The Printed Word

Those “shock” results just keep coming ... Pic: Steve Gunn Saturday night saw Glasgow Clan triumph in Nottingham, while Sheffield Steelers tasted defeat in Manchester, underlining, once again, that the “Big Four” are going to have to work harder than ever to establish dominance in the 2019-20  quest for honours. It’s still very early days, of course, but those losses give an insight into how competitive this campaign could be. Manchester is a tough place to go, as Steelers found out their cost as they ran into a hot goalie and a well-drilled Storm outfit. A tied hockey game was blown wide open with two goals in three minutes, and coach Ryan Finnerty savoured a win against his old club. Interesting to see how Steelers respond tonight as they host Cardiff Devils. They have already cut big summer signing, former KHL and NHLer Martin St Pierre. He joined on a short-term contract with both sides having the option to extend. The club moved first, call...

There’s an enjoyable tweet doing the rounds on social media just now - first gig, last gig,best gig, worst gig. First one? Easy -  Nazareth, 1979, Usher Hall, Edinburgh. So began a lifelong love of the band, their music, and gigs across the decades from the legendary Ayr Pavilion to the Liquid Rooms and on to the Alhambra, and ending at East End Park in Dunfermline. It’s often forgotten how good, and how radio friendly, Nazareth - arguably one of the most successful bands ever to emerge from Fife - really were at the height of their 1970s success. A band which started out kicking against the rule of covers only in the ballrooms of Dunfermline, went their own way, hit the road to to London, and honed their act with Roger Glover, bass player with Rainbow, at the helm. And, just like Blackmore’s band, they knew how to rock and still curate songs that made the playlists. Broken Down Angel remains as smashing today as it did back in 1973, ditto Holy Roller or Tu...

It’s time we stopped labelling wins over the EIHL’s big four as “shocks.” Pic: Steve Gunn They’re not. Sure, Sheffield Steelers, Belfast Giants, Nottingham Panthers and Cardiff Devils punch above the rest in terms of budget and big signings, and there’s a certain expectation they will be dominant.  But, the early evidence in this 2019-20 EIHL campaign suggests they may not get things all their own way. Instead of labelling their  defeats as shocks, perhaps it’s time to give due credit to the victors. So far this season, Panthers have lost to Flyers, while Belfast have coughed points to Manchester and Dundee. Cardiff, meanwhile have one OT win over Guildford to show for their last three games. A 5-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry certainly stung Andrew Lord’s side and their die-hard fans. Glasgow Clan swept all four points from visits to Wales and then Sheffield - they were 4-0 up and cruising in Steel-land before their hosts rallied to withi...

You won’t come across a better organised concert than this. It’s put together by Radio Two, and yup, it s o unds and feels like it. Imagine Tony Blackburn conducting a 40,000 strong rendition of YMCA, and then easing into the equally classic Hi Ho Silver Lining but three times halting the track because “there’s man at the back was waving out of time”  - yup it’s as cheesy as that. Thankfully Tony needs a nap late afternoon so he's gone even before the show officially starts. Then there’s the musicals’ section. This year we got an all too brief excerpt from Les Miserables with some stuff from Hamilton thrown in. Then  it goes all Radio2-ish with the sort of music they love - nice,middle of the road stuff that was dull the first time round but still clings like a cobweb to the playlists The Lighthouse Family performed four songs which simply reminded me all their hits sounded the same 30 years ago. Ocean Drive IS Lifted. Lifted IS Ocean Drive. ...

Week two of the 2019-20 ice hockey season threw up some interesting results, but the bigger picture in terms of Challenge Cup qualification remains far from clear. Some teams are three games into their qualifying group, while others have yet to start. There has also been a smattering of league action as teams switch tournaments each night. Group A of the Challenge Cup - the Scottish one with Belfast Giants in the mix - is led by Dundee Stars with four points from three games. Omar Pacha’s side must have fancied making it three from three in the cup when Fife Flyers came calling on Sunday, but they found themselves shut out on home ice. Fife’s 2-0 win - netminder Adam Morrison bagged the 42-shot shut out - came with goals from Chase Schaber and an empty netter from Danick Gauthier. It also secured that all-important opening weekend win after the team went down 3-2 at home to Glasgow Clan in front of a superb crowd of over 2500. General consensus was th...