Championship Time, Championship Teams.

Almost three weeks into the Kingbet blog and still no mention of our native games. One can only assume that since Joe Sheridans’ “try” in last year’s Leinster final coupled with their defeat at the hands of lowly Carlow, Mr.Kingbet like so many Louth fans, is disgruntled at the GAA. The Qualifiers First Round gives Louth a shot at redemption but one I fear they may blow. As every team has played once now is a good time to cast our eyes over how the Championship is going.

Down in Munster it’s as you were as neither Cork nor Kerry have had to get out of second gear. Cork have shown in their two victories, that they have the forwards to do damage but against such poor opponents, it really is hard to judge just how well they are going. Kerry’s biggest worry so far is keeping players free from either suspension and injury. I don’t subscribe to the argument that Kerry have a fundamental discipline problem but the recklessness by some of their players is selfish. This is far from a vintage Kerry side so they can ill afford to lose players of the calibre of Tomas O’ Se. Leaking three goals against Limerick – all be it when the game was over – must be a worry for Jack O’Connor. What of Limerick? They really have regressed in recent times, especially if you remember that it told two Dara O’Se over the crossbar fields to save a Munster championship for Kerry in recent times. John Galvin recently came out and said they’d have more provincial championships if they were in a different province. John wants to try tog out for Fermanagh sometime to see how hard it is to win an Ulster Championship. With all the in-fighting with the hurling team, players were supposed to flood into the football panel. This is seemed to have no impact and with their well publicised hurling problems the GAA seems to be in a bit of difficulty Shannonside. Is the success of Munster rugby finally starting to show or is this a rash reaction to a few barron years? Any team that can put out a full forward line of Ian Ryan, Ger Collins and Seamus O’Carroll should give teams problems, but I don’t foresee much of a run in the qualifiers.

Nadal The Man To Beat Once Again

The 2011 Wimbledon Championships start on Monday as Rafael Nadal looks to capture his third major title on the grass and prove that he is still the man to beat. Nadal, the world's number one player, heads into the tournament on the back of his sixth French Open title, where he beat Roger Federer in four sets. Federer himself is looking to make history as he attempts to equal Pete Sampras' record of 7 Wimbledon titles.

Nadal is the reigning champion and top seed and has every reason to feel optimistic about adding another major victory to his Grand Slam haul. His victory over Federer at Rolland Garros two weeks ago cemented his place as the greatest clay courter of all time and enabled him to hold on to his number one ranking. The slower courts at SW19 undoubtedly suit him and make him less susceptible to an early exit at the hands of a big server. Although losing to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at the quarter-final stage of Queen's last week, I think he would have been reasonably pleased with his efforts. He had a grueling clay court season and had made the final in every tournament he entered since the Australian Open. Losing in the quarter-finals at Queen's allowed him to get a couple of matches on grass under his belt and allowed him to get the sufficient rest he deemed necessary to defend his Wimbledon crown. A first round clash with Michael Russell should pose few problems but possible encounters with Milos Raonic, Juan Martin Del Potro and the man he beat in last year's final, Tomas Berdych, could possibly await meaning Rafa's route to the semi-finals will be anything but easy.

SPORTING EXUBERANCE: THE LAST STAND OF THE FRENCH

Mickael Barzalona standing up with five metres to go in the Derby at Epsom has gotten much play in this forum and in the media. The debate centres around whether it was brilliant showmanship or an act of lunacy. Luckily for the jockey this debate is merely academic. Had he fallen off his horse or lost momentum and come second, the debate would be far more intense.
Rewind to Carnoustie 1999, Jean Van de Velde prepares to take his second shot on the par four 18th, needing only a six to win the title, the smart shot is to lay up and go for the green in three. This would have been relatively low-risk and had it worked would have given him three putts to win his first major.
Van de Velde was having none of it. He decided to go straight at the green, the ball hit the grandstand, he then put his next shot into the water and eventulally scrambled a seven. This put him into a three way playoff, which he lost. Van de Velde has been labelled a choker and his actions idiotic ever since.

Unfair I decry: firstly he did not choke, he played a nice bunker shot and one-putted to achieve his seven. Secondly he did something that the vast majority of us would not have the courage to do: risk losing a major championship to preserve a legacy of flamboyance.

On Roosting Chickens

It was, the then Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue informed us, a "golden opportunity". London's 2012 Olympic glory would rub off on us, as dozens of teams came to Ireland to train. It would provide a perfect opportunity to showcase our sporting facilities. There was even hints that the bigggest prize of them all, the American track and field team, might choose Ireland for its preparations.
Fast-forward four years later, and it becomes apparent how much guff this all was. Only a handful of rather unimportant teams are going to base themselves in Ireland. John O'Donoghue's words seemed to encapsulate the boom they were a part of, being based on assumptions wih no grounding in reality. The reality was that every local authority in Britain had its own slick marketing campaign, and we seemed to believe that we wouldn't need one. British local authorities received millions in promotional money from the government. We didn't even have a plan to attract teams. Our idea seemed to be lifted straight out of Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come".
Except for one thing. We didn't build anything. Had John O'Donoghue not been busy billing the Irish taxpayer for limousines to get him from one part of Heathrow Airport to another, he might have had a chance to look at the dilapidated state of our sporting infrastructure. The problem was that the position of Minister for Sport and Tourism is considered the "fun" ministry, with little in the way of actual work, and lots of free invitations to sporting events.

Royal Defeat, Royal Ascot and a Royal Encounter

Mickael Barzalona’s victory aboard Pour Moi in last week’s Epsom Derby catapulted the 19 year old’s talents into the public domain. If they didn’t know already. He has lit up racing with magnificent rides in France, Dubai and now England. Ironically many of his big race wins previous were for the boys in blue of Godolphin, this time in the dark blue silks of Coolmore. Barzalona looks like a ready replacement for Sheikh Mohammed and co. when 41 year old Frankie Dettori calls it a day. But with Aidan O’Brien’s policy of using the best available not altogether working out this year (Fallons late withdrawal from Recital due to injunction), the signature of Barzalona could be sought by Ballydoyle. I am baffled by the use of Pat Smullen over Seamie Heffernan in substitute of Fallon for Recital. I am as baffled as to how Seamie Heffernan didn’t partner one of O’Briens Derby quartet in the first place. The riding arrangements of the Coolmore operation are understandable in using the best available but this definitely creates dissonance in the camp. Therefore, overall it is a poor tactic in my opinion. A settled team with appreciation of its cogs in the wheel (Heffernan, O’Donoghue), albeit behind a settled star or leader (Kinane, Fallon..)  would make for a far better structure in Ballydoyle. Disharmony is a theme I will deal with further later.  

    

Barzalona standing tall in the irons of Pour Moi with 5 yards to go in the Derby, whilst not yet passed the eventual runner up, is an image that will live long in the memory. The exuberance of the teenager was quite astonishing and equally stupid. His ride up to that point was a fantastic waiting ride. Bollocking and heart in mouth aside, it was a memorable moment. A talking point. The coming of a new showman. He nearly cost his connections the derby and millions in stud value. One jink, or if the horse reacted to him pulling at his mouth or if for any reason he momentarily lost balance, he was gone. Madness.  

Ante-post and Uncle big price winners

While the likes of tennis and golf are in full swing at this time of year, for the football and rugby fan in this hemisphere, now is the time for rest and reflection. For the thirstiest of fans, the Euro under 21 championship and the Churchill Cup are taking place now and they may provide mild refreshment as well as some clues for the future. Most of us are now fixated with our own team’s incomings and outgoings or avidly looking forward to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in September and now is perhaps the best time to get our ante-post bets in place before it and the new football season kicks off.

New Zealand hosts the RWC and are generally available at 8/11 to take the title. They have been favourites at every world cup since it’s inception in 1987 but have only ever won it once, in that same year. There is no doubt that they are the best team in world rugby at present, having won last years tri nations and doing the clean sweep in their northern hemisphere tour and they do have massive strength in depth but there are enough reasons to avoid them at that price. They are always carrying a huge burden of expectation on their backs at every world cup but this is the first world cup that they will host by themselves, having jointly hosted the inaugural tournament with Australia and this added weight could end up crushing them. They should come out of their group in a relatively straightforward manner but their opening match against Tonga is sure to be physical and France will be no pushovers for them either. Topping the group will most likely set up a quarter-final clash with a powerful Argentina side and should they come through that, the holders South Africa will most likely await in the semis. A much better betting prospect is France each way at 16/1. If France finish runners up to the Kiwis, as is most likely, then England will probably be their quarter final opponents, followed by Australia in the semis. Granted, they lost to both of these teams this year but France have no reason to fear either of these teams. They only lost by eight points in Twickenham to the eventual six nations champions and while they got hammered by the Aussies in Paris, it would be unwise to read too much in to what was a typical end of season campaign. France are a Jekyll and Hyde team but when they click into gear they are undoubtedly a match for anyone and 16/1 seems pretty generous for a country who have got at least to the semis at every world cup since 1995.

The days of Schumacher leading a weekly procession are well over

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix is on today (from 5pm on BBC 1).  2011 has seen the introduction of Pirelli tyres and a new overtaking system, DRS. I won’t bore you with the details but they are the two factors that are being lauded as the main reasons why the sport has been so exciting this year.  There are so many overtakes happening on a Sunday that the commentators are struggling to keep up!  The days of Schumacher leading a weekly procession are well over....

Betting wise Formula One is a sport that has always plagued me.  Technical decisions and team strategies make such a difference in the sport and these decisions and strategies are often very hard to notice during a race weekend.  It’s not like you can see that a team are playing a high line and hence buy the offside spread  or see that a team are lobbing the ball endlessly to the tall striker and quickly get on the headed goal minutes etc etc. Formula One is much more cloak and dagger.

In Formula One, car setups cannot be altered between qualifying and the race.  This weekend the qualifying took place in dry conditions but the teams were expecting rain for the race on Sunday.  Therefore to battle to beat the bookies on the “Circuit Gilles Villeneuve” will hinge on two things: 

• You will either need to take a punt on the weather being dry (and therefore it would be hard to look past Vettel
• Or take some bigger prices and back the teams that may have sacrificed some time in qualifying time in order to have the best set up for the race come Sunday in wet conditions.