DWIGHT HOWARD'S FREE AGENCY DRAMA

It has been the biggest offseason issue in the NBA, The future of the NBA's best Center, Dwight Howard. The Lakers brought him to California with a massive trade involving other teams to try and get another Championship before reloading in 2014. Howard only had a year left on his contract and was always destined to explore free agency options this Summer. His handling of this has split Lakers fans with some being rather disrespectful to someone of the talent of Howard and others like myself wanting him to stay and sign a new deal but if he decided to sign for another Team I wouldn't hold that against him. That aspect is always interesting to witness when a star player is looking to leave. Just look at Wayne Rooney for Manchester United to see how divided fans have become over his future. 

There has been speculation that Dwight Howard would walk if the Lakers backed D'Antoni yet that has been dismissed by many NBA pundits and I never took it too seriously. Coming back early from Back surgery and issues during the season with a torn labrum it is not surprising that we didn't see a consistent Dwight Howard but when the Lakers made that late season push for the Playoffs after a very surprising season Dwight Howard was looking like he could well help the Lakers to another Championship and pick up his first in doing so. Kobe Bryant has hinted at the idea of possibly playing more than his final season of his current deal and if the Lakers were the long term destination for Dwight Howard then the Lakers would be able to mount a challenge for the next few years. If he leaves however there would need to be work done in free agency and as the Lakers are over the cap they would need to have luck on their side and a lot of shrewdness. A returning Dwight Howard would be the best option for the Lakers. Howard plans to meet Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and then finally the Los Angeles Lakers before making his final decision. The Lakers can offer more in salary but Dwight Howard is more concerned about Championship capabilities and that will have the final say.   

England U21s exit leads to overreaction from a section of fans and media.

The Education secretary Michael Gove has experienced a public backlash for his planned reforms of the GCSE system and as expected there are plenty who have jumped on the bandwagon wanting to make wholesale vague changes to the England setup in a move which is based on the England players being vastly overrated in their eyes and in my eyes they are actually underrated and we as a country always seem to under-hype our Footballers and oddly overhype our other Sports Stars who too often relax after winning one Title, That list is long. 

For the majority of the last 20 years England have been a legitimate top 10 team in the World despite the rather odd ranking system employed by FIFA and have produced a vast array of very talented players who have won some of the biggest Trophies you can win in Football and played a big part in these title wins too. Look back at the last several International Tournaments, England have consistently made the latter stages which is no small achievement when you look back on things. Germany and Spain have made terrific strides and have earned a vast array of plaudits yet that doesn't mean England can repeat the results by copying their blueprint. 

Stuart Pearce has had mixed results as U21 boss and when several players are over 21 you start to think about the merits of the u21 level when it comes to developing young talents into solid professionals. England have some talented youngsters but they need to learn in the right way which means with their Club. Too many young players have not developed as well as they could due to being held back in U21 squads. Let's remember the talent we have had over the last few years and maybe more people would realise that England still have some very good players indeed. Are there ways to improve the next generations of England players? Yes of course. Is a complete criticism of the talent needed? Absolutely not and until many start realising that we may go backwards not forwards.    

National Curriculum Amendment 20 in play

THE IDEA

Labour have tabled an amendment to the National Curriculum regarding Sex Education. The motion says that there should be more taught against the abuse and rape that is undoubtedly an issue that stains a certain cross section of our society. The often criticised Education Secretary Michael Gove has distanced himself from anything that "deflects" away from Academia but for me and many, many others. School is not just about the Academic subjects, It's about building yourself as a human being and becoming a decent member of society. More needs to be done in this area if we are to get the most from any group of school leavers. Rape is a heinous crime that deeply affects any victim. The tabled amendment asserts there should be some kind of education in Schools about NO means NO. 

MY VIEW

There has been a lot of buzz about this idea on Twitter, I may not agree with the reasons some people have given on why something like this is needed but I wholeheartedly back the idea of having some kind of education involving the issue of rape because it needs to be addressed for many reasons, I'll list a few reasons which I believe are why it's a good idea and how I believe it could and should work out for the best result. Schools should teach the ins and outs of what happens when a case goes to court. 

1.) THE COURT CASES

I believe that this would address the small but problematic false accusations which do a massive disservice to those who have genuinely been raped and also give any victims of rape the reassurance to know that they will be believed and everything will be done for them to secure a conviction of their rapist. 

Also taught in this section should be when No means No. Where does it go to rape? You may be reluctant in maybe getting back with an ex or starting a new relationship with someone too soon but the line needs to be taught. Not the line not to rape someone THAT IS CLEAR, I mean the line from when it becomes rape. What needs to be shown in evidence to convict rapists and how you build a case is so important. 

2.)PERCEIVED CONSENT

You'll hear the stories about the cases where a woman might have regretted having sex with someone, They may have rowed with their partner or best friend and ended up in the arms of a stranger or someone with an ulterior motive. The night may be blurry in their mind yet they feel they didn't consent but don't exactly remember saying no or showing signs of not consenting or being forced. This is a controversial topic but I believe it needs to be addressed. I want all rapists to serve time for their heinous crimes. You need to make it clear you do not consent to sex. Many genuine rapes don't get reported until later because of this very reason. If this was addressed in sex education then things would be a lot different and rapists would get their sentence.  

3.)THE MEN

Whilst the issue of can Women do anything to stop it is pretty controversial the idea that Men shouldn't rape is pretty well known for any good person. YOU DO NOT RAPE. Men and women, girls and boys are well known for being attracted to the opposite sex and talking between their friends about who they like. Well if one of your friends starting talking about who they'd rape you know there's a problem. Adolescent boys would benefit from education on the effects of rape on a woman's self confidence and all the other awful effects an attack can have. Maybe a talk from someone who has been raped and is now a rape counsellor would show the damage that rape can do. 

SUMMING UP

Okay well there are my three main points on the issue, I believe rape is a heinous crime which is a stain on anywhere it takes place. I believe for too long we haven't had a serious discussion about the wider issue of rape in our society and it needs to be seriously looked at and I believe for many reasons that this must be discussed in detail in Schools and things should have started long ago. Only then will we really see how we can save generations from making the same heinous mistakes as previous generations have. Let's have a serious debate and hopefully get this rape stain out of our Society. 

My Concert History

As someone who has a passion for Music of many kinds. I feel at a disadvantage sometimes when it comes to where I live. I was born in Taunton and as well as Taunton I have lived in Yeovil and now Ilminster. Anyone who knows about English Geography would know that these places are not that close to London. I have mostly gone to London when seeing artists live but I have missed out on a great many concerts I would love to have gone too because of where I live. Just today I am missing "The Sound of Change" at Twickenham Stadium where many of the worlds biggest performers will be on stage. Haim are a new band that I have come to love since hearing them a few months ago and they are performing there today and I missed out on seeing them the other night too. Below is a list of who I have seen live in the past six years and it will go to show just how many I could have seen if I had lived a bit nearer to somewhere like London or Birmingham as I usually have to stay over in a hotel and have sometimes stayed in the Coach station for an early coach back home. Here's the list.

Concert List

Boyz II Men (6 times)
Thea Gilmore (3 times)
Eric Clapton (2 times)
John Mayer (2 times)
Joe Bonamassa (2 times)
Velvet Revolver (2 times)
Joe Thomas (2 times)
Zico Chain (2 times)
Beverley Knight (2 times)
Regina Spektor
Jagged Edge
Brian McKnight
Black Stone Cherry
Robert Randolph
Jessie J
Kelly Clarkson
Jason Mraz
The Civil Wars
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Tristan Mackay

There we have it. I have seen more artists at festivals and supporting but these are the ones which I actually wanted to see there. As you can see there are many artists I have seen more than once and also there are 12 names there of people I have seen once so I've gone to a fair few gigs in my time. I absolutely love going to see my favourite artists perform live and hopefully with Twitter I will get to meet a few of my favourite followers at a gig as one of the reasons I follow some people on there is of course because we have similar music taste. I love looking on Twitter after the gig to see tweets from people who have gone to the same gig as I had. It makes it even more special if you can share it with someone. If I lived nearer to London or another big City I would go to many more gigs as there wouldn't be the extra expense of travel and accommodation. Do you experience the same problems as I do with living away from where you regularly go to gigs? 

My new Blog

I had been posting infrequently on my previous blog but as I was cross posting a lot of stuff from several different sites it got pretty full with all kinds of things and a bit muddled in places so I have decided to run a new blog which will be more focused on articles and Interests than before. Anyway I hope you enjoy my new Blog and If you have some feedback then leave a comment and I'll reply asap.