Tsunami

No performing sportsman is trying to break a track record, achieve a PB, everytime they perform,. They are performing to win, nothing else.

You are wrong then. No point in raising your game, taking risks, when you are beating them easy. No fan of any sport believes that their team/sportsman is flat out every appearance. Do you really think Holder versus Schramm, Federer versus a qualifier, is going to play their best game/ride their fastest as opposed to how the play/ride against Tai or Djokovic. A professional sportsman cannot play/ride his best game all the time. That is not cheating the public.

Been in Stockholm since Tuesday and I can vouch for the prices being high. Mind you, if you check it out before you go anywhere nothing should really surprise you then. You can shop around and there are cheaper beers, coffee, metro travel, etc, if you ask the right people. Never going to be UK prices and value but made up with the gorgeous women out here. Beats Geordie Shore hands down. Why can't Brit females have as much respect for themselves as the Swedish girls.

There is always going to be a "cutoff" date Ian, it is October 31st every year. Champions could be the PL champs but the Playoffs bring another dimension and excitement which gives clubs bumper meetings in a very meaningful competition. Of course to decide who goes in them is their position in the League. The league must finish to decide the teams so a cutoff is agreed. Now that's not rocket science either, but it is a sport and a business and is very acceptable to most fans and the majority of other sports as well. Things in life move on, it's called progress and things evolve.

Been coming for a long time this. Neil spends the Winter in Oz every year and always had plans to settle there some year. Surprised he is making this decision now, but can understand his decision given the points already made. It was always going to happen, que Tony Mole.

Difference with Davey, Keith, was that Davy wouldn't even try, and would tell you before a meeting that he wouldn't get points tonight as he looked at the track, usually when it was either wet or heavy. We lost winnable meetings at both Stoke and Exeter in 2002, which meant we only finished on equal points to Sheffield and lost the league after winning it the previous year, and also lost a cup match. A whinger at all times. Ludvig seems to come good later in the meetings once him and his mechanic get the setup right. Could be a decent rider is he could overcome this problem.

Sorry to hear about Bryn and his misfortune . Take care and get well soon Bryn.

I didn't know you had been a World Champion HT. You have to be according to Big Al.

So you can have an opinion of his team riding, but others like me cant, and have to face your wrath. Yea right. An expected reply , bang on time and 'liked' by the usual Monarch suspects. And then they object to the tag of 'Smug'.

It used to be 40-38 win was happiness, but to beat the Monarchs home or away has to be up there as well for me. They were fortunate to get the early lead(not heat 1 though), and got points throughout the meeting with reruns which of course produced lesser results for the Diamonds in about 4 heats. Probably cost us about 6 to 8 points overall. Outrageous riding by Tabaka to take off Tully, dangerous and stupid, then lay down on the first bend to get our 5-1 stopped. Just hope he got fined for one or both incidents. After the early setbacks, the Diamonds came back strong and put together a tough team performance which was needed to take the win, and especially to take all three points as well. Richie again not on true form, but it was reassuring that he and Chris went out regularly after the meeting to test their engines and settings, in advance of tonight's meeting against Plymouth. Mention was made of Cook and team riding. Well he did try and help a slow DEEK around and succeeded, but his tactics were all wrong. The back man usually cover the inside to protect his partner and force the chasing rider to try to go outside which the team rider can then block. Cookie was outside, behind DEEK, which, if Rosen could have found even average grip round the whiteline, could have resulted in him shooting across the inside and possible take both of them. Still got the 1-5 though but Rosen possible should have taken a different line at times. Congrats go to Jonny S and the track team, especially the other helpers who got the sheets down with all the difficulties caused by the weather and the high winds. Sheets were put down across the corners and were lifted about 2.00pm, only to then receive the heavy rains which came about 4 hours late according to all forecasts. Jonny then had to mop it up and start track prep which is usually started at about 9.00am. It needed a little time to settle down and, with a bit of extra grading, it turned into a good racing strip. Another great performance and maximum for Cookie who was s**t hot and just passed everyone with ease. Good job for us he only got to ride 5 rides. Second half had a NJL meeting between the Gems and the Cubs, who edged it 12-11, and it was watched by a decent crowd who stayed behind if freezing conditions. Nasty 'off' for Kev and Luke who were shaken, and Kev got second in the rerun. Luke could not ride. League debut for our Josh, who got a paid win heat one, and eventually got 3 +1 in the meeting. Just the start. Now on to Plymouth tonight and hopefully a good 3 points.

Been at the track all morning and just returned home. The doggie sheets are down, gates put on and all the electrics tested and working. The speedway track has had sheets covering the bends since about 10.00pm this morning, and have just been taken off when it started to rain as Arson says at about 2.30pm. The track had not been watered and we have not had any rain for for few days except for a light shower during the night. Forecasts as usual were all crap and none right. How farmers, and other outdoor businesses, cope with the guff that the Met Office and others put out beats me. Anyway, we are now at the mercy of the weather, without any further rain, things should be OK for tonight. Don't forget that after the main meeting against Edinburgh, there follows a Northern Junior League with the Gems, for whom local lad Josh Embleton marks his racing debut. Please stay behind and give the lads your support. NB The sun has just come out as I write and, with the blue sky, it looks like it is going to hang around for awhile.

You knew of course there are exceptions.

Remember it's Leicester fans we are dealing with here.

I know from previous postings of your loyalty to our Diamonds Whippy. And long may it continue.

Actually spotted at the Somerset Classic pre-season meeting by Andrew Tully, who was hehind him in their race . Mentioned it to George E, found he had not signed a contract and he preferred to have a full teamplace on a Sunday, than a shared berth at Leicester on a Saturday.

It would suggest it should.

I never heard that nor have I ever seen it happen at Brough.

And neither was Richie.

Thank Christ for that.

Pleased to hear that about the Ice Hockey. My problem with any streams and packages is the fact that some fans don't go to speedway now because they can watch live speedway on TV every week. It might attract new fans, but conversely it has lost a lot of existing fans, some on here use it to condemn the sport they allegedly love/loved. NB Having been involved with the Vipers at Newcastle, it's amazing the similarity of the two sports, both in their attractions and the ongoing probs.

And half the crowd as well. Bye Bye speedway then.

Even more beautiful contributions from the one called confused.volty. Didn't see you there last night to see some decent racing. Must be getting enough at Leicester at the moment. Visitors seem to enjoy the entertainment lately at Leicester, but some of the locals still only go to shout off at the promotion and riders. Oh Dear. BTW Yes, I did PM Glyn, and we did have a discussion in private about the probs with the track and it's surface. It's what normal folks do, unless you live in Leicester it would appear. And yes, I did see Glyn last night, and had a wag with him in the pits throughout the night. Also had a canny crack with Big John the start marshall, who I hadn't seen for awhile, and it was nice to see and talk to him. Again, it's what normal people do. I must admit I am very impressed that you take up so much of your time to mention me often in your dispatches, who I am meeting and talking to, and what I might be saying to them. Anybody else of course would call it an obsession. See you in the Play Offs. I must agree with you Chewy. Ref Chris Gay was obviously looking elsewhere, as I could not find anybody last night who had seem even a smidge of movement, especially the second start where Chris was obviously looking out for him. Chris did the job of refereeing no good last night, as that was not an impartial performance. These sort of decisions, are costing riders and teams points and money, and the sooner refs get these decisions right the sooner the better for all concerned. Actually, there was some Bears fans there tonight cheering on the Diamonds favourites. A rare sight indeed.

Not much interest from the Lions favourites, looking for some good racing on a so called large cycle speedway track. Track in good nick, as we have just come off it, so a good nights racing. Jonny and his track team have had to remove copious amounts of gallons of water from the track, but he has got it back especially for the racers in the Lions team. I hope for a decent meeting with the Diamonds having a greater will to win. No injuries please for both sides. Any of the Lions favourites coming up, and wishing to advise me on track design, I'll be in front of the office or in the pits.

The timekeeper, who is usually the Incident Recorder as well, records details of all accidents with drawings as to where the accident happen. I believe these are collated in an attempt to identify trends with parts of each track. Talking about George Burrows summarising injuries, there was an investigation about 10 to 15 years ago regarding the repetition of the same riders being injured just before the end of the season. The then precident was, if you were injured late in the season, the benefits continued until they were signed off as making a full recovery. Of course many didn't, and were continued to be paid for most of the winter. The fact that they were working at their 'normal job' out of speedway was somehow failed to be transmitted to GB. Anyway the names were taken down, and it was noted that the same riders were nearly always injured late in the season and continued with benefits. This was transmitted to them and I believe the carry over benefits claims were greatly reduced. Some injuries of course would stop you riding speedway, but still allow you to do other work after the season finished. As the season stopped at the end of October, some riders were getting paid, even though they would not have had any speedway earnings anyway.

Looking forward to the meeting tomorrow night, or should I say especially the second half meeting. Liam Carr was the first rider from our Newcastle training school to get a league team place(with Berwick), got a max at our place in an NJL earlier this year, and has now got his first PL heat win under his belt at Edinburgh of all places. Great progress Liam. Tomorrow sees the second rider from the training school take his first rides for the Gems. His name is Josh Embleton, aged 17 from Byker, and has been riding with us for just over 2 years, and making similar progress as Liam has shown. Not expecting too much from him in his first meeting, but I know he will try hard, and I am sure you all will see further progress as he gets used to more league rides. Wish him well.