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I got my first taste of live Cage Fighting in Bilborough on Saturday night.
It’s not like the telly.
And it’s certainly a far cry from Georges St. Pierre v Matt Serra, who were performing in front of 21,390 screaming fans in Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Nevertheless, with names like Ian ‘M-16’ Butlin, Matt ‘12 Gauge’ Thorpe and Mark ‘Manslaughter’ O’Toole you expect some fireworks.
But there was nearly as much action in the long queue to get into Harvey Hadden, which resulted in the show starting almost an hour late.
When the real action did finally get underway, it was all a bit of an anti-climax.
Sean Folan and Brent Crawley did a lot of hugging - granted it was manly hugging - and there was a lot of rolling about on the floor.
Blink and you missed Butlin v the German mosquito. It was all over in 25 seconds.
Because of the late start, many fans had gone home and missed top-of-the-bill Dan Hardy demolish ex-Marine Chad Reiner at around 11pm. That was brutal. So was Pete McGurk, while I liked the look of Dean Amasinger and Lee Livingstone. These lads from Team Rough House ain't half bad mum.
The fans were a mixed bunch - young and old. Blue inked as well as blue rinsed, which was good to see. Bit like the old wrestling days (but look what happened to wrestling).
The atmos was ok. The sound system was a bit scrambled, but re-playing the action on the big screens was a good idea.
But £5 for a programme?
Monday 21 April 2008
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Rest in Peace
April 15, 1989 is a date I will never forget. I want to forget ....but I can’t.
It is hard to believe that 19 years have elapsed since the Hillsborough disaster which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans, many of them youngsters.
Because the memories of that day, and the images, are as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday.
I’d taken a day off to go to the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final against Forest with three neighbours, Martin, Jim and Chris. We’d manage to get tickets for the must-see game via a contact at the City Ground.
We were all in high spirits - after a few pints in a nearby pub - as we strolled along in the sun. We laughed and joked and soaked up the atmosphere as we took our places on the terraces. Chants of You’ll Never Walk Alone echoed around the ground as we laughed at the Liverpool fans trying to climb out of the Leppings Lane end opposite us.
We thought they were trying to get into the seats for free. Little did we know they were desperately fighting for their lives.
Six minutes later the bodies of fans, blue in the face, were being laid out on the pitch just yards from us as the fans sang on.
The body of a small boy lay under a blanket.
Life ebbed away from a middle-aged fan as a paramedic thumped his chest in an effort to keep his heart pumping.
A few feet away two fans were fighting on the terraces. Didn’t they know people were dying out there?
We left. We phoned our wives to tell them we were safe. But they were the only words spoken on the way home.
We were all numb; in a state of shock, I suppose.
We never spoke of Hillsborough again.
No-one has even been held accountable for the tragedy, which is a tragedy in itself.
Lord Justice Taylor, in his report on the disaster, ruled that the ground was unsafe and criticised the way the police handled things.
Even today, 19 years on, parents who lost children and still light candles for them, feel a massive sense of injustice. And I, for one, don’t blame them.
There are plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with a charity match between Celtic and Liverpool. Why?
RIP.
It is hard to believe that 19 years have elapsed since the Hillsborough disaster which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans, many of them youngsters.
Because the memories of that day, and the images, are as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday.
I’d taken a day off to go to the ill-fated FA Cup semi-final against Forest with three neighbours, Martin, Jim and Chris. We’d manage to get tickets for the must-see game via a contact at the City Ground.
We were all in high spirits - after a few pints in a nearby pub - as we strolled along in the sun. We laughed and joked and soaked up the atmosphere as we took our places on the terraces. Chants of You’ll Never Walk Alone echoed around the ground as we laughed at the Liverpool fans trying to climb out of the Leppings Lane end opposite us.
We thought they were trying to get into the seats for free. Little did we know they were desperately fighting for their lives.
Six minutes later the bodies of fans, blue in the face, were being laid out on the pitch just yards from us as the fans sang on.
The body of a small boy lay under a blanket.
Life ebbed away from a middle-aged fan as a paramedic thumped his chest in an effort to keep his heart pumping.
A few feet away two fans were fighting on the terraces. Didn’t they know people were dying out there?
We left. We phoned our wives to tell them we were safe. But they were the only words spoken on the way home.
We were all numb; in a state of shock, I suppose.
We never spoke of Hillsborough again.
No-one has even been held accountable for the tragedy, which is a tragedy in itself.
Lord Justice Taylor, in his report on the disaster, ruled that the ground was unsafe and criticised the way the police handled things.
Even today, 19 years on, parents who lost children and still light candles for them, feel a massive sense of injustice. And I, for one, don’t blame them.
There are plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with a charity match between Celtic and Liverpool. Why?
RIP.
Tuesday 15 April 2008
Radical changes needed
Friday is a landmark day in the history of cricket.
Because, which ever way you look at it, professional cricket will never be the same after the Royal Challengers take on Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Bangalore.
It’s been billed as Rahul Dravid v Sourav Ganguly. But it is much more than that. It’s a challenge to world order, because the global ‘game’ of cricket is never going to be the same again.
The top earners in the IPL, like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Andrew Symonds, will earn more than £500,000 for just six weeks ‘work’. Crazy, isn’t it?
England players on contract - like Kevin Pietersen and Ryan Sidebottom - are currently the only international stars not allowed to sign up. Only one current England player, Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, has opted to take the Indian rupee so far.
But it would be a mistake to dismiss the IPL as a sideshow as English cricket lurches into another sleepy summer of ‘action’.
Many think the challenge from the two Indian competitions must be met head-on with radical counter-proposals, otherwise county cricket will start to unravel. Let’s face it. County cricket is not what it was, is it? Hardly anyone watches it for a start. It’s full of foreign players barring the way for up and coming English kids. And what’s that Kolpack all about?
Despite all the tinkering it’s the speeded up, fan-friendly Twenty20 that’s really caught the imagination.
The solution could be the multi-million pound English version of the IPL suggested by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford. Stanford, who has bankrolled Twenty20 cricket in the Caribbean, is currently having talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Players are bound to be jealous when they see the amount of money their peers are earning. Last season Pietersen was complaining he had played too much cricket; that he was burnt out. Only a few weeks ago he said he wasn’t interested in the IPL, he wanted to concentrate on England. Now, shock, horror, he appears to have changed his stance. He now says it is “ridiculous” England stars are not allowed to play.
There are rumours that some could refuse to sign their contracts when they come up for renewal in September. Do that and we are in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg and going down the football route of player power. I doubt there will be another Kerry Packer-type breakaway tournament. But you never know!
Because, which ever way you look at it, professional cricket will never be the same after the Royal Challengers take on Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Bangalore.
It’s been billed as Rahul Dravid v Sourav Ganguly. But it is much more than that. It’s a challenge to world order, because the global ‘game’ of cricket is never going to be the same again.
The top earners in the IPL, like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Andrew Symonds, will earn more than £500,000 for just six weeks ‘work’. Crazy, isn’t it?
England players on contract - like Kevin Pietersen and Ryan Sidebottom - are currently the only international stars not allowed to sign up. Only one current England player, Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, has opted to take the Indian rupee so far.
But it would be a mistake to dismiss the IPL as a sideshow as English cricket lurches into another sleepy summer of ‘action’.
Many think the challenge from the two Indian competitions must be met head-on with radical counter-proposals, otherwise county cricket will start to unravel. Let’s face it. County cricket is not what it was, is it? Hardly anyone watches it for a start. It’s full of foreign players barring the way for up and coming English kids. And what’s that Kolpack all about?
Despite all the tinkering it’s the speeded up, fan-friendly Twenty20 that’s really caught the imagination.
The solution could be the multi-million pound English version of the IPL suggested by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford. Stanford, who has bankrolled Twenty20 cricket in the Caribbean, is currently having talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Players are bound to be jealous when they see the amount of money their peers are earning. Last season Pietersen was complaining he had played too much cricket; that he was burnt out. Only a few weeks ago he said he wasn’t interested in the IPL, he wanted to concentrate on England. Now, shock, horror, he appears to have changed his stance. He now says it is “ridiculous” England stars are not allowed to play.
There are rumours that some could refuse to sign their contracts when they come up for renewal in September. Do that and we are in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg and going down the football route of player power. I doubt there will be another Kerry Packer-type breakaway tournament. But you never know!
Monday 14 April 2008
The worst team ever
It is very hard to admit to being a Derby County fan today. A supporter of the worst Premiership team in history.
For the Rams hit an all-time low in the abject 6-0 home defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday.
You would have thought that now relegation was assured the pressure was off the players. That they would go out play with more freedom, with more pride and give the long-suffering fans something positive to cheer for a change.
Think again.
What they served up for the magnificent crowd of 33,036 was totally unacceptable.
Embarrassing, heartless, horrible were some of the words used to describe them - and they came from the manager, Paul Jewell.
Tell me how is he still in a job with a record of P20 L15 D5?
He says his team isn’t good enough - well he bought half of them didn’t he? He says they lack a leader. Isn’t that what he brought in the hated Savage for?
The sad facts are that Derby wasted £6.5m on two strikers who have struggled to hit a barn door. They have managed only two wins in 38 games this season - and one of them was on penalties. They have scored only 16 Premiership goals and leaked 74 for a record goal difference of -58.
Yet, amazingly, Derby fans have already bought 19,000 season-tickets for next season.
It was sad to see fans leaving after only half an hour on Saturday. Those that stayed at least managed to have a laugh and a joke, though I fear their black humour and Mexican waves were lost on most of the players.
It’s all well and good Jewell saying he’s planning for next season - backed by the club’s new American investors.
But if he’s not careful, Derby will find themselves going down the same road as Leeds and Forest. And that’s certainly no laughing matter.
For the Rams hit an all-time low in the abject 6-0 home defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday.
You would have thought that now relegation was assured the pressure was off the players. That they would go out play with more freedom, with more pride and give the long-suffering fans something positive to cheer for a change.
Think again.
What they served up for the magnificent crowd of 33,036 was totally unacceptable.
Embarrassing, heartless, horrible were some of the words used to describe them - and they came from the manager, Paul Jewell.
Tell me how is he still in a job with a record of P20 L15 D5?
He says his team isn’t good enough - well he bought half of them didn’t he? He says they lack a leader. Isn’t that what he brought in the hated Savage for?
The sad facts are that Derby wasted £6.5m on two strikers who have struggled to hit a barn door. They have managed only two wins in 38 games this season - and one of them was on penalties. They have scored only 16 Premiership goals and leaked 74 for a record goal difference of -58.
Yet, amazingly, Derby fans have already bought 19,000 season-tickets for next season.
It was sad to see fans leaving after only half an hour on Saturday. Those that stayed at least managed to have a laugh and a joke, though I fear their black humour and Mexican waves were lost on most of the players.
It’s all well and good Jewell saying he’s planning for next season - backed by the club’s new American investors.
But if he’s not careful, Derby will find themselves going down the same road as Leeds and Forest. And that’s certainly no laughing matter.
Wednesday 2 April 2008
Ripping Yarn
LONG-suffering Stags fans could be forgiven for thinking April Fools Day had arrived a tad early.
John Batchelor’s plan to re-name the Stags as Harchester United - after the fictitious club in the Sky show Dream Team - has been greeted locally by anger and incredulity in equal measure.
Incredibly, he insists Harchester can be promoted more commercially than Mansfield.
Unbelievably, he claims that he wants to use actors from the show.
And his comments that he doesn’t care a jot what the fans think, have also gone down like the proverbial balloons of lead.
If he fails with the Stags, there’s a rumour he’s going turn his attention to Gretna - as if they haven’t got enough troubles of their own.
Sadly, it’s not an early April Fool. It’s certainly no laughing matter if you are a Stags fan, but it is a Ripping Yarn worthy of Michael Palin at his best.
Forget Harchester, Mr Batchelor. Surely Barnstoneworth Stags are infinitely more marketable? You would attract all the old Monty Python fans to Meadow Lane (it make sense to play all your home games there as 3,317 turned up last week and less than 3,000 watched the crunch relegation match with Wrexham on Tuesday. Stags seem to play better away from Field Mill anyway).
Just think of it, You can bring the legendary Boldy Davitt out of retirement in place of Balding against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in that pre-season tournament you’re planning.
With ‘Golden Gordon’ Ottershaw as manager and ‘Golden Balls’ David Beckham as skipper, you could field a back-line of Hagerty (F), Hagerty (R), John-Baptiste, McIntyre and Treadmore. Dream team, or what?
John Batchelor’s plan to re-name the Stags as Harchester United - after the fictitious club in the Sky show Dream Team - has been greeted locally by anger and incredulity in equal measure.
Incredibly, he insists Harchester can be promoted more commercially than Mansfield.
Unbelievably, he claims that he wants to use actors from the show.
And his comments that he doesn’t care a jot what the fans think, have also gone down like the proverbial balloons of lead.
If he fails with the Stags, there’s a rumour he’s going turn his attention to Gretna - as if they haven’t got enough troubles of their own.
Sadly, it’s not an early April Fool. It’s certainly no laughing matter if you are a Stags fan, but it is a Ripping Yarn worthy of Michael Palin at his best.
Forget Harchester, Mr Batchelor. Surely Barnstoneworth Stags are infinitely more marketable? You would attract all the old Monty Python fans to Meadow Lane (it make sense to play all your home games there as 3,317 turned up last week and less than 3,000 watched the crunch relegation match with Wrexham on Tuesday. Stags seem to play better away from Field Mill anyway).
Just think of it, You can bring the legendary Boldy Davitt out of retirement in place of Balding against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in that pre-season tournament you’re planning.
With ‘Golden Gordon’ Ottershaw as manager and ‘Golden Balls’ David Beckham as skipper, you could field a back-line of Hagerty (F), Hagerty (R), John-Baptiste, McIntyre and Treadmore. Dream team, or what?
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