Stonking weekend!

Wow, where to begin?

The game was billed as one of the greatest derbies of all time. Both Manchester clubs at the top of the table, both teams stocked with players of amazing potential and skill, both teams in the Champions League. Manchester, right now, is the place to be, in terms of football superiority. The game however, maybe showed that one team was taking over as the dominant force of Manchester. (No prizes in guessing who.)

As far as changing of the guard goes, I think its too early to tell. Form is temporary, class is permanent. If the championship was based on one game, then Manchester City would be champions, by a mile. But as the saying goes, its a marathon, not a sprint. There are 29 more games to go, 87 points more up for grabs, 2610 minutes more to be played, you get the idea.

Maybe this is the United fan in me speaking, although that side of me is in temporary hiding at the moment, but its is true. United have lost games before, and by big margins against big rivals as well. Yet, here they stand, as the best team in England with 19 championships. (Yeah thats right, Koppites, Im looking at you.) There is no way they could have achieved that, without learning how to bounce back from losses.

Perhaps the hiding Manchester City shelled out is a blessing in disguise. United, sorry to say, while adventurous going forward, have been found wanting on many an occasion at the back. One need not look any further back than the Basel game where United went 2-0 up and eventually had to perform a United (yes Im coining the term) to salvage a point. Yes, Basel aren't exactly a force in Europe, but lets not forget that they are the champions of Switzerland and deserve a certain amount of respect. The way United let up on them suggests complacency has crept in to this young side, which hopefully will be eradicated as they mature.

That it is a young team should be taken into account. Most of the players on Sunday were below 25, certainly all were below 30 bar Ferdinand. With experience, they will develop a sense of responsibility in terms of knowing when to attack and when to defend. Or how to defend. (Johnny Evans should be gone.)

Then there was the death of Marco Simoncelli. Poor guy, he was an upcoming star in the world of MotoGP, yet to have his life taken away at the age of 24 is disappointing.

RIP Marco SImoncelli (1987-2011)

Lee Chong Wei lost for the second time in three weeks, and for the second time to the same player. No its not Lin Dan, although he probably would have preferred to have lost to him, it would have been an excusable loss. No, this was to Chen Long. Anyone recognize that name? I thought so.

I would say Datuk Lee has underestimated his young Chinese opponent. The first loss Datuk Lee felt was maybe luck on his opponent's side, and Datuk Lee responded, "I know what I have to do to beat him this time." Apparently not. Maybe Datuk Lee is finally living up to his title of Datuk? The day he retires, is the day Malaysian badminton is plunged into a blackhole. There is no one singles player, men or women, who is even close to reaching the heights that Datuk Lee has. Just look at the Thomas Cup team. Wong Choong Hann? Past his prime. Hafiz Hashim? Never even reached his prime. While China are producing top class player in every category like a factory, Malaysia are scrapping in the mud, looking for rare gems. These are gloomy times ahead.

The Chelsea-QPR game was also an odd game of football. Every outfield Chelsea player was booked, and two were red carded. Yet despite having a two man advantage, QPR were on the backfoot most of the time. It just goes to show the gulf in class in the EPL. Granted, the situation is not as bad in La Liga, where two teams make up the league.

To end on a high note, New Zealand are Rugby World Champions! Congratulations!

They finally won their second world title, despite being the dominant force in rugby for so long.