sport review best of 2007

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I'm stoked 2007 is over, sports-wise. After three World Cups and a big yacht race for no trophies, we're left to pick up the pieces after a year of early starts, late finishes, big build-ups and crushing disappointments. What have we learned? Nothing, if you believe Henry's reappointment was a mistake (which I don't), but 2008 will be very interesting indeed, with Robbie Deans leaving the rabid for success for the slightly shit. So bollocks to 2007, but it's time to get over it.

Luckily, blogging-wise, I've really enjoyed it. Getting a cartoon in the paper was nice (another one soon!). I liked this one. And this one. This wasn't a good idea.I loved making up news stories.

In 2008, I really need to get my shit together with a proper domain (keep your eye on sportreview.net.nz) and Wordpress, particularly before sportreview jr. comes along.

Here's my best for 2007.

Sporting moment
Hard one. A couple of America's Cup races were pretty amazing. I'm too childish to nominate Fiji v South Africa. Oher than a few Berbatov goals, it's looking pretty bleak. I'm going for Luaki handing off Richie McCaw - it's been that kind of year.

Web
Guardian Unlimited (football and sport) remain my go-tos for sport news, writing, and youtube clips. Locally, the Dropkicks podcast is the best in NZ sport on the web. I love the communities springing up at Sportsfreak and The Silver Fern - I wish I had more time to participate. I joined Facebook, and found it great for finding the long lost, but kind of annoying otherwise. I discovered last.fm. I really enjoy Public Address and Jason Kottke, still.

Links on Friday
- Richie Benaud on the underarm
- Zombie vs Shark
- Never poke a big cat with a stick
- Full Metal Wii
- The Mack vs the Nuge

Albums
Person Pitch - Panda Bear (thanks, Fraser), Happy Ending - Phoenix Foundation, Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

Book
The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Micheal Chabon

Films
Superbad, The Devil Dared Me To, Hot Fuzz

Top three songs on last .fm
Ramble Tamble - Creedence
Fourtunate Son - Creedence
Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny

Links on Friday

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- Fabio Capello will soon be sitting on England's bench. Hope they gave it a good clean after Sven. Still, if he gets them playing like this everyone'll go home happy. Check out the second goal, it's a thing of true beauty
- Liverpool's Jan Molby scored a screamer in the 80s against Man U that no-one ever saw thanks to a TV strike. So some nerd re-created it on their XBox. Bless
- The NRL has everything - fisticuffs, witty banter and no nonsense refereeing. I may have to watch a game next season
- Christmas wish list #1: Lego Imperial Walker. Now if you could hook it up to bring beer to the couch...

Links on Friday

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Sorry team, I know this is turning into a kind of links-only site - more stupidity soon, I promise
- Remember Cullen bungling a try by not forcing it properly a few years ago? That's nothing
- I'd like to thank... SHIT! - it's not over till you're in the clubhouse drinking and worrying if your feet smell, as this guy finds out in a hurry
- Inky on the All Black coaching dilemma - it's all academic now that Ted's back in. Inky's way smart though, you should read him, not me
- Some people say Footballers feign injury to con free kicks - and they're right. Miraculous recovery here

Links on Friday

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- Cartman introduces the University of Colorado starting line up - this is great. There ought to be more obnoxious cartoons introducing teams. We DO have Stu Wilson, I suppose
- Grandstand fight - Super smooth Des Lynham carries on like a pro despite handbags ensuing in the background
- Shortest hockey fight ever? - some very swift work there. There's been a lot of fighting in me links lately
- The erotic appeal of a Land's End catalouge - this is just really well written. Heh

Links on Friday (on Sunday)

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- I miss Soccer AM - Saturdays just aren't the same without a soul-sapping hangover and football related hilarity - check these out.
- The more I think about it, Ajax may be my 'other' team. Cruyff. Van Basten. Nice football. Cool kit. Dutch. Stuff like this. What's not to like?
- A Dan Carter conversion straight out of Sensing Murder
- I'm listening to CCR lately. If you haven't heard Ramble Tamble. Have a listen, it's the most rockin' song of all time, don't you know.

Links on Friday

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- Manchester City News - the more I watch this, the more hilarious it becomes. And the more I worry about my lack of humour development since age 12
- Sportsfreak on Michael Hussey - they're right, you know, he's boring his way into history
- Stephen Fry's Dork Talk - everyone's fav foppish wordsmith is a Mac guy, and he's writing a gadget review column for the Guardian. Who would have thought?
- Norman Mailer fight - here's a bizarre scene from his improvisational movie Maidstone where Rip Torn decides to take artistic direction into his own hands. Mailer died this week

Links On Friday (on Sunday)

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Sorry, team - blog motivation is low at the moment. I've got a good mind to get my other one going again...
- The best 5-a-side goal ever - bloody hell, that's some skill. The 'keeper has no idea whatsoever, and looks like Mike Gatting facing the ball of the century
- Chuck Klosterman on the NBA - not my favorite sport, but one of my favourite writers
- Hostel's Eli Roth's 24 hours of Horror - does anyone want to do this?
- That One Bob Guy And Why He Can Go Fuck Himself - I love this

Links on Friday

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- Fido trailer - a Zombie in every home. WHEN does this come out in NZ?
- Denis Leary gives Mel Gibson a verbal beatdown - nice. Poor old Mad Max, first the Malibu mansion, now this
- The prince of own goals - This is magic. This is still my favourite own goal ever, though, just 'cos it's Arsenal, and a member of George Graham's back four.
- Ryan Giggs, 7 gives his first TV interview - his media minder is Alex Ferguson, 16

Links on Friday

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- The Back Up - Yes, this would be great for a boring old home invasion, but in the event of an infestation of reanimated corpses... THAT's when this little beauty would come into its own
- Here's the video of that guy speeding through Paris in a Ferrari 275 - Wicked. As always, Wikipedia has the full story
- Modern day Cannonball Run - they've got a lot more gadgets and a lot less moustache than ol' Burt and the gang
- Zombo.com - shut down the internet, NO site is going to top this one (needs sound)

Links on Friday

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- Sebastian Chabal steals a dog's lunch - magic. Why is the dog called 'Springboks' though?
- Golf has a new hero - check out Woody Austin as he bends his putter on his head in frustration. I've done that with a keyboard a few times, alright. Bonus - Woody Austin falls in the water. Nice one, bruv
- Top 50 football kits - I want one of them Dukla Prague kits and all
- Matt le Tissier free kick - cool as you like

Links on Friday

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- No Police Report Can Truly Capture My Love Of Drunk Driving - Har. Those Onion guys are actually funny
- Zero punctuation - the best video console review you'll see on this blog today
- Steve Vai lays down some gnarly licks - this give hope to bedroom shredders everywhere
- Simpsons' movie references - woah. There's LOADS here, and I bet it's only scratching the surface. They're bloody clever, those goshdarn Simpsons

Links on Friday

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- Some muppet tries to tackle a goal kicker and knocks himself out - this is the greatest thing ever. The best bit is the tacklee doesn't even notice - AND he sticks the kick
- Johan Cruyff - best first touch ever? - wow, that's some skill. Bonus link - here's my fav (non-spurs) goal ever, by another Ajax legend. My fav spurs goal is probably this one. Or this one. Or this one.
- The Times' Serious Football Writer Brian Glanville's top 50 football moments - nice list, he picks a whole lot of stuff from the olden days, just to prove he's a Serious Football Writer, though
- If people behaved in meetings like they did on the internet - har. Love the guy that gets all serious

Links on Friday

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- Pulp Sports' The Butcher Sopranos parody - what was the Sopranos finale all about? Did he die or what? My heart was going like anything...
- Ronny Rosenthal misses a sitter - and what a sitter. Luckily, he did it for the bin dippers, and not Spurs
- The most rockin song of all time - is Credences' 'Ramble Tamble' apparently. And it's pretty bloody good. I've got a soft spot for 'Keep your hands to yourself' by Georgia Satellites myself. Or the Ramones' 'Rockaway Beach'
- Urban planner clearly depressed when she came up with street names - Har

Links on Friday - Shield challenge special

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Here's some Hamilton hyperlinks for yers to celebrate the big shield challenge tomorrow night. I'll be there, can't wait
- Waikato's Sione Luaki hands off Richie McCaw - wow. He throws the All Black captain and best player in the world around like he's a wussy smart arse blogger or something (thanks, Rugby Dump)
- Hamilton rock - if you've ever been to Zak's, or seen Knightshade in action, you know how hard the 'tron ROCKs. Here's what I'm talking about (thanks, Spare Room)
- Highlights of Waikato v North Harbour - the smash n grab run to the shore
- The McKay family - har - but is it for real?

Links on Friday

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- Villa's Martin O'Neil, pop picker extraordinaire, telling Robbie Williams what for - classic, it's like being told off by a senile old science teacher
- Wayne Rooney meets Dirty Sanchez - the Welsh jackass imitators that are ten times funnier. That can't be his house...?
- Touch The Rainbow - great tv ad for Skittles. Wish I could do this with a nice bacon sandwich
- All You Had To Say Was 'Owen Wilson Befriends A Dolphin' And I Was Sold - that's how it gets done, team

Links on Friday (on Sunday)

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- 50 greatest sporting insults - There's some crackers here, like "There’s no way you are good enough to play for England." "Maybe not, but at least I’m the best cricketer in my family", directed at Mark Waugh
- Keano takes Sunderland to Ireland - OK, so *#@!$% Sunderland beat Spurs this morning (yes, thanks for the helpful reminder, Kate), but I can't be too upset - I've got a sneaking admiration for Roy Keane and hope the throbbing vein on his forehead has an easier life now he's not playing. Doubt it, though
- Soccer AM 'third eye' collection - if you find footballers being whacked in the face with balls hilarious, this this for you
- B3TA 'make safe things dangerous' image challenge - har. The the best's the school sports day with the bear

Links on Friday

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- Le Tour's Mount Ventoux - bugger biking up here. It just goes up and up and up, and looks like the moon
- Greatest bit of fielding ever? - Gatting couldn't be more surprised than if he'd been slapped with a fish
- A high quality Spurs goal from G. Linneker - Spurs are looking good for top four this year I reckon (Bonus link for you SportsFreaks: Glen 'n Chris do Diamond Lights)
- Top 50 Muppets - I like Crazy Harry, the mad bomber. And Lefty

Links on Friday

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- George Gregan's 'Four more years' call - we'll miss this little guy alright
- It's all about the bike - forget blood transfusion - the Tour De France is all about beautiful machines. Check out this gallery of the prologue time trial bikes
- Bacon Vodka - I'm as happy as the time I found a bacon peanut butter sandwich in London one time. Now that's respecting both the pig and the peanut
- The Darjeeling Limited trailer- Wes Anderson's new movie. Good to see Owen Wilson back with Wes

Links on Friday

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- Tour De France face plant - the Tour De France Prologue through London is this weekend, with stage one in idyllic English countryside the next night. Check guides for times, good luck on Sky's shitty website
- Good Goran interviews Bad Goran - not that remarkable really, I conduct interviews with myself like this all the time
- Andoni Goicoechea, 'The Butcher of Bilbao' shatters Maradonna's ankle - ouch. It's all on the next time the teams meet
- The Framely Examiner - Har. I want to live here
- Dinosaur Jr - In a jar - I'm off to see these guys on Monday night. Kick. Ass.

Bonus Friday link

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Here's a alleycat race through London, hitting Tottenham Court Road / Oxford St intersection, the Oxford St / Regent St intersection, Soho, Covent Garden, etc, with loads of zipping in and around black cabs, pedestrians, etc. Looks like lots of fun, but not for the faint hearted - even the camera man shows some mad skillz here.

This is kind of like what the Tour De France prologue will be like but without the traffic or combat shorts and that.