Tigers get Mauled, Leeds show their is still some Magic left, and I get back on the Piste!

Well the last few days have seen some mammoth events in the sporting calendar, the Australian Open is gathering pace with Murray getting past Nadal.......even if it will go down to injury to the Spaniard that cost him the game, I feel Murray had outplayed him completely anyway, the build up to the Six Nations gathers pace (i.e. lots of injuries!) and transfer window panic buying is starting to kick in, but it is in the world of European Egg Chasing in which I want to focus on to start with!!

It was a huge weekend of games for teams hoping to secure their passage to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier Rugby tournament, the Heineken Cup, especially for Gloucester and Northants who are the only English sides to make it through. Yes that’s right, no Wasp’s. London Irish or even my beloved Tigers.

Being a Leicester fan I have had it rather good the last few years, but I must admit I have not felt as low as I did after the final whistle on Saturday, as I have done for some time. That is not to say the Ospreys, deserved their win, which they did, it’s just a shame that we had to be on the losing side. It was a great game of rugby, and sure while there may have only been one try, the effort from Bowe that sealed the game, beautifully set up by James Hook, there was so much tension and passion on display that it was a shame any side had to walk away as a loser.

It’s a huge loss not getting through to the next stage, sure we are still well poised in the League, but with international games now going to affect the selection over the next few weeks, it is still anybodies to run away with, and I can’t help but feel that by going out on the Heineken Cup, we have lost out on our best chance of silverware this season.

Ah well, there is always next year right?? That’s what Leeds fans would have been saying to themselves in the 93^rd minute of the game against Spurs on Sunday, that is until the referee pointed to the spot, and that man Beckford, whose goals have not only propelled Leeds to the top of League 1, but also said “Good Bye Bye” to Man Utd in the previous round, stepped up calm as you like to slot home the equaliser.

Man has he got some balls!! He often gets criticised about drifting in and out of games at times, but there is no doubt that his temperament when it comes to scoring is spot on, he definitely looks like a real handful, and it was his goals, along with an courageous and skilful effort from Leeds that kept some of that FA Cup magic alive.

Unfortunately, to round of a bad weekend of sporting action for my teams, Arsenal only went and decided that they were going to allow even more of the magic to surface in their match up with Stoke. I swear Ricardo Fuller never scores a goal unless I watch him! Each time I have, for Stoke versus Southampton a couple of years ago at St. Mary’s, and every time I see him on the telly, he scores, looks world class and I can’t for the life of me work out why he is playing for Stoke. I know he doesn’t play like this week in and week out, in fact I here at times he can be awful, but it must be some sort of effect I have on him.

Maybe Fuller should pay for me to watch his every game and he would walk away with the FIFA Player of the year, or perhaps he can only get himself up for the big games, whatever it is, Wenger had no answer to his, and Stokes committed display, and although I hate losing, I must admit it is nice to see the bigger teams lose out in a good old fashion FA Cup match, just next time, let it be Chelsea! On a another not, it was kind of surreal seeing Campbell back in an Arsenal shirt, will it be any more than just a gimmick?? Time will tell!

Now I know I haven’t mentioned this before...........ahem....but you might have heard I busted my neck last season, and have spent six months practically doing nothing sports wise......what do you mean I mention it every week??

Anyway, operation get Luke back playing lots of sport has speeded up a bit now, not only with me back training full time in the vain hope I will be able to play a bit of Rugby again, but also with my return to the wonderfulness (I know that’s not a real world, I just like it!) that is the Tamworth Snowdome!

I was lucky enough last year to go for 3 lessons with an awesome instructor their called AT, and despite my fears that my rugby based motor skills (i.e. running head first into things) might hinder me, I did find that thanks to some amazing instruction, and obviously the rather good facilities there, I picked it up quite naturally! Then bang, busted neck, and I haven’t even thought about snow (apart from thinking how cold it is and how it stops me riding my motorbikes!) for the last 7 months!

That all changed last week, when I booked myself a couple of quick refresher advanced lessons, to see if I had managed to retain any sort of skill for it at all! This time my instructor was Stu (again, a top guy, I just think all boarders must be this nice!) and I strapped myself to a board, went to the half way point and thought, sod it, let’s just go for it!!

I couldn’t believe it, not only did I seem to not have forgotten a thing, but within about 20 minutes Stu was already talking me through my first jumps!! It was a classic case of relaxing and let the natural instincts take over, because when ever I thought about it too much, I ended up stacking it big time.

Luckily Stu was rather patient, and I can’t tell you the sheer buzz I get from being out on my board in the awesome Snowdome, I just love the freedom and the feeling, and I the only thing I can compare it to is the same buzz I get from riding very fast bikes!

So I managed to nail three jumps, the third one with me actually getting more than an inch of the ground, and I’m raring to return this Thursday to see what next there is to learn! I’m hoping to make it a regular bi weekly thing, so I will keep you posted on all of my exploits, including the bruises I pick up for getting that little bit cocky! I thought I’d gotten away with one big crash, until all the staff came running out to see if I was okay, obviously meaning they had seen it all on CCTV...........d’oh!

Honestly, having spent all my life playing rugby and cricket and the like, the more “Traditional” sports, I never thought I would be any good at snowboarding, but wow; it is simply one of those wonderful sports, that when you try, you simply get hooked!

Talking of bikes, I am back now on a bike everyday as I have kicked off the Motorcycle Diaries for 2010 in earnest, starting off with 3 blogs about all the new technology that is available for riders this year in safety gear, and also my first steed is a Yamaha WR125X.................and it’s so much fun!!

Also I must admit I had an awesome time Dj’ing Subculture at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, its simply the best night I have ever Dj’ed at, with everyone up for a laugh, and of course, me bringing the rock and metal to get crazy too!! There are also scantily clad dancers, you might see me in the background of this pic if you look carefully!! We do it all again this Sat (and every one there after – so I’ll see you there!)

I will Blog back after my next boarding lesson on Thursday, and let you know how it all goes, and if your keen to either try out a bit of skiing or snowboarding action at the Dome, or maybe get some refresher lessons before a big holiday, just head here!