A minor milestone for the blog, as this is my 100th post here. In recent days, the blog has also tipped over the 1,000 pageviews mark. Neither are massive achievements by any means, but have certainly given me a just a little bit of pleasure. The blog has limped forward from having extremely sporadic posts read by nobody, to having reasonably regular posts read by at least a few people. And you know what? That’s enough for me.

I have never really had any ambitions when it comes to this blog, but it is always nice to know you’re being read, and especially satisfying to get responses – so thank you to everyone who has ever commented!

Anyway, enough of the Oscar speech, and onto the matters at hand. I’ve decided to treat myself and the blog to a proper domain name, so you can now access the site via http://waituntilnextyear.net. However, the old address, http://waituntilnextyear.wordpress.com will continue to work just as well.

I’ve also been thinking about the content on the site, and how I could improve it and perhaps make it more enjoyable, for me to write, and for you, dear reader, to read!

I’m aware that despite positioning this as a general ’sport’ blog, I’ve only really been covering a couple of sports in any depth. And, to be honest, I only have so much time to watch sport, much to my consternation, and to my Significant Other’s relief.

So, there were two options. I could either focus my efforts further, or alternatively, widen my reach beyond sport and just blog about whatever comes into my head.

I’ve read enough ‘how to blog’ sites to know the former is the sensible option. However, the second option sounds a lot more fun to me. So, while the prime focus will remain on sport, I am going to play around with other subjects from time to time. It might make the blog more messy, it might stunt its growth and put people off, but I reckon it could make things a little more interesting. And that’s a good thing, right?

I do have some ideas about the various directions I’d like to take the blog and my writing in the next few months. I’m thinking of sticking up some writings on music, as we all know the internet needs more half-baked album reviews. I also think that us living in such a fascinating time, with wave upon wave of new technology, is probably worth commenting on. In terms of sport, I might end up writing some posts with me actually learning some stuff, rather than just blithering on with my ill-informed opinions. Oh, and there will be plenty of my usual blithering on with ill-informed opinions. It is what the internet was built for!

So, to round off this ego-post, I’d be delighted to hear any feedback, thoughts on where the blog could go from here, or any suggestions for new content.

Thanks for reading!

Sport isn’t always about the quality and skill on display. It’s not necessarily about seeing the best of the best the sport has to offer. Sometimes, it doesn’t even have to be any good.

Sometimes it is all about the spectacle.

That was the case on Saturday night, as David Haye battled and defeated the WBA Heavyweight Champion, Nikolai Valuev. Valuev was nine inches taller, seven stone heavier and had an eight-inch reach advantage. It was billed, with little imagination, as David versus Goliath. But, really, how else could you promote it?

David Haye, himself 6 foot 3 inches, was dwarfed by his opponent, who to all intents and purposes looked like a Tolkein-esue monster crossed with a brick wall. As Valuev lumbered and stalked, Haye ducked and dodged, constantly on the move. Here was the spectacle, compelling yet faintly ridiculous. Scary, yet funny. The entertainment was in what was before us, the view, rather than the action.

This was far from a classic toe-to-toe encounter. The dimensions of the fight meant there was movement, but little contact. It was not a ‘good’ fight, in any sort of objective way.

However, while little happened,  that inaction just ramped up the tension. A brief flurry in each round was the only release, but even then, you could only think, “If Haye gets caught, he’s done for.”

But he survived, with a combination of skill and guts.

He was clearly better technically, and had his tactics down pat. While Valuev couldn’t catch Haye, Valuev couldn’t win.

Haye showed guts, and not only in the obvious sense of stepping into what appeared to be such a mis-match (at least in size). He revealed afterwards that he fought most of the fight with a broken hand. Maybe Valuev is half-brick wall after all.

And so, Haye, the unlikely winner stood triumphant. He did not slay the giant, but he certainly stunned him, and deservedly won on points. We may not see such a bizarre boxing match for some time. Amid the circus, it’s easy to forget Britain has a new World Heavyweight Champion.

We’re in the midst of a jam-packed weekend of sport. David Haye slayed the giant Nikolai Valuev, which I may well blog about in the next couple of days, Australia beat England in the rugby (boo), and there’s been fun and games in the football, particularly the Manchester City/Burnley 3-3 draw, and a fair few upsets in the first round of the FA Cup.

And there’s still the circus of Chelsea/Manchester United to come!

But here’s what I’ve enjoyed perusing the rest of this week…

The Yankees won the World Series this week, in no small part because of the strength of their closing pitcher, Mariano Rivera. The New York Times has produced a funky graphic to illustrate just how good he is in the post-season.

Meanwhile Matt at BaseballGB has written a comprehensive breakdown of performances in this year’s World Series.

And it’s not all about the winners, you know, as The Daily Something decides on the ten best performances by World Series losers.

In football, meanwhile, The Political Economy of Football looked at Rangers’ financial woes and twohundredpercent looked at the 1946 FA Cup.

So, what have you enjoyed reading this week?

Not that long ago we heard about Hull City manager Phil Brown talking down a woman contemplating throwing herself off the Humber Bridge.

Now another story. World Series winning coach, Joe Girardi, on his way home from the game, reportedly came to the assistance of a woman who had crashed her car, flagging down police officers to take care of the situation.

Amid so many whining, manipulative, selfish managers in sport (I’m naming no names!), it’s good to see there are a few knights in shining armour out there.

Or maybe we just forget that people in the public eye are human and decent at heart, like the rest of us?

And so that was the 2009 baseball season. Last night the Yankees beat the Phillies in pretty comfortable fashion, 7-3, to win the best of seven series in six games.

It was good to see the World Series at least go close to the full seven games, although it is a real shame it didn’t come down to one ‘all or nothing game’. I’m no Yankees fan, but it is also good that the best team in baseball won – something that is never guaranteed in sports with a post-season play-off structure. That they won in an entertaining series doesn’t hurt one bit either.

So, no more baseball until spring. However, I have a few ideas up by sleeve to carry on covering the sport through the winter. You will, hopefully, join me on a voyage of discovery, as I actually try to learn something about the sport, rather than just winging it with mis-informed platitudes. Stay tuned folks!

Earlier this year Vicente was the first high-profile athlete in the United States to test positive for swine ‘flu.

He was then released from the Texas Rangers, as he was “regarded as a disruptive clubhouse presence.”

Things looked up when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, until he gave up six runs in three innings, helping send the Phillies, rather than the Dodgers, to the World Series.

What now?

Yesterday, he was accidently shot by his bodyguard, yes, his bodyguard, whilst hunting. Luckily, he wasn’t badly hurt.

I think he needs a new bodyguard. And perhaps stop breaking mirrors.

This blog seems to have had a certain bee in its bonnet about stoppage time, with one post, on Manchester United, injury time and the need for reform, proving a popular one.

So, it was interesting to look through last night’s Champions League results and see so many late goals.

In eight games, there were four goals in injury time. Those for Atletico Madrid and Manchester United (them again!) were game-changing.

In total, 12 goals out of the 26 scored in those games took place after the 80th minute. By my rudimentary calculations, that’s over 46 per cent of goals scored in the final stages.

So what does this mean? Without any statistics for games generally as a ‘control’, it’s hard to say for sure. But why let that stop us speculating? Tiredness must be a factor. Games will often open up as they reach their conclusion. A losing side, such as Atletico or United, will push more in the final moments. A side doing particularly well, like Marseille last night, might knock in a few more goals. Maybe this happens more in the Champions League, as qualification is in sight?

Either way, this tiny sample of games shows how important fitness and concentration is, right up to the final whistle. It also shows how important injury time can be to the result of a game, or even to a team’s goal difference. Too important to just leave to the referee, I’d suggest.

There may well be more late, late shows tonight.

Liverpool are one particular exponent of pulling something out of the fire late on. I do, however, wonder if this is one ‘must win’ game too far? I’m not sure pinning your hopes on an injured Torres is the best idea, but then again, even an injured Torres is better than 95 per cent of strikers in the world. If he plays, that is. Here’s hoping…

And so, the end is near…

Last night the Yankees went 3-1 up in the series, meaning they only need to win one more game to clinch the World Series.

And how they did it. Going into the ninth inning, the Phillies had all the momentum, scoring runs in successive innings to pull the score back from 4-2 to four apiece. And then the Phillies’ closing pitcher, Brad Lidge, stepped up. Lidge was perfect last year – he didn’t lose one game for the Phillies. This year, he hasn’t been so consistent. He retired the first two, but just couldn’t get the last out. Johnny Damon audaciously stole two bases and the Yankees went on to score three runs. The Phillies couldn’t reply, and the Yankees won 7-4.

Throughout the post-season the Yankees have looked like they are going to win, no matter what the situation. You just can’t count them out. They keep playing, and pushing, until the very end. They are clearly the best team in baseball now, and it’s going to take a gargantuan effort from the Phillies to stop the Yankees winning the World Series.

The Phillies might just keep the Yankee Champagne on ice for a little while, though. Tonight, Cliff Lee pitches for them, and he has been awesome so far. The Yankees have AJ Burnett on the mound, who hasn’t been shabby, either. We’re in for a treat, in what may well be the final game of the 2009 season.

Finally. After 2,430 regular games, one ‘play-in’ game and 24 play-off games, the 2009 major league baseball season is down to two teams to see who is the best team in baseball. Wednesday night was the start of the World Series, with the New York Yankees facing last year’s winners, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Now we’re two games in, and the seven game series is tied one-apiece, and is now heading to Philadelphia after the first two games at Yankee Stadium.

The Phillies looked very strong in game one, winning 6-1. Cliff Lee pitched a dream and Chase Utley hit two home runs. It was quite the statement of intent. As much as many (including me sometimes!) would love to count out the Yankees, you just can’t. And last night proved that, with them getting a 3-1 win, and this time AJ Burnett was the pitching star of the evening.

The memorable moments of the post-season, prior to the World Series, had been mistakes, from fielding and running errors to pitching meltdowns and questionable umpiring. What has been so good about the World Series, so far, is that the games have been all about great performances, not players (or umpires) having a nightmare. In particular, every starting pitcher has put on a great show.

For any major sporting final this is ideal, this is how it should be. Probably the two best teams in the sport, finding out who is really the best, not the least worst. If that makes sense? Long may the series continue!

Apologies to all my avid readers for the lack of new posts this week – I had a brief holiday, with no access to the internet. But here I am, back with a vengeance, with another one of those annoying filler posts!

This week, following Liverpool’s big win against Manchester United last Sunday, here’s a classic goal from that fixture in 1985, this week’s Man Crush – Jan Molby…look at him move!

And while we’re raiding YouTube for clips, here’s regular commenter Steven Harris‘ crush from last week, King Kenny himself…

I’ll be back into the swing of proper posts sooner rather than later, but hopefully this should keep you all going for now!