There'll be one mad dog and his master, pushing for four with the spin

The new football season has just started. Obviously by football I mean the glorified Rugby that America calls football and not real football (hereafter to be refereed to as s***** - believe me its easier). I amazed by the complete frenzy that this country gets into about its sport.

Take football. The AFL (the equivalent of the Premiership) is only the start of it. I find it hard to believe that of a Friday night, one of our local TV stations shows High School football live. This is like Midlands Today showing Dunsmore 1st XV play Sheriff 1st XV on a Saturday morning - complete madness and probably not the greatest entertainment. Yesterday the New England Patriots quarterback was involved in a relatively minor car accident. It happened during the TV breakfast programmes and the amount of coverage of it was unbelievable. If your thought the English were obsessed with s****** it is nothing compared to America and football.

And that is nothing when measured against what is known as "the American pastime" - baseball. I have quite warmed to baseball. I know its just glorified rounders but there is something quite compelling about it. Its really not that far from cricket, it certainly shares the need to know what the statistics are all about - its all about the stats. Something that I find quite amusing is everyone seems to agree that it can quite rowdy at the ball park, especially in the bleachers. I was told by someone - "you wouldn't want to be in the bleachers at Fenway Park when the Red Sox are playing the Yankees. Its the fighting Irish in the Bostonian - give them a drink and they like to rip it up"! Superb.

I think though that both are sports that you have to grow up with to have a full understanding and appreciation of. I have watched both and whilst I can watch them I don't have the investment in either to get passionate about them. Which is why I shall carry on listening to the cricket on 5 Live Extra on the web and go to the pub in Manchester when the six nations starts. Thank god the Rugby will be at a sensible time, I still haven't quite worked out when the Ashes will be and how much sleep I will lose (literally and metaphorically) .