Fair play Barney - announce the retirement coming at the Worlds at the end of the year (even though anyone with a clue knows you're million to make it), collect the sympathy PL invitation cash, then knock it on the head.

One of my favourite ever sportsmen - Chapeau!

When I see that there is a new post on this thread I always open it with a sense of trepidation.

And as soon as you see that it's not your name that's been posted you decide to get out of bed.

Hey Tom - very interesting programme on Gypsies on BBC Four last night, which I’m sure you saw.

Lots of archive footage from the 60s and 70s including Billy Welch’s uncle being interviewed and looking and sounding *exactly* like him.

Pretty bonkers story here - an NBA player was transferred during a game in which he was sat on the bench. People in the crowd saw the news on their phones and found out before he did.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/07/lebron-james-harrison-barnes-trade-mavericks-midgame-nba

I know players in US sports get shunted around like slaves but this seems particularly brutal.

At those prices I’d assume they were for testing the mattress with Scarlett Johanssen

X factor winner to have Christmas number 1 at 12/1
Happened 7 times since 2005, other winners were military wives, the justice collective, nhs choir and Ed sheeran
And they’ve got the best talent ever in Dalton this year, pretty much every guest artist they’ve had on has said how good he is
Any thoughts

Xmas number one is not like it used to be - there’s a reason why the song that’s been number one for the last 4 weeks is 7/4 favourite. In order for a song to reach the top people need to actually listen to it on Spotify/Youtube etc.

When the Xfactor person used to get to the xmas number one every year it was through people buying the record in the week before xmas, not because they actually listened to it when they got home. No one’s listening to this xfactor stuff on spotify.

Bump

Ah, so you prefer a pregnant woman?

Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Toure
Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Toure
Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Toure
Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Kolo Toure
Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Yaya Toure

Looks like Independence Day

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-6230853/Sports-Personality-Year-shortlist-revealed-night-BBC-shake-up.html

Changes in the way SPOTY is run this year.

Taking the shortlist down to 6 that won't be announced until the night will mean no campaigns for niche sports will have a chance to get going.

Initial thoughts are that the shortlist would be very obvious, but surely the BBC would get huge stick if there aren't at least a couple of women on it, who would then get few votes (top 2 women in the betting are Dina Asher Smith and Lizzy Yarnold).

That reduces things further to probably only 4 real runners. Current 2nd fav is Harry Kane who, from an achievement point of view, is a lol choice. Add to this that the only winner from a team sport since 2005 is Ryan Giggs, who had Man Utd fans voting for him and Kane doesn't appeal.

Next two in the betting are Alastair Cook and Lewis Hamilton - Cook obvious relying on a Giggs-style lifetime achievement award and Hamilton a weapons-grade arsehole who will win another F1 title by beating the one other car that has a comparable performance level.

Next Anthony Joshua and Tommy Fleetwood - Joshua couldn't win last year after beating Klitschko and has fought no-one this year and Fleetwood is a bit of a character, played quite well in a team event and came 2nd in US Open - hardly earth-shattering.

This leaves Geraint Thomas - Tour De France winner, Welsh and, crucially, seemingly untainted by the drugs scandal in cycling. As we've seen in previous years, it doesn't need many votes to win this and if you find 'being Welsh' a niche thing then it'll get him votes.

He is 11/8 fav and the major thing against him is that I have no idea how interesting a person he comes across when being interviewed - this is a huge thing as Mo Farah's child won him the award last year by being cute in the interview.

I had a scoot down the betting list to see if I could find a flyer at a bigger price and the one who jumps out is Tyson Fury at around 50/1. He fights Wilder two weeks before SPOTY and has the potential to give a lively interview on the night. He came 4th three years ago despite spending the night defending himself against anti-gay comments he made.

It's obviously dependent on him beating Wilder (he's 2.6 on BF to win) which would make him about 18/1 for SPOTY on the night but if he beats Wilder he'd be shorter than that so I'd make him a bet right now.

Bubba Watson getting interviewed at the moment and he sounds ill - said he's been battling a cold for the past few days and that 'half the guys at the fedex last week were battling something' and that all the travelling this week doesn't help.

4 or 5 high pressure rounds in 3 days is a lot so might we see some of the US team run out of steam on Sunday?

Despite the fact he’s had a bad summer, Cook will be very difficult to replace as England still haven’t managed to replace Strauss as an opener.

Enniscrone Nixon.

Seems reasonable. Reading the article it seems the stones/pebbles serve a purpose.

If they put up say 300 gold bars to do the same job, would it be OK to steal them?

Gold bars would be different, that'd be a carat on a stick.

If if were gold then the notice would be fair enough - the local authorities couldn’t be accused of bullion people.

I go 9 

Yeah - £62 seems a little punchy for a Fitba League 2 game.

'Andrea Jenkyns, a Tory Brexiter says she has received hundreds of emails from people disappointed by the Chequers plan'

Even more importantly, I understand she has received several PMs as well.