Monday, April 16, 2012

We all make poor decisions.

This is the second time I am blogging about almost the same subject. When I say almost the same subject it’s not dissimilar to one I have done before. Lets get something straight even before I get to my main point of this blog, I as an ardent sport watcher and armchair critic am one of the first to point out weaknesses or wrong doings committed. I do however believe in standards that need to be upheld. I don’t condone cheating and certainly believe in fair play. Such is the nature of the beast.

As South Africans we are a very fired up nation by virtue of our sporting achievements and by the way sport unites us a nation. When we do well we voice our opinions, we praise and reward the various players and bestow royalties’ on them, King Kallis etc. When we lose we blame the person officiating. Kak ref, bad call, fokken doos. Yes we are vocal , but for entirely the wrong reasons, its almost like, No……….. its exactly like we are behaving like spoilt brats. When I remember the movie The Toy that features Richard Pryor I see a South Africa that’s exactly like that spoilt rich kid without the rich.

Make no mistake, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being passionate. There needs to be a line drawn though, we bitch and moan about the silliest errors. I for one see no difference between a small and large error, an error is an error. What we do fail to do , is to take into consideration the pressures placed on a match official. We fail to recognize that the said official has to make on the spot calls. These are real time calls, with out the added benefit of a wide screen television, some sports do have a referral system. It has been shown that even referral systems are flawed. So what will make us happy?

I reckon a unified rule that is not disputed by regions and continents.

I agree with a lot of people when it comes to the disarray of match officials across all sporting fields. Let’s take a few examples and I will not name the officials as this is not the point of my blog. The biggest mistake and I will call it a mistake as I don’t see these decisions as on purpose for me was the blunder by the referee in the Chelsea Spurs game last night. Let me remind you that I am a massive Chelsea supporter. Juan Mata’s goal was plain and simple not a goal. In order for a goal to be a goal ¾ of the ball has to cross the line, this did not happen and the benefit of the doubt was given to the attacking team. The final score was 5-1, but this goal had huge ramifications. Football as a whole does not use a referral or 3rd referee or a hawk eye, I think its about time they do. Not for this reason but for other similar reasons.

My second and third examples are the Sharks and Western province in their respective games. Firstly Western Province. This was a game that I was really looking forward to. Province are the conference leaders and were unbeaten before meeting the Crusaders who are the most successful team in Super history. The unnamed referee of this game had an absolute shocker, he was bad for both teams though, even gifting Province a try that was not a try. Now my problem is this, the Western Province supporters were up in arms over the level(poor) of the officiating, but never said a word about the gifted try. This is strange as they do pride themselves in the way they know the rules of the game. The only consolation for me was the fact that the referee was consistently bad. He did not have a good game, period. Why be up in arms over a decision that doesn’t go your way? Why not take it as it comes and carry on regardless? I see the Crusaders and New Zealanders do this all to often, they are professional .

The Sharks had exactly the same fortune as the Stormers did, both scored a try that was in fact a knock on. This was evident by many of the Sharks supporters admitting it, you see they carry on regardless. Now referees and officials are getting the blame on poor decisions they make. My stance on this, well to alleviate the problem as soon as possible, is to introduce more technology. Where do we draw the line though? Sport gets watched by millions, apart from baseball, most games are relatively short in time space. The main issue is that if technology is introduced properly, all sport will become long and boring. It’s a tossup between short exiting with odd mistake and long boring and precise. Match officials are human, to err is human. As long as they are consistent, good or bad and not one sided I am fine with it.

I think we must all come to terms with the fact that no matter what, somewhere , sometime or another we are going to be victims of a poor decision. How we react and handle the situation is what will determine the outcome. We have also made poor decisions, in fact some even worse than the ones officials make.

To those of you that think we live in an ideal world, take your head out your asses and smell the fresh air. There will always be faults; maybe one of them is you.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Dont Forget where you come from.

I wanted to and have always wanted to pen a post like this, it’s one of those things that make me feel proud of the person I am today, the person that got raised by a Mom and a Dad that I am extremely proud of.

Growing up was not the easiest of things for a family that didn’t have all the means and necessities that a normal family had. No silver spoon stuff at all. Actually the opposite. Saying that, neither I or my siblings went to bed hungry, we had school clothes , books and the materials needed. Albeit hand me downs from family members that were kind enough or had grown out of their clothes.

My father was part of 18 children, 13 still living, my late mother was part of 7 children 6 still living. The former being brought up in Bertrams and the latter in Bez valley, where I spent a huge chunk of my childhood. Friends and bonds were forged that will never be broken.

I see this as the best opportunity to say thanks to all my mates from those days and who still remain mates today. I have moved on in life , I am living a life a bit more comfortably than those years , I am married to a wonderful woman and live in a different area, when I say different I say it with caution. With caution because to get the best of both worlds is very difficult, I live in an up market estate and yet have fewer friends. Whereas when I lived in a medium to low level area the friends were and are still real friends. Real friends that don’t judge, don’t point fingers and friends that would help you out at a drop of a hat.

The reason I am doing this blog is because too quickly people forget where they come from, don’t. Had it not been for the upbringing and they moral values that your parents instilled in you, you would not be where you are today.

Which brings my next point, people in South Africa are sick and tired of crime and the way our “democratic” government is being run. The mere fact that we have seen the demise of Julius Malema is a sign that even the A.N.C are tired of the crap that they themselves are causing. This is evident in the latest sentencing. However South Africans are still fleeing and running overseas. The problem lies with us. We don’t fight for our rights. We let the crime and ridicule happen around us and pass it off as just another statistic. When it’s too close to home we pack up and run.

We are a proud nation, with diverse cultures and more than enough natural resources, yet we run and hide when we are faced with difficulties, were we raised this way? We are the last of our generation; let’s make a difference that will impact generations to come. The grass is definitely not greener on the other side, man up and take cognizance of what’s happening, we need to stand together and fight the fight. Run and you will run for the rest of your life. Never forget where you come from

I watch in utter dismay as a Sport can bring a country together, faced with the same decision on voting day and we are as diverse as a U.S prison.

Stand together people, don’t run. Don’t bring up your children in a country where there’s no big 5, don’t bring up your children in a country where there are no Braais, don’t bring up your children in a country where they will forget their motherland…… We have the best country in the world.




Let’s do something. We face battles everyday , if we run because we don’t want to fight the fight what example are we setting for the next generation, as it is we are suffering the consequences of generations before us. My heart smiles when I see people happy and standing together.

Can you say the same?



DON’T FORGET WHERE YOU COME FROM.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Call me UNKIND

Call me unkind. Call me insensitive, actually call me what you want!!!! My views and the way I air them are totally my own and as always people have choices whether they read them or not, whether they take them to heart or not and whether they impact your life or not. To err is human and yes I make mistakes as do all of us. How we pick ourselves up after making these mistakes is how a person is characterized, that is my opinion and I will stick with it.

Yesterday, well actually for the last 2 days I didn’t sleep at all well. Yesterday in particular was one of those days where I was up at 04:30, and upon turning all the devices I could without waking my wife who was sleeping in the room I came to learnt the fate of one Whitney Houston. It was on my twitter feed, the news channels and even a sports commentator had a say about it.

Call me callous or cruel, but my first thought was not to jump up and run to the bedroom to waken my wife (as I would do if Fred Durst had died), I walked to the kitchen , made myself a cappuccino and some coco pops. I sat down and read News 24 on my iPhone and read the tweets on twitter, yes I can multi task. I then posted a tweet that went somewhere on the lines of this, Kevin Costner is a Doos( for my American and Foreign readers this is a South African term for Vagina). Basically because where was he “The Hero” when Whitney needed him. This was said in jest and wow the responses I got were out of this world. You see, people deal with death and sorrow in very different ways, in my case to make light of the situation.

This is however where I raise my main thought, and as I said earlier, you can chose to read or not.You also have a choice in life.You get dealt certain cards and how you play them is entirely up to you.


In life we are all faced with life altering situations. I personally have witnessed and seen the devastation that addiction has caused in peoples lives. To cry and make a person a Martyr after the fact is what gets my blood boiling. Why cry over spoilt milk, Whitney Houston was graced by a God given talent, albeit wasted, she was faced with choices, she made the wrong ones. She incurred the wrath of whoever she pissed off and payed the ultimate price for it. Every time she shnarfed a line or sucked on that crack pipe she should have been thinking of her daughter that she has now left in the hands of a man who contributed to her demise. She was given all of this and she got given choices, without recourse or remorse she made her decisions, she lived with them and ultimately died with them
Before



The point I am trying to make is that had she not died yesterday, there would have been no fuss about it. People jump on the sympathy wagon and all I saw yesterday was R.I.P Whitney everywhere. She and others should have been and should be helped when alive, not dead. Show how much you love and care when a person is living, not when they have already died, I am sorry, but the only sympathy I feel is for the little girl she has left behind, other than that maybe she is better off wherever she is. Ultimately an angelic person with a voice of an angel turned into a drug addicted alcohol fueled person that was by no means a role model for the youth of today.
Everyday young girls are abducted, sold off as sex slaves and used drugs to keep them sane, these young girls I care for and have sympathy for, not Whitney Houston, she had a choice.She was selfish and thought only of herself.
After



So I have said what I wanted to say, please comment as to your thoughts

i leave you with one more thought , well actually a link.http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/whitney-houstons-daughter-has-complete-breakdown-as-prescription-drug-rumours-swirl-20120213-1t08j.html


BBL

Monday, February 6, 2012

How to KNOB a team.




If you refer to my previous Blog you will notice that I had Manchester United as a team struggling with injuries and really battling. This was pretty evident when they came up a Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge that had 6 regulars missing. The only difference was that Manchester United had Shrek(Rooney) , Ferdinand (John Terry’s replacement as captain for the England squad because of a race debacle that hasn’t proven him guilty yet) and one or two more. Chelsea without Ashleigh Cole had Jose Bosingwa at left back, what a fuck up, I mean our youth system is in place for this exact reason. Bosingwa and Malouda have to go , dropped or sold off.

The first half was the game I expected, chances a few and the odd shot at goal. A Manchester United free kick just outside the box for a foul on Wellbeck (diver) was not given. A bad call by Howard Webb who seemed to have things under control until this point. Ashleigh Young had up until this point fouled 5 Chelsea players and was given 5 talking’s to, as in warned. The first two yellow cards however were given to Chelsea players for very soft tackles, they were however fouls. With chances on both sides it was Chelsea who struck first with a Goal created by the very gifted but greedy Daniel Sturridge. He wiggled his way past four Manchester defenders before crossing the ball which led to a Manchester United own goal. 1-0 Chelsea at the break.

The second half has my blood boiling , yes, still 12 hours after this game has ended. Chelsea kicked off and had control of the ball , a pass was made to Fernando Torres on the wing, he whipped a ball across with exact timing and Speed and BOOM, Mata (signing of the decade for Chelsea) volleyed the ball past a very Suspect De Gea ( the spelling does not concern me as he is the crappest keeper in the league). A shot hit with pure venom and timing that not even Superman without a wheelchair would have had a sight of.
Chelsea were in total control and making Manchester United to look very cheap and ordinary. This was evident as from a resulting corner, David Luiz got up and headed home Chelsea’s 3rd, yes 3-0 to Chelsea. Even though a replay suggests it came of yet another Manchester player after Luiz had headed it.I must add at this point my Twitter timeline was dead quite with Manchester supporters having accepted the inevitable.

Then Howard Webb stepped up and literally destroyed every chance of a Chelsea home win, which was deserved. First Evra went down in the box and Shrek slotted the nut, then Diver Wellback went down and again Shrek slotted the nut. Both were not penalties and very soft and poor decisions, evident by the fact that the players alleged to have committed the fouls were not even booked. The goal that Manchester scored after this was from poor defending is the only real goal that they deserved, Hernandez a brick and a tickie high got up to header past Cech.


Remember this in Manchester’s last 9 games, Howard Webb has granted them 8 penalties
.

Danny Wellback Physically handled Howard Webb in the game, he was not even spoken to?

Howard Webb, there is no way I will call you Mr., you are an arsehole of the biggest proportion. You have thrown the name of a Referee into disrepute , if anything YOU, you absolute fucktard, have robbed Chelsea and all anti Manchester United supporters of one of the best days in sporting and football history. The end result is that you WILL go to hell or Jail someday and may BUBBA with his 9” knob slot one in your hole. At least I know that for your efforts one or two Manchester ladies have already given you crabs. If you have a conscience you would apologize, like Bryce Lawrence you have FUCKED up!!!!!!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Spurs for the title.

Now the premiership race is hotting up. At the end of December it looked as if the title race was a foregone conclusion. Now….. Manchester Shitty are in somewhat of a bother. This being the only title they can win. They have been knocked out of every other competitions. So as it stands, they are equal on points with Manchester United. However Tottenham Hotspurs are lurking just behind .

Man City for me peaked too early. Surprising though, they have 2-3 players for each position that would walk into any other team. If Mancini does not win a Title this year, then im afraid it's curtains for him. Prediction 2nd.

This is my breakdown.
The Red Devil’s would be certain favorites to leapfrog their fellow Citizens , I mean under Sir Alex and their old guard they would be my favorites in any race. However, the team is riddled with injuries. No less than 8 of their normal starters are injured. The 2 biggest for me being Vidic and Shrek (Rooney). This, and read carefully is going to be the downfall if any. Prediction 3rd

My beloved Chelsea are totally farked. The draw at Swansea last night proved a hell of a lot. 1) ill discipline , Ashleigh Cole as great as he is moaned and groaned from kick off to being sent off. 2) playing the same old football that has everyone reading AVB’s mind. 3) OLD players that need to be replaced. Prediction 5th

Ill discipline has once again raised its ugly head, this is the 3rd red card to a player of top magnitude, we can ill afford to lose a player of such quality, Drogba and Torres have suffered the same fate.
AVB lacks imagination and needs a kick up the arse. Continuously playing the same type of game with the same formation. A 442 with two attacking wingers is what we need. With two strikers up front doing what they are supposed to do. Score goals.

There needs to be a huge transformation at Chelsea. From Batman (Cech) to Drogba. Replacements are needed for Cech, Terry, Bosingwa, Lampard Malouda, Cole and Luiz, who is struggling to adapt. We had the chance to sign Aguerro 2 years ago???? STUPID. Players that we sold are scoring against us??? Nah a huge change is needed. If Arsenal win tonight they will be 1 point behind with us playing UTD on Sunday. We need a change.

That’s not my reason for writing though, the team biting and nibbling in 3rd place is my main focus. I TIP , yes @Dan_vh for my twitter followers Spurs for the title. They have all in their favour, they have a cracker squad with their front 5 all capable of scoring, no injuries and a fantastic manager. The top three are a foregone conclusion, but with the depth of the squad, the unity and morale amongst others I put my money behind the Team that started the Riots last year. The rest will be scrapping for 4th and 5th.

Cheers

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Was Bryce at fault?

So all my Springbok friends. We are OUT of the Rugby World Cup 2011. As a result I am blogging/bitching about what an absolute Asshole no wait, I can’t do that. Referee’s play an integral part of any Rugby or Sports game. We hurl abuse at them and no matter what, there will never be a satisfied or happy Fan. They are professionals and yes as professional as the players on the field. You see, as humans we make mistakes, it just so happens that in this instance Bryce Lawrence’s mistake has incurred the wrath of the South African public.

Lets not look at his mistakes but rather admit that we should have won the game hands down. Missed Penalty’s , a gift of a try missed my Fourie Du Preez and then our selection problems. Did Bryce miss the kicks? Did he knock the ball on? Did he concede the penalty’s ? NO….. he did miss plenty?YES, but so did we.

From the lead up to the World Cup, to the Quarters. This whole Bok campaign has been a shambles. Fourie starting ahead of Hougaard? Smit ahead of Bismark? I will say this until the day I die, the “Quota” system is a fuck up of epic proportions. That being said I will give credit where it is due and say that , Gio and Juan De Jongh for me deserved more game time. Anyone want to Hazard a guess on how many players got picked with injuries and those players didn’t play?

Bakkies sorry pal, you are a legend, but for fuck sakes man, admit that you were eina and get over it. Johan Muller? What the fuck was that selection decision based on? If anything I retract my comment on an earlier blog about Francios Louw, you stood up and got counted. Well done to those who stood up. Yet the hierarchy seem to be adamant on punishing the South African public by not picking who they and we know should start.

That to me is the deciding factor, we as a Die Hard Rugby nation decide to petition against Bryce Lawrence? Wake the fuck up. We need to petition against our Rugby hierarchy and we need to have a say in OUR team. We pay the guys ffs. No more harping on could have, would have and should have. Lets get all of our sports teams at the level that they need to be at. If it means empty stadiums , so be it. The government and people who pull the strings need to realize how sport can unite a country.

Stand up and be counted.


Till next time