If this bar bill was real…

…it might be the best bar bill ever.

Here’s the story:

Paavo Arhinmäki (Left Alliance), Finland’s Minister of Culture and Sport, has apologised for his conduct in Sochi on Saturday, conceding to reporters at the Helsinki Airport on Monday that the evening had got out of hand.

“Naturally, ministers should be able to control their partying in order to prevent it from going so far. It went too far,” he admitted when asked whether Saturday’s events were fitting for a minister. I haven’t passed out before. I use alcohol with moderation, but this time the party got out of hand,” emphasised Arhinmäki.

In addition, the minister reminded that the party was a private function with members of the Finnish ice hockey team. “Of course, it’s part of my official duties to also take part in such parties,” he added.

And here’s a cleverly-made mock up of the bill. It’s very amusing.

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My favourite item has to be:

1 Sircus Midget With Hula Hoops

But wow, that’s pricey for a small person. You can get a couple of Blonde Excort ladies for less than that (see a couple of lines above) (although Whipped Cream is extra) (obviously).

To be fair, if it wasn’t for sending out for the Karjala, it would have been a more than reasonable evening to celebrate the Finnish ice hockey bronze medal.

Can’t see the wood

BYE BYE FOREST!

Maybe tomorrow, I’ll do *that* post in response to *that* post in response to *that* other post. Maybe.
But all that nonsense pales into insignificance when Sheffield United get through to the sixth round of the FA Cup:

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These the scenes at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane as Chris Porter put us ahead in the dying moments. He scored again a couple of moments later to make it 3-1.
Cue international delirium.

The match is on DSTV at midnight and I’m probably going to be good for nothing tomorrow.

UPDATE: And here’s some (*cough*… “amateur”) video of the penalty.

Love it! 😀

Snowboard Start

I flicked on the TV in the hope of getting a bit of Ice Hockey from the Sochi Olympics. Instead, I got Freestyle Snowboarding. And here’s the top of the course with one of the Finnish competitors about to start (or “drop in”, as it’s apparently known):

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Yes. The guy next to him is knitting.

Off you go then, mate. Good luck with the run. Don’t forget to let go of my ball before you head off, hey? Wouldn’t want you getting tangled.

And before you ask: No, I have no idea.

UPDATE:

When viewers turn on the NBC broadcast of the men’s snowboard slopestyle finals Saturday night, they might see an odd sight at the top of the course: a man knitting a scarf.

That man is Antti Koskinen, Finland coach, and at Saturday’s competition he was busily working cream-colored yarn with green needles. The scarf is something others on the Finnish team will add to before handing it off to Finland’s Summer Olympic team going to Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

What they will do with a giant scarf in South America is unclear.

The idea for Koskinen to work on the scarf at the starting gate was that of Finnish snowboarder Roope Tonteri, who finished 11th Saturday.

“I think that it looks really weird, so it’s kind of funny,” Tonteri said. “Everybody just thinks, ‘What’s he doing?'”
Tonteri noted that his coach is a slow knitter, but that beats the alternative: Tonteri doesn’t knit at all.

Last Minute Winner

I stayed up awfully late watching football last night, especially since Mrs 6000 was getting up at 4:15 to head to the airport and I was getting up at 6 to get the kids to school and the me to work.

I’m knackered.

But it was SOOOOO worth it!

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After 119½ minutes of… “uninspiring” (polite terminology) football and with the threat of a penalty shootout looming large, Sheffield United substitute Shaun Miller stooped to head in from a couple of yards out after a towering header by Harry “Harry” Maguire, sending the visitors’ huge and vocal contingent into ecstasy.

I may have shouted a bit too.

blades

I’m suffering today – Scoop even commented on the “big blue lines” underneath my eyes this morning – but, fueled by imported Caribbean coffee, I’ll somehow make it through to this evening. However, please be warned that today’s productivity may be slightly reduced.

Where did all the good guys go?

Short on time, but felt that this deserved (at least) some passing comment. It’s sportingintelligence.com’s Big 5 player producer analysis. By Big 5, they mean teams in top-flight clubs in Spain’s La Liga, England’s Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga 1 and France’s Ligue 1 and by “producer”, they mean “spent 3 or more seasons developing players when aged between 15 and 21”.

It makes very interesting reading, especially the English table, which has Sheffield United at 14th place, ahead of 8 Premier League teams.

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(you’d be a fool to overlook the mighty Skelmersdale United in joint 40th as well)

It’s a good indication of the draw of the Premier League and the issues that plague smaller clubs. While the talent flows ever upwards, in search of money, fame, fortune and glory, there’s scant compensation for the little guys who have spent time and money developing the the players in question. Sheffield United’s academy regularly provides 3 of the back 4 for England’s national team, but we’re still strapped for cash and disappointingly languishing at the wrong end of League 1.

I can only hope that we rise again to our natural haunt in the Premier League and become one of those clubs which pillage the talent of the lower league clubs, as soon as possible.