Sports + Stuff

Some of you may have heard the news about the PlayStation Network being down due to ‘external intrusion’ and the following Network blackout that ensued over the Easter Weekend. Some blamed ‘Anonymous’ for the treatment of the hacker GeoHot (Link Here) or that Sony had taken it done for mandatory updates. The truth of the situation was far, far worse.

The face of a billion dollar lawsuit?

It has been announced by Sony this evening that what really happened was that they were the target of a massive hacking attack that has resulted in millions and millions of personal data being stolen from users. They can know your e-mail address, your home address, your passwords, possibly even any credit card information. This is the largest scale attack to rock the gaming industry and Sony now face a massive, uphill battle to rescue themselves - one battle that may play a massive factor in the ‘Console wars’.

Soon to become a two-horse race?

The immediate fall-out is for the PSN users to go about changing their passwords and trying to see if they’ve been the target of any theft so far, while the threat of lawsuits against Sony. Now while there have been no confirmed reports as of yet that a person has experienced some theft - even if one person does this will be massively financially damaging for Sony, who’ve already suffered a large dent in public image, something that’ll will hold them back in trying to go forward.

This news however, couldn’t come at a better time for Nintendo who’ve just announced Project Café - the codename for the successor to the Wii. With a vast amount of reports already been released, user safety/security was one thing yet to be mentioned and now with Nintendo already leading the race for the next generation of consoles, they could kick the remaining life out of Sony while they’re down.

With one interview answer to the question about security, Nintendo will be a force-to-be-reckoned with and even Microsoft will have to bring something big to the table at E3 2012, as the official first hands-on of Project Café will be available at E3 2011.

Should nothing similar happen to the Wii or 360, then it’s not crazy to think there’s a possibility that the PlayStation could be dead within 5 years.

The major sporting news at the moment is the news that Wayne Rooney has announced he’s going to leave Manchester United. Yet another major player to leave Old Trafford in recent years. Many will ask the question - Who could replace Rooney upfront at Manchester United?

Well here’s a list of the five guys I think could do the job:

The Full-Package

Luis Fabiano – 29 - Sevilla – Proposed Cost - £35 million

Luis Fabiano is the Brazilian hit-man whose long been on the list of Europe’s top clubs and it would now seem he could possibly find his way to the top – dependent on Rooney’s fee. He’s a strong strike and fine finisher of the ball as seen by his World Cup exploits and can score from a variety of distances. His price is defiantly indicative of his abilities and the main reason why Harry Redknapp couldn’t finalise a deal for him this summer. He’s defiantly a 30+ goal a season striker and I’d think he’d jump at the chance to join United.

The Hotshot

Karim Benzema – 22 - Real Madrid – Proposed Cost – part of a deal/£20+ million

Benzema’s career is like a flower at the moment – he blossomed at Lyon but has wilted at Real Madrid. He needs to move anywhere out of Spain in order to kick start his career and reach the potential that people expect from him. He’s a well built and very similar to Rooney but he’d prefer using head to his feet sometimes. I’d rate him as a 15-20 goal striker, maybe not as prolific as Rooney but he could be.

The Kick-Start

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 29 - AC Milan (on loan from Barcelona) – Proposed Cost – part of a deal/£25 million

The Swede’s career dipped in the second half of last season with Barcelona. He was dropped from the side and then shipped off altogether to AC Milan on loan for the season after David Villa was signed by Barcelona, finally departing Valencia. He’s surplus to requirements at Barcelona, and if not signed by AC Milan than maybe Man United might jump for him. I’d put him down as a 20-25 goal striker – just under what Man United will be looking and also age is a factor.

The Bosnian

Edin Dzeko – 24 - VFL Wolfsburg – Proposed Cost - £15-30 million

The Bosnian strike of Wolfsburg has been heavily linked with a move to Turin recently but he’s still available and a Fergie is a long time admirer. It’s no secret that this guy is a wanted man across Europe and with Rooney gone - he’d defiantly be in United’s Top Three. A cheap price, a potent goalscorer whose proved his worth before in the Champions League and currently plies his trade in my favourite league of sorts - the Bundesliga. He’d be a good young-ish purchase for the Red Devils and defiantly could bag 15-30 goals a year.

The Youngster

Alexandre Pato – 21 – AC Milan – Proposed Cost - £35 million

Another player in this list whose currently at AC Milan and also another Brazilian who I’ve estimated at £35 million – well that’s only because Chelsea were thinking of paying such a fee for the player and I can’t blame them. If he mines the core of talent he has then he could be the best striker in the world in the next five years. His progress with Brazil in recent games has been nothing but a revelation and with his pace, dribbling ability and his great accuracy he could have at least 40 goal seasons in his career. His young age fits in with the new generation coming through at Old Trafford

As for any English hope - I could see Darren Bent be the next Andy Cole…

What are your thoughts?

To be a Liverpool fan at the moment is kind of parallel to being Bambi.

The once brave, strong and loving parent you know has been shot by cruel American hunters and the state of decline is getting ever worse - the only difference is that Liverpool isn’t dead yet unlike Bambi’s mother.

However, if the Royal Bank of Scotland do decide to proceed with their October 15th deadline then Liverpool will be the second Premier League club to enter administration within 8 months joining Portsmouth in those very ranks. The situation is a bit different to Portsmouth in that this entire situation has a chance to be avoided - although just don’t remind Tom Hicks of that. 

Yes the fact of the matter is that despite already running the club almost as far into the ground as possible, Hicks is determined to plunge it down the final step just so he can try and salvage some money from the doomed venture that was ‘American Takeover Episode One - The Kop Out’.

I say ‘Episode One’ because there’s hope for the Anfield faithful in the form of New England Sports Ventures (NESV), which could be the Second Episode that drags this franchise back into the mainstream for the right reasons.

With a £300 million deal being the quoted sum in a variety of media outlets, the deal was accepted by Liverpool Chairman, Martin Broughton - the guy Hicks and George Gillette brought into sell the club. However, Hicks values the club at £600 million - double the amount of the accepted offer - and because of this he’s now taking legal proceedings in order to block the sale of the club, which in turn puts it on the brink of administration and therefore near worthless… However, this isn’t the case for Hicks and Gillette as at the moment they stand to lose around £144 million and the £600 million price mark is their way of recouping the losses that they’ve made from their Liverpool venture. They’ve tried to sack Broughton and some other board members as a way of getting round it but today RBS managed to secure an injunction prohibiting that. Seeing as they owe the RBS £280 million and that 82% of the RBS is funded by Taxpayer’s money - it seemed the only logical choice. 

Now while the overview of the behind the scenes facts are interesting, it’s the opinion (although really it could be called fact) that Liverpool are playing football like a dog’s dinner at the moment.

They’re 18th in the league without a 9-point administration and such a penalty would put them bottom of the league on -5 points. The level of football once known just isn’t there any more and have left Liverpool relying on Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and the out of form Fernando Torres even more than before.

The foolish ideology that’s been to raised to perceive these three players are the only ones needed to keep Liverpool great is ridiculous and the sale of key ensemble members such as Xabi Alonso and Javier Maschareno is what has deeply weakened the red team of Merseyside.

Roy Hodgson, the manager, has had less than a storming impact since becoming manager and now he, alongside the two current owners, is facing the chop as Liverpool seem to be heading nuclear ahead of the Merseyside derby game at the weekend. 

It’s troubling times for the Kop, when you have a team that isn’t performing on the pitch and the club isn’t performing off the pitch, then it’s always going to be troubling.

And although I’ve tried my hardest to cover up any bias - up to this point - it’s been a miraculous fall from grace that brings a tear of joy to any other football fan’s eye. No longer do I hear the cries of “We’ll top Chelsea and Man United this year” or “There’s no doubt the Champions League is ours again come May” and instead the fans are humbled and face the same ridicule that my beloved Newcastle had to suffer. The shoe has been moved onto their foot now and it’s up to Hicks and Gillette whether they want to force Liverpool into doing either a Leeds or a Newcastle. Regardless - neither is a pretty option.

My argument is that the NFL won’t successfully be able to go ‘Global’ for a sustained period of time. Why? Well for one - the name. Two - lack of interest in key areas. Three - foreigners just don’t get it.
I hear the ‘it’s stop start nonsense’ and ‘whats happening? Why are they kicking it to them now?’ that places emphasis on point three. The lack of interest is also a jibe at foreigners as well in some cases.

See with the UK it’s very difficult. We’re used to our own leagues with our own teams and we come together for international fixtures. The birth of a team such as London Lions or Manchester Cowboys will find it difficult to be accepted nationally.

The NFL system works because there are so many possibilities for teams in America. It’s more difficult over here because of the two different types of pride - team and national.
Unless the team is called Great Britian and NI, then it’ll lack the entire nation’s attention.

I use the UK example because the UK is probably the most prominent area in which they hope to expand to. Roger Goddall has this one wrong here. The more sustainable markets are Mexico and Canada who are screaming out for teams and not to forget that Germany and Holland were the driving force behind the failed NFL Europe project.

The longest running NFL Europe team - Frankfurt Galaxy were around for 16 years.

They have an ‘International Game’ in the UK and it sells out Wembley. Great. Three years or so is not enough time for siginificant investment plans. I would prefer to see a Superbowl before an NFL team in the UK again. Both unlikely but not impossible.

The most intriguing point of all for me though is the name of the sport:
American Football.
Every time you hear, read or say it, you’re reminded that’s it American. It was created in America. It’s played by Americans.
Now this isn’t to bash on the Americans but it’s probably the most important factor. The reason you see the success of sports such as football and tennis is because the name doesn’t drag you to one convulted stereotype of a nation.

The name of a sport, although it can seem simple can have such a profound effect on the sport as a whole. American Football doesn’t appeal when said so. Gridiron or NFL are acceptable replacement names for the sport it seems. Yuck.

In defense of the final point, I can’t blame Americans for sticking by there much loved American NFL and being against international games. I mean look at the prominent sports leagues in the USA:
-NHL is remembered by Wayne Gretsky, Canadian, and at the moment Sidney Crosby, Canadian.
-NBA is known for it’s Jordan’s, LeBron’s and Kobe’s but ‘Team USA’ can de destroyed by Spain or Greece for starters.
-MLB is known for it’s multiple sports enhancement drug reports and tarnished reputation.

Even one of America’s best MLB players has been caught up in drugs

The NFL stands alone as the one pride and joy of American sports and there is a reason the adverts say NFL: America’s Game because that’s exactly what it is - America’s game.
And what I’m trying to say is that - We’re glad that we get to borrow it every now and again, but we don’t want to have the game for ourselves just yet, when we get it without a major commitment.
This brings more credence to my part about the Superbowl. We’ll want the whole shebang before we even dicuss moving a team or adding a team over here in the UK or anywhere else for that matter.

Have it in London. I dare you.

As for plans about a 18th game. I’m behind that for sure. An 18th game for international fixtures would be brilliant for any city that hosts one. London, Toronto, Alberquerque, Berlin, Amsterdam, Beijing, Sydney, Rio, etc. so many places, so many oppourtunities.
Although I’m sure the owners will be annoyed at that suggestion because they need the money from their stadiums…

The start of the NFL season is just round the corner and with that you get everybody and their uncle predicting what will happen. Whether it is Superbowl champion to MVP or from sleeper team to NFC East champions, you can guarantee that someone will have an idea as to who will be these very things…

I’m no different and here I’ll be offering who I think is my ‘sleeper pick’. I read a very interesting article by Peter Shrager on Foxsports (article is here: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/official-sleeper-pick-NFL-2010-season-082410) in which he picked the Oakland Raiders based on the criteria:

1. Must not have qualified for the postseason the year before.
2. Cannot be a preseason media darling.
3. Could not have played in a Super Bowl in the previous three years.
4. Must be at least somewhat surprising (The Subway Test is a method to test the surprise factor – the Subway test is while in conversation with someone on the Subway talk about your sleeper pick. Your sleeper team must make the other person look at you as if you were crazy.)
5. Must have your unwavering support through thick and thin from August through January.

Now using that criteria for myself and seeing the teams on show for my to pick from, I’ve decided that my 2010 NFL season Sleeper team are… the Tennessee Titans.

Possible 2010 AFC South Champions, play-offs definitely.
Let it be said that I’m a big fan of Vince Young as the underdog quarterback who otherwise helped salvage a terrible looking 2009 season into a fairly respectable .500 finish. OK so it wasn’t all Young but he had an impact for sure. They’re a difficult team to get past the ‘Subway Test’ due to the stellar defence and the best RB in the NFL at the moment, Chris Johnson.

You think you can stop this?

Other than that they face a very, very tough schedule. Raiders Week 1, Redskins Week 12 and Chiefs Week 16 look to be, on paper at least, the only sure wins that they have this year. Even Jacksonville pose a threat in what is a transition year for the Jaguars. This is another area which would help discredit the Titans as a serious play-off chance.

Peyton Manning’s Colts are still the favourite for the division due to their stellar roster which includes the high class receiver corps, the brilliant and reliable offensive line and the partnership of Sanders and Bethea make the Colts a team to be feared as they try to undo last year’s anguish.
Then it the same division you’ve got the Houston Texans who for the last few years have been the media’s baby as they finally tip the Texans to take those first baby steps and enter the play-offs. However, it’s a case of the Texans being taught how to run before they walk and they’ll fall.

Biggest season of his career for sure

It’ll be a roller coaster season for the Titans but they can look forward to a brilliant season of match ups none the less and also they can look forward to reaching the play-offs with their incredible coaching staff, evidently the best run game in the NFL, a veteran Offensive line that’ll protect both QB and RB and a backfield drooling in talent.

They make a brilliant choice for a sleeper pick regardless of their schedule or their Subway Test status, in a couple months, teams will be heading to DL Field worried of whether it’ll be a 50+ yard rush from Johnson, a 35 yard pass to Kenny Britt or an interception return that is responsible for the points against them on the scoreboard.

One more reason to support Tennessee and the NFL in general

Just before the start of the season I wrote a piece about the transfers that had been made and how they’ll affect their teams (http://tinyurl.com/33j7rbg). Now this was written nearly two weeks before the close of the transfer window, and since then things have changed. My criteria is still the same:

Based on where the teams finished last year, how these signings will help, who they’ve brought, how much for, whose left/stayed and how much they got for sales and overall price difference.

Now to show the teams that, in my opinion, have performed the best/worst in this years transfer market. We’ll start with the best three teams – Arsenal, Liverpool and Wolves.

Arsenal – 8.5 (previous rating: 8.5) – Arsenal are one of the teams that have maintained their rating from my previous rankings and with the addition of Squillaci adding to the signings of Koscieny and Chamakh for a total of just under £20 million is pretty darn good for an experienced defender, a future rock at the centre back and a potential 20 goal a season striker. Letting go of five other defenders prevents them from 9 or higher.

Liverpool – 8.5 (previous rating: 6.5) – Liverpool have made three key signings since last time. Christian Poulsen, Paul Koncheskey and Raul Meireles all are decent additions to the squad… however, can they fill the gaps left by Benayoun and Mascherano and then exceed them to lead Liverpool to the Champions League again? I don’t think so. The shrewdness of Roy means he made about £6 million back, which makes them one of the few teams to get back this transfer window and it helps them jump two points.

Wolves – 8.5 (previous rating: 8.5) – Another team to regain their rating from last time and, like Arsenal, they jump into the top three. They’ve spent out (£13.5 million) but perhaps their key signing is Michael Mancienne on loan again from Chelsea. The future England centre back has rejoined Wolves after a brilliant season last year and immediately went back into the squad against Newcastle. Other signings include Stephen Hunt, Steven Fletcher and Jelle Van Damme who all help boost the squad and most importantly, boost their chances of relegation survival.

Now we move onto the worst transfers made by teams this summer:

Wigan – 6 (previous rating: 7.5) – they garnered a 7.5 last time out but that drops as they’ve let defensive rock Titus Bramble (any other Newcastle fan would burst in tears at that) and Paul Scharner leave for next to nothing and they’ve signed either unknown or unproven South American replacements. Without a revamp in January this season could be the end of Premier League football for Wigan Athletic.

Everton – 6 (previous rating: 7) – another team that drops to a 6 rating but this time due to a relatively inactive transfer period. Jermaine Beckford is supposedly the biggest signing this summer. A guy that performed well in League One… it’s a huge jump but let’s see if he can perform. Letting go squad player Dan Gosling wasn’t a huge loss and even though they lost only £400k, it’ll be difficult for outperform some of their European competitors.

Finally, in my opinion, the worst team the 2010-2011 Premier League Summer Transfer Window:

Blackpool – 5 (previous rating: 5) - Enjoy the season it won’t last… although to be honest from what we’ve the seen that’s exactly what the fans, the players and Ian Holloway seem to be doing. Buying players in order to boost a Championship squad seems to have been their motive. For that, they’ve done extremely well. However, in the Premier League, ‘get relegated with pride’ isn’t a minimal goal, ‘survive relegation’ is though and despite a drubbing of Wigan on the opening day it won’t happen this season and that’s why they earn a rating of 5.

That concludes this blog, you can see the updated rankings chart here: http://yfrog.com/f/59premierleaguetransfers2j/ and the previous chart here: http://yfrog.com/nb7875p. So, what do you think of these rankings? Do you agree with them? Which team do you think has done good/bad this summer? Who was the best signing made by a Premier League club, or any club for that matter?

Everyone knows that Fabio Capello has a slight problem behind him, one that affects his ability to do his job properly - the British media is against him.

Ever since the World Cup I’ve had a hard time reading any article to do with English football that doesn’t mention Capello and the overall tone of the article be negative. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing”, “His tactics are ridiculous” and “He gets paid too much” are all the screams from the media which are then echoed by the armchair fans of England.


Postman Pat really needs to deliver to please some

Why are we never happy with anything other than winning? When he disposed John Terry of his captaincy - that was the right move. Yet, he gets absolutely ridiculed and persecuted for it… why?
He selects the players he sees fit to be part of the team. Nope. That’s not what ‘we’ apparently want. Heskey - he was selected because he’s better and more proven on the international scene compared to Darren Bent.

He didn’t do great in the World Cup but he did more than Rooney

The man is paid a lot of money to try and do his job. Have you ever tried to work when people having been talking and saying things about you. It’s very difficult and your attention is split. Capello has shown the first signs of letting it get to him but you would when people don’t let you work and there’s a big exam (World Cup) coming up.

The guy can’t seem to do anything right by the eyes of media and despite the man having years of experience and having actually spoke to his team - ‘we’ are apparently more knowledgeable than him and we know what’s best for England. No. We can have our ideas yes, but we shouldn’t like one idea so much that we band together and force it down the throat of others. And if they try to spit it back out then we get angry and an idea and a group becomes a mob. A mob wanting people to lose their jobs.

Hello. We’re a mob. Rawr.

It’s ridiculous to blame the manager for the sub par performances of the players. He can only control so much off the pitch, on it they need to utilise their talent.

Capello has been unfairly treated by the media and this is a call for it to stop. Let the man do his job. Stop thinking you’re better than him. Stop thinking you know more than a man whose actually spent decades in the sport industry. Despite being the most important gear in the cogs of Sports Industry - you’re the bottom rung.
It’s like working in an office - you work in a different department. Different qualifications. Different work mates. Different goals. Different abilities. Although more on that office theory soon.

It’s no hidden fact that despite football’s massive effect on the country - there’s a problem. A problem that ends up effecting the fans of every team. Debt.

Out of the 92 teams that play in professional leagues - it’s very difficult to say that any of those teams are well off. People buy into the money marks. People like Ambramovich, Middle Eastern funding of Man City and even lower league clubs like Southampton.
Now Southampton are actually well off now (mostly in part to the recently passed Markus Liebherr) but only a few years ago they went under and entered administration.

RIP 1948-2010

It happened with Leeds before them and Portsmouth after them and now it’s becoming a major problem in the Championship too.
Teams are forced to spend money just to get to the Premiership and when there they have to spend more money and they’ll never break into the upper echilons unless you find a massive investor or force yourself to spend in hopes you’ll get into Europe and it pays off for the next season or two.

A prime example of overspending for Europe

The way teams are affected by this is because success IS everything in football. You need it to thrive and survive. The problems with teams like Leeds, Southampton and Portsmouth was that they spent money to get success and even though they may have got it for a season or two, they didn’t capture it for long enough.

In hindsight: was it really worth it?

Only in a few of these clubs will you find a good business model. Arsenal and Tottenham are the teams with successful examples - the funding comes from more than one set owner. Everton and Blackburn are your mid card performers in the Premiership. West Brom are the perenial yo-yo’ers but they’re financially sound because they never overspend their ‘parachute payments’.
Teams like Hull and Cardiff are the notable examples of where they’ve spent out but not achieved enough and now it’s coming back to get them. The Premiership offers so much money but only if you can remain there. A two season stay isn’t enough.

This startling situation is the reason why we’ve seen Newcastle and Blackpool keep their purses tightly sealed this summer. Keeping the money and sorting out the club’s finances with it helps in the long term financial side and long term success of things. So if you’re promoted, staying in 17th is great but 18th can be just as good.

Oh and a note to all you Man City fans out there. If the Middle Eastern billionaires leave, whose gonna pay your wages? Oh and Chelsea fans read this article - http://tinyurl.com/2cxfdwu - you’re not debt proof either. Owners don’t stick around forever. This is the Premier League. Not Tuck Everlasting.

This summer has seen the sporting press been dominated by the World Cup and ever since then it’s been whoever moneybags, Man City are linked with buying next. While they have made some good, but high expensive signings, they’ve not been the best compared to others.

NOTE: My opinions are based on where the teams finished last year, how these signings will help, who they’ve brought, how much for, whose left/stayed and how much they got for sales and overall price difference.

Let’s start by covering my Top Three teams this transfer period.

They’re Bolton, Fulham and West Ham. Now while only Bolton have a manager returning for this season, the cost effective deals, the keeping of key players and the squad improvement/replacement, is what puts them here.

Bolton - so far they’ve signed Martin Petrov, Robbie Blake and Marco Alonso for a sum of £1.6 million?! That’s a bargain for a three piece that will love the style Bolton play. Also, they’ve not lost anyone major and have kept, Gary Cahill for now. Some brilliant summer buys if you ask me.

Fulham - they’ve only signed Phillipe Senderos and Jonathan Greening but neither cost them a penny. Who went? Erik Nevland and Chris Smalling. While the latter is a great player, they got £10 million from Man Utd for the future England star. They’re up £10 million and have kept their Europa League stars. Look for them to improve on 12th.

West Ham - 17th last year and they’ve not got much money… so they manage sign Frederic Piquionne, Tal Ben Haim and Thomas Hitzlsperger for £1 million. Experienced buys and team leaders, just what they need. They’ll improve but at best I would say 15th… but that’s better than relegation.

Now for the Worst teams so far this summer:

Aston Villa & Stoke - Neither side has signed any squad enhancement and while they’ve hardly released superstars (Marlon Harewood, Wilfred Bouma and Amdy Faye), they’ve done nothing to improve their squads so far. Villa will drop into the bottom half of the league. Stoke will fight relegation.

Blackpool - Now they’ve actually made a signing… that’s right one signing. They’re preparing to go back down, nothing anyone could have done for them. Not even Holloway. At least they’re facing the realism unlike Hull and keeping their money tight to their chest.

Anyway, that concludes my report on the signings made so far before the season starts Saturday… although I’m more excited for Monday night, where the Toon Army shall beat Manchester United! Well one can dream…

If you wish to see how the other 14 teams ranked then you can view the graph here - http://yfrog.com/nb7875p and all transfers can be seen here - http://tinyurl.com/29acqgh.

If you’re confused by the title then you’ve clearly never played any of Mario Kart series games. Alongside Princess Peach, no other item/character has caused players to rage over at it’s annoyance. Although Peach has been toned down in the recent games (and she’s been outdone by her comparison - Daisy) the Blue Shell’s annoyance is persistent but this is just a signifier of the entire series.

I say this after playing Mario Kart 64 on my Wii. I downloaded the game due to the nostalgia and I had points left over. I haven’t played Mario Kart in a long time due to Mario Kart Wii lacking any sort of challenge and finishing in the Top 3 on every online race (except from those few times where you get a Blue Shell’d at inappropriate time - see this graph for proof: http://tinyurl.com/ylyb56l) and when I looked at Mario Kart 64 I thought nothing of it other than - a game I would just destroy. However, I was proven so very wrong.

50cc wasn’t the greatest challenge but there’s still a threat, 100cc as you’d expect the challenge ups but I avoid any problems, 150cc and the above mentioned Princess has pushed me off the edge 3 times. Compare that to Mario Kart Wii where the only time I felt challenged was getting a Star rating on the 150cc Mirror Star Cup.

The difference in difficulty actually made me quite disappointed in Mario Kart Wii. I mean Double Dash offered multi-team play and the challenge didn’t come so much from the computer but from the tag team of mates that opposed my team - so really I’m discounting this from discussion.

Both of the games (in my case) are causes for swearing but for different reasons. In Mario Kart 64 you may swear because you’re trying to will yourself on and because Peach just overtook you and you had to listen to her annoying high-pitched ‘Here we go’ taunt.

In Mario Kart Wii you’re swearing because for the 3rd lap in a row you’ve been hit by a Blue Shell despite getting back to the front each time and then you’ve seen some noob who has fallen off at every point win because of the Bullet Bill item.

Mario Kart 64 requires you to fight for victory and you get rewarded for doing well 2nd and 3rd you can get Golden Mushrooms and Lightning and Blue Shells may happen once a Grand Prix and they take out everyone - not just the leaders.

In Mario Kart Wii you get bananas to defend the onslaught of Blue Shells that happen every single race, have a massive, unblockable radius and only affect the leading driver. Nobody else has to share your pain if you’ve got a brilliant lead. Also, considering the options Mario Kart Wii becomes a strategy race like the Tour De France.

You stay far enough ahead of the main pack to avoid being dragged down (2nd-4th) but don’t take the lead because you know eventually you’ll get the Blue Shell warning. Even if you don’t win you’re lavished with online points that congratulate you on surviving the fustercluck of the race before you even if you finish 6th. WTF?! In Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart you were forced to redo the race if you couldn’t do better than 4th and even then you only had 3 chances or the GP starts again.

What happened to a difficulty curve in video games? What happened to an actual challenge? Why are games nowadays more about having fun and embracing the experience - rather than actually making you try. I get asked why I’m so competitive when it comes to the multi-player games - it’s because I’ve been taught to win by games like Mario Kart 64. I’ve been taught that I shouldn’t except losing and should improve myself and practise to at least get 4th - not to settle for 8th out of 12th because I get 4 points or so.