The Pedaler

But do they though? They start their routines (or they ought to) before the riders are anywhere near the tapes, and are off the track before the start marshall has done his bit, so all they are doing is making "dead time" a little less "dead". Ought to add to the value, not take away from it...but for gods sake, get real confident women in to do it, not self-conscious pubescent teenagers. Women young enough to to look good and mature enough to take the matter seriously, not giggling little girls, checking their phones for text messages or allowing themselves to be distracted from their jobs.

Basically - YES! Let's face it, the Russell's (i.e. GoSport) had a product to protect - EL coverage on SkySports. They were too scared that "their" product would appear too inferior if they went out with Polish speedway on a Sunday and EL on the Monday. A bit like World of Sport's wrestling with Mick McManus & Big Daddy was made to look very silly by WWF wrestling being shown on Sky.

Has anyone got the text of what was said about the Belle Vue track watering incident last year? Likewise has anyone got the text of the report of the goings on when Belle Vue eventually did host Poole, in the atrocious rain, when the fans that entered the stadium had to freeze and get soaked for the privilege of watching Poole be allowed enough races to get their 7 point lead before the meeting was abandoned? Is the text available for the interview with Scott Nicholls for why he decided to retire from Team GB? Was there an investigation into the goings on that caused the suspension and demise of the Brummies web site and the role played by AP Media in that?

Again? "Could", as in "maybe", or "perhaps", or "possibly"...or as in "not at all"? I suppose sooner or later something will be announced, so by the laws of probability, if you keep on predicting it, eventually you will be right.

I agree with what's being said about doing it right. That would need an element of professionalism off the grid girls though wouldn't it? As in practise, rehearsals, putting the time into their routines to get them right. We'd be onto a winner if they adopted the attitude of American cheer leaders, for whom "being in the team" is a source of pride, and who work hard at putting on a good show for the fans. (BTW, anyone care to complain about cheer leaders in American sports?) Of course what British promoter in his right mind would employ Brolly Dollies that are more professional than the rest of the presentation being put to the fans? They wouldn't want to be shown up would they?

How long ago was it on another thread when everyone was wishing that Barry Hearne would get involved with the promotion of speedway? Well, show me a sport that Hearn is involved with that does not include an element of "glamour" to spruce up the presentation? Unless of course the suggestion is that Barry Hearne is wrong and the bah humbug brigade on BSF know better?

For as long as GoSpeed International Ltd don't buy up the rights, like they have with Polish speedway, there is hope for us all. If GoSpeed get the rights, it'll have been done just to block it from the eyes of the British public, just as they have with Polish speedway, in another cynical move to ration out only that speedway that they approve of...which will be the British Diluted League ONLY.

What new deal? Another day passes, another day without an announcement. Has anyone considered the possibility that by Matt Ford prematurely leaking the information to his journalistic mate at the Bournemouth Echo, he might have upset SkySports enough for them to cancel what was going to be the deal? No doubt the Russells would have been going flat out to rescue what remains of it, and who knows how long that would take, but would anyone think that Ford would be upset if the Russells were in difficulties? Only a theory, mind.

Coaching??? Now there's a novel concept for speedway in Great Britain.

The only thing that you blow out of water are bubbles. Nowhere have I said that speedway shouldn't be on television, either national or international. What I have said is that speedway will be better served with a highlights programme on a weekly basis or even two or three nights a week, and not live speedway. That's my opinion. You don't have to like it. Feel free to kick and scream about it all you like. What would be less boring though is for you to prove how 10 odd years of live speedway on SkySports on a weekly basis has benefited the sport. If you are correct that SkySports has been good for speedway then there should be plenty of evidence. Feel free to present all that evidence to your hearts content.

All these points are making the case for a weekly summary show and NOT "live" speedway. Those who "can't" go for whatever reason will get their fix, and it can still be repeated whenever the broadcaster has a loose moment. Those who don't want all the faffing around will get speedway in a "concentrated format". Loads of sports do well without live coverage. I think that an edited summary show will show the sport in a far better light. It won't stop the fans from going to the stadiums and those fans that do go won't be messed around waiting in a cold wind for Sky's advert breaks to end. Anyone who's been to a play-off will also know that being on the terraces in one of those meetings is an endurance not an enjoyment. Some people I brought along to Birmingham last year won't ever come back to speedway again after what they had to go through to see 15 minutes of racing just to appease the SkySports programme makers. More a case of kiddies thinking that their toys are being taken away from them and having a big blub about it.

Yeah, why not free tickets? Give it some free live radio coverage, and put it on Eurosport for free too...not forgetting the free links to streaming channels on the internet... Who needs money? BSF speedway followers might even be happy with that arrangement. The answer to getting people out of their armchairs by wowing them with "big crowds" and "atmosphere" that have to be "checked out" is very simple...and one that the BSPA through their cohorts at GoSpeed International have the power implement...namely showing Polish speedway on television. So you have to ask yourself, why don't they do that? Why have GoSpeed bought the international media rights for the Extraliga only to NOT show it on television? Showing "big crowds" and "atmospheres" are obviously not the way that they want speedway to be portrayed. Can't show big Polish crowds on Sundays and then the EL equivalent of one man and his dog on a Monday night can they? Granted, as someone said, the problems with speedway are closer to home. Let's face it the British speedway product stinks..but that has to be remedied before it gets televised. Carrying on showing a rotting corpse on live tv will do nothing at all to turn it's fortunes around. Didn't those powers of persuasion also involve hundreds of millions of £££,£££'s ? Weren't clubs compensated for reduced attendances and those clubs shown on television paid extra? So where's the similarity with what's being proposed by SkySports now where they simply won't charge for being there, and add nothing to the pot to compensate for reduced attendances? What's in it other than vanity for speedway now under this Sky proposal?

The PL Pairs meeting at Somerset is a fantastic event. Long may the idea of team riding pairs of speedway professionals prosper. I'm looking forward to the SBP. Just a shame that the event dates are too close to other trips already booked. Maybe a lesson for OneSport for next year...announce your calendar of events SOONER please!

You have to survive today before you think forward to tomorrow.

Here's the news! Speedway ISN'T a successful sport in the UK, and it isn't big either. Team GB is crap and all the clubs are losing money, big style. Before it wants to join the ranks of the big and the successful, the sport first has to survive, and then grow and succeed. Pretending to be a serious sport in this country hasn't done speedway any good at all in the last however many years since Sky were involved. I'm sure that you'd love to carry on watching live speedway on television and you won't care a jot if the loss of revenue caused in the name of providing you with your entertainment causes clubs to go under. What would you care? You'll just start watching Swedish or Polish speedway on television instead.

Only marginally more than 16 riders and 2 reserves for a very boring individual or testimonial meeting...Surely a TEAM meeting and an international all star team meeting at that will attract a bumper crowd, big sponsorship, television coverage, merchandise sales etc etc that would make it all VERY worthwhile...in anywhere other than a territory ruled over by the BSPA.

Do I want LIVE Monday night speedway to happen? NO! Sky won't be paying anything for it so clubs will lose revenue through diminished attendances, not to mention people's regular race night getting buggered about. Would I like a once a week hourly summary show, kind of a "match(es) of the week" kind of thing, then yes. I think that would be far more beneficial for the sport and be in the best interests of its long term health. Live TV and Live Radio won't do anything other than pander to the stay-at-home armchair fans who want everything for free. Clubs need fans to pay at the turnstiles, to be in the stadiums, and sponsors need to have them in the stadiums too to be exposed to their brands and products, and so a move away from live TV (where sponsors logos etc only get a bit part airing) will be a good thing.

That was the 16th January and now it's the 24th...which "next" week will it be? Are you just stringing everyone along for a laugh? Is that what the BSPA have told you to do?

Emil is at Torun now, so that's a problem halved.

Lets face it, this Best Pairs event is tailor made for the Turbo Twins. IF Darcy Ward wants to place money and country before Poole Pirates then there would be no "facility" for him, in the same was as there was no facility for Hans Andersen in 2013 when he went to ride in the Euros instead of for Swindon. Poole will have to find a National League guest, and Ward would get a ban of some sorts. So you can imagine Ford now wanting to persuade Cook to postpone the fixture in light of a lack of star attractions and poor value for money for the fans (he does like that one doesn't he?) and you can imagine that Cook will want to take advantage of the best chance of getting a 3-point win over the Pirates for a long time.

As I suspected, to represent the nation, and to be called "Great Britain", the BSPA have to grant approval. They haven't. So no British riders can represent their country in that event, despite at least the first round not conflicting with any EL fixtures. Any foreign rider contracted to a British team can't be stopped though. I doubt if the team that they are riding for will be granted more than an NL guest as a replacement if they have a rider that is caught up in a fixture clash, and no doubt the club or the BSPA may impose a ban on that rider, in the way that Swindon did with Hans Andersen last year when his SEC commitments "took priority". Does anyone think that isolationism will do British Speedway any good? Do you think that the likes of Tai Woffinden will be pleased at not being able to earn what he is worth on the global stage as World Champion? Is this a way to encourage the top riders to (continue to) take part in our leagues and thereby improving the product for British fans? Thank you BSPA for burying your heads in the sand and further diluting the product even further.

Maybe the twopenny league sponsorship with a second hand car dealership was put on ice and all announcements put on hold when it emerged from Nigel Pearson's own back yard that Zoopla may have £3m to spend on some sponsorship deal or another, now that they have pulled out of the West Bromwich Albion deal? Just be careful with how you salute your heat wins!

Why am I not surprised? Says it all doesn't it? He says exactly what everyone on BSF says regularly. The only people who are unaware of that home truth are the BSPA themselves. The stupid thing is...if Poole or Swindon (etc) wanted to run a "Best Pairs" event to fill a gap in their fixture list, there wouldn't be a problem in riders being allowed to "earn a living" by accepting a booking. But earning a comfortable living on Polish big money, against quality opposition, that's a big no-no. Work it out. No-one yet knows what the format of the "Elite Riders Championships" will be, but if the BSPA now harbour any ideas of adding to the talent pool, riders contracted to Polish clubs not riding in the UK, you can guess what the outcome might well be...then again, could the Poles really be as small and as petty minded as the BSPA and seek this kind of retaliation?

Especially in the town that is home to that famous Welsh football team - Total Network Solutions FC

Here's the party line. Let's all tow it together...a one...a two...a three ... HEAVE!!!