Rich Graves

Hey @paramountplus 👋🏼 Why have you suddenly removed Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 from your platform?? We got to episode 10 last night and now it only goes up to 8?!

@henrywinter This will be so difficult for a human Assistant Referee to spot in real time. Imagine looking across the line at a congested set piece and trying to spot if an attackers trailing foot is level? Might work at professional level, but grassroots will suffer massively.

“Football is currently at a crossroads; while the introduction of VAR was intended to correct 'clear and obvious' errors, it has inadvertently ushered in an era of 'microscopic officiating' that is draining the joy and spontaneity from the world’s most popular sport.” Important letter sent to IFAB by broadcaster Dave Johnson urging Law-makers to adopt Arsene Wenger’s offside law (allowing daylight) to “protect the spirit of the game”. Johnson, who covers D.C. United in Major League Soccer, continues… “The Problem: Accuracy at the Expense of Atmosphere. We have reached a point where goals - the most precious commodity in football - are being disallowed because a player’s toe, elbow, or armpit is a millimeter ahead of a defender. These 'toenail offsides' do not reflect the spirit of the Law, which was originally designed to prevent goal hanging' and unfair advantages. "In the current climate: Strikers are penalized for being faster or better positioned by margins invisible to the human eye. Fans are hesitant to celebrate, waiting for a three-minute geometry lesson on a screen rather than reacting to the beauty of a goal. The 'benefit of the doubt' - historically given to the attacker - has been effectively abolished. “The Solution: The Wenger Proposal. The proposed change - stating that a player is onside if any part of their body that can score a goal is level with the second-last defender - is the logical evolution of the game. By requiring a 'clear daylight' gap between the attacker and the defender for an offside offense to occur, we return the advantage to the attacking side. This would virtually eliminate the agonizing delays caused by drawing pixelated lines to determine if a player’s shoelace was offside. “A Historic Precedent: The Lessons of Italia 90. This would not be the first time the IFAB has acted to save the game from stagnation. Following the 1990 World Cup in Italy - a tournament marred by defensive cynicism and a record-low goals-per-game average - the IFAB showed great courage by: amending the offside Law (1990), declaring an attacker 'level' as onside and introducing the back-pass rule (1992), forcing goalkeepers to use their feet. “Those changes revolutionized the sport, leading to the high-tempo, attacking football we have enjoyed for the last three decades. We find ourselves at a similar tipping point today. The game has become too clinical, and the balance has tilted too far in favor of the defending team and the video booth. “Conclusion: Football is a game of emotion, not a game of millimeters. I urge the IFAB to prioritize the 'spirit of the game' over the 'perfection of the technology'. Adopting the Wenger proposal will restore the flow of the match, encourage attacking intent, and ensure fans remain at the heart of the experience. It is time to let the players play and the fans celebrate once again."

@lestcxrsas @ixxues Keen to know where those mounts came from! If you can find out I’d appreciate it.

@ixxues My parents got it for me I’m not really sure where from but I can ask!! They’re decently thick acrylic(?) mounts that are surprisingly durable and high quality but when they’re clean they’re kinda reflective if that bothers you

i will be practicing free will and not be putting the hp stickers on

@Aldas001 I think ‘McLaren complacency’ would be more accurate than bottle. Stopped developing the car early and didn’t back one driver because they didn’t consider Max a threat.

If Max wins the title tomorrow what will be your overriding memory in the future when looking back at the 2025 season?

@simsgazette Based on a philosophy indicated by Hamilton…so they test it in a session when he isn’t driving?

Ferrari tested a 2026 prototype steering wheel yesterday in FP1. It is 'approaching the philosophy indicated by Lewis Hamilton from his time at Mercedes.' "The lower levers have been halved: from six to three, the same number that the Briton used in his previous experience in Brackley." "A choice that allows to further reduce the weight, a theme destined to become crucial in the next technical cycle, with single-seaters that will immediately work to respect the minimum limit imposed by the FIA, at the same time also freeing up legroom in the lower part." "Small details, of course, but it is precisely from these that the revolution of 2026 begins to take shape..." [via Motorsport Italy]

@SydneyLWatson Pretty sure I read some research once that suggested most elite athletes are born between Sep-Jan. Then again I was born in Jan. I’m not an elite athlete and my birthday is always cold and wet. August on the other hand ☀️

Texan boyfriend just explained that we aren't allowed to have an August-born child, because that child will be the youngest in their class and therefore, when they play sports, will be smaller than all the other kids and therefore will have a harder time. Is this seriously the shit you guys think about? He's not joking either. I genuinely don't know what to do with this. Planning kids around them playing football is so America-coded though lmao. 😂

@simsgazette F1 is almost unique in the sense that you CAN amend a result after it’s finished. It happens quite often with penalties and DSQs etc. So the whole ‘game is finished’ analogy doesn’t work. They (Merc) dropped it because they thought they’d smash 2022. That went well 🙃

🚨| Toto Wolff: "We haven’t got over [AD21]. I talked to Lewis about it yesterday – I think about it every day and so does he. And it’s stayed with the team, too. Both were deserving champions, but the referee made a bad call, to use a football analogy, and you can’t reverse it. The goal has been scored, the game is finished." [via The Telegraph]

@why_ref I can see what you’re saying, the still image doesn’t show momentum etc, but I think if you deem that to be a handball offence it has to be a red. There’s a 7 or 8 yard gap to the next defender.

@rich_graves89 Look at his positioning when he might win the ball. A defender isn't that far away, there's a decent chance that opponent is making the ground up.

No. It's not a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO). 4 criteria. 1. Distance 2. Direction of play 3. Control of the ball 4. Location and number of defenders Two many variables to see it as an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Too far, no control, defenders

@KayLFC05_ @The_Forty_Four He’s not on holiday he’s there as a guest of F1. Doesn’t take much to say ‘I’m supporting Team A today I hope they have a good race’

@The_Forty_Four So? Is he obliged to talk to someone shoving a microphone in his face on holiday? State of some of you on her

Bukayo Saka refusing to speak on the F1 Grid😬 x.com/Glassinho/stat…

@_lfcleanne Objectively very funny if he doesn’t play at all.

I get it’s his last game but I find it weird your boyhood club has won the league, you’re lifting the title in 2 days and you’re finding a way to make the efforts of the entire club all about you.

@SMitchellF1 Grosjean was ahead at the T1 apex in Belgium that time too, not the only variable though.

Some more show and tell at Christian Horner’s media session as he brought this along to argue Red Bull’s case that the penalty was harsh because Max Verstappen had got ahead at the apex of the first corner

@SMitchellF1 It’s awful. You want to see the race, and in this case championship, winner bouncing around with high energy in front of their team. Not a punctured podium 30 mins later on the back of a truck with an underwhelming backdrop.

Post-race car journey to the Vegas saps a bit too emotion from the reaction to Max winning the championship and Mercedes the race. It's like a group that's had to split itself across a taxi convoy at the start of a night out and is now making awkward conversation on the journey.

@SMitchellF1 I feel like you can frame an argument for the penalty to be valid - exactly as Ant Davidson did on Sky - but that misses the point that the *only* reason Max was ‘ahead’ at the apex was because he braked way too late and sacrificed the corner. The rule needs changing.

Stewards ruled Max ahead at apex so Norris not entitled to room on exit. Max was, but he braked too late to stay on the track himself. Stewards even factored Max role in Norris being off-track into the penalty. Apex position isn’t meant to be only factor but clearly key was here.

@Woody281C @refsupportuk Signalled for a GK yesterday, someone in the crowd giving me pelters for giving someone offside 🙄

@rich_graves89 @refsupportuk That makes sense and what I thought might be the case. People need to get their heads into the IFAB laws of the game!!

We are only a couple of weeks into the season and the football law knowledge of many “fans” and stakeholders in the game is very concerning. Last week was “you can’t be offside from a corner”🤦‍♂️ and this week it’s you can do what you want just because the ball was rolling or in the the wrong place.” It’s going to be a long season. The standard of fans is the lowest I have ever seen 👍

@Woody281C @refsupportuk I think it was in reference to the short corner that went back to the kicker. People then saying ‘you can’t be offside from a corner’ even though it was a second pass that led to the offside.

@refsupportuk Sorry, more than likely my misunderstanding of your quote ‘ you can’t be offside from a corner’. I suppose the word ‘kick’ was purposely left out?

@Chris78Williams Get your grip socks on 👀

@Steviegrieve So imagine then a set piece with a congested defensive line on the edge of the box. How can an AR in any league below a VAR one distinguish between different players boots? It would be completely unworkable.

Feet are in the same place. So because he’s leaning towards the goal, it’s offside? Change the rule. The offside line must come from the feet

@virtualstatman Thanks!! There can’t be many ‘records’ that you can lose and then regain without competing in the interim! Not that it’s one you’d want necessarily.

Welcome back Nick Heidfeld!