There weren't nothin' Calypso about this Cricket

I had the most amazing day on Monday.  I got myself down to the Curzon Cinema, Soho and bought a ticket to a screening of Fire in Babylon - a documentary chronicling the sensational history of West Indian cricket.  Now I'm a sucker for a sports doc, and am fairly easy to inspire, but seeing what this incredible team had to endure really was something else.

'It's a hard, tough, but beautiful sport'

I'm pretty inspired by most professional boxers.  Almost without exception they'll have had to overcome financial and/or personal adversity, demonstrate a level of discipline few of us can begin to understand, and I expect, have a million things tempting them to quit.  But they don't.  They get up at dawn and they work.  Relentlessly.  


One such boxer who epitomised this beautiful, all consuming scenario I've described, was Welsh legend, Howard Winstone.  Aside from possessing a remarkable skill for the sport, his tale is more interesting than most.  In a horrific factory accident, before his professional career had even begun, Winstone lost the tips of three fingers on his right hand.  Now I don't know about you, but losing any of my fingers would definitely stop me doing a fair few things.  Boxing being one of them.  Thankfully, Winstone did not share this mindset.  Undeterred by this seemingly disabling turn of events, Winstone went on to go pro and won 61 of his 67 professional boughts.  Truly epic.


Documenting a story this dramatic seems only fitting, so I'm thrilled that a film (Risen) has been made, capturing the life of this amazing man.  I was lucky enough to have a chat with Stuart Brennan, the actor who's performance as Howard Winstone has just earned him a Welsh Bafta.  Here's what the jammy so and so had to say...

Farcical Idiocy Fishy Antics

Have you heard the one about F.I.F.A?  That's it - that's the gag.  It's all a complete joke.  Blatter is apparently 'deeply moved' at being 'reelected' and the rest of the world (Benin included) thinks that England is nothing more than a pain in the bum.  I mean, really?

Now I'm not suggesting that David Bernstein should've kept his mouth shut and nodded with the men in suits, but I can't help but feel that his eleventh hour protest was a little ill conceived.  To assume that members of an organisation corrupt to the core, would adjust their plans merely since we say so, is a tad naive. 

Who'd be a football manager?

Time has not been my friend this week.  I've wanted to blog about so much (Degale vs Groves, the PGA Championship, tennis, darts, I could go on) but sadly, until I get paid for my musings on sport, that's just something that I'm going to have to live with.

One thing I will find time to write about though, is my opinion on the utter ridiculousness that was the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti on the last day of the season.  Who in their right mind would want to manage Chelsea now?  Yes the money is lovely, but you also spend a year of your life (more if you're lucky) walking with a metaphorical gun to your back. Nice.  If Mr Abramovich knows so much, then why doesn't he just cut out the middle man and do the job himself? He may as well.

Cue the Benny Hill music...

And so it ends.  It seems that each season becomes more eventful than the last and 2010-11 has been no exception.  We can now look forward to a summer of transfer rumour madness.  Oh joy.

Truthfully though, whilst I think that the lucrative business of buying players is well beyond farcical, I, like the rest of you, find it perversely entertaining.  Possibly because these Sheiks and Oligarchs may as well be chucking around Monopoly money in their game of 'I own a football club, because I can'.

How anyone (and I include the players and agents when I say this) can see any sustainable good in this, really baffles me.  They probably don't give a monkey's about sustainable good though, so therein lies the answer.

I expect that if not this season, then next, we'll see clubs purchasing quality players, simply to prevent other clubs from doing so.  Worrying.  The FA is trying to bring in legislation capping wages in the Premiership.  Too little too late perhaps?  The cynic in me expects that yes, just like bankers and their bonuses, not much will really change.  Let's see what Man City Allstars look like in 12 weeks, eh?

Have fun, play and see what happens...

I love a bit of ESPN Classic.  In fact I'd wager that when combined with with a cheese toasty and a can of diet coke, it is quite possibly the best hangover cure ever.  Bearing this in mind, it’s no wonder that I couldn't wait for the cinema release of From the Ashes - the documentary recounting the epic 1981 series in which England dramatically defeated Australia.  I was not disappointed.

In truth, I never really fully understood why Beefy is so revered, but I do now.  Put simply, he was pretty bloody awesome.  At the age of 24 he managed to defeat an impressive Australian side in spectacular fashion.  During the pivotal test at Headingley, he said that his aim was to ‘have fun, play and see what happens.’  Which is surely what sport is all about, no?

Legend

My thoughts are with the Ballesteros family at this deeply sad time.

I'm only just learning exactly how profound Seve Ballesteros's influence was in the golfing world. I fully intend to read his autobiography as soon as I can get my hands on one, I'm sure it'll be extraordinary.

I remember being greatly inspired when I heard him talk so humbly about the treatment he had received.  You can just tell that some people are good.  Rest in peace.