Guilty verdict for Jackson's former doctor

LAST night was a sense of déjà vu for television viewers in the United States and on the rolling UK news networks.  The wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘trial of the 21^st century’ came to a conclusion.  However, unlike O.J Simpson in 1995, there was not a ‘no guilty’ verdict.  Conrad Murray, the doctor of the legendary pop star Michael Jackson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in relation to the singer’s tragic death in June 2009.

SILENT: Conrad Murray remained unmoved throughout the verdict

      It was a guilty verdict from all 12 jurors as the six week trial concluded yesterday; the final outcome not surprising many in the US or journalists around the world.  The always opinionated Piers Morgan gave his thoughts on Twitter; “Whichever way you viewed the evidence, #ConradMurray’s behaviour was clearly unethical for a doctor.  Right verdict!  Murray has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 29 where he faces upto four years in jail and almost inevitably, the removal of his medical certificates so he can practice in the future.

      Throughout the verdict at the Los Angeles superior court yesterday, Murray remained very pensive and showed no sign of emotion when hearing his fate from the jury.  Outside the court, fans of Michael Jackson reacted in delight at the verdict.  Throughout the trial, Murray’s stance was that on the fateful day when Jackson died in 2009, he had taken the fatal overdose of the drug propofol without any consent.  Last week, Murray’s defence team announced that he would not testify himself at the trial.  The prosecution’s argument was that Jackson had died after Murray had administered him an IV drip infused with propofol.  They also believed that Jackson was fully aware of his medication levels and he could get easily addicted to painkillers, especially as he was busy at the time preparing for the London farewell concert gigs at the O2 Arena later that year.

       However, it seemed like the prosecution had a stronger case.  A number of witnesses had agreed to testify and these included Jackson’s former bodyguard, who told the court that Murray had told him to hide drug vials.  Alberto Alvarez claimed to have trusted Murray’s actions as a doctor, but told the court that Murray had told him to put vials of medicine into a bag before calling an ambulance.  Alvarez was the first person to discover Jackson unconscious on that fateful day.  They also used pictures of some damming contents inside Jackson’s home, including a syringe in his bedroom and other items such as a saline bag and a bottle of propofol in evidence against Murray.

       This verdict might finally give Michael Jackson’s family the belief that justice has been done.  For Conrad Murray, a very dark time awaits the doctor, whose actions have not only seen him lose his medical career and his reputation, but sees him face time for what he has done.

Wimbledon - 125 years of great memories

WIMBLEDON is the greatest tennis tournament around.  For a fortnight every June, the sporting world sets its sights on SW19 for another doze of spectacular tennis action.  Dreams are crushed, champions are made and stories are made which live for generations to come.  In 2011, the glorious tournament in South West London will be celebrating its 125^th year.  Below are some of my favourite moments from the history of the championships.

     In the last 125 years, Wimbledon has seen some great champions and periods of dominance in both the men’s and women’s game.  The new millennium saw the genuine arrival of the Williams sisters on the game.  From a background where they had to work hard for everything, both Serena and Venus have graced the game and saved their best form for the grass court season.  When Venus beat Lindsay Davenport to win the title in 2000, few could have thought that both she and Serena would monopolise the first Saturday in July so often.  Eight times in the last ten years has seen a Williams sister walkaway with the famous dish at the end of Wimbledon.

COMFORT: The Duchess of Kent consoles Novotna after 1993 collapse

     Before their arrival, it was Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf who claimed the most glory at Wimbledon.  Navratilova won the ladies singles title a staggering nine times, between 1979 and 1990.  It would have been ten, but for a shock loss in the final to the unfancied Conchita Martinez of Spain in 1994.  Twelve months earlier, Graf was part of one of the most memorable finals in Wimbledon history.  With chief rival Monica Seles missing, after being stabbed in the back by a crazed fan in a pre-tournament match in Hamburg, it was expected for the German Graf to walkaway with another Wimbledon title.  Czech Jana Novotna had other ideas and played some sensational tennis.  Novotna won the second set of the final, then pressured Graf into some high-profile errors and landed a double break to lead 4-1 in the deciding set.  Tragically, Novotna choked at the critical moment as Graf stormed back to win 6-4 and another Grand Slam.  Afterwards, Novotna was inconsolable as she broke down on the shoulders of the Duchess of Kent.  The Duchess told Novotna she would have another chance.  In 1997, she was overpowered by Martina Hingis in the final, but in 1998, the popular Czech finally won the title that eluded her in 1993.  French veteran Nathalie Tauziat couldn’t cope with Novotna’s desire and lost in straight sets.  It was one of the most popular and emotional occasions in SW19’s colourful history.

     There was British success in the ladies singles in 1977, when infront of the Queen in Silver Jubilee year, Virginia Wade won the title.  However, in the men’s game, it has been a painful 75-year wait for a British winner, since Fred Perry in 1936.  In recent years, the Brits have come close.  Andy Murray has reached two semi-finals and Tim Henman four.  In 1998, 1999 and 2002, Henman had little chance against Pete Sampras (twice) and Lleyton Hewitt.  However, 2001 was Tiger Tim’s best chance which even he admits he would love to play again if he had again.  On semi-final day, he was two sets to one up against Croatian wildcard Goran Ivanisevic, having won the third set 6-0 in just 14 minutes!  Unfortunately, the rain came down and continued to fall the following day.  When they finally resumed play on the Sunday morning, Ivanisevic, ranked no.125 going into the tournament, came out a different player and turned the match around.  Henman had no answer and bowed out in five sets.  24 hours later, Ivanisevic returned to play Australian veteran Pat Rafter in a gripping final.  In a breathtaking final, lasting just over three hours, Goran won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 to become the first ever male player to win a Grand Slam, having been awarded a wildcard entry. 

ANNUAL: Sampras kisses the trophy after traditional win in 1998

     Some players have been unlucky to have never won Wimbledon.  Ivan Lendl lost two finals; Andy Roddick has been beaten in three, whilst Seles, Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario and Justine Henin are amongst the massive women’s names to never win the tournament.  Others just find themselves on home at SW19, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer are the two recent prime examples.  Sampras won his first Wimbledon in 1993, beating former no.1 and fellow American Jim Courier in the final.  He then went onto dominate Wimbledon in the 90s.  The words; ‘Game, Set, Match Sampras,’ became very common with a lot of spectators.  Sampras won the title in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.  ‘Pistol Pete’ was a seven-time winner, with his Wimbledon reign being ended by the young pretender Federer, in the fourth round in 2001.  After a surprise early exit to Mario Ancic the following year, Federer put his own stamping mark on Wimbledon in the new century.  He beat Mark Philippoussis in straight sets in 2003 and won it six times since.  He broke Sampras Grand Slam record, when he won his sixth Wimbledon against Roddick in 2009, with Sampras in attendance in the Royal Box.  However, he lost the greatest final of all time, to his main current challenger, Rafael Nadal in 2008.  Some of the tennis played between these two players on that Sunday afternoon/evening was simply awe-inspiring.  It was a joy to watch and if there was one game where no-one deserved to lose, it was this match.

     Not forgetting Arthur Ashe becoming the first coloured player to win the singles in 1975, the epic Borg/McEnroe tiebreak of 1980, Boris Becker winning the title in 1985 at just 17, Pat Cash climbing into the Royal Box after his 1987 win against Lendl in straight sets, Maria Sharapova’s attempts to call her mum and hold up the trophy presentation after her 2004 win and the epic first round clash between John Isner and Nicholas Mahut last year, with Isner winning through 70-68 in the final set!

     Wimbledon has given us so many memories.  I was privileged enough to visit SW19 on ladies semi-final day in 2003, to witness two of the men’s quarter-finals, featuring Roddick and Philippoussis.  I would love to go again at some point, because there is something special about the place.  Will the British wait end this year?  Let’s hope so.  Here’s to the next 125 years!  

Glastonbury 2010 - Promises To Be A Stunning Spectacle

On Thursday morning, the official line-up for the 2010 Glastonbury was revealed and as Michael Eavis, the founder of Glastonbury said: “This is it.  It’s the most staggering line-up to match the 40-year reputation of the Festival.’

On the weekend of Friday 25^th – Sunday 27^th June, hundreds of thousands of festival goers, will no doubt battle the weather elements to see some of the most iconic names in the music industry.  Last year’s festival, headlined by the likes of Blur was overshadowed by the tragic death of the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.  Hopefully, 2010 will be remembered for the music on stage.

To celebrate its 40^th anniversary, the organisers have booked more than 350 acts to perform over the weekend, ranging from dance DJ’s, circus acts and famous musicians.  Once again, there will be extensive coverage on the twelve stages on the BBC, which has had the UK TV rights to the biggest music festival of the year since 1996.  Headlining the 2010 acts on the main Pyramid Stage are U2 on Friday night, Muse on Saturday and the legendary Stevie Wonder on Sunday evening.  Other performers on the various stages across the weekend include 2010 BRIT Award winners Dizzee Rascal, Ellie Goulding and Florence + the Machine.  They will be joined by the likes of the Scissor Sisters, the PetShop Boys, La Roux, Willie Nelson, The Tempter Trap, Editors, Ash and MGMT.

To many, this announcement was soon than what most had initially anticipated.  This is largely because the final batch of ticket for the annual Somerset festival bash were sold out at the beginning of last week.  If the line-up actually delivers on its promise, Glastonbury 2010 should be a spectacular music spectacle.

The Times Goes Subscription Based - Is This The Future For Online Journalism?

As news broke on Friday of News International’s latest monkey-making scheme, there are many questions that have been raised by Rupert Murdoch’s decisions, which is risky to say the least.  From June 2010, The Times and The Sunday Times Websites will go subscription-based.  Online viewers will have to pay £1 a day or £2 a week to access the news stories from their sites.

Both newspapers feel that the decision they’ve made was inevitable, largely thanks to the consistent fallings in newspaper reading circulation and the rapidly growing competition from the Internet.  What it does give is a possible outlook to how online journalism may operate in the future.  Competitors such as the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail have already voiced their concerns over this latest development, both thinking that there is a major danger that the Times may price itself out of the online market. 

To date only specialised papers like the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal charge consumers to view their online content.  Therefore, this is a risky strategy, as The Times is such a popular source for hard-hitting news stories.  James Harding, the current editor of The Times has admitted that this move might not work out, but is confident that the behaviour of people on the Internet will change, so consequently, the switch will be made for the better.   It will leave people with food for thought, whether they want to pay the pound to access The Times’ website, or look at similar articles for free on competitor’s websites, such as The Guardian, The Independent or the Daily Mail. 

Murdoch has taken some major gambles in the past, but by being a successful media mogul, most have paid off, such as the launch of BSkyB in February 1989.  He insists that for quality journalism, free doesn’t work anymore, especially with the falling newspaper sales.  There is an also strong possibility that Murdoch’s other newspapers underneath his News Corp empire, The Sun and The News of the World may end up going to a subscription based website.  The next few months for the entire journalism field will watch with waited breath to see whether this gamble will pay off, with either winning results or an experiment that won’t go up successful avenues.