Some of the papers this morning – The Telegraph, The Independent, and the folk over at - have been reporting that the Ö÷²¥´óÐã has apologised for there being too much sport on Ö÷²¥´óÐã One last Saturday. This has, in turn, produced plenty of blog comment saying "why apologise for a great day of sport?" So I thought I'd better explain what's going on!
As the full statement makes clear, we believe the scheduling last weekend was right. is tremendously popular and the game had a peak audience of 7m - so absolutely worth its place in the Ö÷²¥´óÐã One Saturday night schedule. I've just done a phone-in on Radio 5 Live where most of the callers emphatically agreed.
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You may have seen the very exciting news that Ö÷²¥´óÐã will be staged in Liverpool this year.
After 53 years in London, we moved the event outside of the capital for the first time ever two years ago. Our time at the NEC Birmingham was a huge success and nearly 8,000 people were able to view the show live, creating an incredible atmosphere.
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is one of those rare days when I wish I had a proper job and got weekends off.
Can I recommend a lie-in followed by a large late breakfast, a bit of on the settee and then down the pub for EIGHT hours of action, previews and analysis of Wales v Italy, Ireland v Scotland and France v England.
Get there for our preview show at 2pm. John Inverdale will be joined in Paris by Jeremy Guscott and Austin Healey. We'll have the usual mix of chat and features, including a fascinating interview with and done by Jonathan Davies. We'll also have a tribute to the two weeks ago.
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in our favoured live Saturday evening slot, Manchester United have, remarkably, drawn Premier League opposition for the 11th consecutive FA Cup round. For the second consecutive season, Pompey will make the long trek to Old Trafford thinking the draw has done them no favours.
However, this time, our live cameras won't be there. Instead, for Barnsley v Chelsea with a 5.30pm kick-off on Saturday, 8 March. Sky will show the Old Trafford tie on Saturday lunchtime and the Ö÷²¥´óÐã have two live ties on the Sunday: Boro or Sheffield United v Cardiff with a 1.10pm kick-off and Bristol Rovers v West Brom at 6pm.
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We're at the halfway stage of the new and it seems a good time to take stock.
The new format was never going to be everyone's cup of tea and I understand why a few people have complained.
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We've reached that stage of the three-weekly cycle which accompanies the FA Cup here in Match of the Day blogland: I appear online to explain the rationale behind our choice of live FA Cup ties, and then receive brickbats for our having picked all the wrong games!
We've already received one rant by post about our opting for Manchester United v Arsenal as our Saturday teatime live game. A tie between the two leading teams in this season's Premier League, the most successful duo in Premier League and FA Cup history, with the country's two top goalscorers, longest serving managers and leading contenders for player of the season did rather jump out of the draw at us, it's true.
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is back and we’re doing something we’ve never done before by going overseas to kick off the new series with Gabby, Matt Pinsent and in Beijing for a special Olympic programme.
We’re in the process of stitching all the different pieces together in the edit suites as I write this but already I can see just what a surprising place Beijing is.
We’ve all seen pictures of the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the exotic food – Tanni ate scorpions from one street food stall - but there are also amazing new skyscrapers, millions of cars instead of bikes and, just like any British city, a chain of pizza restaurants.
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If there's one sport I truly grew up with, it was . My grandad was a supporter; and most of the older members of the family had been present at in Bradford for the famous Cup Final replay in 1954 that was watched by more than 100,000 people. As a youngster I spent plenty of time myself at Odsal and Headingley and at many of the smaller grounds around Yorkshire.
These days I have to be impartial about all sports, and we try to balance our coverage budgets with the needs of our sports-loving audiences - so rugby league doesn't get preferential treatment, and I now hugely enjoy an afternoon of too. But sometimes we're accused by rugby league fans of being biased against the sport, so this is an update on some developments which I hope will prove we're serious about the game's future.
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You just can't trust the French! Yes I know that seems a bit harsh, but bear with me as there is a reason for such seeming xenophobia.
The regular reader (thank you!) of this blog will have spotted that my efforts last week included the most seering, incisive bit of sports betting advice for many a year - move over Angus Loughran!
What I said was that France were my tip to take the title - and here's the big one - the French winger Vincent Clerc was my tip to be the Player of the Tournament. Clerc didn't let us down at Murrayfield last Sunday with his two-try, man of the match performance, as back down their throats with the most convincing win of the first weekend.
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One story last week will have slipped under most people's radar, yet it could still have significant implications for the biggest sporting event of the year.
while his wife and two-month-old baby remain under house arrest.
Human rights issues are not new in China, but as the Olympics gets ever closer they will be brought into sharper focus.
The Beijing authorities are under scrutiny like never before - their reaction to that increased media attention could determine whether the decision to award them the Games is judged a success or a hopelessly misguided error.
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And so it turns out the unbeatable .
I guess most of you who stayed up on Sunday night expected to see Super Bowl history made, but not in terms of a Giants upset.
Regardless of who you were supporting, there's no doubt that it was one hell of a finish, and we're glad that nearly stayed up until 3.30am to watch it with us.
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When he runs out at Murrayfield on Sunday, Scotland's full-back can probably claim to have had the most unusual build-up to this year's .
That's because three weeks ago while his team-mates were battling it out in the various European Club competitions, Rory joined a five day trip to South Africa alongside fellow RBS ambassador Jason Leonard and the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's John Inverdale and Jeremy Guscott.
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