From Slumdog Millionaire to Stratford Masterpiece!

On Friday evening, I wasn't particularly enthralled by the prospect of sitting through three hours of the Olympic ceremony. As there wasn't much else on the box at seven o'clock, I thought 'what's the harm in watching the build-up?' The set looked intriguing from the first time I saw it. A mini Glastonbury Tor in honour of the music festival that was cancelled to allow Police resources and public toilets to be redeployed to Olympic venues; fluffy white clouds floating around the arena (that were to provide rain later on!) and farmers fields complete with farmers and livestock! What followed was not only breath-taking, it was intrinsically British from start to finish. If the history of Britain theme was inspired, then the show itself and the make-up of its cast was definitely inspiring. As well as the farmyard animals, there was a tribute to the NHS and Great Ormond Street Hospital which included NHS employees and children from Great Ormond Street; The Red Arrows display; Bradley Wiggins; Kenneth Brannagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel; Her Majesty the Queen meeting James Bond; Mr Bean playing Chariots of Fire on the piano! All this and much much more set to a soundtrack including The Sex Pistols, The Arctic Monkeys, Mike Oldfield and a personal favourite of mine, Underworld's Born Slippy from one of Danny Boyle's most famous works Trainspotting.

The Olympic Rings, molten!

I'll be honest, I went in to the ceremony thinking 'how can a budget of £27million be justified in such austere times?' At the end of the main part of the ceremony I was left feeling even more proud to be from our fantastic nation than I normally am, having sat through a fantastic display of everything this country should be proud of and that has made Britain Great! 

It is a shame that Britain's sporting prowess hasn't quite come to the fore just yet; although I am sure it will. Perhaps one of Britain's main medal hopes, Mark Cavendish and Team GB failed to finish on the rostrum citing tactics of the other teams as a contributory factor. Cavendish said in his post race interview that his team couldn't have done more for him, and they went above and beyond the plan for the race. All the British riders looked absolutely spent at the end of the race, which is no surprise because by all accounts they had dragged the peloton along for most of the race. If they tried their absolute best, which it certainly seemed that they did, isn't that all anyone can ask? After triumphing in the most famous cycle road race in the world last weekend maybe this was just one step too far? All I hope is that in trying to elevate Cavendish to a gold medal, the other team members chances of medals in other events have not been compromised. Aside of Korean flag mishaps and match programme errors in the football, I think things have gone pretty well so far so long may it continue. (although I have lost count of the amount of times I've heard people call Team GB England. That will endear our Celtic neighbours I'm sure..!

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 After American MotoGP rider Ben Spies announced this week that he would be leaving Yamaha at the end of the season, the rumour mill didn't take long to start hinting that Valentino Rossi could be set for a return to his old team? Lord he knows he needs to be on a bike that can get him nearer the front. You can see he still has race in him, but his Ducati is just not quick enough. 


South African Steven Pienaar has re-signed for Everton after failing to make in impact at Tottenham, and spending the latter half of last season back on loan at Goodison Park. Will the thirty year old be able to rekindle his previous form? Time will tell.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that Andy Carroll is happy to stay at Liverpool and that he can fit into the 'keep-ball' style of play he is trying to bring in at Anfield. As a Reds fan, I am more than happy about this as the prospect of seeing Carroll with either Suarez or Borini, or perhaps both, was quite exciting after Carroll's late season return to form last term. 

Back next week folks!

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Drogba, Di Matteo, David Price, and a bit of disappointment.

Well now the football season has finished, I feel in a little bit of limbo and a bit like it’s time to take stock of all things sports. There is really only one place to start though. 

Cometh the hour; cometh the man!

Well done Chelsea. As much as I don’t want to, I have to doff my metaphorical cap to Roman’s boys for the grit and determination they showed in Munich last night. And their big man for the big occasion stepped up to the plate again. Having scored the goal to take them to extra time and penalties, he then stepped up to take the crucial fifth penalty to wrap it all up. Could Didier's last ever kick of a ball for Chelsea be the most important? What will they do without him when he leaves for Russia in the coming weeks? Or will Mr Abramovich break the bank (or rather make a minor dent in his wallet!) to keep him? It wasn't all about Drogba though. Lampard and Mikel were very good in midfield, and let's not forget that Petr Cech saved three out of six penalties taken against him on the night! I can't ignore the fact that John Terry should have stayed in the stand with his suit on and left his team mates to lift the trophy without him. No class, no morals. Not surprised. He'll get what's due to him after Euro 2012, but that's another matter.

What now for Roberto Di Matteo?

In any normal realm of sport, if a manager wins two out of the four trophies they entered at the beginning of the season, notably one of which the owner has been trying to get his hands on ever since he bought the club in 2003, he might expect to get the job on a full time basis. However this may not be the case for Roberto Di Matteo. I would not say that things looked frosty between Di Matteo and Abramovich, but the Russian did not look like he was about to whip a multi-year contract out of his pocket and say ‘Sign here my friend! You have harmonised this club and made my dreams come true, so I will give you the time and money to rebuild this team…’ Sadly, I won’t be surprised if the Italian doesn’t even get a look in. Pep Guardiola resisted the lure of Liverpool; will he be able to do the same with Chelsea? (And their owners bottomless pockets!?) Time will tell.

Future heavyweight champion of the world?

 Congratulations to David Price on becoming the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion at Aintree last night by beating Sam Sexton. I think Price has the ability to go all the way to the top and could really challenge the Klitschko brothers’ domination of the division. I don’t think he is quite ready to beat them at the moment but a couple more ‘learning’ bouts and he won’t be too far away. Sam Sexton hasn’t been knocked out too often, but the way Price clinically finished Sexton off in the fourth shows he hits accurately and very, very hard!  People may say that he has never really been tested, but if people keep ducking him (namely Tyson Fury) what is he supposed to do? He can only keep beating opponents that stand in front of him. Super-stardom is surely not too far round the corner.

Australian superstar Casey Stoner

 I was disappointed and saddened this week to hear of the intended retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season by Casey Stoner. He is already a double world champion, and could add another before the year is out, and if he sticks to his decision he’ll be retired at the age of twenty seven! Valentino Rossi said after hearing the announcement ‘It's bad news for the world of MotoGP, at the end of the season we're going to lose a great rider and a great rival, but it's his decision.’ As a slight upside, Rossi did say that he intends to continue for another two years at least. Maybe Rossi is a contender for Stoner’s bike; His Ducati has been such a dog to ride that you couldn’t blame him.   

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Nineteen days until Euro 2012 starts, and a few surprises when the England squad was announced this week. No Aaron Lennon? No Micah Richards? Only four strikers when Rooney is banned for two thirds of the group games? We'll have to wait and see, but I'm not sure my self. COME ON ENGLAND! 

England have taken the upper hand in the first test match of the summer at Lords this week. With a 155 run lead after the first innings, the number one test team in the world will take some catching. Also, well done to England captain Andrew Strauss on his century; he'll be glad that the the proverbial hairy primate is no longer on his back!   

Well done to West Ham United for their win over Blackpool in the N-Power championship play-off final.  The return of three former Premier League teams makes for an interesting season next year.

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MotoGP 2012 preview: Do it for Marco

It is with a somewhat heavy heart that I write my blog this morning, because as much as I am looking forward to the new MotoGP season which starts next weekend, it is a stark reminder of the horrific and incredibly sad loss of one of the sports brightest young talents Marco Simoncelli.

Sic58, Gone but never forgotten

Marco, you will most certainly be very sadly missed by any MotoGP enthusiast, but hopefully your mantle of riding with a smile on your face and trying to get to the front even when the odds are stacked against you will have inspired riders of the future. RIP.

For British fans, things are looking up as hopefully Cal Crutchlow will be fighting it out towards the front of the grid this season. He had a very positive first season with Tech 3 last year and will be looking to build on that in 2012. By all accounts the 1000cc bike suits his style and winter testing has been very positive. We also have James Ellison who will be wanting to try and force his way through the grid where he can. 

It looks like being another tough season for Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden on the Ducati which has been struggling to keep the pace of the guys at the front. Casey Stoner has been consistently quick in testing so will be be difficult to knock off the top of the pile, but the guys just behind him will give it a damn good try for sure. Dani Pedrosa will be right behind his team mate consistently as per 2011, and the factory Yamaha's of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will be right there as well. As a former World Champion in 2010 and runner-up last year we are all aware of Jorge's pedigree, but Spies will be looking to build on the early promise from last year before injuries put pay to the end of the season. It certainly looked like the Yamaha will be up to the job in testing so we'll have to see if it will live up to the promise.

For once, what Auntie Beeb taketh with one hand, she giveth back with the other. Despite it looking like the BBC wants to cut their investment in motorsport by reducing it's coverage of Formula One, they will be showing the 2012 MotoGP season in HD so not only will this season be well worth watching, we'll be able to see it a bit clearer as well!

This season gets under way next weekend at the Losail circuit in Qatar, and I for one can't wait. 

SPORT SHORTS

• Good luck to all the Brits in the first golf major of the year, The Masters at Augusta which starts on Thursday. Rory McIlroy came very close last year before winning the US Open a few months later, and Brits have dominated the top of the World rankings since then so there are a few players in with a shout. 
• Fabrice Muamba's family released a picture of him smiling from hospital this week, which is fantastic. Not too long ago many may have thought Fabrice may not have made any recovery, let alone to be sat up in bed smiling. He still has a long road ahead, and we still keep everything crossed in hope of seeing Fabrice in a Bolton shirt again.
• Very sad news this week that Aston Villa captain Stilyan Petrov is suffering from acute leukamia.The Villa fans gave him a fitting tribute in the 19th minute of yesterdays game against Chelsea to show their support. Good Luck Stan #19.
• The race for the Premier League title enters it's last month or so and looks to be a gripping climax. Man City or Man Utd? My money would be in Utd who know how it's done.  

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