A little bit of rain didn't hurt anyone, but it can be a bit frustrating

It's that time of year when everyone starts moaning that summer is over and how we don't even get a summer anymore or that it went too quickly. However Wimbledon passed with very few rain delays and the weather couldn't even stop England's constant march to the number one test side in the world, it seems to be September showers that are causing more problems in sporting events.
The major sport event which seems to have the main problem is the US Open which looks likely to be delayed into a third week with a number of fourth round matches to be completed when they should have finished the Quarter Finals by now. This could have been even worse if Hurricane Irene had struck a week later and causing more damage that it could have easily done. A couple of questions need to be asked, the ATP have to be responsible for staging a grand slam in New York, not exactly a tropical city, in September when the weather is bound to turn nasty for at least a few days with the possibility of even longer. Whereas the Australian Open is played during the Australian summer with players overheating and retractable roofs being used to cool players and spectators down. I may hear you ask that the order of the Grand Slams has always been this way and has always usually run with no problems. But surely a simple change up in the schedule would make it a lot easier on frustrated players and spectators. Such as in Golf when all four majors are played within 4 months of each other, this would also give the option to shorten the tennis season that already has it's adversaries of being too long. The US Open organisers themselves haven't helped with a number of issues, mainly the American TV scheduling of 'Super Saturday' staging both Men's semi-finals and women's Final all on the same day, combined with the open round of matches being split over the first three days rather than a more logical two.

No chance of over heating today

When play finally got under way today it took 30 to 45 minutes to mop the courts down- whatever happened to putting covers over like Wimbledon, you then have a dry court ready for instant play barring a possible sweaty court. However as other grand slam tournaments rebuild and develop their courts and grounds Flushing Meadows has stayed still. One of the main problems could be that Arthur Ashe stadium is too big and to add a roof to it would be near on impossible let alone ruin the impressive design it holds now. Whether this could lead to pressure from the ATP to rebuild or redesign Flushing Meadows or face the possibility of losing one of tennis' four top level tournaments. This must be seen as a threat with other global organisations favouring new countries rather than traditional locations to host big events.
This could come down to player power with the American television argument coming back against the USTA. All they can hope for is that the weather improves for this year and future tournaments- and some world leaders claimed global warming wasn't happening. What country was he the president of again?

Haven't we been here before?

So just seven months on from the close of the January transfer window, the usual panic was resumed on Wednesday night throughout football clubs up and down the land. All thinking the same thing, have we got enough to last till January? This once again meant some clubs were buying for the sake of it, some had the money to do so- Manchester City as always. Whereas others were pressured into buying by fans and media alike- Arsenal and notably the under pressure Arsene Wenger were one of these after their 8-2 drubbing at Manchester United at the weekend. The call for fans to buy this and that may well have meant that they have overpaid for certain players that may well have been cheaper earlier in the summer that would have had time to bed into the squad during pre-season. Now Wenger has to hope that his last day dealings come off, otherwise his tenure could well be coming to an end if Champions League football isn't at the Emirates next season. What he has bought is proven players instead of the usual potential that have and haven't come through in the past, Mikel Arteta is one of these proven Premier League performers. But it only takes an injury to his newest midfielder (who has an injury history) and he will be back to where he was numbers wise in the centre of the park.
Elsewhere it was the same old players moving around the country to new clubs, claiming that this was the club to re-invigorate their career. Mr Bellamy and Bentley are two main examples of this, perhaps that both players former/current clubs both include West Ham explain one of the reasons why they are in the Championship. Unsettling players are never good long term for the club and I can't see Bentley lasting more than he has at any of his previous clubs. I for one hope that he will be helpful short term and help get West Ham back up to the top league as soon as possible. This can be said about any signing made in the last week of August, it may come off or it may not. Till then you can count down the days to January 1st when the transfer window reopens again and the chain starts again.