Judgement Dave blog

Penalties mean no prizes
The Lenten festival has arrived at just the right time for England rugby coach Martin Johnson. Two more yellow cards against Ireland took England's tally to six in the tournament so far and eight in their last four games. A pledge from the players to stay out of the sin bin for 40 days would indeed be timely, particularly with Wales' conquerors France next up.

Cricket Crises
Forty days of English cricket avoiding another crisis would be a welcome change. Just as the fallout from the Pietersen/Moores fiasco was beginning to dissipate, it merged that the ECB's knight in shining helicopter, Sir Allen Stamford, is under investigation for an alleged $8bn fraud. The first Test against the Windies ended in an innings defeat and the second only lasted 14 minutes before being abandoned. Perhaps it's fitting that the wicket for the fourth Test in Barbados, which began on the second day of Lent, was as flat as a pancake.

Premier Patience?
"There is absolutely no patience in the world now," said Sir Alex Ferguson as rival Luis Felipe Scolari was sent packing by Chelsea after just seven months at the club. You can't (and wouldn't) argue with Fergie either - the facts speak for themselves. With a third of the season still to play the Brazilian World-Cup winner was the eighth Premier League manager to have resigned or been shown the door this term. Outside the top flight, the Football League has also witnessed a further 24 managerial casualties thus far.

So what hope of the Premier League clubs foregoing the wielding of the gaffer-axe for Lent? It's unlikely of course but if players are only allowed to move in the transfer windows then why shouldn't the same apply for managers? Of the eight that have fallen this season, six have been British and three - Tony Adams, Paul Ince and Roy Keane - are young. What hope do we have of returning to the days of having an English national team manager if our top flight clubs aren't even willing to give young English hopefuls more than a handful of games at the helm?

Double Becker
A Lenten time-out from getting engaged anymore might be a wise move for grinning ginger German Boris Becker. The former tennis ace announced he was getting engaged for the second time in seven months this week. Becker has been married once before, making this his second service.
Pass the *?!@ing chocolate would you.