R.I.P.

Sorry for your/our loss (As fellow fans) Dave, Hope you could see so many standing and applauding in the 46th. I was down by the Jets fans for the second half and no lies, they all stood and clapped for a full minute. Respect to them for respecting Sy in an appropriate and dignified way. 

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, 41, and his young daughter Gigi, 13, pass away in a helicopter crash along with seven of Gigi's basketball friends and family. Considered one of the greatest sportsmen and one of the biggest sports icons in history. Idol to millions of kids around the planet, the guy who inspired millions like me to pick up a ball for the first time. Fudgeing terrible

Who hasn't heard of him? Basketballing legend. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Dennis Rodman, the list goes on. Kobe Bryant was an inspiration to so many kids. RIP.

Well apparently, there's a few poms that are bitching about all the coverage he is getting because they haven't heard of him. Quite sad really. 

I'm awaiting sports games in NZ to have a minutes silence for Kobe despite having no connection to sport in NZ.

I woulnt expect to see it but I also wouldn't be surprised if it happened in various basketball leagues around the world.

Totally, but we had one for Lomu at games which still baffles me. I don't recall any Super whatever rugby games that stopped for Steve Sumner

that may have been because he played for Wellington and was a massive star for NZ sport.

I'd be stunned if it didn't happen in every single basketball league for the next week, tbh

Jordan Sinnott. Matlock Town midfielder died after being attacked on a night out aged 25. 4 men have been arrested for murder.

was horrible to see Matlock’s twitter break the news. couldn’t imagine if something happened to one of our guys. RIP, the arrests were fast at least

The response from the football community in England has been great. His brother had originally asked for his previous clubs to donate a shirt with his name and squad number of 25 on it. Now a load of other clubs have joined in donating shirts and they will be at his funeral and then auctioned off afterwards

This is brilliant!!  Well done Phoenix.

All White Keith Nelson

played for Hamilton and Mt Wellington in National League in 70s and 80s

unlucky not to be part of the 82 team

Stuff obituary

Now there was a very likable bloke.      RIP my friend.

Keith Nelson was one of the greatest players in the New Zealand league from the mid-70's to the mid-80's and he was a legend to me as a kid growing up in New Zealand. He even scored for New Zealand against a strong England B side featuring Hoddle, Rix, Sunderland, Talbot, Roeder, Parkes etc. In the New Zealand side that day were two other Scottish-born players, Adrian Elrick and Sam Malcolmson who went on to play at the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain - against Scotland, Brazil and the USSR. Nelson was unlucky to miss out on that side due to his age (34/35 by then) and a talented generation of Kiwi strikers like Brian Turner and Wynton Rufer. 

He was still good enough after the 1982 World Cup to be re-called to the All Whites in 1983 by Alan Jones after Brian Turner had retired and Rufer etc. weren't available.

https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-new-zealand-15-october-1979-235535/

RIP Neil Innes

Passed away suddenly from a heart attack December 29 in France.

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Monty Python's main musical collaborator, musical force behind the Rutles.

I first came across Neil's music through Monty Python ("Idiot Song") when our form teacher Ken Rust at Nelson College played us the "Monty Python Live at Drury Lane" album in free periods.

Later I was a fan of the Rutles movie and the Bonzos.

One of my favourite concerts of all time was Neil Innes solo at Canterbury University during his NZ tour in 2002.

Did the full range of his music from the Bonzos to Python, the Rutles and solo.

Farewell to the "Urban Spaceman".....you did exist......

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50948921

...and then we lost Terry Jones from Monty Python last week.

He was always the amiable, gentle, witty, scholarly Welsh one.

He specialised in playing women for Monty Python (including Brian's mum in "Life of Brian")

He directed their films, "Holy Grail", Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life"

The last twenty years his TV efforts were mainly history shows reflecting his passion for medieval history.

Terry's last performances were in the Pythons' live stage shows in 2014, which was nice because, although he struggled to learn his lines due to the early stages of dementia setting in, he was able to perform with the four other surviving Pythons one last time.

Terry almost completely lost the ability to speak in the last four years before degenerative dementia claimed him last week.

"Two down, four to go" as the Pythons would say....

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51209197

Kirk Douglas  RIP

He lived to 103 and was a big star when I was growing up. 

He kicked off those immortal lines. "I am Sparticus" to which everyone else claimed to be him to....then years later it was"I'm Brian. No, I'm Brian. No, I'm Brian and so is my wife".

A good actor in so many films - .Action, Thriller, comedy. He could do it all. RIP Legend from the golden age of Cinema.

If you have Sky Movies, watch out for the Kirk Douglas season on Sky Vintage movies.

In a serendipitous piece of programming, the season had been on a few weeks when Kirk passed away in the midst of it.

They extended it and added other movies over the weekend and today.

A chance to see some of the best of his early movies such as "Champion" one of the best boxing movies ever made.

Some of them are repeated the rest of the month.

A new goal to aim for Leggy.

Almost as old as Kirk Douglas, German coaching legend Rudi Gutendorf, the former Australia, Chile, Hamburg, Schalke, Hertha Berlin etc.coach passed away in September last year aged 93.

I belatedly read his obituary recently in world Soccer magazine at the Public Library.

His last coaching job was in this part of the world when he coached Samoa in 2003 aged 77.

At the beginning of his career, he coached Duisburg to runners-up in the inaugral Bundesliga season in 1963-64.

While briefly Hamburg manager in 1977 he signed Kevin Keegan from Liverpool.

He was in charge of Chile in 1973 and helped qualify them for the 1974 World Cup in his native West Germany.

However he had to flee the country when the dictator Pinochet took over and his friend the socialist president Allende died.

(Gutendorf was a man of left-wing political views)

Thus he was unable to coach Chile in the finals.

Those of us following the All Whites on the road to Spain in 1981 - 82 will always remember Rudi as coach of the Socceroos side we knocked out in the first round qualifying group, including a famous 2-0 win in Sydney.

I seem to remember Rudi boasting that they would thrash us in the home leg after drawing 3-3 in Auckland in the first qualifying match.

He coached 18 national teams and six different clubs in the German top flight.

He holds a Guinness World Record for coaching 55 teams in 32 countries across five continents

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49706926

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/21636939

May be on life support till the end of year. But the end is near.

Harry Gregg      RIP

A Utd legend

Respect.

my bulldog HALO, rest in peace boy.

Rest in peace Master Cheif.

My adductors

Some moving stories in recent weeks about Harry Gregg's bravery and compassion in twice returning to the burning wreck of the Munich air disaster to save victims.

A South Island connection with Harry, whose son John, a handy midfielder in his thirties from the Northern Ireland league, came out to play in the Southern League for a Dunedin club in the late 1990's.

Gained a bit of attention down here at the time with the Harry Gregg connection.

I seem to remember Harry Gregg coming out here to visit his son and see him play.

John talks about his dad at his funeral with photo:

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/harry-greggs-funeral-hears-how-he-wanted-to-be-remembered-as-a-footballer-38978718.html

Harry Gregg missed United's tour of NZ in 1967, having been sold to Stoke City months before and then retiring.

Alex Stepney was in goal for United when they beat an Auckland XI 8-1 and NZ 11-0

Brilliant article on the official Man United website last year about that NZ tour:

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/the-ultimate-away-day-in-manchester-united-history

Leggy, didn't you play in both those games vs.Man United?

Farewell from us. https://t.co/RikH50JIsD pic.twitter.com/y93L7JFj2J

— Football Today (@FTdotnews) March 4, 2020

Stuart Whitman            RIP

Great actor from the 60's & 70's

Kenny Rogers                  RIP

Great singer/actor.

Kenny's broken even.

Well it's a fine time to leave me.....

Honor Blackman          ' The Bond Girl'        RIP

Former Luton Town player from the 80's and Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid manager Radomir Antic. Aged 71

Max von Sydow, born in Sweden, one of Europe's greatest movie stars of all time.

Associated with countryman Ingmar Bergman for the first half of his career, later appearing in several Hollywood productions like the Exorcist, Hannah and Her Sisters etc.

Died aged 90 last month.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/max-von-sydow-dead-seventh-seal-exorcist-actor-was-90-992680

Working almost to the end, he had recently finished work on a new film when he passed away at home.

Ingmar Bergman, a very clever fellow indeed, even after death: 

"In 2012, he told Charlie Rose in an interview that Ingmar Bergman had told him he would contact him after death to show him that there was a life after death. When Rose asked von Sydow if he had heard from Bergman, he replied that he had, but chose not to elaborate further on the exact meaning of this statement. In the same interview, he described himself as a doubter in his youth, but stated this doubt was gone, and indicated he came to agree with Bergman's belief in the afterlife."

I meant to post this yesterday. Lest we forget, the 53 whom died as a result of the Wahine Disaster way back April 10 1968 - I was 7 at the time. Seems like only yesterday that storm.

A school friend of mine moved from the North Island to Nelson to live with his family on the next sailing after the disaster and remembered seeing the wreckage, maybe even bodies...

I always remember Billy Connolly being very moved by the disaster on his TV series touring NZ in the 1990's.

Billy remembered working on the Wahine as a welder at the shipyard in Glasgow in the 1960's and he and all the workers were shocked to hear what had happened soon after the disaster.