Lee Velo Park Six-day cycling

Six-day event at Lee Velo Park

We were in for an intriguing night at the Six-day event at Lee Velo Park. In one of Britain's most iconic sporting venues, The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  

Many of the world's top track cyclists were taking part in this six-day event including Great Britain's Mark Cavendish.

There were six events taking place, Madison, Elimination, Derney, Women's Omnium, 200m Time Trial and the Keirin.

The Madison was the first event of the evening. The race itself was fairly competitive, but it was the highly experience Belgian pair of Boussaer and Hester who won the event.

As for the event itself, the atmosphere was good in the sense that although there wasn't a full house, there were still enough spectators to create a reasonably good atmosphere.

It was a little disappointing to see that other than Mark Cavendish, there weren't any other British Olympic medallists such as Laura Trott who participated in Rio 2016 but was not participating in this event due to pregnancy.

The time trial event was also intriguing to watch as it was one of the more tactical events. I loved the way in which the cyclists plan their time trial and waited for the right moment to push the accelerator, it was almost like your waiting for something to give you a burst of energy to kickstart your ride.

What was also noticeable was the fact that some of the spectators were in cycling kit, which could suggest that they have a huge passion for cycling and were representing the sports identity as cycling fans.

I noticed that some of my peers were doing interviews with some of the spectators and cyclists. I thought that was something that I could consider doing in the future in terms of my live event reporting skills.

This gives you more to write about as a Sports Journalist as you can take in the views of other people who have been to this event and implement them into your own work.

Moscow 1980 1500m final

Co vs Ovett rivalry continues 

The 1980 Olympics were set for an epic showdown between two of the world's finest athletes.  

Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe were two of the many athletes representing Great Britain.

Despite dominating this event, Ovett and Coe had competed against each other in one race which was at the 1978 European championships.

The two athletes finished in second and third place.

Ever since their rivalry began, it had a huge influence in the English media due to the popularity of the sport being higher than anytime since athletics existed.

There were two events in Moscow, the 800m which Ovett won and the 1500m where Coe won.

Ovett and Coe were joint record holders finishing the race in 3 minutes and 32.1 seconds, with Coe having equaled Ovett's record in Oslo a fortnight ago. 

Ovett was the reigning European and World champion so he had the advantage over Coe in terms of success in this particular event.

Six days later, Coe and Ovett competed in the 1500m final where Coe was under immense pressure from the media. 

Races like the 1500m were usually considered to be tactical as opposed to an outright sprint, but for Ovett a bronze medal was on the cards.  

Ovett was also the fastest in the heats with a time of 3minutes 33seconds followed by Straub and Nemeth who did not make the final due to a slower time limit.      

Harry Weinstein story

Harvey Weinstein Story

The Harvey Weinstein story has developed a great interest to viewers as he has been accused by US actress Rose McGowan for a sexual assault incident on her.

However Weinstein has denied allegations of non-consensual sexual activity on McGowan.

The fact that the New York police and Scotland Yard are now reopening an investigation to see if he was involved in a similar case in 2004 is intriguing, especially with the story having already started a week ago.

On the other hand, statements from Weinstein's lawyers say that he denies sexually assaulting anyone.

However, due to police investigations and Oscar's bosses taking action against him, it may be difficult to receive a second chance, therefore he started counselling sessions in order to prove himself mentally stable to the police.

Cara Delevingne also shared claims for meeting Weinstein at a hotel in order to discuss about a role in an upcoming film but she claimed that Weinstein was apparently speaking about sex and asked her to go to his room.

Weinstein felt guilty for his actions and issued an apology statement 'I acted inappropriately and sincerely apologise.

The question is, will he be able to prove himself innocent in this case ?  

The story is still to be continued..

Bobby Charlton at 80

Bobby Charlton at 80

Sir Bobby Charlton by far was regarded as one of the world's best players of all time. This documentary looks back at what has been an incredible and highly successful career for the former England and Manchester United midfielder.

This programme also has a clear understanding of the way in which Bobby Charlton's career was built around football and it's society.
  

Having been brought up in Northumberland, no one expected him to have a highly successful career and achieve all that there is to achieve in both international and club football. particularly with his family being so poor at that time. This is why this documentary is so intriguing to watch, it's the history behind the success of English football.

What is also intriguing is the fact that this happened when it almost didn't, especially after that horrific plane crash in which he somehow managed to survive but unfortunately lost his best friend two weeks later. To have overcome all those emotional barriers and still have a phenomenal career is just incredible and shows what a true sportsman he was and shows the mentality he had as a player. .

In sport, it is great to see a coach having an impact on a player's performance, especially if it happens week in and week out. That's where former United assistant coach Jimmy Murphy had a huge influence on Bobby's success.

Murphy described Sir Bobby as his golden apple in the sense that the team was built around him being the focal point. What stands out for me is his passion and respect for the game especially after Manchester United's victory against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup, which was the first match post the plane crash. He also rated him as being one of the worlds top players alongside players like Pele. That for me is a bold statement to make because you are comparing one player in one decade to another player in another decade, which can be difficult to prove at times.

Bobby Charlton had tremendous respect for the Owls and felt sympathy for them as they didn't stand a chance of beating his United side.

In terms of building relationships with his teammates for both club and country, Duncan Edwards was rated as one of Sir Bobby's best friend. He was traditionally a left half but he could play in all different positions if necessary.

One of Bobby Charlton's memorable moments was playing alongside one of his two brothers, Jack  at the 1966 World Cup. This was because he felt a family connection with them and had  a great understanding amongst each other. This is what I feel is emotional in the sense that if I were playing in the same team amongst my siblings, it would probably inspire me as well as them to perform to the best of our abilities

With Charlton in the team, England were almost unbeatable, especially going into the World Cup. in which the did not lose a single game and only conceded two goals to West Germany in the final. It was a golden era for English football in which Sir Bobby was the mainstay of that fabulous 1966 World Cup team.

I was slightly surprised to see that they didn't at least show a clip of England's 1966 manger Sir Alfred Ramsey as I'm sure he must have had some part to play in Bobby Charlton's career, especially at the World Cup.

England Secure World Cup 2018 Qualification

Kane's Late Winner Secures England's place at Russia 2018

Gareth Southgate's England secured their place in next summer's World Cup in Russia following an injury time goal from Spurs striker Harry Kane.

Sitting petty at the top of group F in the qualifying stages, Gareth Southgate and England were just one victory away from securing their place in next summer's World Cup.

Southgate chose to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Kane being the focal point, Slovenia on the other hand went with the orthodox 4-4-2.

The first half was a fairly tight contest with limited chances for both teams, Ten minutes into the match, Slovenia had their first chance to score via a 22 yard free kick which was well saved by England's no,1 Joe Hart.

14 minutes later, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was brought down just outside the penalty area for a free kick for England. Kyle Walker stepped up to take it but failed to hit the target. This was the last chance of a tightly contested first half.

Nine minutes into the second half, Slovenia made their first substitution when Andraz Sporar was replaced by Valter Birsa.

The Three Lions had a great opportunity to score in the 62nd minute where Marcus Rashford attempted to scoop the ball over Slovenian keeper Jan Oblack, but the Manchester united centre forward could only watch it sail over the bar.

These missed opportunities from England added more frustration for Southgate who decided to replace Liverpool winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin for Manchester United's Jesse Lingard.

In the 66th minute, Kane tried his luck from outside the penalty box which made the ball sail just wide of the post.

Slovenia made their second substitution when striker Roman Bezjak was replaced by Jan Repas.71st minute, this was followed by another change 7 minutes later when off went Rajko Rotman to be replaced by Tim Matavz.

in the 83rd minute, Slovenia had a great opportunity to score but Joe Hart once again proved that he was by no doubt England's no:1 goalkeeper by pulling of a great double save to deny Slovenia a 1-0 lead.

Their was also some light entertainment for the spectators to enjoy when an intruder unexpectedly made his way onto the field but thankfully the security guards managed to track him down and escort him of the pitch.

The fourth official indicated a minimum of 6 minutes added time in which Kane scored what was likely to be the winner as he headed in a ball via a cross from Walker in the 93rd minute.

Southgate's men managed to see out the rest of the added time to steer England home to a 1-0 victory and guarantee a place in next summer's world cup.

Amar Patel