Jumpin' Januaries, Batman

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm pretty pleased with the start to the year - not only did Australia win the Ashes cricket 5 - nil (for those who don't understand these things, it's as satisfying as thrashing the USA at basketball or baseball), but also, right here, right now it's actually raining, and not just raining, but hard, heavy rain that's been falling constantly for over 12 hours now. The drought here has been so extreme that some towns have completely banned the use of water for anything other than essential cooking and hygiene, and some of our major cities are facing the prospect of running out of water entirely in 3-4 months time without some serious rain soon. Unfortunately this rain is pretty localised, so the seriousness of the drought hasn't really eased. But just here it's fantastic!

The other good news is that my diet/exercise regime is working well, and I've lost weight (or rather, fat) despite the gluttonous festive season.

Running goals for 2007 however are still in check as I come to terms with sore knees and side-effects from my meds which include muscle degradation - not overly helpful for an aspiring runner. My doctor has been using me as a game of chance for the last 2 years or so, trying varying combinations of dosage and medication to fix a perennial problem that is a legacy of my heart trouble back in 2004. Things were going pretty well there for a while, but the last check up wasn't so hot, and now side effects are kicking in just when all seemed to be well with my current drug de jour. Still, these things are little more than a minor annoyance really. So I'll keep plugging away and force the issue a little more. Stay tuned for details - same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

But for now I'm basking in the new flood of optimism caused by the cricket, the rain and one of my avocado/bean salads

[Antonio247]

MLCM, I´m glad things are going well for you: cricket, rain, weight.

I hope you get better from the side effects of the medicines you have to take and you can go on improving your running.

I´m looking forward to meeting you and your wife in Almería in 2008.

Best wishes

Antonio

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Now I don't anyone to make a fuss or anything, but I couldn't let the moment pass without mentioning that this is my

1,000[SIZE=6]th[/SIZE] Running Commentary post.

Silly me, I don't even have a celebratory drink to mark the occasion. I'll just pop out and put that right...

[Ana]

Congratulations for your 1000 posts.
It can only means that you merites a good price.
Andy, Sweder, SP, Anlu and the other should invite you to go to Almería (in 5 stars hotel, of course!)

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Congratulations for your 1000 posts.
It can only means that you merites a good price.
Andy, Sweder, SP, Anlu and the other should invite you to go to Almería (in 5 stars hotel, of course!)

Thanks Ana, it would be great to get over to Spain one year - as you can see, Antonio is anticipating my appearance at Almeria next year, but it looks like we'll need a significant easing of exchange rates before that can actually happen (currently the Australian dollar is only worth 0.6 Euros ).

Happily however, that means that you can all come over here relatively cheaply and sample Australia. Just as several thousand mad English cricket fans are currently doing - escaping the English winter and basking in the sunshine here, watching their team get completely, utterly and undeniably thrashed by a vastly superior team. But they're having fun anyway

Of course there are already a large contingent of Spaniards here too, following Rafael Nadal (seeded #2!) to the Australian Open tennis in just 4 days time (yea!)... SP should be here for that one - he's a great tennis fan, apparently. He keeps going on about it anyhow Tommy Robredo could do well here too this year I think. Anyway, the draw is announced tomorrow, so we'll get a better idea of who's going to knock Federer off his perch this year

Ciao

[Sweder]

Tommy Robredo could do well here too this year I think. Anyway, the draw is announced tomorrow, so we'll get a better idea of who's going to knock Federer off his perch this year

Andy Murray's made a promising start to the year, too.
He made the final of the Qatar Open last weekend losing to Ljubicic (world number 4). Revenge was a dish barely out of the oven yesterday when Murray returned the favour at the Kooyong in Melbourne. I think he's up against Roddick next in the round-robin series. Roddick's been Murray's bunny in recent meetings so that'll be worth watching.

Murray of course is that well known cross-breed, the Brit-Scot.
If he wins he's a Brit, if he loses he's a Scot

There's a story over here that Nadal's struggling with an injury. It'll be a shame if he can't get fit for the Open as he remains the only real hope of stopping Federer in a 'Slam.

[SIZE="1"]Our usual Tennis Correspondent SP is away collecing a takeaway curry at the moment[/SIZE]

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

There's a story over here that Nadal's struggling with an injury.

I gather the feeling here is that Nadal's withdrawal from Sydney was precautionary. It does leave him a little under-prepared however. Safin could be another possible Federer-slayer. He feels he still has unfinished business from last year, and is determined I think, to prove he can still beat Federer.

Both Safin and Federer have stated Hewitt is a threat, but I think they're just playing mind games - Hewitt's on the downward slope these days. Which is fine by me - he was fun for a while, but one tires of his antics, and the intensity of his game has gone off the boil somewhat.

How far do you think Andy Murray can go then? He's seeded 15, but I wouldn't have thought his game suits the conditions? The Oz seems better for players like Nalbandian, Roddick, Blake, Baghdatis, Nadal, Federer ... these would be the ones I expect to see in the quarters.

Still, it should be a doozy of a tournament

[Ana]

Nadal is so little boy… always laughing and with so energy… Any Match with him means that the whole public loves and encourages him. Atmosphere is wonderful (I hope that his spirit will never change, not as Fernando Alonso (F1) who was hypersympatic at the beginning but now…). But Federer is the best. He is synonymous of serenity, and even if he looks like a normal guy, he is just the king. I had the opportunity of have seen both at the Madrid Masters series, as my company sponsored. Small Swiss, big quality…

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Nadal is so little boy… always laughing and with so energy… Any Match with him means that the whole public loves and encourages him. Atmosphere is wonderful (I hope that his spirit will never change, not as Fernando Alonso (F1) who was hypersympatic at the beginning but now…). But Federer is the best. He is synonymous of serenity, and even if he looks like a normal guy, he is just the king. I had the opportunity of have seen both at the Madrid Masters series, as my company sponsored. Small Swiss, big quality…

Nadal is extremely popular here, and he'll be a huge crowd favourite if he was to meet Federer in the finals.

My wish-list dream finals would be:

Semis: Nadal beats Federer; Baghdatis beats Safin
Final: Ooooooh, a long 5-setter, the final result doesn't matter

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

This is:

The Daily Telegraph's Scyld Berry wrote: Pitiful line-up for World Cup

I know I'm banging on a well-beaten drum here, but what is it with the British media and its amazing capacity to savage its own children? At the lowest low point of Australian cricket, there was always at least guarded optimism from the press. Even when Greg Chappell scored his famous run of ducks and couldn't win a game if his soul and those of his children depended on it, there wasn't this kind of out-and-out negativity from the media. Perhaps it is the British climate after all, I really don't know.

But I know this much - England will win a game against New Zealand. The Kiwis today against Oz were pretty bad (apart from this new boy Taylor)... some talent, but no resolve at all. I can see why they were bowled out for 73 at home against Sri Lanka the other day. England can beat them, even without the South African Pietersen - and probably pretty easily, but not if the team doesn't get some support from back home.

English peoples - do your team a favour and write bitter complaints to the media. Your players deserve better than that. They are better than that. I think Flintoff, Strauss, Panesar, Hoggard and a few others have proven that much.

I'd better leave it at that before I get hauled before the Homeland Defence people for treason...





P.S. Latest post-match odds for the series are:

Australia 1/9
New Zealand 6/1
England 16/1

I wouldn't bet on England to win the series, but it suggests good odds might be had for a match win over NZ...

[Sweder]

I think the biggest problem at this point MLCMan is so few us care any more.
Heinous to suggest, I know, and not in my nature to countenance deafeat so easily, but there's far more engaging contests in the world of sports.

Like the dramafest unfolding at Frimley Green this weekend, where two 50-year-olds, one a 150-1 shot, battle it out on the Oche today at the World Darts Championship. Phil 'Nixy' Nixon was made redundant last year, became a house-husband and had to pre-qualify for this tournament. He plays the favourite Martin 'Wolfie' Adams for the World crown this afternoon. Much whooping and hollering is expected.

When asked about the odds for today's final that great man of darts, the self-styled 'King of Bling' Bobby George replied 'It's fifty-fifty Ray.'
I'll be glued

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I think the biggest problem at this point MLCMan is so few us care any more...

Hmm. Are the headlines so very wrong then? I can hear the gnashing of English teeth from here.

Mind you Sweder, you are quite correct to turn your back on a losing team. You have your own victory to chase at the TOM, and to ponder the agonies of the English cricket team won't do you any good at all.

And you can hardly lose at darts, can you? After all, no-one else on the planet gives a f***.

[El Gordo]

I had a quick read of the Telegraph article, and it seemed to be a reasonable comment to me. It's essentially saying that England are a pretty crap one-day side and have little chance of doing well in the World Cup. I learn that we've lost 18 out of the last 23 one-dayers and scored 250 in only 7 of those 23 matches.

We're just not that good. We have been good in the past, and will undoubtedly be good again. At the moment we're having an extended bad patch which was why winning the Ashes in 2005 was celebrated so wildly. Before the 2005 Ashes, I had a bet with a workmate. I bet him £10 that England would win 1 test match. He thought I was mad, and eagerly agreed to the wager. Neither of us considered the possibility that England would win more than one. It comes back to the old question -- is it negativity or is it just being realistic?

We do the opposite with football. More than 50% of people here think that England are certain to win any football tournament they enter. The reality? We've won nothing since 1966. Here we have something probably just as bad as pessimism -- huge expectation, leading to much wailing and chest beating after the inevitable failure.

Here's where I think we'll agree... London has the Olympics in 2012. I'm thrilled about it, and most people are too. Yet there is a sizeable minority who have done nothing but moan about it and claim that it's going to be an appalling failure: way over budget, over-hyped, cause transport chaos, blah-di-blah. They seem to love any bad news that appears about it.

Now to me, this is unpardonable negativity. Why? Because it's entirely up to us whether the Olympics is a success or a failure. It's in our hands. If we want it to be the best Olympics there ever was and ever will be, we can make that happen by proper planning and implementation. So here, negativity has no place.

With the cricket, no amount of planning can produce a World Cup winning side within a few months. We can plan to win the 2011 tournament however, and any negativity aimed at our chances for 2011 should be stamped on. But once you're on the cusp of a tournament it's too late to go from where we are to winners. To me that's just facing up to the facts.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Here's where I think we'll agree... London has the Olympics in 2012. I'm thrilled about it, and most people are too. Yet there is a sizeable minority who have done nothing but moan about it and claim that it's going to be an appalling failure: way over budget, over-hyped, cause transport chaos, blah-di-blah.

Yep, that always happens. But you will have a fantastic Olympics - they always are, and as much as I detest crowds, Sydney 2000 was something I will never forget, and I strongly suggest you get along to any events you can. It cost us a bloody fortune to see a handful of events in Sydney (and none of them finals), but it was one of the best things we ever did. I probably wouldn't have bothered (it really was horrendously expensive), except that my Dad (who was no sports fan) raved about the '52 Helsinki Olympics he attended, more by happenstance than planning, and told us to go. So we did, and were thrilled by the whole thing. You'll love 2012. Perhaps I'll even get over there for it. I was pretty disappointed not to get to Athens, and Beijing is certainly not going to happen for us, so London '12 is definitely on my hit list.

[El Gordo]

Perhaps I'll even get over there for it. I was pretty disappointed not to get to Athens, and Beijing is certainly not going to happen for us, so London '12 is definitely on my hit list.

Excellent. I'll meet you by the burger stall outside Stratford station.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Excellent. I'll meet you by the burger stall outside Stratford station.

Oh, aren't there any pubs there?

[Sweder]

Yep, I'm a big London 2012 fan
I signed up in support before the announcement (hardly a noble gesture - I harboured vain hopes of some sort of favorable status as and when we won the bid; this has yet to materialise). Andy's right, there are a lot or carping old gits around, many of whom seem to have access to airtime on radio and television or write a newspaper column.

Part of this wave of negativity stems from the debacle that is Wembley Stadium, a project so late it might actually fall under the auspicies of the old British Rail. One silver lining to this large and gloomy cloud is the fact that the inept contractors, whilst admittedly employed by the FA, are Australian

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Part of this wave of negativity stems from the debacle that is Wembley Stadium, a project so late it might actually fall under the auspicies of the old British Rail. One silver lining to this large and gloomy cloud is the fact that the inept contractors, whilst admittedly employed by the FA, are Australian

Yes, the contractors concerned, a monster group called Multiplex seem to have gone off the rails since floating public in 2003. Might be something in that

Anyway, you've got 'em for life now - we're not letting them back in the country

[Sweder]

And you can hardly lose at darts, can you? After all, no-one else on the planet gives a f***.

Maybe so, but I have to tell you it was by far the most exciting* sporting event of the weekend. Nailed-on favorite 'Wolfie' Adams took a seemingly unasailable 6 - 0 lead (first to 7 sets wins). The boys then took a 'break' (during which time they seemed to . . . er . . . practise throwing darts and drink beer) following which 'Nixy' Nixon proceeded to whittle away at the lead. 6 - 0 became 6 - 6, with all manner of hystrionics from the spouses and close friends of the two 'gladiators'. During the final set to decide the World Championship (and who gets the seventy thousand quid first prize) Wolfie's distraught wife, seen barely an hour before dancing a jig of delight as her hirsuit hubby racked up the sets, buried her head in her hands before scarpering to the ladies. Results were relayed via notes under the lavatory door until, with the Wolfman back in front with a 2 - 0 lead in the decider (first to 3 wins the set), the poor woman was wheeled back into the bear pit for the closing 'arras'.

I readily confess to cheering to the rafters when the Bearded One finally clinched a title he's chased for 14 years. OK, so it can't really qualify as a sport if the contestants go for a fag break and swig pints between matches, but I couldn't give a monkeys; it was high drama, gunfight-at-the-OK-Corral stuff, the tension palpable with a victory howl from the depths of a tortured man's soul.

Mine's a pint





[SIZE="1"]* apart from my groin injury, obviously[/SIZE]

[El Gordo]

I was planning to tune into this until I caught the sports news on the radio saying that it was 6-0.

Nah, no point, I thought....