Alinghi win the America's Cup final by one second. And three matches.

It looks like the passing of a whole year has not taken anything away from the insane skills of the Swiss. Once again the landlocked country is the champion of the high seas.

Going into the last race the Swiss Alinghi were two wins ahead of their rivals Emirates Team New Zealand and needed just one more to retain the cup. They got the necessary 'W' but the Kiwis didn't make it easy on them.

"an enormous windshift saw Emirates Team New Zealand able to lay finishing line which was now upwind. As Alinghi struggled to drop its spinnaker, the Kiwis turned into tack to fulfil its penalty obligation. Now downspeed, the Kiwis could only watch in horror as Alinghi slid across the line, just one second ahead."

So a close finish, but not really a close final. On presentation of the America's Cup the Swiss crew were clinical in their analysis as always, stating "This whole crowd looks suspicious, it's all dudes out here, except for these bitches..."

That last bit may not actually be factual.

I have to admit, before this years' America's Cup, I had absolutely no interest in sailing whatsoever. That hasn't changed much, but after following this tournament I do have a clearer understanding of why so many people love the drama that the wind and waves can bring to a sport. Roll on the 33rd America's Cup.

[32nd America's Cup Official Website]

The Swiss Don't Often Make Mistakes, But When They Do...

It's currently one-a-piece in the America's Cup final between Emirates Team New Zealand and the reigning Champions Alinghi, from Switzerland (yeah, the country surrounded by land with zero access to the sea).

Pundits and fans are stuck on which team will pull out of this victorious, both the ridiculously precise Swiss and the 'Never Say Die' Kiwis have looked unbeatable at times. However, the Kiwi's victory was a surprise one yesterday brought on by a rare Swiss mistake; apparently someone said 'Avast me-hearties!' instead of 'turn to starboard' and the whole
thing turned into a blame fest.

I'm not certain about the exact Swiss translation of 'Avast' or 'Me-hearties' but I do know that this mistake does not necessarily mean the Kiwi's were purely lucky. Sailing, you see is all about the mistakes of judgement. The better your judgement, the less mistakes you make and the more you win,so while it may seem like New Zealand were gifted the victory, perhaps the truth is that the Swiss are not as inch perfect as the fans have come to expect?

[Official 32nd America's Cup Website]

Competition Time. Win $30 worth of Amazon.com Goodness! Free to enter!!

That's right, you can win a $30 Amazon.com gift voucher just by entering our free competition. It's open to anybody 18 or over who has an email account, so check out the rules below and join in!

To enter all you have to do is tell me why you love your favorite sport. In three words or less. It doesn't matter what sport you love or why you love it but the reason must be no more than three words in length. For example:

I love football and my reason (one of them anyway) is "Unnecessary Roughness". Having a foul for 'Unnecessary Roughness' implies that, in order to play the game, there is necessary roughness. Which is brilliant and humorous at the same time.

You can choose a facet of the sport, a player that you love to watch, or whatever you like, as long as it's three words or less, it's all gravy.  You can leave an explanation of your choice if you want. The winner will be the one that I like the best and my decision is final bitch.

The competition will run from right now to the 1st of July. Entries can be made by comment or by email to shottonothing[/at/]gmail.com and you can enter as many times as your heart desires. The winner will be announced on Monday the 2nd of July and will be notified by email (so remember to send me your email address if you're answering via a comment!)


Good luck and thanks for taking part!

New Zealand Win Louis Vuitton Cup. Not America's Cup Champions Yet.

Emirates Team New Zealand have swept asside (literally) Luna Rossa Challenge to win the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup.

The Kiwis won five races in a row against the Italians which, considering they were allowed to choose their opponents, makes you wonder why they picked the Spanish team in the Semi's. I guess that's sailing for you though - *different*

And speaking of different, this win does not make Emirates Team New Zealand the America's Cup champions. Nope, that would be a little too straight forward damn it. Now they must face up against the current holders of the cup, Switzerland. Despite the ludicracy of this, I like that system. It adds a whole new element to the game and it gives the current champs a decent shot at reatining the title.

Well ok yeah, it's the kind of thing that could only ever work in a sport like Sailing, but ehy, it's fine by me.

[32nd America's Cup Official Website]

America's Cup Final aka The Washout

So it looks like Emirates Team New Zealand are a bit like the San Antonio Spurs in that they are clinical, well organised and don't often lose.

They have taken a huge 3-0 lead in the 'first to five' final against their Italian counterparts Luna Rossa Challenge. The Kiwis are generally a tough team to beat but this year they are awesome and have pretty much dominated all three races of the final so far from start to finish.

In the last race the Italian boat had the better starting position but still managed to turn a 20 metre advantage into a 40 metre deficit. You get the picture...

Yesterday was an off day but today the action gets going again and I think it's fair to say that this will be the last day of the final. I just can't see Luna Rossa Challenge winning more then one of the races, but ehy, it's sailing and what do I know about it?

[32nd Americas Cup Official Website]

America's Cup Sailing Replicates Early Nineties Coin-op Video Games

The final of the Louis Vitton Cup kicks off today with Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) and the ridiculously named Emirates Team New Zealand going head to head in a 'first to five' victories final.

But once either team has won their five races they don't automatically become the America's Cup Champions. Oh no, winning the final only gives them a shot at the current cup holders Alinghi (SWI), or as I like to think of them 'THE BOSS'.

Remember those old video games where you would get to the final fight or level or whatever only find that there is an unexpected super boss from Switzerland who you have to beat in order to win the game?

Well ok, I made up the Switzerland thing, but you know what I mean. I really wish I was a big sailing fan, the set up for this tournament is awesome and I would be glued to my seat if I was watching I'm sure.

Picking Your Own Opponent May Not Be A Good Thing...

Because naturally, the team that Emirates Team New Zealand picked to face them in the semi's would have been feeling dissed and therefore would have been more likely to perform.

Which is what has happened... kinda. In short, The Italian team Luna Rossa Challenge are through to the final having beaten their opponents BMW Oracle Racing (USA) 5-1.

Emirates Team New Zealand have faced tough opposition in Desafio Espanol 2007 and though the score currently stands at 4-2 in NZ's favour, you should never count out the home team.  The racing resumes on Tuesday.

America's Cup Semi Final Update. Deal with it.

For some reason I find myself wondering what it would look like if there was a cut to Sylvester Stallone right now, hammering away at a punch bag and then turning to us and saying "Are you ready for some Sailing?!"

But perhaps that's just me... no matter, on with the update!

Remember me saying that Emirates Team New Zealand got to pick their opponent in the semi's? No? What do you mean no?! Didn't you read the last America's Cup post huh scumbag?!! Well anyway, they picked Desafio Espanol 2007 and was obviously the right choice as they've won the last two races, which gives them a 2-0 point lead in the race to five points.

The other Semi-final is more even at one race (and point) a piece. Apparently there was an awesome comeback by BMW Oracle Racing(USA) today to clinch the win over Lunar Rossa Challenge (ITA):

"The American team was 14 seconds behind at the beginning of the final run, but made a great pass down the left hand side of the race course, streaking past what appeared to be a slower Italian boat."

And you know what? It does actually sound kind of exciting doesn't it? Not actually worth watching sure, but exciting nonetheless. I'll keep you updated on how it plays out.

[32nd America's Cup OfficialWebsite]

It's all about Diversificationism.

When I first set out to start this sports blog, the one thing I wanted to do was to provide a comprehensive coverage of several sports. I wanted to update people on events and tournaments that they knew were going on all around them but were too lazy couldn't quite bring themselves to look in on. So in case you were wondering why I bothered with posts about Netball and Snooker etc well, now you know.

And it's with this in mind that I now bring you an America's Cup Sailing post. Yes, I really am going there.

Now listen up, the Semi-finals of this prestigious event will start on Monday in Valencia , Spain and will feature a fairly bizarre set up. After a load of round-robins, Team Emirates New Zealand find themselves on top of the leaderboard which means they get to pick who they face in the Semi's.

Let's think about that for a second... If we were talking about Football here, who do you think the Bears and the Colts would have picked in last years playoffs if they'd been given the opportunity? I can't even begin to imagine it, can you?

Anyhoo, the other Semmi-Finalists are BMW ORACLE Racing, Luna Rossa Challenge, and Desafío Español 2007, which confuses the heck outta me 'cause are they competing as countries or teams or companies or wtf?

These teams will now compete in a series of 'head to head' matches with a single point awarded to the victor in each race. The first to five points (i.e. five wins. And shit, wouldn't it have been easier to just say 'alright the first team to win five races goes through'?) will progress to the final.

All of this would be pretty cool really if it wasn't, you know, sailing. I'll keep you updated on how it goes down. You're thrilled I know.

[Official 32nd Americas Cup Website]