uk_martin

And in football, you hear of teams getting punished for the actions of their fans. (e.g. racist chanting) "Third Party Punishments" are not at all uncommon.

I had a teacher at school who, if someone talked in class, he wouldn't punish the kid, he'd punish the rest of the class instead. (you can guess the rest) If ZG get punished, you can bet your bottom dollar that Dudek won't be flavour of the month there any longer. Other riders wouldn't want to be in his position, that's for sure. May make them think twice about taking the wrong turning in life.

Yeah - problem with Google or Bing translations is what to make of them. My friend in Poland tipped me off that they are now expecting that Stal Gorzow could be facing Leszno instead of Zielona Gora in the play-off's if the authorities are hard on Falubaz. Time will tell I guess. So there you have it...taking drugs not only cheats yourself, it could cheat your team mates, and the supporters who would be looking forward to a humdinger of a local derby too.

Translate and make of this article what you will.. http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/465476/wyniki-spar-u-falubazu-moga-zostac-zweryfikowane-betard-sparta-pewna-utrzymania

I've heard from a Polish source that there is a possibility that Falubaz Zielona Gora may have the points scored by Dudek stripped away from them (and re-allocated?) Not sure if this is just idle speculation of if it is being considered by the authorities, whether it will be enacted, but it could have a devastating impact on the final league table and to the play-offs if it happens. Has anyone else seen/read/heard anything to elaborate on this?

Sorry to go nagging on about this, but please see my previous post. EVERYONE claims to have taken drugs by mistake. EVERYONE claims that they didn't know what they were consuming. Lance Armstrong claimed his innocence. Linford Christie claimed his innocence. What else do you expect Patyck Dudek to say? The thing about drugs is, you are assumed guilty until proven guilty! That's the way. No leniency because you are a speedway rider, or because you are a nice guy, or because you help old ladies to cross the road. Get found with drugs in your system and that's it. Just be grateful that they don't banish drug takers to Siberia any more in the old East European countries and that in a couple of years time he'll be back.

Got a nagging feeling I do

Check out other threads which go along the lines of “Speedway is not run professionally” as a starting point. Management and organisation of the sport has always been called into question when compared to other “proper” sports. SO – do we want to add to the accusations that Speedway is soft on drug takers and drunkards? Do we want other sports to ban its competitors when found positive for drug taking but only slap speedway riders on the wrists? Is that the way to prove Speedway to be a “proper” and “professional” sport? Baseball in the USA is going down this path of appeasement to drug takers and it’s rapidly becoming a sport of ridicule as a result. Is that where we want Speedway to go too? So, the case for the defence is that Dudek inadvertently took the drug. He wasn’t aware that it was in something that he consumed. Well, would you expect anything else to be said? Lance Armstrong used a similar defence. As did Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. Check out this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_athletics - and ask yourself how many of these you think held their hands up and said “fair cop guv, you got me fair and square”? With neigh-on EVERYONE denying willingly or knowingly taking drugs, how differently can you take one person’s claims to everyone else’s? Just because you have an affinity to him because he’s a nice lad (albeit a Falubaz rider LOL) and he’s in your sport and it’s a first offence…he’s been busted the same as all the others have been busted and he has to be treated the same as all the others. Sorry but soft soaping this case isn’t the answer. If he’s got a 2 year sentence, then that’s par for the course, and is the correct verdict IMHO. Other sports have coped without their banned superstars, Speedway will need to do so too.

Not easy in the slightest. What is "decent"? "Decent" according to the definition of the Radio 1 playlist? Radio 2?? Radio 3??? Smooth FM?? Planet Rock??? Music is one of those things where you ain't gonna please all of the people all of the time... UNLESS,.. ...you take the matter REALLY seriously, and develop what Monster/BSI do at some of the continental SWC / SGP meetings and have a number of "name DJ's" with their mobile rigs "pumping out their sounds" for the people around them to enjoy at various points around the track. If you don't like the music of one DJ, you can stand closer to another DJ whose music you might like better. Be interesting if a promoter dare to upset the "done it this way for generations" applecart and ditched the stadium announcer / DJ doubling-up role and employed / showcased the local nightclub DJ's to do the filling in bit between the racing. That said, you might get lots of complaints from the grannies and grandads at the track who will think this is all too noisy, and nobody is playing Glenn Miller any more...but as I say, you can't please everyone all the time.

Well I'll be... Hands up everyone who knew that...c'mon hands in the air...I can't see many hands out there... I suggest that Monster do a bit of marketing with the message that their drink does NOT rehydrate you...just to be sure that no-one else gets it all wrong about them again.

Reports of Darcy being "dehydrated" no doubt would have not best pleased his sponsors, Monster. With a limitless supply of the energy drink at his disposal, to claim to be dehydrated doesn't make Monster's ability to rehydrate and energize seem very good does it?

Not sure that a big crowd makes an event feel better than it is. More like a big crowd turns the event into what it is. i.e. an evening of entertainment. it comes down to whether speedway is best optimised as a live event to be enjoyed in the stadium by those there, or whether it is to be optimised for television coverage. Having been stood frozen on the terraces whilst SkySports have their interviews, play adverts, then more interviews etc etc, I know I'd rather that the sport be optimised for the fans in the stadiums, and the TV presentation worked around that, than the alternative. It's a formula that works in Poland and could be better for us here. A recipe for genocide. All those grannies and grandads dying of heart attacks and shock on race nights. British fans aren't in the prime of their youth any more!

Isn't there an energy drink, similar to Red Bull called "Afterburner"? Who knows what goes into some energy drinks. If it is an energy drink I doubt if Monster or Red Bull will think too kindly of it.

I could forgive Jacks naivety and technical ignorance. No one is offended by them. However his (& Sam's) repeated mis-pronounciation of riders names was painful to hear. These are real people with fans and families and they do the affected people an insult by cocking thir names up. A professional commentator learns the names and how to pronounce them. It's not that hard. Rugby commentators have twice as many names to remember.

Wrong. It was more like (at a guess) 5000. The away pen was packed with Stal fans and I was on the home straight which was pretty full in the central enclosure and 50% full elsewhere where it was in the shade. The back straight where the ultras were was 60% full but around the bends it was very spartan. Didn't help having the Tour of Poland push bike race in town nor the World Volleyball Championships hogging the TV coverage.

Yeah, those pesky Poles again eh? Dammed un-British all these foreigners trying to PROMOTE the sport (remember "promotion? No? Don't worry, nor can anyone else in British speedway) Anyway as I'll be going to this as part of a round trip the day after the Gorzów SGP I have to say I'm really looking forward to it and seeing another exciting afternoon of racing. Enjoy your humbugs.

http://www.monsterenergyswc.com/news/article/3549/swc/poles-relish-swc-pressure How come "Team Jensen" (MJJ, MBJ, etc) have fallen out of favour with the Danish authorities? Oops. Sorry for double post. The perils of mobile phones. Why is there no delete button?

Just add a Philips...or rather DON'T lol

Got our tickets. Can't wait for next week! It's going to be a great trip I think. Weather forecast looks reasonable (without being totally tropical), so it should be good. Be interesting to see who we bump into out there, and it would be nice to say hello to anyone off here who's going to be there too.

Is there a "Miss Polish Brolly Dolly 2014" competition running anywhere? I'd nominate the 4 ladies from Torun as leading candidates right now. What do you mean "sexist tosh"? lol If you can lust after Daria, why not those lovely start line ladies?

I went to the SWC in Gorzow a few years ago, and met some of the locals over some beers etc. It's a very welcoming town that is SO big into speedway, Still in touch with a lot of the people who I've gotten to know over there, and visit regulartly. I just took to the place. Yes other towns are more picturesque and Torun's stadium may be a little nicer, but at the end of the day, it's as much a "people thing" who you latch on to. Have been back every year since, and wouldn't miss the home meeting against Falubaz for anything! Needless to say, I'm more than a little pleased with today's result!

Yes please. I'll put your name on a can/bottle in return. Be good to be able to say hello if you are going to Tampere! Nah, what I can't drink I'll have to carry...so it'll have to be drunk lol.

Last time in Sweden (Malilla) we got some nice bottles of imported German Pils at Lidl, at what we would call "Lidl prices" rather than "Swedish prices". Obviously from the information above, they would have been 3.5% proof or less, but they tasted nice and we thought that they were very good value for money. Thanks for the tips though. €15 for 24 cans really would be a good deal, even in the UK! Would be happy with that. Doesn't the ferry stop off at Mariehamm? Are there advantages to using it's tax haven status for getting even cheaper beer?

Hi Matt Hope that life in Helsinki is good. Do they still have the Helsinki ex-pats v Stockholm e-pats cricket match in the summer in that park just north of the city centre? I got roped into that once in my youth/backpacking days lol I'll be with some friends (Mr & Mrs Brummiestormer) and doing the Finnish SGP a little differently to most. We are flying into Sweden on the Thursday, then going to see Gripana v Lejonen on the Thursday night before sailing into Helsinki on the Silja Line ferry on Friday night (arriving Sat morning). We are hiring a car to drive to Tampere before reversing the journey on the Sunday, and catching Indianerna v Elit Vetlanda on the Tuesday before flying home on the Wednesday. Be grateful if you can let us know if there is anything we need to know, e.g. important things like where there are Aldi / Lidl stores where we can top up our stocks of beer etc. Thanks Martin

Speedway Star has learned as other have to their cost, you don't mess with the establishment. It's their way or no way.