Tom Middler

Seems a bit wrong to post a new pod today, but we heard the sad news just after we recorded 🇦🇹 Hear the pod here: 🟣 apple.co/3xVuZ6T 🟢 spoti.fi/3maFpNd

Gutted to hear the shocking news about Alex Manninger today. For us at @OtherBundesliga, his move to Arsenal was really our first contact with Austrian football. Austria's first Premier League player, a fantastic keeper and by all accounts a lovely guy. RIP Alex 🧤

@niclasico I kind of want one for the novelty factor anyway 😂 League table looks upside down for us this season compared to what we've been used to!

As it turns out the Coventry shirts are not right. As many of you know we get authentic new shirts that have minor defects and it means we can sell them cheaper. But the pattern being upside down is not a minor defect so I wouldn’t buy shirts with that big a defect in🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ @Skyblue__Sam seen it and has stopped my contact and myself from making a huge mistake. Apologies for this it was a genuine oversight and not one I’ve came across before.

@PixelCNinja Best, aside from Virtua Tennis 2 which was subtly improved but far better!

Virtua Tennis launched on Sega Dreamcast in July 2000. Hitmaker's arcade-perfect port delivered buttery-smooth controls, explosive power shots, stunning animation and endless multiplayer that turned any living room into a tennis court. Still the greatest sports game the Dreamcast ever had.

@HLTCO If 😭

Coventry City will be mathematically promoted back to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years if they win today at home to Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough fail to beat Portsmouth. They were relegated at the end of the 2000/01 season, bringing an end to an unbroken 34 year spell in the top flight and have endured all sorts since, including two temporary moves away from their stadium (which they now finally own thanks to the efforts of owner Doug King) and a drop down as low as League Two in 17/18. Lampard’s time in charge has been remarkable, with his current record standing at 42 wins and just 20 defeats in 77 games. This season, his side have 84 goals (15 more than the next best in the Championship) and have looked every inch promotion winners throughout the campaign. I have to say, I’m extremely happy for them as a club; ending a quarter of a century wait to get back into the Premier League must be a truly surreal feeling given the trials and tribulations they’ve been through since. Good luck to them. 🩵

Enjoyed covering HC Davos against ZSC Lions tonight 🇨🇭🏒 Record champions vs defending champions 🔥 Can see this one going to game 7 given their records on home ice!

☀️ A beautiful way to spend Easter Sunday 🥰 More than 10 years later, and I definitely still love Austria 🇦🇹

Sky Blues top of the league! And my sky blue egg got me a rare Eierpecken win (before I started peeling it). What a time to be a Cov fan in Austria 😂🥚 #PUSB

🏟️🇦🇹 Here to see Austria set their longest unbeaten home run of all time🤞 Come on, lads 💪

🇬🇭 Classic! Just filmed some lovely interviews with Ghana players looking ahead to the World Cup, and now the coach is gone 😮 Luckily not too many of the questions are invalid after that🤞

🇦🇹 Austria 5-1 Ghana 🇬🇭 🇩🇪 Germany 2-1 Ghana 🇬🇭 It really makes you wonder... 🔮

@SweeperPod See you there! 👋

🇨🇭 WE'RE FINALLY COMING TO THUN 🤩🔜 We will be in Switzerland on 11 April to watch promoted league leaders Thun face Basel (and maybe even seal the Super League title)! If you are a Thun supporter or you're going to be in the city for this game against reigning champions Basel, let us know. We'd love to meet you!

anja-schmidt.at/open-house-the… Just two more chances to see me as an "impressively convincing misogynistic racist in a pin-striped suit" 😬😬😬 The Great Gatsby, Theater Spielraum, 1070 Wien 🎭

Really enjoyed covering the AFC Women's Asian Cup! Signed off the other day after the semi-final which saw the Matildas go on to reach the showpiece. Congratulations to Japan who were worthy winners, but Australia sure put on a great show! 🇯🇵🇦🇺 youtu.be/Y3u1K_S-ZSQ?is…

✨ 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ✨ 🇯🇵 Maika Hamano delivers a moment of magic. A strike that echoes across a nation and ignites dreams of glory! #WACFinal | #WAC2026 | #JPNvAUS

@PixelCNinja For me, Virtua Tennis 2 updated the formula with just the right tweaks. A small but significant improvement in animations and an added shot type for loads more depth. It's still ridiculously playable today, it hits the perfect spot between realism and pure fun.

In Virtua Tennis (released on October 6, 2000 for the Dreamcast), Sega proved that "realism" doesn't have to be boring. By taking the lightning-fast arcade engine and adding a deep World Tour mode, they created what many still consider the greatest sports game ever made, a title so intuitive that anyone could pick up a controller and feel like a pro within thirty seconds. Grand Slam Intel: The Two-Button Mastery: Unlike modern tennis sims with twenty different shot modifiers, Virtua Tennis uses just two buttons: Topspin and Slice. The depth comes from your positioning and how long you hold the direction during your swing. If you're planted, you're dangerous; if you're running, you're toast. The "World Tour" Grind: This was the secret sauce of the Dreamcast port. You create a player and travel the globe, but instead of just playing matches, you compete in bizarre training mini-games, like knocking down giant bowling pins with serves or protecting a series of targets from a ball machine. The Roster of Legends: You get to play as (or against) icons like Jim Courier, Tommy Haas, and Cedric Pioline. Each has a specific "style", Courier is a baseline power hitter, while Tim Henman is the serve-and-volley king. The 4-Player Smash: This was the ultimate "party" game for the Dreamcast. With the system's four built-in controller ports, doubles matches were chaotic, high-speed affairs that usually ended in a lot of shouting and "accidental" lobs.

@MichaelRosenYes I had a very, very lucky escape when I contracted bacterial Meningitis at 18, having moved to a new town. The red spots came up only AFTER I was hospitalised, but I distinctly remember becoming sensitive to lights as the first sign something was wrong.

This is how meningitis sepsis (or septicaemia as it used to be called) happens. youtube.com/watch?v=EO4Obm…

I truly LOVE my work as a commentator, but I'm really happy to have the chance to get back on stage this month! The Great Gatsby will be my first theatre show in 6 years 😱 If you're in Vienna this week or next, I'd love to see you there! 🎟️ openhousetheatre.at/season/the-gre…

@asothdotcom Risky business especially given that they were already through!

Meanwhile, in the Asian Cup… North Korea have refused to resume the game after China’s second goal. Farcical scenes and at halftime we collectively have no idea if DPRK will be out in the second half… #PRKvCHN

Working on AFC Women's Asian Cup coverage on International Women's Day. Nice 💪 Love to see Women's Football growing across the globe 📈