(Get) A Sporting Life

I suppose I should just be thankful this is a game I get to see. It isn't too often any League One side finds itself on American television. That it is a match the Pies have almost no chance of winning should probably be beside the point. Not that that will be a comfort if City thumps them well and good. Still, the game is 43 minutes old and Notts is playing great. They are down 1 nil, but it could easily be 1-1 (Notts hit the post early on, and they just had a glorious chance in the 44th minute as I type this.) Gow, in particular, looks great. Keep it up you Pies! UPDATE: After 62 minutes: Man City 2 - 0 Notts County Notts is still playing pretty well, but set pieces have killed them. I'm just hoping they can find the back of the net at least once. UPDATE: The bottom has fallen out. Man City 5 - 0 Notts County Its too bad, the score line in no way reflects the actual game. It really flatters Man City.

Well, not everything is lost : Notts County eased any relegation fears with a comfortable win over Colchester. The U's David Mooney went close early on as his 25-yard chip beat Magpies goalkeeper Stuart Nelson, only to clip the post and bounce wide. Notts then wrested control of the game and went ahead when Alan Gow set free Craig Westcarr, who poked the ball past Mark Cousins and tapped home. It was 2-0 soon afterwards when Nathan Clarke deflected Connor Clifford's corner into his own net. It wasn't that there was a credible relegation fear really, but there were a couple poor performances of late. The Pies may be only 4 points above the drop zone, but because of all the crappy weather this winter they have four games in hand on both Swindon and Walsall. Notts have only one game in hand on Dag & Red, but they are 7 points back. As for Bristol Rovers, the less said the better. Next up is the FA Cup replay at Manchester City. That could get ugly, but the payday should b...

The Magpies are having a tough go of it today. I have to imagine the spirit in the club is low, given all of the off-the-field trials. Fulham up 2 at the half. UPDATED: Fulham 4 - 0 Notts County Valiant run ending in naught. Maybe like the entire existence of the club?

Notts County plays Fulham tomorrow in the 5th round of the FA Cup tomorrow, and I expect them to get absolutely drilled. Notts had been having their finest season in a decade, but the wheels have fallen off the club. Old investors turned out to be con-artists who have, basically, bankrupted the club; ol' Sven hung around as long as he could, but that only turned out to be six months; new owner seems committed to keeping the club out of administration (which is good), but seems to envision them as a permanent 3 or 4 division side (which is totally fucking unacceptable.) It's one thing to support a side that is down of their luck, but which had a history of some success and the prospect of getting back to successful ways one day. It's another thing to be supporting the equivalent of Dag & Red. I mean, if I was living in Nottingham supporting the local side even though they always offer an inferior product would be fine. But, I don't live in Nottingham. I live in the ...

Go you Pies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wigan 0 - 2 Notts County Notts County stunned Wigan with two late goals in their fourth-round replay to set up a clash with Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup. League Two County, the lowest-ranked side remaining in the competition this season, eventually took the lead via a powerful header from Stephen Hunt. Gary Caldwell then turned a Ben Davies cross into his own net only three minutes later to silence the crowd. Wigan will rue a host of saves from County goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The hosts, who came back to draw the first game 2-2, were on top for long periods but failed to find a way past the inspired keeper who turned in a performance reminiscent of his father Peter. I really thought Notts had blown it when they gave up a late lead at home to force the replay. To go in an beat a Premiere League team on their home ground is simply fantastic. Good going lads!!

So close....: Notts County 2 - 2 Wigan A late Ben Watson goal allowed Wigan to claw back a two-goal deficit and force League Two's Notts County to an FA Cup replay just when a shock looked likely. Watson struck from six yards after County failed to deal with a corner. County had gone into the break 2-0 ahead thanks to a close-range strike from the impressive Lee Hughes and Ben Davies' dipping free-kick. But Jason Scotland combined with Hugo Rodallega to beat Kasper Schmeichel and make it 2-1 before Watson's equaliser. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez had warned his side that their opponents possessed players who were more than capable of playing higher up than League Two. On this display, Notts County certainly proved that to be case, with midfielders Davies and Neil Bishop shining under the FA Cup spotlight. But the Magpies did not have quite enough quality to put Wigan to the sword as the Latics, 62 league places above their hosts, dominated the second half and take the ma...

Notts finally got to play its 3rd round FA Cup game after winter weather postponed the game twice : After a drab first 45 minutes the second half burst into life when Stephen Hunt toe-poked the opening goal for the home side from five yards. Forest Green refused to yield and hit back through striker Isaiah Rankin's venomous effort into the bottom corner. However, one minute later Magpies top scorer Lee Hughes curled in the winner. Notts County will meet Wigan at Meadow Lane on Saturday for the League Two side's first FA Cup fourth round tie in 15 years. Hughes has been on fire all season, as his 17 goals leads all League Two scorers. Well, at least we won't have long to wait for the match-up against Wigan, as long as a blizzard doesn't hit Nottingham between now and then. GO PIES!!!

Tomorrow, in the third round of the FA cup Notts County is playing Forest Green. Forest who? you say. Well, from the BBC : The tie in context • Forest Green Rovers, at fourth bottom in the Blue Square Premier, are the lowest ranked club still surviving in the FA Cup. • They are also one of four clubs from the fifth level to have fought their way through to the third round. • This is the only tie pitting a non-league side with one from League Two. Gulf in class • At fourth in League Two, Notts County are 41 places higher than Forest Green Rovers in the pecking order. If Notts really have pretensions of the Premier League in the next decade (and not the freaking Blue Square Premier league) they need to start beating the minnows. The last two years Notts got themselves knocked out in Cup competition by the likes of Havant and Waterlooville (?????) and Kettering Town. It hurts.

Minnows Havant & Waterloo grab the lead against Liverpool twice in a game Havant eventually loses 5-2. The BBC yawns and calls the Chelsea v. Wigan game the Match of the Day. They are as bad as ESPN. UPDATE: Got this from the BBC: Some years ago, there was a television advert for milk which played on the obscurity of Accrington Stanley Football Club. Up until a month ago, the same could have been said about Havant & Waterlooville. On Saturday though the south coast club from the Blue Square South stepped out of the football shadows and into the Anfield spotlight. Defying the odds, this team of part-timers, known as the Hawks, found themselves in the lead not once but twice against their illustrious millionaire rivals. To the Havant & Waterlooville faithful it was always going to be a day to remember, but scoring twice at the Kop end made it extra special. Dave Barlow, 67, took three generations of his family to the game. "Unbelievable," said Mr Barlow, from Love...

Been too busy to post lately, so here are a few riffs about what has been on my mind: * Something is missing in your sports life when you are reading dispatches from the African Cup of Nations. * There isn't a chance in hell I can stomach the absurd hype that will soon reach a fever pitch over a NE/NY Super Bowl. I've tuned out. The Patriots run at history holds all the interest for me that Bonds' HR chase did, though in this case I imagine I will tune in for some of the actual game. As for #756, I'm pleased to say I still have no idea what the count was, where the pitch was, what it was or where the ball landed. I've never seen the AB or heard the call and only seen the first part of the swing peripherally because media saturation has made it impossible to avoid. To date, I've always managed to turn away. It's the gay porn of sports to me. * Non-League Havant & Waterlooville get to make a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool in the FA Cup's 4th Round t...