THE PUTTDOWN

  Getting you ready for… FOOTBALL This is the first in a series of blogs to get you ready for upcoming sporting events, first up, the return of the English Premier League. Clearly, without fans in the stadium, that also means no going to the pub before or after the game. Obviously, we can’t be having football fans suffering from alcohol deprivation, so here is a handy game to keep by your side. Depending on how rowdy you’re feeling on that particular day, it can either be a traditional game of BINGO, or a drinking game. Easy peasy. 

The first year of VAR being used in the Premier League has been an up and down affair. Controversy has shrouded its use leading to many fans demanding its exclusion from the league.   After a long first season, The Puttdown has been told that VAR has decided that it is time to hang up its video recorder. We were able to get an unprecedented interview with VAR to get their thoughts and feelings on what has been a tumultuous first (and final) year in the league.   The following interview has been edited for clarity.   The Puttdown (TPD): How do you think your year has gone?   VAR: Not great, if I was being truthful.   TPD: Why do you think that?   VAR: Every day has been very stressful. I turn up to work hoping for a pleasant day, but I can barely go a game now without something going wrong. It gives me anxiety attacks; pretty sure I’m losing all my hair, I’ve got wrinkles on my face that weren’t there last year.   TPD: When did you start to notice thing...

The Weekly Puttdown   The Puttdown is back, kind of. Sports are slowly getting back on their feet, one by one emerging from the ground like The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. In this edition of the Puttdown, we will bring you updates on the major sports leagues and how they are looking to start back up. NBA: 31 st July, mark the calendars. The NBA is pretty much ready, they have a start date and even better than that, a location. Games will be played at Florida’s Disney World Resort. 22 teams have been invited to play out the rest of the season and playoffs. The proposal was voted in with 29 votes to 1. The only team not voting in favour was the 9 th placed Portland Trailblazers, stating that there were better ideas on the table. Football (Premier League unless otherwise stated): The Premier League will return on 17 th June. The games will be played behind closed doors and will be played out until all 38 are played. There is brilliant news for fans, as the majority of games will be...

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 ...

With talk of professional sports coming back, there is talk about how the leagues will be set out and what will happen. Below you will be able to see MY hopes and predictions for what happens when the individual sporting leagues return. NBA: At this point in the year we would be in the middle of the playoffs. I believe once the leagues return, they will go straight into the playoffs but instead of 8 teams from each division qualifying, everyone qualifies, that's right, that includes the New York Knicks. The playoffs will be set up in a March Madness-style, winner takes all in the majority of the rounds. This will be until the conference finals, which will be expanded to a 3 game series and the finals a 5 game series. Lebron James will lead his Lakers to the final to only be beaten again at the final hurdle, by Giannis and his Bucks. The Bucks have Donte DiVencenzo on their roster, a previous NCAA champion, and master of the March madness format. He will, unsurprising to me, go on...

The Weekly Puttdown Welcome to the weekly Puttdown. A weekly run-through of the major news from the major sports around the globe. Short and to the point, cutting through the drivel and not to be taken too seriously. NBA: Not long until the playoffs start now, Lakers and the Bucks still hold the top spot in the west and east respectively. Zion is showing that if he had started playing at the start of the season he would have been Rookie of the year by a country mile, and the way he is going, he still may win it!  Football (Premier League unless otherwise stated): 99% of the football world rejoiced this weekend as Liverpool finally lost a game, getting their asses handed to them by relegation fodder Watford. Man City won the league cup in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. The biggest news is that everyone still Hates VAR . MLB: Spring Training is in full flow now. The main subject of interest at the moment is how many HBP the Astros are going to...

The Weekly Puttdown Welcome to the weekly Puttdown. A weekly run-through of the major news from the major sports around the globe. Short and to the point, cutting through the drivel and not to be taken too seriously. NBA: There was daylight robbery in Detroit this week. Cleveland managed to secure the services of Andre Drummond for practically nothing. The Clippers picked Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas from the Knicks and Wizards, only to release Thomas hours later. Imagine that, one second you have a team, the next you are traded and subsequently released for nothing, must hurt the ego. Football (Premier League unless otherwise stated): There was a winter break in the premier league this weekend, with only 4 games scheduled. One of which was called off due to the biggest storm in the UK for decades. People still hate VAR. MLB: LA Dodgers have pulled off one of the biggest trades of the offseason picking up Mookie  Betts and David Price. The...

The Weekly Puttdown Welcome to the weekly Puttdown. A weekly run-through of the major news from the major sports around the globe. Short and to the point, cutting through the drivel and not to be taken too seriously. NFL: Kansas City Chiefs are your Super Bowl 54 Champions. In classic 2019-2020 Kansas style, they gave themselves a mountain to climb, going behind again in the playoffs, 10 points down going into the fourth quarter, only to surge back and take the win on the back of Patrick Mahomes MVP performance. Lamar Jackson was named Unanimous MVP, only the second time this has ever happened. This comes only a couple of years after being told he should be a wide receiver by the so-called experts. It makes you think, doesn’t it? NBA: The NBA continued to mourn the loss of the legend Kobe Bryant with tributes paid all across the league. The league made some changes to the All-star format this year. Every quarter will be to play for with the winnin...

The Weekly Puttdown Welcome to the weekly Puttdown. A weekly run through off the major news from the major sports around the globe. Short and to the point, cutting through the drivel and not to be taken to seriously. 13-19/01/2020 NFL: Well there we have it, Superbowl 54 will be contested between The Chiefs and the 49ers. The Cinderella story of the Titans came to and end and the Packers decided to play on the most difficult setting by not turning up until 27 down. NBA and WNBA: In a giant step forward in the WNBA, a new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to this week. The deal included a large pay rise and paid maternity leave. These are steps in the right direction as the popularity for the women’s game continues to grow. Oh and Lakers are still top of the West, Bucks still top of the East. Football (Premier League unless otherwise stated): This weekend we saw the save of the season from Bournemouth’s Steve Cook. It was just a sham...

The Weekly Puttdown Welcome to the weekly Puttdown. A weekly run through off the major news from the major sports around the globe. Short and to the point, cutting through the drivel and not to be taken to seriously. NFL: The Texans blew a 24-point lead; they blew it so quickly it was gone before half time. The Packers ruined Lynches coming out of retirement party, but it was nice to see they game him the ball on the goal line twice, unfortunately, this doesn’t change history. Baltimore Ravens players decided not to turn up in their most important game of the year, forgetting that, when the ball is thrown to you, that you are meant to catch it. Derrick Henry continued to walk through defences, one point even making an opponent in to a lead blocker.   The 49ers blew out the Vikings, which led the Cleveland Browns to employ the Vikings OC as their new head coach after he got embarrassed that same weekend, a move that only the Cleveland Browns would do. NBA: ...