We're under starters orders!

Hi Guys

I hope that you have all had a productive week and life is good.

It has been a crazy time for Andy and Alex and the family getting the website up and running but helped massively by Stuart and his team at BD2, they can be very proud of what they have achieved.

Now it's up to us to pass the word around and to make this charity fly.

What have I been up to this week?

Well on Monday I was given the tremendous honour of reading the Eulogy at Keith Mills funeral. Keith has been a Wigan institution for over five decades and was respected and admired by many in the way he conducted his life. He was a true gentleman and will be missed greatly. I was very nervous leading the eulogy and I hope I did his family proud by speaking about his life in a way that did him justice.

I asked in the opening blog that if anybody had any burning topics to discuss, then e-mail me and we will chat about it. My friend and Ex Salford player Karl Fitzpatrick who is currently the Welfare officer at Warrington and who does a tremendous job there, asked me what I thought about the Challenge Cup and whether or not I agreed with some suggestions for Super League teams to join the competition a round later to avoid large scores behing run up against the lesser teams.

Karl thinks that this is wrong, as it will affect the romance of the cup along with the financial implications that potentially means a lower level club can pull a decent amount of money from a game against one of the big boys. I 100% agree with Fitzy. For sure nobody wants to see cricket scores up and the demoralising effects it can have on teams and on clubs but surely the chance of a giant killing act outweighs all the negatives, that's the point of sport isn't it. If the team who, on paper should win, won every week, well that would be pretty boring.

The uncertainty and unpredictability of sport is why we love it so much and to take away the 'should win' games would take away the very essence of competition. There is a line in the Whitney Houston song 'One moment in time' which says, 'When I'm more than I thought I could be', think about that for a minute. The underdog gets up on the morning of a game and says that line to himself, that ignites the flames that could potentially see him home as a winner. How can we take that out of sport? I am with you Fitzy, don't touch the competition.

I had to laugh at a tweet from Salford player Jodie Broughton who quoted his team mate Wayne Godwin. It said, "if you don't live within 10 minutes of Xscape or Diggerland, there is no point living in England". Xscape is a retail and entertainment outlet and Diggerland, well I guess shows off diggers. You have to love the simplicity of Waggas outlook on life. If England can provide him with these two attractions, then he is happy. I want to live in Waggas world, I have never met a more positive kid. If he has a jacket potatoe, its the best jacket potatoe he has ever had. Wagga for Prime Minister.

Last weekend the Wigan boys went along to Haydock races. Its important to get the balance right in life between worktime and social/enjoyment time or else there is a danger of mental fatigue. I spent the day with my boy Finchy. He, like Wagga above enjoys life. Having a few beers and a few punts on the gee gees was great (obviously a few wins helps), but the day was about spending time with your mates. We are lucky that we work every day with people who are built out of the same stuff.

There is a famous quote, "Life is more like a wrestle than a dance", if that's the case, then throw the jelly and the spray cream in and make it more fun!