Off Topic Other Sport

" ......... Toni Kroos and Gareth Bale as part of a swap deal."

I wonder how much extra cash would be involved? Gareth Bale at age twenty eight and injury prone is valued at what? Tono Kroos at age twenty seven is surely one of the top five or ten 'complete' midfielders in the world and has an excellent injury record; value? I refuse to believe that Kroos would be easily replaced. As a supporter of FC Bayern Munchen I believe that I am well placed to state that 'we' have suffered greatly and are not as good a team since he left for pastures new in Madrid. I always felt that he was well worth becoming pretty close to our highest paid individual and his 'demands' should have been met by the Hoeness/Rummenigge junta (?).

Neymar still only twenty five and is certainly an excellent player however it is becoming very clear from his, and/or his father's, behaviours at FC Barcelona and PSG that he comes with baggage (cliche alert). This story, if accurate, would seem to run in parallel with reports that Ronaldo has turned down or at least refused to sign a new contract for 2018-2019.

How do Real Madrid complete such deals is an interesting question. Separate TV deals in Spain with advantages to certain clubs will certainly be part of the answer. Dodgy deals and shenanigans in the past like selling their former training ground (Ciudad Deportiva) to the Madrid City Council for Euros 480 million and receiving land outside the city as part of the deal for a new complex is one example. I suspect there may be others.

I suspect your question on 'bubble bursting' was generic. The TV income for clubs involved in the EPL and the Champion's League will continue to increase for many years to come as we have two very wealthy companies (Sky Sports and BT Sport) competing for the rights to broadcast the matches in these two competitions. It would be interesting if, say, Sky stated that they would not be bidding when the next round of contracts for each competition were up for renewal.

Far too much to think about on a Friday morning.

Anyway, looking forward to Cheltenham, the EPL, the Bundesliga and the rugby union friendlies on the box over the next three days. Even the weekend evenings are rewarding with 'I Know Who You Are' (BBC 4 - Spanish crime thriller - Se Quien Eres) on Saturday and 'Babylon Berlin' (Sky Atlantic) on Sunday evening.

Toodle pip!

 

Couldn't agree more, you are absolutely correct IMHO.

(Umlaut supplied gratis!) (Know it's not on your keyboard).

 

Ta!

I suppose I could add that if I was overdrawn from Halifax, Bank of Scotland to the tune of about £600 I would be in trouble however if Real Madrid are in hawk to their bank of choice for millions of Euros the 'banco' is in trouble!

 

The pride of New Zealand pacing, Lazarus, made a one act affair of the G1 New Zealand Trotting Cup over the 3200m at Addington last Tuesday, making it back to back wins in 114th running of the great race. This was his eighth win on the bounce and his 31st from 36 starts. The win took his prize money to NZ$2,678,947. The pressure on the owners, trainer and driver was astounding. No horse in the history of the race had started as short as him. Starting price was $1:40.

 

Day 6.

 

Thanks for clips, Cyc, will comment on the latest Sumo later. Feel worn-out after an eventful morning (not used to being called a "masseuse" ), so think I'll have an old-fashioned lie-down. Better check racing schedules with Attivo before though!

 

I sense and fear a tanking coming up at 17.15 UK Daylight Saving Time!

 

Hakuho certainly does look good atm, Cyc, at 6-0, but it's dam difficult to call. I like the old boy too who lost his first bout today, forgotten how to spell his name!

 

Nearly time for the start of Scotland against the 'All Blacks'. Have a deep feeling of foreboding; think by 17.25 I will have switched to Manchester United - Newcastle United

 

Day 7. Swanny, I think the bloke you're referring to might be Aminishiki, he's going around in the first bout of the clip. (Not in the pic below.)

 

Ancajas v Conlan. What a pounding.

 

Very brave however surely outclassed and outmatched.

 

Sumo day 8. I suppose with the second half of the Basho beginning here, the attrition rate will start to increase. It's a rare thing to unbeaten in a comp. Hakuho has been at it 15 years and only done it 13 times. Nobody else in the history of the sport has done more than 7. I'm hoping like crazy that I'll be lucky enough ti see it done. Goedo has been told by the JSA that he's in the running for promotion to Yokozuna in the not too distant future, so he'll be interesting to watch from this point on. He looks a bit nervy.

 

Jana Novotna has passed away at age 49. The Czech lady won the 1998 Wimbleton Final and was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 2005. Jana contracted terminal cancer and though it best to not release the news to the general public.

R.I.P.

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Day 9. Hakuho knows his business. One of the things that stands a lot of the Mongolian athletes above the guys from Japan, is the training in wrestling. Hakuho's father was an Olympic Silver Medalist. Interesting how Hakuho came by his wrestling name. At 15 years of age Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal went to Japan wanting to take up sumo. At just 62kg, no stable wanted a bar of him, but a pioneering Mongolian wrestler pulled some strings on his behalf. Because of his fair complexion and small stature, they named him Haku (white) Ho (a small mythical Chinese bird). I doubt if there was person alive who'd have though Hakuho would one day become one of the greatest Rikishi in the 300 year, professional history of the sport.

 

Day 10 and the struggle to trim back Hakuho's lead goes on.

 

Months ago the Australian football manager Ange Postecoglou hinted that even if he could get his team into Russia, he might not be there himself. Since then, rumours have been rife. The chief one being that he'd quit the job once Australia qualified for the finals. Today he did so. He was handed a shambles 2013 and began blooding new players straight away. 23 in total. In the process, he took Australia to the WC in 2014 and won the Asian Cup. To again then get Aust. to the finals, then pull the pin has shocked the nation.

He has said that the game and his position has taken a toll on him. "I have invested all I can knowing how important a period it was for Australian football. It is with a heavy heart that I must now end the journey."

"To coach your own country is the greatest privilege, but it also has enormous responsibility. I feel now is the right time to pass on that responsibility to someone who will have the energy it requires. I owe this to the FFA, the players and the fans."

 

So the Ashes commences at the Gabbattoir tonight. Much hyped by the media and plenty of pre match sledging. However these are 2 fairly ordinary teams in my opinion. Both batting lines ups seem pretty flaky so without some prolonged weather interventions there should be a positive result in each test. Although England have 2 very experienced bowlers in Anderson and Broad their records in away Ashes matches are hardly inspirational. If the Aussies can keep Starc and Cummins fit they definitely have the bowling edge. Lyon has proved his worth to the side too even if his pre match sledging smacked of the little kid mouthing off knowing he had some big guys to hide behind if it all kicked off. Assuming a positive result in every test I've narrowed it down to 3/2 England, 3/2 Aus, 4/1 Aus and 5/0 Aus. Obviously hoping for the first mentioned result but expecting one of the other 3.

 

Am I going nuts! Are both Australia's and England's batting line ups so piss-poor that I have not yet seen or heard an educated or uneducated prediction from supporters, commentators or ex-players where one of the tests might be drawn!

 

Well that's my uneducated opinion BK. I'm not sure they're piss poor but England have recent form in not being able to bat under pressure when the oppo stick up a decent score.