Scottish Sports Roundup Que Sera Sera Version

Ecstasy



Agony (Macedonia Version)

You definitely have to be Scottish to appreciate this.

From the Guardian.

World Cup 2010 qualifier

Macedonia v Scotland - as it happened

• Guardian report
• Observer report
• Min-by-min
• Match facts

World Cup Euro Qual Gp 9

Macedonia 1	Naumoski 5
Scotland 0

• Scott Murray
• guardian.co.uk,
• Saturday September 06 2008 12:00 BST
• Article history

This is more than a graph than an o-meter, but I didn't have time to change it, sorry

Kick off: 2pm. Scott will be here from 1.30pm. Although he just texted in to say his train was delayed, so make that 1.47pm.

1.47pm: Tom Lutz wasn't wrong. How queer.

Oh how I love you, Lisa Gray, PA Sport Chief Scottish Football Writer, Skopje: "There were no real surprises in George Burley's team selection for Scotland's World Cup qualifying opener against Macedonia.
Kenny Miller and James McFadden both started and were given the task of getting the goals despite a less than inspiring partnership in last month's friendly against Northern Ireland at Hampden. With West Brom's James Morrison injured, Barry Robson was given the nod in midfield alongside Celtic team-mates Paul Hartley and Scott Brown, as well as Darren Fletcher. As expected, stand-in skipper Stephen McManus was able to shake of a knock he picked up in last week's Old Firm derby to take his place in the heart of defence with Gary Caldwell. Kirk Broadfoot was named among the substitutes after his surprise call-up earlier in the week.

At last, they bother to send the teams through, though I can hardly bang on about other folk being tardy this afternoon. Anyway, FYR Macedonia: Milosevski, Noveski, Petrov, Sedloski, Mitreski, Lazarevski, Georgievski, Shumulikoski, Maznov, Pandev, Naumoski.
Subs: Pacovski, Polozani, Tasevski, Demiri, Trajanov, Grncarov, Ristic.

Scotland: Gordon, Alexander, Naysmith, McManus, Caldwell, Hartley, Fletcher, Brown, Miller, McFadden, Robson.
Subs: McGregor, Boyd, Broadfoot, Maloney, Commons, Stewart, Berra.

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic)

The way I look at it is this: One of the Official Rules Of All Football is that Scotland are only ever any good when there is absolutely no expectation whatsoever. In fact, that's rule one. So I think it's only fair to note that the couple of wins against France in the Euro qualifiers - while wholly hilarious, mainly due to the petulant reaction of Tinyears Thierry - represented a couple of blips, rather than an upward trend that can be extrapolated to World Cup glory (see graph). Scotland have since been terrible, pretty much, so. There, if that doesn't guarantee a 6-0 win for the Scots, nothing will.

The Macedonian national anthem: Is quite an amazing piece of music. It sounds like a haunting Norwegian folk anthem, the sort of thing a young girl sings when she finds out her father isn't coming back, there's been a disaster on the whaling boat. Fantastic stuff, a genuinely moving solo turn. There's quite an atmosphere in the stadium. The atmosphere of a hospital chapel, admittedly, but an atmosphere nonetheless.

And we're off! Not much happening so far, though Gary Caldwell has already put in one reducer on Pandev. "Sometime in the 17 minutes between when you were first expected and when you actually started," begins Gavin Speirs, setting the tone, though he really wants to have a pop at First Capital Connect, not me, "bored of Jim Traynor's opinions and not interested in Craig Burley's, I noticed the qualifying table on the left of the page showing Macedonia top and Scotland bottom. Is this to set realistic expectations ahead of our dismal 2-0 defeat? Is it to give us the chance to say Kenny Miller's 53rd minute tap-in saw us beat the top team? Or has the alphabet been updated recently?" You got it right first time, Gavin. The only way is up. That's the way we like it round here.

4 min: Scotland have started steadily enough, Hartley, Brown and Fletcher seeing plenty of the ball. Ah hold on, McManus has just taken Maznov down five yards from the area. Damn. "Thanks for trying with the Official Rules, Scott," writes Billy Clark. "All was going well with that comment until you went and predicted a 6-0 win at the end of it. We're doomed. Doomed, I tell ye!"

5 min: DOOMED! Macedonia 1-0 Scotland. Well Billy Clark called that one damn straight. Sedloski hammers a low shot towards the bottom left corner which Gordon does wonderfully well to fingertip onto the post. The luck's not with him, though, the ball bouncing straight back, allowing Ilco Naumoski to sidefoot home from three or four yards. Whoosh! There goes that World Cup!

8 min: Five minutes, that campaign lasted.

9 min: Right, the comeback is on! Scotland win a free kick 25 yards out, just to the right! Robson tries to replicate Sedloski's daisycutter... but you couldn't slice through melted butter with the weak effort he dispatches into Milosevski's arms. The comeback is not on.

Luckily there is hope in place with a trip to Iceland on Wednesday for the proverbial must win game. Hope springs eternal for the Tartan Army. From 90 degrees to 0 degrees.

Connex Beware

Melbourne commuters are watching with interest public disgust with public transport in another part of the world.

"We understand that people get angry when the service is delayed or canceled, but they absolutely can't attack a public service in this way," Gustavo Gago, a spokesman for rail company TBA, told local television.

Many passengers said the delays, caused by a broken down train, had cost them a day's work.

Argentina's dilapidated rail services are plagued by delays and travelers' anger sometimes erupts into violence.

What would it take?

Porridge Break

For those of you who can tell the difference between a spurtle and a soup spoon, you may like this weeks Scottish Blog Roundup lovingly crafted in the early hours of this morning, a few hours before the starter motor in the car finally gave up. The trip to the garage was the last time it cranked over. We will have to cough up a generous portion of our meagre employee allowance to our friendly local license to print money motor mechanics. Luckily they could do it this morning. The only up side is that I cannot get into work and back to pick up the kids, so a day at home is in order.

Ah can awa an mak ma porridge noo. Pass the Spurtle.

Sticky Tape Shenanigans

This made me laugh, what with packing to move and Christmas all at the same time.

Thanks Matt.

Rubiks Cubes Suck

On YouTube there are very many incredible Rubiks Cube solving geniuses. The latest is a 3 year old Chinese girl solving it in in under two minutes, as featured in Boing Boing. Others include children solving 5 by 5 cubes. Still no animals or blind people as far as I can see.

This guy however sums it up for me.

Frustration release and post inspiration from A Welsh View.

I Hate You Two

My commute home tonight was one hour and twenty minutes rather than the more normal twenty minutes because of bloody zillions of carbon emitters commuting to see U2. It made me really appreciate Adelaide that we don't have to put up with significant commuting baloney most of the time. I have very unpleasant memories of my commute home around the Beltway in Washington DC, trips into town from the Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok, trips through San Francisco and over the George Washington Bridge into New York. People in Adelaide are very lucky. Let it be a warning to the government that their plans for growth have to be accompanied by sensible planning for transportation. Anyway Bono and Pals had a special guest tonight. Glad I missed it. I never did like them much.