ARTISTS TALKING

# 181 [21 January 2012]

Sporting League: Game 37 Results

Tranquilayers won by three goals to one against Green Tree leaving them one win away from the title if they beat Saints or if Bayerns fail to win against Pointeso.

Sporting radio Pundit X: 'Tranquilayers looked keen, alive and were playing one or two touch stuff. Poor old Green Tree were chasing shadows for the vast part of that game.'

Bayerns made easy work of their opponents  Yop Lane to take the title into the last game of the season. Bayerns supporter: 'We played well today, but I've always said that we needed to take our chances in those games against Tranquilayers. It's going to be a nervy final day. I'm just hoping that Saints can do us a favour and Pointeso are having a rare off day.'

Athletico got their revenge for the defeat by their neighbours earlier in the season with a three goals to nil win over Chamber Athlete.

Olby players were furious after they had two goals ruled out as they went down by a goal to nil against the now former champions Universo Collunteen. Olby boss: 'We tore 'em apart for much of the game, but it seems that the ref was a Universo supporter.'

# 182 [23 January 2012]

The Sporting League: Game 38

Tranquilayers won their first title since 1995 and their fourth overall with a hard fought one - nil win over Saints.

Sporting Radio Pundit X: 'The Tranquilayers number one played an absolute blinder and will book a place in the club's folklore. That save in the firsy minute was truly magical. I'm watchin' now as the Tranquilayers pitch fill up with their usually reserved conservative support base. Fireworks, euphoria - i don't think the supporters can believe that they're champions after sixteen long years.'

Bayerns were snuffed out at the death against Pointeso in a match that had the past versus the future written all over it. Bayerns boss: 'I'd like to congratulate Tranquilayers on their success and they're gong to enjoy the moment. We need to look at ourselves and give it a few days to decide what we're going to do to get ourselves ready for next season.'

Drakens and Indentine waved goodbye to the league for a second time after defeats to Pacifica and Athletico.

Pundit X: 'Well, I'm lookin' forward to me hols in The Hilti Forest over the summer. I'll be doin' the ol' weights and gettin' myself in shape on the ol' golf circuit.'

Pundit Y: 'It won't last bro'...you can't keep away from the health spa buffets, nickin' the ol' chocolate on the sly at midnight from the ol' mini bar...'

The conversation continued across the Sporting City airwaves as the blue fireworks shimmered in the night sky.

# 183 [12 February 2012]

Sporting League Season 2011 – 2012

Game 1

The Sporting League returned with an action packed programme which saw champions Tranquilayers stutter with a one – one draw against Athletico.

Sporting Radio Pundit X: ‘Well I’ve enjoyed me ol’ summer break up in the Hliti forest. Let’s be honest though…that was a bit of a yawnfest from the champions out there today. It was second gear stuff out there.’

Delta winning at Metronova by four goals to one was enough to put them at the top after the first day. Delta boss: ‘We put in a shift today against a resilient Metro, but we put a lot of pressure on their back four which paid dividends for us at the business end of the game.’

Universo Collunteen won the match of the day with a two goals to nil win over Novia.

Universo gaffer: ‘I’m pleased with that one…it just kinda eases us into the season. I felt that we underachieved last season so I went into the summer transfer market and got myself a few bargains in the charity shops.’

Pointeso awoke from their cool summer slumber to win by two goals to one away to Bolsov.  Bolsov boss: ‘Pointeso are the team of the moment and we nearly stole a point at the death. ‘

Officials in Sporting City northern quarter say candidate 203 has won the state's primary caucuses in the race for the Sporting City Zone 51 control nomination with 24% of the vote.

With most of the votes counted, socialite outsider candidate 200 was in second place with 18%.

The burgeoning Pointeso art scene is also in full flow with the official opening of the Naze Vale gallery. Curator Z: ‘We're the new generation, there is a whole new audience, and we are not interested in pandering to a generation that is not going to be here in 20 years time. We are young and if I may say so myself - pretty damn beautifulistically cool. It’s great when you have a mixture of Pointeso players coming to the all nighters we put on over here. As I said, we are the future – the days of Novian slacker chique are long gone. ‘

# 184 [30 March 2012]

The Sporting League Game 2 Results.

Universo Collunteen eased past the young Olby upstarts with a three goals to nil away win.

Universo boss: It’s good to be back at the top again even though it is only early doors so to speak. I don’t think the Yop boss was getting any respect from the dressing room last season, that could be seen on the pitch. I don’t think club at the time had any  plans or ambition beyond the bright lights of Sporting consumerism. I’m pleased that he’s trying out the kids this time around. Good luck to ‘em.’

Delta secured the spoils against plucky Bolsov to secure a one goal to nil home win. Delta boss: ‘Like I said…it’s a marathon this league – not a sprint. I haven’t got any set agenda this season – we’ve just gotta keep pluggin’ away and see what the table looks like at the end of the season.’

Champions Tranquilayers put their first win on the board with a nervy two goals to one win over Chamber Athlete.

Hip kings Pointeso moved into fifth position with an assured performance over Sporting Athlete. Sporting boss: ‘It’s going to be a long season for us. Our aim is to keep ourselves in the league. Our opponents will win the title this season. They’ve been together long enough and I just can’t see anyone getting close to them.’ 

# 185 [31 March 2012]

Sporting League Results: Game 3

Delta, Bayerns and Pointeso all maintained their one hundred percent records to remain in the top three.

Sporting Radio Pundit X: ‘Well, it’s good to be back from my summer break here at your no.1 radio station in the heart of Sporting City. Lookin’ at the monitors here, I can already see that Pointeso have improved vastly on last season. Universo Collunteen just didn’t know what hit them. They were played off the park…simple as…I always knew that one was gonna be a real coupon buster – don’t you worry about that.’

Athletico breathed a huge sigh of relief as they scored in the last minute against relegation favourites Zindustrious.

Pundit L: ‘These are worrying times for the Athleticans. I think they may be lookin’ at a mid-table finish this time around. I nearly choked on my Athletique bagel…the performance was a real shocker until they brought the new kid on at the end. My advice to them is to keep blooding the youngies coz the old guard really need to be phased out.’

The Chamber Athlete board are due to convene as Sporting stock markets advanced on Wednesday, posting triple-digit gains for the quarter, as economic reports showing Sporting Zone 34a consumer spending and sentiment still on the rise helped buoy stock prices and undercut the desire to hold bonds.

# 186 [1 April 2012]

Sporting League Results: Game 4

Universo Collunteen made a sensational comeback in a game in which they’d been completely outplayed for a good eighty minutes

If the Universo boss was surprised, that was nothing compared to how the Green Tree army felt. Five goals in the final minutes turned the game on its head, giving Universo Collunteen the three points.

Sporting Radio Pundit X: ‘I’ll tell ya…those Uni supporters were getting pretty wound up throughout the game. I guess they felt frustrated with the dominance of Tranquilayers and Bayerns last season and are desperate for a good start to keep them in the hunt come the business end of the season.’

Novia made easy work of it against the struggling Yop Lane securing a comfortable three goal win.

Novia boss: ‘I’ll be content if we can gets ourselves a top five finish. The league is all about the money…make no mistake about that man. The Novian philosophy will always have a countercultural core but we’ll graft as much as the next team.’

Pointeso shot themselves to the top of the table after putting seven past Haaveno who were left in tatters propping up the table.

Sporting City wide, there has been a 20 per cent increase in thefts over the past two years, up from an estimated 40% to 55% in 2011, according to a new study. The rise compares with a 14 per cent increase in shoplifting in commercial stores in the downtown zone 85 districht.

# 187 [4 April 2012]

Sporting League Results: Game 5

Pointeso showed their new defensive credentials with a plucky performance away to Novia.

Novia boss: ‘We threw all but the kitchen sink at ‘em but they’ve got a much tighter back four this time around. We can take a lot of positives from our performance…I still can’t stand those pretentious Pointeso arty types though…’

Universo held Bayerns one all at home.

Sporting Radio Pundit X: ‘Those two clubs need to be playing for their lives out there, but I couldn’t help but feel that they were content with the draw. I’m telling’ ya…those Pointeso kids are going to be a dot on the horizon. Lets just say I’ve got more than a few spondoolies on ‘em to take the top honours this season.’

 Valcomo solutions is cutting 1,500 jobs as the new chief executive  clears out areas that do not fit into his plans for turning around the beleaguered Sporting promotions company.

The cuts represent about 14% of the 14,100 workers employed by Valcomo estates.

The company estimated it will save half it's annual turnover after the layoffs are completed later this year.

# 188 [12 April 2012]

Sporting league: Results Game 6

Pointeso continued their process in the art of myth creation with a sixth successive which kept them two points clear of nearest rivals Bayerns and Tranquilayers.

Sporting Radio Pundit P: ‘We seem to be getting to a point (no pun intended) where Pointeso are becoming a signifier for hipster chique – and their performances continue to cement what I would call a self fulfilling myth. Their logo in combination with the signified of ‘Pointesoness’ all combine to create a kind of mythic beast that we haven’t seen since the heady days of the 1980’s.’

Red Star continued their positive start in spite of limited resources to move up into forth position with a one goal to nil win over Olby.

Red Star gaffer: ‘I was just sayin’ the other day to our board that they need to give it to the summer before we make any decisions about our league status. I mean this is supposedly our last season as we’ve been runnin’ on empty for too many years now – but I really hope we show some resilience in this campaign and prove that we can survive the financial trap door.’