tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74938854669289853732024-11-01T07:02:09.254+00:00Reared on a diet of sports, travel and bad TV.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-58578472831056578842010-06-06T17:33:00.005+01:002010-11-12T16:55:30.536+00:00

The Luniz' "I got 5 on it" is a song Rafa Nadal can now happily sing to his hearts content. In 2 hours 18 minutes, Rafa finished off spirited Robin Soderling 6-4 6-2 6-4 in the French Open Mens Final to win his 5th French Open title. This wasn't just a win, this was an 'ooohh' kind of match where Rafa reintroduced himself as simply supreme in a final on the Philippe Chatrier court.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-47826850742566346662010-06-05T18:53:00.001+01:002010-10-28T23:10:20.927+01:00

Francesca Schiavone was a real inspiration in the Ladies Final against Super Sam Stosur. She played an excellent match winning 6-4 7-6 (7-2), even more impressive that she fought back from 1-4 down in the second set. In short, the Stosur forehand wasn't reliable and made too many unforced errors on important moments. A fantastic tournament for the Aussie, nonetheless. 2009- Semi's,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-67171296048835026192010-05-23T23:00:00.002+01:002010-05-23T23:36:00.799+01:00

Cannot. Hide. My. Excitement. Woooooooooo!!!! Aside from the tennis, the other great cause for celebration is the return of 'Juke Box' fun! Télévision France's Tennis Club Roland Garros programme gets the players (usually in drag) to channel their inner MJ/Whitney/Abba in a booth with  a back-up band. First up, a bouncy Jo-Wilfred Tsonga belting out Black Eye Peas' 'I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-14401411379725591372010-05-01T06:23:00.013+01:002010-05-01T06:33:05.897+01:00

What a final episode. Ugly Betty may have drawn to a close on 14 April in America, but for this fan downloading from my laptop, it was 1 May 2010. The reactions of both sets of watchers were probably very similar- laughter, crying, more laughter, more crying, finished off by smiles.   If a show running more than 3 years can produce smiles of contentment at the end of its final ever

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-23005322936159509812010-04-05T21:18:00.002+01:002010-04-05T21:22:52.257+01:00

US Masters, Augusta: I happily avoided blogging about the Tiger Woods debarcle, until recent comments forced my hand. Tiger, I have only two words for you: GET 'EM I'm tired of all these bitter Golf journo's still bent out of shape because they've been denied their chance to grill Tiger on details of his affairs. The guy was wrong, he got caught and he's been shamed. His public reputation as a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-31473866821903850302010-04-02T21:30:00.002+01:002010-05-01T14:54:24.476+01:00

Key Biscayne: Clijsters triumphed in the Battle of the Belgiums aka Womens semi match against Henin. 6-2 6-7 7-6. Tantalising final with Venus Williams awaits. The 'shock' result was Andy Roddick downing Lemon Drop, Rafa Nadal in the first Mens semi. Such a cute, zesty outfit deserved its time to shine in a final. But alas, Roddick continues to show good form with this 4-6 6-3 6-3 result

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-76060977944419497252010-04-02T21:05:00.000+01:002010-04-02T21:05:21.714+01:00

On Good Friday, the one thing you'll find in any Caribbean family home is fried fish.  I don't know if this is an uptake on Christian lore, Jesus feeding the five-thousand  with 5 loaves and 2 fish, but I know my peeps like to have a good go at replicating the feat. An alcoholic beverage, doesn't hurt either But it's really all about the fish heads and hard dough bread. For you,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-63708224891122454432010-03-31T22:44:00.001+01:002010-03-31T22:44:50.792+01:00

You've got to love Arsene Wenger. He's like a little wizard tinkering away on experiments in football, while all around him cast doubt and criticise. In tonights hugely entertaining match against champions, Barcelona FC, you could say the wizards' boys largely redeemed their creator. Arsenal managed the improbable by equalling Barcelona's away tally, 2-2. I say improbable because the first half

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-8975257825805675192010-03-31T02:14:00.012+01:002010-03-31T22:56:47.963+01:00

Photo: Times Online, 30 March 2010 I'm no Mystic Meg, but mark my words: the Silver Fox will be coming to England come the end of summer 2010. At a pre-Champions League press conference ahead of Inter Milan's quarters match against CSK Moscow, Jose Mourinho was at it again, dropping pitch perfect soundbites like stardust and peppering English journo's with the usual pre-match mind games you'd

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-41855397213527531682010-03-31T00:20:00.003+01:002010-03-31T01:37:12.448+01:00

 vs Photos: Getty Images/Eveready Battery pack Key Biscayne: Rafa Nadal aka Lemon Drop  won a nervy match against David Ferrer 7-6 6-4. In fact, I'm going to start calling Ferrer "Eveready" because the guy always gives his all and never quits, just like the handy little batteries.  The match was tighter than the scoreline suggests. In the end, the deal was sealed by a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-18235166159591415482010-03-30T23:34:00.001+01:002010-03-31T02:19:04.792+01:00

Bayern Munich beat Manchester United tonight, 2-1, at home in the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals. Honestly, that was a pretty lucky result for Man U. The second half was an onslaught of Bayern possession and attack, laced with poor passes and lack of shape from everyone accept Ferdinand, Vidic and Van Der Sar. Add to that a suspected twisted ankle for Wayne Rooney... Basta

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-27769158434393472192010-03-17T12:43:00.003+00:002010-03-17T13:30:09.400+00:00

St Patrick's Day, i.e. Heavenly Consumption of Guiness Day, is upon us. I always like this day, mainly because the Irish (whatever your political affiliation) are a good natured people so a celebration to all things paddy generally feels like just that. It doesn't make your average person nicer, like Christmas or the onset of spring brings tolerance and a smile to a Londoner. But still. I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-6999076559775269902010-03-03T12:26:00.002+00:002010-03-07T10:56:22.024+00:00

We need to have this in London...ok, maybe the rest of you in UK too... A new exercise craze is borne in the form of 'Cardio Tennis' which combines the basic principles of tennis with a high-intensity cardiovascular workout. In other words, get the physique of a top tennis player without having their skills. Sounds like a fantasists dream! The workout burns on average 600 pounds per hour of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-10775020053361974762010-02-28T23:18:00.000+00:002010-02-28T23:18:38.870+00:00

Ah, I am spent. Exhausted! That was a great final. Congrats to the Canadian Men's Ice Hockey Team, who won in extra time 3-2 against old foe USA. When a US hockey player levelled up the match with 24 seconds to go, there was a sense of inevitability. You Just Knew. I tweeted as much and watched the similar gasps of OMG and WOW roll on. I'd like to pretend I know the names of the players, but

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-17058839847580941422010-02-26T04:44:00.002+00:002010-03-07T12:09:18.418+00:00

When I first started blogging, the intention was 'Just write what you feel like. You're in between jobs, may as well amuse yourself somehow' which was quite true. I have a lot to say, and a lot I'm curious about, hence material is never short in supply! But after some difficult personal times, and a period in the job seeking wilderness, lifestyle blogs have given me genuine food for thought

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-27964717914512659812010-02-26T01:07:00.004+00:002010-02-26T01:14:31.796+00:00

Poor Robert Dee. Quien es? Who's that, you ask? He's a GB tennis player I only heard about in a Eurosport report today. Turns out, Mr Dee was roundly labelled 'World's Worst Tennis Pro' in pretty much all of the UK national papers sometime in 2008. Since then, his tennis might not be winning him money, but his litigation success suing every offending rags ass has! What

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-25024663249148468902010-02-20T01:57:00.005+00:002010-02-20T02:14:09.260+00:00

WOO HOO she did it. Williams comes through in first place!! Amy Williams' final run at the Skeleton event was actually her best- so much for nerves. GB's other Skeleton lady, Shelley Rudman- silver medallist at the Turin Winter Games '06, only started to get to grips with the course on the final run and she finished in 6th place. GOLD baby;-)  Hey, for us Brits, this result is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-4227461035879537292010-02-19T23:50:00.001+00:002010-02-19T23:51:12.266+00:00

Women's Skeleton: Can Briton's Amy Williams hold tight in first position and take the Olympic Gold? Today's final brings on two more runs, and it's no foregone conclusion. I'll be rooting for you Amy- Go On Girl!!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-46221769389690077822010-02-17T04:06:00.015+00:002010-03-31T00:49:04.386+01:00

I know, everything has gone wrong with this thing: a fatal accident, technical errors lighting the rings at the Opening Ceremony, bad ice (Speed Skating) and bad weather (everyone else up them hills). Yet still...I'm loving these games. The win of Czech Martina Sabilkova in the Womens' 3000m Speed Skating, the gruel and precision fest that is Biathlon, getting into Luge and Moguls (I thought

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-21969829304644904662010-02-13T02:02:00.003+00:002010-02-28T22:52:23.130+00:00

After the tragic death of Georgian Luge competitor, Nodar Kumaritashvili, it's natural to feel underwhelmed by the prospect of an entire fortnight of sport at the Winter Olympics. It's hardly all fun and games now, is it? Only 21-years old and finishing up his final practice. The timing of death can be so cruel. ESPN's Bonnie D Ford posted a twit pic from Vancouver (left), with the simple

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-29730769895203420662010-02-11T23:16:00.001+00:002010-02-11T23:20:53.825+00:00

19-year old Petra Martic came onto centre court at the WTA 18th Paris Open against Yanina Wickmayer, a virtual nobody. But damn it, she stepped off it with the scalp of a top 20 player, the vocal support of a hard-to-please Paris crowd and my ear marking as ONE TO WATCH! More importantly, she's got the WTA media reps taking note and scrambling for interviews like the one below- all good stuff.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-80242165092645266042010-02-01T23:23:00.008+00:002010-02-28T22:59:31.133+00:00

Ooh la la, allez allez, it's Roland Garros ticket time again!! Once upon a time, the purchase of French Open tickets was like playing on the lotto- you put in your bid, and wait to hear if you've been chosen. That random, that French. I loved it. But things changed in 2009, moving to a far more democratic and capitalist first come first serve system that works pretty well. The French Open

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-17058889094809147342010-01-27T23:32:00.009+00:002010-01-28T00:17:35.776+00:00

Woo Hoo, I have a sore throat, but I don't care 'cause United are going to Wembley!  (c) 27 Jan 2010 Press Association photography Man United played local rivals (*cough* upstarts!) Man City at Old Trafford in the final leg Carling Cup semi-final, 2-1 on the night (4-3 agg). I won't bother to be impartial- screams of 'IN YO' FACE!' are how I got this sore throat in the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-69055851257818185832010-01-27T06:53:00.001+00:002010-01-27T06:56:28.671+00:00

(c) Associated Press photographs I'm knackered after the final women's 1/4 match. As ever, Serena Williams shows you can never say never by winning 5 games on the bounce in the 2nd set from 0-4 down and eventually taking the match 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. The prognosis midway in the 2nd set was easy: Vika all the way. She hit with authority, confidence, commitment, and Serena

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7493885466928985373.post-8626880205030707032010-01-27T03:14:00.008+00:002010-01-27T17:59:24.679+00:00

I'm choosing to focus on the positives from the Venus Williams- Na Li with this post. Here goes. Battler Li fought back from a set down, a seeming body transplant (with a 12-year old once-a-year recreational player, so woeful was the hitting) and some 57 unforced errors to overcome a lumbering Williams to take it 2-6, 7-6, 7-5. This is a huge deal for Chinese tennis, with two women ("pocket

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0