Button right on track..

Jenson Button and his Brawn GP team were crowned Formula One champions on Sunday in a Brazilian Grand Prix won by Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber.

Button finished fifth to become his country's 10th world champion, with closest rival and team mate Rubens Barrichello suffering a late puncture and crossing the line eighth after starting his home race on pole position.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, the 22-year-old German who had needed to finish in the top two to have a chance of staying in the reckoning, took fourth place.

Brawn, who had needed only a point to be sure of the championship, become the first team to take the constructors' crown in their first full season.

Poland's Robert Kubica was second for BMW-Sauber with McLaren's outgoing world champion Lewis Hamilton taking third place after starting 17th.

Congratulations to Jenson on a fabulous season...

http://www.formula1.com/

Our National Sport Suffers again!

The British National teams live matches are rarely shown on BBC or ITV but sold to the highest bidder.

Sky TV wins and the average person who cannot afford the monthly fee, looses out.

This is a sign of the times that our National Teams live matches are hardly shown on non pay-to-view TV!

Fans' groups (including me) have called the move an “outrage” with customers being charged between £4.99 and £11.99, depending on how soon they sign up, for Saturday's match against Ukraine.

England have already qualified for the tournament in South Africa next year.

It follows the collapse of pay-TV company Setanta which had been due to broadcast the game.

The government should step in and allow all citizens to see our sportsmen and women perform for Britain free and not have to pay. France are patriotic and show all their games on Free TV so why can we not? Money is the root again!

Come on Mr Brown, give us back our right to watch Sport for the licence fee we pay.

After all, Mr Brown your initials are G.B. So put the great back into Great Britain...

How can we expect our youngsters to be excited about our National game?

Why do I get all worked up?...... It's just typical!

Rio de Janerio get the 2016 Olympic Games

Finally, South America gets an Olympics. The 2016 Games are going to Rio de Janeiro. In a vote of high drama, the bustling Brazilian carnival city of beaches, mountains and samba beat surprise finalist Madrid, which got a big helping hand from a very influential friend.

Chicago was knocked out in the first round — in one of the most shocking defeats ever in International Olympic Committee voting.

Even Tokyo, which had trailed throughout the race, did better — eliminated after Chicago in the second round.

Rio spoke to IOC members' consciences: the city argued that it was simply unfair that South America has never hosted the games, while Europe, Asia and North America have done so repeatedly.

"It is a time to address this imbalance," Brazil's charismatic president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the IOC's members before they voted. "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country."

The bearded former union leader disappeared into a huge group hug with the joyous Rio team after IOC president Jacques Rogge announced that the city won. Football great Pele had tears in his eyes.

Madrid's surprising success in reaching the final round came after former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch made an unusual appeal for the Spanish capital, reminding the IOC's members as he asked for their vote that, at age 89, "I am very near the end of my time."

Samaranch ran the IOC for 21 years before Rogge took over in 2001.

Chicago had long been seen as a front-runner and got the highest possible level of support — from President Barack Obama himself. But he only spent a few hours in the Danish capital where the vote was held and left before the result was announced. Former IOC member Kai Holm said that the brevity of his appearance may have counted against him.

The short stopover was "too business-like," Holm said. "It can be that some IOC members see it as a lack of respect."

Senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper surmised that Asian voters may have banded together for Tokyo in the first round, at Chicago's expense.

"I'm shocked," Gosper said. "The whole thing doesn't make sense other than there has been a stupid bloc vote."

He worried that the shock exit could do "untold damage" to the already testy relations between the IOC and the U.S. Olympic Committee. They had recent flare-ups over revenue sharing and a USOC TV network.

"To have the president of the United States and his wife personally appear, then this should happen in the first round is awful and totally undeserving," Gosper said.

The European-dominated IOC's last two experiences in the United States were marked by controversy: the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics were sullied by a bribery scandal and logistical problems and a bombing hit the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Obama had held out the enticing prospect of a Chicago games helping to reconnect the United States with the world after the presidency of George W. Bush. He told the IOC earlier Friday that the "full force of the White House" would be applied so "visitors from all around the world feel welcome and will come away with a sense of the incredible diversity of the American people."

Now, Chicago can only rue what might have been. And Obama's gamble of expending his own political capital on the bid backfired.

The last U.S. city to bid for the Summer Games, New York, did scarcely better. It was ousted in the second round in the 2005 vote that gave the 2012 Games to London.

Tokyo did better than many expected by reaching the second round. It had offered reassurances of financial security, with $4 billion already banked for the games.

But the fact that the Olympics were held only last year in Asia, in Beijing, handicapped the Japanese capital's bid.

Its plans for a highly compact games, sparing athletes tiring travel by holding all but the shooting within 5 miles of the city center, were technically appealing. But the bid failed to generate real enthusiasm, even in Japan. Tokyo had the lowest public backing in IOC polls.

Tokyo's final presentation Friday to the IOC, while smooth and heartfelt, lacked the buzz that the Obamas and Rio generated. In short, Tokyo was simply overshadowed, failing to convince IOC members that it really wanted or needed the games.

Link below to Rio Bid Site: http://www.rio2016.org.br/en/Default.aspx

Defoe or not Defoe?

England produced a stuttering display as they warmed up for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Croatia with an unimpressive 2-1 victory over Slovenia in a low-key friendly international at Wembley.

The match raised plenty of questions for Fabio Capello as the likes of Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and particularly Glen Johnson did little to enhance their international reputations.

However, Jermain Defoe continued his excellent start to the season with another goal while Aaron Lennon and Wayne Rooney looked particularly lively.

Tottenham striker Defoe came on as a half-time substitute for Emile Heskey and scored England's second goal with a clinical strike after being set up by Lennon. Dofoe must be knocking on the door to partner Rooney in the starting lineup soon.

Johnson was shown up by Slovenia at regular intervals and the Liverpool man was at fault for the visitors' late goal. He appears to be good going forwards but seems to falter in his defensive duties and against better opposition may struggle to cope.

Robert Green was lucky to escape when he handled the ball outside his area early on in the match in a momentary lack of concentration.

Milijove Novakovic then rounded the West Ham United shot-stopper but could only turn the ball onto the roof of the net after being forced wide.

John Terry headed a corner against the bar before England took the lead 14 minutes before the interval with the softest of penalties.

Rooney appeared to be fouling Bostjan Cesar as the two men tried to get on the end of Steven Gerrard's cross but the referee thought otherwise and pointed to the spot to Slovenia's fury.

Frank Lampard made no mistake with his penalty to give England a somewhat fortunate lead.

The goal preceded England's best spell of the match and Rooney should have doubled their advantage only to fire against the post from three yards out when it seemed easier to score.

Gerrard then shot narrowly wide from 25 yards out but England lost their way at the start of the second period after a host of changes by Capello at half-time.

It was a turgid affair until Defoe's precise 63rd-minute strike briefly enlivened proceedings.

Rooney was denied again with 19 minutes remaining when he turned Lennon's cross goal wards only for Matej Mavricrozic to kick the ball off the line.

Then with five minutes left and the match drifting to a conclusion, Johnson was embarrassed by Nejc Pecnik whose cross was headed home by Zlatan Ljubijankic.

England held on to their narrow advantage but they and Capello will need to step up their game if they are to beat Croatia in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.

New Olympic Events for 2012 and beyond...

The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board (EB) has approved the inclusion of women’s boxing for the Games in London in 2012 and will propose the sports of golf and rugby for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic programme.

The key factors in determining a sport’s suitability for the Olympic programme include youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values. “Golf and rugby scored high on all the criteria,” .........“They have global appeal, a geographically diverse line-up of top iconic athletes and an ethic that stresses fair play.”

On a more amusing, note how about some other suggestions for some other event to be included, such as.....

* "Free Range" egg and spoon race.

* Sack race or the three legged race.

* Hide and seek...?

* Tag

* The Wheelbarrow race ...
* Father and son race?

or perhaps the... well known " Pin the tail on the donkey" !

Any other ideas?

Best Sport?

What is the best sport?

Here is a selection ...

1. Football (or sometimes called Soccer... for some reason... by Americans mainly)

2. Rugby (Union or League - played by "real men" (supposedly who are gentlemen) with a very odd shaped ball to boot)

3. Cricket (Traditionally an English game old chap, it's rules however can be a little confusing.

4. Tennis & other games involving a net... badminton, volleyball... ping pong.... even squash without a net!.... basketball.. handball.. water polo..

5. Racing .. including cars, motorbikes, motor cross, pedal power and even horses.

6. American Football.... (Rugby with extra padding and the ball can be passed forwards. Grid Iron!

7. Baseball (Rounders really.... for grown ups!)

8. Golf ... One man and a small ball verses the countryside

9. Hockey ... either on or not on ice... fast and furious ...!

10. Swimming... all over in a splash... outside in the sea...

11. Contact ... boxing, judo, karate...

12. Track and field.... running, jumping, throwing....

13. Skiing and mountaineering.... other extreme sports

What do you think? ... How about some others... ?

Let me have your ideas...