Starling on Sport: New year sporting resolutions

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Starling on Sport: New year sporting resolutions Have you made your new year’s resolutions yet? Of course you haven’t. You will probably do that at 11.55pm on Thursday when you spend five minutes or so reflecting on what you want to achieve in the next 12 months. I have been thinking about my resolutions quite a lot this week. The fact that I am writing this while eating a Chicken Big Mac makes it plainly obvious that I need to watch my weight (go down, hopefully) and get fit in my 36th year. Everyone wants to get healthier and look better, that’s human nature. It’s just that most of us fail by January 3 when trying to cut out all the bad stuff. One thing I won’t be doing is signing up to a gym. I have nothing against the gym industry, but I just can’t handle the smug look on the faces of the personal trainers and fitties when I walk in alongside a hundred newbies asking where the jacuzzi is. So my first aim for 2016 is to get healthier. I will just have to hit the roads of Jebel Ali – like Rocky training for his bout with Ivan Drago – in my bid to fight the flab. Like the gym, other common new year aims are things like learning a language or a musical instrument. I get enough practice blowing my own trumpet writing this column, so music is fine. Language-wise, I have to continue to improve my English skills before struggling to learn Français. Jokes aside, the other major resolution for me is to travel more. Not from Jebel Ali to Deira though, I am thinking further afield. Let’s start with Rio? Maybe France? How about India? Next year is packed with huge sporting events – from the ICC World Twenty20 in India in April, to Euro 2016 in France in July and then the Olympic Games in Rio in August. For me to attend all the events I want to, I will need to either get abducted by aliens and go missing; call in sick with the worst – and longest-running – case of man flu ever seen; or persuade my wife, family and bosses that it’s good for my ‘career progression’ to spend six months out of the office. Man flu looks the best option at this point, but then again introducing blatant lying would not be a greatest choice for self-improvement. Let’s start with getting fit and I will keep you updated on my holiday requests. Happy new year. Extreme cycling – Dubai’s new sport Cyclists should not be allowed on the roads. There I said it. I am sorry if I offend any two-wheelers, but what I saw yesterday was bordering on the crazy side of cycling life. Travelling down to 7DAYS Towers about 10am yesterday morning I was driving on Sheikh Rashid Road near Wafi when I witnessed one of the bravest things ever done by a human. There was a guy cycling – in full gear – down the motorway. I could not believe it, either this cyclist took a wrong turn in Paris during the Tour de France or he is a month early for the Dubai Tour. Either way it was dangerous and plainly stupid. If you want to take up extreme cycling then the UAE’s roads would certainly be the place for any thrill-seeker with a death wish. Let’s just hope drivers were paying attention… Why was Ozil ever doubted? Football fans are fickle, there’s no doubt about that. It was not long ago that Arsenal chief creator Mesut Ozil was being called a ‘waste of money’, ‘work-shy’ and ‘lightweight’. Now he is firing on all cylinders the German is being hailed as the best midfielders in the world. Ozil did not have the greatest of starts to his Arsenal career, but people forget that he’s a World Cup winner. Class always comes through in the end – remember what Inter fans thought of Dennis Bergkamp? A lesson for us all, check your tweets If you are going to sign for Barcelona, just check that in the past you haven’t sent offensive tweets about the club or about Catalonia. Sergi Guardiola signed for Barca yesterday before getting fired after a quick background check. Social inclusion key for Bulldogs fans Kudos to the Canterbury Bulldogs. The Australian rugby league side are giving club memberships to refugee families and people from disadvantaged backgrounds as part of a study by Western Sydney University to improve fans’ social inclusion. Leeds chief Cellino turns off the TV According to reports, Leeds president Massimo Cellino was trying to prevent his side’s clash with Derby from being televised last night. Well, if football turns against TV then the players ought to look for a new career path. Read the original story at: Starling on Sport: New year sporting resolutions