The Oscars 2011 - King's Speech is the crowning glory

By JASON WRIGHT (Entertainment Expert)

THE stars of the big screen came out in glamour in Hollywood for the 83^rd Academy Awards.  The Oscars is the world’s greatest awards ceremony and although this may be honoured as an American event, Sunday night’s event proved to be a great success for the British.

TOP: Colin Firth completed a stunning treble

     Despite it not being a whitewash success as many people predicted, The King’s Speech still came out on top with four awards out of its twelve nominations.  All the nominations were the major awards it had been nominated in, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director for ex-Byker Grove and EastEnders director Tom Hooper and most importantly, Best Actor for Colin Firth in the film’s lead role.  Speaking of his delight, Firth exclaimed “I have a feeling my career’s just peaked,” whilst director Hooper labelled the success as “an extraordinary honour”.

     Inception, which was a big film hit last summer, also scooped up four awards, which were all in the technical department.  Following close behind were The Social Network, a documentary based on the creation of social networking site Facebook, with three awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing.  The Fighter, which also contains some British interest, earned a double in the Supporting acting categories for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo respectively.  However, Leo’s success was tainted by accidentally uttering ‘the f word’ in her acceptance speech.

WINNER: Natalie Portman deserved her Best Actress accolade

     The only big award not to go to a major film winner was for Best Actress which went to Natalie Portman in her role in The Black Swan.  Moved to tears by the accomplishment, Portman said “I truly wish that the prize tonight was to get to work with my fellow nominees, I’m so in awe of you.”  Meanwhile, the biggest shocks of the night were 127 Hours, directed by Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle, failing to win any of its six nominations but the modern day adaption of Western film True Grit was a total disaster.  It had earned a massive ten nominations but walked away empty handed.

     Elsewhere, two family films earned honourable recognition.  The live action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland earned two awards for its art and fashion design whilst Toy Story 3, the final chapter in the popular movie trilogy also picked up two awards for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature.  It’s a deserved accomplishment for defying the odds in breaking several box office records worldwide last summer.

     This night however will be forever remembered for continuing the recent rise of success of British films on a global stage.  The King’s Speech certainly goes down as one of the best films in its generation and Colin Firth’s portrayal in the lead role is emotional and moving to everyone who watches it.

     The world of film never stops of course, and the race now begins to see who can get top honours in twelve months time.

THE OSCARS 2011 WINNERS

Best Picture: The King’s Speech

Best Director: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)

Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actress: Natalie Portman (The Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Best Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film: In A Better World

Best Feature Documentary: Inside Job

Best Short Subject Documentary: Strangers No More

Best Live Action Short Film: God of Love

Best Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing

Best Original Score: The Social Network

Best Original Song: We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

Best Sound Editing: Inception

Best Sound Mixing: Inception

Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland

Best Cinematography: Inception

Best Makeup: The Wolfman

Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland

Best Film Editing: The Social Network

Best Visual Editing: Inception

Dean Richards dies

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OLVES’ impressive 4-0 victory over Blackpool yesterday paled into insignificance with the news of the death of Dean Richards.  Ex-Wolves icon Richards passed away yesterday morning after a long illness at the tender age of 36.

Born in Bradford, Richards played for his hometown club and also was a youth coach there after retiring from the game.  He also turned out for Wolves, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as five times for the England U21’s.  In total, the central defender scored 17 goals in 348 club appearances, in a career that spanned 15 years.

DEAN RICHARDS - 9 June 1974 - 26 February 2011

Richards began his career in Bradford in 1992 as an 18-year old, playing just over 80 games for the Bantams.  

He transferred to Wolves in the summer of 1995 for a then club record fee of £1.85million.  This came after a successful loan spell at Molineux.  He was quickly elevated to the role of club captain at Wolves and earnt a place in the heart of many loyal supporters for his committed performances and never-say-die attitude.  Sadly, a car accident in 1996 saw him struggle on with knee and back injuries and meant he would have many frustrating spells on the treatment table.  When on form, the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea expressed interest in Richards, seeing enough of him through the injuries.  Sadly for Dean, that dream move never came off, nor did his constant battle to stay 100% fit.

The peak of his career came on the South Coast with Southampton.  Dave Jones snapped him up on a free transfer in July 1999 when his Wolves contract expired.  Quickly, he established himself as a fans favourite again and was voted the Southampton Player of the Year by the supporters in his debut season, 1999-2000.   He came closer than ever to an England call-up, but didn’t make the final cut under either Kevin Keegan or Sven-Goran Eriksson.

However, former England manager Glenn Hoddle did see potential in Richards and having coached him at Southampton, bought him to Tottenham for a staggering £8.75million in September 2001.  He scored on his debut in the epic 3-5 defeat to Manchester United at White Hart Lane, but once again, injuries got the better of Dean.  He only played in 73 games for the North London side in four seasons and after suffering from regular dizzy spells and headaches, was forced to quit the game in March 2005 on health grounds.  When announcing his retirement, his disappointment could clearly be told; “I am obviously deeply disappointed to be giving up the sport I love, but it's the only choice."

He worked hard on his coaching qualifications are rejoined Bradford as a youth team coach in August 2007.  However, his battle against illness turned out to be his biggest fight of all and sadly, he passed away yesterday morning after a long-time battle. 

Wolves were devastated at the news of losing one of their former favourites; “Everyone at Wolves is saddened to hear of the death of Dean Richards.  "Remembered for his trademark skilful breaks out of defence as well as his ability in the air, Richards will always be fondly remembered by Wolves fans who continued to follow his career closely when he moved on to Southampton and Tottenham.  "There will be a tribute paid to the defender ahead of next Sunday's game with his former club Spurs."

All thoughts go out to Dean’s family and friends at this difficult and distressing time.

New Zealand's darkest hour after devastating quake

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ESIDENTS in Christchurch and across New Zealand are attempting to pick up the pieces after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake which has left over 100 people dead.    

The tremor lasted for about 30 seconds and hit Christchurch at its busiest time, the lunch hour where many commuters meet for coffee and a catch-up.  Therefore, this earthquake had the maximum possible devastation attributed.  It measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, far less than the 7.1 aftershock felt in the same city last September.  Then, extensive damage was caused to buildings but no-one was killed and the injuries were relatively minor.  This time, Christchurch wasn’t so lucky. 

AFTERMATH: Many buildings felt the full force of the quake

Some buildings came down straightaway, after fell more gradually.  In suburbs, burst water pipes have led to flooding and landslides.  Hills have been cut in half, some other structures looking totally unrecognisable to what they had earlier in the day.  The city looks like a warzone, echoing what happened to the residents of Kobe, Japan after their devastating quake in January 1995.  As hope fades very quickly for anymore survivors, this is another example of the unexpected force of Mother Nature.

In Christchurch, there weren’t enough ambulances to get all the trapped survivors out of the squashed buildings and with hospitals all full-up, space for the critically injured found hours after the tremor became very limited.  The frequent aftershocks stunned survivors and badly hampered the attempt to rescue those buried underneath tonnes of rubble.  The country’s prime minister John Key has vowed to rebuild the town and after announcing a state of emergency throughout the country, will not bow down to the challenges ahead; “We are a resilient nation, we will not bow down to this challenge.”  The Queen has passed on her thoughts and is said to be ‘utterly shocked by the events in New Zealand.

GRIM: It is a tough job to find survivors for the rescuers

Three days on from the quake and many residents are still trying to deal with the aftermath.  At current, 113 people are officially dead, with two British tourists amongst them.  There are still 200 people unaccounted for.  Half of Christchurch still has no water supplies and around 25% of the devastated city still has no electricity.  Due to the powercuts, many supermarkets remain closed which is making food supplies very limited for some.  Petrol stations have also been badly hit, with some running out of fuel, as desperate survivors top-up.  The estimated damage from the quake is likely to break the billions of dollars category.  Structural damage to a lot of properties means that many hundreds of people remain homeless and are staying in emergency rescue centres. 

With the death toll likely to rise and many more residents still unaccounted for, this is undoubtedly New Zealand’s darkest hour.  Life in Christchurch has changed forever.

 

British nationals concerned about relatives or friends affected by the quake can contact 020 7008 8765.

UEFA Champions League last 16, first leg - North London stun giants

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 UEFA Champions League returned from its winter hibernation and both North London sides took massive strides into the quarter-finals.  Last week, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur produced outstanding performances at the Emirates and the San Siro respectively to slay two of the ultimate giants in European football, Barcelona and AC Milan.

CELEBRATION: Villa got Barca off to a dream start, but Arsenal fought back

Last season, a Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona were simply too strong for Arsenal in the last eight.  This time around, Arsene Wenger’s young guns proved that they could match the Catalans at their own game and created a historical night that their fans will never forget.  Although Barcelona might still have a narrow advantage for the second leg, the 2-1 win gives Arsenal every chance of knocking out the best attacking side in the world.  Barca played some beautiful football in the first half and fully deserved a half-time lead, when Messi thread through David Villa; the Spaniard scoring with impeccable ease.  Messi missed two golden opportunities in the match and for this, the La Liga leaders were punished by two quick fire strikes in the last fifteen minutes.  Robin Van Persie continued his scoring streak by scoring from an almost impossible angle against a very uncertain Victor Valdes.  With eight minutes to go, the Gunners broke away in the style that Barcelona do to most teams.  Cesc Fabregas found Samir Nasri, who cleverly cut the ball back for substitute Andrei Arshavin to finish off a rasping move.  For Arshavin, who had been massively out of form since Christmas, this will be a real tonic and would have got him back in the good books of most supporters.  The ultimate winner was football; this should be the perfect example for all kids to watch and be educated on.

SHOWDOWN: Gennaro Gattuso v Joe Jordan, seconds out!

Back in October, Tottenham came mighty close to upsetting defending champions Inter Milan at the San Siro, narrowly losing 4-3.  Four months later, they returned to Milan and continued their epic European tale with a 1-0 victory against AC Milan, leaving them in pole position for a place in the quarter-finals.  Like Arsenal, their winning goal came from a counter-attacking move, with Peter Crouch converting Aaron Lennon’s pass as the Milan defence was caught square-on by their fast-forwarding opponents.  Despite missing Gareth Bale through injury, Spurs were rarely under threat from a Milan side, that despite leading the Serie A title race, look a pale shadow of legendary sides that used to spend tingles down opponent’s backs.  The match will sadly remember an act of lurid behaviour from Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso.  After an early caution, Gattuso had a bust-up with Tottenham first team coach Joe Jordan during the game.  At full-time, Gattuso completely lost the plot and head butted Jordan.  The Italian seemed up for a fight, had it not been for the quick reaction of the Milan substitutes.  UEFA has since banned him for four matches, so hopefully we’ve seen the last of Gattuso in Europe this season.

Chelsea may be having domestic troubles, but there were no problems in Europe this week, as they coasted to a 2-0 away win in Denmark against FC Copenhagen.  Once again, Didier Drogba was left on the bench by Carlo Ancelotti, but this time, both Fernando Torres and Nicholas Anelka looked very threatening against a defence that looked terrified to tackle their opponents.  Anelka scored both goals, one in each half and Torres was desperately unlucky not to break his Chelsea account either.  The Blues will have no problems in going through from the return, and have to still be considered as a major threat in this season’s competition, despite their lack of form and confidence in the Premiership.

When both managers afterwards admit that the game was poor, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that a diabolical game was witnessed.  Marseille and Manchester United played out a tame and lethargic 0-0 draw in the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday night, which will have to go down as one of the most boring games in the history of the European Cup.  Didier Deschamps team seemed happy to not concede an away goal, which was disappointing as they were the home side.  Sir Alex Ferguson was content to keep things tight and not face a disadvantage for the second leg at Old Trafford.  Neither goalkeeper was significantly troubled, as this knockout tie turned more into a Sunday League kick-a-bout.  The way United’s players looked afterwards in the post-match interviews, they’d realised that an opportunity to finish the tie had been badly missed.

FORWARD: Bayern took a giant step, after Gomez's late winner

In the other four games, Italian hopes in the competition are hanging by a thread.  Despite dominating their match against Bayern Munich, Inter Milan were beaten 1-0 at home by the plucky Germans, in a repeat of last season’s final.  Mario Gomez, who previously couldn’t hit a barndoor, let alone the net in his career, can’t stop scoring at the moment.  The German international struck again in injury time to leave Louis van Gaal’s side in complete control of the tie.  Claudio Ranieri resigned as AS Roma coach at the weekend, after letting a 3-0 lead slip to lose 4-3 to Genoa in Serie A.  In the Champions League, Roma have it all to do too, after tripping up 3-2 at home to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.  On his first return to Spain since leaving Real Madrid, Raul scored a priceless goal to earn Schalke 04 a creditable 1-1 draw in the Mestalla against Valencia.  Raul’s old club stumbled to a 1-1 draw themselves, in France against Lyon.  Jose Mourinho’s side are favourites now to finish the job, but need to be wary against Lyon, who knocked them out at this stage last season.

Some games delivered in quality, others didn’t, but the battle to reach Wembley in May is now well and truly on.

Dancing on Ice 2011 - The ultimate skills test

BY JASON WRIGHT (Entertainment Expert)

FOR the last few weeks, the remaining celebrities had been practicing their jumps and steps skills but now, they had to learn the spin element and then incorporate all three into the Ultimate Skills Test.

Chloe Madeley & Michael Zenzini

Skated to: Little Bird

It had been a stressful week for Chloe, with the big test looming.  However, this routine was her weakest of the competition so far.  A very decent effort with the skills, but there was a lack of additional presentation.

SCORES: Jason 5.5, Robin 5.5, Emma 7.5                                TOTAL: 18.5 (4th)

Johnson Beharry & Jodeyne Higgins

Skated to: She Will Be Loved

A tough challenge indeed for Johnson, there was not only the matter of impressing in the test but in continuing to win Jason over.  Everything came together in this performance but strangely, the marks went down as the judges believed like Chloe, he focused more on skill instead of additional content.

SCORES: Jason 4.5, Robin 5.0, Emma 5.0                                TOTAL: 14.5 (7th)

Laura Hamilton & Colin Ratushniak

Skated to: Stop

Laura came into the test with streams of confidence.  She eased through the skills with flying colours, executed other elements with such great ease and by merit, she won top place to herself on the leaderboard.

SCORES: Jason 8.5, Robin 8.5, Emma 8.5                                TOTAL: 25.5 (1st)

Jeff Brazier & Isabelle Gauthier

Skated to: Forget You

A pattern had seemed to emerge at this point in the show as several celebrities were sacrificing the presentation of their routines in favour of concentrating on the skills.  Jeff was another of those who went down this route.  This was a noticeably weaker performance in comparison to recent weeks.

SCORES: Jason 5.5, Robin 5.5, Emma 5.0                                TOTAL: 16.0 (6th)

Denise Welch & Matt Evers

Skated to: True Colours

Denise has really given everything in the competition and on skills week, she well and truly surprised everyone.  Hard training all week paid off and she easily earned her best marks of competition.  It’s more proof that she is winning the public over with her determination.

SCORES: Jason 5.5, Robin 5.5, Emma 5.5                                TOTAL: 16.5 (5th)

Sam Attwater & Brianne Delcourt

Skated to: She Said

Accusations of a fake romance with partner Brianne and being given the dreaded headbanger move has made this a difficult week for Sam.  A slight mistake in the headbanger routine cost him dear and Jason’s mark shoved him off top spot.

SCORES: Jason 7.5, Robin 8.5, Emma 8.5                                TOTAL: 25.5 (2nd)

Kerry Katona & Dan Whiston

Skated to: Hush Hush

Dear oh dear, this is getting embarrassing!  All of Kerry’s weaknesses were exposed in this routine; the fact being she can’t skate.  Jason Gardiner was right; her skating level is practically extinct nothing exists at all.  Kerry Katona is perhaps the worst contestant in DOI history; even Aggie Mackenzie could beat her fair and square!

SCORES: Jason 2.5, Robin 3.0, Emma 3.5                                TOTAL: 9.0 (8th)

Vanilla Ice & Katie Stainsby

Skated to: Ice, Ice Baby

What is most associated with Vanilla Ice?  Of course it is his hit track Ice, Ice Baby.  Obviously it was a huge challenge to skate to his signature song but he absolutely made it work to easily give his best performance so far.  Don’t write him off yet to make a late challenge.

SCORES: Jason 7.5, Robin 7.5, Emma 7.5                              TOTAL: 22.5 (3rd)

The Result

In terms of the Ice Panel scores and public votes combined the most likely situation that was going to happen did as Kerry and Jeff ended up in the skate-off, both for the second time.

Jeff was too timid first time around and his second try was much more spot on and when Kerry slipped out of a lift in her routine, it was game over.  All three judges finally gave Kerry the long overdue boot, and a one-way ticket to Majorca.

So with the inept skater gone, the question now is who is next for the chop, it is now anyone’s game for elimination and next week won’t be made any easier of course.  Next week is yet another theme night, as Dancing on Ice goes global with each routine having a distinct flavour towards a certain country. 

FA Cup 5th round review - Orient earn stunning replay

THE FA Cup continues to rip up the formbook every season and it did so again at the weekend.  Leyton Orient took the main honours, holding mighty Arsenal to a draw at Brisbane Road.

CHANCE: A second go for Leyton Orient after Tehoue's leveller

The Gunners were coming off the back of a famous win over Barcelona in the Champions League and Arsene Wenger made ten changes to his line-up from midweek, with Alex Song the only participant to start both of these games.  They dominated possession for much of the game, but with the changes made, lacked the cutting edge infront of goal.  However, Tomas Rosicky’s second half header looked to be good enough to send Wenger’s team into the quarter-finals.  However, Orient, who came into the match in excellent form, having only lost one out of their last 20 matches dug in and found an unlikely equaliser.  Substitute Jonathan Tehoue powered past two weak Arsenal challenges then fired a shot underneath Manuel Almunia’s legs.  It earned the League One side a 1-1 draw and a money-spinning replay at the Emirates, but it will be an extra game that Arsenal could do without, considering they are the only club in England to still be fighting it out on four different fronts.

At least Arsenal remain in the competition, as London rivals and cup holders Chelsea bowed out in a dramatic penalty shootout against Everton.  Fixture congestion has meant that this fourth round replay was played on fifth round weekend, three weeks after the initial 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.  Chelsea got on top for large periods, but once again, struggled to put their opponents away.  In extra-time, Frank Lampard had the Blues ahead for the first time in the tie and it looked to be good enough, despite Maroualine Fellani having a goal ruled out for offside.  Another unfriendly twist was in the way for the under pressure Carlo Ancelotti and it came in the 118^th minute.  Branislav Ivanovic’s unnecessary challenge on Phil Jagielka gave Everton a soft free-kick.  England left-back Leighton Baines went on to produce a stunning curling shot, which left Petr Cech flat-footed.  Although Baines saw his penalty saved by Cech in the shootout, Chelsea went on to gift Everton a passage through into the next round.  Nicolas Anelka’s very casual run-up was punished, as his effort was saved by Tim Howard.  After an accidental clash with Johnny Heitinga, Ashley Cole looked unsettled and his penalty was truly shocking.  He leaned back, went for power and the ball headed towards Gatwick airport!  Everton skipper Phil Neville dispatched the Toffees final kick with consummate ease, to set-up a fifth round tie at home to Reading.  It was Everton’s first win at Stamford Bridge since November 1994 and inflicted Chelsea’s seventh penalty shootout defeat in their last eight encounters.  Surely, Ancelotti must now win the Champions League if he doesn’t want to be collecting his P45 from Roman Abramovich at the end of the season.

Manchester United can consider being very fortunate that they are still in this season’s FA Cup, after limping past brave Crawley Town at Old Trafford on Saturday night.  Sir Alex Ferguson admitted afterwards that Crawley were very unlucky to not earn what would have been a deserved replay.  Wes Brown headed home the only goal, flicking in Darren Gibson’s cross on 29 minutes.  After the break, Crawley’s performance was so good; it looked more Premiership than non-league.  In stoppage time, Richard Brodie eluded a sleeping Wayne Rooney at the back post and powered his header over Andreas Lindgaard, but onto the crossbar and out of play.  Sometimes, this competition can show its cruelty alongside the epic romance stories.  The plaudits deservedly went to Crawley, but it was Manchester United who claimed the prize of a place in the sixth round.

COOL: Another goal for Tevez, another win for Man City

Manchester rivals City overcame a stubborn Notts County outfit on Sunday afternoon in their fourth round replay.  Despite Roberto Mancini’s team deserving their victory and a clash with Aston Villa next week, the 5-0 scoreline did flatter them massively.  County controlled the early exchanges and were very unlucky not to be ahead, when Karl Hawley’s wonderful curling drive struck the woodwork.  Patrick Vieira headed in two goals from corners; one in both halves and it was only in the last five minutes that the League One side opened the floodgates.  Carlos Tevez, who came on for the broody and lazy Mario Balotelli, scored the third, then set-up the fourth for new strike partner Edin Dzeko.  A powerful volley from Micah Richards completed the scoring in injury time.  There were positive signs of Tevez and Dzeko beginning to form a deadly strike force on Sunday and I’d suggest Balotelli begins to drop his disgusting attitude if he doesn’t want to be warming his backside on the seats at the City of Manchester stadium on a regular basis.

In other results, Bolton Wanderers made the sixth round for the first time since 2005.  They overcame Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.  Ivan Klasnic, who scored the winner in a fourth round replay at Wigan the previous Wednesday, got the deciding goal in West London.  The only consolation for Mark Hughes was the return to first-team action for Bobby Zamora, five months after a sickening injury he picked up against Wolves.  Zamora looked fairly sharp and with more games and fitness, could be the tonic Fulham need to lift their dispiriting campaign so far.  West Ham’s poor league position was forgotten on Monday night, as the demolished Burnley 5-1 at Upton Park.  There was a stunning goal from Thomas Hitzlsperger on his Hammers debut; this also after a frustrating spell out through injury and two goals from Carlton Cole.  Birmingham City and Stoke City complete the teams to make the last eight, after comprehensive 3-0 home successes against Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton respectively.

For some teams, Wembley is now only one game away.  A Premiership dominated final eight looks more likely now, so if you want a giant-killing, cheer on Reading and Leyton Orient to produce.

F1 opener postponed due to Bahrain unrest

PROTESTS: The civil unrest in Bahrain has forced the decision

THE Bahrain Grand Prix, which was due to be the opening race of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, has been postponed.  The Crown Prince of Bahrain made the final decision yesterday, due to days of civil unrest within the country, which has engulfed the Gulf Kingdom.  Six people have died and protests in the capital Manama, where the race is staged meant that the safety and security of the F1 fraternity could not be guaranteed. 

The Hermann Tilke track, which cost £92million to construct, was due to stage the curtain raiser for the new Grand Prix season on March 13.  The Bahrain Royal Family had to pay nearly £40million to stage the event, some of that as part of beginning the F1 show in 2011. 

LEADER: Fernando Alonso on his way to victory last season

Bahrain bought Formula One to the Middle East for the first time in 2004, and has staged seven successful races on the Sakhir circuit.  It staged the curtain raiser when Australia was hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and did so again last season.  The race, won by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was sorely criticised by team personnel, pundits and fans for its lack of action and overtaking opportunities.  A new layout for 2010 had failed to deliver, and the organisers had decided to return to the original, shorter track.  Alas, we may never know now how it would have developed.

“We are a little bit disappointed that it has been postponed, but when you look at what is going on in that part of the world, I think it’s the only thing that could be done.”  Bernie Ecclestone said, when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.  The Crown Prince, who owns the rights to the event said that ‘the country needs to focus on national interests first and foremost and leave the event to a later date.’  That remains unclear whether it will happen yet.  Ecclestone is adamant that he wants the race in Bahrain to be held around the time of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.  However, with the championship already pencilled in to finish as late as November 27 in Brazil, it is unlikely that FOTA will allow the head of F1 to schedule three races together at the end of the tiresome year on three consecutive weekends.

The Formula One teams and drivers are busy testing ahead of the new season, which will now start at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix on March 27.  Speaking to journalists in Barcelona, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa backs the decision to postpone the race for now; “The human side of life is more important than the professional side of life and what has happened in Bahrain is serious.  I hope everything will return to normal soon.”  Michael Schumacher also backed the decision; “I consider it to be a good decision to call off the competition in Bahrain, these people have more pressing issues to deal with than Formula One at the moment.”

The Middle East continues to expand and grow in the sporting world, but whilst the turbulence continues in places such as Libya, Tunisia and Bahrain, the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix comes as little surprise to many.  Whether it still has a place on the F1 calendar in future remains to be seen.

Ronaldo calls it quits

AFTER a series of serious injuries, Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34.  At a press conference in Brazil, the ex-Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and AC Milan striker was in tears, as he admitted to giving up the games he loves due to lack of consistent fitness.

The announcement came after his current club; Corinthians were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores last weekend.  He leaves the game as the most successful goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history and a winner of the prestigious World Player of the Year on three separate occasions.  Although recent years have seen a dramatic fall from grace and younger readers may not know Ronaldo that well, his talents at his peak were awe-inspiring.  On his own, he could beat teams’ hands-down and the 2002 World Cup finals in the Far East was a prime example of this.  Since he made his professional debut in 1993, the Brazilian has gone on to score over 400 goals and has the distinction of having represented both Milan clubs and Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.  Sadly, he never made it to apply his trade in the Premiership, but Serie A and La Liga saw a striker when at his best, destroy opponents and leave them dazzled.

Ronaldo first made his name with Cruziero in 1993, and after scoring 12 goals in just 14 appearances, was a shock inclusion in the Brazilian squad for the 1994 World Cup finals in the USA.  Although he got a winners medal, he never played in the tournament.  However, the experience he gained from going and learning from other deadly finishers Bebeto and Romario would turn out to be valuable.  After the finals, Romario advised Ronaldo to make the move into European football and his first destination was Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.  Despite the first of many knee injuries, Ronaldo was top scorer in his first season in the Eredevisie in 1995 and attracted the attention of both Barcelona and Inter Milan.

WINNER: Ronaldo scores the penalty that wins the 1997 Cup Winners Cup

He moved to Barcelona in 1996, tutored under the guidance of Sir Bobby Robson.  Ronaldo scored the winning penalty that beat PSG to win the 1997 European Cup Winners Cup for his new side, top scored in La Liga and won the FIFA World Player of the year award for the first time.  A year later, after contract negotiations stalled with Barca, Inter Milan forked out £19million for Ronaldo and it would turn out to be money well spent.  He scored 59 goals in 99 games for Inter, including netting in the 1998 UEFA Cup final.  However, 1998 was to be a dark year for Ronaldo personally, as form and injuries began to take its toll.

After scoring four times in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo suffered a series of dangerous epileptic fits in the lead-up to Brazil’s final showdown with France.  After some farcical confusion over the Brazilian team sheet, he played, but looked like he’d just rolled out of the bed hungover.  France won 3-0 and Ronaldo’s mysterious lack of performance was blamed for Brazil’s shambolic final.  Less than a year later, he ruptured a knee tendon playing for Inter in Serie A against Lecce and three more surgeries were required in the next three years.  He only just regained fitness in time for his glory hour, the 2002 World Cup.

TARGET: Ronaldo turned the 2002 World Cup into his own

Ronaldo saw the 2002 World Cup as the chance to seek redemption for the shambles of 98.  It was his tournament.  He scored eight goals, finding the net in every game except the quarter-final against England and scored both goals in the 2-0 final win over Germany in Yokohama.  Had it not been for Ronaldo’s goal scoring abilities, Brazil won’t have won their fifth trophy.  He won the World Player of the Year in 2002 and secured a world record transfer from Inter Milan to Real Madrid for £39million.

At Madrid, Ronaldo was loved and won the La Liga title in his first season at the Bernabeau.  He scored twice on his debut and scored one of the finest ever hat-tricks in football to knock Manchester United out of the UEFA Champions League in 2003.  Injuries hampered his form at Madrid, but an impressive 83 goals in 127 games is an incredible strike rate.  He fell out of favour with Fabio Capello due to her excessive weight issues and was sold to AC Milan in January 2007.  Before then, Ronaldo appeared in one more World Cup finals and although his body was starting to adapt to the constant injuries he picked up, Ronaldo broke Gerd Muller’s 32-year record and became the top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, when he got the opener in Brazil’s 3-0 last 16 win against Ghana.  He ended up scoring 15 goals at the World Cup, 62 for Brazil in total before retiring from international football after Brazil’s quarter-final exit, at the hands of arch-enemy France.

END GAME: His final club move was to play for Corinthians

Once again, injuries would ruin his experience at the San Siro.  Ronaldo only featured 20 times for AC Milan and eventually was released at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.  He returned to Brazil, to see out his career with Corinthians.  The team’s cup exit has bought this retirement decision forward.  In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper last October, Ronaldo had already decided to retire at the end of the Brazilian season, once his contract expired.

Although he never managed to win the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo won pretty much everything else in his career and despite become a pale shadow of his previous in recent seasons, he was the greatest player in the world at the turn of the millennium.  His legacy on the game and for Brazilian football can never be forgotten.

HappyDude88 is 1 Year Old!!

I would like to proudly say that today marks the first anniversary of the launch of this website on BlogSpot.  For someone who thought this was never possible when I set out on this journey, it is a very notable achievement.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed, commented and supported me in the past year.  Here's to the next milestone and the next year.

Keep enjoying and reading!

HappyDude88

Dancing on Ice 2011 - Half-term report

BY Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

WITH six weeks of the competition now gone, this week’s report is going to be slightly different as I will assess how each of the final eight skaters in the competition have progressed so far and at the close of this blog is a brief summary of Sunday’s ‘Night At The Theatre’ show.

Sam Attwater & Brianne Delcourt

He was little known at the start of the contest but Sam is now widely regarded by everyone with his near-perfect ability.  Few stars that compete in this show have the whole package, but Sam well and truly does.  The moves, the stunts, the chemistry with his pro partner Brianne; it’s going to be difficult to say he won’t win the competition.

GRADE: A+ Sam was simply born to skate; maybe he should do this instead of acting.

Laura Hamilton & Colin Ratushniak

Laura is also another celebrity who is regarded to not being well recognised and now has caught everyone’s attention.  The one thing that puts Laura in a different perspective than anyone else is that she is not terrified to try new and risky things and if anything goes wrong, she will work even harder to overcome it.  She is surely another star who should go all the way.

GRADE: A- Never scared to take on something new and that’s what counts for her.

Chloe Madeley & Michael Zenzini

To be honest, I had my sincere doubts over Chloe as to whether she could cope with the ability of the competition but she has totally sprung everyone by surprise.  Like Laura, she is not afraid to tackle anything and will rarely buckle under the pressure.  She will need to perhaps put in more risky moves to really challenge Laura in the leaderboard battle, but is a joy to watch on the ice.

GRADE: A- A thrill to watch, can cope easily with any troubles.

Vanilla Ice & Katie Stainsby

Vanilla Ice is also somebody who has stood up to lot of critics and proven to people that he is worth a shot on a show like this.  Something that does frustrate me is that he is so far too inconsistent.  One week, he is good and the next, he doesn’t deliver.  Regardless, he has certainly cemented his place at the front of the field.

GRADE: C+ If he can get rid of his indifferent form, the marks will shoot up.

Jeff Brazier & Isabelle Gauthier

Jeff has so far underachieved by many people’s expectations.  He started off struggling with the pressures of the competition and a save through the ‘Ice Pick’ has seen him take notice and improve well.  The only question now is can he keep up with recent revival of form?

GRADE: C+ Poor start but has certainly picked it up in recent weeks.

Johnson Beharry & Jodeyne Higgins

Nobody knew who Johnson was before he began as he hadn’t been in any form of celebrity work. So, considering that he couldn’t skate at all when training began, he has put in the effort and to be fair, he deserves to still be around.

GRADE: B+ He is the surprise package so far and he is still capable of more.

Kerry Katona & Dan Whiston

Kerry knew from the start that it wasn’t going to be easy, having just come from the brink of a shattered reputation.  However, she must have never thought it would be this hard.  Most skaters by now should have faith to try and skate on their own but this is week six now and she still can’t do such a thing.  This proves how pathetic, lucky and lame she has gotten.

GRADE: F Kerry must try harder . . . really harder!

Denise Welch & Matt Evers

Denise also doesn’t care about winning; she is just out there to enjoy the experience.  Giving credit, although her skating abilities are certainly not on par with others, she never complains, she just does the best she can.

GRADE: D- Determination means she deserves to be here but for how much longer?

Night at the Theatre

The sixth week was another of DOI’s theme nights, with a showcase of popular songs from popular West End musicals.

For once, front runner Sam struggled with the ability and choreography in his routine but of course his natural talent meant he would finish top again.  However, this time it was a shared lead with Laura who finally pulled out a performance worthy of a challenge.  It may still be a long shot, but is Laura keeps improving, who’s to say she can displace Sam at the top of the leaderboard?

Chloe and Vanilla Ice once again provided solid performances for strong scores whilst Jeff continued his improving form by matching Chloe’s score to finish joint 3rd.  Johnson and Denise also registered their highest scores so far as they continued to search for better quality in their routines.

Comedy Dave and Kerry were the two celebrities who less than impressed both the judges and the public and both had to skate again in the skate-off.  However, the judges committed suicide once again as Jason Gardiner and Emma Bunton stupidly decided to give useless Kerry another chance, overruling Robin Cousins’ decision to save Dave and professional partner, Frankie Poultney.

It’s another measure to show that some people believe that DOI is losing its magic it had before.

Regardless, the competition steps up another gear next Sunday with the ‘Ultimate Skills Test’ awaiting each of the eight remaining couples.  

BRIT Awards 2011 - Tinie and Arcade Fire steal the show

NEW: New venue, new trophy - but another special night for the BRITS

TONIGHT’S BRIT awards ceremony in London was a colourful and explosive celebration of music, in many different ways.  Canadian indie band Arcade Fire and British rapper Tinie Tempah were the big winners, as both collected two awards at the 02 Arena.  There were also big wins for Take That, Mumford and Sons and Rihanna.

Tinie Tempah was the favourite to storm the ceremony this evening, as he led last month’s nominations with four.  Sure enough, he claimed two awards; for British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single.  His incredible song ‘Pass Out’ held off stiff competition from the likes of bookies favourite Matt Cardle, Plan B and Scouting for Girls amongst others.  However, he missed out on British Male Solo Artist, which went to the brilliant Plan B.  When Elton John compares you as the male version of Amy Winehouse, it might set some alarm bells ringing, but Plan B has the potential to build massively on his second album ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks,’ and confirmed to host of the show, James Cordon, that he is planning a hip-hop/reggae mix for his next album.

Arcade Fire had struggled to hit the heights before 2010, but ‘The Suburbs,’ was their massive breakthrough.  It was the band’s third album, but it went straight to number one in Canada, the US and the UK and they won the Best International Album award, along with International Group.  The eight-piece group looked stunned to have achieved so much success in the last twelve months; “Thank you Britain, we are so honoured.’  Unlike Tinie Tempah, whose live performance was electric and extravagant, Arcade Fire’s live show was okay, without ever being spectacular.

SUCCESS: Take That picked up another award tonight

Robbie Williams decision to rejoin Take That in the summer of last year was one of the big music headlines in the previous calendar year and they look stronger than ever.  They kicked the glitzy ceremony off full of colour and fireworks which surrounded their performance of ‘Kidz.’  Later in the night, they scooped the British Group award, which means it is now a staggering 20 BRIT wins between Robbie as a solo artist and Take That as a group.  Despite this, ‘Progress,’ a massive seller lost out in the prestigious award category of the evening.  Instead, the MasterCard British Album of the year went to the unfancied Mumford and Sons.  Their album ‘Sigh No More,’ has sold over one million copies, but up against the likes of Take That, Plan B and Tinie Tempah, their chances can’t have been great.

Just like the X-Factor final before Christmas, Rihanna decided not to wear much clothing for her live performance.  Sometimes you wonder if she has heard of the word!  Her miming was ridiculous, the dancers looked horrific and quite frankly, it was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in BRITS history.  How some people can see her as a hottie is beyond me!  Nevertheless, Rihanna is a general hit with the British public and she denied Katy Perry a deserved success to claim the International Female Solo Artist. 

Other winners on the night were Jessie J, who was the pre-selected winner of the Critics Choice award.  She follows in the footsteps of ADELE and Florence + the Machine, in becoming the fourth female to win this award.  She looked very emotional on claiming the award from last year’s recipient, Ellie Goulding.  “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making my dreams come true,” she said, almost bursting into tears.  Cee Lo Green won nothing in 2007, having been nominated three times.  Four years later, he returned to win the Best International Male Solo Artist award, with his no.1 single ‘Forget You’ reaching two million hits in one week on YouTube last year.  16-year old Justin Bieber was the unsurprising winner of the International Breakthrough Act, largely down to the viewers of MTV and there was a total shock in the British Female Solo Artist category, as the unheard Laura Marling beat Cheryl Cole and Ellie Goulding to the prize.

With celebrities on the night ranging from Radio 1’s Fearne Cotton, chatty man Alan Carr, F1 ace Lewis Hamilton and former singer, turned actor Will Young giving out awards, other attention went out to the live performers.  There can be no doubt that ADELE wins in this category.  The 21-year old gave a stunning and spine-tingling performance of her new single, which is currently no.1 in 17 countries.  It left everyone in the 02 Arena in shock!  Plan B’s live routine looked more like a violent episode of The Simpsons.  However, his medley of ‘Prayin’ and ‘She Said’ totally rocked.  Aside from Rihanna and a brave, but forgettable live show from Mumford & Sons, most of the performances live were fairly decent this year, compared with some of the drunk, half-hearted attempts of recent years.  As for James Cordon, his performance as host was mellow and decent, but it never reached the expected heights.  I don’t think he will hang onto this position for the 2012 ceremony.

CHANGE: Dame Vivienne Westwood designed the new style

2010 was an unforgettable year of music across the world and the biggest night in the music calendar year certainly didn’t disappoint.  Let’s see what 2011 will bring, but don’t be too surprised if the stars of this year’s BRITS end up dominating next year’s ceremony too.