Chedwyn Evans Story

This will just be a small post for now regarding the Ched Evans story that is circulating around the press. It's a story that I felt I wanted to share my feelings about, and I'm sure that many people feel the same.

The justice system is ridiculous, it seems that Mr Chedwyn Evans, a professional footballer most recently with Sheffield  United,  he was to serve for the crime he committed a very small sentence of 5 years. Now being released after half of his sentence he is now appealing his entire sentence on the grounds he feels he was wrongly convicted of the crime.
This crime being the rape of a 19 year old woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, Wales.
Viewing a few journalists opinions, one of which Charlie Wyett, they believe that his way to get back into football or to be accepted back would be to simply apologise for his crime.
Although as he has followed up with another appeal after already having one turned down it doesn't look like Mr Evans will be apologising.
My personal opinion is that whether or not he did it. He should not be taken back into the footballing environment. I think it would be a disgrace to the sport because how footballers and sports men and women are viewed as role models in this age. Whether or not he has committed this atrocious crime, he still put himself in that position to be judged.
He has destroyed a young women's life as she has had to move away from he family, friends and loved ones and try and start a new life. It was believed that it was Ched Evans family that abused her on twitter and released her name at the time of the incident. This has what has caused her to move away and yet still she is being sought out.
Ched Evans did not even see out the full 5 years of the sentence which was handed to him. I do not think that was enough anyway. But 2 and a half years is ridiculous. I'm not saying he has committed the crime but for a criminal who is 100% guilty and 5 years is the sentence it's a slap on the wrist. It's not like half your life like the sentence should be.
I am sure the Ched Evans will get picked up by a club and start getting paid the obsene amounts of money he was getting paid before. There is still talk of Sheffield United trying to resign Mr Evans. Although a petition of over
150,000 signitures has emerged, the petition needs another 50,000 I am not a Sheffield United fan but I have signed it myself. Because I'm a fan of football.
https://www.change.org/p/kevin-mccabe-chairman-of-sheffield-utd-football-club-refuse-to-reinstate-ched-evans-as-a-player-at-sheffield-united

This is all happening while the victim is trying to rebuild her life. So let's not forget about her.

Thanks for reading, Anthony.

Highlights of the Week

Just here sipping away at my Pepsi I must apologize for the lack of a post this week. I have been pretty busy although I have to say I have managed to catch some sport here and there. This hopefully won't be my only post, I still need to catch up on Greg Dyke and his motion of the 'Rooney Rule'. So it will hopefully integrate with my previous post on international football.

Anyway moving on to just a few sporting highlights from my week. These are sporting moments that caught my eye for one reason or another.

Australia Diamonds - New Zealand Silver Ferns The Constellation Cup

Australia GD Julia Corletto and New Zealand's Cathrine Latu GS/GA

I will be honest I have not watched this from the start, we don't get a great deal of netball on our television. But I was having breakfast one morning and as always put some sort of sport on. That morning it was the first game in the Constellation Cup series. 

The game was at such a high level and high intesity if you looked away for one second you missed something. Since I saw that first game the Diamonds have impressively swept the cup series 4-0. A rather tighter affair in the final game.

Injury affected Silver Ferns with there captain Casey Kopua out for a long period with a knee injury,  put up significant resistance. But it wasn't to stop the Australians coming back at them in the final game. 

A- 59 NZ- 42

A-49 NZ- 40

A-47 NZ- 34

A-51 NZ- 47

My player of the series was the Diamonds GS Caitlin Bassett. At 6ft3in, 193cm she seemed to be everywhere, passes thrown into her never easy catches. Making catches and always making the scores. Always going to be tough for any defence, constantly shooting over 90%.

If you haven't seen any of this I'd recommend watching at least one game. If your a sports fan you will enjoy it.

Euro Qualifications Madness 

Slovakia 2 Spain 1
Italy 2 Azerbaijan 1
Poland 2 Germany 0
Estonia 0 England 1 
Iceland 2 Holland 0
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1 Belgium 1
Croatia 6 Azerbaijan 0
Malta 0 Italy 1
Germany 1 Rep Ireland 1
Poland 2 Scotland 2

This has happened throughout the week with these results popping up very surprisingly just as you wouldn't expect. But as many people would suggest, it's the nature of the game it can throw all sorts at you. But when Germany, Spain and Holland all lose away to what they would call inferior opposition. It does bring a small smile to your face. Even if Scotland are doing moderately well for a change. That's football.

The WSL Title Decider

The WSL (Women's Super League) is not something a lot of people are familiar with. I have been to a few women's football matches and maybe that's why I keep tabs on it. Or perhaps it's because I'm a Liverpool fan, and in the women's game Liverpool aren't doing at all bad.

The story of this year's WSL title is quite unique. In a way that it was a three horse race up until the very last stages. Liverpool Ladies started third in the table at the start of the day. Only 3 points behind leaders Chelsea who were bidding for there first WSL title. In second lay Birmingham Ladies who were again just 2 points behind. So this gave Liverpool a lot of work to do at the start of the day having two other teams with a clearer chance of title success.

It was a topsy turvy afternoon for all sides involved. But all the luck seemed to be favouring the Reds. Both Chelsea and Birmingham needed to win against Manchester City and Notts County respectivly to make sure of the title, depending on the result from the other, in the case of Birmingham. For Liverpool nothing other than a win against Bristol Academy would be acceptable for them to be acceptable to retain there title.

As I've mentioned I think luck was with the Reds on Sunday afternoon with them achieving an emphatic 3-0 victory over Bristol Academy. There rivals however did not fair so well. Chelsea came out on the end of a 2-1 defeat by the hands of Manchester City when Toni Duggan scored there second to break Chelsea hearts and seal the win. Birmingham only faired a little better with the result and could only manage a 2-2 draw with Notts County.

The 3 goals scored by Natasha Dowie, Lucy Bronze, and a penalty from Fara Williams for Liverpool Ladies ended up being very important as they secured there second successive title on goal difference.

A very dramatic afternoon with a very bizarre end to the WSL.

Green Bay Packers v Miami Dolphins - Final Packers Drive

I don't think this needs to many words to describe this. But what a fantastic game this was. And with three seconds to go Aaron Rodgers manages to find TE Andrew Quarless in the end zone to cap off a magnificent 11 play drive. It was looking for so long like Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins would come back to take this one but Green Bay had other plans.
I can only say so much about this game I would recommend watching the highlights on NFL.com especially of the final drive itself. There is a little on the video above.

This ends my chatter for this week. Technically could be about 3 mini posts. But anyway. Hope you enjoyed it. If you managed it. Speak later Anthony 

NBA Fantastic Story

The Utah Jazz sign 5 year old JP Gibson to a 1 day contract, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. What an experience this must of been for the young man and his family. Think it's a fabulous story for the NBA.

Manager Brawl

Got to be a favourite moment of the footballing weekend

International Football

The years have caught up with me and being the ripe old age of 24 I see international football in a different way than I used too.
When your a young kid say 8 for example when you watched England you used to go into like a dream state.
They were your hero's, playing for your country. Even at a seriously young age you could understand what it meant to a nation. By the way your family or friends acted prior to a game. There was excitement but also tension. A mixture of feelings which almost always ended in chaos.
I think as a young child you can pick up this passion for not just international football but sport in general. It gets passed down through generations. Although as people will tell me there are some exceptions, myself possibly included.
Now I see international football especially in England as a weakness. There is a lack of focus on the international aspects of the game. Do we keep employing foreign managers for our top English teams or do we need to suffer set backs to learn, if we are going to produce top talent for the English game?
Can England or I spread the question wider, the UK produce consistent world class players? I say no. There has been many arguments regarding our international game and how we don't have enough young talent playing in our domestic leagues. This would give greater food for thought to the manager of the national team at the time. The manager of whichever UK nation will never a crop of 'world class' talent to choose from because the teams they play on consist mostly of foreign players. Never there own kinsmen.
An international side from the UK will have one or two outstanding players for a period. An example will be Gareth Bale. He will be around the Welsh set up for years to come but he needs players around him. He can't do everything on his own like he did at Tottenham a few years back.
Teams need to be producing young British players and not just releasing them. Give them time and energy. Money is being taken out of football at grassroots level when it should be going in. Where do people think these players come from.
The United Kingdom will have no international football set up if we keep to these terms. Spectators are gradually losing intrest in what used to be such a passionate family oriented time. Times are changing can international football change.

My First Post

Hi, first things first there is not much about sport in this first post, I will have to admit that. More about myself I guess.
So hello my name is Anthony Neil Miller for those who don't no me. I am very new to writing and blogging my way through the day. I ramble a lot and I guess that's one reason why I'm giving this a go. To get those thoughts down on to a page, to see if they mean anything to anyone else.
I have chosen the topic of sport for my blog as it's what I like to think I no most about. Not more than others know, just more than the other topics that surround me.
I keep up with lots of sports both in the men's and women's game. I'm not sure I've found a sport that I can't watch, yes not even cricket. Being a Liverpool fan, I will say football takes up a lot of my focus and not just the Premier League. I've tried to keep up with most of the major European leagues.

I'm hoping to mention a lot of topics in this blog ranging from money to health, all the world of sports news past and present. Good and bad areas of sport, things that could improve a sport and also what may have ruined a specific sport on a viewing basis.
I think that's enough rambling for now, hopefully some more posts to follow in the coming weeks :)