England v West Indies: Will Allen Stanford be watching?

Lapping it up: Allen Stanford was shown on television flirting with the England team's partners. Emily Prior, wife of wicketkeeper Matt, sat on his knee.

England play West Indies at Lord's tomorrow, in the first of two Twenty20s that make up the Allen Stanford Memorial Series, or the Contractual Obligation Series, or whatever. But while the two teams who once luxuriated in his largesse have a hit and giggle, the man himself will be a long way from London. So what will he be doing?

September 23, 2011.

Woke up in my cell at the Larry Hagman-Karl Rove Detention Center, Houston feeling blue as hell. A Stanford Cricketball Twenty20 double-header rubber starting in The Oval Bowl, London, England and me here in the pokey for a crime I didn’t commit? Not that I can remember if I did it or not: like my lawyer says, I got the amnesia real bad. And seeing as I’m paying Finkleberg or whatever the hell his damn name is a hundred thousand dollars an hour, I told myself: “Take his advice.” To tell the truth, I can’t remember if I told myself that or not. I gots me a serious illness here.

The thought of those cricketeering varmits playing a match-up without my say-so hurts bad enough; but not as bad as Emily Prior refusing my repeated requests for a conjugal visit. I goddamm loved that girl: I said to her “If that no-good catcher husband of yours drops you like he keeps on dropping all them cricketeer balls, you give me a call honey.” She says: “Please leave me alone and don’t make me sit on your knee again.” I love that cute British sense of humour.

To stop me from feeling too lonesome about not being at the cricketball, I organised me a Twenty20 in the prison yard at exercise time. I got me two teams of legends – on the one team, the Stanford Aryan Warriors, on the other side, the Stanford Ghetto Boyz – and I says to them: “Gentlemen, let’s have a good clean game of cricketeering and the winning team will get 20 cigarettes per player. Play ball!”

After the riot had calmed down, and I was recovering in the prison hospital wing, I had a whole bunch of time to think. You get that in the jail: aside from converting to the Nation of Islam and changing my name to Tariq Al Stanford, I’ve had a lot of time to read my mail.

A package just arrived from my old business associate Giles Clarke: it had a cake with a file in it and a note saying: “Get yourself out of there, Shawshank style, and come see me to talk about new mutually rewarding opportunities.”

I know things are bad in Texas jails right now, but if it’s a choice between having any more meetings with that goddamm asshat Clarke and staying in the joint, I’ll take my chances with ole Governor ‘Itchy Fingers’ Perry any day of the week.

Yours in cricketball, and in jail,

Sir Tariq Al Stanford III Junior

Political prisoner and lover of cricketeering

London 2012 Olympics: politicians attempting to muscle in on Games already

Direction: David Cameron and Boris Johnson are likely to become more involved in the Olympics as the Games gets closer (Photo: REUTERS)

On Wednesday night it was Prime Minister David Cameron's turn. Tomorrow Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Minister of State for Transport Theresa Villiers will weigh in.

Yesterday the former sports minister Richard Caborn had a shot. Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander has been vocal too. Suddenly, and seemingly without any warning, the politicians have realised the country is hosting the Olympics next year.

Having outlayed £9.3 billion, exposed taxpayers to a further £2 billion in counter-intelligence and security for the Games, and sneakily allowed the London organisers to assail us with Olympic memorabilia that even includes corgis on Olympic pin badges so Locog can raise its £2.15 billion operating budget, government officials and politicians are muscling in on the act.

History has shown increasingly this will be the case.

As we approach the business end of the Games run-in – when the world's focus is suddenly upon the country in an alarmingly frank and microscopic way, the Government is quite rightly determined to capitalise on any Olympic opportunities and leverage them to the max.

But the political will won't stop at business boosts and how many visitors arrive to stare at Buckingham Palace.

Increasingly our elected leaders will want to be more hands on, have more direct lines of communication, more forensic control of what is underpinning the extravaganza that will see 120 heads of state, royalty and scores of global business leaders arrive to enjoy the sporting party.

Johnson has convinced Villiers  to help London's small businesses get ready for the Games, Caborn is concerned about the failure of a sporting legacy, Alexander wants the "Olympic spirit" to infuse other parts of the flailing economy. Cameron is in New York and gave a Games-related speech.

At previous Games, the Government's role has been more intrusive and inflicted earlier, than the London experience.

Before the Athens 2004 Olympics, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a Greek ambassador at large, was recalled by the Greek government to take control of the organising committee when preparations were faltering.

And during the scandal-riddled Salt Lake City 2002 lead up, the current US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took over from disgraced leaders at the behest of George W Bush in 1999.

At the Sydney 2000 Olympics fears about getting things right prompted a state government coup of the organising committee six months before the Games.

The Olympics Minister Michael Knight put his man, David Richmond in as the deputy – but that second in charge reference was in name only. After the Games, Richmond, who had earlier been in charge of the Sydney equivalent of the Olympic Delivery Authority as well as Knight got the "gold" Olympic order.

The head of the Sydney organising committee Sandy Hollway had to settle for the silver order. Such was the vicious political scene at that time in New South Wales.

The London organising committee, led by the highly respected chief executive Paul Deighton and widely lauded chairman Seb Coe have advantages over other organising committees, in that the major Government agencies are currently politically aligned.

At the moment there is a Coalition government with a liberal Mayor of London.

During the planning stages there has been cross party support and a generous budget.

But now that all of those plans are starting to be put into operation, the numbers of political figures standing alongside the gloss of the Olympic Games is escalating.

How do we know? Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has already had his first two Olympic related briefings in the past fortnight.

Paula Radcliffe should not be stripped of her marathon world record

World's best: this is no longer considered a world record

Having plumbed the depths of incompetence with its botched elections at last month’s Congress in Daegu, the International Association of Athletics Federations has not exactly covered itself in glory with its ill-considered decision to strip Paula Radcliffe of the marathon world record she set in London in 2003.

In its wisdom, the world governing body has decreed that only times set in women-only road races will now be counted as world records and that world marks set in mixed races will be downgraded to the less prestigious classification of ‘world best’.

Because the 2003 London Marathon was mixed, Radcliffe’s remarkable time of 2hr 15min 25sec will no longer be recognised as the world record.

Instead, the time of 2hr 17min 42sec she set in winning the women-only 2005 London Marathon is now the official world mark.

Radcliffe has described the decision to apply the new rule retrospectively as “unfair”, and she has every right to feel aggrieved.

It is a classic case of fixing something that ain’t broken – in a sport where there are plenty of things crying out for repair.

The strangeness of the IAAF’s decision is underlined by a glance at the current list of women’s world records.

Many were set in to the drug-tainted 1980s, perhaps never to be broken without pharmaceutical help, yet the record-breakers remain honoured in the history books in indelible ink.

The governing body has stubbornly resisted calls to sweep away the old, suspicious records and start afresh with a clean slate.

But, presented with statistical evidence that mixed races tend to produce faster women’s times than women-only races, the IAAF rushed to judgment with a knee-jerk response that has erased arguably the greatest women’s world record of them all.

Why, you may well wonder, has the issue suddenly reared its head more than eight years after Radcliffe set her world record on the streets of London?

The reason is that IAAF’s road-running commission has for some time been agitating for the creation of separate world records for mixed and women-only road races to recognise the performance advantage women can gain from being paced by male runners in a mixed race.

The proposal to establish two records of equal weight and prestige was formally proposed by commission member David Bedford, the race director of the London Marathon, at the IAAF’s Congress.

But the idea has proved to be an own goal. Congress delegates accepted the argument about performance differentials but rather than creating two world records, they went along with a recommendation from the IAAF’s ruling council to downgrade records set in mixed races and recognise only women-only races for world record purposes.

The decision has caused consternation in the road-running world and both World Marathon Majors, who represent the five biggest city marathons, and the Association of International Marathons have stated that they will defy the IAAF and recognise two separate world records for women’s road-running performances.

The two quickest marathon times of Radcliffe’s career were both set in mixed races – in London in 2003 and in Chicago the previous year – but she rejects the idea that she was helped by the presence of male runners in the field.

“In my two mixed races it was not my decision, rather the race organisers', to have male runners with me, and in each case I very consciously ran alongside them rather than ever behind,” she said.

“Indeed, in London, I was actively racing the two guys. Furthermore, I fully believe that I would have run pretty much the same time that day alone with the crowds and motorbikes.”

But even if Radcliffe did derive an advantage, so what? The IAAF had no problem with Haile Gebrselassie running with a coterie of pace-makers when he established the men’s world record in the 2008 Berlin Marathon.

But in 2002-03, when Radcliffe was at her peak, there was not a woman in the world who could have paced her in a 26.2-mile race, such was her domination of women’s marathon running. Only male runners could have done the job.

The point is that, during that golden period, Radcliffe ran out of her gender, and her time in London in 2003 was that fastest marathon by a British athlete, male or female, in the entire year.

It was one of the greatest athletics performances of all time and it deserves far better than to be downgraded by a governing body that should have known better.

Why Passing Totals Can Be Deceiving

We’ve seen monstrous passing numbers in this young  N.F.L. season. With the rule changes and proliferation of spread offenses, those numbers will only climb in the coming years.

But how much do the numbers really mean?

Cam Newton is second in the league in passing yards (854). His Panthers are 0-2. The next four passing yards leaders – Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Tony Romo and Matt Hasselbeck – are on teams that are 1-1. It’s too early to read much into the numbers, but it’s not too early to understand why the numbers are climbing and why it may not matter.

The N.F.L. is undergoing a defensive revolution. Ten years ago, the idea of “good defense” was to stop the other team from moving the ball. The 2000 Ravens were a brick wall that yielded just 970 yards on the ground (fewest for a 16-game schedule in league history). But today, teams don’t sustain offense with the traditional run-run-pass approach. New rules and improved athletes have led to an explosion in the passing game, making it too much to ask for a defense to hang in there and continuously stop an offense.

The idea of “good defense” has morphed from stopping the opponent to making big plays. The best way to do this is to trick an offense into making a mistake. This is why we’ve seen rapid growth in versatile and confounding 3-4 schemes that are predicated on disguise concepts and blitzes (especially out of sub-packages). This has been the defensive approach of the past two Super Bowl champions (the ’09 Saints were second in the N.F.C. in forced turnovers and the ’10 Packers were fifth; ahead of the Packers were the Steelers, Patriots, Giants, Bears and Eagles – all playoff teams save for the 10-6 Giants).

Creating big plays requires taking risks (which often means blitzing). Those risks are contributing to more passing yards. But passing yards don’t always lead to points. Defenses know that with space being limited, offenses can’t spread out and dictate terms of engagement in the red zone the same way they can between the 20s. Thus, in taking risks, defenses have embraced more of a “bend but don’t break” mentality.

A great illustration of how this revolution is playing out can be found in Cam Newton. In Week 1, he went up against a Cardinals defense that’s run by the first-year coordinator Ray Horton, who came over from the Steelers. Horton has installed myriad blitz packages and is a proponent of taking risks to force offensive mistakes. His Cardinals D gave up 422 passing yards to Newton … but only 21 points. Late in the fourth quarter, on Carolina’s final drive, the Cardinals repeatedly blitzed Newton from inside the red zone. On fourth-and-five in that final drive, the Cardinals blitzed again and gave up four yards. Bending, not breaking.

The next week, Newton torched the Packers through the air. But Dom Capers also confused Newton with coverage changeups in the third quarter, resulting in two interceptions (Newton had also been baited into a pick by Charles Woodson late in the second quarter). Green Bay also capitalized when space became limited, holding the Panthers to two red zone field goals in the first half.  In the end, Newton had played well for 90 percent of the snaps and posted 432 yards through the air. But the Packers were able to make big plays on the other 10 percent and, consequently, Carolina finished with only 16 points.

Quarterbacks are playing well these days. But defenses are more willing than ever to let quarterbacks play well. They just don’t want quarterbacks playing mistake-free. Thus, one of the reasons passing statistics are destined to inflate.

Andy Benoit is the founder of NFLTouchdown.com and an analyst for CBSsports.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLtouchdown.com or @Andy_Benoit.

Rex vs. Hue, and Other Topics

Rex Ryan and Hue Jackson. Two tough guys, two hard-nosed coaches. Both were assistants on the 2008 Baltimore Ravens team that lost the A.F.C. championship game to Pittsburgh. Theirs is just one of the story lines going into Sunday’s game between two franchises — the Jets and the Raiders — that have a long and rich history together.

Join the discussion with George Bretherton and Bret Leuthner tonight from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. by clicking on the box below. Listen in or call us at 480-409-3547.

Video streaming by Ustream

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

1) Is Hue Jackson taking the Raiders in the right direction? Jackson, who admits to being influenced by Ryan, is talking a big game. (Listen for yourself below) In Rex-ian fashion, he announces that the Raiders will get it done this Sunday against the Jets. The Raiders, who may have been slowed last week against Buffalo because of quirky scheduling (traveling cross-country on short rest), figure to be fired up for their home opener. The Jets were 8-3 on the road last season, including the playoffs.

2) Is the Giants’ defense rounding into form? It didn’t look good early against the Rams on Monday. But maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The defense finished the game with three straight 3-and-outs in the fourth quarter. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford finished with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent (22 of 46, 47.8%) and the Rams’ rushing game averaged only 3.1 yards per rush. On offense, Eli Manning bounced back after throwing an early interception to throw for 2 TDs.

The Eagles’ offense, with or without Michael Vick, will be a supreme test for the Giants’ defense.

3) Other issues from around the league

– Can the Bills end their 15-game losing streak to the Patriots? Buffalo’s last victory came on Sept. 7, 2003, by 31-0 in Orchard Park.

– Is it Carolina vs. Jacksonville or Cam Newton vs. Blaine Gabbert? Newton, the heralded No. 1 pick over all, has had a head start over Gabbert, the No. 10 over all pick, who got his first N.F.L. action in the fourth quarter of the Jaguars’ 32-3 loss to the Jets last Sunday.

– In division rivalry games, can 0-2 Minnesota make a stand at home against the beastly 2-0 Lions? Other key division games include Atlanta (1-1) at Tampa Bay (1-1), Green Bay (2-0) at Chicago (1-1), Washington (2-0) at Dallas (1-1), Kansas City (0-2) at San Diego (1-1) and Arizona (1-1) at Seattle (0-2).

Extra Point If you can’t join the discussion, leave a topic to discuss in the comments section and we will bring it up on the air.

Kings after deadline: Power play moves, Voynov and Hickey earn praise

The Kings figured out something that almost anyone watching their power play most of last season could have told them:

When they stand around and become predictable, they’re not going to score.

They had more moving parts Wednesday and capitalized on a man advantage for their only goal in a 2-1 shootout loss in a split-squad game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center.

Mike Richards flicked the puck toward Dustin Brown in front, and the gritty right wing battled for it while it was at his feet. Defenseman Viatcheslav (Slava) Voynov had come deep into the zone and was able to poke it past goalie Justin Pogge at 5:53 of the second period.

“I think from the power play standpoint we need more of that,” Brown said.

He also said that while it’s tough to maintain movement on the power play it’s worth the effort because it confuses opponents’ penalty killers.

“When you have a moving power play with people at the net at the same time it’s pretty tough to defend. You can get mixed up in your assignments,” he said. “Tonight we had good movement. We weren’t stationary. I think looking back at last year we were too stationary. We had their half-wall guy, we had a low guy and we had a net-front guy. That was it.

“I prefer in front of the net but there were a couple of times I’m on the half-wall and just kind of slide out and give it to a guy and go to the net and that creates movement, which is tough for a [penalty killer].”

Alicia Sacramone on USA world gymnastics team; not Shawn Johnson

USA Gymnastics announced the teams that will represent the U.S. at the 2011 world championships in Tokyo Oct. 8-16 and at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct. 14-30.

Three 2008 Olympians -- Shawn Johnson, Chellsie Memmel and Bridget Sloan-- were picked for the Pan Am Games team rather than the team that will aim to earn the U.S. a 2012 Olympic spot.

A fourth 2008 Olympian, Alicia Sacramone, will travel to Tokyo along with two gymnasts with Southern California ties. McKayla Maroney, a 15-year-old from Laguna Niguel who trains at All Olympia Gymnastics Center  in Los Angeles and Anna Li, an All-American when she was at UCLA from 2007-2010, will be on the Tokyo team.

Also on the world team are Gabrielle Douglas, who trains with Johnson at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in Iowa; Alexandra Raisman, who is a training partner with Sacramone at Brestyan's American Gymnastics in Massachusetts; Sabrina Vega of Carmel, N.Y., and new U.S. all-around champion Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich.

ALSO:

Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict presents a devil of a challenge for opponents

Chris Dufresne: Pac-12 slows the college football expansion train

Frank McCourt vs. Fox: He's running out of partners to turn on

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Alicia Sacramone. Credit: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images