Bros.
So if they are 'super' Mario brothers, that would make the surname Mario.....which makes Mario become Mario Mario (a sentence with Mario in 5 times is too much) and Luigi is the green overall wearing alternative to his red wearing brother. First appearing in 1983, Luigi is sometimes portrayed as a more cowardly (especially around ghosts) character than the brave heroic Mario though both have the same aim which is to save Princess Daisy. While Mario is portrayed as a typical Italian American, Luigi comes across more of a stereotype Italian, I bet he loves a Dolmio Day.

8. Garth Algar from Wayne's World
Played by Dana Carvey in the movie's, Garth was Wayne Campbell's wingman, ever eager to help him with his musical endeavours and 'schwing' when a foxy lady walks past. Garth would almost blunder his way through life but to his friend Wayne, everything he did was 'cool'. I have a theory that when Garth grew up, he had a sex change and became JK Rowling.

7. Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes
Perhaps the most known sidekick, at least from classic literature, Dr. Watson was an assistant and sometime flatmate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective and narrated all but 4 of the books featuring Holmes. Although he never actually uses these words, 'Elementary, my dear Watson' is a part of modern speech when someone cottons onto what someone is trying to explain to them. With a medical background (he is a Dr. after all), it's a wonder he was a sidekick to a detective but this made the relationship between the pair all the more interesting.

6. Robin from Batman
Robin was first played by Richard 'Dick' Grayson way back in 1940 and since then has been played by 4 others in the popular comic. In 1983 when Grayson left to become Nightwing, Jason Todd took the role though was later brutally killed by The Joker in 1989. Since then the character has been portrayed by Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown (the only female Robin) and is currently Damian Wayne, Batman's son. While most of the movies feature Batman alone with no sidekick, it was the popular 1966 ABC series 'Batman' that people most remember Robin. Batman & Robin are often referred to as The Caped Crusaders or The Dynamic Duo. Debates rage over whether Batman needs a Robin but the Batman universe is richer for having the character but Robin is essentially an early teen fighting crime and supervillains....please kids, don't try this at home.

5. Chewbacca from Star Wars
Chewbacca is a 7 foot tall version of Cousin It from The Addams family who barks and growls in a way only Han Solo can understand. The gentle co-pilot of Solo's Millennium Falcon featured in 4 of the 6 Star Wars movies and classic lines like 'Aaaaaaaaaargh!' and 'Urgh' have led him to becoming a firm fan favourite. In the 1978 Star Wars holiday special, Chewbacca's wife and kids can be seen as we got to visit his homeworld Kashyyyk (28 points in Scrabble) and has no-one ever asked the question, what does Chewbacca smell like?

4. KITT from Knight Rider
Seriously! just look at that car, that's why it's included in this list, not to mention it's a talking car that can drive itself, maybe they know Optimus Prime

3. Gromit from Wallace & Gromit
The hugely popular BBC plasticine adventurers have survived every story by virtue of Gromit. While Wallace dithers about inventing the most useless creations and getting the pair into trouble, it's Gromit that keeps a cool head so they always prevail. First appearing in 1989's A Grand Day Out, Gromit has no visible mouth and never speaks a word but has there ever been a more expressive character to grace our screens?

2. Short Round from Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Why does he feature on the list let alone at number 2? because he's not Shia Lebeouf! Short Round almost encompasses what was so great about the first 3 Indiana Jones films, the vaudeville-esqe slapstick routines, the adventures where everything was survived by the skin of your teeth (teeth don't even have skin) and just dumb luck. Temple Of Doom saw Indiana skirting around Shanghai with 11 year old Short Round (played by Jonathan Ke Quan who's other film of notice is The Goonies where he played Data) who serve's as a perfect addition to add friction to Indy's personality. From Shocking Dr. Jones out of hypnosis to driving a 1936 Speedster in a car chase, Short Round shouldered a lot of the burden in defeating the treacherous Mola Ram

1. Ron Weasley/Hermione Grainger from the Harry Potter franchise
The perfect sidekick(s) because throughout all the books, they feature as main characters alongside Harry Potter and without them, he probably would still be wondering where the Philosophers Stone is, trapped in the Chamber Of Secrets or even a prisoner in Azkaban. Ron was fantastic in his role of encouraging Harry to do risky and daring ventures while Hermione was the brains behind the trio, take any of these away and the chemistry is gone along with the chance of success. Though hero is the titular hero, it's only as he was sheltered from this world of witches and wizards so his innocence helps the reader to understand this wonderful world and have everything explained for us poor, plain muggles. In reality, the last book should of been called Harry Potter, Ron Weasley And Hermione Grainger And The Deathly Hallows but I guess the spines on books have only so much room to print titles.

Music (written in Tennessee, the home of US music)

2012-05-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

Music is important in life, imagine (not meant as a reference to John Lennon) a world without tunes, without lyrics or the memories attached to hearing something you’ve not heard for a while, music can bring untold joy and also extreme sadness, it's both a sign of celebration and lamentation. One of the things both America and Britain have in common is a shared love of music and musical artists, with both singing in English, they are easily able to cross the Atlantic and perform to audiences and it’s not even possible to decide who makes the better music, America has Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elvis (only needs one name, you know I don’t mean Costello) and Michael Jackson, Britain has The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zeppelin and Elton John, both have sold millions each side of the pond, both have sold out arenas too and both have legions of fans not just in these two countries but around the world.

It’s all good having mainstream artists crossing over in 2011, it’s easy to have access to them in this day and age with music TV channels, the internet and an untold amount of radio stations specializing in every type of music you can name and even more that you can’t.

Elton John

The start of modern music as we know started in late 40’s/early 50’s America, growing from predominately black church gospel music, jazz and blues (though no-one should ever discount classical music, most modern classical music devised nowadays is used as movie soundtracks). the world famous Sun Studios was opened in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950 and artists like B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Elvis (Presley not Costello remember) and Jerry Lee Lewis made records, other acts like Bill Haley & The Comets, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry were also producing songs which are still played and loved over 60 years later. From this new sound of ‘rock and roll’, many aspiring artists heard something which resonated in a post war Britain, people like Keith Richards, John Lennon (ironic that an American killed John Lennon in New York, or was he aiming for Yoko and she ducked?) and Pete Townsend heard this new sound and were inspired to learn how to play guitar (before it was mainly the banjo or piano that was learnt on British shores) and they spent many an hour trying to tune into the infamous pirate radio station Radio Luxembourg to hear the new songs by these artists that belonged to them, not their parents, this was a huge catalyst for the post war generation to step out the shadows (Cliff Richard stayed with them) and have their own lives and culture.

In the mid 60’s, Britain had a wave of artists and bands that were inspired by this movement, we’ve all seen famous images of The Beatles landing in New York in 1964 (The extent of Beatlemania in the United States is evidenced by their single and album sales. "The Beatles had the Number One single for 59 weeks during their six and half years spanning ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’s’ first appearance at the top on 1 February 1964 and Let It Be LP's last Number One Week, 4 July 1970. In the same period they topped the LP charts for 116 weeks. In other words they had the Number One single one out of every six weeks, and the top album one out of three). Over the decades countless artists have crossed over, though I’m not sure about American artists, certainly British artists are deemed to of truly made it once they have ‘broken the States’ which means made a name for themselves over there (for that reason Robbie Williams is a loser).

In recent years American artists before they have become mainstream in their homeland have gone to the UK, made a name and become popular which has then transferred back, I remember The Killers supporting British Sea Power (remember them?) above a pub in my hometown of Lincoln (England) in 2003, this was a venue probably as big as the room your reading this in, it held about 80 people and was very cramped. The Killers and Kings Of Leon come to mind as bands who felt and knew they had talent, they knew they could move onto a bigger stage but felt undervalued in their home countries so tried in the UK, a country they wanted to spend time in and play to fans they knew would adore them. I feel the UK is more cutting edge in musical tastes, people want to be trendy and music bible NME (New Musical Express, a weekly music magazine) help people discover new bands and give them a platform, though America is a HUGE country so touring and making your name to a larger population isn’t as easy to do, ultimately good talent always shines through (except Justin Bieber, seriously, WTF?).

There are only two differences I can see between these two musical cultures, first is live music, I have been to gig in London on a Saturday and the following Friday I went to one in Nashville (aka Music City USA), it seems as Britain is a far smaller country than the States, artists don’t have to travel far to tour in comparison so quality and quantity is huge, in the UK, I live over the road from the famous Wedgewoodwatch through each song and applaud at the end. It’s not that either audience is more appreciative, it’s more about the energy, maybe I need to go see more in different venues across the States, it’s a perfect excuse to.

The other difference is country music, it’s a regional thing, and it’s historically about things affecting the lives of people in the southern States, like farming, barn dances or….ticks! (Brad Paisley(?) had a no.1 hit in the States with a song about Ticks!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tiPndMqxLQ ). Artists such as Mr. Tickman Paisley, Taylor Swift and Toby Keith are household names and sell records in huge volume but overseas, they don’t do so well as it’s a style and of content people can’t relate to, a top London thinks a tick is something put in a box if something is correct, not some literally blood sucking parasite (I did get a tick a few weeks ago in my leg and had to pull it out with tweasers, I don’t think I can ever get used to the bugs here, because of so many bug bites my legs look like the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan). To me it seems almost uneducated and painful to have to hear but having delved into it more, it seems pre 1980(ish) it had huge meaning and content but since then, the artists seem awful corporate cookie-cutter recycled garbage which is what country isn’t meant to be. Music evolves though and as I don’t like it, I can just tune into another station.

Ultimately when people are asked to name a favourite artist, band, song or album, they automatically bunch American and British artists together, I’d say Johnny Cash, Oasis, Nirvana and The Beatles and not even think of the nationality of either. Movies in the UK are either American or British, music is simply music and that is in my opinion, the closest bond the two countries have.

Homosexuality in sport

2012-05-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

We live in an ever increasingly more liberal and relaxed society in this day and age, if someone is gay, what does it matter? I have worked with both male and female homosexuals and been able to say one or two have become close friends and I enjoy that they are comfortable and proud about their sexuality. In all professions it's not an issue but why is sport, seen as a predominately heterosexual environment, an area where athletes are either simply not gay, or most likely uncomfortable with announcing the their true selves..

It's estimated that 6% of the UK's population is gay, that's roughly one in 20 people (no pun intended) so for an average sports team, that would mean 1-2 members would have a different orientation to the rest of the squad, yet how many sports stars could you name that have come out?

The UK's most popular sport is football (soccer) and to date, Justin Fashanu is the first and only footballer to have openly 'come out' which he did in October 1990 in The Sun tabloid newspaper, Fashanu commit suicide in 1997 after sexual allegation charges were brought against him by a 17 year old, in his suicide note he wrote "I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family.", the same paper that was happy to 'out' him had constantly linked him with unnamed MPs, football players and pop stars, which Fashanu had to frequently deny were untrue. It seems the same media outlet, The Sun, that was happy to publicise someone's sexuality, was also happy to wilfully imply sexual encounters and this would of had the reverse effect of what Fashanu intended and he was quite vocal in how this made him feel ostracised, particularly from his own family.

From this experience, it's hardly a surprise that other footballers would be tempted to 'come out the closet' in a similar fashion. The simple fact is that tabloid newspapers would have a field day with joke headlines or constant photos of shirtless hugging not to mention the barrage of accusations with people of the same sex such as Justin Fashanu had to constantly deny. On 19th April 2012, just over a month after I'm writing this, The Sun newspaper had the front page headline of 'Jessie Gay' where reality TV judge Jessie J was publicly outed as a lesbian, in this day and age I would argue that isn't news, let alone front page headline news. It also felt compelled to give the news that Simon Cowell, a rival reality TV judge, wasn't gay! They actually wrote, on the front of their paper that someone wasn't gay.....this is 2012!! That same day there were other news stories such as 3 soldiers killed in Afghanistan, French elections and the UK's largest supermarket Tesco reporting a downfall in profits due to the recession, none of that matters though as someone is gay and someone else isn't.

The way the media would use such a 'story' has to be the main reason that sports stars would be tentative to be comfortable with coming out. In all honesty, Lionel Messi is considered the best footballer on the planet right now, if he was gay, would that mean that fans didn't want him to sign for their team? Of course not. Would rival fans boo him? Of course not. Would the tabloid press have and endless amount of sly comments and innuendo? yes, constantly. Just as The Sun did with Justin Fashanu, it was happy to publicise his sexuality to sell papers and it was happy to turn on him in an attempt to sell more and after how Justin Fashanu's life ended, who could blame sports stars from feeling a need to stay silent?

the cost of EuroVision....a £30m postcard

2012-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, the time when Europe (and for some reason Israel) unites for the colourful and enigmatic Europop tradition that is Eurovision, an event that started in 1956 and is still going strong today. While most of us look down at the event, most of the performances are interesting (I'm being polite) and the politics that goes with the event's scoring system (the Eastern Europeans always seem to vote for each other though to be fair, the UK does always give Ireland points for some reason) are a tradition which in any other international event would be illegal.

   The big news going into tonight's show is that some countries have openly told their contestants to NOT win! Whichever country wins the event then has to host the following year, the estimated cost is £28-30million, unlike a sporting event such as the Olympics, fans don't travel to attend bringing tourism, there isn't a high level of sponsorship so it's basically a night where a country can show views of the host city, though the global audience is an impressive 125 million, to people that have no intention of travelling to or spending money towards their economy, it's essentially a £30m postcard.

   Tonight the competition is held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan and they have spent more than their annual tourism budget preparing and promoting the event, for a smaller nation like Azerbaijan, it's perhaps a good risk to take, getting to take centre stage for one night to show the world what they have to offer but do the rewards really justify the means? That's money that could build a new hospital, fund healthcare, education or create jobs potentially.

   Spain has urged it's entrant, Pastora Soler, to not win the contest as the country is enduring massive cuts in an attempt to control their spiralling debts. While it could be argued that winning would lift the mood of the nation, with the global recession it's a good logic politically. Pastora has publically admitted this but there are most likely a few other entrants that have been told the same thing.

   The bookies favourite to win is Sweden who have hosted the event 4 times previously, they are a stable country who wouldn't see it as a disaster if they did win. Great Britain has sided with crooner Engelbert Humperdinck (real name is Arnold Dorsey) and Europeans are excited to see how he does, if Mr Humperdinck was to win, the BBC licence fee would be used to pay for next year's show presumably.

   There is no country in a worse state financially in Europe than Greece, can you imagine the look on the face of their prime minister should they win tonight? Actually, I'd tune in just to see that.

The Avengers juggernaut (not Cain Marko)

2012-05-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

As of writing, The Avengers movie (Avengers Assemble in the UK due to the 'New Avengers' TV series starring Joanna Lumley, Avengers Assemble sounds like a film about a group of superheroes who attempt to put together some flat pack furniture) has grossed worldwide almost $1.2billion (around £800million, how Greece must of wished it made this movie to solve all that countries money problems) and shows no sign of slowing down. It was released less than 3 weeks ago and is currently the 4th highest grossing film of all time behind Avatar ($2.78b), Titanic ($2.18b) and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($1.32b), while it should overtake the last Harry Potter movie in the next week, it remains to be seen if it can compete with the two James Cameron goliaths but it has that potential.

I saw The Avengers in 3D on the day it was released worldwide, the marketing and hype for the movie were years in the making, the slow hype has paid of, in the 2008 Iron Man film, there was the tease of Captain America's (I wonder if the true cause of America's financial problems come from Captain America asking for his back pay) shield and in the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2, the closing credits featured Thor's hammer 'Mjolnir' to leave fans waiting for the characters solo movies leading into this collective collaboration.

The Avengers features Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk, the two flawed Hulk movies, Thor and Captain America (After watching Captain America, I feel like riot police aren't using their shields properly) have done well at the box office but compared to other Marvel movies, have been modest at best. Iron Man has fared better but nowhere in the league of the Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy or The Dark Knight. The success of combining these characters has delightedly astounded Disney (who bought the rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount) but why has the movie seemingly come out of nowhere to do so well.

The answer is simply that it is a damn good movie and people want to see it again. The success of Avatar and Titanic was that the audience went back again and again to see the film. If someone hasn't seen Avengers and needed someone to go with, i'd happily go again and see it. It's a feel good film, a family film that most ages can enjoy. It's interesting what Marvel has created leading up to this film, 4 completely different film franchises, all leading up to this one point, each character given their established plot, specific traits and their own big personality. This is the first time that i can think of where a studio has spent 4 years creating a universe to set up one BIG blockbuster. For all the special effects, explosions and nasty villains, the actors are given ample time to shine in their roles and most importantly, no-one is deemed superior to others, they are equal. It's a great feel good movie with cinematic magic and no matter how much marketing a studio does to promote their films, there is nothing like word of mouth to fill cinema seats and has anyone heard a bad word said about this film?

The film isn't perfect (where does the Tesseract come from and what exactly can it do?) but it's exactly what a summer blockbuster should be, The Dark Knight Rises is released in a couple of months and the bar has been set very high in 2012.

View The Avengers trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPoHPNeU9fc

View The Dark Knight Rises trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk