phantom

The Bears will probably be going for it again next season

If you are a member of Sky VIP they have a competition for tickets - again a long shot

Get your money on Steve Bruce getting the position

Was in the film Twin Town

What is the link for that?

Fair play Eve has been around for ages, great opening game in the pairs earlier

About time it has looked awful for a long time

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, No Snow Is No Problem for the I.O.C. It’s a sad day when the International Olympic Committee cannot even clear one of the lowest bars for choosing the host city for the Winter Games: snow. Yes, snow — the element that most would say is crucial for holding events that are contested on it. But the I.O.C. on Friday still went ahead and chose Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Games, even though the mountains in those Olympic plans have “minimal annual snowfall” and the Games would “rely completely on artificial snow,” according to an I.O.C. evaluation report published in June. The vote over the only other bid, from Almaty, Kazakhstan, was closer than expected, 44-40. But those tough-minded I.O.C. delegates weren’t wooed by Almaty and its picture-perfect setting or its longstanding tradition of winter sports. Or, of course, by its mountains, which Almaty organizers pointedly — and repeatedly — noted were covered by snow that actually fell from the sky. While the Almaty bid’s slogan was “Keeping It Real,” Beijing’s could have been, “Keeping It Impractical.” The skiing competitions will be held in two different areas, one 55 miles from the Chinese capital, the other 100 miles away. There is a plan for a high-speed railway that would cut the travel time there to just under an hour, but no mention of the cost of it in a proposal that was supposed to be transparent. The estimated 1,500 people who will lose their homes for the ski jump and the Olympic Village were apparently dismissed as collateral damage. The most obvious consequence of Friday’s I.O.C. vote — eliminating the annoying hurdle that the Winter Games host actually has natural snow — is that it has created a precedent for holding a Winter Games almost anywhere. Imagine the possibilities. A St. Tropez Winter Games. (Grenoble is, after all, just 140 miles away by air.) Slogan: Forget Snow, We’ve Got Sand. Or Phoenix, where the luge track can run right down the side of the Grand Canyon. (It’s only a few hours away.) Or Dubai, where the organizers have enough cash to fly everyone to the Alps for the skiing events. Then again, I take that back: People are probably skiing there as you read this, albeit inside a giant building. So bring on the Winter Games! Slogan: Keeping It Completely Indoors. Already, Beijing gave us a glimpse at an Olympics held not as part of the city, but in a far-off corner of the city, devoid of an atmosphere that would reflect the world’s biggest sporting party. In 2008, the Olympic Park was miles from downtown Beijing. Instead, inside high gates, it was held in a massive Olympic Disney World, with brilliant venues and stunning architecture, but without the buzz and joy of the four Olympics I’d covered before. Even in that manufactured sporting bubble, though, the organizers couldn’t manufacture real fans. Sure, they said, they had sold all of their tickets to the competitions, but — in a city of nearly 17 million residents — where were all the people? There were so many empty seats that those organizers had to bring in “cheer squads” to fill stadiums and act happy. And that was for the summer sports. What will happen in 2022, when China is faced with trying to fill seats for winter sports, which have almost no history in that country in the first place? But then, the I.O.C. obviously isn’t aiming for authenticity. Just bring back those cheer squads, Beijing, this time not in the bright yellow shirts they wore in 2008 but in bright yellow ski parkas that will never be worn again. I’ll give Beijing this: Its 2008 Olympics were a marketing coup for the companies eager to court China’s 1.3 billion residents. Now how about 2022? There’s even more to be made, considering the huge commercial upside. Yao Ming, the basketball player who was involved in the Olympic bid, saw the potential. At the news conference after Beijing won the bid, he joked that he might start a winter sports company. An associate on the bid team laughed and said she would join him. It sounds funny, but it’s not. There are serious problems — again — to having Beijing play host. In 2008, those who projected that bringing the Games there might open up China saw nothing of the sort. Potential protesters were detained, some sentenced to “re-education through labor.” Websites were blocked. A day after the closing ceremony, thick, yellow pollution returned to the city’s sky. Seven years later, the only use for most of the dusty, unloved venues from 2008 was as a lure for another chance at the Games in 2022. Yet back to Beijing the world will go — somehow, some way. The I.O.C. didn’t demand that the Chinese fulfill their promises in 2008, and in the interim the country’s human rights record has gotten worse, not better. It’s hard to expect change this time around. President Xi Jinping of China, in a video statement before Friday’s vote, said, “We will honor all the commitments.” And something made the I.O.C. actually believe that, even though it had heard that pitch before and been burned by it. Now Beijing’s second Games will test Thomas Bach, the I.O.C. president, in a way he has not been tested before. Last fall, he announced that he would include an anti-discrimination clause in future contracts with host cities. But will he stand by that rule, in the face of a Chinese government unwilling to bend to outside influence and the corporate sponsors who have begun to drool? If Beijing does not follow through on its guarantees, what can Bach do? He could always ask another city to jump in. How about Boston? It shot down a chance to host the Summer Games this week, but it does have at least one advantage over Beijing: It snows there in winter. TAKEN FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 2015: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/sports/olympics/at-the-2022-winter-olympics-no-snow-is-no-problem-for-the-ioc.html

Barnet’s players threatened to go on strike for last night’s game at Southend amid a row between captain Jamie Turley and a member of staff over an alleged racist incident. Turley missed the Bees’ 2-1 defeat at Roots Hall, and Barnet owner Tony Kleanthous this morning confirmed the centre-half and a staff member had both been suspended on full pay, pending the outcome of an ongoing club investigation. It comes after Stockport County’s Ryan Johnson alleged he was called “a monkey” by a Barnet employee during the north London club’s 5-0 home defeat on Saturday. The FA this morning confirmed they are aware of the allegation and have launched an investigation. Some of the Barnet players are said to have asked the club to ensure the member of staff at the centre of the allegation was not present at the club on Monday morning. However, the employee, who is not part of the coaching staff and has been described as an employee of Barnet’s stadium, the Hive, nonetheless arrived on Monday. Turley is understood to have confronted the staff member, who reported the captain to the club, leading to both their suspensions. The rest of the squad effectively went on strike in protest and discussed refusing to play against Southend during a series of tense Zoom calls on Monday afternoon. The coaching staff were said to be entirely supportive of whatever the players decided but the squad was reminded of the potential implications of not playing, which could include fines or even being sacked. The squad eventually decided to play without Turley, and Kleanthous says he plans to speak with the squad tomorrow, along with the safety officer from Saturday’s game, who investigated the alleged racism at the time. Kleanthous this morning told Standard Sport: “We take the matter really seriously and we’re trying to do everything properly. “Someone has heard a comment they believe is racist and that they believe has come from a member of staff. That was all investigated on the day, no one has escalated it to me as chairman and I’m not aware that situation is ongoing. “On Monday morning, I’m confronted by an issue between two members of staff and I have no choice but to suspend them both. “We’re still waiting for statements from witnesses. These are suspensions on full pay to allow things to be investigated properly. It does not mean someone is guilty. “It is the correct thing to do. I’ve arranged for our safety officer who did the investigation to meet the players tomorrow and I’ll meet with them tomorrow to explain the process.” TAKEN FROM: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/barnet-players-strike-racist-comment-b980201.html

Though the mention of three arrests mention within the stadium and not mentioned as being part of any criminal damage, very feasible they were nothing to do with the vandalism either

I haven't seen this for a few years but still up there with the funniest videos

Forgot to add this was copied from the BBC

After his release from the hospital, Elliott drinks a bottle of vodka and swallows a handful of pills, while Helen speaks to her coworker, who tells her that while she can't forgive Elliott for what he did in his previous life, everyone deserves a second chance. Just as Elliott has resigned himself to death, he receives a text from Helen, an emoji of a burrito that represents a private joke between them, and he smiles.

Would have thought he could have got more than being mentioned, but it is such a simple game, even ITV have a daytime quiz essentially the same thing

Beat me too it, I am interested to hear too?

I honestly don't know the answer but how many games were shown live last season? I wonder if both broadcasters are covering the games?

I'm guessing many will miss what is being written here ?

@Never to the dark sideis your man

Imagine how many mobile phones would be in that picture today

Completely agree, he's on course to do something amazing if he can keep Derby up. Everton are imploding and I get the feeling there's worse to come for them. I personally think Lampard has made a mistake taking this position, obviously not as tainted as Rafa was but being connected with West Ham and Chelsea will do him no favours with the Everton supporters when things start going wrong

The club have advised people to keep checking as there is a possibility odd tickets may become available

Out of interest where in the pyramid are Southampton in comparison to us?

That's the place