The English cricket team have slumped to a 119 run defeat against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga added 71 runs to the board before Jayasuriya was caught out on the boundry, Tharanga fell in the same manner 24 runs later giving England some hope. But another 71 were added to the total before the next wicket fell, it was another 59 runs later before danger man Mahela Jayawardene was caught on 66 runs. Sri Lanka finished the innings 269 – 7; setting the English a target of 270 runs to win. With the exception of Alistair Cook who top scored with 46, the Englishmen were like dominoes, knock one over and the rest is sure to follow, Farveez Maharoof claimed the wickets of four English top order batsmen and finished with figures of 4 – 31. Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah fell for a combined total of 17 runs, which frankly is shite, if you performed that badly in any day to day job you’d be fired! Sri Lanka only required 35 overs to dismiss all 10 England batsmen for a total of 150, a massive 119 runs behind the target figure. So the home team are 1 – 0 up in the five ODI series, so England need to step up their game considerably as this defeat is nothing short of humiliating for English cricket! I’ve just read that Peter Moores is a selector like Duncan Fletcher before him, seems that the ECB has learnt nothing from the Ashes disaster, the coach should not be a selector as the decision to play Graeme Swann over Monty Panesar baffles me, if you don’t think the ball is going to spin on the wicket, then play a seamer instead, don’t replace Monty with an another spin bowler that is lacking in international experience and is nowhere near as good!
It’s looking increasingly likely that Fernando Alonso will part company with McLaren at the end of this season. Both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have gone on record as not wanting to work together again next season. We know that Hamilton won’t be going anywhere as he is McLaren’s protege and very likely to be world champion this season. Flavio Briatore has already offered Alonso his old job back at Renault should the Spaniard find his way out of his McLaren contract. Now if I was Ron Dennis I would get another driver in to replace Alonso for the 2008 season and reduce Alonso to a test driver role for his childish behaviour during this season, ‘pitlanegate’ and threatening to hand over incriminating emails in the FIA in the ‘spygate’ affair when he didn’t get his own way. But I doubt Ron would do that as he has far too much integrity, and frankly Alonso’s options are limited, and in reality Renault don’t exactly have a world championship winning car right now and I don’t see Renault catching up with McLaren and Ferrari for next season; although with traction control being outlawed from next season, that could turn the whole grid upside down; that’ll sort the men from the boys. I have long disliked electronic driving aids in F1, I prefer it be down to driver skill, not who has the best electronics behind them.
You wouldn’t think it was possible to fall in love with someone over the Internet even if both parties are in the same country, let alone someone 4,398 miles away in the US. But it has happened between myself and Erin, we both feel exactly the same; even if we both have reservations, that’s why we are meeting ASAP, which seems to be April. But yesterday morning (for Erin) I talked with her before she went to work and seeing her and her little boy Conner together made me want a piece of that lifestyle. I guess my priorities have changed over recent years, OK I didn’t exactly plan a ready made family, I expected to meet someone and start a family with them, but I am coming around to the idea of a ready made family. Also I have been looking for a way out of the rut I have found myself in, Plymouth doesn’t have much to offer me any more, I love my job, but it’s not secure, I could find myself out of the job at a moments notice. So moving to the US seems like the perfect solution even if only temporary as Erin wants to move to the UK after she finishes her studies. It’s terrifying if I am honest to move to the other side of the world, but it’s worth the risk to find true happiness with Erin and Conner, I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to find true love and happiness just because of an ocean sized puddle!
I would estimate the Alternation has about four weeks left before the night gets canned by the club owner. The bar takings upstairs are down considerably on what they were; which is caused by the smoking ban, people go out for a cigarette and usually have a chat and grab a drink downstairs before coming back upstairs. But the owner won’t see the bigger picture; I know that for sure, he just sees money and if the bar where the night is being held isn’t doing well, he’ll cut funding for the night and I am certainly not doing the night for free for his profit. So Halloween could be the very last Alternation club night to happen ever, so hopefully we can make it a good one to send the night off into the afterlife in a blaze of glory!
And Finally: Only in America could this happen… Source: BBC News
A US man who stored his amputated leg in a barbecue smoker that was later auctioned off is locked in a custody dispute with the man who bought it. John Wood’s smoker was sold to Shannon Whisnant last week after he fell behind on payments at the storage facility in North Carolina where it was kept. He wants his leg back but Mr Whisnant says he has a receipt for the smoker’s contents and wants to share ownership. Mr Wood’s leg was amputated above the knee after a plane crash in 2004. He asked to keep the leg so he could be buried as a whole man when he died, and stored it at the facility in Maiden after losing his home. But when Mr Wood failed to pay the necessary rental fees, the storage company auctioned the smoker and all its contents.
‘Strange incident’
After buying the smoker last Tuesday, Mr Whisnant looked inside and found a man’s leg wrapped in a wire screen. He initially gave the leg to the police, who concluded it had not been removed as a result of a crime and sent it to a funeral home until Mr Wood could pick it up. But after making money by charging adults $3 (£1.47) and children $1 (49p) to look inside the empty smoker, Mr Whisnant asked for it back. His request was refused by the funeral home, so he decided to try to persuade Mr Wood to share custody and profits. “I told him I’d share custody of it…” Mr Whisnant said. “It’s a strange incident and Halloween’s just around the corner. The price will go up if I get the leg.”
‘Despicable’
Mr Wood, who now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, has insisted he is not interested in using the leg to make money and plans to travel to Maiden as soon as possible to reclaim it. “I just think it’s despicable,” he said. “I don’t mind having the 15 minutes of fame, but I’m not looking to really profit off this thing. “He’s making a freak show out of it.” Having had his offer rejected, Mr Whisnant has threatened to begin legal action if the leg is not returned to him by next week. He says he has a receipt showing he bought both the smoker and its contents at the auction. “Everybody knows it’s mine, period,” he said. “And if anyone tries to take it, I want everything they got.