The Prophecy of the West Wing

As Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast of the United States, I can’t help think that we have seen this before...Unlike most commentaries however, this isn’t a Katrina comparison.

It has been said that The West Wing has delivered prophetic storylines in the past. The rise of the fictional House Rep. Matt Santos, with a revolutionary education policy akin to Obamacare had many Sorkin fans preaching about the show’s ability to predict American politics, especially when another ethnic minority candidate, Barack Obama, was elected president of the United States.

Now, more than ever, the NBC drama’s ability to predict the future is going to be put to the test.

In the final season of the show, young, Hispanic Santos faces off against a (very McCain-esque) Arnie Vinick (played by Alan Alda). Going into the final clutches of the election, Republican Vinick holds a slight lead over his Democrat rival.

However, in a dramatic twist in the story line, there was a near nuclear meltdown at the San Andreo power plant in Vinick's home state of California just four weeks from election day.

Vinick was, until this point, a staunch supporter of nuclear power and this near-tragedy eventually costs the Republican the election.

Five years later and firmly grounded in reality, Hurricane Sandy is causing chaos and destruction just a week before the election. Whilst Barack Obama tries to prove his leadership credentials by calmly steering the American ship through this literal and metaphorical storm – Mitt Romney is once more dodging questions.

Mr Romney had previously announced (and his campaign confirmed in no uncertain terms), that if elected, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be abolished, and individual states given control over their own emergency response.

Since the storm hit land, Mr Romney has been asked 14 times to confirm his views on FEMA – as of yet, there has been no response.

Has Sorkin done it again and will this prove to be Mitt Romney’s Vinick moment? We will find out in just one week.

Rucking Hell!: Front Row Union

Recently, Rugbydump reported that Tim Payne's yellow card against Northampton had resulted in a two week suspension, and posted a video on Facebook showing the incident. You can see that here.

One rather angry and astute Wasps fan had this to say:

Four people liked the comment...one was Wasps teammate and Samoan international Zac (Sakaria) Taulafo:

The Samoan is clearly tired of going backwards in the scrum. It's good to see the Wasps squad still value some light hearted banter! 

Rucking Hell!: Slow News Day - Olympic 7s Dream Team

In the wake of Olympic-fever that has swept the nation, there have been two bit of rugby ‘news’ (the inverted commas due to sports journalism revolving around creating the news, rather than simply reporting anything that happens of its own accord) in the last week relating to candidates for GB’s Rugby 7’s squad for Rio 2016.

Firstly Sir Clive Woodward (saviour of English Rugby, destroyer of Lions Rugby) tipping Wales freak George North to play in the tournament. Woodward’s suggestion was then followed by Ben Foden, stating he would bend over backwards to be involved.  This got me thinking about what 7s would be like if full internationals players were involved.

I’m deliberately getting carried away with this idea, since I can’t see the people who pay players’ wages (clubs/countries) allowing their top stars to miss matches and risk injury over a part of the game that is generally considered a bit of fun.  But how good would it be if we could watch, just once every 4 years, attacking players of the calibre of North and Foden compete in 7s against the likes of Cory Jane, Bryan Habana and Digby Ioane?

Surely this would provide a great advert for Rugby Union on the world stage the Olympics provides.  Equally, a chance to compete in the Olympics must be something that elite players would jump at. So, here is to a few major countries working out a way for a few of their pretty boys to have a 7s sabbatical in 2016.

In the same vain as the rest of this optimistic post, here’s my Team GB 7s dream team:

1. Jamie Roberts
2. Justin Tipuric
3. Stephen Ferris
4. Ben Foden
5. Manu Tuilagi
6. Tim Visser
7. George North

Do you agree? Who would you pick?

Rucking Hell!: The World's Greatest Administrators

In the United States of America, if you are a millionaire with a penchant for the public spotlight, you run for President. Romney is a notorious tax dodger with millions of un-taxable US dollars hiding in the Cayman Islands and other such exotic retreats. Recent leaks and scandals have proven that Romney is not only stinking rich, but is also a bigot who is constantly saying the wrong things.

Surely there must be another, more suitable job that Mitt could be applying for.

Luckily for him, there is such a job where applicants must:

• Have enormous personal wealth that you are willing to spend lavishly without concern

• Candidates must have bigoted, single minded and ridiculous opinions

• Finally, candidates must be willing to share these opinions with the world

The French have never liked their politicians, so the stupid(ly) rich spend their money on something else - they buy rugby clubs. 

If you think that recent Romney gaffes have been entertaining, then the horrendously wealthy and the stunningly entertaining French rugby administrators are in a league of their own.

In January of this year, Toulon suffered an unfortunate defeat to close rivals Clermont Auvergne. After the match, outspoken President Mourad Boudjellal had this to say:

"I had my first referee ring sodomy in the [2010] semi-final against Clermont. I've just had my second tonight".

"It appeared to hurt the first time but it was just as bad this time. We will review the images not on Youtube but on YouPorn. Clermont are a great team. They did not need it."

On Friday, Welsh scrum half Mike Phillips was indefinitely banned by his club Bayonne for a breach of club rules. Club president Alain Afflelou was not shy to publicly admonish his star player:

"This is unacceptable and not worthy of a professional player...He will not play again until further notice and we will also punish him financially. This is not the first time and we are sick of it. It's shameful...if they carry on behaving like spoiled children, they will no longer wear the shirt of this club."

Despite being "disgusted" by Phillips' behaviour, it was announced on Monday that Phillips' indefinite ban had been lifted already, belying the apparent severity of his crimes and his boss' comments.

There is no doubt about it, French rugby administrators are some of the most entertaining men in the world. When they are not pouring their money into huge signings, they are still making the headlines and with the Heineken Cup just a few weeks away and the future of the tournament still in jeopardy, expect the men with the large cheque books and even larger mouths to be dispensing their opinions to anyone with a dictaphone.