Great career for the lad from Copenhagen. Well done, and enjoy your retirement.

So, the lightning lounge is here, and growing.

If you like sport it could be a place to check out. There’s room for all (including Geordie Mackems) so drop by and see what you think!

Unfortunately trying to get this up and running has led to a drop in posting here, but I hope to get back to more regular posting from today!

So, two sites have emerged from the ashes – www.boltbunker.com and www.thelightninglounge.com

The first is a pure Sport site, with room for fun. The second is broader in scope, hoping to take some of the latter-day political unrest away from those who aren’t interested. Anyway, have a look and join in.

This year was much faster than previous years, with reduced time on the clock for selections.

The Bolts have selected according to ‘type’ again, looking for talented players rather than physical specimens. They seem to have got talent, adaptability anf the only question is over how they will develop and how one of the picks will do ‘off the field’ .

So, overall it’s been good – great even when you add in Weddle and Chambers from the trades made n 2007.

So, here we go. Camp starts dsoon and then we can see how things develop,

As ever, the phrase ‘In AJ We Trust’ is on the lips of Bolt fans over the Globe..

Does 300 quid sound like a lot of money for a hospitality buffet, beer, wine and skittles at Wembley for the Chargers v New Orleans game? 3 hours before, 1 hour after plus 3 hours of play starts to make it look reasonable – especially if I get thirsty!

Maybe I could have it as a Christmas present ….

Watching with a German commentry made for a strange feeling, as did the absence of adverts.

What is worse is that German TV are now showing footage of a train journey with a camera strapped to the front of the train.

It’s all very dull, very slow and pretty much the same. Seeing the Pats win tonight would have been similar, but as they are now 18-1 I reckon the train journey is worse ….

I can’t see the Giants beating the Pats – and I’d rather that Junior Seau wins a ring.

Here’s hoping!

Personally, I reckon Rivers has the makings of a great QB. He’s still raw – and injured – but he’s a winner and a fighter. Eli may just get beaten badly on Sunday ….

The other Bolts news is the changes to the coaching staff. Lofton leaves and Joiner returns – a good move according to many in Charger-land. So it’s all set for the Draft and we’ll see where that takes us.

What is looking good is that the Bolts will play an away game against the Saints in LONDON. Now before you all rush off and get tickets, please form an orderly line behind all bona fide Bolts and Saints fans!

The other sports rant is about football. Derby have gone from bad to worse. No heart, no fight, no skill. Fortunately, the long-awaited takeover by General Sports and Entertainment has happened. About $100 million invested and stability apparently restored. There is some doubt about the people who’ve actually fronted the cash, but the noises are promising. Now all we need are a couple of centre halves and we’ll just be horrible!

Now we just sit back and become a Global Brand!

And finally, on Sunday, we went to see Nottingham play rugby again. An enthusiastic crowd of 1400 saw another victory for the Green and Whites. It’s not football, but it’s good to see a team win!

The rugby was really fun, although I expect the openness at National Division 1 or whatever it is comes from teams not being quite as good as their International counterparts.

Football was, again, frustrating. I can’t gather the energy to write about it, which makes things worse. Possibly the highlight was having a pre-match Starbucks which makes a change from a pint!

The American football was good though. Brett Favre was great, Brady better, the Chargers beat the Colts and then the Giants beat the Cowboys. Not many people picked that combination.

So we move on to next week and the Conference Championship Games.

Giants v Packers and Chargers @ New England. Sounds like a lot of fun and here’s hoping that the Bolts can deliver the knock out blow to the Patriots.

That would make me very happy!

Nuff said.