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I used to read a Rangers forum from time to time for entertainment, there was some very funny stuff. One time, a distraught poster wanted advice because a lodge meeting was clashing with a big Rangers game. The consensus seemed to be that lodge trumped bears and the fan later reported back that he chose the lodge and was glad he did. It was heartwarming.

Tony Fearon

Wit, Ziggy, wit. Not......

bit, fit, git, hit, kit, lit, pit, sit, tit, wit, zit

Come on, he has to be at least one of them

'UK's greatest wit'

1. Oscar Wilde
2. Spike Milligan

The only person of non African descent to break 10 seconds for the 100m is Patrick Johnson who is of mixed Australian aborigine and Irish descent.


More on Patrick Johnson http://www.geocities.com/geetee/bios/prof_pj.html

1) The 'Miracle On Ice' when the yanks bate the soviets at the height of their power in the olympics games, I think it was the Edmonton games.

Edmonton has never hosted the Winter Olympics, it was Lake Placid (1980).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/04/AR2007100401666_pf.html

Track star Marion Jones has acknowledged using steroids as she prepared for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney and plans to plead guilty tomorrow in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter, according to a letter Jones sent to close family and friends.

Jones, who won five medals at the Sydney Olympics, said she took the steroid known as "the clear" for two years beginning in 1999, according to the letter, which was read to The Washington Post by a person who had been given a copy. A person familiar with Jones's legal situation who requested anonymity confirmed the relevant facts that were described in the letter.

Jones said her former coach, Trevor Graham, gave her the substance, telling her it was the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and saying she should take it by putting two drops under her tongue. Graham, contacted by telephone today, said he had no comment.

Jones's admissions could cost her the three gold and two bronze medals she won in Sydney. In December 2004, the International Olympic Committee opened an investigation into allegations surrounding performance-enhancing drug use by Jones, once considered the greatest female athlete in the world.

In the past, Jones has vehemently denied using steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs.

Jones said she "trusted [Graham] and never thought for one second" she was using a performance-enhancing drug until after she left Graham's Raleigh, N.C.-based training camp at the end of 2002. "Red flags should have been raised when he told me not to tell anyone about" the supplement program, she said in the letter. She also said she noticed changes in how her body felt and how she was able to recover from workouts.

The clear, also known as THG, is a powerful steroid that was found to be at the center of the performance-enhancing drugs scandal known as Balco. More than a dozen track and field athletes have faced punishments for their use of the clear, which drug-testing authorities could not detect until Graham sent a sample of it to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in 2003.

Baseball players Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi admitted during grand jury testimony to using the clear, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Barry Bonds also admitted using a substance that he had been told by his personal trainer was flaxseed oil, the Chronicle reported.

The federal probe surrounding Balco, a nutritional supplements company based in Burlingame, Calif., has resulted in five criminal convictions. Jones's coach, Graham, was indicted last November on three counts of lying to federal agents connected to the investigation. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for next month.

The head of Balco, Victor Conte, has repeatedly and publicly accused Jones of using drugs.

Jones, who recently married former sprinter Obadele Thompson, said in her letter that she planned to fly from her home in Austin and meet her mother in New York to enter the plea. She said she faced up to six months in jail and would be sentenced in three months. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a maximum of five years in prison for one count of lying to federal agents.

"I want to apologize for all of this," she said, according to the person reading the letter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways."

Reached at their Austin home, Thompson declined to comment on the letter, portions of which were read to him, saying "the process has to go through before you can make any comments. . . . I'm sure at the appropriate time, all necessary comments will be made." He did not dispute the contents of the letter.

The letter says that when Jones was questioned in 2003 by federal agents investigating Balco, she lied about using the clear even though agents presented her with a sample and she immediately recognized it as what she had taken at Graham's behest. The letter says she lied because she panicked and wanted to protect herself and her coach.

Jones also said in the letter that she lied about a $25,000 check given to her by track athlete Tim Montgomery, the father of her young son. Montgomery pleaded guilty in New York this year for his part in a multimillion-dollar bank fraud and money-laundering scheme.

Jones said she told investigators she knew nothing about the deposit, even though Montgomery told her it was from the 2005 sale of a refurbished vehicle and was partial payment for $50,000 she had lent him.

"Once again, I panicked," she wrote. "I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away as possible."

Big Apple Orchards are in

There are a few depressed Mets fans around the office today, I have tried not to gloat.

[Mr Simpson also asked for an assurance that pupils who answer GCSE examination questions outlining creationist or intelligent design explanations for the development of life on Earth, will not be marked lower than pupils who give answers with an evolutionist explanation.]

Mr Simpson also asked for an assurance that pupils who answer GCSE examination questions outlining creationist or intelligent design explanations for the development of life on Earth, will not be marked lower than pupils who give answers with an evolutionist explanation.

Wow, that's a great idea. If only we'd had that option when I was doing the Leaving life would have been so much easier.

Q. Outline the phase of evolution that saw the development of land-dwelling species from aquatic origins.
A. God created all things.

Q. Why does light refract on passing between media of different densities?
A. God does it.

Q. What is the principle influence on the postulated curvature of space/time in the vicinity of black holes?
A. God.

A+ in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Probably Maths too. And a generation of very creative scientists and engineers is unleashed in the world. But don't worry, God will prevent the cars they design from crashing, the bridges they build from collapsing, etc.

All complete bullshit Hardy.

The world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster

1-1 at the moment

That is the first goal from play that Liverpool have conceded all season, all others were from penalties.

My suggestion

Ulster championship played as a straight knockout. Winners go into Leinster Q/Fs. Rest of the teams go into Ring and Rackard Cup.

Connacht champions (Galway) go into Leinster Q/Fs.

Leinster championship (Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Galway and Ulster champions)
Winners advance to All Ireland semi final, others head to a knockout backdoor competition.

Munster championship (Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford)
Winners advance to All Ireland semi final, others head to a knockout backdoor competition.

Backdoor

Round 1 (teams that don't make provincial final, 5 Leinster and 3 Munster)
Round 2 (4 winners of backdoor round 1)
Round 3 (2 winners of backdoor round 2 and 2 beaten provincial finalists)

Semi finals
Munster winners v One backdoor team (winner of backdoor round 3)
Leinster winners v Other backdoor team (winner of backdoor round 3)

With Argentina clinching the bonus point against Namibia we now need to beat Argentina by at least eight points and score four tries. I suspect nether will happen.

One of the reasons for the popularity is the absence of major pro sports in the area. States like Alabama and Nebraska do not have any teams in the four major US sports leagues so they tend to go nuts about the next best thing which is college sports.

Notre Dame looked awful losing 33-3 against Georgia Tech

My goodness: Nigeria overtakes Ireland in Guinness sales

Nigeria has overtaken Ireland as the second-largest market for Guinness as Diageo pushes the black stuff internationally.

Although the world's biggest drinks company did not reveal precise numbers, it said net sales of Guinness in the year ending June 30 were up 18% in Nigeria.

Strong growth across Africa helped to make up for a decline in Britain - the stout's biggest market - and Ireland. Guinness sales fell 7% in Ireland and the volume drunk fell by 9%. In Britain, sales fell 4% as consumption dropped 6%.