I nail my first Kicker, Murray Marches on, and Rooney wins the battle of Manchester

So yeah, today I nailed my first kicker!

If, like my a few weeks ago, that sounds like something an overactive teenage American footballer would say after just mullering the guy going for a field goal, but in fact it refers to me actually hitting my first massive (okay tiny) ramp on snowboard and actually pulling off bit of “air”........or in other words gracefully flying through the air of a ramp, and then rather ungracefully collapsing in a heap when you land!

In fact, ironically, my awesome instructor AT down at the Snowdome, the guy who first taught me to “Shred the Rad” when I had 4 hours of lessons 8 months ago, told me to pretend that the ramp wasn’t even there...........advice I actually took to well when doing a few warm up runs, and just though sod it, and went for it anyway!!

Honestly, I’m getting such a buzz out of getting back into boarding, and I can’t believe that after approximately 6 hours of lessons, I’m already nailing jumps!!! To be fair to technically nail a jump, you have to land it, and I reckon I got about 40% there, although my rather ambitious final jump coming straight down from the top of the slope and getting about 6 feet in the air, I am going to count, as I did land it, I was just then so happy I feel to the floor with joy..........honest!!

Snowboarding rules, and I love having the awesome people and facilities of the Tamworth Snowdome around the corner, I even managed to go there on a rather nice Honda Hornet 900, which if you want to see more of, just head over to the Motorcycle Diaries right now!!

Away from the piste, Andy Murray has been in devastating form in the Australian Open, being the first British person (easy you patriotic Scots, we put up with you long enough to be able to lay claim to all of your sportsman!) to reach the final down under since 1743 when Archibald Peregrine Windermere the third managed to vanquish the evil convict Captain Blackbeard in the final by hitting him over the head with his racket. Okay my history may be a bit blurry, but you know what, Murray actually looks the real deal now, he was behind against Cilic, and then a moment of genius happened when he hit a winner chasing down a lob, and anguished cry was let out, and then bosh, you just knew he would win.

Perhaps anguished cries are the key?? Next time you’re having a bad day, just scream from the top of your lungs and make a face like you really need the bathroom, and viola, you should be good at tennis.....or something like that! I just love seeing how the media reacts to a British player who is actually really good, they just don’t seem as interested when they can actually play, unlike the furore we used to get when Jeremy “I'll Never be as good as Boris Beckers left big toe” Bates or Tim “I’m not bitter Murray is better than me....honest” Henman simply laced a racket.

Go get 'em Andy, that’s all I’m saying!

Oh and Mr Rooney, take a bow!! What a way to win a game in the Carling cup Semi against the dreaded blue side of Manchester than in the final minute with a thumping header in front of your old fans! I really thought Tevez had done enough to take it to Extra time with his audacious volley, but as Ferguson said, Rooney is truly playing like a World class superstar at the moment, just watch him go and break his meta tarsal now ahead of the World Cup.................oh God, I didn’t mean it..........quick someone go print a picture of his foot so I can kiss it better!! He even managed a bit of a cartwheel


.but yeah

.so did I when I was 12 at school in PE
.and mine was better!

Tomorrow I am attending the Walk for Matt 2010 launch, where I will get to interview once more, one of my true heroes, Matt Hampson; I’ll get some cool video footage too and report back from it after the weekend!! It truly is a great cause, so get involved if you can, and you can read all about Matt’s incredibly inspirational story here.

Right then, I’m off to bed to read some Sartre, yes, big whoop, wanna fight about it?? It’s not that I’m an intellectual, more that I find it helps me fall asleep rather easily!!