Tony

Wonder if we'll see the Green helmet cover as a result of this deal :?: ;-)

Er.... a Sky dish has to have line of sight, so unless you've an open air loft.......

Which is a very sensible move to protect their business. Sky isn't perfect but at the end of the day their business exists to make money. It would be nice to think they had some morale obligation to provide access to all and sundry without regard for their profits, but actually, they don't. Truth is speedway is getting a higher profile as a result of Sky involvement and we're all seeing more racing. Hard to criticise that too much.

For me relegation and promotion has an important part of a competitive and healthy league structure, at least as far as the top two divisions are concerned. But the deal has to be right unlike in most sports including Rugby. There has to be a proper commitment to and financial support for the 2nd division, Sky money has to be invested in the sports strength and infrastructure.

Weaken the teams? How so? The way I see it the GP superstars are only really up for team outings every other week, often looking like they've their eye on the next upcoming GP. Team riding's a thing of the past with frequent 'groin strains' and no shows in heat 15. I'm not trying to be disrespectful but the EL's in trouble the way things are.

There's no doubt the game needs an overhaul and planning already is a sensible decision (so in reality it's not actually happening obviously ) but the bit of that article I didn't quite understand was the refference to the disparity of teams in the PL. The Falcons came to us and got hammered (excuse pun) but they were clearly having an off night and when we went down there we were beaten. Even looking at Newcastle's current position it doesn't compare to the state of Belle Vue this year comparitively. I do think the PL is a highly competative and close league, it's also a pretty sound product. BSPA could do a lot worse than basing two leagues along PL lines with perhaps less concern for GP riders. The only problem with that is that Sky ain't going to buy it, it's all about the GP for them I'm afraid.

We actually don't get huge crowds, although they have been on the increase and last season the promotion surveyed fans who in the main voted in favour of staying PL. I'm guessing there'll be pressure to move up again this year, I'm one of the few who was in favour but it's going to be a close call the way things are.