The Madness of Brad Childress

Well he's finally done it. Brett Favre, who Sports Illustrated rightfully described as the wishiest washiest person in sport, has returned to the NFL and signed for the Minnesota Vikings - something that he was expected to do all summer until he announced he would not do so on July 28th. I have no problem with Favre coming back. One of the oldest sayings in sport is "you're a long time retired". Favre obviously still wants to play and he's found a team that will have him. I do however, have a huge problem with the Vikings and specifically Brad Childress for taking him on.

Let's look at the facts.

Favre is 40 in October and coming off surgery for a torn bicep in his throwing arm. How many 40 year olds have been successful quarterbacks in the league?

Last season his decline had begun before he injured his bicep. In September he three 12 touchdowns against 4 interceptions while completing 70% of his passes. From October on his record was 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The nadir, of course, was December (2TDs. 8ints, no playoffs). The injury was not the only factor in Brett Favre's decline. If this was anyone other than Favre would those kind of numbers not be taken into account by a coach?

While getting surgery on his bicep, his surgeon - the renowned Dr. James Andrews spotted a partially torn rotator cuff. This injury nearly ended Chad Pannington's career. Twice.

When Favre announced back in July that he would not be coming back, he cited soreness in his knees and ankles and worried that his body would not last a whole season. In the space of three weeks what changed?

What kind of effect does this have on the quarterbacks the Vikings already have? Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels may not be long term prospects but having watched their coach chase the man from Hattiesburg all summer like a crazed lover what must they and the rest of the team think? The headcoach has basically turned around to them and said I have no confidence in you to lead this team to the playoffs. What if Favre's body does give out like he feared? Are they going to have the confidence or desire to step in and do a job for the team?

Madness. Absolute madness.

Tea at Lords

England's day so far, no doubt about it. At tea on the first day at Lords England were 225/2 with captain Andrew Strauss unbeaten on an even century. He shared a partnership of 196 with Alistair Cooke. Cooke was unluckily out lbw to Mitchell for a well made 95. He was unlucky not because he wasn't out - he was plumb - but rather it was the only straight ball Johnson had bowled all day. The left armer continued his bad form from Cardiff except he was much worse than the first test. Mixing wide long hops with leg stump half volleys, he cut a sorry figure for the first two sessions of the day, conceding 77 in eleven overs. The pick of the Australian bowlers was Ben Hilfenhaus. On the money from ball one, Hilfenhaus deservedly clamed a wicket when he brought one back into Ravi Bopara's pads. The Essex man may have got an awful decision in the last test but he could not dispute this one.

Kevin Pietersen looked uncomfortable to Hilfenhaus as the ball started to swing but Strauss continued on his serene way bring up his hundred two balls before tea.

It has been a tough two sessions for Ricky Ponting. After he lost the toss he then had to watch his bowlers get taken apart by the English batsmen. To add insult to injury he also lost his spinner, Nathan Haurits to a dislocated fingure when he tried to take a low return catch off Strauss.

The End for Fred

Andrew Flintoff today announced he will retire from Test match cricket at the end of the current Ashes series against Australia. The Lancashire man, who has passed a late fitness test before tomorrow's second test after injuring a knee in the first test, cited his injury history and the toll the five days of a test takes on his body. He will remain available for one day and twenty20 cricket.

The 31 year old came into the England team as a precocious teenager against South Africa in 1998 but was hopelessly outclassed. Like nearly everyone has since Ian Botham retired, he struggled with the tag of "the new Botham" and was in and out of the England team for several years. His reputation for living life to the full off the pitch as well as troubles with his own weight and fitness left him open to widespread criticism from the press and within the cricket world. However, he finally established himself under the management of Duncan Fletcher and the captaincy of Michael Vaughan, averaging 52 with the bat including a dramatic 142 at Lords against South Africa in 2003. He followed that up with fine performances the following summer but that would be only a prelude to the Ashes series of 2005. In a series acclaimed by many as the greatest of all time, Flintoff dominated the stage, inspiring England to a first win against Australia since 1986/87.
His stats for the series – 24 wickets and over 400 runs – were excellent but they told only half the story. Every time he took the ball in his hand he made something happen. His over at Edgbaston when he took the wickets of Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting was described by Mark Nicholas commentating as "the over of the series", he followed that with a 102 in the 4th Test that Wisden described as " a century of murderous purpose." At the end of that historic series it seemed the world was his oyster and only greatness awaited. Ultimately the fates would conspire against him.

Just as the England management a generation earlier had mistaken a great player for a great captain in Ian Botham, Duncan Fletcher and co did the same with Flintoff. When Michael Vaughan was injured before the next summer, Flintoff was named as captain. He led England for three test against Sri Lanka only for he himself to go down with injury. Andrew Strauss promptly stepped in and led England to a series win over Pakistan. England were to travel to Australia to defend the Ashes the following winter and with Flintoff feeling his way back to full fitness, Strauss seemed the obvious choice to continue as captain. Instead they picked Flintoff to lead the party.

Targeted relentlessly by the Australians, Flintoff could only watch as an outclassed England were whitewashed to the delight of the natives. He would never reclaim the greatness that briefly shone on him in 2005. Since that summer he has missed more tests than he has played and whispers had begun that perhaps England were a better team without him and maybe the test team could not continue to wait for him as he recovered from his latest ailment.

The latest knee problem seems to have been the straw that broke the camel's back. He informed the players on Monday of his intentions and as rumours started to fill the air he formally made his announcement though the Press Association and followed that with a press conference at Lords.

The timing of the announcement does put the selectors in a bit of a spot. What if his form does not merit a place in the last test? Will they drop him as they would with other players or will they allow him to say good bye to his adoring fans publicly? In any case it may not matter. "Fred" will continue to play one day and Twenty20 cricket which his bank manager will be very pleased to hear. Like Darren Gough before him, he seems destined to see out his days on the international 20 overs circuit and playing for England in the shorter forms if he is selected.

After 2005 Wisden described Andrew Flintoff as having made the "quantum, the Beamon leap, from excellence to greatness". Ultimately it would be just a fleeting moment before his own body would pull him back to ranks of the merely mortal. He was a very fine test cricketer, but not a great one. If he had been blessed with a more rugged frame he may have made that quantum leap a permanent one, but maybe a fleeting moment was enough.

Good Irish Catholic traditions, #1

Sunday morning: a fry, followed by mass and then off to Croker for the match. I've been doing it for 24 years now and sometimes I don't even notice it. But today I do and I appreciate it even more.

The Squad has been picked, now for the Test team

Rugby Union: The first shock came when the back rows were named. No to Ryan Jones and Tom Croft, but yes to Alan Quinlan and Andy Powell. In the second row, yes to Simon Shaw but no to Steve Borthwick. And perhaps most surprising of all, yes to Keith Earls and Ugo Monye but no Mark Cueto and Delon Armitage. Even the choosing of Paul O’Connell over his international captain Brian O’Driscoll to lead the team, although widely expected, carries an element of risk. The British and Irish Lions squad that Ian McGeechan selected this weekend (with a little input from Warren Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley) has brought several surprises and, perhaps, the possibility of recriminations if the tour does not go as planned. The main talking points right now among the fans are obviously who didn’t make the touring party. In a six weeks time though the question will no longer be who should have been picked for the tour but rather who should be picked for the first test on June 20^th. To that end, here is a best guess at what the management team may do if the first test was this Saturday. As happens on every tour though, somebody will emerge from relative obscurity to take a test place. Few would have expected Jeremy Davidson to make the impact he did in 1997 or Ryan Jones in 2005. So please, don’t read this and then head straight for the nearest bookmakers to put the mortgage on this XV lining out at Durban two months from now.

In the back three, Tommy Bowe and Luke FitzGerald go into the tour as favourites for the wing spots. Both had solid Six Nations but both may have to show excellent for form to cement places in a position that is notable as much for those omitted as those picked. Mark Cueto had a fine Six Nations and has returned to the form he showed when he made it into the England team in the first place a few years ago. He will be disappointed that he hasn’t made the plane, as will be Delon Armitage. Armitage arguably over took Rob Kearney for the second full back spot towards the end of the tournament and had shown a willingness to attack that the Irishman seems to have forgotten. His scything runs against the French stand out and he has continued his form with London Irish. A place should have been found for him. In fairness though, Leigh Halfpenny has electric pace along with the strength to match while Ugo Monye, a few years later than advertised, has finally turned in to the international winger he was supposed to be when he was 20. Lee Byrne is unquestionably the man in possession of the 15 shirt right now and don’t be surprised if Halfpenny and Shane Williams (if he can find his form) make it an all Welsh test back three.

The gamble taken on Keith Earls may be where this tour lives or dies. Keith Earls is a young tyro who played for Ireland in the autumn but didn’t feature in the Six Nations. He has been in fine form for Munster and undoubtedly has a bright future. The selection team obviously see him as a Will Greenwood type selection in 1997. There is a lingering fear though that this tour may have come a year too early for him. Gordon D’Arcy completed his comeback from along term injury this spring and showed he was back in form. Considering he has kept Earls out of the Ireland team his non-selection has to be a surprise. If Earls doesn’t make it and inside centre becomes a question mark position then the second guessing will start quickly. There is a danger Earls may end up like Matthew Tait out of his depth so early in his career. In any case, with O’Driscoll guaranteed his place barring some apocalyptic event, it becomes four players looking for one position. Tom Shanklin will probably shade it as of right now but the fast tracks of the High Veld will suit Riki Flutey and his distribution skills may be key to running the Lions backline.

As of today, the half backs seem relatively straightforward. The faster hands and longer kicking range of Ronan O’Gara will see him picked ahead of Stephen Jones at ten but he needs to pick up his form. It has been sheer grit that has got him though this season. Both these players can count themselves fortunate that neither Danny Cipriani nor James Hook were able to make a late charge for the plane. Dwayne Peel’s injury problems and the inability of Chris Cusiter to find favour with Frank Hadden this year mean neither will be in South Africa and the Lions will be weaker for it. Mike Phillips is big and strong but his pass it too slow for international rugby while Tomás O’Leary has also struggled with his distribution. Once Harry Ellis regained his England place at the expense of the unfortunate Danny Care the Leicester scrum half was outstanding. He scored tries, was a live wire around the park and bossed his pack well. He is the unquestioned starter.

The pack is where things start to get a little more complicated. The Lions seem to want to shift the Springboks around the park and tire them out (hence the selection of someone like Earls) but they also need a pack that will not be intimidated and can ultimately dominate the South African forwards (hence the selection of Alan Quinlan). Let’s start at the front.

Euan Murray has emerged as the best tight head prop in the Home Nations, likewise Gethin Jenkins is seen as the top loose head in Europe. If they were on form both Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan would be worth their place but neither player has shown their best in at least a year. Vickery especially seems to be playing from memory at the moment and it may have been a lack of alternatives that has seen him travel. None of the three hookers picked have had outstanding seasons. Matthew Rees was taken apart at the lineout by the Irish jumpers while both Jerry Flannery and Lee Mears have been considered too small at times. With Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha awaiting them, the one thing the Lions hooker must be able to do is find his jumper consistently. This is where Flannery may separate himself from the pack. If Rory Best was in the party he would be the early favourite because of his throwing but Flannery is excellent in this department. Rees’ traumatic experience in the Irish game may cost him his place in the test team while Mears can be expected to make an impact from the bench.

With Paul O’Connell captaining the side there are essentially four players fighting for one spot. Donncha O’Callaghan started all three tests in 2005, Simon Shaw knows what it takes to win a Lions tour having been there in 1997, and Nathan Hines has taken over from Scott Murray as Scotland’s premier lineout technician while Alun Wyn-Jones is probably the best young forward in Europe. O’Callaghan is abrasive but was anonymous for long periods of the Six Nations. He does not carry a lot of ball but does a lot of the work in the trenches. Unfortunately for the Lions that is not enough. Nathan Hines is a fine player and shone in a poor Scottish team yet he can go missing for long periods of games. Wyn-Jones is a superb middle of the line jumper but that’s something his captain will be doing while he has suffered as part of a struggling Ospreys team. Which leaves the old warrior Shaw. He may be 35 but he has shown the form this year that would have earned him a heck of a lot more than 52 caps for England if it wasn’t for a certain Martin Johnson. He has superb hands for a big man and is a strong ball carrier while he does the dirty work brilliantly. He should start alongside O’Connell.

The back row is probably the most competitive area of the squad. Martyn Williams is thought to be the favourite at openside but to take on the Springbok backrow of Schalk Burger, Danie Rossouw and Pierre Spies – none of whom are under 6’4” – significant bulk will be required. That is why David Wallace has to be considered. Apart from being a brilliant open field runner and a turnover machine for Ireland and Munster, Wallace is 6’2”. He was the outstanding back row for Ireland and deserves his chance. Similarly at blindside, the need for a big, no nonsense player opens the door for Joe Worsley. He is possibly the most anonymous England player ever that had more than 70 caps. He is one of the best tacklers in the game and that skill will be invaluable when trying to mark Pierre Spies. Although Stephen Ferris started every game for Ireland this year, Alan Quinlan is the perfect impact sub. At 34 he may not be able to last the full 80 minutes but will be more than capable of a frantic 30 minutes. He also has something of a wildness about his game that could prove invaluable against the Boks.

Number 8 could prove the most controversial position, and it will be more to do with the player left behind than the battle between Jamie Heaslip and Andy Powell. Ryan Jones should be the test 8. If he ends up on tour due to injury, he will force his way into the first XV. In the meantime, of the two out and out 8s that have been chosen, Jamie Heaslip is probably the more refined player while Andy Powell, although more of a straight ahead runner, can bring an intensity of purpose that Heaslip may struggle to match.

So there it is; a tour that has been looked forward to for four years is almost upon us. All the talk will be thrown out the window when the first game against a High Veld XV kicks off on May 30^th and the inevitable injuries start to pile up. In the meantime, all we can do is wait. Whatever the final result, it promises to be a fascinating tour and if the result of the series is still in doubt with ten minutes left in the final test at Ellis Park, well, we can but dream can’t we?.

Possible team for first test: 15) Lee Byrne, 14) Leigh Halfpenny, 13) Brian O’Driscoll, 12) Riki Flutey, 11) Shane Williams, 10) Ronan O’Gara, 9) Harry Ellis, 1) Gethin Jenkins, 2) Jerry Flannery, 3) Euan Murray, 4) Simon Shaw, 5) Paul O’Connell [c], 6) Joe Worsley, 7) David Wallace, 8) Jamie Heaslip Subs: 16) Lee Mears, 17) Andrew Sheridan, 18) Alun Wyn-Jones, 19) Alan Quinlan, 20) Tomás O’Leary, 21) Stephen Jones, 22) Tommy Bowe.

Andy Flower named England coach

Cricket: Andy Flower has, as expected, been named as the new England Team Director. Flower, who had the job on an interim basis for the recent tour of the West Indies, has signed a contract worth around £250,000 per year.

The new coach has a solid pedigree as a player - a former Zimbabwe captain he finished his career with over 4,500 runs at an average of 51, and earned widespread praise during the 2003 World Cup when he and Henry Olonga wore black armbands to signify "the death of democracy in Zimbabwe."

As the England batting coach under the Peter Moores' regime he is known to have impressed the players with his ideas and attitude and earned widespread praise when leading England though a difficult tour of the West Indies. After a collapsing to 51 all out and losing the first test on that tour, England then declared for six straight innings but could not get a victory, as a result England lost the Wisden trophy for the first time since 2000. A disastrous opening to the one day series seemed to take a toll on the team but they bounced back to win the One Day series - a rare victory for England in that format.

Having already built a strong relationship with his captain Andrew Strauss, Flower will now have to solidify his relationship with Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen is known to have lobbied for Flower's dismissal following the tour of India before Christmas and newspaper comments made by the star batsman while in the West Indies led some to question whether Pietersen would continue to be part of the England team.

That will be just one task facing Flower and with the international summer beginning on May 6th he will not have a lot of time to put his plans in place.

Ugly

Jenson Button stormed to pole position in tommorow's Australian Grand Prix with a brilliant performance in the new Brawn GP car. He was joined on the front row by team mate Rubens Barrichello. It was a stunning turnaround for a team that barely two months ago seemed to be on the way out of F1 after Honda pulled out of the sport.

Undoubtedly the team has been helped by the new regulations brought in by the FIA to level the playing field on the grid and the regulations seem to have caused problems for some of the established teams, most notably McLaren.

Although the rule changes are undoubtedly a good thing both for the sport and the environment, one thing they have done is make the cars incredibly ugly. The elongated nose is okay but just look at the tiny rear wing. It just looks absurd. It's almost as if they designed an ultra hi-tech Formula 1 car and then a 19 year old boy racer bought it and instead of adding a body kit and various flashing lights, he bolted a wing from a 1992 Opal Corsa onto the back of it. Completely absurd.

Okay, I admit I'm completely shallow when it comes to how a car looks but JEEZ!!!

On to Cardiff

Four down, one to go. Ireland stayed on course for a first grand slam since 1948 with a tense 22-15 victory over scotland here at Murrayfield tonight.

Two nervous sides played out a first half low on endeavour with Chris Patterson kicking four penalties to Ronan O'Gara's three. As the game restarted, someone needed to provide a spark. It was provided by Peter Stringer. In a pre-planned move off a line out about 30m out on the left touchline, the recalled scrum half took a ball off the top and burst through the gap in the middle of the line, drew Patterson the full back and off loaded to a celebrating Jamie Heaslip who ploughed over from a yard out. O'Gara followed with a drop goal to take the lead to 7 and despite anoter kick from Patterson, O'Gara sealed the win with a late penalty.