Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

But never mind the detail!

Exactly, you don't get detail with any party though...

Got to agree with Hays re previous post on Oil.

Spot on Hays.

from a biz point of view, i'm delighted if saudi keep pumping, but it won't do much for the world economies for a while ...... indeed, it is likely to make them even more fragile especially with china cooling considerably

By James Corrigan
12:30PM GMT 15 Dec 2014
The British public totally failed to understand the magnitude of McIlroy's incredible year - they clearly just prefer men in fast cars, says James Corrigan

At least we now can be clear that it is too dangerous to allow the public to decide upon two things - the death penalty and Sports Personality of the Year.

Golf is less annoyed and more befuddled by the Rory Mcllroy snub in the BBC “show” on Sunday. The pros who took to social media to express their bafflement at the world No 1 being outvoted by Lewis Hamilton told their own story.

Could the UK public not understand the magnitude of what McIlroy achieved in the summer? Could they not see that in that remarkable run from the Open through to the USPGA, McIlroy produced a stretch of form that was perhaps of a higher quality than any produced by any UK sports person in any era? What exactly does he have to do to win it? Invent penicillin?

Luke Donald hit the balata on the head when saying that as long as SPOTY is a public vote such farces will be replayed. Let’s face it, the public are fools when it comes to weighing up excellence. They do not judge dispassionately. If they did Hamilton would not have a sniff of beating McIlroy in a poll. And that is whether the award is based on performance or personality.


If I was McIlroy I would not bother turning up again. He does not need it, certainly not for his ego. Hamilton turned up at the Glasgow Hydro with his dog. McIlroy turned up with the responsibility of being No 1 in his sport. Golf is struggling with its participation levels and McIlroy saw an opportunity to spread the gospel to a wider audience.

But no, it seems that this wider audience prefers fast cars to a sport in which integrity is at its core. It seems that this wider audience do not grasp the fact that Hamilton essentially had one serious rival to beat on his way to the world title, while McIlroy had at least 70 serious rivals, as well as so many more invariables, to conquer on his way to becoming the first European golfer to win three different majors.

When McIlroy tees off at the Masters in April in his bid to become just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam he will not have superior equipment than the other golfers, he will simply have a far superior talent. No doubt, Hamilton is more talented than the rest as well. But that would mean nought if his car was not up to scratch.


So, yes, it is a disgrace that McIlroy did not win SPOTY. It is easy to see why. Golfers did not vote for him, because, well, golfers are not the type to switch on to a “show” which long ago traded in its dignity to appeal to the common denominator addicted to all that reality guff.

If you want to know how far SPOTY has descended since the days when it was an understated appreciation of the UK sporting year then look no further than Simple Minds opening the “show”. By the time the credits rolled - it has to be said, with no credit whatsoever - the booking of that band appeared so appallingly appropriate.

DB - thoroughly agree ..... hamilton's ok i suppose, but frankly, f1 this year was only ever a two horse race, and in any case, so much is dependent on pit stops and other non-driving skills

Ditto db, national disgrace.

But Rory was playing crap till he split up with his bird!

He's awesome to watch on television, but to see him in " real life" on a practice ground is even more awesome. A golf swing to die for!

Shortie - his mind was scrambled!!

Yep but Hays is correct.

Hamilton is a non tax payer, no way should he have won.

not sure that that's entirely true either .... check the rules re F1 winnings (or any other international sport i guess) and the taxes thereon ..... i think, but am not certain, that they are taxed at source in the country of origin

You have to also remember that when the public vote a lot of votes will go to the most popular person. Rory still has a way to go in the media's eye to add some showmanship to his game in much the same way Tiger did finding fame and fortune with it.

Shortie remember Faldo? A great player as was Steve Davis but both boring bxxxxxxs.
Alex Higgins was a joy to watch as is MCIlroy.

Hamilton hasn't got a great personality, in fact I think he's a sulky pain when things aren't going his way!

Tiger was an awesome competitor when he was in his prime, but he's an utter jerk as a person. I don't agree that Rory needs to add showmanship to his game, the golfing galleries at tournaments love him the way he is right now.

Hamilton pays plenty of tax in uk. He earns his money in 19 different countries. His team keeps 1,000 people in employment in the UK. I like golf a small amount but would not vote for golf. Despite there being several contenders for the title of SPOTY, he took 34% of the votes. Hamilton and F1 are just more popular. You play golf so you would vote for it. I used to race cars so I voted for Hamilton.

Maybe they do but the money and fame is in the sponsorship and for that he needs some showmanship in today's world. You can't compare with the time of Faldo, today's media is no longer paper and TV based, the world has moved on and so has our perception and expectation of sporting stars.

Very few racing drivers have nice personalities. At the top, most drivers are borderline psychopaths. They like winning, but really hate losing.

" You play golf so you would vote for it. I used to race cars so I voted for Hamilton."

How narrow minded can you get.

You like what you like. I would vote for darts before I would vote for golf. It is a matter of personal taste. I have played golf in Canada quite a few times, but it never got me excited. I like watching big matches on TV. With motor racing, I have been to most of the tracks in the UK as a competitor and spectator. I used to go to watch F1 testing at Silverstone. I have been abroad to watch F1 and Le Mans. I have friends who still race in classic races like Le Mans for classic cars. I don't think that is narrow minded. I am with Mark Twain regarding golf.