OK, I really haven't done very well in keeping up-to-date with my blog. I must try harder.

For now, let's just say that I'm relieved that the Yankees have made the post season. It didn't look possible earlier in the year, and I was contemplating a season when the Yankees didn't make it to October for the first time in 14 years. Thankfully A-Rod led from the front, with help from Posada and Wang, and now we are facing the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS playoffs. I think we'll win in 4.

I hope that A-Rod, Posada, Rivera and Pettite all sign up for another season, but I'll be happy to wave goodbye to Mussina. He was a good player for the Yankees earlier in his stay in New York, but the time has come to say goodbye. I don't really want to trade for Santana either. We've got some good pitching propects next year, with Chamberlin, Hughes, Kennedy and Anderson all looking solid, along with Pettite and Wang. If Clemens wants one more year, I'd deal, although on reduced terms. Personally, I think it would be great if we could win the World Series this year. I'm sure the Rocket would retire on that high, especially if he was the winning pitcher in the game that clinched the title.

Anyway, that's all to come. We've got to get past the Indians first. Roll on tonight!

OK, so I'm sad, I'll admit it. I've stopped in (albeit because I was baby-sitting) and watched all of the Eurovision Song Contest by myself.

Personally speaking, I don't understand why Serbia won (or for that matter why the UK came 23rd), except for the fact that politics get everywhere.

For what it is worth, I had Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, France, Greece as my top 5. I figured Scooch deserved 9th or 10th. It wasn't that good a song, and the performance was decidedly average.

Still, I guess it shows what I know about music.

Anyway, congratulations to Serbia. After the shit that that country has been through in the past 15 years, maybe it deserves the glamour and positive attention that Eurovision will bring to it.

So it's June 27th when old Tone will pack in his job at No 10 Downing Street and rejoin the back benches.

It can't happen to quickly for me. I can't stand him. As a person, I'm sure he is very amiable, but I think he has become absorbed in his own cult of personality over the last few years.

He took us into a conflict in Iraq that has all the hallmarks of becoming a more recent version of Viet Nam. He has lead a Government where it's members have consistently lied about their behaviour. He has taken away the ability of the Labour Party to make it's own policies, introduced links between business and the Health Service, failed the Third World and sucked up to George W Bush, all in the interests of leaving his mark on history. The guy is a grade A, certified wanker.

The sad thing is that I'm not convinced that Gordon Brown is any different. I hear the rhetoric about Brown being his own man, but I think he will end up leading us down a very similar path, and ending up much as John Major did. Personally speaking, I will be voting for whoever stands against him.

With a new leader, I can see the Labour Party hanging on to power in 2 years time at the General Election, albeit with a much reduced majority. That will give Brown 6 years as PM. After that, it's anyone's guess as to what happens.

What has made me laugh today is the calls by both the LibDems and the Tories for a snap election? Why? Are they hoping to scare the new leader into having Parliament dissolved? Rightly or wrongly, the people of Britain voted the Labour Party into office. Was there a General Election when Thatcher was ousted?

Precedent has been set already, and surely the new PM deserves the chance to establish some of their own policies and take the country in a new direction over the next couple of years (or not as is their right). Then we can make an informed decision at the next General Election (in 2009 or 2010).

If I had to summarise Blair's term of office, I would say disappointing. In 1997, I worked from 7am until 10pm getting people to vote, manning polling stations, knocking on doors, driving cars and entering numbers into computers. In the end Hugh Bayley was re-elected in York and Tony Blair took office. There was an air of hope about the country. We expected a change after 18 years of Tory mis-rule. Much was promised, either tacit or implicit, and things did change.
However, the last few years seem to have become bogged down in the same lies and deceit that contaminated the Tories term of office. Maybe it's true that power corrupts, but surely we need to find a new way now, before it's too late.

Mr Brown, if you do take office as PM, make Ed Balls your Chancellor, and bring the troops home from Iraq. If America wants to have militants kill their troops, it's up to them, but we deserve better.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister for only a little while longer. Thank f**k!

So I sat and watched the game last night on Sky. I knew that it was going to be a fairly bland game, and I was right. There were no starters for United last night who would be first choice if every one was fit.

In fairness to the team though, it was a steady performance. The only disappointment was Dong Fangzhou, our Chinese striker who seemed to be off the pace for the entire time he was on the pitch. He was replaced by Wayne Rooney with about 20 minutes to go. I know he's been in Antwerp for the last 3 years, but for me, the jury is still out. He didn't seem to add anything to the game.

Kieran Lee and Chris Eagles both looked good on the right hand side. Kuszczak had a good performance in goal, and looks like he might push Ben Foster for the number 1 keepers role when Van der Sar leaves the club. Smith and Fletcher worked hard in midfield and Richardson seemed to enjoy his creative role.

I really hope that Heinze doesn't leave the club in the summer. He doesn't have the pace that he had before his knee injury, but he can still do a job on the left hand side, and I think he will give us depth at centre back as well. He is certainly a better defender than Silvestre.

Anyway, just one game to go, against West Ham, on Sunday. For what happened in 1995, I hope we stuff them and Wigan beat Sheffield United. That way, West Ham will be down in the Championship.

My heart goes out to the parents of Madeleine McCann. I can only imagine what they are going through.

I'm sure everyone who reads this will join me in hoping that she is found safe and well, and returned to her family.

How cool is that. Roger "The Rocket" Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history is returning to the Bronx to pitch the remainder of the 2007 with the Yankees. I'm made up.
Clemens pitched for the Yanks between 99 and 03, winning 2 World Series titles in 99 and 00 and taking the Yanks to 2 other World Series appearances in 01 and 03. His best mate, Andy Petitte re-joined earlier in the year.

Even at 44, Clemens has a lot to offer the Yankees, at least for this season. With Pettite and Clemes in the pitching rotation, along with Mussina (when he's fit) and Wang (when he's fit), the Yankees have 4 very good pitchers, with another couple fighting to take the 5th spot.
The pitching needs to start working if they are going to make up the games they are behind the Red Sox. It hasn't yet, and that's why the Yankees aren't in 1st place. The offense has been working, with A-Rod hitting home runs (see earlier post). We just need the pitching to get the other guys out.

We've got our trophy back, we've got our trophy back.

You can stick your Champions League up your arse.

We are Premier League Champions again. That's 9 times in 14 seasons. Given the amount of money Chavski have thrown at players over the last few yeas, it's a great win.

I'm made up, and I hope we beat them at Wembley, like we did in 1994, to win the Double. That will make it all the more sweeter.

Ronaldo has been a different class this year, and I have to mention the performances from Giggs and Scholes in midfield, but for me, the player that made the difference was Vidic. He's huge and gave the defence so much stability.

With a little luck, Sir Alex will add some depth to the squad next season. I'd love to see a left back come in. I think Bardsley deserves a crack at right back, and Kieran Lee is coming through. I think Heinze is immense, but is better at centre back after his injury, providing competition with Ferdinand and Vidic.

I hope we get Hargreaves and Nani, and a decent striker. I'd love to retain this trophy next season.

Seriously made up.

Another 3 points, and just as importantly, a Derby win against City.

There are some teams you just love to beat, and City are one of those for me. I can't stand them. It's something to do with being brought up as a United fan.

I was disappointed with the ref. He kept 'missing' Michael Ball's blatant attempts to foul Ronaldo. He missed the stamp by Ball on Ronaldo in the 3rd minute and just about everything after that. Even the foul for which he gave a penalty should also have had a yellow card with it.
Michael Ball has joined the list of players that I loathe. His bullying tactics at the start of the game where way over the top and I hope the FA / Manchester City take action. Deliberately stamping on a player's chest when they are lying on the ground is not acceptable. Earlier in the season, Thatcher was banned for his foul on Mendes and I hope there is a similar ban here. Ball could have done a lot of damage to Ronaldo.

Anyway, I hope that Arsenal and Chelsea is a nice draw tomorrow, which would mean that we can go to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as the new Champions, which would really piss a lot of Chavski fans off. It would go someway to making up for a lacklustre performance on Wednesday night.

With a little luck, by tea-time tomorrow, we'll have our trophy back!

Oh well, another election night comes and goes.

It was a first for me. Normally, I'm heavily involved in the election for the local Labour Party, be it Council Election, European Elections or a General Election.

However, after the General Election of 2005, I took a decision that I would do nothing for the Labour Party until that tosser Tony Blair stepped down as Leader. I can't stick the bloke. I think he is false and I take comfort from the fact that I didn't vote for him.

Anyway, back to the plot. I didn't do anything, and went to bed without really glancing at the results.

I can't say I'm surprised by the result in Scotland. The Labour Party had it coming. I'm not convinced that it is a permanent state of affiars, and I think there will be a swing away from the SNP in the next General Election, especially if there is a Scottish PM.

I did take great pleasure in the result in the City of York though. The Liberal Democrats there took a beating. The people of York really brought the events of the last 4 years on themselves by voting those prats in in the first place. I'm glad that they came to their senses and voted most of them off. It just goes to show that politically, we are like sheep, and always follow the flock, and always thinkt that the grass is greener on the other side.

Anyway, with a little luck, Blair will be gone in a few weeks and I can get involved in local politics again.

Before I sign off though, I should say, for the record, that the Liberals took Cottingham South and Labour was beaten into 3rd place. Still, at least I've got something to spend the next 4 years on!

So what is it with the Church? Last week we were hearing about a paedophile choirmaster who was sent to prison for abusing boys, and then this week, it's a parish priest.

Over the years, we have had to listen to the Church pontificate as to why church numbers are dropping off, and they don't see a link. Despite it's pleadings to the contrary, the Church still has dirty old men involved at a grass roots level, dirty old men (and young men) who like children. Worse than this though, is the fact that the Church is doing a good job at covering it up!

As right-minded individuals, shouldn't we be saying no. If the clerical hierarchy is incapable or unwilling to act, surely the Government and the judiciary should be getting involved and thoroughly investigating. If the Church is found guilty of protecting these perverts, surely the Church itself should be sanctioned?

In my view, the sanctions should be limitless. Time after time over hundreds of years, the Church has operated above and outside the law. Now it is time for this to stop. It's no good the Bishop of Bath and Wells telling us that the Church has to take some responsibility for the priest in Clevedon. The Church has to take all the responsibility for hiding this sick man and allowing him to commit child-abuse. Surely the Church is commiting this abuse by proxy?

After the elation of last week, I'm totally gutted this week. We went out of the European Cup with a whimper to Milan. I haven't seen such a spineless display form United for so long. Not one player really fired. Defensive mix-ups cost us the first two goals (well taken by Kaka and Seedorf) and it was inevitable we would conceed a third when we were playing so far up the pitch.

Normally when United have a bad game, there is at least one player who can take the game by the scruff of the neck Scholes and Fletcher came close tonight, but even they looked half-hearted compared to Gatusso and Kaka who just ran the game for Milan.

I hope this isn't a taste of the next few weeks. We need to get back to winning ways on Saturday against City and then sell the title next Wednesday against Chelski.

I'd like to wish Milan all the very best in the Champions League Final. Hopefully, they'll stuff the Scousers out of sight.

With a little luck and a few good signings, we can go two better and win the damn thing next season.

Now I love baseball. I know it comes in for a lot of stick on both sides of the pond, but i do genuinely love it.

My team is the New York Yankees. Like Manchester United, most people seem to hate them. They've started badly this season, not like most years, and are some way behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

However, the revalation has been Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod). He has produced average numbers during his first 3 seasons in New York, but this April, he's numbers have been awesome. In a season, a good player hits 40 - 50 home runs. A-Rod has hit 14 in April and the season lasts until October. I know he can't continue to perform at this level, but with a little luck, the Yankees will start to pick up.

With a little more luck, Roger Clemens will sign back with the Yankees in May. Even at 44, he would be a hell of an addition to the bullpen.

Take me out to the ballgame.

I'm seriously thinking about taking up smoking.

Why?

Because it's being recommended that smokers get paid leave to let them attend therapy to help them quit. So this will get paid for by the NHS, and I will also support them through my NI payments. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a card-carrying member of the Labour Party and a Socialist, but this seems more than a little wrong. Smokers have exercised their freewill to smoke. I fully support any smoker who wants to quit, but there are better, and more deserving causes than people who toke on Cancersticks everyday.

In the same vein, who are Alcohol Concern to tell us that no child under the age of 15 should be allowed to drink alcohol? Granted, they shouldn't be drinking much, but a little wine / beer with a meal now and again shouldn't be a problem, and certainly shouldn't be made illegal. The French let their kids drink and it doesn't cause a problem. Alcohol was available to me and all my siblings, and never caused a problem for any of us.

This is just another example of the PC Brigade sticking it's nose in where it isn't needed and finding something else to bleat about. Enough is enough.

I can't let the passing of Alan Ball go without comment.

Granted, he was a World Cup winner before I was born, but I remember his later playing days from when I first got interested in football.

Here was a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and played the game with dignity. His bearing on the pitch was something that a lot of today's self-absorbed players could learn from. You didn't see Alan Ball go down under the slightest challenge or dive over an opponent's leg to win a penalty in the box.

It's a shame that his managerial career never reached the heights of his playing career, but Alan Ball always displayed his passion for the game, and I hope that this weekend sees people paying tribute to the man in a proper way.

Alan Ball 1945 - 2007. RIP.

So there'll be a new holiday destination soon?

I love the fact that we are always exploring beyond the realms of what we know. The discovery of a new planet, Gliese 581c in the Beta Librae system, gives hope to those that believe we are not alone in the Universe. This makes 231 extra-solar planets that have been 'discovered'.

I have to laugh though when it's so casual presented by newsreaders. It's a bit like "Monday - Pick up Dry Cleaning, Tuesday - Discover new planet that might support life."

Hang on a second. These discoveries are potentially enourmous. Here we have planets that might support life, and more importantly, might support human life. As Stephen Hawking has put it recently, the only future for the human race is if it can break out beyond the bounds of this planet.

Let's face it, we have managed to bugger up the environment with potentially catastrophic results. Nuclear proliferation is on the rise. This is the dawning of the age of not-giving-a-fuck, and we have politicians paying lip service to Climate Change and Third World Aid.

This discovery, for me, is major news. As a planet, we need to be looking at ways to get into space. Not in some Star Trek/Warp Speed way, but in terms of getting permanent dwellings on the Moon and beyond.

Hopefully, even in my lifetime, we will see manned missions to Mars, and possibly even further. This is an exciting time for mankind. There should be a spirit of discovery in the same way that there was when the New World was discovered by Vespucci, Columbus, Magellan et al. We should be striving to push forward the realms of our knowledge, rather than trying to impose our own ideals, customs and mores on others. This is a chance for mankind to do what it does best. I only hope that we don't fall short.

What is it with some people? Sarah, my other half, was driving to the Bransholme Centre in Hull this afternoon to return a pair of trousers which she'd bought for George, my step-son. As she got towards the centre, she heard an almighty crash behind her, and discovered that the off-side rear window of the car had been put through. This resulted in a detour to get the window fixed, rather than getting the trousers returned. The original cost of the trousers was only £4, but the new window cost £50. £54 is certainly the most expensive pair of school trousers I've ever heard of.

Looking at the resulting damage to the car, the most likely cause for this seems to have been something fired at the car, such as a stone or an air-rifle pellet. Surely the idiots that do this kind of thing realise the consequences of their actions. If they had hit the front window, then Sarah would have been covered in glass at the very least and more importantly could have been seriously injured. If George had been in the back, the same result might have happened.

If it was an adult, then they need locking up, but what bother's me more is the thought that it's a teenager. Have they been so badly brought up by their parents that they don't appreciate what happens when they do something as stupid as this? I don't want to start on a "Kids Today" rant, but sometimes I really do despair. I only hope George doesn't grow up like this.
Some of the kids that I see around and about these days really don't seem to give a shit. Should we, as right thinking adults be prepared to accept behaviour from today's young people? We would have been disciplined and made to behave. Have we gone too far as a PC society? Answers on a postcard.

What a game. With a patched up defence, I never thought we would keep a clean sheet. Brown was superb, playing in the middle alongside Heinze. He's had his critics this season, but he has proved in the last couple of weeks that he deserves to be in the squad. He's not as good as Ferdinand or Vidic, but he's a United player for sure.

Scholes' flick for Rooney's first goal was sublime. You just know that if he was still playing for England, they'd be no look-in for Frank Lampard. I saw some rubbish recently that Scholes retired because he was scared of Lampard. Lampard isn't half the player the Paul Scholes is.
Rooney's second goal was sheer class in it's own way too. I was sure that Giggs was going to take the ball into the corner, but he took the defenders away instead and then when Rooney hit it first time, I flew off the bed and nearly took myself out on the radiator! Still, no-one ever said being a football supporter was easy.

Kaka was outstanding for Milan. It's just a pity that we saw some more cynical challeges later in the game from players like Bonera.

I'm sure we will go to Milan and score, and hopefully we will be in Athens in 4 weeks (and hopefully playing the Scousers).

Anyway, roll on next Wednesday.

Boris Yeltsin

I can't let the passing of Boris Yeltsin go un-noticed on this blog. I was listening to various politicians wax lyrical about President Yeltsin on the radio last night. Douglas Hurd described him as "not having a great intellect.". Hmm, way to go Douglas, you certainly picked your words well. Isn't there something about not speaking ill of the dead?

I'll always remember Yeltsin. I studied East European Studies while he was in the Kremlin. In fact, his stand against the Soviet authorities in 1991 was one of the influences on my decision to go to SSEES in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the decision that Gorbachev took to modernise the Soviet Union and break with years of hardline dogma, but Yeltsin made Sovio-Russian history interesting again. Standing on the tank facing down the military during the attempted coup of 1991 will be one of the enduring memories on the 20th Century for me.For me, during the course of my studies, Yeltsin was a larger-than-life figure who dragged a country to the edge of the 21st Century with some radical reforms which didn't always work, and faced down a second coup when Congress tried to impeach him. It's a pity we don't have many politicians with his passion and drive in power now.

Boris Yeltsin 1931 - 2007

Well, another 3 points towards (hopefully) another title.

That said, I thought the referee, Rob Stiles, had a poor game. He missed a dodgy challenge from Colin Kazim-Richards on Patrice Evra which left Evra on the ground, some challenges from Chris Morgan on United players which were rough to say the least, and a very late challenge from Heinze on Shelton which should have seen United reduced to 10 men. It was the kind of match which made me question why this guy is a FIFA-listed ref. He wasn't consistent in how he controlled the game.

Sheffield United are a physical team, but they seemed to go over the top in terms of agression. There was no attempt by Kazim-Richards to play the ball. He went over the top of the ball and into Evra's knee. Surely this should have been a yellow card at the very least? Chris Morgan led with his elbow more often than not and seemed desperate to take Ronaldo's shirt from him before the end of the game.

Don't get me wrong, gentle reader, I still hope Sheffield United beat the drop, I just think that they were too aggresive against United. Aggression born of desperation? Almost certainly, but that was too much and a better referee would have been using the red card.

Personally, I'd like Fulham, Charlton and West Ham to go. I have a soft spot for Watford. However, I think they are doomed to the Championship. I think Fulham will join them, and (hopefully) West Ham, but only because I'd like to sign Carlos Tevez in the summer.

It's certainly going to be an exciting few weeks.

What is going on? I've never been so embarrassed by the England cricket team. The performance against South Africa was shocking. Vaughan should stand down as captain. Whether he survives in the team or not would then be up to the selection committee. Personally speaking, I'd appoint Strauss as the new ODI captain. I think he has earned the right. I'm not sure who would be a good vice-captain. Pietersen maybe?

There haven't been too many England players at the WCC who can hold their heads up and say they've played well. Collingwood, Pietersen, Nixon and Bopara with the bat and Flintoff with the ball. I think Mahmood and Anderson did OK, and Panesar showed potential but they weren't at the races at this WC.

As for the rest, Strauss has started to show some form again (in the SA game at least). Bell and Joyce were disjointed and Vaughan would be shot if he was a racehorse.

As I said in an earlier blog, the team that lines up against the Windies in the summer should be

Trescothick
Bell / Joyce
Strauss
Pietersen
Flintoff
Collingwood
Bopara
Nixon
Mahmood / Anderson
Jones
Panesar

Oh well, at least with Ireland an official ODI side now, maybe we could start our own version of the Tri-Nations with Scotland and Ireland. Maybe we'd even win something then!

OK, so I'm not a food critic, but I can really recomend you never, ever, visit this place.

When I visit a Tapas Bar (or any kind of restaurant), the music that is played should definitely be in the background. Sadly, this wasn't the case here. The music was so loud that even on a table of 4, we had to shout to be heard.

On top of that, we sat next to the DJ booth. Not a problem normally, but the jerk in the booth insisted on smoking throughout our meal, so everything came with that nicotine after-taste. In the end, I had to ask him to stop smoking around us.

Now, on to the food. We ordered 6 dishes and a side order of bread. The bread was massively over-priced. Five pieces of sandwich baguette cost £2. In the same vein, the meatballs were also over-priced. Three meatballs cost £5, and they weren't large. The garlic prawns were tasteless. The chorizo weren't chorizo but chipolattas. The seafood paella was made with a cheap version of Batchelor's Savoury Rice. The potato wedges were a cheap product that was under-cooked and the creamy, spicy dip which it came with was mayonaise with a hint of jalapeno pepper stuffed in to try and give it some kick! Finally, we got a chicken and ham salad, which I can't say I have ever seen on a tapas menu before and certainly didn't fit with the idea of small dishes. The main feature of the salad was lettuce, with some reformed chicken and ham thrown in.

Considering these 6 dishes cost us £30, I really was seriously underwhelmed with the whole experience. I've written to Fusion to complain, and I'll update you when I've had a reply.