Savage Henry

Excellent. I tend to think one of the main problems England have had since the Ashes victory has been a failure to replace Ashley Giles' bat.

You think? Incidentally, is the test series on the radio?

Really? I can't see who you'd drop for him, to be honest. I think the number 8 position is a bit ropey. Broad can handle a bat well enough, and before that Ashley Giles had an average in the mid twenties, I hope Mr Swan can bat.

What, and beat up his girlfriend in a chateaux in the south of France instead?

Can someone give me a summary of why Avery is hated so? I actually thought his second hand slop thing was quite funny. I am assuming he's got a history that, somehow, I have passed by.

Not, it must be said, particularly hilarious for me. Or indeed Big "Joe" Thornton, who got another 3 in the Sharks twentieth game of the season - a victory over the Blue Jackets - to register his 23rd point in the last ten games. I take it the Ducks lost to Chicago on the Five game? I made it through the first period but fell asleep.

Went to see Changeling today. Angelina Jolie puts in an Oscar winning performance in a story you wouldn't believe if it wasn't true. Another excellent movie by director Clint Eastwood. Guy Ritchie ought to be forced to watch Eastwood's movies until he understands that if the story is good enough, you don't need stagger cuts and flashbacks. Directorial minimalism is where it's at. Michael Kelly does another role in which he plays a hard nosed cop with a heart of gold. Excellent stuff, a movie which starts off like LA Confidential then turns all Silence of the Lambs on you, and the two and a half hours fly past. 7/10 I would say, if you already know the story, then there isn't much point in seeing the movie.

Sharks update. You can guess the result. but Joe Thornton scored four points in the first period last night. The Sharks now have 45 points and the best start in NHL history. The all-star team voters don't seem to have noticed though.

I bet he is waiting for all his pent up hate and rage against Gary McCallister to die down before coming back with an expletive laden diatribe, cross referencing the Eagles and "Man Ure" for no apparent reason.

Anyone seen Changeling yet? Kermode was raving about it, and in lieu of a cinema showing Waltz with Bashir, I thought I might take this one in sometime this week.

What makes it all the better is that Leeds were really unlucky. Totally outplayed the opposition, had all the chances and completely dominated for the second half.

I'm getting boring now. Sharks win their seventh in a row and 20th of the season.

I was, in my mind, referring to the beer.

Oh look, the San Jose Sharks win again, and big Joe has a six game scoring streak on the go.

At the very least they'll have to move the Mumbai test. I'd imagine there's a real case for just calling the whole thing off, but the ECB have never been full of common sense.

Especially when they keep doing their hamstring. I'm not sure Peter Moores will see the ashes series at this rate. Oh for the South African back.

They were doing exactly that on the BBC commentary too. I still think your 7-0 is a good bet.

Whispertown 2000 - Done With Love. Oddball Americana. Great stuff in a vaguely Bright Eyes style but not really.

Where are your seats? I had sweet ones right on the half way line - see earlier photos. Also remember, the foot-long hot-dogs are expensive but tasty, and take your passport otherwise you'll have to sweet-talk the stall staff. MSG is one of the great arenas of any sport.

I heard this one is fantastic. Definitely the next one I'll be forking out to see, if I can find anywhere showing it. I loved the rotoscope effect on A Scanner Darkly.

That's not why it isn't popular. It isn't popular because it's not a great TV sport, they missed an entire season due to the lockout and football and baseball hog more and more of the market. It is, going by the ever reliable facebook, the least popular of five's American sport output too. Edited to add, why do the vote on the all-star game so early? And; those lineups just get more and more bewildering. Worse than the baseball all-star game balloting.

At least the Canucks players are getting rewarded for it by getting voted into the all-star teams. The Sharks - who won again, by the way, the record now a ridiculous 17-3-1 - have precisely zero starters.

I'd like to advocate a mass protest vote for Dan Boyle. He's the only one remotely close enough to break into the starting lineups.

It's okay. An above average British gangster flick. Kind of makes Guy Ritchie somewhat worthless. Which is a good thing.

Those are really the All-Star teams? Not one starter from the Sharks, the team with the best record in hockey? Ludicruous. I tend to think there ought to be one player from each team, like in baseball, to prevent farces like that.