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!

Let Me Entertain You

There is a common feeling throughout that sport stars are overpaid. How is it justified that some skinny kid from Manchester can earn £150,000 per week, when so many people would aim for that in a decade? I actually have no problem with it. I like to be entertained, and clearly so do millions of other people whether it be on television, in the stadium or the arena. Last week I saw The Killers and Bon Jovi – both of which are totally different performances, but entertained me and the masses thoroughly. Brandon is shy and introvert, but he doesn’t really need to be anything else – the music speaks for itself. Jon is a natural entertainer and gets the crowd going as much as the music does. I love both of them.

Tonight is boxing. David Haye and Vladimir Klitschko will earn over £10m from 36 minutes of scrapping tonight. It may be less than 36 of course. It is not just a conversion - £10m divided by the number of rounds or minutes that the fight lasts though. The training, the PR, the general effort that has gone into building this fight up has been huge, and it is more than just the time in the ring tonight which makes this such a big fight. Plus, anybody who is prepared to be punched in the face by either of these two chaps deserves £10m.

I’ve mentioned this a few times but HJ and I have this ongoing joke about how I get an idea about going to a UFC, football or Boxing event, and I build it up and justify going by saying it is the biggest event ever or in ten years. This one actually is….seriously, I’m telling the truth this time HJ! It’s been years since a great heavyweight fight, and finally we have one. I was happy to pay the 200 Euros to get into the stadium tonight, as are 50,000 other folks, and millions will pay the £15-20 on PPV. Why? Because it will entertain and intrigue us.

Aside from the actual cost of watching or attending, what price or value does entertainment have for us? It is huge for me. I love to be entertained and I love to entertain. It doesn’t have to mean stepping into the ring with a Ukrainian beast to do that though. I enjoy nothing more than seeing my girl, friends or family smile, enjoy a moment or two, playing with my niece and nephew….although I suspect the big bag of sweets has more to do with their smiles and laughter.

I would never risk my boyish looks by fighting (stop laughing over there) so I would always have to find other ways of entertaining. I always fancied myself as a singer in my mid-teens, but when it got even remotely close to being possible that I would sing in a crowd, I bottled it. Singing wasn’t for me, didn’t like the sole focus or attention nor had a good voice. Not positive characteristics to replicate a Bon Jovi or The Killers. Playing football was slightly different. Perhaps it was because I formed part of a team, but for some reason, I always raised my game the more people were watching…especially if there were one or two girls viewing. Bowling or batting in the last over playing cricket was always something I relished and enjoyed. Knee and ankle injuries later didn’t help that, as well as discovering alcohol, so my next form of entertainment was and is to make people smile. Whether that is a joke, having fun, or a gesture that lets somebody know that I am thinking about them. The small things that entertain or make people feel good about themselves.

As I get older and maybe think a bit more than I did when I was a young pup, I realise the small stuff is just as important if not more so, than the grand gestures. My lady has certainly been key in that realisation. She is the most kind, caring and thoughtful person I know (will they make good vows?!). You don’t have to take the punch in the face, score the winning goal in the cup final, or blast out Mr Brightside – the card in the post, the smile, the phone call is just as important. But just accept that the love and smile in return is better than the £10m.