Blog Housekeeping

I try to post once a week, real life allowing.  For the next couple of weeks, posts will be more frequent than that because of the Tour de France and the Women's Euros.  After that, it will calm down again until the Rugby League (men's, women's and wheelchair) and Football World Cups.

Do N'Golo Kante's trophies weigh more than him?

First, let me handle the obvious question - why Kante and not the equally tiny Riyad Mahrez, who might be even more successful? 

Mostly because waif-like wingers are more common than tiny-but-mighty in the engine room that is defensive midfield. 

According to Chelsea's official stats, Kante is 1.68 m (5 foot 6 inches) and 72 kg. He has won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Europa League and the World Cup.

 

Trophy Table

Trophy	Weight
Premier League	25.4 kg
FA Cup	6.3 kg
Champions League	7.5 kg
Europa League	15.0 kg
World Cup	6.2 kg

In total, Kante's trophies weigh 85.8 kg so yes, Kante's trophies outweigh him. L asked for an extension to this - when did Kante's trophies outweigh him? The answer will be presented pictographically below.  

It was in 2019, when Chelsea won the Europa League. (I am only including team trophies here, a full list of his individual ones can be found here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%27Golo_Kant%C3%A9#Honours. I am not including the Super Cup or the Club World Cup, because I have taste.)

Formula 1 2022 - Two races, three red cards

Despite my love of the Baku chaos bonanza, I didn't actually catch any of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Instead I visited the Vienna 1900 exhibition at the Leopold Museum - https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/107/vienna-1900. 

The exhibition was good, the race was not.

 

To have one care retire with a mechanical may be regarded as a misfortune, for both to retire because their cars broke looks like carelessness. 

It is even more unfortunate in a situation where each driver is only allowed a limited number of engines and this latest failure meant that your driver, who is no longer in the lead of the championship due to a variety of problems, has to start the next Grand Prix from the back of the grid. 

Now even at my beloved Canadian Grand Prix*, it is going to be very difficult to win from the back. 

It becomes even harder when the crew drop said driver off the jack during a pitstop.

   

I am not giving them another yellow card for peculiar strategy for Sainz, only because he did get a podium place. 

I do not like the pattern emerging in these pictures. 

* after what they did to Hockenheim, it's my favourite Grand Prix.

Formula 1 2022 - Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix

Late due to work, but my feelings can very easily summed up by the following from @EffinBirds (https://twitter.com/EffinBirds) on Twitter  

Spanish Grand Prix

It's like, "great, the car now actually has an engine, but unfortunately, it now occasionally stops working". An engine failure when the car is in the lead of the race is an automatic red card.  

Monaco Grand Prix

Then somehow Monaco was worse. Or, as one commenter on the Guardian website phrased it "Ah yes, Ferrari's old enemy ... Ferrari themselves." 

This was two years ago bad. 

This was being panicked into making the wrong decision, when there was no need to panic. It's Monaco, track position is king alongside Prince Albert. That is what you had, why were you panicking.  

It was a debacle, and Sainz jnr getting second, somehow, does not make up for it.

   

Ferrari, do not make me bring back the proper bingo board!