Cricket and Baseball: A Shared History

A new exhibition at Lord's looks at the history of cricket and baseball, highlighting their similarities and comparing their development. The BBC website has a five minute audio slide show of some of the exhibition's main attractions, and which brings to mind Ed Smith's fascinating book, 'Playing Hardball' which explored this ground further, and which can be highly recommended to fans of either sport, or anyone who is curious about the way that different sporting cultures evolve.

Football: A Sideways Look At Transfer Rumours

The Guardian's round-up of the latest transfer rumours is well worth a read if you have five spare minutes. Not because of the rumours themselves, but the slightly manic end of season edge to the article, which includes such gems as:

"Steve Bruce is planning to spend £5m making Alan Hutton a "permanent signing", in as much as anything can be said to be permanent in an endlessly revolving industry, and subject to the notion that human perception itself - or what Virginia Woolf called "moments of being" - is by its very nature shifting and ephemeral and experienced only through the solipsistic illusion of a fixed point of narrative consciousness."

Something to liven up your day a bit, anyway.

Cricket: The Most Expensive Over Ever

Courtesy of Cricinfo, comes the story of the most expensive over in the history of first class cricket, which went for 77 in a domestic game in New Zealand twenty years ago last month. An extension of the logic behind declaration bowling, or buying a wicket, the plan was hatched by the captain of Wellington in order to persuade Canterbury to chase their total, and keep the Wellington title challenge alive. One of the more unusual footnotes in the history of the game, reminiscent of the time that Brian Rose of Somerset declared in a limited overs game with the score at 1 for 0 off one over, the the article is well worth a read.

Rugby: Lou and Andy

Who says rugby's boring? In a disgusting display of foul and unsportsmanlike behaviour in a recent Magners League game, Lou Reed of the Scarlets was penalised for... shouting at Andrew Trimble of Ulster in an attempt to put him off. (Really? This is what we're penalising now?... Ok, so long as you're sure.) I hope he learned his lesson, it's downright ungentlemanly, that's what it is.


Welsh second row forward, Lou Reed

In other news, why hasn't it previously been reported before that there's a player called Lou Reed? Of course Lou Reed and Andy Warhol were the inspiration for Little Britain's Lou and Andy, and the player that Reed was trying to distract was Andrew (Trimble), so... There's a joke in there somewhere, right? Never mind. No more attempts at humour, back to serious sporting issues next time.


Influential rock and roll legend, Lou Reed

Olympics: Medvedev Mad at Medals Total

The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev is not a happy man if his recent comment are to be believed. Russia's disappointing medals tally at the Vancouver games has been a source of much anger at home, and he has been quick to demand changes. He will of course, have to be careful how he treads and who he criticises, given the role that Vladimir Putin played in setting up the funding for the Olympic programme, but, with the Russians now on the clock as the next hosts of the Winter Olympics, the pressure will be on to ensure that they can produce results to match those of Canada, whose slow start in Vancouver was forgotten by the end of the games, as they topped the medals table and won the all important final gold medal in the men's ice hockey.


Medvedev has made his dissatisfaction with the Russian Olympic team clear

From a neutral point of view, it always seems to make for a better games when the host nation does well, which they often do, as it lifts the home crowds and builds the atmosphere. Four years is a long time in sport though, and Britain's turnaround from an embarrassing show at the 1996 Atlanta games to a successful Sydney Olympics, shows that it can be done. If the Russians fail however, there will be some uncomfortable questions for the sportsmen and women, and the administrators from the very highest levels of power, that much is now clear.

Football: Portsmouth's Plight

There's a good round up on on the BBC website of the consequences that Portsmouth face, assuming they enter administration in the coming days. Unless a very wealthy owner who is willing to take a significant loss is found in the next couple of days (a highly unlikely prospect), the club will be facing certain relegation from the Premier League and after that, the unknown. It will seem like a long summer for Portsmouth's fans, as they wait to see if a viable business can be extracted from the ruins of the club, one which will be able to take part in the Championship.



Avram Grant is unlikely to be in Portsmouth next season

Also of interest is this piece, linked to by Matt Slater in the comments, which provides more details on the challenges faced after a club goes into administration.

Football: English Refereeing Standards

There's a good article on the BBC website about the role that English referees are playing in educating their counterparts from around the world. Referees get a hard time in the Premier League week in and week out, and it might be hard for many fans, players and managers to believe that they are the best in the world, but it is true nonetheless. Imagine what the standards are like elsewhere in the world, and how apoplectic Neil Warnock or Alex Ferguson would be if they had to coach in another country.

Recent criticism of Howard Webb has suggested that he would embarrass England at the World Cup, and whilst the risk of a Graeme Poll-esque mistake is always possible for any referee, it is far more likely that Webb will be one of the best most qualified referees at the tournament, especially when it comes to dealing with the pressure of a big game. It is worth remembering complaints at past World Cups about the standard of refereeing from other countries' representatives, which suggests that, despite the odd mistake, those in the English game should be thankful for what they have.