A Question Of Sport

Sue Barker hosts another round of the quiz show legend that is A Question Of Sport, with team captains Matt Dawson and the entertaining Phil Tufnell. This show started back in 1970 and apart from a couple of sort breaks it has been ever present on our screens for approaching a whopping 40 years.

While the team captains are changed on a regular basis, Sue Barker has been on the show since 1997, taking over from the famous David Coleman who hosted from 1979 to 1997 after replacing the original presenter David Vine. Fun, frolic’s and some hilarious moments have been had on the show which has taken in over 20 team captains although it was the late great Emlyn “Crazy Horse” Hughes and his tussles with Bill Beaumont which attracted many to the show.

Even thought the show has a very strict format of subject matter, special rounds and questions it is the ad-libbing which attracts most people to the show and why it has seen some of the UK and world’s sporting greats vying for a spot on the show. The team captains of note include:-

Henry Cooper
Bobby Moore
Bobby Charlton
Ally McCoist
Ian Botham
Frankie Dettori
and Shane Warne

One of the more interesting angles of A Question Of Sport has been the ability of the BBC to reinvent the show on a number of occasions and reposition it to a wider and wider audience. This reinventing of the show has been carried out while retaining the same basic format which the watching public have come to expect.

Many quiz (especially sports quiz) shows have come and gone without trace but A Question Of Sport seems to have created an indefinite shelf-life for itself. If you don’t believe us – 800 shows cannot be wrong!

Evening Racing

US Horse Racing While the UK is well known as one of the leading horse racing countries of the world, it pales into insignificance when compared to the massive US market which covers dozens of states, time zones and offers hours and hours of live racing each and every day!

Tonight’s Evening Racing takes into account live coverage from both the US and Fairyhouse (Ireland) in what promises to be another night of thrills and spills on the track. This program offers an in depth look at the latest betting, the latest form and news and reviews from the tracks around the US. While many UK gamblers will be aware of this, the US “pooled” betting system offers the chance to bet on a horse showing on the day, placed and winning, ensuring that there is great depth in the money which flows through the industry.

The majority of US horses racing is run on the “dirt” but there are a number of ever green grass circuits appearing throughout the country. The racing styles in the US are very much different to the UK as are the layout of the tracks, with tighter bends which make it more difficult to stay in contention unless you are perfectly placed on the bend.

The US jockeys also seem to employ a “slip stream” style system with the majority happy to “hook up” with the leading horse and then whip past them as they turn the final bend. This adds to the thrills and spills of what can be a very exciting night on the box, and if you are lucky you might even win yourself a few dollars!

Gambling on US racing is available on a wide range of UK based gambling sites and the time difference seems to make no difference to the quality of services provided. US racing makes UK racing seem like a walk in the park at times!

Live Friday Fight Night: Prizefighter

While the term Prize Fight might well fill many people will horror as the “sport” has a reputation for aggression, injuries and worse, this is Prize Fighting 2008 style with Barry Hearn at the head of proceedings.

This is the first time the new format has been shown on British TV and sees eight British Heavyweights go head to head in a winner takes all competition. The names of the fighters were placed into a hat and pulled out at random to determine who would fight who and in which order. The first round is the quarter finales, the second is the semi-finals and the final showdown sees the two remaining fighters go toe to toe for the title and £25,000 prize money.

The format of the competition is very different from anything else on the TV, with the competition over in one night, and each fight cut down to a maximum of three, three minute rounds. While this may not sound like an awful long time to box, it is, and it will begin to show in the later stages. The fitness of the men involved varies dramatically, as does the size, power and skill. But make no mistake, these are fighters who have come to claim the glory and the £25,000 prize.

While this has been christened Prizefighter, the heavyweights, if the format and the show are successful there are already plans to introduce a number of different weight divisions in future competitions. Barry Hearn is a well known boxing promoter and he sure knows what makes the boxing audiences of the UK tick.

Top medical care, breaks in between fights and a professional referee all ensure that the competition is carried out to the highest safety standards, but you cannot get away from the fact that it will be tough!

Coronation Street Teaser

Dubiously dotty David dominates proceedings once more. He finally ’fesses up to Gail that, well, yes, actually, um, he did push her down the stairs and leave her for dead. And after demanding that she phones the cops to put him out of his misery, he sets about trashing the street. Everyone watches on amazed as he continues to cause chaos and destruction - will there actually be much of the street left after he’s finished? Needless to say, the long arm of the law finally reaches out for the crazy kid, who is charged with multiple counts of criminal damage and assault, and is bailed to appear before the magistrates. Back home, sweet home, David talks to Gail and confesses to all the evil things he’s done in the past - let’s hope Gail’s got all night because it’s quite a long list. In court, David calmly insists he is guilty on all counts. It looks cut and dried until Gail pops up to add her tuppenceworth. Will she manage to save his hide, or is raving Dave going down?

Elsewhere, the loss assessor tells Paul and Leanne that the investigation could take months - perhaps arson wasn’t such a good idea after all! Will they get caught out? Darryl is a tad upset when Lauren dumps him after he refuses to steal money from his dad to pay for her rent - what a charming lady she is.

Meanwhile, Becky bats her eyes at builder Rick in the cafe and invites him over to the flat while Roy’s at a Railway convention. Of course, in traditional soap style, Roy returns early - and isn’t to impressed by what he finds. Talking of bats - Roy, concerned when he finds some bat droppings on the ground in the building site, suggests the building site should be shut down as bats are a protected species. Batty!

Cricket : New Zealand v England

Test Cricket England renew there battle with the Kiwi’s in what is turning into an enthralling Test Series between two teams which seem unable to put together a run of form – making predictions so difficult to make. The England selectors have made some bold moves dropping some of the more established bowlers to give the “young kids on the block” a chance to shine while New Zealand has a very good crop of younger players coming through the ranks and they seem certain to give England a stern test in what promises to be an interesting battle.

English cricket has been through the mill for the last few years and while they have changed the players and the selectors, nothing has really materialised as yet. Top bowlers like Steve Harmison have gone off the boil, batsmen such as “Freddie” Flintoff have been dogged by injury for a number of years and there are real concerns that these two in particular may not be able to recapture their form of past seasons.

The problem which the England selectors have is one of who to actually bring in to replace the older members of the team, because unfortunately England have relied on these players for so long that nobody really thought about looking around for the future. Money has become paramount to the game and the sponsors want the big names to be on show to attract the crowds. Central contracts were awarded to many stars that seemed to be nearing the end of their better years, meaning that there was less cash and fewer contracts available for those up and coming players.

Now is the time when England cricketers need to grasp the nettle, pick up the baton and take the game to the opposition. Even if they go down fighting it will be a major improvement on some of the efforts we have seen over the last three or four years. Now is the time to stand up and be counted!

WWE : Raw

The Big Show As we approach the school holidays many parents will be looking at ways to keep the kids entertained and keep them from under their feet. For those who are not aware of it yet, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is the hottest thing to come out of the US for some time, it is sports entertainment at its best and the kids love it!

While those of us who are old enough will remember the days of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, the first mainstream wrestlers in the UK, the WWE show puts them all to shame. These wrestlers know how to play the crowd, they are super fit and they have a hero status around the world. WWE : Raw brings together the likes of Vincent McMahon (the owner of the WWE brand name) as well as professional sports people including the Big Show, Jeff Hardy, King Booker, the Undertaker and Batista to name but a few of the dozens and dozens of fighters on the WWE books.

Each fighter has their own signature moves, the ones which they use to finish off the opponents, with more and more new faces joining on a regular basis. The WWE brand has been around since the 1950s, but it was only in the 1990s that it began to really grow, selling the brand to a mass of countries around the world. Sky TV took up the mantle in the UK and the event was born over here, with tours, exhibition shows and merchandise literally flying off the shelves.

But these are no ordinary wrestling superstars with some of them over 7ft tall! The mix between the smallest and the tallest has brought in an array of fans, not to mention the music signature tunes, the crowd interaction and the excellent shows which they put on. If you are struggling to keep the kids entertained in the holidays, check out WWE : Raw – you will not regret it!

Sport Relief 2008

David Walliams and James Cracknell in Sport Relief Sport Relief takes place every other year with the aim to raise money for charities both abroad and in the UK. It is similar in nature to Comic Relief but uses sports personalities and other celebrities to raise awareness, Tonight was the key evening to have various events interspersed with films showing how the money would be spent. A number of sporting events had already taken place and the Sport Relief mile was scheduled for 16 March.

The programme was presented by the threesome of Gary Linekar, Richard Hammond and Davina McCall and then later, Patrick Kielty and Tess Daley. The various features included special editions of Strictly Come Dancing, A Question of Sport and the conclusion of Sport Relief does The Apprentice. However, one of the funniest moments of the programme was Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May doing Top Ground Gear Force. They were charged with revamping Sir Steve Redgrave’s garden in Buckinghamshire and a range of calamities occurred – including James May rebuilding a garden shed multiple times (it had panels knocked down and finally set on fire); a digger being stuck in a hole; large tyre tracks ripping up the lawn; a concrete area replacing part of the lawn (which Hammond got stuck in); a high powered barbeque using jet engines and a high pressure water fountain!

Sport Relief 2008 also featured various sporting feats such as David Walliams and James Cracknell swimming across the Straits of Gibraltar (Cracknell had made his way from the UK to Africa entirely using his own body - cycling, swimming, rowing). Adrian Chiles and Alan Shearer had cycled from Newcastle to London in just two days! Sport Relief 2008 raised £19.6 million on the night with much more money to come!

Sport Relief Does the Apprentice

Sport Relief Does the Apprentice, follows a similar format to the biennial Comic Relief in that it raises money for charity through the use of celebrities. The theme though is sport of all types – including The Sport Relief Mile and the proceeds of the various events are spent abroad and in the UK. This was a special edition of The Apprentice with Alan Sugar and featured two teams of 5 celebrities as follows:

Kirstie Alsopp, Property Developer
Jacqueline Gold of Anne Summers
Lisa Snowdon, model
Clare Balding, sports presenter
Louise Rednapp, singer
Kelvin McKenzie, former editor of The Sun
Nick Hancock, Comedian
Phil Tuffnell, Crickete
Hardeep Singh Coley, Comedian
Lembit Opik, MP

The expectation was that thousands of pounds would be raised for charity. The teams had to set up shops – dress them, stock items and open the shops and report back in three days. Money could be raised by getting as many people as possible and then selling off the stock on one night.

The girls team started out well and decided on the name of “Sugar and Spicy”. Louise Rednapp had a lot of contacts and managed to blag £10,000 from Harrods. Jacqueline Gold was elected as leader.

The boys did not have a natural leader – initially Hardeep and then Lembit. They did manage to get John Lewis to donate an item from every floor. The boys decided to go with a “Buy One Get One Free theme”.

For the charity auction, each team were given 150 tickets to sell and Louise Rednapp managed to get £30,000 for just one ticket! Her celebrity contacts came in handy.

Not surprisingly the boys lost the challenge, but we were asked to wait until Friday evening to find out who would be fired from Sport Relief Does the Apprentice!

Crufts 2008

While to the majority of the UK dog owning public, a dog is your best friend and part of the family, some of the competitors at Crufts see their dogs as their lives – with a win at Crufts opening the door to big money sponsorships and much more. Clare Balding, Ben Fogle and Matt Baker take us through the proceedings at day two of Crufts 2008, from the NEC Arena in Birmingham.

For those who have never been to Crufts, it is more than just a dog show with a whole host of entertainment and chances to learn more about the UK dog population and where they come from. When you also consider the fact that there will be over 25,000 dogs at this years show, all looking to be crowned Best In Show come the end of the event, you might start to get a feel for the size of Crufts 2008.

Crufts is officially the largest dog show in the world, something which is reflected by the ever increasing number of entrants. While it may be a little hard to believe, the event has actually been going since 1891 which saw the first show hosted in Islington. Since the early days the popularity has grown and grown, with the size of the event even surprising the Kennel Club (UK) who own and administer the event.

This year has been a little tricky with some controversy in the media with regards to alleged irregular betting patterns on the overall show winner. While these have been investigated and discounted by the authorities, it just shows how much attention the event is attracting not only throughout the UK, but throughout the world. It will be interesting to see which dog and which breed are crowned winners this year, and see if it sparks a demand for the winning breed of dog.

UEFA Cup Live

Spurs Even though Tottenham have had a difficult season in the English Premier League, they have been setting the world alight in the UEFA cup, reaching the last 16. Tonight sees the first leg of their game against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, a team with a real history in the European Cup competitions and one that is more than capable of giving Spurs a game on their own patch.

Tonight’s match comes with commentary from Peter Drury and Ex-Spur manager David Pleat, with Andy Townsend and Robbie offering the studio view of the game, with replays and opinions on the many talking points which are sure to occur.

Robbie Keane will lead out the Spurs team hoping that their European run can fend off pressure from their fans who have shown both frustration and annoyance at their low standing in the league. The performance of the team this season has already claimed its first victim in Martin Jol who was replaced as first team coach by Juande Ramos. Ramos has given the team a new direction, new approach and has promised a whole host of new players for next season. Many of the players who will be on show tonight are quite literally playing for their Tottenham careers.

It will not be an easy passage against the Dutch Champions, and even though Spurs have been in free scoring mode at home, they have been leaking goals at the back. As ever the first goal will be vital and if Spurs can grab even the slightest win and stop PSV scoring then it will give them something to fight for in the second leg.

This promises to be an interesting game with two teams sure to be set-up for different results and different styles. Spurs will be free flowing again while the Dutch are likely to come and defend, limiting Spurs to as few chances as possible.