Over the Weekend I listened to:

"Harmonielehre"," The Chairman Dances", "Two Fanfares:Tromba Lontana" and a "Short Ride in a Fast Macine" all composed by John Adams. They were performed by The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

"Petrouchka" and "The Rite of Spring" composed by Igor Stravinsky. They were performed by The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez. Stranvinsky is my favourite composer and The Rite of Spring is with out doubt my favourite Classical work. Listening to again competley reiterated that.

"The Protecting Veil for Cello and Strings" by John Taverener performed by Steven Isserlis (Cello) and The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky.
"Third Suite for Cello, op.87" by Benjamin Britten performed by Steven Isserlis (Cello) and The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky.
"Thrinos" composed by John Taverner perormed by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky.

"Veni, Veni, Emmanual" composed by James MacMillan. It was performed by Evelyn Glennie (solo percussion) and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
"After the Tryst" composed by James MacMillan. It was performed by Ruth Crouch (violin) and James MacMillan (piano).
"...as others see us...", "Three Dawn Ritual" and "Untod" all composed by James MacMillan and performed by The Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by James MacMillan.


-Richard

The last one of our kids: Clara. Clara was a shy little girl that was in the main foster home. Jenn fell in love with her. When we started fostering more cats after we moved to our house Clara came as a foster cat with the goal of eventually adopting her. We established that she fitted in with the rest of the guys we let her out of the foster room. She started to settle down very well. I adopted her for Jenns Christmas present last Christmas. This completes our family.

I will now start telling the story of our "temporary" family members the foster cats that are in our house and have been through our house.

-Richard

There is an intersting TV series we have been watcing on FX. It is 30 Days by Morgan Spurlock. He was nominated for as Oscar for his documentary of him eating McDonalds for 30 Days. The premise of the series is that someone lives 30 Days with someone from an exact opposite outlook.

The first episode of the season was an anti-illegal immigrant, a Minuteman from Arizona living with and like a family of illegal immigrants from Mexico living in Los Angeles. After 30 days the Minuteman, himself an immigrant from Cuba, albeit it a legal immigrant came to understand the difficulties of the family and also the desire to live in the States. However, is opinion is that they should still do it legally. His opinion is similar to mine. I am also a legal immigrant. I went through all the paper work, scrutiny and fees to do it properly. I have no problems, obviously with folks moving to the US. I have a major problem with them not doing it properly. I had to follow the law why should they not? If they are going to have an amnesty do I get the money I paid back? This is the main reason why I have not applied for Cizenship. I do not see why I should pay more money when so many do it illegally, break the law and do not have to pay.

The second episode was the story of New Yorker who was laid off when his job was outsourced to India. He went to live in Bangalore, India with a family who now does his job. He came back very positive after seeing wat a difference the job made in the Indians life. I have mixed feelings about this. Especially having visited Sri Lanka and seeing the poverty there. Any way to improve those communities had to be good. However, the real negative, and perhaps "evil" of the whole thing is at the end of the day the companies do not care what effect they have on peoples lives, either the ones the lay off in the States and Europe or the Cities they move to. The only care about the profit at the end. It is good for those who can improve themselves, but, the infrastructure nightmare and the inbalance in the economics is staggering. It does noting to help the underlying poverty. Infact if anything those at the bottom end will slip more and more into the mire.

The Third episode was that of an athiest moving in with a Christian Family. I thought this was a dissapointing episode. The atheist came across week, without really explaining her views and those arguments she had were very week. This is the only episode where the person moving in did not try and assimilate the hosts point of view and left without any new insight. I do not mean to say she should have changed her view, but, there was no open mindeness attitude at all. Alll the atheists they interviewed had a chip on their shoulder about how they were victimissed by the majority. Yes, they are the minority, but, they are not the ones the "trendy" media have the problem with and victimise. No, the jokes and negatives are against those who profess a faith in Jesus. I think it's about time the intelectuals of this country actually read and inderstand what The Constituion states about Religion and understand where it came from and why. An opinion for another day!!

The Fourth episode was a stressed salesman from New Jersey discovering New Age. I found this episode very disturbing for two reasons. The first being the extent of the New Age teaing and religion and some of the false hoods it teaches. The second is the obvious Spititual Thirst in the this Country and how people will spend millions of dollars in its pursuit. This is not just a spiritual religion about a massive capitlistic venture. I get very angry at using mans Spiritual search to make money. I don't care where it comes from. It is wrong period!! I think somehow this episode was the opposite to the previous one of the Atheist. She was someone who was not opened and denied the Spiritual and looked unhappy the whole time. The positives about this latest episode was it did show that man had a Spirtual need that had to be filled and that it does lead to a completeness as we were created as spiritual beings. However, it really showed that if we are not careful that void can and will be filled by lies and deceptions.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Football: England 4 Greece 0. Friendly

Cricket: Sussex beat Durham by an Innings and 133 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham drop to 7th place.

Football: Hartlepool United 1 Torquay United 1. League 2. Pools goalless start to the Season comes to end with Lee Bullock equalising Torquays 4th minute goal in the 81st minute. They drop one place in the table to 20th.

American Football: New York Giants 17 Kansas City Chiefs 0. Pre-Season

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 48 Castleford Tigers 10. Superleague. Bradford stay in 4th place despite having 2 points deducted for Salary Cap violations.

Baseball: Houston Astros 3 San Diego Padres 6
Houston Astros 2 San Diego Padres 7
Houston Astros 0 Chicago Cubs 3
Houston Astros 6 Chicago Cubs 8
Houston Astros 0 Chicago Cubs 1
Milwaukee Brewers 3 Houston Astros 7
Milwaukee Brewers 3 Houston Astros 2
Milwaukee Brewers 6 Houston Astros 4 The Astros Slump to 58-65 and 7 1/2 games behind Division Leading St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

So, what have I been listening to? A lot of blogs seem to have this so I figured I would write what CD's I have been listening to over the last few days:

Music from "The Screens" composed by Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso.
String Quartets 1-3 composed by Michael Nyman and performed by the Balanescu Quartet.
The Desert Music composed by Steve Reich, performed by his musicians with the Brooklyn Philarmonic Chorus conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.
Time Will Pronounce, the 1992 Commisions by Michael Nyman
Vier Letzte Lieder by Richard Strauss sung by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Sir Georg Solti.
Scheherazade - By Rimsky-Korsakov, performed by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian.

-Richard

Finished Reading: "The Andromeda Strain" by Michael Crichton.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat Pakistan by 167 runs. Third Test Match. England take an unassailable 2-0 lead to win the series with 1 game to go.

Cricket: Durham tie with Glamorgan. Pro 40 Division 1. Durham move up to 5th place.

Football: Macclesfield Town 0 Hartlepool United 0 League 2
Walsall 2 Hartlepool United 0 League 2. Pool awful, goalless start to the season has them mired in 19th place.

American Football: Baltimore Ravens 16 New York Giants 17. Pre-Season Game.

Rugby League: Harlequins 28 Bradford Bulls 26. Superleague. Bradford stay in 4th place.

Baseball: Arizona Diamondbacks 4 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 3 Pittsburg Pirates 1
Houston Astros 14 Pittsburg Pirates 1
Houston Astros 5 Pittsburg Pirates 2
Houston Astros 4 San Deigo Padres 2. The Astros improve to improve to 57-58 and close the gap on National League Central Division leaders St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

My girls!! The next two members of our little family: Andie and Mandy. They came into Snowflake after the home they were living in was destroyed by fire.

Andie (left) was a small under nourished Mam cat with her little kittens. Andie immediatly took a liking to me and every time I went to her foster home to clean she would jump on my lap and follow me around. She never did well at adoptathons, but, when we took her back to the foster home she immediatly jumped back on to my lap. She had chosen me!!

All her kittens but two were adopted. Mandy (Right) was the shyest and was (and is) incedibly bonded to her mother. The decision was made by their foster mom that they had to be adopted together.

Jenn decided for my birthday two years ago that Andie had chosen me and would only be happy in out house so she adopted her and Mandy for my present. They are both doing well, Andie follows me around everywhere and when I sitting on the coach is invariably on my lap (except time such as now when I am working on the computer. She does not like my laptop!!). Mandy the little shy kitten is our youngest, and is really blossomed and loves attention.

The other kitten, who was not adopted out, Slim is still in his foster home. He is doing very well, but, would certainly love to find a home where he can be spoilt.

-Richard

Finished Reading: "Ten Days that Shook the World" by American Journalist John Reed who was in St. Petersburg during the Bolshevik Revolution and gives a first hand account.

-Richard

One of great pleasures during the summer months was always the BBC proms from the Royal Albert Hall. As long as I remember we used to listen to them on the radio or watch them on TV. When I lived in London I purchased a Season Ticket and went to most of the concerts including the famous Last Night Finale. One of the greatest summer experiences of my life. It was exhausting, but, totally worth it.

I have missed the concerts whilst I have been in the USA. However, due to the marvelous technology of the internet I can listen to the again. Although, with the time difference and work I can't listen to much, due, to the fact that each Prom can be listened to on-line for a week afterwards I can choose and pick what I want to listen to as I my main pleasure and love is modern, 20th Century music and Russian I can chose those performances. Yesterday I listened to Shostakovichs 8th and 15th symphonies once again reminding me why I love this music and how much I've missed it.

Thanks BBC and the internet.

-Richard

Score Update:

Cricket: Nottinghamshire beat Durham by 6 wickets. County Championship Division 1. Durham stay in 6th place.
Durham beat Northamptonshire by 4 wickets. Pro 40 Division 1. Durham are in 9th place.

Football: Hartlepool United 0 Swindon Town 1. League 2. Pools are 19th in the table.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 50 Warrington Wolves 22. Superleague. Bradford stay in 4th place.

Baseball: San Diego Padres 0 Houston Astros 1
San Diego Padres 1 Houston Astros 7
San Diego Padres 5 Houston Astros 2
Arizona Diamondbacks 7 Houston Astros 8
Arizona Diamondbacks 3 Houston Astros 9. The Astros improve to 53-57 and close the gap on National League Central Division Leaders, St.Louis to 6 1/2 games.

-Richard

Finished Reading: "Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Politika" created by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat Pakistan by an Innings and 12o runs. Second Test Match. England lead series 1-0. Durham's Steve Harmison won the Man of the Match the match figures of 11-76.

Cricket: Durham drew with Middlesex. County Championship Division 1. Durham stay in 6th position in the table.
Middlesex beat Durham by 13 runs. Pro 40 Division One.

Football: Gretna 2 Hartlepool United 3 Pre-Season Friendly.

Baseball: New York Mets 4 Houston Astros 3
New York Mets 4 Houston Astros 8
Houston Astros 0 Cincinnati Reds 2
Houston Astros 8 Cincinnati Reds 5
Houston Astros 4 Cincinnati Reds 8
Houston Astros 7 Arizona Diamondbacks 8
Houston Astros 4 Arizona Diamondbacks 1
Houston Astros 6 Arizona Diamondbacks 7 Astros fall to 49-56 9.5 games behind Division Leaders St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

Finished reading Englels by Terrell Carver. A short study on Friedrich Engels and his relationship with Karl Marx.

-Richard

Finished Reading: "Executive Orders" by Tom Clancy.

-Richard

It is now time to introduce the next two members of our family: Rollo and Coal (Rollo is the tabby and Coal the Black boy).

We adopted these two boys after we moved into our house. Jenn had fallen in love with them a long time before we adopted them, but, due to the fact that we lived in an appartment and already had Nilla and Jubilee we could not, at that moment adopt them. I promised when we bought a house we would, so, I did.

Rollo came into Snowflake when he was pulled from a bad situation. He was a scared little tabby. Coal was a "wild farm cat" that no one could touch. When, this scared little cat moved into his foster home he took him under his wing and took care of him. During this time they both got confident and trusted others. They became totally bonded so they whould not be adopted seperatly. So, there dream home came. They got a home where they got go together and be safe. These scared and wild cats are now friendly, loving lap cats. This once again shows the reason why we work with Snowflake and also illustrate Snowflake's mission.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England drew with Pakistan. First Test Match. Durham's Paul Collingwood score a Century (186)

Cricket: Yorkshire beat Durham by 145 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham drop to 6th place in the table.

Football: Hartlepool United 2 Leeds United 1 Pre-Season Friendly.

Rugby League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 20 Bradford Bulls 42. Superleague. Bradford stays in 4th place.

Baseball: Florida Marilins 9 Houston Astros 3
Chicago Cubs 4 Houston Astros 2
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 4
Chicago Cubs 4 Houston Astros 1
New York Mets 7 Houston Astros 0 The Astros fall to 46-51 and 9 games behind National League Central Divsion Leaders St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

The new soccer team in the Triangle was given a name on Wednesday. It is the Carolina RailHawks. So, what does the name mean? The reason behind the logic can be found on the website of the local supporters club. The team is going to be in the US Soccer League Division 1
This is the league below MLS, so, in English speak it will be Divsion 2, or in todays jargon, The Championship.

We have a new team to support. Are we going to have the passion for it as we do the Earthquakes? Or I Hartlepool? I doubt it, but, it is going ot be fun.

The new franchise name was announced at a match on Wednesday evening between the USL Division 1 All Stars and Sheffield Wednesday. Some coincidences in the event. The worldest newest professional team announced at a game where one of the Worlds Oldest is playing. Sheffield is actually the home to the worlds oldest team, Sheffield FC now an amateur team. Also one the reason RailHawks was chosen was because Cary was based built as rail hub using steel from England. As Sheffield was the centre of Britsh Steelbuilding there is a very good chance the rails were built with Steel from Sheffield.

-Richard

Finished reading: "Peter the Great" by Vaili Klyuchevsky.

-Richard

Score Update:

Football: Top Oss 1 Hartlepool United 1. Pre-Season Friendly
Den Bosch 0 Hartlepool United 0. Pre-Season Friendly

Cricket: Leicestershire beat Durham by 79 runs. Twenty 20 Cup.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 30 Catalans Dragons 16. Superleague. Bradford stay in 4th place.

Baseball: Florida Marlins 1 Houston Astros 5
Florida Marlins 3 Houston Astros 1. The Astros are 44-47, now 7 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

Score Update:

Cricket: Yorkshire beat Durham by 51 runs. The Twenty 20 Cup.
Durham beat Lancashire by 5 wickets. The Twenty 20 Cup.
Leicestershire beat Durham by 32 runs. The Twenty 20 Cup.
Derbyshire beat Durham by 2 runs. The Twenty 20 Cup. Durham are 6th in the North Division of the Twenty 20 Cup and are eliminated.

Rugby League: Leeds Rhinos 26 Bradford Bulls 24. Superleague. Bradford remain in 4th position.

Baseball: Texas Rangers 5 Houston Astros 7
Houston Astros 7 Chicago Cubs 2
Houston Astros 7 Chicago Cubs 2
Houston Astros 0 Chicago Cubs 1
Houston Astros 4 St. Louis Cardinals 2
Houston Astros 2 St. Louis Cardinals 8
Houston Astros 6 St. Louis Cardinals 7
Houston Astros 5 St. Louis Cardianls 7 The Astros record is now 43-46 and they fall to 6 games below the National League Central Division Leaders, The St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

World Cup Day 25: The Final

Italy 1 France 1 after extra time. Italy win 5-3 on penalties. Obviously the one main memory from this game is one of the greated players ever, Zidane, completely disgrace himself. The game itself was a bit dissapointing. France on the run of play where probably the better team and definatley had the best chances. Italy seemed to have no imagination and no flair.

A great competition is over with one of the teams I though would get to the final, Italy, winning it all.

-Richard

Finished reading "A Debt of Honor" a Jack Ryan novel by Tom Clancy.

-Richard

World Cup Day 24: Third Place Play-Off

Germany 3 Portugal 1. Another good performance from a German team that wanted this game. The surprised me and almost made a believer in me. Is this the dawn of a new age of attacking German football away from the typical safe, robotic style they've played over the years. I hope so because it can only be good for the game. They were almost one of the fairest teams, despite having the king of divers, Klinsmann as a coach. He made me a believer in him also wit his passion, determination and above all non-wavering belief in his system and his way. The US wants him to be their coach if the rumours are true. It would be a great choice, but, Germany would be amiss to let him get away.

One game to go and then it is all over for another four (well two really) years.

-Richard

World Cup Day 23: Semi-Final

Portugal 0 France 1. A reasonably good game. I thought France deserved the win, although Portugal played well. However, incessent diving once again spoiled their performance.

-Richard

World Cup Day 22: Semi-Final

Germany 0 Italy 2 after extra time. A close game where in my opinion the best team won. At the end Italy played for the win where as Germany was playing for penalties. I think Ital are looking good to win it all.

-Richard

One of my sporting heroes died today. The great Yorkshire and English fast bowler, Fred Trueman. His nickname "Fiery Fred" totally sums up his characteristic approach to the game. He was the first bowler to get 300 Test Wickets

I was to young to watch him play live, but, as my main interest in cricket is the history of the game I feel like I sae him play. He was my favourite summariser in my years of listening to Test Match Special on the Radio. Yorkshire was my favourite County team for years until Durham became a first class county and as far as the history of the game is concerence they are my favourite "traditional" county.

There are many tributes on the BBC

One of my favourite Examples of him is from Michael Parkinson's tribute:

Trevor Bailey, who was a great friend of Fred's, told me a marvellous story about him once.

Playing against him, Fred felled Trevor with a bouncer - I mean Fred was quick and hostile, and as Bailey lay on the ground, he said: 'I'm sorry, Trevor lad. There's many more around I'd rather hurt than you.'

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: Sri Lanka beat England by 33 runs. 4th One Day International
Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickets. 5th One Day International by 8 wickets and win the series 8 wickets.

International Football: England 0 Portugal 0. Portugal win 3-1 on Penalties. World-Cup Quarter Final. England are eliminated.

Cricket: Yorkshire beat Durham by 8 wickets. The Twenty 20 Cup
Nottinghamshire beat Durham by 52 runs. The Twenty 20 Cup
Durham beat Lancashire by 6 wickerts. The Twenty 20 Cup. Durham are 4th place in the North Division.

Rugby League: Salford Reds 17 Bradford Bulls 16. Superleague. Bradford are still in 4th
place.

Baseball: Chicago White Sox 9 Houston Astros 10
Detroit Tigers 10 Houston Astros 4
Detroit Tigers 4 Houston Astros 0
Detroit Tigers 5 Houston Astros 0
Texas Rangers 3 Houston Astros 0
Texas Rangers 0 Houston Astros 7. The Astros fall to 39-42, but stay 5 1/2 games behind National League Central Division Leaders St. Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

World Cup Day 21: Quarter Finals.

England 0 Portugal 0 after extra time. Portugal win 3-1 on Penalties. I could wax lyrically here about more years of hurt, the pain of another blown chance etc... However, I won't. England did not play well this tournament, but, when down to 10 men for the majority of the second half and extra time they finally played with pride and passion that was for so often missing. English football finally. They also went out without losing a game. Again!! In 2002 I was mad at the capitulation to Brazil this year I am devestated, but, proud. I guess it has to be asked again why can't we take penalties? Portugal should be punished for the worst cheaters and divers in the competition. They do not deserve to by in the semi-finals for that very reason. Hopefully Rooney will grow up and mature. He, in my opinion, deserved to be sent off. The really good news is finally no more Eriksson. Hopefully MaClaren can re-install the English pride and passion. The next few years could be hard as the youth ranks are weak. There are still a good care of players for the future. Time to dream for 2010.

Brazil 0 France 1. One word to sum up this fantastic game: Zidane. The most inceredible individual performance I've seen for a long time. An English guy cheering for the French? If it means seeing more of him. Absolutely!!

All European semi-finals. I predicted this back in December. Not the right teams (Italy, Czech, Sweden and Holland) but I really felt good about the Euro's this year. Right now I think France are the team to beat

My ranking's of teams 5-8 after the Quarter-Finals:

5. Argentina
6. England
7. Brazil
8. Ukraine

-Richard

It's about time I introduced the second member of the family: our first cat, Jubilee. We met Jubi when she was returned back to Snowflake from a family that were getting divorced. She was this scared cat curled in a small ball in the back of a cage. Jenn immediatly fell in love with her and Jubi saw Jenn as a safety net. Three weeks later she went home with us and settled in. She is now the Princess of our home.

I wish people could see how badly their animals are affected when they are giving up. It is as traumatic to them as if it would be to a person suddenly given up and abandoned. Jubilee showed this and how hard it is to regain a trust, but, when it is regained it is in amazing way.


-Richard

World Cup Day 20: Quarter-Finals

Germany 1 Argentina 1 after extra time. Germany win 4-2 on penalties. A weird game between the two footballing teams I like the least. Germany is the lesser of two evils so I have to be happy with this result. Bye Argentina cheats!!

Italy 3 Ukraine 0. Italy finally looked like the team they can be. Ukraine had a good couple of chances, but, were outclassed.

-Richard

World Cup Day 19: Second Round.

Brazil 3 Ghana 0. A record for Ronaldo with his 15th World Cup goal. Ghana played really well, but, in the end the loss of Michael Essien due to suspension could have made the difference. Ghana should be proud.

Spain 1 France 3. France finally show up and Spain's record of futility continues. The French could now be the dark horse of the competition. I think they could win it all.

So, at the end of the second round the traditional powers come to the fore. Out the six former winners in the competition all six make it to the Quater Finals. The only one no there is Uruguay who did not qualify.

My ranking of the the teams knocked out is:-

9. Switzerland
10. Mexico
11. Holland
12. Ecuador
13. Australia
14. Spain
15. Sweden
16. Ghana

-Richard

Finished Reading "Catherine the Great" a biography of the foundation years of the the Russian Empress, Catherine II, Catherine the Great.

-Richard

World Cup Day 18: Second Round.

Italy 1 Australia 0. A penalty in the last minute of injury time for the 10 men Italians was enough to doom the brave Aussies. A dubious penalty,but, the Australian defender definatly brought it on themselves.

Switzerland 0 Ukraine 0 after extra time. Ukraine win 3-0 on penalties. Not the best game with both sides not showing much initiative. Switzerland managed to get knocked without ever conceding a goal (not including the penalty shoot-out). They also took the three most pathetic penalty kicks I've seen in a long time.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: Sri Lanka beat England by 46 runs. Second one day international.
Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickers. Third one day international.

International Football: Sweden 2 England 2. World Cup Group B.
England 1 Ecuador 0. World Cup Second Round.

Ghana 2 USA 1. World Cup Group E. USA eliminated.

Cricket: Durham beat Hampshire by 227 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham move up to 5th place.
Derbyshire beat Durham by 5 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy. Durham are knocked out.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 42 Huddersfield Giants 16. Superleague. Bradford are still in 4th place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 3 Edmonton Oilers 1. Stanley Cup Final. Canes win the Series and the Cup 4 games to 3.

Baseball: Houston Astros 4 Kansas City Royals 7
Houston Astros 5 Minnesota Twins 7
Houston Astros 5 Minnesota Twins 3
Houston Astros 2 Minnesota Twins 4
Chicago White Sox 7 Houston Astros 4
Chicago White Sox 6 Houston Astros 5. The Astros fall to 37-38, but close the gap on National League Central Divison Leaders to 5 1/2 games.

-Richard

World Cup Day 17: Second Round

England 1 Ecuador o. Another not so impressive performance by England as they make the quarters. They will need to improve immeasurably if they want to progress.

Portugal 1 Holland 0. The second game of the day is again the classic. This one, however, is more in the performance of the Russian referee as he issues a record 4 red cards and 16 yellows. Portugal look very good as they set up the third Scolari vs Eriksson quarter final in a row. The first two went to Scolari 2-1 for Brazil in the last world cup quarters and for Portugal in Euro 2004. I think once again Portugal should be too strong.

-Richard

World Cup Day 16: Second Round.

Germany 2 Sweden 0. A amazing start by an impressive Germany had this game won within the first 15 minutes.

Argentina 2 Mexico 1 (After Extra Time). A great game, almost an upset by Mexico won by an amazing goal in extra time by Rodriquez.

-Richard

World Cup Day 15. The final Day of Group Games.

Saudia Arabia 0 Spain 1. Spain continue to be impressive despite playing a completly second team.

Ukraine 1 Tunisia 0. Ukraine recover from their 4-0 drubbing by Spain to qualify for the next round.

Final Group Positions.

1. Spain (Spain)
2. Ukraine (Tunisia)
3. Tunisia (Saudi Arabia)
4. Saudi Arabia (Ukraine)

Switzerland 2 South Korea 0. The Swiss looked very strong in winning the group.

Togo 0 France 2. France very un-impressivly squeak through to the second round.

Final Group Positions:

1. Switzerland (France)
2. France (Switzerland)
3. South Korea (South Korea)
4. Togo (Togo)

So, the first round is over. The most impressive teams: Spain, Argentina, Germany, Ecuador and Switzerland. The most dissapointing: Czech Republic, USA and England.

16 Teams are eliminated. I have ranked them in the order I think should be 17-32.

17 South Korea
18 Paraguay
19 Ivory Coast
20 Czech Republic
21 Poland
22 Croatia
23 Angola
24 Tunisia
25 Iran
25 USA
27 Trinidad and Tobego
28 Japan
28 Saudi Arabia
30 Togo
31 Costa Rica
32 Serbia and Montenegro

-Richard

World Cup Day 14: The final games for groups E and F.

Ghana 2 USA 1. The US is eliminated by another very disspointing performance. I'm sure a lot of blame will be thrown around, but, in my opinion it has to fall at the feet of Bruce Arena. His team selections and formations did not show any imagination or passion. Yes, some of the ref calls were definitly questionable, but, at the end of the day the performances were below par.

Czech Repbublic 0 Italy 2.

Final group standings:

1. Italy (Czech Republic)
2. Ghana (Italy)
3. Czech Republic (USA)
4. USA (Ghana)

Croatia 2 Australia 2. A great game. Australia did a fantastic job of qulifying for the second round. Another referee nightmare a Graham Poll missed at least one, if not two clear penalties and ended up booking the same Croat three times after forgeting he'd already given him one.

Japan 1 Brazil 4

Final Group Positions:

1. Brazil (Brazil)
2. Australia (Australia)
3. Croatia (Croatia)
4. Japan (Japan)

-Richard

World Cup Day 13: The final day of Groups C and D.

Holland 0 Argentina 0. A very disapointing game between these two heavyweights as they both rested a lot of players.

Ivory Coast 3 Serbia and Montenegro 2. Ivory Coast get the consolation win the so richly deserved.

Final Group C Positions (My predictions in brackets)

1. Argentina (Holland)
2. Holland (Argentina)
3. Ivory Coast (Ivory Coast)
4. Serbia and Montenrgro (Serbia and Montenegro)

Portugal 2 Mexico 1
Iran 1 Angola 1. I did not watch these games.

Final Group D positions (my predictions in brackets)

1. Portugal (Portugal)
2. Mexico (Mexico)
3. Angola (Iran)
4. Iran (Angola)

-Richard




Portugal 2 Mexico 1. Portugal win the group, Mexico finish 2nd.

Iran 1 Angola 1. Angola could not quite get the goals and the win they needed.

World Cup Day 12: The final day of Groups A and B.

Ecuador 0 Germany 3. Impressive finale by the hosts as they win the group.

Costa Rico 1 Poland 2. Poland safe some face.

Final Group A Position: (my prediction from back in December in brackets)

1. Germany (Germany)
2. Ecuador (Poland)
3. Poland (Costa Rico)
4. Costa Rico (Ecuador)

Paraguay 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. Paraguay finally play like they could ending Trinidad's brave run. They certainly did themselves proud.

Sweden 2 England 2. A much better first half by England before running out of steam again. Silly mistakes cost the win, however, the draw is good enough to qualify for the second round.

Final Group B Position: (my prediction from back in December in brackers)

1 England (Sweden)
2. Sweden (England)
3. Paraguay (Paraguay)
4. Trinidad and Tobego (Trinidad and Tobego)

The seocond round games will be Germany vs Sweden and England vs Ecuador

-Richard

World Cup Day 11: Togo 2 Switzerland 0. Togo are eliminated however, they should have been given a penalty when only trailing 1-0 that may have made a major difference.

Saudia Arabia 0 Ukraine 4. A complete turn around by Ukraine against a bad looking Saudi team.

Spain 3 Tunisia 1. I was disapointed with Spain who were in line for a big upset until substitution's made a big difference in turning around the game in the last quarter.

-Richard

World Cup Day 10: Japan 0 Croatia 0. Not a very inspiring game.

Brazil 2 Australia 0. A brave effort by the Aussies, who with more confidence in front of goal could have caused a major upset. However, Brazil march on and qualify with a goal by someone called "Fred" of all names!!

France 1 South Korea 1. France finally score, had a second that should have counted not count for South Korea to get an equalizer. With Togo still to play France still have a very good chance to qualify.

-Richard

-Richard

Score Update:

Internationl Rugby Union: Australia 43 England 18

International Cricket: England beat Ireland by 38 runs. One day International.
Sri Lanka beat England by 2 runs. Twenty 20 International.
Sri Lanka beat England by 20 runs. One day International.

International Football: England 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. World Cup Group B. England advance to second round.

USA 0 Czech Republic 3. World Cup Group E.
Italy 1 USA 1. World Cup Group E.

Cricket: Durham beat Nottinghamshire by 28 runs. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.
Kent beat Durham by 95 runs . County Championship Division 1. Durham fall to 6th place.
Durham beat Scotland by 5 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 20 St. Helens 18. Superleague, Bradford stay in 4th place.

Ice Hocley: Edmonton Oilers 1 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Edmonton Oilers 4
Edmonton Oilers 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3. Stanly Cup Finals. Series tied 3-3.

Baseball: Houston Astros 14 Atlanta Braves 4
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 9
Chicago Cubs 4 Houston Astros 5
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 2 Kansas City Royals 7
Houston Astros 7 Kansas City Royals 2. The Astros move to 36-33, but, are still 6 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.

-Richard

World Cup Day 9: Portugal 2 Iran 0. Portugal advance, not very convincingly, but, they make it to the second round for the first time since 1966. Iran eliminated.

Czech Republic 0 Ghana 2. A fantastic performance from Ghana in getting the upset. I thought Ghana would be the best African team before the competition. The performance proved it.

Italy 1 USA 1. A much better performance by the US. All Americans should be proud as they keep their cup hopes alive. The main talking point a diabolic performance by the whole refereeing crew.

-Richard

World Cup Day 8: Argentina 6 Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina definartly looked the best team in the tournament by far. Having said that Serbia seemed to give up as they crash out of the tournament.

Holland 2 Ivory Coast 1. Ivory Coast unlucky to get knocked out as Holland advance.

Mexico 0 Angola 0. Very good, brave performance by Angola. Mexico will need to play an awful lot better if they are to match their talk.

-Richard

World Cup Day 7: Ecuador 3 Costa Rico 0. Ecuador looked very impressive. They will not be an easy game for anyone in the second roud. They definatly deserve their place in the second round.

England 2 Trinidad and Tobego 0. Another win, another struggle. England will need to improve immeasurably if they are going to get through even the second round.

Sweden 1 Paraguay 0. Sweden finally scored right at the end. Paraguay eliminated.

-Richard

World Cup Day 6: Spain 4 Ukraine 0
Tuinisia 2 Saudia Arabia 2
Germany 1 Poland 9

I did not see any of these games so cannot comment.

-Richard

World Cup Day 5: South Korea 2 Togo 1: A brave performance by Togo after the coaching controversy.

France 0 Switzerland 0: An awful game. These two games couldn't have scored if they played all day.

Brazil 1 Croatia 0: An entertaining game with a fantastic goal by Kaka. However, they did not look by far invincible.

-Richard

World Cup Day 4: USA 0 Czech Republic 3: Awful, awful, awful by the US. Having said that the Czech's looked very impressive. Rosicky scored a spectacular goal.

Australia 3 Japan 1: A fantastic three goal last 10 minutes from Australia turning around a 1 goal deficit caused, by, my opinion, an awful refereeing decision on a foul on Aussie goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Italy 2 Ghana 0: A good open game. Essien for Ghana was fantastic, just a pity he had no support. Italy looked good, although not a perfect game.

-Richard

World Cup Day 3: Angola 0 Portugal 1. Another interesting game with a brave performance by Angola. Portugal need to improve to go a long way in the competition.

Mexico 3 Iran 1: A late burst by Mexico put away a brave Iran side.

Serbia and Montenegro 0 Holland 1. Impressive performance by Robben in particular. However, he cause some dissent in the locker room due to his selfish, but, spectular play.

-Richard

World Cup Day 2;

England 1 Paraguay 0: Three points, but, an awful performance by England. Same old story under Eriksson. No passion. They will need to get a lot, lot better to get any further.

Sweden 0 Trinidad and Tobago 0: A fantastic performance by Trinidad holding a very strong Sweden side to a draw. This was accomplished via a fantastic display by Shaka Hislop in goal and despite Avery John being sent off at the start of the second half.

Argentina 2 Ivory Coast 1: A good game. Argentina looked impressive, but, as with Germnay the day before their defence looked questionable at times. Ivory Coast looked very good.

-Richard

World Cup Day 1:

Germany 4 Costa Rica 2. A strong victory by Germany. They scored two very spectacular goals. However, there were holes in their defence with Wanchope beating the offside trap twice.

Poland 0 Ecuador 2. A minor surprise. Ecuador beat both Brazil and Argentina in qualifying, but, that was at home at high altitude. Their record away at sea level is atrocious. They broke that reputation with a victory versus Poland.

-Richard

Finished Reading "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" a Jack Ryan novel by Tom Clancy.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Rugby: England 46 Barbarians 19
Australia 34 England 3

International Cricket: England beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets 2nd Test Match
Sri Lanka beat England by 134 runs. 3rd Test Match. The series finished tied 1-1

International Football: England 3 Hungary 1. Friendly
England 6 Jamaica 0. Friendly
England 1 Parguay 0. World Cup Group B

USA 1 Latvia 0. Friendly

Cricket: Durham beat Leicestershire by 3 wickets Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy
Durham beat Oxford UCCE by 4 wickets. Friendly
Durham beat Yorkshire by 2 wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy
Warwickshire beat Durham by 18 runs Durham stay in 5th place

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 4 Buffalo Sabres 3
Buffalo Sabres 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4 Buffalo Sabres 2. Eastern Conference Finals. 'Canes win sereis 4-3
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Edmonton Oilers 4
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Edmonton Oilers 0
Edmonton Oilers 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1. Stanley Cup Finales. 'Canes lead series 2-1

Baseball: Pittsburg Pirates 8 Houston Astros 7
Pittsburg Pirates 4 Houston Astros 5
St. Louis Cardinals 3 Houston Astros 1
St. Louis Cardinals 3 Houston Astros 6
St. Louis Cardinals 4 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 3 Cincinnati Reds 14
Houston Astros 5 Cincinnati Reds 7
Houston Astros 4 Cincinnati Reds 6
Houston Astros 0 Chicago Cubs 8
Houston Astros 4 Chicago Cubs 1
Houston Astros 1 Chicago Cubs 0
Houston Astros 7 Atlanta Braves 4
Houston Astros 7 Atlanta Braves 2
Houston Astros 2 Atlanta Braves 4 The 'Stros are now 31-32 6 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.


-Richard

I read an interesting article in Time. It was essentially about Christian's in Politics, and how in America the "Republican Religious Right" essentially try and speak for all Christian's. The article says Christianity, Religion should be kept out of politics. I agree to some agree as it Christianity is not a political agenda. It is a way of life. If you are Christian every issue, in my opinion, should be decided on it's merit's in light of Scripture not on a Party Political Line. I believe as a Christian you can be a politician, but, it is very difficult not to compromise your faith because to be succesful you need to follow different interest groups, which ever party you are member of and compromise your beliefs.

Is the Republican Party the natural party of Christian's in the US? I would argue on the teaching of Scripture no!! Conservatism essentially teaches personnel gain and greed over as a key to success. This is the opposite to Jesus' teaching and that of the early Church were sharing and commune where the key ingrediants and teaching. This thread runs through the Gospels, Acts and all the Epistles.

So, is the Democrat Party the natural party of Christian's in the US? I would argue on the teaching of Scripture no. The Liberal teaching of today's party is against the moral teaching's of Scripture in such things as homosexuality and abortion.

So, who do we vote for? I think with all integrity it is every Christians, and for that matter every eligible voter's duty to explore every issue and the point of view of each party and weigh up which party has the most that meet the teaching of Scripture (or an individual's point of view). Also it is important to decide are some issue's weighted more than other's. Yes, sometime's in the vote a compromise is needed, but, a vote should be also cast and it must be done with, a researched, responsible attitude. Alignement to one party no matter what is something that I think is dangerous, essentially is a wasted, brain-washed vote.

-Richard

Nine years ago today I married the love of my life. It's been a great ride from London to Houston to the San Fransisco Bay Area to Raleigh, North Carolina. Has it all been easy. No? What I do know is that our love is as strong now as ever and that marriage needs work every day.

-Richard

Finished Reading "Ref Storm Rising" a novel by Tom Clancy written in 1987.

-Richard

Finished reading "Let History Judge, the Origins and Consequences of Stalinism" by Roy A. Medvedev. A very insteresting book written by a Soviet Historian in 1968 discussing the way Stalin's own dictatatorship created his own cult again the teaching's of Marx, Engels and Lenin.

One intersting fact that stuck out is the way Stalin changed history through literature, media and film to reflect his point of view and propaganda. Doesn't it sound very familier to how Holywood and the media distort history and the truth today to support their argument? Frightengly so!!

-Richard

Score Update:

International Football: USA 0 Morocco 1 Friendly
USA 2 Venezuella 0 Friendly

Cricket: Sussex beat Durham by an innings and 39 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham are in 5th place.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 0 Leeds Rhinos 30. Superleague. Bradford stay in 3rd place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 4 Buffalo Sabres 3
Buffalo Sabres 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3
Buffalo Sabres 0 Carolins Hurricanes 4. Eastern Conference Finals. Series tied 2-2

Baseball: Houston Astros 5 Texas Rangers 0
Washington Nationals 3 Houston Astros 10
Washington Nationals 4 Houston Astros 1
Washington Nationals 5 Houston Astros 1
Washington Nationals 8 Houston Astros 5
Pitsburg Pirates 12 Houston Astros 5 The Astros fall to 25-24 and 4th place in the National League Central Division 6 1/2 games behind the St.Louis Cardinals.

-Richard

Vanilla Bean. She was the first animal I adopted myself as Oreo was Jenn's before we got married. As I said earlier, Oreo was the dog that inspired me and therefore us into animal rescue. Not long after we moved to North Carolina we decided to adopt another dog. Looking around Jenn fell in love with the Dalmation mix in Moore County, NC called Alexis.

I had to go to Chicago on business, we drove so we could pick her up on the day we got home. So, after long drive back we got to the shelter to adopt her. As soon as we met her she jumped up and kissed us. From that moment "Nilla" was a member of our family. Five years later she is still a very happy and loved one of us.

- Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England drew with Sri Lanka in the 1st Test Match.

Rugby Union: Raleigh 32 Providence 21 National Division II Championship Last 16
Raleigh 11 Pearl City 35 National Division II Championsjip Quarter-Final

Cricket: Lancashire beat Durham by 125 runs. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy
Nottinghamshire drew with Durham. County Championship Division I. Durham are in 3rd place.

Rugby League: Harlequins 16 Bradford Bulls 58. Superleague. Bradford move up to 3rd.
St. Helens 42 Bradford Bulls 18. Challenge Cup 5th Round.

Ice Hockey: New Jersey Devils 5 Carolina Hurricanes 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4 New Jersey Devils 1. Canes win Eastern Region Semi-Finals 4-1
Carolina Hurricanes 2 Buffalo Sabres 3. Eastern Conference Final. Buffalo lead series 1-0

Baseball: Houston Astros 1 Colorado Rockies 2
Houston Astros 3 Colorado Rockies 0
Houston Astros 1 San Fransisco Giants 10
Houston Astros 3 San Fransisco Giants 14
Houston Astros 1 San Fransisco Giants 10
Houston Astros 5 Texas Rangers 3
Hosuton Astros 0 Texas Rangers 6 The Astros record is now 23-20. They are 3rd in the National League Central Division 5 games behind the St. Louis Cardianals.

-Richard

Score Update:

Rugby Union: Raleigh 32 Media 24 MARFU Division II Semi-Final
Raleigh 27 Lancaster 25 MARFU Division II Final. Raleigh are Champions!!

Cricket: Durham lost to Lancashire by 128 runs. County Championship Division 1
Durham beat Northanptonshire by 4 Wickets. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.
Durham best Warwickshire by 66 runs. Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.
Durham beat Middlesex by 135 runs. County Championship Division 1. Durham are in 6th place.

Football: Brentford 1 Hartlepool United 1 League 1.
Hartlepool United 1 Port Vale 1. League 1. Pools finish the Season with 50 points, in 21st place and relegated down to League 2

American Football: New York Giants draft: Mathias Kawanuka a Defensive End from Boston College, Sinorice Moss a Wide Receiver from Miami, Gerris Wilkinson a Linebacker from Georgia Tech, Barry Cofield a Defensive End from Northwestern, Guy Whimper a Defensive End from East Carolina, Charlie Peprah a Safety from Alabama and Gerrick McPherson a Corner Back from Martyland.

Rugby League: Warrington Wolves 27 Bradford Bulls 4 Super League
Bradford Bulls 54 Catalan Dragons 6 Super League
Hull FC 28 Bradford Bulls 12 Super League . Bradford drop to 4th place,

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 5 Montreal Canadians 6 (OT).
Montreal Canadians 1 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Montreal Canadians 2 Carolina Hurricanes 3
Carolina Hurricanes 2 Montreal Canadians 1
Montreal Canadians 1 Carolina Hurricanes 2. Eastern Conference play-offs Round 1. Canes win series 4-2.
Carolina Hurricanes 6 New Jersey Devils 0
Carolina Hurricanes 3 New Jersey Devils 2
New Jersey Devils 2 Carolina Hurricanes 3 Eastern Conference Play-offs semi-final. Canes lead series 3-0

Baseball: Houston Astros 7 Pittsburg Pirates 2
Houston Astros 2 Los Angeles Dodgers 6
Houston Astros 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 3
Houston Astros 8 Los Angeles Dodgers 5
Cincinatti Reds 5 Houston Astros 4
Cincinatti Reds 6 Houston Astros 3
Cincinatti Reds 2 Houston Astros 3
Milwaukee Brewers 4 Houston Astros 2
Milwaukee Brewers 5 Houston Astros 8
Houston Astros 5 St. Louis Cardinals 4
Houston Astros 4 St. Louis Cardinals 3
Colorado Rockies 5 Houston Astros 4
Colorado Rockies 5 Houston Astros 0
Colorado Rockies 5 Houston Astros 3
San Francisco Giants 7 Houston Astros 5
Los Angeles Dodgers 12 Houston Astros 7
Los Angeles Dodgers 9 Houston Astros 6
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 Houston Astros 4
Houston Astros 12 Colorado Rockies 2. Astros record is now 21-15 and are 3rd in the National League Central Division 2 games behind St. Louis and Cincinatti.

-Richard

It's amazing how much a difference a year can make in sport. This time last year Hartlepool United were last than 10 mins away from being promoted to the Championship. Last week a draw with Port Vale was not enough to stop relegation to League Two. Essentially the same team completely opposite result. Hopefully we can see a big turn around and a quick promotion back.

-Richard

Finished reading "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown.

-Richard

In memorium. Another sad day in Snowflake rescue. Adobe, a sweet boy who had Feline Leukemia, died today. He was a shy a guy, who learnt to trust, loved and to be happy in his all too short life. He will be greatly missed.

Adobe, again shows why Snowflake is different. It all go back to the wonderful founder. The story is found here We give every animal in our care everything they need and as much time as they need. Not many organisations would even have considered taking Adobe and his sister. Yes, it does leave us open to heartbrake, but, the rewards are worth it.

It sometimes causes controversy and difficult decisions becasue we sometimes can't bring in new cats due to this commitment, but, that's the mission we do. When a scared, frightened, cat learns to trust, sometimes over years and then gets a loving home it is all worth while. Two of own personnel cat's have stories such as this (which I will come to soon). Then taking these "un-adoptable cats" make it all worth-while.

-Richard

Finished reading "With My Face to the Enemy, Perspectives on the Civil War." A compilation of short essays by various historians on the American Civil War. It was edited by Robert Cowley.

I have alluded, but, not talked much about our involvement in Animal Rescue. As a kid I was definatly not an animal person. Infact, we never had any pets apart from the occasional goldfish.

So, what happened? I married Jenn. She had a heart for animals. When we got married and moved to the States (I will tell our story at some point) I "inherited" her dog Oreo. Oreo was a wonderful German Shorthair Pointer who should have died when she was 6 months old due to Parvo, but, by a miracle she survived to live until 17 years. Oreo accepted me and I fell in love with her. We moved to California and Oreo went with us. In August 2001, just as we were getting ready to leave California she had a suspected stoke and died. This ended up being the most painful thing I have ever been through. If I had been told that I would feel like this about an animal even a couple of years before I would have called you crazy. That got me hooked on dogs. I also promised Jenn that we would volunteer for an animal rescue organisation when we moved to North Carolina. Since then we adopted our new Dog in October 2001 and our cats which make up our family. We have also fostered several cats and kittens that have been saved and moved on to new homes.

Over the next few weeks I will post the stories of the members of our family, those who passed through onto new homes and those that are currently foster members of our family.

However, below is a picture of Oreo, the wonderful dog who started it all..

Score Update:

Rugby Union: Sheffield 22 West Hartlepool 19 League North Two East. This was the final game of Season. West finished in 6th place in the League on 23 with a record of 11-1-10. The good thing was West finished one place higher than our arch rivals Hartlepool Rovers.
Raleigh 65 Wilmington (Deleware) 0 MARFU (Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union) Division II Quarter-Final pay-off.

Cricket: Durham beat Kent by an innings and 56 runs. County Cricket Championship Division I. Durham are in 1st place.

Football: Hartlepool United 3 Nottingham Forest 2. Pools give themselves a slim lifeline with two games to go.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 52 Huddersfield Giants 18. Superleague. Bradford move up to 3rd place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 0 Buffalo Sabres 4. Final Regular Season game. Canes finish South-Division Champions and 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs. They finish with a franchise record 112 points and finaly playing record of 52-22-8.
Carolina Hurricanes 1 Montreal Canadians 6. Eastern Conference play-offs first round. Game 1. Montreal leads series 1-0.

Baseball: Houston Astros 8 Milwaukee Brewers 7
Houston Astros 13 Milwaukee Brewers 12
Houston Astros 2 Milwaukee Brewers 7
Houston Astros 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 2
Houston Astros 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 0 The Astros have a record of 12-5 and are leading the National League Central Division by 1 game over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Basketball: Denver Nuggets 83 Houston Rockets 86
Houston Rockets 87 San Antonio Spurs 89 The Rockets finish the Season with a miserable record of 34-48. The finish last in the South West Division 29 1/2 games behind the Champion San Antonio Spurs.

-Richard

Veronica.

The hardest thing, bar none, in working for an Animal Rescue Organisation is when one of the guys get sick and don't make it.

Today Veronica died. She came into Snowflake about three years ago as a very scared, shy mama with two kittens. The Kittens got adopted really quickly. After three years of volunteers spending time with her she became friendly, trusting and ready to get adopted. Unfortunatly she got suddenly sick. The diagnosis of FIP meant there is nothing we could do. One of the differences between Snowflake and other rescues is we give these "hard to adopt" cats a chance. Many other organisations would have taken the kittens but not her because she was too shy. Not us. She became very happy in her foster home. Another thing Snowflake does is that every animal in our care gets all the medical necessary as long as they have a good quality of life. We also need to know when it is the right time to make the best decision to put the cat to sleep. In Veronica's case on the recommendation of a Specialist it was her time today.. She went over the Bridge peacefully, ready and happily knowing she was loved after finally learning to be trusting and safe. She laid in my arms this morning as I said good bye to her. One of the hardest things I have ever done.

Veronica you made a difference in my life. I love you and you will be missed.

-Richard

After another week of MLS Fantasy Football my Team is still in 4 th place. My points for this week were:

Cannon 0
Marshall 1
Dunivant 2
Goldthwaite 0
Cooke 0
Donovan 7
Clark -3
DeRosario 0
Ching -3
Alvarez -1
Cooper 0

For a total of 3 points and an over all total of 55 points.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat India by 5 wickts in the 6th One Day International
India beat England by 7 wickets in the 7th One Day International. India win the series 5-1

International Football: USA 1 Jamaica 1 Friendly

Football: Colchester United 2 Hartlepool United 0
Hartlepool United 1 Bristol City 2
Milton Keynes Dons 2 Hartlepool United 1 All League 1. Pools crash to 23rd and second bottom and in relagation dire straits.

Rugby League: Leeds Rhinos 18 Bradford Bulls 20 Superleague. Bradford move up to 4th place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 3 New Jersey Devils 4 (Over Time)
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Tampa Bay Lightening 4
Tampa Bay Lightening 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2 (Over Time)

Baseball: Houston Astros 5 Washington Nationals 4
San Fransisco Giants 5 Houston Astros 3
San Fransisco Giants o Houston Astros 8
Arizona Diamondbacks 5 Houston Astros 1
Arizona Diamondbacks o Houston Astros 10
Arizona Diamondbacks 5 Houston Astros 8 Astros are now 8-4 on the Season and lead the National League Central Division by 1/2 game over the Chicago Cubs.

Basketball: Sacramento Kings 86 Houston Rockets 77
Utah Jazz 85 Houston Rockets 83
Houston Rockets 79 Minnesota Timberwolves 82
Houston Rockets 81 Memphis Grizzlues 92 Rockets crash out of play-off contention.

-Richard

Finished Reading "Rebels in Blue" by Peter F. Stevens. It is the true story of Keith and Malinda Blalock and the violence nature of the American Civil war in the Western Counties of North Carolina. Families turned upon families and where division still exists today over 100 years later.

-Richard

He is RISEN!!!

-Richard

We went to see the USA Soccer team in a World Cup warm up game vs Jamaica at SAS soccer park in Cary, NC. A great atmosphere, dissapointing game. I was watching it thinking do these players really want to get chosen for the squad? My appraisal of the players and should they go:-

Goalkeeper - Tony Meola. He will not go. He played in this game to be rewarded with his 100th cap.

Defence - Albright played better than I thought he would. Not good enough for the world stage. Pope, a liability. In the World Cup could have easily been sent off for a handball instead of getting a yellow. Should not go. Mastroani was erratic and gave the ball away to much. I think he should be in the squad. Hedjuk was all over the place. I will give him the benefit of thr doubt as he is coming back from injury. He needs to prove himself in league play over the next three weeks.

Midfield - Olson played well for the first 35 mins or so then dissapeared, Donovan skated through as he knows he is a lock. O'Brien made a difference when he came in. Still needs to get fit. I like Dempsey, but, he looked rusty. Noonan and Ralston should not go. Do not have at at this level.

Strikers - Nothing was shown at all. Johnson should go. Wolf definately not. Ching and Twelmann are fighting for possibly one spot. I think Twelmann has the edge, but, the next three weeks in MLS could make a difference.

-Richard

Finished Reading Napoleon's Russian Campaign by one of his aide-de-camp's, Count Phillipe-Paul De Segue.

-Richard

After two weeks of MLS my fantasy team is in 4th position in the Triangle Soccer Fanatics League.

My players cummulative points are:

Joe Cannon - 1
Chad Marshall - 0
Todd Dunivant - 1
Kevin Goldthwaite - 5
Landon Donovan - -2
Ricardo Clark - 3
Danny O'Rourke - -2
Dwayne DeRosario - 13
Brian Ching - 22
Chris Brown - -4
Kenny Cooper - 11

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: India best England by 49 runs in the 3rd one day international
India beat England by 4 wickets in the 4th one day international
The 5th one day international between India and England was washed out.

Rugby Union: West Hartlepool 18 Alnwick 6 League North Two East. West stay in 6th place.
NOVA 0 Raleigh 31 Friendly

Football: Swindon Town 1 Hartlepool United 1 League 1. Pools drop one place into the relegation zone.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 18 Warrington Wolves 22 Superleague. Bradford fall to 4th place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 6 Washington Capitals 5
Washington Capitals 3 Carolina Hurricanes 4
Washington Capitals 3 Carolina Hurricanes 4
Atlanta Thrashers 5 Carolina Hurricanes 2

Baseball: Houston Astros 1 Florida Marlins 0
Houston Astros 2 Florida Marlins 11
Houston Astros 6 Florida Marlins 5
Houston Astros 6 Washington Nationals 1
Houston Astros 8 Washington Nationals 12
Houston Astros 7 Washington Nationals 3 'Stros record is 4-2 , 4th place in National League Central 1 game between leaders Milwaukee Brewers.

Basketball: LA Lakers 104 Houston Rockets 88
Seattle Supersonics 104 Houston Rockets 87
Portland Trailblzers 76 Houston Rockets 75
Golden State Warriers 93 Houston Rockets 100 Houston are 25 games behind San Antonio in the South West Division

-Richard

After watching the first Houston MLS game there are mixed emotions. Joy at the performance of my team, my players. But, this is the team that due to incompetence by MLS and AEG was ripped away from its roots. I was raised to by loyal to your local area team. In MLS that is San Jose. Mixed emotions because of my ties to the Houston area I follow all the Houston teams. I think perhaps I can follow this team, but, never support them because if the Earthquakes do come back I will have to be lotal to them.

The other dilema I have is do I buy the Direct Kick package. I swore I would never spend another penny on MLS until the Quakes came back, but, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the free preview. Perhaps the solution will be watching the game on the internet. I have a week to decide.

-Richard

So, the MLS Season is here. For the first time since 2000 I have not really paid attention to what was going on. However, once the games started I found I had an interest, if not the excitement. I can see it being more like the English Premier League for me. A definate interest with no team to support. I will still follow the Quakes players. I think that will be my main interest.

I did sign up for a MLS Fantasy League Competition I am part of a Triangle Fanatics Group. My Team is called Quakes STILL rule. I tried to get as many players with Earthquakes connection, when they ran out, players with Bay Area connections and finally the last couple of players had English links as did the Manager.

My Team for Week 1 was: Joe Cannon - Colorado (Former Quake), Chad Marshall - Columbus (Stanford University), Todd Dunivant - LA (Former Quake), Kevin Goldthwaite - Houston (current Quake!!), Landon Donovan - LA (Former Quake), Ricardo Clark - Houston (current Quakes), Danny O'Rourke - New York (Former Quake), Dwayne DeRosario - Houston (current Quake), Brian Ching - Houston (current Quake), Chris Brown - Salt Lake (former Quake), Kenny Cooper - Dallas (has played in England). Manager: Steve Nichol - New England (has played in England).
The bench players are: Jon Conway - New York (former Quake), Jimmy Conrad - Kansas (former Quake), Terry Cooke - Colorado ( English), Richard Mulrooney - Dallas (former Quake), Galen Carr - Chicago (Born in Bay Area), Luchi Gonzalez - Colorado (former Quake), Jamil Walker - DC (former Quake) and Arturo Alvarez - Dallas (former Quake)

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: India beat England by 39 runs 1st One Day International
India beat England by 4 wickets 2nd One Day International

Football: Hartlepool United 1 Oldham Athletic 1 League 1. Pools move up one place to 20th

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 23 Hull 12 Challenge Cup 4th Round

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 1 Washington Capitals 2
Carolina Hurricanes 2 Tampa Bay Lightening 1 - Canes Clinch play-off place
Carolina Hurricanes 1 Washington Capitals 5
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Florida Panthers 2 - Canes Win the South-East Division
Atlanta Thrashers 5 Carolina Hurricanes 2

Baseball: Washington Nationals 13 Houston Astros 6
Detroit Tigers 5 Houston Astros 3
Houston Astros 4 Atlanta Braves 5
Cleveland Indians 6 Houston Astros 5
Houston Astros 11 Los Angeles Dodgers 3
Houston Astros 5 Kansas City Royals 6
Houston Astros 6 Kansas City Royals. All games Spring Training. Tha Astros finish Spring Training with a record of 11-19

Basketball: Houston Rockets 102 Cleveland Cavaliers 104
Houston Rockets 115 Seatle Supersonics 87
Washingon Wizards 103 Houston Rockets 105 Rockerts are 24.5 games behind San Antonia in the South-West Division.

-Richard

Finished Reading "The Beautiful Days of My Youth. My Six Months in Auschwitz and Plaszow" by Ana Novac. An interesting account of a young Jewish Girl in a Nazi Concentration Camp. It was different because it was written at the time on scraps of paper and is much more self focused than the normal stories with the undercurrent of all the massacres going on around her.

Thinking about the Holocaust which still is staggering, is that fact that occured during the lifetime of my parents, not hundreds of years ago during the dark ages.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Rugby: France 31 England 6
England 24 Ireland 28. England finish a very disspointing 4th place.

International Cricket: India beat England by 9 wickets in the Second Test Match
England beat India by 212 runs in the Third Test Match. The Test series ended up 1-1
Indian Presidents XI beat England by 5 runs in a One Day Warm Up Match

International Football: Germany 4 USA 1 Friendly

Rugby Union: Driffield 22 West Hartlepool 17 League North 2 East
Virginia 0 Raleigh 86 Friendly
Raleigh 39 James River 14 Friendly

Football: Scunthorpe United 2 Hartlepool United 0
Hartlepool United 1 Barnsley 1
Southend United 3 Hartlepool United 0 Pools slip into a relegation position in League One.

Rugby League: St. Helens 38 Bradford Bulls 16
Bradford Bulls 34 Wigan 12 Bradford are third in the Super League

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 2 New York Rangers 1
Montreal Canadiens 1 Carolina Hurricanes 5
Boston Bruins 4 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Toronto Maple Leafs 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2
Buffalo Sabres 3 Carolina Hurricanes 4 Canes are 19 points clear of Tampa Bay Lightening in the South East Division.

Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers 7 Houston Astros 0
Toronto Blue Jays 7 Houston Astros 6
Houston Astros 7 Atlanta Braves 5
Houston Astros 1 New York Yankees 11
New York Yankees 5 Houston Astros 10
Atlanta Braves 0 Houston Astros 7
Cleveland Indians 6 Houston Astros 5
Houston Astros 2 Detroit Tigers 5
Detroit Tigers 10 Houston Astros 7
Houston Astros 1 Cleveland Indians 2
New York Yankees 8 Houston Astros 1
Houston Astros 13 Detroit Tigers 3
Houston Astros 3 New York Mets 1 All games Spring Training.

Basketball: San Antonio Spurs 88 Houston Rockets 81
Houston Rockets 77 New Jersey Nets 90
Houston Rockets 81 Dallas Mavericks 95
Houston Rockets 72 San Antonio Spurs 92
Houston Rockets 91 Los Angeles Clippers 99
Dallas Mavericks 88 Houston Rockets 72
New Orleans Hornets 92 Houston Rockets 93 The Rockets are now 24 games behind San Antonio in the South West Division.

-Richard

I'm done in the NCAA tournement with all my final 4 teams out after the sweey sixteen. Althouth I do not follow college Basketball enough to really have a chance to get it right I will try again next year. I still have two picks in the Elite Eight: Texas and UCLA.

-Richard

After the second day of the Second Round of the NCAA I have Texas, West Virginia,Memphis, Villanova and Georgetown right.

That gives me 11 of 16 right, but, I have lost two of my final 4 teams (North Carolina and Kansas)

-Richard

Finished reading "How Soccer Explains the World" by Frankkin Feur. A very intersting and stimulating read.

-Richard

After the first day of the second round of the NCAA tournament I predicted the following teams correctly into the sweet 16: Duke, LSU, Gonzaga, UCLA, Boston College and Florida. The two that I got wrong where Illinois, who I had going to the Elite 8. They lost to Washington and Tennessee who lost to Wichita State. I had them losing in the sweet 16.

-Richard

On the second day of the NCAA tournament I did not do so good. I got 11 of the 16 right, but, unfortunatly one of the ones that wen wrong was Kansas losing to Bradley. That is a major bracket buster for me as I had Kansas going to the Final Four. The other ones I got wrong were:
Arizona over Wisconsin, George mason over Michigan State, Bucknell over Arkansas and Northwestern State over Iowa.
I picked one upset right with NC State beating California.

-Richard

Finished reading "Churchill Taken from the Diaries of Lord Moran". An interesting perspective on Sir Winston Churchill written using excerpts from the diary of Lord Moran who was his personnel doctor from when Churchill became Prime Minister during the crisis of 1940 in World War II until his death at the age of 91 in 1965.

-Richard

So, how did I do after the first day of the tournament? I think considering my lack of knowledge pretty well. I got 12 out of 16 right and two of the losses were extremely close with one going to over time.

The losses I had were George Washington over UNC Wilmington, Indiana over San Diego State, Montanta over Nevada and Wichita State over Seton Hall.

I got the upsets of Wisconsin Milwaukee over Oklahoma, Alabama over Marquette and Texas A & M over Syracuse correct.

Lets see how today goes..

-Richard

So, its NCAA Basketball time and the tournament. Although I don't really follow College Basketball I always do a bracket so here it is, well the highlights and upsets:

Atlanta Region:

First Round: Upsets (Lower beating higher): NC Wilmington (9) over George Washington (8), Texas A & M (12) over Syracuse (5) and NC State (10) over California (7)
Second Round Winners: Duke, LSU, West Virginia and Texas
Sweet Sixteen Winners: Duke and West Viriginia
Regional Winner: Duke

Oakland Region:

First Round: Upsets: San Diego State (11) over Indiana (6) and Alabama (10) over Marquette (7)
Second Round Winners: Memphis, Kansas, Gonzaga and UCLA
Sweet Sixteen Winner: Kansas and UCLA
Regional Winner: Kansas

Washington DC Region:

First Round: Upsets: Seton Hall (10) over Wichita State (7)
Second Round Winners: Kentucky, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee
Sweet Sixteen Winners: Illinois and North Carolina
Regional Winner: North Carolina

Minneapolis Region:

First Round: Upsets: Wisconsin (9) over Arizona (8) and Wisconsin Milwaukee (11) over Oklahoma (6)
Second Round Winners: Villanova, Boston College, Florida and Georgetown
Sweet Sixteen Winners: Boston College and Georgetown
Regional Winner: Boston College

Final Four:

Duke over Kansas
North Carolina over Boston College

Championship:

Duke over North Carolina

-Richard

Score Update:

Intentional Cricket: England drew with India First Test Match

Rugby Union: Hartlepool Rovers 26 West Hartlepool 27 League 2 North East. A great birthday present !! West are 5th in the table.
Raleigh 15 Potomac Athletic Club 35 Friendly

Football Hartlepool United 3 Huddersfield Town 1 League 1 Hartlepool move up to 17th

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 18 Hull 12 Superleague. Bradford move to the top of the table.

Ice Hockey: Pittsburg Penguins 5 Carolina Hurricanes 7
New York Rangers 1 Carrolina Huricanes 2
Philadelphia Flyers 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2 (Over time)
Florida Panthers 5 Carolina Hurricanes 3
Florida Panthers 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3 (Over time) Hurricanes are now 22 points clear of Tampa Bay Lightening in the South East Division

Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies 4 Houston Astros 3 Spring Training
Houston Astros 11 Washington Nationals 1 Spring Training
New York Mets 7 Houston Astros 1 Spring Training
Houston Astros 1 Toronto Blue Jays 7 Spring Training
Houston Astros 3 New York Mets 2 Spring Training
Houston Astros 8 Washington Nationals 6 Spring Training
Houston Astros 3 Philadelphia Phillies 4 Spring Training

Basketball: Houston Rockets 102 Portland Trail Blazers 84
Minnesota Timberwolves 87 Houston Rockets 93
Houston Rockets 103 Indiana Pacers 99 The Rockets are now 20 games behind Dallas in the South West Division

-Richard

After listing the Rugby teams I've seen (I can now add Washington and Potomac Athletic Club) I thought I woujd look at the Football Teams I've seen live. It will not be anywhere near as mucg as Rugby. Again this is ones I can remember. I know there are games I've been to that I can't remember.

Premiership: Manchester United, Tottenham Hotpsur, Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Fulham and Sunderland.
Championship: Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town, Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday.
League 1: Southend United, Nottingham Forest, Bradford City, Hartlepool United
Non-League: Hereford United, Woking, Runcorn

MLS: Colorado Rapids, Dallas, San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, DC United, Kansas City Wizards, New England Revolution, Metrostars, Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fire.
Other US: Richmond Kickers.
Other International: Cremonose

International: England, Brazil, USSR, USA, New Zealand and Panama.

-Richard

Another year older today. I seems kinda surreal to think that I am now 37. In so many ways that seems impossible, in other it seems that I feel a lot older. Age and time are very strange how they distort in your mind into what is reality and what is made up in one's imagination.

-Richard

Score Update:

Intenational Football: England 2 Uruguay 1 Friendly
Poland 0 USA 1 Friendly

Rugby Union: West Hartlepool 3 Penrith 10 League 2 North East
Raleigh 5 Washington DC 22 Friendly

Rugby League: Cartalans 18 Bradford Bulls 50 Super League

Ice Hockey: Caroline Hurricanes 4 Boston Bruins 2
Carolina Hurricanes 5 Florida Panthers 2

Baseball: Houston Astros 2 Cleveland Indians 5 Spring Training
Cleveland Indians 5 Houston Astros 11 Spring Training
Houston Astros 6 Atlanta Braves 10 Spring Training

Basketball: Orlando Magic 84 Houston Rockets 89
Houston Rockets 94 Phoenix Suns 111
Houston Rockets 101 Philadelphia 76er's 106
Houston Rockets 89 Denver Nuggets 78

-Richard