As of February 2012, I've decided to stop updating this formally as a portfolio. Thanks for stopping by and reading what I've posted; I decided it was best for me to move on from this and focus on more creative work, instead of documenting simple in-the-job writing.

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

Atomic Sports Media: Familiarity Breeds Contempt (Greatest Sports Rivalries - Hartlepool United vs. Darlington)

Below is my crack at an underused area of Atomic Sports Media - the "Greatest Sports Rivalries" page. Given I am intrinsically linked to what I consider to be the greatest sports rivalry, I decided to represent the ongoing battle between two North-East teams - Hartlepool United and Darlington F.C.. After a lot of research and research through football messageboard users (including John Phillips from the brilliant Hartlepool fan database In The Mad Crowd), I compiled this run through the history of the two teams and uncover some startling similarities. Read the full article by clicking on one of these words somewhere.



Forget the silently composed Bjorn Borg and the endlessly whining John McEnroe. Disregard the Red Sox and the Yankees and their ridiculous brawls. Ignore the former USSR and the USA’s tireless Olympic hockey escapades. Overlook England and Australia’s cricket shenanigans (not that I expect most of you to focus on the latter anyway). There is no rivalry like what I am about to describe to you - no rivalry at all. It encapsulates what celebrated competition between two teams is all about. It’s not in the NFL, NHL, NBA, PGA, MLB or MLS. It is not found in a North American city. It is not found in any city. It is, however, found in a region of England that I happen to live in, and involves the team I so dearly love, and another I generally regard as the team of Satan himself, should he or she exist.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me fill you in on a, no, THE Association Football rivalry of England: Hartlepool United versus Darlington F.C..

Doesn’t sound too promising for the average American reader, does it? Or most English readers, for that matter - but bear with me. In describing this battle of the giants of lower league soccer, I hope to convey how the little man in a quaint English pub in the North East of England is just as important to the beauty of sporting rivalry as the thousands who turn out for the likes of Manchester United, the Chicago Bears or the New York Rangers.

Apologies in advance to any serious sports-based socio-cultural analysts. My bias towards my beloved team may come through unintentionally in the upcoming description. Given that I am defined in most of my friends’ minds as a fanatic fan of the blue and white and a general hater of all things black and white, please forgive me for my prejudices. Unless you’re a Darlington supporter, to which I point and laugh at you for your inferiority.

As we stand here in 2007, the current record between the two teams (rightfully) puts the best team on top (oops! I’m being biased already). Since 1922, Hartlepool (or Pools) and Darlington (Darlo) have played a whopping 145 games, with 60 wins going to Hartlepool, 56 to Darlington, and 29 being a draw (not a concept Americans are familiar with). In the League - excluding cup and playoff competition - Pools have played Darlo 134 times - that’s the fourth most regular derby game in the country since soccer records began, placing just after Liverpool vs. Everton, Arsenal vs. Tottenham and Manchester United vs. Manchester City.

The key to their rivalry is very basic – the two teams are only 20 miles apart. Any teams growing with each other are bound to want to outdo each other, and on a (assumingly) cold day in the early 1920s, this competition kicked off, with two 0-0 draws in the days when hooligan wasn’t in the dictionary and you needed a shirt and tie to enter (a trend that seemingly continues well into the late 1960s, according to an archive photo of a Hartlepool game crowd I saw recently).

It isn’t as simple as that, though. The amount of striking similarities in the context of nationwide soccer between the two clubs is phenomenal.

For seasons in the bottom division of the English Football League, Hartlepool have enjoyed 71 of 86, and Darlington 72 - only beaten by ONE team in over 92, Rochdale (with 73!). Hartlepool and Darlington’s average League position is 80th and 81st out of 92, respectively. Four of the eleven players that made the all-time Darlington XI also played for Hartlepool, and Darlington’s first ever player to get 100 goals in a career with them was born and bred in Hartlepool (hardly surprising, really…). You can’t make it up… my beloved Hartlepool literally do have an evil, crappier twin in Darlington.

With neither team ever getting above the third division of soccer in the newly reformed Football League (since 1958) - even though the third is now referred to as League One to make us sound a little better - Pools and Darlo - to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United - are mere table scraps. To one another, they are the personification of hatred. The kind of hatred that causes the Cleveland Police to circle Victoria Park - Pools’ home - after a game in 2006 with a helicopter, as well as dispatching around 300 policemen on the street between the away end exit and the train station.

Before addressing the present, however, there was one match on Saturday 25th March, 1978 which typifies - perhaps substantiates, in many people’s minds - the animosity between the two teams. Luckily, Hartlepool United’s chief statistician John Phillips of www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk was on hand to gladly describe it:

“I guess the most notorious Pools/Darlo game was at Feethams (Darlington’s home ground) just two days after Pools fullback Dave Wiggett had been killed in a road accident in a car driven by team-mate Bob Newton. A fair number of Darlo fans chanted through the minute's silence before kick-off and the game was a very bad-tempered affair. There was a running battle throughout between Derrick Downing for Pools and Darlo's Lloyd Maitland. Downing was eventually sent off, and Maitland further infuriated the Pools fans by throwing away his black armband. Red cards were pretty rare in those days. It was only Pools' 12th since WW2, and was only the third time in Football League history that a side had won away from home after having a man sent off. A 17-year-old Keith Houchen - who would go on to manage Pools - got the winner.

"Billy Horner - Pools’ manager but also a player for Darlington from 1970-74 - pulled no punches, saying that the offending Darlo fans were "a disgrace to their club, their town, and the human race".

You can’t get more of a basis for hatred than that.

Nowadays, things are different. Hartlepool’s Victoria Park - or Church, as I like to call it - only houses 7,691 fans, with just under 1,000 of those reserved for the away supporters. Although the pitch is regularly compared with a fairway at Augusta or St. Andrews - winning countless grounds-keeping awards - it is surrounded by two average stands (one of which has iron bars to lean on and no seats, where I happen to stand) and two pretty dilapidated ones. Sound carries well, and I can hear a goal being scored from my house 1½ miles away in the rare event that I miss a match.

Darlington F.C. owned a regularly flooded stadium called Feethams, which was bulldozed in 2003 to make way for a field. This was after a (genuinely) convicted felon, George Reynolds, bought the team, having amassed a fortune in the kitchen furnishing business. He built them a new stadium housing 25,000 fans, even though Darlington gets a regular attendance of 3,000 or so, even now. Promising them Premiership soccer in five years, his reign came to an end in 2005 after imprisonment for tax evasion, having been arrested in his car with his trunk stashed with £500,000. The club went into administration but was saved by local businessmen and fans alike; I hate Darlington, but not enough to want them to fold.

As much as I may raise eyebrows by making the club sound like textbook Brazilian soccer corruption, I tell you the absolute truth - and this is regularly used as ammunition in songs in Hartlepool games - even when we aren’t playing Darlington.

Songs, might I add, are the backbone of fan involvement and a true base for our rivalry. A good 75 percent of Hartlepool songs are anti-Darlo. They include “We Hate Darlo”; “Shoot the Darlo Scum” (to Que Sera Sera); and, of course, the all-time family favourite “S*** on the B*****ds Below”. Although they sound evil and brooding, they are generally taken in jest, and have mirror versions in the other end (e.g. “Shoot the Poolie Scum”).

In between the singing in this game, an intense fear is found in the atmosphere. Like an atmosfear (Ha ha ha). Quite like a response from a pun as weak as that, the average fan’s demeanor is serious to the point of anger. Any challenge is immediately screamed at, shown a two-fingered salute, or causes a surge of bodies angrily pushing forward. As soon as several fluid passes are strung together, your team is playing the best soccer of their life. The same passes in a previous game would have been gently encouraged, but here it is almost like a D-Day assault. Should the team get within 10 yards of the opponent’s goal, crisis mode ensues. Pray for your ribs if you’re leaning against a bar and a goal goes in; cover your ears if you don’t like obscenities and you’ve just conceded.

The wonderful thing about the rivalry - for me at least - is that I haven’t seen Darlo beat Pools in more than six years. The last game, at their cavernous stadium, ended in a 0-3 win for Hartlepool, including one of the best goals I’ve ever seen (which you can view through my profile). Sadly I couldn’t make it due to a capacity cap on the 25,000 all-seater stadium, in effect making it a 10,000 seater (and making 15,000 seats purely ornamental). Regardless, 3,500 Poolies were bouncing around as they saw the better team triumph.

And what now? Sadly, the rivalry is on hold for another year, at least. Hartlepool were promoted as League Two runners-up, ironically breaking the club’s unbeaten run record against Darlington during the aforementioned game (with the run ending after 21 games). Hartlepool also broke more than seven other records, including most wins without conceding (seven, to tie with the national record) and most consecutive scoring games (27). Darlington missed out on the playoffs and as a result, Pools have to wait for Darlo to join them (as I’m damn sure we won’t get relegated).

As much as I loathe Darlington, I would rather lose in a derby game than be in the league above them. Rivalry is what it’s all about - without it, my team, anyone’s team - would suffer for it.

Actually, I take that back. I never want Pools to lose against Darlo!

(with thanks to John Phillips of In The Mad Crowd and Hartlepool fan contributors from The Poolie Bunker)

Saturday, 18 August 2007

Monkey Business: The Boy is Back in Town

Following my articles last season, I again was published in this season's first Monkey Business - Hartlepool United's fanzine. Issue 85 covered the aftermath of promotion and the high hopes our fans have for the upcoming season back in League One. I've included photo captures of the cover and the article itself; click on the picture to have a look!



The Ginger Poolie has returned to Hartlepool after a few years away, and is looking forward to another season of success

What a season eh?

Now that I'm back from The People's Republic of Kingston-Upon-Hull, I can't wait to restore my weekly following of Hartlepool United.

I had to spend countless weekends camped in front of Sir Stelling's superb Soccer Saturday with Pools World blasting out of my computer while my housemates blabbered on about how great Arsenal and Aston Villa are and how insignificant Pools were (even though I informed them in March that at least our season hadn't ended yet).

Doing a final year degree, and having spent most of my money in the previous two years, I found it extremely difficult to get to games (strategically organising trips back to God's Country to fall on home game weekends and the like).

I probably saw the least games in a season since I started watching Pools, and it happened to be our record-breaking year. I just couldn't believe my luck. Worst thing was, out of the 14 games I saw, 8 were losses... and we only lost 10 times in the season.

Trust my luck. I see us fail at the start and fail at the end. Pardon me for sounding defeatist, but two of my three worst moments (obviously the way home from Cardiff being the other) happened during the magical 46 of 2006-7.

Firstly, my feelings after Shrewsbury panned us 3-0 at home. I nearly left 10 minutes from the end, and I've never left early. I was seething. It was truly awful. Luckily my article didn't get published in the following week's edition of Monkey Business (mainly due to the fact so many other people were spitting blood at similar issues).

The second, however, was one entirely new to me (and no doubt many other fans, if they shared a similar experience). Losing away to Barnet to end the winning streak drove me crazy. I'd actually FORGOTTEN what it was like to lose.

Click the picture to read the published article!


To think that after the way we'd played, we lost to a Mickey Mouse club like that lot. And, to a certain extent, I knew it signalled the end of our dominance - the spanner in the works to shake the confidence of our lot.

However, our second-from-last fixture was one of the most memorable I've been to. Rochdale was possibly the most ludicrous game I'd ever seen. From a pitch that could only have been bought from Basra, to one of the dirtiest teams I've ever clapped eyes on, that Saturday in Greater Manchester was just unbelievable.

Starting in high spirits with 3,500 fancy dress Poolies in attendance, the place was bouncing. Until about the 2nd minute, anyway. What followed can only be described as a shambles.

My favourite moment during the Rochdale game was probably when Monkhouse (or Bob) rolled the ball along the floor to Barker (or Ronnie) who was 6 yards away, and the pitch was so bad that Barker had to head it back to him.

Or when Doolan kicked a lump out of Porter, then scraped his studs straight down Monkhouse's leg so badly that I could see the marks from the back row of the away stand (causing Bob to violently - and as a professional wrongfully - lash out).

Ronnie impersonating Dimi on the goal-line was just bizarre. Memories of the beginning of the season were cemented by the missed penalty.

When we eventually went up, staying consistent and opting out of silverware, I was strangely disappointed. I think my experience of Pools last season really did that for me, as I was only there for the undefeated run in spirit.

I don't even think we bottled it - we DID give Walsall a 15 point head start after all - but we deserved much more recognition. We laughed off League Two and showed it for the waste disposal facility it is, alongside our fellow relegated brethren. Apart from the MK Dongs, but who cares about them?

With some genuinely quality signings over the summer, our biggest worry now seems to be picking a best 11, as there are at least 16 players who could do the job.

Although I remain apprehensive, I think we may shock League One again. Now King Danny is in charge and all traces (apart from Bullock) have been removed from the awful Sc** era, we can do it.

In closing, although last season for me was painful live yet amazing on the radio, I think my presence in the Town End may not be as frustrating as last season. Although the pessimistic superstition and repeating factors of no silverware and an end of season crumble are in evidence (and spell out a similar fate to our previous spell in League One), I can safely say that I feel like we'll stay for good in the third tier now.

Unless we go up again. Am I jinxing us by saying that?

Tuesday, 14 August 2007

Atomic Sports Media: Cursed? (Tennessee Titans preview, 2007-8)

In my final article for Atomic Sports Media's preview of the 2007-8 NFL season, I got to grips with Nashville's Tennessee Titans, giving the weakest team of the three I covered an analysis I was proud of, particularly given that I knew close to little about them before writing it. A few days of intensive research brought me the closest to the essay writing days of University since I left - in good and bad ways.

I'm very pleased with it - please visit Atomic Sports Media or the AFC South page by clicking on the relative words in this sentence in a fashionable interweb way. If you're really lazy, I have put the article below!

And for everyone else: part two of the awful adverts topic has been released, as has the factual position of the centre of the universe.


This can't be good for Tennessee


Vince Young, Madden NFL 08's cover star, had an amazing rookie season: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and his first Pro Bowl, 552 rushing yards, which probably makes him the most mobile quarterback in the NFL at present, and for the first time in a long time in Tennessee, a quarterback was leading the Titans to a few wins. Using a rare talent like Young's, the Titans hope to improve upon that record this year as their star quarterback continues to grow.

With two competent tackles in Roos and Stewart, Head Coach Jeff Fisher, alongside Norm Chow, will no doubt play upon Young and WR Brandon Jones' rappor. If they know what's good for them. After all, what other passing choices has Young got? Orr was shunned last season regardless of his high rating in practice, and two additions in the draft in this position make it clear which area is of certain weakness. Of course, Vince Young is still passing at under 50% completion. Jeff Fisher, who turned a 0-5 team into an 8-8 finish, will have to prove his worth.

With Peyton Manning's Colts no doubt storming the AFC South in 2007, the Titans will need to use all of their talent to secure a spot in the playoffs. One player who won't be helping them, for the most part at least, is the very, very silly Pacman Jones. Pacman's strip club antics and his run-ins with the police since joining the NFL outnumber his interceptions and served him with a highly-publicized season-long ban and him apologizing to fans, saying he "will do everything in [his] power to regain (the fans') trust and respect".

Luckily, with a strong linebacker corps (hello, Keith Bulluck) and experienced players such as DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Titans are relatively well equipped defensively. They're going to need to be; if you've ever watched the Titans' defensive line, you'll know that they're hit-and-miss.

Even more worrying is looking at the Titans’ schedule, which includes the Broncos, Bengals, Saints and Colts. Uh-oh. Who thinks it's pain time for Nashville's finest?

BEST-CASE SCENARIO:
Young improves on accuracy and the WRs actually catch. With the Jaguars and Colts in the same division, it seems a slim chance that the Titans could make the postseason; 9-7 would be a success, giving the Titans their first winning season in four years.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO:
Young still remains unreliable in the passing game and becomes the latest victim of the Madden Curse. Rushing and passing lines dissolve into the ground, with the defense crumbling alongside them (spending most of every game on the field). The Titans rename themselves the Oilers due to “Titans” being false advertising. Then they'll probably move to Los Angeles. I mean, SOMEONE has to.

Thursday, 9 August 2007

Atomic Sports Media: Big Ben Needs Big Comeback (Pittsburgh Steelers preview, 2007-8)

In the second of my three articles on the futures of three NFL teams for the 2007-8 season, I gladly took the role of Steelers reporter as my favourite team in the NFL gets the treatment on Atomic Sports Media; read the article on AFC North in full by clicking here (I'm on page 4 of 4)!



Roethlisberger needs to bounce back from a tough
2006 for the Steelers to be in contention

Did Ben Roethlisberger recover from his helmet-less bike-crash escapade before last season? Yes, and apparently very quickly, letting all Steelers fans (including myself) breathe a sigh of relief. However, with Big Ben becoming the King of Interceptions with 23 passes to the other team in 2006, one may have questioned whether he recovered to his 2005 season standard.

With an interesting personal life, including a substantiated rumor that he's dating Heroes star Missy Peregrym (the lucky devil!), Big Ben’s focus must remain on his team, as he is the fundamental key to the Steelers’ success. Pressure does not get to him, as Super Bowl XL proved; if he gets his head in the game, there may be no stopping him.

The other topic du jour around Steelers camp will be Mike Tomlin's appointment as head coach. Although untested at the highest level, the former Buccaneers and Vikings defensive coach seems to be a great replacement for Bill Cowher. His clarity of judgment and intelligence in relation to football is seemingly unquestioned by critics in the news, and so his approach to his new team will prove to be an interesting AFC talking point.

When one door closes, so they say, another one opens. Joey Porter's move to the Miami Dolphins will worry many fans, but with two potential outside linebackers in Lawrence Timmons (OLB, Florida State) and LaMarr Woodley (DE, Michigan) added in the first two rounds of the 2007 NFL Draft, alongside existing strength in depth, the Steelers are well prepared. Besides, Troy Polamalu's four-year contract extension will keep the Steelers’ best defensive player on the roster for the foreseeable future. The Steelers’ defense is as haunting as the folklore has always made it out to be. Be warned.

With Ken Whisenhunt now at the helm of the traditionally woeful Arizona Cardinals, offensive coordinator duties now fall at the feet of Bruce Arians. With the consistent Hines Ward and developing star Santonio Holmes handling wide-receiver duties, and young Willie Parker, another rising young star, who had no problem filling legend Jerome Bettis' boots in 2006, the offense is very competent. And with guards like Alan Faneca, a Pro Bowler for the last six years straight, the Ravens and Bengals will be wondering what the Steelers have lined up.

The Steelers still need Roethlisberger to give the ball away first, though, and that may be a problem. If he’s tossing downfield to Ward or handing off to Parker, the future looks bright. If he’s putting the ball in the hands of opposing DBs, it could quickly turn into a nightmare season in Steel City.

BEST-CASE SCENARIO:
The Bengals and Ravens are overturned by the Steelers, with Tomlin creating a new image for Pittsburgh after long-time coach Cowher’s departure. A finish at the top of the AFC North gains them a place in the playoffs, probably losing out in the Divisional round to the Colts - themselves proving a point since their last title meeting in 2005. Anyone else remember Big Ben's last-gasp tackle?

WORST-CASE SCENARIO:
Roethlisberger fails. Miserably. Charlie Batch gets more game time but, and regardless of his impressive plays in 2006, is too late to save the flailing Steelers. The impressively strong Ravens and Bengals laugh off the opposition, leaving the Steelers in third… again. Unless the Browns suddenly turn out to be amazing.

Saturday, 4 August 2007

Atomic Sports Media: Cream of the Crop (San Diego Chargers preview, 2007-8)

I was asked by Steve Schaefer of Atomic Sports Media if I wanted to cover any teams for a full preview of the upcoming NFL season of 2007-8. Being a huge fan of American Football and wanting to extend my journalistic experience, I chose the San Diego Chargers, my own beloved Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans.

Here follows my preview of the AFC West team, San Diego Chargers, in part 3 of 8 of ASM's NFL Preview 2007-8. You can read the article directly by clicking somewhere around here (I'm on page 4 of 4).


Even having Norv Turner as head coach can't
screw up this team...or can it?

The Chargers were a pleasure to watch last season, and their random collapse in front of the Patriots seemed baffling. So baffling, in fact, that they did one better in the bafflement stakes by firing former NFL Coach of the Year Marty Schottenheimer. This is possibly the thing that strikes most people as the make-or-break tactic employed by the historically unsuccessful Chargers. Will it move them forward, or back?

Although this may scare many Southern California fans, one cannot hide the strength of the team that new coach Norv Turner, fresh from the offensive coordinator's job with the 49ers, has to play with. Ten players, including OLB Shawne Merriman, TE Antonio Gates, K Nate Kaeding and LT Marcus McNeil made the Pro Bowl (more than any other team last season), and the offensive coaching background of Turner may be crying with laughter at the options he has in front of him.

Of course, no Chargers preview would be complete without a special mention for the visor-wearing hero that is the 2006 NFL MVP, LaDainian Tomlinson. The former TCU running back smashed records like he did defenses, including 31 touchdowns in one season, 28 of those being rushing TDs, and 186 points scored. His speed and strength in his role seem unmatched, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he broke all of his own records this year.

Philip Rivers' season was marred by the injury that forced him out of the Pro Bowl and may worry fans into thinking he may be injury prone. But when you're surrounded by superstars on the offense, you could really have anyone there who has some semblance of ball-throwing ability. People should give him his due, though; his fourth-quarter comeback rate was the best in the NFL last season, so pressure isn't something that gets to him.

This pressure seemingly gets to the defense and receivers though, as seen in their shocking, last-gasp loss to the Patriots in the Divisional playoffs. With Wade Phillips at the Dallas Cowboys and veteran Ted Cottrell calling the shots, the latter must emulate the former to keep the defense strong. Although it has a near-perfect line and linebacker set, the latter parts of the depth chart and their secondary may trouble the back of Cottrell's mind should injuries occur.

BEST-CASE SCENARIO:
Chargers use their resources fully and simply win Superbowl XLII, doing what they should have done the season before.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO:
Errors at the beginning of the season, and perhaps a couple of losses, lead the Chargers to revolt in the locker room against their new coach and constantly compare matters present to their old coach, Schottenheimer. With the Chargers setting an NFL-best 14-2 season previous, this team has a lot to live up to.