Grassmarket

Czech pitching a bit of a weakness as Spain lead 21-2. Batters restore national pride - 21-7 in the 5th & Czechs avoid an early implementation of the mercy guillotine.

Well, was 5-3 not so long ago, but now we are 10 3, bases loaded, no outs & comms are discussing the mercy rule.

Les lanceurs de relève ne sont pas au hauteur. 4-1.

Uh oh, France take a 1-0 lead. Empire Strikes Back 2-1. British catcher & lead-off batter is called Harrison Ford btw, France have a mascot. It’s a Chicken. France turn a double play! But GBR score 3-1. Top 4th.

Agree. I don’t think that a bunch of people who think you can run an industrialised country off windmills or that men can get pregnant have the standing to go around telling anyone else how to live their lives.

Valieva case still proceeds at glacial pace: No official result yet in the Team Event. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/62926091

This is generally quite common: I’m perfectly sure the whole bureaucracy is so crazy that people just walk away.

We’ve got an every-expense-spared Opening Ceremony! Nothing says Baseball like a brass band in traditional Bavarian Costume! Still, can guarantee that this will be the best beer & bratwurst at any baseball stadium. Oh, Help me God, a German rapper!

Record to beat is the 40 minute - Sultanate of Zanzibar* War of 27 August 1896. * Zanzibar is now part of , but at the time belonged to Oman.

Great story here. 49-year old mature student gets a place on a US College Football team! Season has started, team are 2&1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/09/15/ruschel-north-dakota-college-football/

Time of the year when the kids get their chance to play with the big boys & Archie Ryan took his with a win in Slovensko up a Belgian-style climb - ie a cobbled hill with a church on top of it.

Thus proving the SDs point that there is no difference between any of the establishment parties. They always unite against the voters to protect their own privileged position, even when they don’t win.

End of the Rugby League season North & South Don't think I'll see much of the Cycling World Champs, but most of the last batch of one-dayers. End of the Triathlon & Speedway seasons. After that, we are in a traditional slump period waiting for the RL World Cup and the Winter Sports season to start.

Team GB Elite Men Ethan Hayter (Road race and time-trial) Luke Rowe Jake Stewart Ben Swift Connor Swift Ben Tulett Ben Turner Fred Wright Elite and Under-23 Women Elynor Backstedt (U23) Pfeiffer Georgi (U23) Anna Henderson Elizabeth Holden Anna Shackley (U23) Alice Towers (U23) Under-23 Men Bob Donaldson Sean Flynn Leo Hayter (Road race and time-trial) Oliver Stockwell Sam Watson Junior Men Jed Smithson Josh Tarling (Road race and time-trial) Zachary Walker Junior Women Zoe Backstedt (Road race and time-trial) Grace Lister Awen Robert Izzy Sharp (Road race and time-trial)

Now that the Vuelta is over, and pending the start of the Tours of & tomorrow. Here's the timetable for the World Championships in translated in to British time. 18/09/2022 00:35 Women & U23 ITT 18/09/2022 04:40 Men ITT 19/09/2022 04:20 U-23 Men ITT 20/09/2022 00:30 Junior Women ITT 20/09/2022 04:20 Junior Men ITT 21/09/2022 05:20 Team TT Mixed Relay 22/09/2022 23:15 Junior Men RR 23/09/2022 04:00 U-23 Men RR 23/09/2022 23:00 Junior Women RR 24/09/2022 03:25 Women & U23 RR 25/09/2022 01:15 Men RR

I think the Russians said they’d be organising an international (well, not very international) competition in addition to the usual Russia Cup.

The Royal Bees have been formally informed of the death of the Queen-in-Chief. The royal beekeeper - in an arcane tradition thought to date back centuries - has informed the hives kept in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House of the Queen’s death. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11199259/Royal-beekeeper-informed-Queens-bees-HM-died-King-Charles-new-boss.html

Last globally broadcast big meet of the season is the Boris Hanžeković Memorial from Zagreb on Sunday. Then after that we are into road racing, marathons & cross-country until late January. https://www.youtube.com/c/WorldAthletics/videos

Rugby League also goes ahead. Test cricket restarts tomorrow.

Heard yesterday that the race used 40 specialist motorbike Police because in Britain races are not on TdF-style roads closed & barricaded all day, so that is probably it. Anyway, all levels of professional football are off this weekend in all four leagues.

I think Sunday's stage on the Isle of Wight was scheduled to feature one the Royal Palaces so....the stage in Scotland on Monday actually went through the village of Balmoral where the Queen died.

The Queen never ever told us what to do: she just set an example. Would much rather have that than (for example) the President of Ireland who recently called for government censorship.

And she did in fact frequently repair her own Land Rover! (Based around World War II-era technology)

Tonights UEFA games go ahead - in fact, some were already in the middle of the action. No cricket tomorrow.

I’d be very surprised if any sports take place in the UK much before next weekend, or if Brits competing abroad do not withdraw. Will post news here.