Topics

A fantasy game too far?

Not a bit of it:

http://fantasy.tour-de-france.eurosport.com/default.aspx

mini-league - name = Gaaboard and password = gaaboard

Any good'uns out there? Hard to find any I like.

Well, one of your favourites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQk9excAowY

Tohill
Linden
McHugh
Geraghty
Giles
Joyce
Fitz

Badly in need of a copy of Paddy Keenan playing the Bucks of Oranmore off the cuff - I think it was on a BBC recording in 1976. Apart from about 30 quid on Amazon or shipping from the US, anyone have it or find it?

http://www.amazon.com/BBC-Radio-One-Bothy-Concert/dp/B000005CU6

What's his secret?

With Wenger, Mourinho, Benitez et al you are drawn to their tactical expertise or expansive or effective football, especially in big European games. Ferguson can't be simply a lucky manager who plays on spirit and a big budget. The trophies speak for themselves.

What, in your opinion, is a Ferguson side? Has he taken years to perfect his 4-5-1 in Europe? Has his win or lose philosphy in the domestic league (very few draws) been the key?

First goal: Drogba
Time (within 5 mins): 33
First Yellow: Scholes
First Red: Scholes

Any newbies out there? Always on the search for them.

My favourite has to be:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im2MDmOzj5M

Discuss.

[Sir Bobby Robson: The knight's tale]

Excellent article by Kimmage

Sir Bobby Robson: The knight's tale

Sir Bobby Robson, who will present this year's FA Cup, shows indefatigable spirit as he continues his 16-year battle with cancer

Sir Bobby Robson stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror; the thatch of silver-grey hair on his head; the tanned and handsome face. He didn't look like a man with cancer. He didn't feel like a man with inoperable tumours on his lungs. But for the past 15 months he has been living with the bottom line. Time is running out.

He has slept well, something the journalist, later, would find curious. How could he sleep knowing what was coming up? Surely he was worried about his pending visit to the hospital and the results of the latest scan? No. He was mindful but not worried. He has never worried; not when he played for Fulham; not when he managed England; not when he had Elsie by his side. She had prayed quietly in bed last night . . .

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." . . . She has prayed every night of their married life.

He returns to the bedroom and gazes out the window at the lush Durham fields and gently rolling countryside of his home in High Urpeth. It's a beautiful sunny morning, the kind that makes him ache for the days when he used to rise at seven, drive to the training ground and jog excitedly on to the grass to meet his players. Now that was heaven. Football was God. No game had ever had a more devoted servant. But now his paradise is lost.

He walks with a pronounced limp these days. He has restricted use of his left arm and almost no use of his left hand. The loss of independence has been crushing. He can't drive or play golf or tend his beloved garden. He can't tie his shoes or knot his ties (he has always loved ties) or fold his suits neatly or place them on hangers. He eats fish, rather than meat, because he can't use a knife and it feels as if every second sentence he utters is, "Elsie? Are you there?" The frustration drives him crazy.

"I never thought I would finish like this, with this disability," he complains sometimes to friends. "When I was 72, I was on the pitch every day; I had an active body, an active mind; I prided myself on being fit all of my life."

But Elsie will just shake her head and say with a laugh: "What do you mean 'fit all your life?' You've had cancer five times!"

Cancer. He has always treated the most dreaded of illnesses like a mild dose of flu. Take round one. The year is in 1992, Bobby Robson is 59 years old, two years have passed since Italia '90 and the most successful English manager since Sir Alf Ramsey is living in Eindhoven and managing PSV. One day, after training, he mentions a persistent problem with bleeding piles to the club physician, Artur Woolf.

The physician accompanies him to a local hospital for tests and calls him with the results. "You need an operation," Woolf announces. "You've got a bit of cancer in your colon and must have it removed."

"How long will I be out of the game for?" Robson asks.

"At least three months," Woolf replies. The Englishman is aghast. "Whaaatt! I can't be out for three months? What about the team?"

"I didn't understand the full implications of it," he explains. "It was the first time that cancer had appeared in our family. None of my brothers had had it. My father lived until he was 86; my mother was 85, it didn't cost me a second thought. I just faced it, had it removed and moved on."

Round two was slightly more serious. The year is 1995, Bobby Robson is 62 years old, it's the eve of his second season as manager of Porto and he is home on a summer break. He has been complaining for months about his sinuses. Elsie has arranged an appointment with a specialist and the obstruction - a thick black sludge - has been removed. A biopsy is conducted. The results aren't good. Robson is informed that he has a malignant melanoma in his face. He reacts like a spot.

Huw Davies, the consultant surgeon, is not amused. "I understand you're a football manager," he intones. "Well, you will not see this season out, Mr Robson. By January, this thing will have gone into your eye and then into your brain."

Robson still can't believe it. "But look at me," he protests. "I'm fit and strong. I feel fine."

"We know. But you've got a malignant tumour inside your head, and we're going to have to go through your head to get it. We're going to have to cut you open, take your teeth out, go through the roof of your mouth and remove a fair proportion of the inside of your head to make sure we get it all out."

The penny finally dropped. "That rocked me," he says. "He painted such a graphic picture . . . that was the first time I thought, 'Hmmm, I don't like the sound of that'."

Round three. The month is April 2006, Sir Bobby Robson is 73 years old and has just accepted a consultancy post with the Republic of Ireland. His son Mark has invited him to Austria to go skiing. He's not sure. His friends in Eindhoven have invited him to a Champions League game, and then he's flying to Madrid to renew acquaintances with Ronaldo. "I can give it three days, Mark, but not a week," he explains. There will be plenty of time for skiing when he retires.

His grandson, Alexander, has also made the trip. It's Robson's first return to the slopes in 16 years but he still believes he's a version of the great Austrian downhill skier Franz Klammer and bruises a rib in a fall. The rib is still hurting him three days later. He has it X-rayed in Eindhoven and the doctor discovers a shadow on his lung. Another biopsy, another bad result. There is a tumour the size of a golf ball on his lung.

"I was lucky," he says with a smile. "If I hadn't gone skiing, I wouldn't have known. I went and had this operation and they removed about a third of the right side of my lung. I wasn't going to run any more four-minute miles but I recovered quite well and I was fine."

Round four. The month is August 2006, Sir Bobby Robson has just been made the honorary president of Ipswich Town and is sitting in the directors' box at Portman Road for the first game of the season. Shortly after the kick-off he develops a twitch in his face. "I couldn't talk," he says. "I tried to tell my wife about the twitch and I couldn't get one word out. I thought, 'My God! What's happening to me? I'm having a stroke'."

He was taken downstairs and examined. Suddenly, the twitching stopped and he was talking again. "Right, let's go back to the game," he gushed.

"Wait, wait, wait," the medics responded. "What do you mean, wait? I'm all right," he huffed. "The game's in progress; I've missed the first 12 minutes!"

"No, Bobby, let's just go to the hospital and have you checked out," they counselled.

The scans revealed a small tumour on his brain. He was operated on at Newcastle General Hospital three weeks later. The surgeons successfully removed the growth but he haemorrhaged during the operation and was paralysed down his left side.

At first, they feared he might not walk again, but once again he battled back courageously.

"Did you ever turn to God or religion?" I ask.

"No, I didn't, not really." "Did Elsie ever ask you to?" "No. She hardly left the house without saying, 'I'll say a prayer for you' and I'd say, 'Well, you do that, my love' . . . it's funny, I married a very devout, staunch, Roman Catholic girl but I don't know that . . . I believe in God. I know there is a God up there and that if you're a decent person you will get looked after."

"You believe that?" "Oh, I do, and I do try to be a decent chap in all aspects. I don't believe you come back again, some people do, don't they? I don't think that. I think once you're gone, you're gone, you've had your time; there's another life up there but not on here. I think you disappear off to wherever you go but you will be well looked after, your body will be rested in peace."

"So, what is heaven?" "Peace, tranquillity, no violence, a nice way of looking down and knowing that you had left a bit of a legacy down here, whatever that may be."

"Do you meet your dad?" "I'm sure I'll meet my dad. My dad is waiting for me."

Final round. The month is February 2007. Sir Bobby Robson has just ticked off his 74th birthday and has an appointment with Professor Kelly at Newcastle General for the results of some routine scans. Elsie is feeling poorly and has stayed at home. Judith Horey, his personal secretary, has accompanied him to the hospital.

"Your brain scan is great," the professor begins, "the swelling has gone down and it has recovered well . . . but we've discovered some small nodules in your lungs again."

"Oh, don't tell me that," Robson grimaces, steeling himself already to go under the knife again. But the professor hasn't finished.

"I'm afraid they're inoperable," he says. The word hit him like a kick in the crotch.

"I-n-o-p-e-r-a-b-l-e?" "Yes." "So they're . . . permanent." "Yes." He paused and tried to gather his composure. "So . . . how long do you think I've got?"

"I don't know . . . eight . . . 10 . . . 12 . . . 24 months . . . you never know with cancer. It depends on whether we can control the tumours."

"Oh." Judith drove him home and he broke the news to Elsie. She was upset but incredibly strong. "Well, we've just got to make the best of it and you never know," she said. "Be upright, be bold and enjoy your life." Fifteen months have passed since he got the news. He has treasured every one.

SIR BOBBY ROBSON is sitting on the balcony of a penthouse suite of the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle, telling me about his morning; his leisurely breakfast at home with Elsie; his trip to the suburb of Walker for physiotherapy; his visit to Newcastle General for the results of his latest scan. "The tumours at the moment are static," he smiles. "There were two larger ones that were causing some concern but they've steadied now and are under control. They can't understand it. They think I'm a rare guy."

A rare guy? No doubt. Three months ago, weary and nauseous from the effects of chemotherapy, he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to raise an initial £500,000 for a new cancer research centre being built at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital. The response from his friends in football and the corporate sector has been gratifying, but it's the generosity of the ordinary man that has most warmed his heart.

The fiver from Martin Walker: "From a Sunderland fan and a County Durham lad whose family have cause to appreciate this."

The tenner from John Walsh: "To one of England's finest managers and one of football's true gentlemen. Keep fighting and good luck with this very worthy cause."

The tenner from Mich (Boro fan): "Sir Bobby, a true gentleman, you have the respect from football fans around the globe."

The hundred from Moira King: "In memory of my late dad. We had the pleasure of meeting you on a flight to Newcastle and you carried our bags. My dad was made up."

The £20 from Joel Teague: "Anything for wor Bobby."

These months on borrowed time have been the busiest of his life . . . and some of the most enjoyable. He has just returned from a hectic weekend in Ipswich and on Saturday he will travel to Wembley to present the FA Cup to either Portsmouth or Cardiff City on the 30th anniversary of his Ipswich Town side's triumph over Arsenal. He thought long and hard before accepting. "I'm a bit worried about my disability, my hand, and I don't want people saying, 'Look at that silly old bugger'. I want it to be right for the FA as well but I'm alive, and it's a great opportunity and I think I can handle it."

"What would you change if you had to do it again?" I ask.

"Not much," he says. "I remember, as a boy, getting a composition in school, 'What career would you like to embark on?' I wrote that I wanted to be a professional footballer. I was a kid who played in the schoolyard kicking flints and stones and tennis balls. I never thought about playing for England; I never thought I was Tommy Lawton or Stanley Matthews; I just wanted to be a footballer.

"So I wouldn't change anything. I managed England; I managed Barcelona; I came home and managed my father's club – things as a kid I never even dreamed of. So to ask for more would be greedy. I stretched out as far as I ever could and my arm was longer than I ever thought it would be. I've had a wonderful life."

The interview has almost ended. He rises from his seat on the balcony, flashes a beautiful smile and invites you to enjoy the magnificent view of the Tyne. The month is May 2008; Sir Bobby Robson is 75 years and 81 days old. But here's the miracle. He's not counting.

How you can help tackle cancer The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is a charity set up to help raise money to equip a new cancer trials research centre at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle. The aim is to raise £500,000 by the end of this month and have the centre up and running by October. It will then be known as the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre The foundation will initially focus on the early detection and treatment of cancer and will also help support clinical trials of promising new treatments to tackle the disease. To make a donation, visit www.sirbobbyrobsonfoundation.org.uk or you can send a cheque to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, PO Box 307, Heaton, NE7 7QG

The life of Sir Bobby

Robson played for Fulham and West Brom and England, but it was as manager of Ipswich that he made his name, winning the FA Cup and Uefa Cup

- He was England manager from 1982 until the 1990 World Cup semifi nal defeat to Germany

- There followed a successful spell in club management with PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona. In Sep 1999 he was appointed manager of Newcastle, but was sacked in Aug 2004

- He married wife Elsie in 1955. They have three children, Andrew, Paul and Mark. He has won at least four battles with cancer, and is again battling the disease - he admits that this time he may not beat it

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3908405.ece

[1st quarter final:]

The first in a new series of journalist write-offs. Each week I will take two articles from the same newspaper by two of their journalists and decide who progresses on the strength of board opinion. I will be the final judge based on general consenus of the article's quality by board members.

1st quarter final:
Week of Monday 5th May -
Irish News 
Paddy Heaney v Kenny Archer.
Articles will be posted.

[May 11th]

Well, a bit of excitement this year as 10 counties compete in her.


May 11th
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
Cavan v Monaghan (Cavan) - MONAGHAN TO WIN
Fermanagh v Tyrone (Fermanagh) FERMANAGH TO WIN

18th
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
Cavan/Monaghan v Donegal (Donegal/Monaghan) - DONEGAL TO WIN
Fermanagh/Tyrone v London (London/Tyrone) - FERMANAGH TO WIN

25th
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Quarter Finals
Derry v Cavan/Monaghan/Donegal - DERRY TO WIN
Armagh v Fermanagh/Tyrone/London - ARMAGH TO WIN

June 1st
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Finals
Antrim v Derry/Cavan/Monaghan/Donegal - ANTRIM
Down v Armagh/Fermanagh/Tyrone/London - DOWN

15th
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Final - ANTRIM

The board seems cold today, my friends,
And a few posts short we note;
We never had our festive scores,
No updates on the tote.

Drici was our man above all
A Gael with pulsed finger
He'd beat the tele and wireless men
With scores coming a dinger.

His wit ran deep, too deep for some
His craic was mighty fine;
He wrote in cryptic gaeilge lines
Without a telltale sign

For days I'd stare and try to fathom
What he freely typed on here;
Eureka! I'd cracked it eventually
Usually after a crate of beer.

Aertel were fuming, ceefax ran out
How does this man provide?
We never asked but kept good faith
In Drici, the man on our side.

Hardstation rode in with guns ablazing
His approach was second to none;
The board stood back and watch him blossom
Into our major source of fun.

Nothing was taboo for our Saffron soldier
No thread he would ignore;
With trigger-posting we felt his wit
A gael right to his core.

The mods were unnerved and rapped his knuckles
He took it like a man.
The boul HS bounced happily back
The cheeky city Pogues fan.

On a cold weekend in early March
The admin lay in wait;
And under cover they hooked drici
and soon his troubled mate.

We shall not let this moment pass
Like water as pure as the Lagan;
Unless our men are set free again
Our faith in the admin is sagging.

We want our men, our heroes two,
And we will ask no more;
For if our wish ain't granted forthwith
How'll we know the score?

[Match I attended]

The time-travel thread on the non-gaa section got me thinking - if you could travel back in time, which matches/events would you like to revisit and/or experience for the first time?

For me:

Match I attended - The All-Ireland Semi in 2005, Tyrone v Armagh. The reason being that I'd like to have sat amongst Tyrone support in any part of the ground instead of where I was.

Match I didn't attend - Tyrone v Galway 1956. Report

To see Jones, Donnelly, Purcell and Stockwell in action would've be bloody great.

[Illegal downloaders face Internet ban]

Illegal downloaders face Internet ban

Internet users in Britain who illegally download films and music face being banned from going online, according to leaked government proposals published in The Times on Tuesday.


According to the plans, the government "will move to legislate to require internet service providers to take action on illegal file sharing" which record companies and film companies say is costing them billions of dollars (euros) in lost revenue.

The proposals were included in a Green Paper -- the first step to changing a law in Britain -- on the creative industries that is due to be published next week.

The Times said that the plans would involve a "three-strikes" regime -- users would first receive an e-mailed warning if they were suspected of illegally downloading films or music.

They would then receive a suspension from their Internet service upon their second offence, and face a termination of their Internet contract if they were caught on a third occasion.

AFP

Anyone following the series in the Independent (England)?

Have read Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Aquinas. Missed today's (Machiavelli, Bacon and Averroes). Does anyone have it or work in a shop who'll keep me one?

Anyone interested in this area?

[McDonald's Offers Burger Bar A-Levels]

McDonald's Offers Burger Bar A-Levels


Staff at McDonald's will soon be able to gain the equivalent of A-levels in running burger bars after the fast food giant won government approval to become an exam board.

The firm is piloting a "basic shift manager" course, which will train staff in everything they need to run a McDonald's restaurant, from marketing to human resources and customer service skills.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said it had approved the company to develop courses up to the equivalent of A-level standard.

Two other firms - Network Rail and the airline Flybe - were also approved to award their own qualifications, the QCA said.

The announcement marks the first time commercial companies have been allowed to award nationally recognised qualifications based on their own work-place training schemes.

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "It is right that we recognise and accredit employers that have shown a commitment to training and developing their staff.

"This is an important step towards ending the old divisions between company training schemes and national qualifications, something that will benefit employees, employers and the country as a whole."

It will be universities and the higher education admissions service Ucas who decide whether the courses that emerge from these companies will be a good preparation for undergraduate study.

Airline Flybe has been given the green light to develop its "airline trainer programme" later this year, covering everything from engineering to cabin crew training.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20080128/tuk-mcdonald-s-offers-burger-bar-a-level-45dbed5.html

Ali Campbell quits UB40 28 years on

UB40 frontman Ali Campbell has quit the band after 28 years.

The singer said he took the "agonising" decision to leave because of management problems.

In an open letter to fans on his website, Campbell explained: "As one of the founder members of UB40, I have put the band first in my life for the last 28 years and am deeply saddened at the ending of that relationship.

"No words can express how upset I feel today that I have been forced to make this decision. I am perhaps most upset on behalf of the fans, who have stuck with us through thick and thin throughout the years, and are the best fans in the world."

The band, which includes Campbell's brother, Robin, will continue without him.

"This decision has not been taken lightly and has come as a result of a long, painful and agonising thought process.

"I know UB40 will carry on successfully without me and I wish them all the very best - they have been my family for the last 28 years and will always be my brothers," Campbell said.

The 48-year-old denied reports that he was quitting because of arguments over his solo career. "That is not the truth. I released my first solo album 13 years ago and when I released my current solo album I had every intention of continuing to balance my solo career with my commitment to the band," he said.

"The reason for me leaving the band is that management difficulties, which have been ongoing for almost five years, had become intolerable. I have been deeply unhappy with administrative practices and with many decisions that have been made in recent years, and I have an ongoing investigation into the handling of my business affairs in relation to UB40," he said.

The Birmingham-based band - named after a DHSS form - have sold 70 million albums worldwide. They have had three number ones - Red Red Wine, I Got You Babe and (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You.


Yahoo.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080125/tuk-britain-nireland-us-property-people-86ac183_1.html

Trump on course for N. Ireland after Scottish blow

US tycoon Donald Trump is setting his sights on Northern Ireland after his plans to build a luxury golf complex in Scotland were knocked back, his top adviser said Thursday.


George Sorial, Trump's head of international development, said the 61-year-old billionaire had already negotiated an option to buy a sizeable chunk of land in the province.

Sorial was to arrive in Northern Ireland later Thursday for a two-day fact-finding mission. He was to tour four potential sites on Friday.

Trump's bid to site his one-billion-pound golfing resort on the Scottish east coast near Aberdeen were scuppered when a local council committee rejected them.

"Northern Ireland is very much on our horizon now," said Sorial, before travelling to Belfast later in the day.

"I came here before, three weeks ago, but we kept that below the radar. I am now coming back to look more closely at some options."

Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley met Trump during a visit to New York in December and the pair discussed the possibility of bringing the golf complex to the province.

Sorial said Trump was impressed with what Paisley had to say.

"Investing in Northern Ireland is now something we are eager and enthusiastic about," he said.

"I've been there and seen it and it's a beautiful country.

"We've now enacted an open agreement on a significant piece of land and we've got six months to decide whether we want to take up that option."

Northern Ireland is keen to boost its tourism and economy following the end of sectarian bloodshed and the restoration of a power-sharing government.

A source close to Paisley's office said Sorial would be undertaking preliminary investigations Friday.

"Nothing has been agreed and this is very much an exploratory trip but if Donald Trump is going to invest in Northern Ireland he would certainly be welcome," the source said.

"That would represent a huge boost to the economy and would prove the worth of the (Paisley) trip to America."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is reportedly fuming at Aberdeenshire council's rejection of Trump's project. The Scottish Executive is conducting an inquiry into the decision.


I suggest:

Keady
Swatragh
Larne
Strabane
Hannahstown
Athletic Grounds
Moortown