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| Don't exactly jump out off the screen do they... |
As the opening weekend of the Premier League season draws to a close, many fans both club-biased and neutral will enter Monday morning with a tinge of disappointment, after the majority of footballing displays on offer from this weekends Premier League schedule were generally quite lacklustre. In fact, if it wasn't Owen Coyle's Bolton ripping apart QPR 4-0 on the Londoners induction to the top tier, and the ever controversial Joey Barton and debutant Gervinho seeing red (literally) in the Newcastle versus Arsenal match, it would probably be safe to say that from a footballing point of view, this weekend has been one to forget.
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Even as a 'sports' fan, I struggle to
appreciate any aspect of Cricket. |
For many sports fans, during the Sunday evening after a satisfying Sunday roast, the weekend's sporting events get a quick mental overview,and im certainly no exception. Unfortunately, due to the lacklustre football in the Premier League this weekend, it was more of an arithmetic session rather for me personally, in terms of football. So then I moved on to other sport events I'd watched this weekend: England's loss against Wales in Rugby Union was pretty bleak, the US PGA Championship had yet to get into it's stride, and despite the dominant performance against India in the Cricket, the match had been unable to personally penetrate my disliking for the game as a whole. How about the other second tier of English Football? Well Leicester lost 2-0 before my very eyes, so as a pretty disgruntled fan, that instantly put pay to that option. The excitement in the sport this weekend, actually lay with two wheel action...
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| Flying/Riding with the flag: Cavendish is the real deal |
Yes, as im sure any Sky Sports News viewer will be in the knowledge of, Mark Cavendish recorded yet another fantastic victory in his field of expertise aboard his road bike, in the London 2012 test road race in preparation for next years Olympic cycling event. Cavendish, who is still without a 'trade team' in which riders compete within throughout the cycling season, is widely regarded as one of the finest British Sportsman of the current generation, and widely tipped to be a frontrunner for an illusive gold medal in next years' Olympic road racing.
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| Moto 2 is the place for unrivalled two wheeled action/drama. |
However, despite another Cavendish special being dished up around the streets of London/Surrey, my highlight from this weekends sport lay in the Czech Republic, at the Brno Autodromo race circuit, where the Moto GP circus has been performing. It always amazes me how little sports fans generally know about Moto GP, it would seem that it is somewhat still in the shadow of Formula One in terms of exposure and popularity in the Motorsport world, which is a shame, seeing as the sport features three top class, fantastically exciting race categories with the top riders in the world. This weekend was no exception, with the second tier race category, 'Moto 2' , providing the main bulk of the action. Victory in the race eventually fell to Italian rider Andrea Iannone, after what can only be described as a mesmerising race full of incident, breathtaking overtakes, and a whole host of 'leather on leather' racing. The series' is basically packed full of the next generation 'Moto GP' riders, ready to replace household names such as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at the very summit of the Motorcycling world. Because of this, the races are without fail, brimming with action, excitement,and above all, havoc.With riders placing death defying overtakes on one another, pushing their respective machinery to it's very limit, fighting for points, wins, and most importantly recognition that secures the future their fledging careers. It's a joy to watch, or in some cases forces you not to, as a rider sticks a manoeuvre up the inside of the guy in front at 200+ kph...
It's that gutsy determination and steely interior that the riders project out on the racetrack that makes the category such a brilliant watch for any sports fan.This along side the constant development race going on behind the scenes regarding the intricate,deadly fast machinery on which the riders board, really does make the Moto 2 race series' a 'must watch' event on any Sunday morning on which the event is in action.
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| Famous Culprit: Lazy Berba |
This 'determination' that makes Moto 2 so good, brings me neatly back to the subject of the Premier League, where such 'determination' is only really apparent with a minority of players, often from teams fighting for survival, nearing a seasons' conclusion. This is a great shame; not only is it visually apparent to paying fans at the matches, but it also blunts the football game itself, with no great sense of urgency or hunger for the three points that come along with a win. Once again, the situation regarding ridiculously large wage fee's comes into the limelight, with players seemingly sorted for life in terms of finance, maybe it's a simple case of the money going to their heads.
So to sum up, after a disappointing weekend, with no great entertainment being offered from the Premier League, even on opening day, take time to find this weekends brilliant Moto 2 race, aswell as the 125cc race and Moto GP race itself, on Eurosport during the week or elsewhere, and im hopeful you'd find my elation and positive feedback above well and truly justified.
Feel free to leave comments below.
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