Alan Smith

@slinkywong @WG_RumblePants I think the ECB pay the BBC for the comms

@WG_RumblePants will be interesting aunties view on this, as they provide the comms, you will in theory pay twice for the comms, license fee now this

Ridiculously short sighted by Lancs. The free YouTube channel is their shop window. It’s a massive opportunity to draw in casual fans so that they get excited enough to come along in person (and maybe even become a member and bring other people). What’s happened to the public awareness of cricket in this country since it went behind a paywall in 2005? Are Lancs still a cricket club or are they just another sport-based business that’s out to fleece their fans?

@zerodarkwokey @atrupar Bleach

@atrupar Remind me, what was Trump's policy on avian flu again? Vaccine strategy and social distancing?

Hassett: "The people who are going to the grocery store right now and seeing that egg prices are almost at an all time low understand that's because of President Trump's policy to control the avian flu ... we have a good inflation story"

@iaincartergolf @AJameson12 @bbc5live @markchapman It was brilliant coverage as usual, thought it may be dull on Saturday and Sunday when Rory had such a big lead but after two holes it all changed, it was like the Ryder Cup, every shot was crucial.

@AJameson12 @bbc5live @markchapman Not at all. We have always covered the Masters this way. The addition of the fourth hole happened a couple of years ago. No access inside the ropes at Augusta.

today I listened to the @bbc5live coverage of masters yesterday while gardening , as good as it was it was clear the BBC cut a lot of staff & a lot of the commentators were just watching coverage in a box? Such a shame , really feel for @iaincartergolf @markchapman & Co .

@oldsalfordfan @johnnyddavidson It isn't that easy especially when clubs share grounds with football clubs and they want to renew the pitch during their off season so the pitch may not be available for several weeks

@johnnyddavidson I think to help clubs the RFL should ensure they have at least 2 home games per month. Don’t understand why over the last few years clubs have a glut of away games and then home. It’s not difficult to sort out.

North Wales describe the fact they haven’t paid their own players and staff as “noise”. Then they ask fans to donate to pay their players. Zero shame.

@jcorrigangolf @flushingitgolf @TheMasters you left out 'again'

@flushingitgolf @TheMasters he acted like a child. no apology

Sergio Garcia faced up to media after his round and it went exactly as expected. He’s clearly very frustrated with the state of his game. @TheMasters

@SAINTSGUS @CraigSheph3rd @johnnyddavidson How do they do that? Did the RFU pay Worcester, Wasps and London Irish players, have the EFL paid Sheffield Wednesday players every time they were not paid.

@CraigSheph3rd @johnnyddavidson They do need to make sure players are paid though and have integrity in the Sport. That is a governing bodies role

Once again, the RFL is missing in action when another club goes to the wall. And again, another set of individuals at a club treating their staff, players and fans disgracefully. Nothing changes.

@WG_RumblePants Not long after Strauss was heard on sky when he didnt realise his mic was still live calling Pieterson the C word. He seemed to fell out with people wherever he played.

And he still didn’t get an England recall. In fact, didn’t Strauss call him shortly afterwards to tell him that, no matter how many runs he scored, he wouldn’t play for England again? I’m not usually on KP’s side, but it feels like he was hard done by on that occasion.

@ES_News_ Love the way it poses infront of the carnage whilst chomping on the Christmas decoration.

It started as a quiet morning in the Wiltshire village of Upper Seagry. The kind of place where not much usually happens and the biggest disturbance might be a passing tractor or a delivery van. Then a billy goat decided to change that. What followed was something straight out of a sitcom. The goat went on a full rampage through the village, charging around gardens, chasing a local woman, and even stopping to help himself to the oranges on her Christmas wreath. At that point, neighbours did what anyone would do in the circumstances. They dialled 999. Two response officers, PC Ferris and PC Miller, arrived to find the situation already well underway. This was no simple case of guiding a stray animal home. This was a determined, fast-moving, orange-stealing goat with no intention of cooperating. Out came the riot shields. Out came a lasso. After a short but memorable battle of wits, which included the goat slipping the rope once, the officers managed to bring the situation under control. The runaway was safely secured and escorted back to a very relieved owner. All in a day’s work. It is moments like this that remind you no two shifts are ever the same. One minute it is routine patrol, the next you are dealing with a rampaging goat with a taste for festive decorations. Proper job from Wiltshire Police.

@RedVeeDotNet Thia week the complaints will be there is no Thursday game even though when there is a Thursday game the same people will say that they do not like Thursday games.

For all the criticism of Sky’s RL coverage: we get every single game. The original plan for the deal was for the coverage to be the Two main games as normal on Sky, and the other games to be on Super League’s own streaming service with 4 cameras at each ground to allow for a Video Ref. They can’t be on the main channels due to Super League trying to sell their own online streaming channel. Their availability via the Red Button is a BONUS to Sky subscribers. Sky may have 8 sports channels and in an ideal world would rather show the live game rather than an old replay at the same time as channel filler but: A) Not allowed under the contract B) Don’t have the production trucks/staff to cover every game with the broadcasting quality needed to show them on main channels C) I doubt clubs would want it as it’d damage crowds further. It’s no different than Sky’s red button EFL coverage of every game and those likely draw more viewers! Understand where the game is and how lucky we are to get every one shown live - even the biggest league in the world, the Premier League doesn’t offer that.

@Angrypatriots76 @atrupar Is a fake lie the truth?

@atrupar Didn’t you make up a fake lie yesterday that Trump was in the hospital? You’re despicable

Balint: "If President Biden or President Obama had said anything remotely like this, it would be nonstop coverage on every single channel and everyone on the other side of the aisle would be howling about it and demanding that they step down."

@xAviation I was brought up by Heathrow with our house right under the flightpath, wehn Concord flew in for the first time the whole street was stood out to watch

When the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft landed at LAX for the very first time, thousands gathered just to witness the giant of the skies. Its sheer size, double-deck structure, and whisper-quiet landing left aviation enthusiasts and travelers alike in awe.

@Knesix It is when they come back and there is no contact for a while

If you were around in 1986, you know you squeezed your butt hard when Artemis II went through this stage

@98NotOut The 5 minute bell

The clatter of spikes coming down the pavilion steps. The sound of the ground announcer wafting over the tannoy. Polite applause from the supporters. Freshly cut grass. Pristine Whites. Shiny red ball. The umpire's shout of "Play!" and that first thwack of willow on leather....

@sam_stoffel They should look at Freddie Laker also, he started low budget flying to New York.

every school should teach how Richard Branson started an airline with no money: to launch a transatlantic service, you need a Boeing 747... that's hundreds of millions of dollars. Branson started Virgin Atlantic with nothing. here’s what he did: he called Boeing's main switchboard and asked if they had a 747 sitting around that nobody was using. they hung up on him. he kept calling. eventually someone transferred him to the head of commercial sales to "get rid of him properly". head of commercial sales: "in every country, we have one customer. in the UK, it's British Airways. there's nothing to talk about." Branson's reply: "just humour me. do you have an old 747 lying around?" "...actually, yeah, we do." "what would you lease it for?" "about $200-300k a month." Branson convinced them to lease him that 747 because it was sat there doing nothing. then he structured the whole thing so he never needed to invest cash upfront: > customers buy tickets months before the flight > fuel gets paid 30 days after the plane lands > lease payments in arrears if you can start an airline with no money, you can start anything with no money. you just have to replace capital with creative thinking. & that's what we should be teaching our kids.

@I_amMukhtar She shot her dog for less

Former Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem says she is devastated and blindsided, and is asking for privacy and prayers after it was revealed that her husband, Bryon Noem, had been living a secret life cross-dressing and messaging fetish models.

@MRKSBWN @TheBardOfAnlaby @mitchy07101987 and use a lot more fuel than a car and don't talk to me about the insurance

Can't book a driving test this year for my lad. You fucking stink Keir Starmer. Country is broken. Lad's crying now.

@MartinKnight_ Did the getaway vehicle have wagon wheels?

The KitKat heist is no longer the topic of the day. Finding the culprits will be no picnic. But if a bounty is offered who knows?

@Footballfights He got the balls and by the letter of the law he had to go

A classic post... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🙈

@leedsrhinos So sad to read this. RIP Geoff

It is with deep sadness that the club has learnt of the passing of Geoff Burrow, the father of Rob Burrow. Our deepest condolences go to Geoff's wife Irene and the whole Burrow family at this time. May he rest in peace therhinos.co.uk/article/23118/…

@game7__ Those people are standing in front of me when I am teeing off, even behind me they are not safe as once I hit the tee box in front and the ball came back at us. 😂

Gary Woodland is the anti-Tiger Woods in every possible way. Allow me to explain why. Gary Woodland just won the Houston Open by five shots. Two and a half years ago, doctors cut a baseball-sized hole in his skull to remove a brain lesion. He spent two nights in the ICU. There was a real chance he would wake up paralyzed. This is the best comeback story in golf right now and it's not even close. The full story behind today is insane. In 2019, Gary Woodland won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He finished 13-under and beat Brooks Koepka by three strokes. At that point, Woodland had four PGA Tour wins including a major, and was ranked 12th in the world. Then everything slowly fell apart. After the 2023 Masters, Woodland became consumed by fear. Not regular nerves. Actual, debilitating terror. He was afraid he was going to die. Afraid something was going to happen to his kids. Afraid of falling to his death in his sleep. At the Memorial Tournament in June 2023, he woke up in his hotel room and clung to the mattress for an hour. He was convinced that if he let go, he would fall. His hands were trembling. He had no appetite. Spasms would jolt him awake at night. He was losing focus over putts. Forgetting what club he was holding mid-swing. An MRI finally revealed the cause. A lesion was growing on his brain. It was pressing directly on the part of his brain that controls fear and anxiety. Think about that. The thing responsible for every irrational terror he was experiencing had a physical, medical explanation. His brain was literally being pressed into a constant state of fear. In September 2023, Woodland had a craniotomy. Surgeons removed as much of the lesion as they could, roughly half, because it was pressed against the optic tract of his left eye. They cut off blood supply to the rest to try to stop it from growing. He walked out of the hospital two days later. Started putting again two days after that. He came back to the PGA Tour in January 2024 at the Sony Open. But he was nowhere near the same player. In 26 starts during 2024, he had three top-25 finishes. His best was a tie for ninth at the Shriners Children's Open. For a former U.S. Open champion, those are survival numbers. And nobody knew the full extent of what he was dealing with. Because on top of the brain surgery and the recovery, Woodland had been diagnosed with PTSD. He kept it hidden for over a year. He described being hypervigilant on the course. A walking scorer once got too close from behind and startled him so badly that his vision went blurry and he forgot where he was. He would go into bathrooms between holes and cry. He would break down in the scoring trailer after rounds. He would sprint to his car in the parking lot just to hide it from everyone. He said he felt like he was living a lie. Spending so much energy pretending to be okay that he had nothing left for the actual golf. On March 9, three weeks before this Houston Open, Woodland finally told the truth publicly. He sat down with Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard and revealed everything. The PTSD. The crying. The fear. All of it. He said after that interview it felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off his back. Then he showed up at Memorial Park. He opened with a 64. Then a 63. Then a 65. Then a 67 on Sunday to close it out. 259 total. A tournament record. 21-under par. Five strokes clear of Nicolai Højgaard. Wire to wire. Led every single round. His first win since the 2019 U.S. Open. Nearly seven years between victories. Brain surgery, PTSD, two years of hiding in bathrooms between holes, and a thousand pounds of weight he was carrying that nobody could see. This is a guy who was a basketball player first. He grew up in Topeka, Kansas, won state basketball titles at Shawnee Heights High School, and played a year of college basketball at Washburn before he realized golf was his future. He won the Courage Award from the PGA Tour in 2025. The seventh player to ever receive it. And now, at 41 years old, with titanium plates holding his skull together, he walked into Memorial Park three weeks after telling the world the truth about what he had been going through and played the best golf of the entire field for four straight days. The full breakdown of Woodland's career, the surgery, the PTSD, and how he got to this point is here: itsgame7.com/news/gary-wood… There is a reason this one hits different. Comeback stories in sports usually involve torn ACLs or shoulder surgeries. Things you can see. Things that heal on a timeline. Woodland's comeback was from something that rewired his brain. Something that turned his own mind against him. And the hardest part of his recovery wasn't physical. It was admitting to the people around him that he wasn't okay. Three weeks ago he said the words out loud. Today he won a golf tournament by five shots.