Random Thoughts

I can't believe that this advertisement has been banned overseas. The homosexual community got up in arms over the depiction of a gay male. I never even thought he was necessarily gay. I thought he was just metro!

I was meaning to go to a table tennis fundraiser tournament last night. It is a haven usually for nerds, but I thought it would be better than sitting around home. It ended up that we went to the wrong location. I put table tennis in the same category as 10 pin bowling, paintball, laser force, video games, pool, indoor bowls, darts and board games. They are good things to do as a novelty, but anyone that does them seriously regularly is usually a nerd. It is a sports camp sport, which could probably be easily won as barely anyone plays it competitively!

Finally, my favourite spectator sport rugby gets really big the weekend before the Olympic starts. If anyone wants to watch the big game at the weekend when the Southland Stags battle the Otago team in the Air New Zealand Cup then flick me a text and come around at 4:30pm on Saturday. I was brought up going along to watch Southland as a youngster, and in my more recent years would love supporting them at Carisbrook against the old foe Otago. It is like the relationship between New Zealand and Australia. Southland is New Zealand and beating Otago is everything to them. Otago sometimes have their sights fixed on bigger fish like Wellington, Canterbury or Auckland, so sometimes get caught off guard. I will put my new Stags top on at 4:30pm and then change it for my All Blacks top at 7:30pm as there is some other game on Saturday that I wouldn't miss for the world. I will be watching the Bledisloe Cup match from Auckland at 7:30pm. The Warriors follows at 9:30pm to make testosterone heaven. If anyone is keen, then flick me a text!

I Am A Thief!

http://www.nzsportsnews.co.nz/vid.php?id=144952
Check this out. I am a wanted man. I probably need swimming lessons, but at least I am comfortable in budgie smugglers.

I love the antics from Pulp Sport and stumbled onto this, this morning.

I am excited about this invention. I saw it on the news and it can go for about 30 minutes! Who needs motor cars when you can have this?

Bargains

Just a quick note that www.1-day.co.nz are having a crazy sale for 24 hours. You have to be in quick!

The Weekend Of Fun

These guys provide hope for all of us!

I had a great weekend of a variety of activities. It started with Nyree's birthday drinks and nibbles on Friday night and finished with some Settlers at my place.

Without the usual dose of football on Saturday, I attended the Living Waters Drama group on Saturday. IT was an awkward meeting full of thespians and people I didn't really know. We ended up discussing depression and loneliness for an upcoming drama. It was itself depressing.

On Saturday night I went to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at Muzza Douglas's house. I had my first green curry. It was hot, but since we were going to have shrimp and green curry, I recommended we have a meat dish, so I had some chicken too! It was interesting meeting so many people around my age who go to The Street, but I have never met before. I remained there and watched the game. It was refreshing to meet females who liked watching the ruggers, despite the result. For further post game analysis go to my other blog www.rugbytips.blogspot.com

The weather was hardly calling me to get out of bed on Sunday. I went and played some indoor sports at the Wellington Indoor Sports area at Newtown. They have changed it into a bowling place and kids play area as well as indoor sports facility. It was good for a blowout and a chance to check out the skills of the sports camp team. I am helping to run it. It seems that some sports are far more popular like indoor soccer, volleyball and touch than the likes of darts, table tennis and shooting. It makes getting people into certain teams tough, when there is shall we say a mixture of abilities. The lines get blurred between winning and including all people, but my view is that I enjoy it more when I win. It promises to be a fun weekend in mid August.

I am watching Cable Guy and forgot how painful Jim Carey is in this movie. There is a bit of humour, but it is only slightly funny. This movie starred some young guys like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Jack Black in their younger days.

My Boys Are Dropping Like Flies!

Utility James Wilson has become the Southland Stags' third serious casualty with the Air New Zealand still a week away.

Off season signing Tony Koonwaiyou and veteran Iona Sipa are also out for most of the Air New Zealand Cup, testing the Stags depth.

The loss of Wilson will put pressure on Blair Stewart to perform, but will see Mark Wells, Kenny Lynn and Rob Robinson vie for the spare number 15 jersey. It will mean that the Stags won't have a back up first five eighth of Super 14 ability and will miss Wilson's towering boot. He has really come on in the last season too, so it is disappointing to lose him.


The 25-year-old's run of wretched luck continued on Thursday night when he suffered a broken left ankle only minutes after taking the field following a six-week absence because of a groin strain.

Wilson will miss most, and possibly all, of Southland's cup campaign.

Southland begins its season proper against Otago at Invercargill's Rugby Park on Saturday.

I am still thinking of putting money on the Stags to take Otago down in Round One. It will be a close one!

Reliance on Cell Phones

I thought I would post this advertisement since it helped Phil Collins sell some more albums.

The weather has been terrible in the last few days. I was rugging up for the walk home and inadvertently left my cell phone back in the office. I didn't realise until I got home and had to make a few phone calls to listen for my ring tone. One of my bosses answered and I had to do without. Unfortunately the rest of my team pulled out on me at Pub Quiz, but what else could I expect as I didn't have a means of being contacted. I have become so dependent since I got my cell phone.

It looks like I am definitely going to Melbourne next year for about a week. Two guys from The Street are keen and one of them used to live in Melbourne, so should be able to get us some accommodation. The penny is starting to drop. I have plenty of time to save and eventually purchase my first motor vehicle after Melbourne. That is assuming that the price of petrol hasn't gone up again forcing everyone to ditch their cars. It is a scary uncertainty, but possible. In Europe, heaps of people don't really use cars, instead they have really good public transport including trains and buses. Wellington is actually pretty good by New Zealand standards anyway. I can catch a bus into town or the railway station from a block from my house for about $2 (10 saver card).

Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire?

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Some people I know have been called up for Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire auditions in Dunedin in early August. I am hoping this means that I haven't missed out. I will wait with anticipation and hope that they are working their way up the country and will let me know soon if I am successful in gaining an audition!

These hippies should be locked up, they are breaking the law. I don't care if they think playing hacky on the Union Lawn makes them look cool. The cops have every right to tell them off. That union/Radio One area is full of trippy characters and the vile stench of substancs all the time. Payback time altos!

From Stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/4628460a11.html
Police say the arrest and issuing of trespass notices to three University of Otago students was not part of an undercover operation.


Dunedin and Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell said today the arrests were made after a complaint was received just after midday on July 16 that people were smoking cannabis on the university's union lawn.

Plain-clothed police officers were sent to investigate and as a result of what they saw, uniformed officers were called in to arrest a suspect.

The plain-clothed officers were not working undercover and carried police identification.

Today the Otago Daily Times reported a poster naming undercover police officers who have been working on campus had appeared at the university.

Posters with pictures of plain-clothed officers working on campus and labelled "Narks in our Class?" and "Narkiology 101. How to spot a nark" went on display on Monday.

One poster showed plain-clothed officers involved in the arrest of three people at a National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Norml) stand at a Otago University Students' Association market day.

Mr Campbell said plain-clothed officers were often used to carry out observations when police believed criminal activity may be taking place and this policing technique often proved effective.

Police were only interested in those people who broke the law, he said.

Norml leader Abe Gray told the newspaper he was not sure who had put the posters together and posted them on the Norml website.

He thought the posters had probably been put together because students felt uncomfortable being under surveillance on campus.

Mr Campbell said police were running an operation to stop offences against the Misuse of Drugs Act on the university campus and, to date, as a result, had issued nine trespass notices to non-students and three to people enrolled at the university.

Those trespassers included known drug dealers, gang members or associates and one secondary school pupil.

The notices were issued by police acting as an agent of the university.

What is a lesbian?

I never realised this was the case!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4628102a4560.html

A Greek court has dismissed a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian to describe gay women, according to a court ruling made public.


Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, brought a case last month arguing the use of the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.

In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.

The ruling ordered the plaintiffs to pay court expenses of 230 euros.

"This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, told Reuters. "A court in Athens could not stop people around the world from using it. It was ridiculous."

He said the plaintiffs were free to appeal the decision in a higher court.

Lesbos, which lies just off the Turkish Coast, has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world, especially at the village of Eressos which is regarded as the birthplace of the poet in the 7th century BC.

Several residents testified during the trial that the use of the word lesbian had brought recognition to the island and boosted its tourist trade.



In totally unrelated news,

Estelle Getty who played Sophia on Golden Girls passed away. Ironically on the show she was the mother of one of the other sixty somethings, yet Estelle was older than Dorothy her daughter. Another classic 80s show.

We Will Have To Be Good at the Olympics!

With the Olympics coming, I am really looking forward to the Olly Whites playing Brazil, China and Belgium in football. It is an Under 23 tournament, which is great for us, but Brazil will call on Ronaldinho and this will make life tough for us. Will Ryan Nelson, Chris Killen and Simon Elliot (decent players on the world stage) be able to prevent a 4-0 drubbing like we usually get? Here is some footage from other major games. I love the footage of the Russian clip, including going inside the changing rooms. Good old Kenny Creswell (he went to my High School) gets mentioned in the lead up to Zico's stunner! Bring on 8/8/08!

TV Shows From The Golden Days!

It is crazy how many American sitcoms were around in the 1980s with their canned laughter, chipmunks on the telephone and lame humour. But as a child I found them great. The true test of a good show is if you can still appreciate them 20 years later. I reckon Wonder Years is pretty timeless.

Reminiscing - Songs From My Childhood

I forgot how close Mick Jagger and David Bowie are singing Dancing in the Streets.
Michael Jackson has crazy clothes in the We Are the World Video.
The guy in green dancing in the Poi E video used to be the best dancer in the world in the 1980s. My You Tube connection has gone down, so I didn't get a chance to add some Netherworld Dancing Toys, Herbs or any Free Nelson Mandela songs!

These songs defined my childhood. I used to play Richard Hadlee's Limited Over cricket and listen to the cricket from Australia or listen to the songs from above at various stages of my life. I would also organise my Munch Bunch books in the earlier days.

I am starting to feel nostalgic in my old age!

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

I got two letters in the post today. One was from my niece and the other from my brother. It is great to get old fashioned mail. It is so funny and cute to read it.

Hi Uncle Scott,
I used the voucher you gave me. With it I got some lip gloss, two lots of stationery stuff, a diary and I also got a mini doodle bear. I have been reading your Munch Bunch books. Aunty Patrina (my sister) told me how you lined them up and you were the teacher. She said Billy Blackberry and Rossy Raspberry were the naughty ones.

From Ruby.

What a crack up. I forgot that I used to do that.

The other song was from my brother from a newspaper in Hawkes Bay showing my mate Matt Landreth who is going in a musical there.

Look At This Guy Go!

I should've done something along the lines of what this guy did in this video. This guy got his trip sponsored and it took 14 months to complete!

Red Alert -Take Care in Wellington!

Now a serious word about the pitfalls of roaming the streets of Wellington late at night. I got this from Yahoo news.

Police are hunting a gang of thugs who stalked central Wellington and carried out five separate violent attacks early yesterday morning.

Nine people were attacked, four of whom suffered bruising and lacerations to their heads caused by punches and one suffering bruising to his body after being kicked while on the ground.

Police said the attacks took place between midnight and 4.15am.

Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Borrell, of Wellington CIB, said it was thought four men had purposefully driven around central Wellington city in search of vulnerable victims to attack and rob.

They were travelling in what various witnesses described as a metallic grey or green medium sized motor vehicle, possibly a Mitsubishi.

Mr Borrell said the first attack happened about midnight at Waitangi Park on Cable Street, where one man was forcibly taken away in the vehicle by two of the attackers and forced to withdraw money from a nearby ATM.

The remaining two attackers held his friend at the park until the vehicle returned shortly afterward.

"The remaining four incidents were similar ... where the vehicle has pulled alongside the intended victim; up to three offenders have threatened or assaulted the victims while demanding money and cell phones," he said.

The second attack happened about three hours after the first at the south end of The Terrace in Wellington.

The third was about 3.40am at the southern end of Taranaki Street with a fourth about 4am on the corner of Willis and Vivian Streets.

The attackers have been described as three young male Maori or Polynesians with the driver being described as possibly Caucasian. All appeared to be aged in their late teens or early 20s, wearing hooded sweatshirts and bandanas.

"It seems obvious that this group of thugs have cruised through the central city streets intent on selecting and attacking vulnerable males who appeared to them to be under the effects of alcohol," Mr Borrell said.

"These were callous and cowardly attacks and of concern to us."

Mr Borrell stressed that these were isolated incidents involving the same group and that Wellington police were committed to identifying and arresting those responsible as soon as possible.

Police want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed any of these or similar incidents involving the men and vehicle described.

Get Smart

I loved the Get Smart movie. They gave him more intelligence in this one, which helped me not get hacked off with Steve Carrell. It is funny how invite people to movies for about 10 weeks, they don't come, so you stop inviting them. Time goes by and it is only when Get Smart is on that they complain that you didn't invite them even though it has been ages since you heard from them regarding a movie! What a disgrace!

The End of an Era

It seems like I have finished my time at the Gore Pressie ball. The ball takes place this Friday night, without me there. These were some photos from last year. The guys are my long time kudos mates Jon and Dom. I came down last year from Wellington and danced with my blind date, the lovely Gemma (in red dress). I have decided that I can't afford to go down for it this year, in my attempts to save money for a trip to Melbourne in 2009. I really loved the old time dances with the old couples who everyone copies. The Gay Gordon, Gypsy Tap and Maxina are among the dances. There is a great supper and a band who have withstood the test of time. But it isn't my war down there any more. It is time for the young pretenders to take to the dance floor! I have enjoyed my time, heading south from 1998-2005 and 2007.

The Street Charity Ball didn't actually take place this year either. Mind you, this had nothing on Gore, despite the publicity and flashy surroundings. Balls are about treating females with respect, asking them for a dance and escorting them back to their seat. A ball isn't about moshing and two males kissing (not in Southland anyway).

Middlemarch isn't the only place with a Singles Ball worth attending. Stewart Island is having one on 23rd August 2008. At the Community Centre. Jess Warren you need tickets now!

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2008/aug/stewart-island/singles-ball.html


Pub Quiz is a goer again. We got 2nd last week!

Is anyone else struggling with their Gmail account?

Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Me

I have applied to be on the new TVNZ game show called Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? It will be shot in Melbourne, but unlike the usual way you get on overseas shows, this show requires you to do an online 15 second per answer quiz of 8relatively tough questions. They will then hold auditions throughout New Zealand. IT would be great to get on and add to my Cash Battle experience and hopefully beat the $2850 between 4 winnings. If I was to get in the hot seat, I would aim for $32,000. If I didn't get onto the floor, I would still get a free trip to Melbourne, which coincidentially is where I want to be in late January/early February for the Aussie Open tennis and Chappell / Hadlee at the MCG.
I wasn't going to publicise my interest in the show, to avoid more fierce competition, but you enter on the tvnz website and it has been promoted on Stuff website too! I will wait and see. It is often better being somewhere like Dunedin as they want a geographical spread of people and so pick heaps from there in proportion.

I played Futsal yesterday after two weeks of cancelled outdoor football. It was great. We won and I scored one and set up one or two goals. It was a real blowout after not playing for two weeks and my team doesn't practice either. I am coming to the startling realisation that with old age, my body can't handle the fitness. I sometimes get this random lock/sore knee which is crippling, but I have never hurt this knee before. I also twisted my ankle yesterday and will monitor my sore achilles insertion before the weekend. It was worth it for fitness and a 5-3 win. I was filling in for a guy from my outdoor team, at a venue I am sure I played on in 2003 when I was in town for a week and played one game of futsal, one indoor cricket and one indoor soccer. The painful thing is that I enjoy sport so much and it has been a part of my life for over 20 years, that it will be tough holding back. I am wondering if playing more will increase my conditioning and lower the risk of injury or should I play less and have more rest between games of anything, but lose conditioning?

I will definitely play tennis and touch in the summer, but wonder if I should only play a combined total of 3 times a week?

Brad Thorn Playing Football for Northern?

I hear that Brad Thorn was playing in Division 5 football for Northern at the weekend. I assume he wasn't registered, but it is a shot in the arm for Division 5 football in Dunedin. I played a couple of seasons in that grade (the 2nd bottom in Otago) and it is a far cry from the mighty All Blacks to a game at Forrester Park or the Gardens. He should've joined up with his Brothers in Christ at Redemption FC in Division 4. Someone would've complained and we would've been docked points for having an inelligble player. Don't do it Roslyn-Wakari, Div 5 is only about fun boys, don't you remember 2005? You whinged and moaned to the world after the mighty Redemption Lions downed you.

All Blacks lock Brad Thorn has made a cameo soccer appearance in Dunedin.

He missed the weekend's test through suspension so decided to turn out for a lower division soccer club in Dunedin on Saturday.

Thorn played for the Northern fifth division side, playing half a game in goal. Northern club captain Colin Hillerby says he acquitted himself pretty well.

Hillerby says they did not get anything past him, but his kicking style is very much a toe-poke, like most rugby players.

Northern won the game against Roslyn Wakari 5-0.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=351&objectid=10521677

Drunken Referees and A Fun Night!

I wonder if this guy who refereed England vs Luxemburg in 1999 was under the influence then. I have seen some poor refereeing from sober referees. My football was cancelled for the second week in a row. Some grades were still on, I am glad mine wasn't it was rubbish here!

I had a great night last night. We went to this guys lavish flat with a massive television probably over a metre square. We played Nintendo Wii. I am all over the tennis, but notice that with the easy level of Wii it is probably best as a novelty. We ate heaps and had a spa. They didn't have toilet paper, they had cleanser wipes. It was how the other half live, but it was a fair way out of town. We then watched Goldfinger.

Go the All Blacks tonight. Did anyone here who won the usual Nude Rugby at St Kilda beach?

Get Your Yellow Fever Cards!

www.yellowfever.co.nz/fevercard.asp
Support the Wellington Phoenix and get heaps of discounts all for free, with one of these new 2008/2009 cards. I got one last year and got free spud fries at Burger Fuel. There are discounts at a variety of stores.

I bought a Wellington Phoenix glass. Just look at it. It has a football base!

Aussie Invasion, Help Us!

Here's a clever advertisement with some background to what went into it. They would struggle without the Irene (Home and Away) types who call you "doll" "precious" or females "shielas".

NRL Botch Up!

The Warriors shouldn't be surprised if the crowd is small when they tackle the cellar dwelling North Queensland side at ... wait for it...7:30pm on Saturday night.

What a shambles! This is the biggest rugby game of the season and the poor Warriors are struggling for support as it is. I guess there will be some die hard league fans like the Mad Butcher who will still front. They are trying to encourage fans by offering free sponsors products.

The rugby promises to be a beauty, after the great win last week and the mud slinging which has been flown mainly from the Springbok camp. John Smit and coach Peter De Villiers have come up with all sorts of cop out excuses and conspriacies for their defeat last Saturday. Hopefully they don't get the last laugh!

Hide the Ball in the Jersey Trick

I will continue my You Tube search with this gem. Even if you don't like rugby you will appreciate this case of hide the ball in the jersey! In a test match!

Blast From The Past

Sports Cafe is back on and definitely want to see more fun stuff like That Guy clips, video contents and great skits, rather than some of the below Marc Ellis drunken antics. It sometimes lacks direction, but when they have great snippets like That Guy can provide below it is funny. Nude Day is always funny too!




In other blast from the past news, Lifegroup was back together for another combined night. It is far more fun with more than four people.

Not only did I see my Southland based family a week ago, but my brother arrived Hawkes Bay on Friday. I forgot how much he talks when he is tired, but it is always funny having my 8 years older than me identical brother around. My flatmates mentioned how he seemed nice and talkative, I was reminded of a time in Invers that we went to the Paper Plus Boxing Day Sale and waited ten minutes for him outside. We were in a hurry and wondered why he was taking so long. It ends up that he was talking to someone who worked at the Invercargill City Council and this person had mistook James for me and was asking him if he was still studying in Dunedin and James thought nothing of talking to an absolute stranger for ten minutes.

I bumped into my old French teacher Mr Campbell in Wellington. He was a great teacher because he would forget if he had shown us videos and slides from his trip to France, so we watched them several times. Mr Campbell also taught Japanese and knew about four other languages. I saw him in Wellington this year, but because James did some teaching at Hargest, he probably thought I was him, because he was asking me if I was still teaching. The difference between James and myself is that I twigged straight away and corrected Mr Campbell and I actually knew him because he had been my teacher for about three years.

We will finally have enough people for pub quiz at the Realm Hataitai tomorrow night. I have been struggling to get a team together since the Quiz Master Adrian O'Flynn left. It ends up that it never rains, it pours as the arrival of some new blood, the return of a group of girls who used to come and one or two familiar guys, mean that we will probably have to split into two teams. It promises to be great times, the sports questions are always obscure, but you learn something!

Something For The Big Girls Out There!

I got this from Stuff. There is definitely a need for the fuller figured woman in life!

Julia Galvin came to Finland looking for a man that would carry her 120 kg over a 253-metres track – the incentive being the chance to win the wife-carrying world title and beer worth her body weight.


In the end the Irish woman was carried by an English man through a pool and across hurdles. She did not make the gold, but said she would keep trying until the title and the beer was hers.

"I think I am worth carrying because I am a walking party," she said.

Wife-carrying is one of a host of bizarre contests that Finns, who can tend to gloominess in the long winter dark, have devised for the scant months of summer when the sun hardly sets and people's mood turns frolicsome.

Forty-eight couples from 13 countries, including Kenya, Australia and Canada, gathered in the remote Finnish village to complete the track.

Estonia reigned supreme once again, as Alar Voogla sprinted home in just over one minute to win the Baltic country's 11th title, with Kirsti Viltrop clinging upside-down to his back.

"Yesterday we have had a really bad luck, because we fell and we lost our first place in the sprint and today it's super," Viltrop said, after completing the main track.

Germany took away the silver and England the bronze, while hosting Finns had to do with a win for the 100-metre sprint, organised as a side-competition to the world-known event.

While some competitors are nearly professional athletes, others do it for fun or as a hobby. Third-place winners Ash Davies and Aila Bruce put extra thought in designing their costume, to get the extra edge.

"We came with our costume designer all the way from England – she has designed this especially, so we can compete, streamline you know, aerodynamic tuning," Davies said.

Some 5,000 people came to view the event, set deep in forests and lakes a couple of hours' drive from the Arctic Circle.

The contest is rooted in the legend of Ronkainen the Robber, said in the 19th century to have tested aspiring members of his gang by forcing them to lug sacks of grain or live swine over a similar course.

It also purportedly stems from an even earlier tribal practice of wife-stealing, in honour of which many contestants now take up the challenge with someone else's wife.

It has also inspired others to organise events such as sauna sitting, swamp football, cell phone throwing or karaoke singing. All are part of a summer bonanza of events that rake in visitors and cash for as long as the midnight sun shines.

Prime TV staff were left red-faced today when a segment of pornography appeared during its mid-afternoon Grassroots rugby programme.


The segment, supposed to be screening on Sky TV's pay-per-view Spice channel, appeared for nearly four minutes at about 3pm.

Other television channels were quick to report on the botch-up, with TV3 reporting how disgusted and shocked viewers were when the porn suddenly appeared on their screens.

Prime Television spokesman Tony O'Brien said technicians had established there was a mix-up in the distribution process and that the network apologised for any offence caused, Newstalk ZB reported.

He said the porn would have screened in the Auckland region and also for Sky digital customers.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4610200a4560.html

That Match and I Missed The Good Stuff!

I went to sleep for two hours and woke up at 1 a.m. to watch the final. It was rain delayed and so I stayed up watching the match from 1:30 a.m. Nadal was dominating and up two sets to love with the third set almost finished when the rain returned at around 4 a.m. Tim "Gilby" Gillon left my place and I went to bed. I slept in until 9:45 and received texts from other people raving about how amazing the match was. It was an absolute epic match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal which saw the match last for five hours and finish 9-7 to Nadal in the fifth set. The Fed Express fought back well and took it to five sets. He struggled to break the Nadal serve. Like Chris Chang and Gilby I wanted Fed to win!

Booze Culture, You Bet!

After working in a hotel in 2004 I know that this still goes on, but agree that these days players are under the scrutiny of both the media and the public. Brad Thorn has been a Christian for 10 years and sober for 8 years. I hope his lifestyle rubs off on room mate Jimmy Cowan! I have seen many top level players in various stages of drunkeness. The rugby "court sessions" are a traditional thing. It must've got messy behind closed doors in earlier days!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4608970a1823.html
In the good old days a successful rugby tour was not judged solely on match results. There was also serious drinking to be done.


The 1974 British and Irish Lions in South Africa were labelled "The Wreckers" as they made life hell for hotel managements, torching curtains and letting rip with fire extinguishers. Pianos were said to have found their way into swimming pools.

All Blacks touring teams also engaged in "hijinks". But in the professional era, such behaviour has more serious repercussions.

All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan faces three police charges of disorderly behaviour and has been fined $3000 by the New Zealand Rugby Union, ordered to seek alcohol counselling and warned that any further breaches of the team code will put an end to his All Blacks career.

Teammate Jerome Kaino is facing a drink-driving charge after a car crash.

Do the All Blacks have a binge-drinking culture?

Marc Ellis admits to plenty of hijinks during his days as an All Black. But times change and he says the behaviour players got away with during the early 1990s is not acceptable today.

Ellis, who switched codes in 1996 to play league for the Auckland Warriors, believes today's All Blacks don't drink as much and that that is reflected in their performances on the field.

"You'd struggle to find an alcoholic in the All Blacks. They like to have a good time, but they are under intense scrutiny. If they make one wrong move the whole country knows about it and it could be the end of their career.

"Times change and the game is professional now. When I played, it was amateur, so people expected you to have a bit of fun. You didn't have to worry about people taking your pic on a cellphone when you're out having a good time."

He believes that "what goes on tour stays on tour", though he does offer a glimpse of the culture.

"I remember Jeff Wilson getting on the team bus once and saying he doesn't drink. We soon changed that.

"But the socialising was done in a way that was not excessive and you looked after your mates. If the public saw you walking down the street looking like you weren't walking as straight as you should have been, they'd give you a pat on the back and help you. Now they're more likely to run to the media.

"If you had a good team culture, stuff-ups didn't happen too often. Every now and again someone might get too enthusiastic, but that's life."

As an example of how the game has changed, Ellis recalls preparing for his NPC debut for Otago. He saw a prop tucking into a lunch-time serving of steak, eggs and chips and a pint of beer not long before kickoff.

"[Team coach] Laurie Mains asked what he was doing and the player said, 'I'm a prop, I don't get out of third gear and I have been doing this my entire life.' Laurie backed off."

Former All Blacks captain Gary Whetton also thinks that, with big money on offer, the booze culture has steadily declined.

"If you sign a contract there are expectations to live up to. Like discipline in a test match, you can't afford to do things that are going to cost you a game. If you need that discipline on the field, you should have it off the field as well."

Does booze affect performance?

Former All Blacks doctor John Mayhew, now with the New Zealand Warriors, says the first two hours after a game are critical to the recovery process.

"Alcohol is not a good thing to have after exercise. It can dehydrate and, if a player has a soft tissue injury, it can make it worse. Drinking after the game can affect the following weekend's performance. It's rare to have alcohol in the changing rooms these days."

But he concedes there is nothing wrong with having the occasional beer after a game.

"We're dealing with young men, but it's about taking responsibility and not drinking too much.

"We've got to be realistic that there's always going to be a high- profile athlete who makes a mistake. We can get a bit patronising and criticise individuals who make a mistake, but it's about growing up. The players get it right most of the time."

Ellis, however, thinks alcohol never affected his on-field performance.

"How long does a hangover last? When you're in the prime of your life it's gone by lunchtime the next day. I don't think anyone's affected by it."

Are off-field activities judged too harshly?

Ellis says it is a tough learning curve for young players not used to the spotlight, but, in the professional environment, it is something they have to adjust to quickly.

He cites the tall poppy syndrome for some players struggling to deal with a high profile.

"If you're a young man and an All Black, you don't want to change your behaviour because everyone says, 'Look at that wanker, he's become an All Black and now he's behaving differently.'

"But if you change and become anal and don't let your hair down with your mates, then they think you've changed and you get a bagging from them.

"And if your behaviour involves having too many beers and stirring some nonsense, then the media jumps on you. So what do you do as a young man? It's a bloody hard place to be for a young chap."

The black jersey is held in such high esteem that players know when they overstep the mark.

"High-spirited hijinks was cool, but if that became anti-social you've got to draw a line. Everyone had each other's back and if someone was getting disorderly one of boys would grab him and take him home."

Former All Blacks wing Stu Wilson says professional players are privileged and should be grateful. "Sure, in my day we played up and there weren't really any repercussions. But we didn't get paid, so it was pretty hard to fine or fire us.

"These days the situation is completely different. There are millions of dollars on the line with sponsorship, branding and merchandise so the NZRU has to run a tight ship."

Are players provoked on purpose?

Ellis says he was often targeted by "idiots" when playing for the All Blacks, but usually managed to extinguish tense situations using a well-practised strategy.

"Give them a hug and a hongi. There's no better way to ease an aggressive environment than rubbing your nose on somebody.

"But there's always a few people who get their jollies out of shit- stirring. You learn to deal with it."

Whetton, a 58-test veteran, says the current crop of players are more likely to be provoked when out on the town because marketing has turned them into household names.

"They're more recognisable when they're out drinking. They don't always get it right with their response and everyone makes mistakes, I know I did, but rules are rules and they have to stick by them.

"In our day half the people didn't know who we were. It's a lot harder now, and I can appreciate that.

"We're New Zealanders, we love our rugby, we love our All Blacks and we always will. But with that comes expectations, on and off the field."

DARK DAYS

2007: All Blacks wing Doug Howlett says sorry and reportedly coughs up [PndStlg]10,000 (NZ$26,670) for repairs after jumping on two cars outside the Hilton Hotel at Heathrow Airport following the World Cup quarterfinal loss to France.

2007: Lock Ali Williams is sent home from South Africa while on tour with the Blues for disciplinary reasons, which include late-night drinking.

2006: Loose forward Chris Masoe allegedly punches a man after tripping over his foot at a Christchurch pub following the Super 14 final. Hurricanes captain Tana Umaga pulls Masoe aside and hits him with a handbag.

2002: The Auckland Rugby Union suspends Mils Muliaina for two NPC games after he urinates near other patrons in a Parnell bar.

2000: Umaga is caught on videotape drunk and abusive during a night out with teammates in Christchurch.

1999: Norm Hewitt smashes through a glass door of a house in Queenstown at 3am.

1972: Keith Murdoch is sent home from Wales after punching a security guard at the team's hotel.

Now Something From Left-Field

This guy got pregnant through artificial incemination.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-07/04/content_6819572.htm

Thomas Beatie, known as The Pregnant Man, has given birth to a girl, media reported Friday.

The 34-year-old transgender man welcomed a daughter at an Oregon hospital on June 29.

The baby girl is Thomas's first child.

"The only thing different about me is that I can't breastfeed my baby. But a lot of mothers don't," the man was quoted as saying.

Beatie said the baby was not delivered via C-section, though published reports had said it would be.

He intends to publish a book about his experience this fall, the reports said.

Springboks vs All Blacks, I'm Going!

Since I am going to the Springboks vs All Blacks at the Cake Tin, it has got me feeling nostalgic about past test matches attended. Springboks vs All Blacks seems to be my most attended test match in all of my years as a sports fan. My very first test match was on the terraces at Carisbrook in 1994. We won back then thanks to a try by John Kirwan 22-14. I have attended a test match each year from 1997 - 2005 and then 2007 and now 2008. Dunedin lost its status in 2006. For my 12 tests I must have paid a packet over the years!

I have only been to one All Black defeat to Australia in 2001. I am hoping my good luck charm continues with the All Blacks tomorrow night!

1994 South Africa
1997 Australia
1998 England
1999 South Africa
2000 South Africa - in Christchurch
2001 Australia - Ron Cribb penalty try!
2002 Ireland
2003 South Africa
2004 England
2005 South Africa
2007 France
2008 South Africa

For further analysis go to
www.rugbytips.blogspot.com

or for some fun and games

www.testrugby.com

Observations

I love making certain observations as a Human Geographer. Some things I have noticed in recent days are.

Risk - the board game like some kind of drug brings out emotions in some people. The power trip is scary.

Does anyone else reckon you don't win if someone else completes your mission? I have always played that if your mission is to destroy blue, yet if someone else eventually finishes them off, you still win. This makes sense because you have probably played a part in accomplishing it, even if you haven't finished it off. The card only mentions "destroy blue troops if you are blue occupy 24 territories" it doesn't say if you are not blue and someone else finishes the mission that you must collect 24 territories. It must be a Loveshack rule!

Settlers builds people up, Risk knocks people down!

The Invers weather is cold, the Wellington weather is wild!

Podiatrists and physios give contradicting advice. My physio wants me to stretch my calf to take the load from my achilles, my podiatrist thinks I should rest it and has spruced up my orthotics.

Invers is flat, widespread, quiet, most people that were relatively clued up at school have seen the lights and left. Some have since returned to settle down!

I seem to know more people than I realise in Invers. It actually is provincial New Zealand.

Some people (older females) do not realise that guys get shot down all the time in pursuit of happiness. It wasn't me that was being talked about either!

While Jimmy Cowan has a few problems, he is a victim of the booze culture which is prevalent especially in rugby. I used to work at a hotel in 2003 and saw the effects of it on top level players. They are only human and shouldn't be idolised or placed on a pedestal. The problem is that some people want notoriety, so they either try and get into bed with them or try getting into fights with them!

If you are 29, there is something in your psychie which makes you keep thinking that you are 30.

Life moves on, but Invers has the feeling that it stands still!

Asics are the best footwear from a podiatrist's point of view!