Pom-poms in action






                                                                                 

Italian skier Roland Clara competing in the 30 km Skiathlon at Sochi Winter Olympic Games, 2014 / George Lazenby as James Bond killing some henchmen in Switzerland in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', 1969.

Great blue ski suits, even better pom-poms.

Fowl Spectators





























































A marabou stork struts casually onto the field in a World Cup qualifier match between Kenya and Morocco, Nairobi, Kenya, 2005.



An  owl swoops into the stadium, halting the match between Finland and Belgium for 8 minutes during a Euro 2008 qualifying match at Helsinki Olympic Stadium. As everyone stands around bewilderedly, wondering what to do, the owl launches from one goal, nonchalantly flying down the pitch, only to take up place upon the crossbar of the goal at the other end.

Notes on a Scandal

 Crowd scenes from Malmö Stadion, where the game was held and eventually called off due to hooliganism.

Yesterday's 'derby' was the show-down between the two rival footballing cities of Skåne, Helsingborg and Malmö, whose teams (HIF and MFF) are also sitting first and second  respectively, on the Allsvenskan points table. Every time these rivals rendezvous the police are out in force on horseback on the streets, cautiously eyeing up raucous revellers. Chartered buses roll in from out of town, and patrol cars cordon off roads around the train stations to direct the flow of human traffic alighting from them, mingling with the sky-blue clad Malmö supporters wandering around the streets drinking cheap beer, letting off flares and chanting incomprehensibly.

The match was aborted after thirty minutes of play; after HIF scored a goal, enraged Malmö supporters pelted the Helsingborg goalie with firecrackers and one crazed fan brazenly burst onto the pitch to attack the goal keeper head-on. The man was carried by police, pall-bearer style, off the pitch and play abandoned.

The match is being referred to in Swedish press as 'The Scandal Match' and the HIF goalie keeps stating he is 'very shocked'.


Photographs via Sydsvenskan

Flying Fish


 
A collection of images of Jonty Rhodes mid-air, with the ability to jump both vertically and horizontally.

Jonty Rhodes was cricket's first real fielder, before him, it was just something to do while waiting for your turn to bowl. Rhodes literally flew into legendary stratospheres with his full-body diving run out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup match between South Africa and Pakistan. Instead of attempting to throw down the stumps as was common practice for a run out, he sprinted towards them, ball in hand, and hurtled towards the wickets - a full-stretched flying dive - like a human cannonball, his entire body parallel to the grass beneath him, and resoundly clattered into the stumps and Inzamam was on his way back to the pavilion.

"Out of the corner of the eye I saw Jonty diving in. I'd never seen a bloke dive at the wickets ever before."

He leapt like a salmon, or a dog catching a frisbee, flying through the air as if a Hollywood action film explosion was propelling him.

When I represented Auckland in cricket as a teenager I was once compared to Jonty Rhodes in the field. It was the best cricket compliment I had ever received.




On the Outskirts of Malmö




Went for a cycle to Jägersro, on the 'outskirts of Malmö'. Filled with interesting sights, including Jägersro Tower(Malmö's television and radio tower), Malmö Mosque (the second oldest in Sweden), and spotted a handsome water tower. Also home to 'Jägersro Trot and Canter' - Sweden's oldest horse racing track, featuring a buffet restaurant open daily. Their special pea soup is a winter favourite.

Malmö FF



First home game tonight for Malmö FF. The pub underneath our place is awash with sky blue. I may put on my blue scarf in support. Tonight's foes are Örebro. It is anyones game.