THE PUTTDOWN

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...

Fans of several sports around the world are currently looking for new sports to watch. It comes after many sporting organisations, teams, and players have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.  Even NASCAR fans are looking for a new sport to watch after they banned the flag of the confederacy, how dare they not let these people remember their ancestors as they eat hot dogs and get blackout drunk while cars drive round in circles for an hour. I can only empathise with these people. Now that sports are starting to care about the injustices in the world, how are these fans going to escape the crushing reality of their mundane lives.  If they don’t choose another sport, the only other option available will be speaking to their wives and picking out new curtains for the recently painted living room. We spoke to one NASCAR fan who had this to say: "It's an outrage, but I've made my decision. I'm going to watch Quiditch. Yeah that Harry is a good man, and I ...

Sports films are as old as the sports themselves. From the 1921 release ‘Two Minutes to go’ to more recent releases like the 2018 release ‘Uncle Drew’. They even span every sport imaginable such as figures skatings I Tonya to Mountain Climbings ‘Everest’. Choosing a top 10 sports films is an arduous endeavour, one person can see ‘Field of Dreams’ as a cinematic masterpiece, and another might see it as a film about a man speaking to ghosts. The following list has been compiled at The Puttdown through personal opinion. You may not agree with the list, but it just shows how different movies connect to us through our love of sports and our experiences within them. None of the movies mentioned above cracked the top 10, so let us begin. 10. Mike Bassett: England Manager   Sports movies have always suffered in trying to recreate the sport on the big screen. Mike Bassett: England Manager does a good job avoiding that as it follows helpless new England Manager as he attempts to lead England...

Everyone wants to win, and for every clean athlete who wins, there is a dozen of other athlete’s attempting different methods of cheating to be the best. At the Puttdown we have narrowed down the list of cheaters to what we think is the top 10 cheaters of all time. Honourable Mention This goes to the one and only Shooter McGavin. Not only did he hire a man to torment Happy Gilmore at a pro-am tournament, but he also hired a man to run him over in an attempt to stop him from winning the coveted gold jacket. 10. MLB Steroid Era Coming in at number 10 is the MLB steroid era. It would be easy just to pin this on Barry Bonds, after all, he was probably the most successful but there was so many of them that the whole era gets in at number 10. It was so bad that many players including Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriquez were summoned in 2005 to testify in front of Congress about the issue. Bonds continue to this day to be shunned entry to the baseball hall of fame even though he holds the r...

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. 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: ...