uk_martin

Got to love threads like this..."folks, stay at home, watch speedway on TV, and use this fantastic interactive scorecard". One day someone will cause an upset by saying "folks, make an effort, go to the track, PAY your admission, BUY a programme, and help the sport survive. One day maybe. When it's too late perhaps?

Absolutely spot on post!

If Zmarzlik was on a one month contract would he have been paid on the drip, week by week or meeting by meeting, or would he have been paid at the end of the month for the entire month's work? I have my own experience of how well people were being paid by the Philips regime, so nothing would surprise me about it.

Did anyone here buy a Belle Vue Brick? Do brick owners get any updates on how their investment is getting on?

And in football, you hear of teams getting punished for the actions of their fans. (e.g. racist chanting) "Third Party Punishments" are not at all uncommon.

I had a teacher at school who, if someone talked in class, he wouldn't punish the kid, he'd punish the rest of the class instead. (you can guess the rest) If ZG get punished, you can bet your bottom dollar that Dudek won't be flavour of the month there any longer. Other riders wouldn't want to be in his position, that's for sure. May make them think twice about taking the wrong turning in life.

Yeah - problem with Google or Bing translations is what to make of them. My friend in Poland tipped me off that they are now expecting that Stal Gorzow could be facing Leszno instead of Zielona Gora in the play-off's if the authorities are hard on Falubaz. Time will tell I guess. So there you have it...taking drugs not only cheats yourself, it could cheat your team mates, and the supporters who would be looking forward to a humdinger of a local derby too.

Translate and make of this article what you will.. http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/465476/wyniki-spar-u-falubazu-moga-zostac-zweryfikowane-betard-sparta-pewna-utrzymania

I've heard from a Polish source that there is a possibility that Falubaz Zielona Gora may have the points scored by Dudek stripped away from them (and re-allocated?) Not sure if this is just idle speculation of if it is being considered by the authorities, whether it will be enacted, but it could have a devastating impact on the final league table and to the play-offs if it happens. Has anyone else seen/read/heard anything to elaborate on this?

Sorry to go nagging on about this, but please see my previous post. EVERYONE claims to have taken drugs by mistake. EVERYONE claims that they didn't know what they were consuming. Lance Armstrong claimed his innocence. Linford Christie claimed his innocence. What else do you expect Patyck Dudek to say? The thing about drugs is, you are assumed guilty until proven guilty! That's the way. No leniency because you are a speedway rider, or because you are a nice guy, or because you help old ladies to cross the road. Get found with drugs in your system and that's it. Just be grateful that they don't banish drug takers to Siberia any more in the old East European countries and that in a couple of years time he'll be back.

Got a nagging feeling I do

Check out other threads which go along the lines of “Speedway is not run professionally” as a starting point. Management and organisation of the sport has always been called into question when compared to other “proper” sports. SO – do we want to add to the accusations that Speedway is soft on drug takers and drunkards? Do we want other sports to ban its competitors when found positive for drug taking but only slap speedway riders on the wrists? Is that the way to prove Speedway to be a “proper” and “professional” sport? Baseball in the USA is going down this path of appeasement to drug takers and it’s rapidly becoming a sport of ridicule as a result. Is that where we want Speedway to go too? So, the case for the defence is that Dudek inadvertently took the drug. He wasn’t aware that it was in something that he consumed. Well, would you expect anything else to be said? Lance Armstrong used a similar defence. As did Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. Check out this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_athletics - and ask yourself how many of these you think held their hands up and said “fair cop guv, you got me fair and square”? With neigh-on EVERYONE denying willingly or knowingly taking drugs, how differently can you take one person’s claims to everyone else’s? Just because you have an affinity to him because he’s a nice lad (albeit a Falubaz rider LOL) and he’s in your sport and it’s a first offence…he’s been busted the same as all the others have been busted and he has to be treated the same as all the others. Sorry but soft soaping this case isn’t the answer. If he’s got a 2 year sentence, then that’s par for the course, and is the correct verdict IMHO. Other sports have coped without their banned superstars, Speedway will need to do so too.

Not easy in the slightest. What is "decent"? "Decent" according to the definition of the Radio 1 playlist? Radio 2?? Radio 3??? Smooth FM?? Planet Rock??? Music is one of those things where you ain't gonna please all of the people all of the time... UNLESS,.. ...you take the matter REALLY seriously, and develop what Monster/BSI do at some of the continental SWC / SGP meetings and have a number of "name DJ's" with their mobile rigs "pumping out their sounds" for the people around them to enjoy at various points around the track. If you don't like the music of one DJ, you can stand closer to another DJ whose music you might like better. Be interesting if a promoter dare to upset the "done it this way for generations" applecart and ditched the stadium announcer / DJ doubling-up role and employed / showcased the local nightclub DJ's to do the filling in bit between the racing. That said, you might get lots of complaints from the grannies and grandads at the track who will think this is all too noisy, and nobody is playing Glenn Miller any more...but as I say, you can't please everyone all the time.

Well I'll be... Hands up everyone who knew that...c'mon hands in the air...I can't see many hands out there... I suggest that Monster do a bit of marketing with the message that their drink does NOT rehydrate you...just to be sure that no-one else gets it all wrong about them again.

Reports of Darcy being "dehydrated" no doubt would have not best pleased his sponsors, Monster. With a limitless supply of the energy drink at his disposal, to claim to be dehydrated doesn't make Monster's ability to rehydrate and energize seem very good does it?

Not sure that a big crowd makes an event feel better than it is. More like a big crowd turns the event into what it is. i.e. an evening of entertainment. it comes down to whether speedway is best optimised as a live event to be enjoyed in the stadium by those there, or whether it is to be optimised for television coverage. Having been stood frozen on the terraces whilst SkySports have their interviews, play adverts, then more interviews etc etc, I know I'd rather that the sport be optimised for the fans in the stadiums, and the TV presentation worked around that, than the alternative. It's a formula that works in Poland and could be better for us here. A recipe for genocide. All those grannies and grandads dying of heart attacks and shock on race nights. British fans aren't in the prime of their youth any more!

Isn't there an energy drink, similar to Red Bull called "Afterburner"? Who knows what goes into some energy drinks. If it is an energy drink I doubt if Monster or Red Bull will think too kindly of it.

Your first point is probably right. Your second point I think is more complicated. I think speedway is for those businessmen who are making money in other ventures who need to "lose it" before the taxman gets hold of it. Almost sounds like money laundering except this money doesn't come out clean it just legitimately goes down the drain. Unlike Duggard whose been playing this game much more skilfully for much longer (remember him saying about Eastbourne losing £40,000 in 2007) I think Philips messed up how much he had to get rid of with how much would get sucked out of him.

Why was Mole so keen to dispose of a profit maker? Why did Patch & Bratters not complete their purchase of the club if it was so profitable? Will Mole ever release the audited accounts to b back up his claim? All sounds like twisting of the knife lodged in Philips' back if you ask me.

From an away fan's perspective I'd like to add that it was a pleasure to follow the Brummies around all the PL tracks. It became a chore to follow them around the EL tracks, so much so that I turned from a 100% attender of away meetings to a never again attender of (EL) away meetings. Had more enjoyment out of becoming a "temporary" Plymouth and Ipswich fan on their northern tours of 2012 & 2013, respectively, than I could muster in my entire last season of following the Brummies in the EL in 2012.

What league were Oxford in? Have Reading been forgotten? When there are rungs on the ladder below you then you can step down to a lower rung instead of jumping off. Eastbourne and Peterborough spring to mind. In fact, you could argue that Frost closed Peterborough as an EL team and it took intervention from the present owners to bring it back to life in the PL

I could forgive Jacks naivety and technical ignorance. No one is offended by them. However his (& Sam's) repeated mis-pronounciation of riders names was painful to hear. These are real people with fans and families and they do the affected people an insult by cocking thir names up. A professional commentator learns the names and how to pronounce them. It's not that hard. Rugby commentators have twice as many names to remember.

Wrong. It was more like (at a guess) 5000. The away pen was packed with Stal fans and I was on the home straight which was pretty full in the central enclosure and 50% full elsewhere where it was in the shade. The back straight where the ultras were was 60% full but around the bends it was very spartan. Didn't help having the Tour of Poland push bike race in town nor the World Volleyball Championships hogging the TV coverage.

Yeah, those pesky Poles again eh? Dammed un-British all these foreigners trying to PROMOTE the sport (remember "promotion? No? Don't worry, nor can anyone else in British speedway) Anyway as I'll be going to this as part of a round trip the day after the Gorzów SGP I have to say I'm really looking forward to it and seeing another exciting afternoon of racing. Enjoy your humbugs.

http://www.monsterenergyswc.com/news/article/3549/swc/poles-relish-swc-pressure How come "Team Jensen" (MJJ, MBJ, etc) have fallen out of favour with the Danish authorities? Oops. Sorry for double post. The perils of mobile phones. Why is there no delete button?