Virtual Insanity

Lames Suck.

First game is tonight so we shall see, but without Mats Sundin who is prancing around not deciding his future I can't see them making any significant improvements. Go Canucks!

Think that's what Murray might have been thinking with his little outburst today. I respect that the guy says what he thinks and doesn't care if he steps on toes but the fact of the matter is Bogdanovic is a lost cause. Almost worth that couple of weekends a year though to keep garnering the support for Wimbledon, which is something I think Murray appreciates already more than Henman ever did, he almost saw it more as a burden at times.

Pretty decent for a 14 year old

Yes they all went abroad, but all of them (as far as I'm aware) spent their formative years in their homeland before, when it became clear they had immense talent, they transferred to world class academys. We have our own version at Roehampton, although Murray is not a big fan due to issues with Jamie going there. We have kids in the 14-18 age group in these sorts of academys and it is the attitude of these sorts that Murray has questioned. There is a separate issue with getting kids involved in the grass roots of the game, but for me it's not one centred on facilities. I agree completely that the middle class mindset of tennis is an issue, but on both sides of any perceived class divide. More public facilities would certainly be a benefit, but number for me is far more important than quality. If kids can be encouraged to pick up a racket and show potential with it, it's no more expensive to have a kid playing tennis than it is football. Clubs will happily help out anyone showing potential with membership fees if need be, I think too many people still see it as a sport not for them because it's considered middle class. Though there can be no doubt that some of the older generation of tennis players don't enjoy it, there is a definite shift for the better in the youngsters getting involved in the game at grassroots level. It's the attitudes of those who have the talent to make it to the top that really need improving though.

Whereas in Serbia they have many top of the range facilities available to the general public. One of the things Murray has been most vocal about is the attitude of promising British youngsters, saying they basically aren't prepared to put in the work required. He has been very honest about it in general and said that for the last few years he hadn't maybe been working as hard as he could but now he is getting his head down and really getting somewhere. Changing tennis here is less about improving facilities and infrastructure than it is improving attitudes, which is what is really needed.

Also forgot to add, Murray can't catch Djokovic, he is 4th no matter what, largely down to a 1st round exit at the Aussie Open at the start of the year when Djokovic made the final, and Djokovic has the slight edge over the rest of the year too. If he wins the tournament he will be a bit over 1000 points behind Djokovic (30% of his points total to put that in context) which he won't make up this year, but that gap should hopefully stay similar until the Aussie Open where Murray has a lot of scope to make up ground on Djokovic at least.

I think it's wonderful that people can call Murray a 'total cock' without knowing the slightest thing about the guy. He is intense on court and whenever he is interviewed after the match he is very serious, as SF says this attitude is part of what makes him the player he is. Any time I've heard him speak away from the tennis court or on other issues he seems very laid back, although still has the most boring voice known to man. He is incredibly bloody minded, we saw it with his sacking his coach - generally regarded as one of the best in the world - for someone completely unproven at that level, his general relationship with the British press, his refusal to stop the agonising drop shots etc. but the guy is now comfortably number 4 in the world and has a US Open final to look forward to tomorrow, so his decisions haven't been half bad so far.

Which clashes horribly with my 5s. A tough decision indeed, Murray was phenomenal today, I've never seen him playing anything like that, far more aggressive and the vast majority of his shots coming off. Should have broken Nadal in that second set but he can clearly get that break back when they resume, I'm going to predict Murray in 4 though.

Murray's got a better variety of shots than Hewitt and is one of the best, if not the best, match players on the tour. The backhand lob is very reminiscent of Hewitt and like Hewitt he executes it better than anyone else in the game. We can go on as long as we like about the misfortune of being up against the Federer/Nadal monopoly of the grand slams but he really needs to be challenging Djokovic for that third spot to make that a legitimate complaint.

David Ferrer is his quarter's top seed, which is a massive bonus obviously, but he's had a few crap draws so I reckon he deserves this one, as long as he makes the most of it.

Hot Hot Heat - Get in or get out

I'm going to be in Michigan when the Red Wings are in the conference final hopefully! I looked up ticketmaster for game 7 v the Av's and it was easy to get a single ticket, I would go mental if I got a ticket to the conference final, especially against the Sharks.

You mean for spanking Sid in the face with his stick? No, unless I missed it, and the Rangers (who I have no time for) tried to turn it round on Crosby for making the most of the penalty at the end, which is utter bullshit IMO, and anyway it's karma for having Avery on your team and for him getting away with that earlier incident.

Move over Columbo...

Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Fucking Hell.

Hope so, had to switch off at 3-0 so my flatmate could play PlayStation, not impressed.

Disappointing to see, especially since they only beat Boston, can't imagine what it will be like if they go the distance. I'm backing the Habs to win the Cup, followed by Pens, strangely I actually think Habs have a better chance against Pens than against the Rangers. In the West I have to back the Red Wings, my original team before I became an un-glory hunter, mainly because I severely dislike the rest of the teams left.

Kinda outshone a little bit in the end Commiserations to Mr Brightside, Calgary did very well to take it to a game 7 but the Sharks looked far better throughout and fully deserved their win. Still gutted about the Caps though, but Montreal should do the business against the Flyers.

Caps lose to Flyers, everyone on the planet outside of Philadelphia (even those that know nothing about hockey) is gutted, totally undeserved.

Goooooo Joe! Only kidding, much as I am meant to hate the Flames, I find myself rooting for the Canadian teams and the atmosphere in the Canadian stadiums is just unbelievable, was madness for the Habs last night and that's the quarter final! Plus the C of Red is something else.