Dark times for British Basketball....

Basketball has always had to sit behind the likes of Rugby, Cricket, Tennis and of course the all conquering Football in Britain for many years. A lot of people would probably be surprised to hear that Britain has a professional league and even had a team at the last Eurobasket in Turkey last September; where the best from these shores rubbed shoulders with the best from Europe including several notable NBA players.

We attended the last warm up game last August, before the players flew off to Turkey on their mission at the Eurobasket. The Copper Box, part of the Olympic Park was filled to the rafters with people of all ages to support the boys. The crowd were loud, and certainly entertained throughout by the game, which saw the experienced Greece side pip the hard working Team GB to the win. There were many positives from Team GB, and with the likes of Dan Clark and Myles Hesson in the ranks, the future looked bright. It was a frustrating 7 games for Team GB at the Eurobasket, as they didn't manage to win any of their games. Their were some notable performances though, including a tough 70 - 84 loss to hosts Turkey and 97 -92 loss to Latvia, who were led by New York Knocks star man Kristaps Porzingis.

It seems like last years Eurobasket, may well be the last time we see a Team GB team compete in the competition after the announcement of funding cuts to the game. It also comes at a time when the Team GB women's team have been putting in some fine performances in the Eurobasket qualifiers, which saw them beat Israel and lose to Greece by just 3 points. The funding cuts, which has also been discussed in parliament comes in the wake of the Winter Olympics and the relative success of Team GB, as well as the board deciding their is little chance of the sport winning medals in the next Olympics. Winning medals is a major driver in the criteria for funding in the this country, and with the lack of success in terms of medals playing a major part in the struggles for Basketball to get the backing compared to sports like Cycling and Athletics. What Basketball fans do find frustrating, is the interest within the country for Basketball is high amongst young people in deprived areas. For a sport played so much by young people in this country; and being a team game giving youngsters experience in teamwork, leadership and staying active, why is Basketball so unloved byu the powers that be?

So the future looks bleak for Basketball; and with British Basketball CEO Lisa Wainwright claiming that the teams of all age groups will be forced to withdraw from competition due to the cuts further highlights the bleak situation.

 

Norway impressive in the Winter Olympics with 39 medals and topping the table!

The 2018 Winter Olympics came to a close on Sunday involved after 2 + weeks of skiing, Ice Hockey and a LOT of snow.

It was Norway that led the medals table, with an impressive 39 medals, including 14 Gold medals. It was the solo Gold medal for Team GB, Lizzy Yarnold who won the ever entertaining Skeleton. It was the usual suspects at the top end of the medal table; with Germany, Canada and United States making the top 4.

It was a great show put on by Korea, with a stand out special moment being with the north and south came together to make up the female Ice Hockey team!

Will Manchester City ever be beaten again?

West Ham were the latest victims of the rampant Manchester City team, who continue their impressive Premier League run. Still unbeaten, City went in at half time 1 - 0 down after West Ham's Ogbonna scored with a header to shock the home crowd. City put the east Londoners under immense pressure in the second half, and were rewarded with a goal from an unlikely source in defender Otamendi, just before the hour mark.West Ham continued to fight to get something out of the game, but on the 83rd minute Dr Bruyne put in a delightful ball to Silva, whose clever finish won the game late for City. It was a Raheem Sterling goal on the 96th minute against Southampton on Wednesday night that sealed the points, it does beg the question, how long can City carry this late winners luck on for?

West Ham have had a torrid time of late, however new manager David Moyes will take heart from the performance. There was a late chance from West Ham's Sakho, who put the ball wide handing City the points.

City remain 8 points clear, with Manchester United the closest to them and waiting for them next Sunday for a HUGE Manchester Derby!

England look set to lose the first test of the 2017 Ashes tour in Brisbane

It was a fourth day of dominance from Australia over England, who look set to take the first test in Brisbane in the 2018 Ashes series. The Aussies, who haven't lost an Ashes tour at the Gabba since 1988 put in a fine performance to limit England's runs, with Joe Root limited to 51 runs, and also dismissing the whole of the English team out for 195 in front of a loud home crowd.

A few England players have come out and voiced their disappointment over the performance, all rounder Moeen Ali, who injured his finger in the first day and claimed to be struggling to grip the bat. during his stint at the crease. Ali and Bairstow, who were giving England some good points at one point, but a debatable umpire decision ended the partnership which summed up England's failure to get into the swing of things. Ali was deemed to not have had his foot in the crease, which was 42 runs into the best bit of pressure from England throughout the day.

Although the first test may be as good as done for England, there is still plenty of time for them to stamp their authority on this Ashes series.

Alex Danson named Team GB and England captain!

Long serving and Gold medal winning  Alex Danson has been named captain of the England and Team GB for the women's world cup in London; as well as the Commonwealth games next April in Australia replacing retired Kate Richardson-Walsh after being in temporary captaincy.

Danson has been an ever present for both sides and was a part of the Gold medal winning side at the Rio Olympic games last Summer, as well as the Bronze medal winning side at the London 2012 Olympic games. Danson has a wealth of experience with over 100 caps for her country and not many would disagree with the decision made by coach Danny Kerry.

It is a very exciting time for England Hockey and Team GB, after the success of Rio the games participation levels have had a massive increase and already tickets are selling fast for the London World Cup next Summer.

More details can be found at www.englandhockey.co.uk to find tickets for the tournament at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.

The crop of young lions continue to impress....

Seeing an England team playing in a final of a major tournament seems to be a regular echo over the last few months, and it was the Under 17's turn to make their own history after they WON the under 17's World Cup in India yesterday.

England beat Spain 5 -2 in the final, ironically the same team that beat them in the Under 17's European Championships back in May. After impressing throughout the tournament, which included 2 4-0 wins in the group stage against Iraq and Mexico, it was the 4-1 win against the USA and a 3-1 win against Brazil which really made the nation take notice in the knock out stages. Rhian Brewster, who scored back to back hat tricks in the knock out stages took a lot of the headlines after he took home the golden boot with 8 goals. The young forward; who left Chelsea at the age of 14 to join Liverpool spoke out about how a prep talk by his dad on the phone prompted the sudden bucket load of goals.

After the success of the under 20's, 21's and under 18's the future looks bright for England at international level after a string of frustrating senior team major tournament performances. It does beg the question, will the foreign player dominated Premier League affect these young players development and chances to break into the first teams?

Former England midfielder and multiple trophy winner Frank Lampard sent a powerful message to the players, simply saying " well done, but the hard work starts now!".

It is certainly a year to look back on in pride for the English FA, and a winning mentality that we hope continues until next Summer in Russia!

Who can move Scotland forward at the departure of Gordon Strachan?

With Scotland's failure to qualify for the World Cup next year, manager Gordon Strachan made the decision to step down from his position. Scotland have failed to qualify for 2 major tournaments under Strachan, with the last time they qualified coming back in 1998 in France. Scotland will be looking to put together a serious attempt at qualifying for Euro 2020, and looking be looking to bring in a manager to put together the plans. A few names have been touted, such as David Moyes, current Northen Ireland manager Michael O'Neil, Derek McInnes and even former England boss Sam Allardyce being mentioned.

After being the only country in the British Isles not to qualify for the Euros last Summer, and the latest World Cup qualifying failure, it is a big job for whoever takes the reigns!