THE PUTTDOWN

The Premier League is looking more and more likely to be going ahead. When it does restart, stadiums will be empty, a far cry from what fans would hope for. But in time, fans will start to be allowed back into the stadiums. Teams won't be permitted to allow full attendances, more likely starting off around the 30% mark, which means if the league isn’t careful, true diehard fans may miss out on tickets. Here at the Puttdown, we have come up with an exhaustive list of criteria to stop the fair-weather fans from attendance, and to make sure only the true fans are in the stadium when they return. Not Permitted Half and Half scarfs. Clearly, people who wear these pieces of attire only buy them so when friends and family come to visit, they can show the scarves to prove they were at the game. They don’t really care about the club; a die-hard fan would only have their own clubs emblem on their scarf. One of their last 10 photos on their camera roll is a selfie. These people...

The chances of getting MLB games this year seems to be getting slimmer by the day. Originally players had agreed to a pro-rata salary for the 2020 season, but team owners have decided to go against the original decision and are now asking for a shared revenue pay scheme for the season. This has led to players such a Blake Snell and Trevor Bauer to come out publicly and say they are not happy with the new deal, putting another dent into the chances of a season for 2020. Reaction to this has been interesting, to say the least. Some fans are backing the players, saying that the original deal should be stuck to, some saying the players are being greedy wanting more money. All I know is I want to watch the MLB this year, but it is looking less and less likely. There are some losers and winners from this (mainly losers). The biggest losers are the fans; with no play this year we will be waiting until next year to see any games. The Dodgers; Mookie Betts will become a free agent ...

Your team is rock bottom of the premier league, about to go up against one of the best teams in the country and there is not an ounce of hope of beating them. It’s the middle of winter; you put on your favourite jersey and 3 more layers on top to keep off the cold. As you leave the house you put on a beanie, scarf and make the short trip to your home ground. You walk through the turnstiles to your seat and take in the pre-game activities. You rub your hands together to try and keep some feeling in them as the game begins. You know your team doesn't have much chance of winning, but there is hope. You take an early 1-0 lead, but in the back of your mind, you know nothing at this point is for certain. The ball is around midfield when it gets played forward, more in hope than expectation. Your top striker runs onto the ball, chests it down and slots it past the goalkeeper. The stadium proceeds to erupt; you start high fiving everyone around you, an improbable 2-0 lead against on...

Before we begin, I’d like to offer a brief update on the Nike Belichick situation, detailed at length in a previous blog; ESPN requested Nike as an analyst for their 3 hour (not a typo) Schedule Release special. His owner, Bill, proved to be the thorn in his side this time, rejecting the request, apparently with some whimsical excuse about 3 hours being ridiculous and a dog not being able to hold a microphone.  Moving on. Up until now, college athletes haven’t been allowed to accept any money from any outside source during their time at college. Whether that’s advertising for a local donut shop, or accepting a small loan from a family member; just ask this year’s 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft, Chase Young. He had to sit out a game for this exact reason.  The governing body for college sports, the NCAA (*boo*), recently announced that they will allow college athletes to negotiate sponsorship deals from third-parties. Essentially any deal that doesn’t involv...

With no/not much sport around to watch, I've taken to watching old sporting events to help keep my sanity during the pandemic. One of the events I decided to watch was the 2016 NBA finals between The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. This being one of the best comebacks in the history of the sport (And just sport in general). We will skim over the first 4 games. The first 3 were won in a blow out fashion, Warriors winning 2 and the Cavs taking the 3rd. The biggest takeaway from these first 3 games for me was how annoying Draymond Green was. Not only does he not stop talking, but he also screams 'And 1' every time he's touched. He is also an incredibly gifted defender, constantly putting up exquisite shot defence and disrupting play which means I have to at least respect him, which I'm not happy about. The first 3 games also highlighted how deep the Warriors squad was, considering neither Klay Thompson or Steph Curry had over 20 points...

Baseball fans rejoice! The Korean Baseball Organisation has started its season, making it one of the first major professional sports leagues to return since the start of the Corona Virus pandemic. If you don’t already plan on watching the KBO, maybe it’s time you start thinking about it. Here is a short guide to help you on your way. It was founded in 1982 and features 10 teams. The defending champions are the Doosan Bears, with the most titles being held by the Kia Tigers (11). It will, however, be an uphill struggle for the Bears to defend their title as they lost league MVP, Josh Lindblom, to the MLBs Milwaukee Brewers. As far as the standard of play goes, you are looking at AA ball in the USA, maybe a step higher than the currently playing Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) which ranks around A ball.  It might not be what MLB fans would have wanted six weeks ago, but it is a potential for live baseball that we are all craving. If you are in the US you are ...

One of the many highlights of the first-ever virtual draft this past weekend was the rare, intimate look into the homes and families of these high-flying NFL execs who can appear anywhere from heatless to overly sentimental to inhumane depending on your team loyalties. This leads us nicely to the goodest of boys who expertly selected Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne with the 37th pick. Of course, we are referring to Nike Belichick, the canine companion of the 6-time Super Bowl winning coach of the Patriots. Ever since the NFL's pyjama Olympics (combine), Nike has had to come to terms with never playing in the NFL. The sadistic rule-setters decided that he was, in fact, ineligible on account of his 4 legs and superior intelligence. His football IQ is clearly higher than the Steelers center who failed to snap the ball on command. Nike pointed to the black cat who famously played in the Cowboys and Giants tilt on Monday Night football last year. "obviously it has nothing to do with ...