Vive Le Tour

In an ode to my student days, last nights dinner consisted of beans on toast. Eating it reminded me of one of the worlds oldest adages, its the simple things in life that are the best. Watching some of the worlds leading athletes, the Tour de France cyclists, grab for newspaper before they decent some 7000 feet from the top of a "Cól" in the Alps, also conjures up this saying. The cyclists stuff the newspaper down their tops and use it as insulation against the cold draft blowing against their sweaty bodies. In an era where apparel companies spend millions convincing us that their material is "breathable" or "wind-proof", they still haven't invented anything as useful as newspaper. Much like beans on toast, it appears the simplest thing is best.

As the tour reached the Galibier today, I was reminded of my first introduction to the Tour de France. In 1998 on the decent of the Galibier, Marco Pantani hopped off his bike to put on his rain jacket before jumping back on and racing nine minutes clear. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2FQqHF8x5I&feature=related) Through the lashing rain, you can barely make out the riders. Seeing these athletes push through such conditions awoke a love inside me. Boxing would have a similar affect on me in later life and I think it comes down to one point. In both boxing and cycling, there is no hiding place, no team mate to blame, to referee to scapegoat. Its mano a mano in the truest sense of the word. While all individual sports have an element of this is their activities, cycling up the Alpes is gladiatorial. When the riders turn to look each other in the eye, they are looking directly into the soul of their competitor. Am I faster, fitter, mentally tougher then you? Is this mountain stronger then the two of us? Have I got it within myself to continue to hurt for mile upon mile?

Love Ya Big Guy

The R&A could be in trouble for a Claret Jug next year at Royal Lytham. Between Clarke's Guinness, McIlroy's Jaeger bombs, McDowell's vino and Harrington's Mi Wadi it may look like a pound shop vase than a silver trophy come next July.  Darren Clarke smiled his way to the Claret Jug last weekend, with that he had Irish eyes smiling again too. The Dungannon man made it three major wins for the North in the space of a year, and in no time, after Harrington’s treble, has made it six Irish wins in the last eighteen majors. At his 20^th attempt at the Open, Clarke was majestic all week, never getting out of cruise control on his march to his first major. I was fortunate enough to back him, 125/1. I could have got 200’s but the truth was he was the last of my 5 selections; therefore I was more worried about the competitiveness of the prices with Sergio et al. Back on the 15^th of May I watched Clarke master his rivals at the Iberdola Open in Mallorca. I suggested then that Clarke looked in lovely touch for a tilt at Royal St Georges at 100/1, so 125’s was more than enough reward for this coward who put him at the bottom of the list. Remember readers, ‘the bigger the price, the bigger the bet’.

Winding back the clock

For this week’s blog, I found myself presented with a surprising piece of good luck. Darren Clarke’s open triumph had not been the topic of any of the other articles.

Previously, I have used this forum to argue that only the pinnacle of sporting achievements ever lifts a competitor from the mundane: Paul Lawrie and the Greek football team were my two chosen examples of this.

Darren Clarke had a very successful golfing career in respect to tour victories and Ryder Cup adulation, however he has now entered the elite club of major winners, at the tender age of 42.  I only followed the Open Championship by means of news highlights, with the exception of the final few holes, when it was almost assured that Clarke would win.

There Own Worst Enemy: Illusions, Delusions, and England's inability to win at Penalties.

History has its share of bad jobs. In medieval times, one could be unfortunate enough to be the gong farmer, whose position involved mucking out cesspits. More recently, one could have been conscripted to the Soviet punishment battalions in WWII, in which case one would be expected to clear minefields by running through them. However, neither of these come close (metaphorically speaking) to the gauntlet that the manager of the English team must run. Granted, the job pays well, but one has to endure the brickbats of the media and the public, who expect great things, while dealing with a team that has consistently failed to deliver the goods. And you'll be fired if you can't come up with a good excuse for your failure.

For the past quarter-century, the refrain has been the same. But for the Hand Of God, England would have won 1986. But for Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missing penalties, they would have won 1990. But for Gareth Southgate, they would have won in 1996. But for David Beckham's sending off, they would have won in 1998. But for David Seaman's dodgy goalkeeping, they would have won in 2002. But for Sol Campbell having a goal disallowed, they would have won in 2004. But for penalties, they would have won in 2006. And but for Frank Lampard having a goal disallowed, they would have won in 2010.

Samoa – A threat to be taken seriously

Last Sunday morning saw Samoa beat Australia in Sydney in what is being billed as one of the major sporting shocks in any sport of 2011. But is this result, admittedly not something which this author would have expected, really the upset that the press would have us believe?

Samoa is a proud rugby nation with a history of producing some of the most skilful rugby players the sport has seen, players like Frank Bunce, Pat Lam and Brian Lima lit up pitches around the world during their careers, but as a national team Samoa has always suffered from players opting to play for New Zealand because of the financial incentives to do so, indeed playing for the land of the long white cloud was how players like Bunce and Lam came to prominence. Current All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Jerry Collins, Isaia Toeava and Casey Laulala are just four of the many Samoan-born players who have chosen to represent New Zealand, after having been educated there. When you consider that the total population of Samoa is about 170,000 the fact that they are even able to compete at the highest level in international rugby is phenomenal, to put this into perspective, it’s a population size the equivalent of a county the size of Meath. So when you consider all of this, the great win over the Wallabies is a turn up for the books.

But cast your mind back to last November in the Aviva Stadium, Samoa fielded a team which was very similar to the one they selected on Sunday. Ireland in turn for their part selected a second string side which was similar in strength to the one which the Wallabies put out on Sunday. Ireland won on that occasion, 20-10, but the game itself was an awful lot closer than many people anticipated beforehand. Two weeks later the Samoan travelled to Aberdeen to face a strong Scottish side and whilst they also were on the wrong end of a result on that occasion they lost by only a single score, 19-16. These two results should have served as a wake up to the rest of the rugby world.

Now take into consideration the quality of player available to Samoa at the current time. Top quality players who have been successful in European and Southern Hemisphere club competition, players of the calibre of Seilala Mapusua, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Alesana Tuilagi, Census Johnston and  George Stowers are not only hugely talented players but they are also impressive physical specimens. In the past these players would have ended up emigrating of to play for New Zealand but now, thanks in part to the emergence of the professional game, they have been able to remain loyal to their home nation and still make a living of the game they love.

Samoa have a challenging group ahead of them in the World Cup with games against South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Namibia yet they will not fear any of those sides given their form over the past year. Wales, in particular, should be on their toes as the Samoans will target that game as being the one which would almost certainly guarantee qualification to the knockouts should they win. The Samoans will play a straigh up, hard, counter attacking game, just as they did against the Wallabies. They will be competive at the breakdown and could cause the Welsh problems in the lineout and scrum, particularly if Adam Jones doesn't start for Wales. In the backs expect the aforementioned Mapusua and Tuilagi to punch holes in the defense and with speedsters like David Lemi and Tagicakibau they have the potency to make the most of their oppurtunities.

One thing is for certain, this rugby world cup promises to be one of the most intriguing renewals of the competition in recent memory and you can bet that the Samoans will have a big part to play in the drama.

P.S. On a completely different note, well done to Darren Clarke on his great win at Royal St. Georges at the weekend. It is the defining victory of a career which many had feared was on the slide. Clarke has always worn his heart on his sleeve and it’s hard to think of a more popular winner than the big Northern Ireland man. Indeed, this golf season has been one of the most entertaining for many a year, Tiger who??!!

Ross McGuinness is a masters student in DCU studying business management. An opinionated, sports fanatic with delusions of journalistic grandeur! You can follow me on twitter @rossmcguinness

Changing Of The Guard

Earlier this week, Patrick Vieira hung up his boots after a long and distinguished football career. Whether by coincidence or not, he chose the 14th of July to make the announcement of his retirement from the professional game. Bastille Day, the French National Day, falls on this date and it seemed only fitting that one of the men who revolutionised the French national team in the late nineties decided to call it quits on this day. 

While Vieira's presence and overall play diminished in the latter stages of his playing career, he will always be remembered as the hard tackling, box to box central midfield general who dominated games for both Arsenal & France and to a lesser extent Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester City. He was a colossus for the Gunners after Arsene Wenger brought the then relatively unknown 20 year old to north London in 1996 and he proved to be one of Wenger's best ever signings. He won the double in his first full season at the club and was part of 'The Invincibles' team of  '03-'04 when Arsenal became only the second English side, and the first in over 100 years, to go through the entire league campaign unbeaten. He went on to be an integral part of the French World Cup winning squad of 1998 and again at the European Championships two years later where the French were victorious once again. His decision to call time on his playing career means sport has lost another one of its toughest competitors and, when in his prime, best footballers of his generation. 

Vieira was not the only person to bring their sporting career to an end this year. We've also lost the likes of Paul Scholes, Shaquille O'Neal, Ricky Hatton and Gary Neville and as a fellow poster pointed out earlier in the week, Yao Ming has also been rumoured to have retired. As much as it pains me to say it as a staunch Liverpool fan, Paul Scholes was a fantastic football player. His tremendous range of passing and blistering shots from distance made him one of the stand out performers in the Premier League and the Champions League from 1994 until his retirement this summer. Replacing a man that has been such an important cog in the Manchester United machine for the past 17 years will be one of Alex Ferguson's biggest challenges as a manager.

Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most popular and charismatic players ever to play in the NBA but he was also one its best players when on song. He had a glittering basketball career as he dominated out on the court for such teams as the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. All in all, Shaq won four NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVP's and he was named the league's most valuable player in 2000. He was known as much for his personality off the court as for his dominant displays on it. He was a man with no fewer than 17 nicknames, nearly one for every season he played in the league, even giving himself the name "The Big Aristotle and Hobo Master". He will be sorely missed as he really was one of sports real entertainers. 

While many people have criticised Ricky Hatton in the wake of his two losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, I think those views are extremely harsh on the man. The man known as "The Hitman" has a career record of 45-2 (32ko's) and his two losses were against men who will go down as all time greats in the boxing world. He never shirked an opponent and was one of the most feared body punchers in the game. He was a two weight world champion and held a succession of belts throughout his career. The manner of his two losses, especially the Pacquiao one where he was obliterated in two rounds, take away from his legacy but he was still a supreme fighter in his prime. His finest hour came at the MEN Arena in Manchester where he defeated one of his heroes, Kostya Tszyu, in eleven pulsating rounds to claim the IBF and The Ring light welterweight titles. If nothing else, his fights proved to be exciting and that's one of the things most boxing fans look for in a fighter.

I won't go in to detail on the other two names I mentioned as Greg more than covered Yao Ming's career in Wednesday's post. And as for Gary Neville, well the less said about him the better. All these players had distinguished careers that have now come to an end. A career in sport is often a short one so you've got to give the maximum effort to be remembered after you've called it a day. So these players have retired and it's now time for a new generation to step forward. Whether they'll be able to emulate the likes of Scholes and Shaq is an altogether different proposition.