And the Sharks do it yet again+

Two tries off set-phase ball and 30 points to 14 in an away game. I like it. The Sharks are playing some serious, thinking man's rugby at the moment. It was a relentless, pacy match and again I find myself really loving the brand of game that the guys are playing at the moment. And unbeaten so far in Super14!

What is interesting is that while the team is playing particularly well it has been difficult to single out individual man-of-the-match performances (last week's going to an opposition team member & this week to BJ Botha in the heart of the scrum). The only negative is the way that Pietersen, who when he has a bit of space is nimble and dynamic, is just too predictable under pressure - it is so obvious that he is going to avoid the tackle through a misdirected grubber or flung away pass.

+ Hope I can use this title a few more times this season.

This is amusing

The Witness reports.

A NEWLANDS West man drove his Jeep Cherokee with his entire family on board into the ocean, apparently after an argument with his wife, at the weekend
.........wife was too angry to comment....
..........the local fishermen found the whole scene hilarious.

A society gets the criminals it deserves

I know I bang the drum that says the more things change the more they stay the same quite often. But hat tip to IDEATE who was commenting on this article in IOL.

South Africa should not see itself as the "criminal skunk" of the world because many other countries in transition had the same high crime prevalence.

Searching for the detail on the 19th Century criminolgist Jean Lacassagne referred to in the article, I found this article titled "The Crime Wave" from Time dated 30 June 1975.

Adults are confused and at a loss," says Psychiatrist Bernard Yudowitz. "They
don't know what standards to set for their children or themselves. The bells
that used to ring in your head to say no aren't ringing any more."

Urbanologist Edward Banfield and others see a slippery morality emerging
from the 1960s: the idea that disadvantaged groups "have a kind of quasi right
to have their offenses against the law extenuated, or even to have them regarded
as political acts reflecting a morality 'higher' than obedience to the law."
Says Gerald Caplan, director of the research branch of the Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration: "Is the black fellow who steals a car a victim of
society or its enemy? Is Spiro Agnew a political victim or a predator on
society? People have varying answers."

It seems that every group has caught the knack of rationalizing away violations of the law, from Watergate conspirators to antiwar bombers and young black criminals who define assaults as "political acts." Says Frederick Hacker, a University of Southern California professor of psychiatry and law: "There have been an increasing criminalization of politics and a politicalization of criminals. It's reached the point where
there are no criminals in San Quentin any more. They're all freedom fighters."
It seems clear that some of the old values and restraints have been battered
by recent upheavals—war, riots, assassinations, racial strife, situational ethics, the youth rebellion. As disillusionment sets in, fewer and fewer Americans look to the churches, schools or Washington for moral leadership.

Stern observers of today's widespread ethical torpor tend to agree with the 19th
century French criminologist Jean Lacassagne: "A society gets the criminals it
deserves."

And this reminded me of an earlier post (yes the same beating drum) where I concluded thus.

So it seems then, that disintegration from a gracious and hospitable past to
a present populated by the predatory wealthy and the victimized poor is the bane
and whine of every generation.

More Foreign Connections

Much international sport, in its current form, originates from Great Britain largely as a result of their colonising ways in the Victorian era. The days of early 20th century cartographers colour-coding the imperial possessions of France, King Leopold's Belgium and notably the pink coloured atlas of the British Empire are long over. Perhaps more than any other coloniser the legacy of the British Empire lives on in the sports played to this day in those countries. Most notably cricket.

The truly global game of football has crossed every boundary and is no longer limited by historic geography but now falls under the almost imperious control of FIFA, as our own 2010 world cup preparations are revealing. As much as we'd like to believe that we control the game through our national sporting bodies, these bodies are mere puppets in the hands of FIFA.

The intervention of FIFA in Kenya being a classic case in point.

This week we have an announcement that South Africa's "Premier Soccer League's (PSL) search for a new CEO came to an end when Norwegian Kjetil Siem was announced as incumbent Trevor Phillips' replacement."

Why do sports codes seem so bent on having foreign coaches and administrators? Particularly those of developing nations. This is particularly evident in Asian cricket coaches. Take the following. India (Greg Chappel - Australia), Pakistan (Bob Woolmer - England), Bangladesh (Dav Whatmore - Australia), Sri Lanka (Tom Moody - Australia).

I just find it odd that when it comes to sports administration the grass is always greener from the other side. Foreign coaches play up to the media and generally come off well when they are thrust under the glare of camera flashes and behind a bouquet of microphones. Our new football coach is a classic case in point where he is making all the right noises at this stage but has yet to deliver.

I am not sure that in general foreign coaches deliver anything particularly special on the pitch. Quite frankly, as far as results go, foreign cricket coaches are not doing a great job at all. As this article points out.

I cannot believe that with a population of 1.1 billion people (and counting) and a growing contingent of talented former players that India cannot find an able local coach. The same applies for South Africa.

Go Sharks

John Bishop reports in the Witness.

RUAN Pienaar, who launched a thousand hangovers
with his intimidating touchline
conversion to win Saturday night’s Super 14
clash against the champion Crusaders
at King’s Park, volunteered to take the
last kick of the match.

The Sharks are unbeaten after 5 weeks of the competition. Hell, I've been let down before after a good start to the Super 14 but I'm willing to put some faith into winning a couple of games on the road down south.

Not one SA side lost this weekend. I'm not sure what that means for our World Cup chances but I don't hear many complaints.

Hamba Kahle Bob

I went cold on reading this, flesh all goosebumps. Not the ideal accompaniment for a Sunday morning croissant.

The Witness reported on Saturday.

RICHMOND resident Bob Downs lived through a hundred years only to be stabbed to death in his bed by a gang of burglars. Yesterday morning the small midlands town was still reeling over the senseless murder of Herbert James “Bob” Downs, a 100-year-old builder and woodworker who was killed on Thursday night. His domestic worker stumbled on his cold body in his bed when she reported for duty yesterday at 8 am at 109 Russell Street, where Downs lived for 72 years. Initial police investigations established that Downs died after he was stabbed with a sharp object in the chest.

For some time a dozen or so years ago we were neighbours of the energetic "Old Man Downs", at 106 Russell Street. Despite the fact that the police have swiftly arrested a suspect, this is devastating.

Is someone really close to me (my family) next?

4am Tea Review

I've reached the part of the day - after a 21 hour stretch of vainly attempting to vanquish losses from a budget - when it's too late to go to bed & it's time I took a break. Fortunately I had a great cup of tea, which hit the spot perfectly.

Oh, and Radio Paradise isn't bad company.