I think that....

….I do not like the fact that in the last few years, a number of foreign athletes have been nationalised and will compete for Great Britain in the Olympics. I don’t think anybody will accuse me of being racist – I would have no problem if it was not so blatant, but it smacks of desperation to boost GB’s chances of reaching their medals target. If any of them win, nobody will complain, and history will only show the medals table, but I can’t think it is right.

….one of my favourite sports writers is Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He knows his NFL inside and out, and in turn, he helps his readers know a fraction of it inside and out. Along with Kevin Iole at Yahoo, Steve Kim at Maxboxing, and Thomas Hauser at Seconds Out, they are my favourite sports writers. For some reason, I have yet to find a favourite football writer – maybe I trust my judgement better than theirs.

….I will not be attending the David Haye v Derek Chisora fight. How the Luxembourg Boxing Board can sanction this fight in England demonstrates how poor and disjointed the administration is in the world of Boxing. I’m staging a mini protest for that reason…..and because I don’t think it will be a great fight.

….Pep Guardiola has done a fantastic job at Barcelona, but I cannot be convinced about him until he proves himself elsewhere, and I think that will be extremely difficult. The players were largely in place before he took over and the system certainly was. His transfer record was not the best. And I think he is largely overrated despite having a sensational record. That all said, watch Chelsea or another rich team throw stupid money at him, which he will eventually take. As an outside shot, I wouldn’t rule out him returning to Barca after one season….you heard it here first!

….as sad as it is for Rangers fans, they have an opportunity to rebuild the club from almost scratch and start again – managing the club and playing squad correctly. Unfortunately, I think it will be negative for the league, and will reduce the quality of Celtic too. Motherwell will be knocked out of Europe pretty quickly next year, and Scottish football could suffer further. What Rangers misery does mean, is that they will likely be forced to give young home grown talent a chance, and may be that is a blessing in disguise….if there is one.

….the example of a manager’s impact on a team cannot be emphasised enough when you consider Chelsea under Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea under Roberto di Matteo. Perhaps even more importantly however, it shows the impact an owner or chairman can have in supporting his manager also – something AVB ultimately did not have.

….my feelings on Tim Bradley potentially upsetting Manny Pacquiao in June are still the same as my blog back in January….i think he has the stamina, speed, and toughness to cause Manny some serious problems. This is the first time in some time that I think Manny is fighting somebody at his peak, and in his natural weight class – and I think Manny will find it extremely difficult. Bradley is far from great to watch, but I think he is an extremely talented and solid boxer with a very good defence…so much so that I may even have a bet on him as there is usually value on anybody fighting Manny or Floyd. As much as the whole world wants to see Floyd v Pacman, I think there may be a spanner in the works at some point, and this could be it.

….the American businessman who is investing $20m in recruiting American heavyweight boxers, will pay them to train at his facility, and he will subsequently get a share if the profits from future events involving those boxers, could be on to a winner. If this is done correctly and they scout talent well at a young enough level, and they look at it as a long term investment, this could be a fantastic idea and concept. One thing is for sure, Heavyweight boxing is desperate right now and has been for some time. The only other sure thing is that there is big money to be made in it. I saw calculations that a Manny/Floyd fight would generate $300m. If this guy has hundreds of millions, then I think it is worth a shot. One of the most innovative ideas I have come across and I like it.

…..i was involved in a slightly bizarre interview this week and was asked a question that I have never been asked before. The candidate asked us ‘Why would you pick me over the other people?’ A strange one considering she was the second of nine people that we were interviewing, and a stranger one considering her profile. She did not make it, but she wins the award for best ‘asking-you-the-question-you’re-supposed-to-ask-the-candidate question!