#his second... finnish 3rd :p

[starscelly]

the flying finn with his second of the night!

dal@col 05.01.25 | round 1 game 6

[guysofeurovision]

Third round of predictions and comments: let’s see what the anons had to say...

- I need Irland to go through! I need a trashy Performance in the nf, and if she got to perform first, we would have an iconic opener like in 1991! You make a good point: tonight we’ll lack some cheap Eurovision energy :(

- Michael Ben David's behaviour is Just wrong in all ways. He literally slapped one of the Alhanov Brothers, forced Sheldon to kiss him on his lips, pulled William's (Wiwibloggs) mask down and kept Taking microphones from other Contestants and tries to outshine everyone on every occasion. He will qualify due to being a great Performer and good staging but I wish he won't.  At the end of the day, he didn’t get through, right? Let’s try not to shitstorm him too much now: and I’m speaking to myself here, too... because I’ve already shared enough bad asks on the guy. Let’s stop with this collection of asks, ok? Don’t be disappointed if I won’t reply on this topic anymore. 

- This could be the dumbest theory yet but do you think Ochman could have a crush in one of the Kalush guys? I get that he supports Ukraine and he likes their song but he's been hanging a lot with them mmmm  Probably just leaning on the Poland-Ukraine brotherhood :)

- Grazie Italia for inviting Diodato, I couldn't stop crying from the beginning to the end of the song ♥️ Competition-wise, I fell in love with Portugal. Can't fait for the rest of the shows!  So far Portugal hasn’t earned my love and now I’m starting to believe that it will never happen.

- Honestly what is the Point of the draw of halves if Producers put a couple of bops next to each other and  many ballads next to each other? Ukraine, Spain and Serbia are really in advantage because of the given running order.  People, really, please... Why always complaining about all and every single thing? Is running order really that fundamental? I found all the speculation on it quite exaggerated. 

- Serbia was just unbelievable . The arena was crazy during her performance . So happy for her .  When it comes to clapping hands, humans are always all in, especially Italians :P

- I am so happy for Romania, he definitely deserved to qualify over Israel. Especially after Michael did that thing where he joined the presenters at the end, like, I understand it's his personality but it was a pretty egocentric and unprofessional move. I mean, he started kissing them WHILE they were speaking. And you could tell they weren't happy about it. I think it was the first time I've ever seen Mika without a smile on his face lol   I’m so curious to know which spot WRS got in the semi... 9th? 10th? Higher? Uhm...

- Unpopular opinion: avarage level of SF1 was higher than SF2 (in the first one I was sad for nearly everyone who didn't qualify, in the second I had 8 qualifiers and 10 NQ). SF2 got stronger single acts though On the contrary, I believe this is quite a common opinion!

- I don't see any problem with Stefan's staging, it's perfectly fine for this kind of song. But apparently, some people think that good staging=bringing an entire circus on stage  Another great example of what I often brag about: sometimes LESS IS MORE!

- The acts which surprised me the most were Stefan and We Are Domi, they're true performers! (My 3rd and 4th in that semi, just after Sweden and Poland)  Let’s admit it: Czech Republic will be a great opening act to warm up the arena (even if their music isn’t my cup of tea), while Stefan’s message of “hope” the perfect end to it :)

- Wrs is gay ?  Don’t wanna out him but.. hey, let’s say I’d be surprised if it turned out otherwise.

- Do you think Kristyan is gay?  Clueless here...

- Am I the only one who thinks Finland’s song was not so good (to say the least)? Personally I think North Macedonia should’ve qualified instead of them   Finnish entry isn’t amazing but HELL NO, North Macedonia is fine where it is... Zero staging and all those tragic facial expressions... Oh, so annoying!!!...

- Does a guy's height matter for you? Other Citi Zēni members are taller than the lead singer. He's just so... Tiny🤣  No, it doesn’t matter at all. And since when being “tiny” is a problem?

- Who TF even like Israel this year?! Last year was better   Last year, the previous one to that, and the one before that, etc.

- It's a shame that Achille didn't have a stronger song, because that mechanical bull deserved to make an appearance in the final and be seen by a larger audience-it could have reached "man in hamster wheel" and "grandma with drum" levels of Eurovision iconicness!  This is very true: it would have brought some real show to the final, something people could have talked about :P

- I have thoughts about San Marino. Idk. why people on tumblr are losing shit over Achille Lauro. His vocals just weren't good, and it's obvious that San Marino wanted to repeat Måneskin's success by low-key coping them (but tried to make it edgier).  Song and vocals weren’t on point: what else to say when it comes to a musical contest? Ok, it’s televised and acts should also please the eye, but the main feature can’t be that! (Not sure on the idea of Achille trying to emulate Maneskin... He’s like this on his own!)

- Ronela's dancers >>>> Chanel's dancers (sorry Pol)   HELL YES!! Karmine, oh Karmine...  :Q__

- Idk about you or anyone else, is Subwoolfer actually sing on stage, I didn't see a single mic since the beginning  Hidden somewhere under those masks? Live singing is mandatory, so there can’t be that much of a trick, right?

- You May disagree but Serbia could really surprise tonight. They got a good draw (24, second to last, after three Song sung by men and before one Song sung by a man). Serbia also increased in the odds and don't forget Serbia had probably the biggest audience Support in the semi - I still remember my goosebumps when I Heard the intense clapping. I am really curious how High Konstrakta will place, I would not Mind her winning.  Top5 may be at reach but I don’t see it winning: call it sixth sense....

- I know it's unlikely, but I want Konstrakta to win and Sanja, Ksenija and Ivana to be next year's hosts!  I can already see what kind of dresses they could put on and... Oh Lord, save us from that cringe!! 

- No matter whether they win or not, Sam Ryder and Konstrakta are already Eurovision icons and legends!   I’m missing a real icon this year, someone like Natalia Gordienko 🤣

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES VOLUME 4 PART 2

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings   HARTFORD, CT - The news from the AHL, amid a global pandemic, is stunned sadness on this Easter weekend. Early Saturday morning came the grim, devastating news that 25-year-old, Colby Cave, a forward for the Bakersfield Condors, passed away in Sunnyside Hospital in Toronto. He died as a result of complications from a brain bleed due to a colloid cyst (tumor). The developed tumor put pressure on his brain and requiring it to be removed surgically on Tuesday. After being admitted on Monday to a hospital in Barrie, Ontario, following his being found unresponsive in bed that morning, he was taken by airlift to Toronto. The family released a statement, first announcing the terrible news. Cave was five years into his pro career. He was acquired from the Boston Bruins by the Edmonton Oilers on January 15 of last year. In his all too brief life, Cave was diligent and a hard-worker. He made it to the NHL despite not being drafted, making his NHL debut with Boston on December 21, 2017, against the Winnipeg Jets. He played 44 games this year in Bakersfield with 11 goals and 12 assists and in 11 games with Edmonton, where he posted one goal with four penalty minutes. A majority of his AHL career came in Providence. In 239 games with the P-Bruins tallied 43 goals and 72 assists for 115 points and was a solid performer against the Wolf Pack. He had a standout junior career in the WHL for five seasons, all with the Swift Current Broncos in 285 games, where he garnered 95 goals and 202 points. He was voted team MVP and was a team captain. He would play just 34 NHL games with two goals and four assists. AHL President/CEO Dave Andrews released a statement following the shocking announcement. “Colby Cave was beloved as a teammate and friend, as a husband and son. The entire American Hockey League extends our deepest condolences to Colby's wife, Emily, and his entire family, as well as to those whose lives he touched in the Oilers and Bruins organizations and throughout hockey.”  Likewise, Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, similarly released a warm, heartfelt letter of condolences. “The National Hockey League family mourns the heartbreaking passing of Colby Cave, whose life and hockey career, though too short, were inspiringly emblematic of the best of our game. Undrafted but undaunted, Colby was relentless in the pursuit of his hockey dream with both the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins organizations. An earnest and hardworking player, he was admired by his teammates and coaches. More important, he was a warm and generous person who was well-liked by all those fortunate enough to know him. We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Emily, their families and Colby’s countless friends throughout the hockey world.” AHL SEASON The season is still in suspension mode, but news from the Quebec Provincial government, where they banned all outdoor public events, including sporting events, concerts, and festivals, and all large public gatherings until August 31, made it pretty clear that the cancelation of the regular and post-season for the NHL and AHL would be announced likely around May 1.   HOCKEY TRANSACTIONS Former Sacred Heart University Pioneer (AHA), Connor Doherty, of the Worcester Railers HC won the ECHL Community Services Award. The Worcester head coach is former Wolf Pack assistant coach, David Cunniff, the son of late New England and Hartford Whaler player and coach, John Cunniff. The ECHL also announced their All-Star teams. One of the two First-team defensemen is Logan Roe (Kent Prep) of the Florida Everblades. He was a high school teammate of Boo Nieves and finished the year with Manitoba. On the second team, now an ECHL vet, and ex-Sound Tiger goalie, Parker Milner (Avon Old Farms). There is some hockey business going-on. The first junior draft, held last Saturday - the OHL Priority Draft - and there were a few unusual names that selected. In the first round, the third overall pick was Max Namestnikov, the youngest son of former Wolf Pack, Evgeni "John" Namestnikov, by the Sarnia Sting. He played last year for the Detroit Honeybaked U-15 team, and he is a commit to Michigan State (Big 10) in 2023-24. David Goyette of the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep U-15 team went in the first round 11th overall to the Sudbury Wolves. Connor Toms, son of former Wolf Pack Jeff Toms was a 3rd pick and 44th overall, but he didn't have to go far, Toms was selected by his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He played last year for Sault Ste. Marie Bantam AAA (NOBHL) for his father, who was the team's head coach. Two spots later. Landon Sim, son of ex-Sound Tiger Jon, was selected from Weeks (NSMMHL) by the London Knights. Vinny Borgesi, from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep U-15, was taken by Guelph in the 9th round 170th overall. He recently made a commitment to Northeastern (HE) for 2023-23 and has signed a USHL tender contract with Tri-City for the fall start of the season. Andrew DellaDonna from the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep U-15 went in the 10th round 186th overall by the Hamilton Bulldogs. He is an Ohio State Buckeyes (Big 10) commit for 2022-23. The announcement of the WHL All-Star teams was released. The Eastern conference goalie was Prince Albert Raiders goalie Max Paddock, the nephew of former Wolf Pack coach, John Paddock. Ironically, the elder Paddock, the VP /Director of Hockey Ops with the Regina Pats, traded his nephew back on January 7 to the Raiders. In one of the defensive spots is a New York Rangers draft pick, and a possible member of the Wolf Pack 2020-21 roster, Matt Robertson of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The second-round pick from last summer in 60 games had 13 goals, 34 assists, and 47 points. His WHL career totals al with Edmonton is 186 games 27 goals, 78 assists for 105 points for 6'4 205 lb. Rearguard. Upfront Mark Kastelic, son of former Whaler Ed Kastelic had a strong final junior year in 68 games had a team-high 38 goals and 68 points and was a plus 30 for the Calgary Hitmen. The Ottawa Senators draft pick career numbers were 321 major junior games with 126 goals, 109 assists and 235 points signed a three-year two-way entry-level deal with the Senators on Thursday.   AHL EURO SIGNINGS Three AHL players are going to Europe so far as the AHL season, which is still in suspended status, but just one player has confirmed their pending departure. Nikolai Golobdin has said he is leaving Utica for CSKA Moscow (Russia-KHL). In contrast, Charles Hudon in Laval, rumored to be talking to several teams in Switzerland's top league, the NLA, and Cory Conacher, the ex-Sound Tiger, is being paired with HC Lausanne of the NLA. HOBEY BAKER AWARD Mike Perunovich of the University Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (NCHC) was named the 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner becoming the sixth person from the school to capture the coveted top individual award in college hockey. The junior defenseman from Hibbing, MN beat out North Dakota forward Jordan Kawaguchi and Maine goalie Jeremy Swayman for the award in a weirdly timed late-night announced on ESPN. "I'm extremely honored and humbled," Perunovich said in a public statement. "Five other Bulldogs have won this prestigious award, so it is just a privilege to join them." The other five were Tom Kurvers (1984), Bill Watson (1985), Chris Marinucci (1994), ex-Sound Tiger Junior Lessard (2004), and Jack Connolly (2012) as Bulldogs' Hobey Baker winners. Perunovich was second in the nation with 34 assists and had six goals in 34 games, becoming the first defenseman to lead the NCAA in scoring. Perunovich, a second-round draft choice in 2018, signed an NHL entry-level deal last month with the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. The award was an anti-climatic event. In it would have been awarded at the NCAA Frozen Four slated to be in Detroit this weekend, where Perunovich and his Bulldogs teammates hoped to play for a three-peat national title. The undrafted Kawaguchi had 15 goals and 30 assists in 33 games. He's returning to North Dakota  (NCHC) for his senior season. Swayman was 18-11-5 with a 2.07 goals-against average, and .939 save percentage for the University Maine Black Bears (HE), and he, like Perunovich, signed an NHL entry-level deal last month his with the Boston Bruins. The award, named in honor of Baker, the former Princeton hockey and football star, was World War I fighter pilot. He was killed in a plane crash in France after scheduled to return home. COLLEGE PRO SIGNINGS The UCONN Huskies Wyatt Newpower who had a strong senior season making the Hockey East Second Team All-Star with 25 points and was a plus 23 signed a one-year AHL deal with the Cleveland Monsters top farm team for the Columbus Blue Jackets. -Cam Crotty departs BU and signs with Arizona (NHL). -Goalie Tom Aubrun (Chamonix, France) from Norwich University (VT) Division II/III Player of the year signs a two year, two way deal with AHL Rockford Ice Hogs. -A few more European collegian signings Jesper Mattila graduates Boston College (HE) and joins teammate and fellow Finnish countrymen Aapeli Rasanen, who leaves school a year early, to sign separate deals with KalPa Kuopio (Finland-FEL). Jake Grade of Division III St. Anselm (NE-10), making it five collegians to sign in Europe inking a deal with HC Cholet (France Division-2). That makes 74 Division I players have signed prop contracts, and 84 college players in total have signed AHL and ECHL deals. The breakdown by conference Hockey East-18, Big 10-17, NCHC-14, WCHA-11, ECACHL-8, AHA-6, and NCAA Independent Division HAS just one. From Division II/III-10 and signing in Europe five. -Eight more grad school transfers happened this past week; three were goalies. First, Robbie Beydoun departs Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA) for the University Wisconsin Badgers (Big 10). The other is Anton Martinson travels 3,000 miles from the University Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks (WCHA) to Providence College Friars (HE) and Henry Johnson heads from Bemidji St (WCHA) to Mercyhurst (AHA). The forwards were Jared Cockrell heads from Colgate (ECACHL), Seamus Donohue Michigan Tech (WCHA) heads to St. Cloud St. (WCHA), Carson Gicewicz goes from St. Lawrence University (ECACHL) to UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE). The latest two are Jordan Timmons of the UCONN Huskies (HE) and Charlie Combs of Bemidji State (WCHA) heads to Michigan State (Big 10). He is the younger brother by nine years of former Wolf Pack and Sound Tiger, Jack Combs. Grad transfers are permitted if a student/player either completes his undergraduate degree in under four years after being redshirted due to injury. In either case, one year of NCAA eligibility remains, and a student/player can transfer without the usual one year wait required when a student/player transfers among schools during a regular four-year undergraduate schedule. There is just one regular transfer so far as Jack Olmstead leaves  Michigan (Big 10) to Miami (OH) (NCHC) and can skate for them in 2021-22 after sitting out a year. There are presently ten grad school transfers. NHL DRAFT The final NHL Central Scouting Bureau (CSB) draft list is out, and some exciting names are on the list. At number four is defenseman Jake Sanderson, eldest son of former Whaler Geoff Sanderson. He played for the USA U-18 Team and the US National Development Team (USHL) this year and is a North Dakota (NCHC) commit for 2021-22. He is a dual citizen, so he is eligible for either the US and Canada WJC Team. Ridley Greig, son of ex-Whaler Mark, is the14th ranked player who played this season with Brandon (WHL). Defenseman Jack Finley, son of ex-Wolf Pack and Ranger Jeff Finley, currently the Director of Scouting for Winnipeg. The younger Finley skated for Spokane (WHL) was marked at the 38th spot. In the 70th spot is Ethan Cardwell form the Barrie Colts (OHL) nephew former New Haven Knight, Matt Cardwell. Senna Peters from the Selects Academy U-16 program played this year with Halifax (QMJHL) posting 33 points in 57 games, and a minus 43 is slotted 101st. -Ryan McGuire (New Canaan), son of the NHL announcer on NBCSN and former Hartford Whalers coach Pierre McGuire, is listed as the 105th best prospect in the CSB final rankings The younger McGuire is a Colgate University Red Raiders (ECACHL) commit for 2021-22. He's going to play for the Penticton Panthers (BCHL) next season. He played the last two years for Belmont Hill (MAPREP). McGuire was select him last year in the 12th round 216th overall by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL). Previously, he went in the 8th round 115th overall by the USHL Madison Capitols, and he did get in four games last season with the Capitols with no points after his prep school season ended, He attended Blaineville training camp last fall; however, he didn't play in any games to preserve his college eligibility. -Sophomore UCONN defenseman Jacob Flynn is 122nd. Incoming UCONN freshmen Nick Capone (East Haven/Salisbury Prep) played with Tri-City Storm (USHL) this season is 126th. Paul Dore, son of current Ranger scout Daniel Dore, a former NHL'er is slotted at 182nd. He played at Kimball Union Academy (NYPREP) and is scheduled to perform with Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) in the fall and has no current college commit. The last one on the list is Zakary Karpa, son of ex-Wolf Pack and Sound Tiger, David Karpa. The younger Karpa plays for USA National U-18 Team, and USNDTP (USHL) finished at 194th in the rankings. He is a Princeton Tigers (ECACHL) commit in the fall. Among 31 top-rated North American goalies in the 10th spot in Czech Republic native Nick Malik, the youngest son of ex-Whaler, Ranger, and Beast of New Haven defenseman Marek Malik, who played half the season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL). Before heading to Canada, he played for his father at Fydek-Mistek (Czech Republic Division-2), where he is the assistant coach, then HC Ocelari Trinec (Czech Elite League-CEL) and the Czech Republic WJC Team. Then among the European goaltenders, there is Oliver Tarnstrom, son of ex-Sound Tiger, Dick Tarnstrom. He played mostly for the AIK program in Sweden playing with their Super Elite, J-18, and Allsvenskan teams. He played internationally for the Swedish U-18 team. In total, Central Scouting has 217 North American players rated, 31 goalies plus 50 European players, and 10 Euro goalies. The Central Scouting Senior Director is former Beast of New Haven GM, David Gregory. This summer's NHL Draft event scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal sadly, has been canceled and will be held remotely at place and date to be determined. HOCKEY SIGNINGS After playing with Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL), Ryan Doolin (Westminster Prep), heads to Sacred Heart University Pioneers (AHA) in the fall. UCONN landed two commits from the CT prep school ranks both forwards. Gavin Puskar, from the Hotchkiss Bearcats (Lakeville, CT), who had 18 goals and 36 points in 26 games, will be at Storrs for the upcoming season. Hotchkiss lost in the opening round of the NEPSAC Open division playoffs 7-2 to eventual champion, Salisbury Prep. Mark D' Agostino (North Branford) from the Gunnery Highlanders (Washington, CT) posting 23 goals and 55 points in 35 games for NEPSAC Small Division champion, a 5-3 win over Pomfret. D' Agostino will be on campus for the 2021-22 season but will spend next season with the Langley Rivermen (BCHL). -One other prep school NCAA commit for 2021-22 is Kennedy O' Connor (Springfield, MA) of Loomis Chaffe school (Windsor, CT) will play 2020-21 for the Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) before heading to the Mullins Center to skate for the UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE) in 2021-22. He was drafted last year by both the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) and Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL). -Former Sound Tiger Rob Collins is the head coach of Canadian Jr. B Elmira Sugar Kings (GOJHL). -Remember Rangers one time goaltender of the future Dan Blackburn who played four games for the Wolf Pack in his brief pro career that was cut short by injury is a scout for the London Nationals (GOJHL). -Some moves in Europe Brent Raedeke, nephew of former New Haven Nighthawk Mark, goes from Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL) to Cologne (Germany-DEL) for 2020-21. -By the end of the month, most likely former Wolf Pack Oscar Lindberg will sign a one-year extension deal with EV Zug (Switzerland-LNA), according to a Swiss hockey website. Read the full article

[torentialtribute]

Focus on race to the Premier League at top of the Championship

Another crucial weekend lies ahead in the Sky Bet Championship with those teams aiming for promotion Premier League entering the season's home straight.

Two of them meet at Elland Road on Friday night at Leeds United West Bromwich Albion in a meeting of third and fourth

On Saturday, the current leaders Norwich City face a demanding trip to Millwall, while play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough and Bristol City face trips to Wigan Athletic and Preston North End respectively.

And on Monday night, second-placed Sheffield United take on their bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough to round off the weekend

We focus in on what is proving a fascinating Championship promotion race.

     How the top half of the Sky Bet Championship is shaping up ahead of this weekend's games

1st NORWICH CITY

Played 34; Goal difference +24; Points 66

For a team that finished a lowly 14th last season and then two of their best players, James Maddison and Josh Murphy, depart for the Premier League in the summer, Norwich are enjoying an extraordinary season.

Their highly likeable German manager Daniel Farke has performed wonders in assembling a young and vibrant team on limited resources and they've been in […]

Farke unearthed an absolute gem in the Finnish striker Teemu Pukki, who was out of contract at Danish club Brondby has scored 24 goals this season.

     Ben Godfrey celebrates his goal in Norwich's crucial 3-2 win over Bristol City last weekend

This weekend

FRIDAY

Leeds United vs. West Brom (7.45pm)

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football

SATURDAY (all 3pm)

Aston Villa vs. Derby County

Brentford vs. Queens Park Rangers

Hull City vs. Birmingham City

Ipswich Town vs. Reading

Millwall vs. Norwich City

Preston North End vs. Bristol City

Rotherham United vs. Blackburn Rovers

Stoke City vs. Nottingham Forest

Swansea City vs. Bolton Wanderers

Wigan Athletic vs. Middlesbrough

MONDAY

Sheffield Wednesday vs. Sheffield United (7.45pm)

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football

And at 28, Pukki is one of the older members of a side-built youthful exuberance from either academy graduates or talents picked up cheaply in the European market.

Max Aarons (19 ), Ben Godfrey (21), Jamal Lewis (21), Todd Cantwell (21) and Emiliano Buendia (22) are all enjoying fine campaigns.

Crucially, Norwich have acquired the knack or scoring late goals to salvage precious points and their high-intensity approach has served them well on the road, where their tally of 31 goals is a division best.

They proved their promotion credentials once again last weekend with a 3-2 win over Bristol City and their fixture run-in from here is pretty child.

You should fully expect the Canaries to return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. The challenge is to stay there on a limited budget.

Promotion odds: 2/7

Remaining fixtures: Saturday – Millwall (A ); March 8 – Swansea City (H); March 13 – Hull City (H); March 16 – Rotherham United (A); March 30 – Middlesbrough (A); April 6 – Queens Park Rangers (H); April 10 – Reading (H); April 13 – Wigan Athletic (A); April 19 – Sheffield Wednesday (H); April 22 – Stoke City (A); April 27 – Blackburn Rovers (H); May 5 – Aston Villa (A)

     Norwich's charismatic German manager Daniel Farke celebrates their win over Bristol City

2nd SHEFFIELD UNITED

Played 34; Goal difference +25; Points 64

Having established themselves in the Championship top six with a 4-1 win over Aston Villa at the beginning of September, Sheffield United has not dropped out of the top six since.

Chris Wilder has molded a side that does not want anything – only Norwich and West have scored more – but also possesses a steely resoluteness at the back.

That enables them to get results such as last Saturday's 1-0 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns that took them back to their Yorkshire rivals.

The remainder of the season easy route into the Premier League with their March 16 meeting at Elland Road set to be crucial.

     Kieran Dowell (right) celebrates scoring his winning goal for Sheffield United at West Brom

Championship top scorers chart

23 – Teemu Pukki (Norwich)

22 – Billy Sharp (Sheffield United)

21 – Che Adams (Birmingham)

20 – Tammy Abraham (Aston Villa)

19 – Neal Maupay (Brentford)

17 – Jay Rodriguez (West Brom)

16 – Jarrod Bowen (Hull), Dwight Gayle (West Brom)

15 – Oliver McBurnie (Swansea), Lewis Grabban (Nottingham Forest)

14 – Kemar Roofe (Leeds United)

The Blades' lethal strike partnership between Billy Sharp, second only to Pukki in the Championship top scorers chart on 22 goals, and David McGoldrick has proved important.

The performances of Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy in midfield, plus Enda Stevens at left-back, have helped replace David Brooks made the move to Bournemouth.

Ahead of Monday's crunch derby with Wednesday, a side who would like to find their promotion aspirations, Wilder's one finds themselves in excellent form.

Since tossing away a three-goal lead in the final eight minutes at Aston Villa on February 8 , United have beaten Middlesbrough, Reading and West Brom to underline their credentials.

March will tell us about whether they can stand the head, with meetings with Wednesday, Leeds and then Bristol City to come.

Promotion odds: 3/5

Remaining fixtures: Monday – Sheffield Wednesday (A); March 9 – Rotherham United (H); March 12 – Brentford (H); March 16 – Leeds United (A); March 30 – Bristol City (H); April 6 – Preston North End (A); April 10 – Birmingham City (A); April 13 – Millwall (H); April 19 – Nottingham Forest (H); April 22 – Hull City (A); April 27 – Ipswich Town (H); May 5 – Stoke City (A)

     Billy Sharp celebrates scoring in Sheffield United's 3-3 draw at Aston Villa last month

3rd LEEDS UNITED

Played 34; Goal difference +17; Points 64

Has another team managed by Marcelo Bielsa run out of steam

The man himself scoffed at the suggestion following Tuesday night's 1-0 loss at QPR, count the journalist who dared ask that 'your question does not have any basis … what you can say is this team has too much energy.'

But the facts, figures and form tell a different story. The setback at Loftus Road was their sixth defeat in 11 matches across all competitions since December 29.

Everyone knows that Bielsa is a hard taskmaster – the 'Spygate' scandal certainly uncovered his obsessive attention to detail – and in what is a high demanding league anyway, Leeds are certainly faltering at the wrong moment.

     Have Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United run out of steam at the crucial moment of the season

The Argentine seems to be feeling the strains of a marathon campaign as well – he was photographed slum in the tunnel after the loss in west London, with the appearance of a man distinctly short of energy and solutions.

Yet nobody is about to write Leeds off, and neither should they. As the Yorkshire side chase a return to the Premier League after 15 years away, they're only two different on the top difference

Recent home wins on Swansea and Bolton have kept them up there but there now a lot riding on Friday night meeting with West Brom, […]

One of the issues is that Bielsa is without 14-goal leading scorer Kemar Roofe, who injured his knee in the Swansea game and will not be back anytime.

     Kemar Roofe has been instrumental for Leeds this season, scoring 14 goals in the league

Roofe is the only player in double figures for the season, but goals have nicely spread through the team. Pablo Hernandez and Mateusz Klich have supplied 18 assists between them.

On the other hand, win over the Friday night and all the recent troubles definitely forgotten. Stiff tests await the coming weeks though.

Promotion odds: 3/4

Remaining fixtures: Friday – West Bromwich Albion (H) ; March 9 – Bristol City (A); March 12 – Reading (A); March 16 – Sheffield United (H); March 30 – Millwall (H); April 6 – Birmingham City (A); April 9 – Preston North End (A); April 13 – Sheffield Wednesday (H); April 19 – Wigan Athletic (H); April 22 – Brentford (A); April 27 – Aston Villa (H); May 5 – Ipswich Town (A)

4th WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Played 34; Goal difference +43; Points 60

Having seen eight seasons of Premier League event come to an end last season, West Brom knew they'd be expected in and around the promotion race.

And having sensibly kept caretaker Darren Moore at the helm, they have achieved that,

Having been edged out by Sheffield United last Saturday, they face another stiff test of their credentials against Leeds on Friday and victory in the top two battle

Moore sets his Baggies side out to attack and there is no shortage of goals. They are the second highest scorers in the division with 67, coming from Jay Rodriguez and 16 from Dwight Gayle.

     West Brom celebrate a goal by Jay Rodriguez during their recent win at Aston Villa

Gayle arrived on loan from Newcastle United in exchange for Salomon his liking as he did during Newcastle's promotion campaign in 2016-17.

Harvey Barnes was enjoying such a successful season that Leicester recalled him from his loan, while Moore was able to get together much of their Premier League squad to good effect

They have registered some noteworthy results this year to underline their journey to the top-flight quickly – a they won 4-3 at Norwich in August, thrashed Leeds 4-1 in November and have won tricky games at Stoke, Villa and QPR in recent weeks.

     Jake Livermore celebrates scoring in the Baggies' recent 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers

Indeed, winning on the road has become a strength – they have won eight of their last nine away from The Hawthorns, including the last four.

Their remaining fixtures after Leeds are pretty child and there's every chance the Baggies will bounce back to the Premier League immediately, either automatically or through the play-offs.

Promotion odds: 6/4

Remaining fixtures: Friday – Leeds United (A); March 9 – Ipswich Town (H); March 13 – Swansea City (H); March 16 – Brentford (A); March 29 – Birmingham City (H); April 6 – Millwall (A); April 9 – Bristol City (A); April 13 – Preston North End (H); April 19 – Hull City (H); April 22 – Reading (A); April 27 – Rotherham United (H); May 5 – Derby County (A)

5th MIDDLESBROUGH

Played 33; Goal difference +14; Points 57

Middlesbrough fans knew exactly what to expect from Tony Pulis side – not exactly the highest levels of entertainment but functional and effective football. And, crucially, a role to play in the promotion shake-up.

They're fifth at the moment, exactly the same as they have been finished last season before being narrowly beaten by Aston Villa in the semi-finals or the playoffs

Inevitably they have scored the number of goals (38) in the top six, but they also have the lowest number in the division 28. They also have the most clean sheets (15).

     Ashley Fletcher celebrates scoring in Middlesbrough's win over Queens Park Rangers

Mind you, there are only four legions in the league this season, so perhaps things are not as dull as the table suggests.

Which such economical but effective performances, Middlesbrough will almost certainly be in the play-offs as they aim to keep their Championship stay down to just the two seasons.

They have a six-point cushion to seventh ahead of Saturday's trip to Wigan and have won their last two matches, against QPR and Blackburn. They also still boast a game in hand on the four sides above them.

Goals have been thin on the ground but Britt Assombalonga has excelled with 12 this season – six of his last seven have come in demanding away fixtures well.

     Britt Assombalonga, who scored Middlesbrough's winner at Blackburn, is their leading scorer

But it's consistently rock solid displays from their back line – Aden Flint, Dael Fry, Daniel Ayala, George Friend and others – that is what they want back up again.

Promotion odds: 11 / 4

Remaining fixtures: Saturday – Wigan Athletic (A); March 9 – Brentford (H); March 13 – Preston North End (H); March 16 – Aston Villa (A); March 30 – Norwich City (H); April 2 – Bristol City (H); April 6 – Swansea City (A); April 9 – Bolton Wanderers (A); April 13 – Hull City (H); April 19 – Stoke City (H); April 22 – Nottingham Forest (A); April 27 – Reading (H); May 5 – Rotherham United (A)

6th BRISTOL CITY

Played 33; Goal difference +8; Points 53

Having established a reputation as a handy cup team with a number of notable Premier League scalps in the last couple of years, […] Bristol City have this season found the consistency to challenge

]

Led by Lee Johnson, one of the brightest young managers in the game, they are a team far more than the top of the world since 1980.

Thanks to investment by Bristol Sports owner Stephen Lansdown, their Ashton Gate stadium is a Premier league standard venue in all but name.

     Famara Diedhiou fires home in Bristol City's recent win over QPR

Having come agonizingly close to winning promotion in 2008, their time may well come now.

They put together an astonishing run of 13 unbeaten matches in the Championship between the end of November and the middle of February, making them the in-form team in Europe.

But back-to-back losses to Norwich and Birmingham this week have piled the pressure on ahead of Saturday's trip to Preston North End, one of the many teams coveting their current sixth place.

     Lee Johnson (right) is one of the most talented young managers in the English game

They're not a free-scoring team but are an effective unit, with established figures such as Marlon Pack, Callum O'Dowda, Jamie Paterson and others in what Johnson wants to achieve

March sees them play Leeds and Sheffield United, giving us big clues to go up.

Promotion odds: 17/2

Remaining fixtures: Saturday – Preston North End (A); March 9 – Leeds United (H); March 12 – Ipswich Town (H); March 30 – Sheffield United (A); April 2 – Middlesbrough (A); April 6 – Wigan Athletic (H); April 9 – West Bromwich Albion (H); April 13 – Aston Villa (A); April 19 – Reading (H); April 22 – Sheffield Wednesday (A); April 27 – Derby County (H); April 30 – Millwall (A); May 5 – Hull City (A)

HOT ON THEIR HEELS – THE OTHER PROMOTION CONTENDERS

Below Bristol City, there are perhaps another six clubs hoping to steal into the play-off places.

Frank Lampard's Derby County are just two points off Bristol but have not looked themselves in recent weeks with losses to Millwall and Nottingham Forest.

The Rams have an unfortunate reputation for slipping off the boil – and dropping out of the play-off race – just the wrong moment and history could be repeating.

     Frank Lampard's Derby County appear to have hit at just the wrong moment

Birmingham are enjoying their lives. win at Bristol City

They're on the same level with Nottingham Forest, who looks under the double act of Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane, and won Monday's East Midlands derby against Derby

Preston, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday are a trio or clubs bunched together on 47 points, but could still be a hit with a box of games remaining.

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Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery all-laptopbattery.com

Photos Microsoft's new Intel-powered, Windows 8–running Surface Pro continues manufacturers' increasing drive to create kit that's all but impossible to repair, according to the part-and-repair folks at iFixit."The Surface Pro received a 1 out of 10 score on our repairability scale — the worst any tablet has ever received," iFixit wrote in an email announcing their teardown of Microsoft's tablet-Ultrabook mashup."The display assembly is anchored down with the most adhesive we've ever seen on a small device;" they wrote, "in fact, it took us well over an hour to figure out how to get inside — an iFixit first."The Surface Pro's difficulty of internal access contrasts with that of Microsoft's Nvidia Tegra 3–powered Surface RT, which received an iFixit reparability score of four out of 10. Even Apple's iPhone 5 received a score of seven.You might think that the two Surface devices would be somewhat similar inside, but after melting the tar-like adhesive securing the Surface Pro's display, "it turns out that the Pro is a completely different bag of beans," iFixit wrote.

For one, the Surface RT has 32GB of Samsung KLMBG4GE4A NAND Flash soldered onto its logic board. The Surface Pro that iFixit eviscerated, by contrast, has a independent 64GB SSD drive – a Micron RealSSD C400, to be specific – that would be easily upgradeable if the Surface Pro were easier to open.iFixit points out that those 64GB shrink to around 29GB "after negating 30+ GB for the operating system, the full MS Office suite that you may not have even activated, as well as the factory restore image." They also, however, point to a ZDnet story that compared a 128GB Surface Pro with an equally endowed MacBook Air, and discovered that the Air bested the Pro by a bit less than 10GB free storage space when the latter included the restore image, and by a mere 2GB when that image was removed. We'll call it a draw, essentially.And if you regard the Pro as a tablet rather than a laptop – your call – remember that it has a microSD card slot and the iPad does not, a fact that The Reg reminded you of last month.

While we're comparing Microsoft and Apple devices, iFixit discovered the Surface Pro's two fans to be marvels of miniaturization when compared with the dual fans in Apple's 2011 and 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro.But back to the Surface: needless to say, with the Surface Pro being a full-fledged, Windows 8–capable PC, its logic board has quite a bit more beef to it than does the Surface RT.The top of the logic board contains such niceties as 4GB of Micron DRAM (red), an Atmel touchscreen controller (blue) along with three supporting Atmel touchscreen controllers (pink) identical to the ones in the Surface RT. Should you care to explore the identities of the other chips in iFixit's photo, check out Step 14 of their teardown.

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Sony VAIO VGN-T Battery

Ensconced on the underside of the Surface Pro's logic board is one of the most significant differences between the Pro and the RT. "What might that be?" you may ask. Well, clearly it's the Intel Core i5 processor, of course – a 1.7GHz, dual-core, 3rd Generation i5-3317U (red) that enables it to run full-blown Windows 8. More details on the i5's logic-board neighbors can be found in iFixit's Step 15.When The Reg reviewed the Surface Pro, we found it to be a quite capable little laptop, as long as you didn't need to actually use it on your lap. Unfortunately, however, iFixit's teardown has added a second caveat: it's quite capable as long as you don't need to upgrade or repair it.Of course, your average user couldn't give a fig about repairability – until their battery dies a couple of years down the road, perhaps – and whether the Surface Pro's lack of internal accessibility is important to you is a matter of your own personal taste. Your humble Reg reporter, however, prefers his computing devices to be easy to open and easy to repair and upgrade.

Call us old-school, if you will, but the increasing propensity of manufacturers to create devices that unthinking users will toss into the garbage dump – that'd be a rubbish tip to our UK friends – gives us pause. There's enough toxic crap in our landfills as it is.Not that the Surface Pro is alone in its inaccessibility. Apple's fourth-generation iPad, for example, received an iFixit repairability score of two out of 10, and the iPad mini the same score of two.Inaccessibility is not limited to such compact devices. iFixit gave the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display a score of two, and its big brother 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display did even worse score, equaling the Surface Pro's score of one.Moving from laptop to desktop, the 21.5-inch iMac received a score of three, while Apple's iMac mini, on the other hand, was awarded an impressive reparability score of eight out of 10.Despite the occasional exception proving the rule, however, the trend towards inaccessible, unrepairable, disposable devices is clear. And we don't like it one bit.

The Pirate Bay has claimed it will sue Finland's main anti-piracy pressure group, theCopyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre(CIAPC), after the group illegally copied code from their Swedish neighbors."We are outraged by this behavior," a spokesman told TorrentFreak in what must surely be the spirit of irony. "People must understand what is right and wrong. Stealing material like this on the internet is a threat to economies worldwide.""We feel that we must make a statement and therefore we will sue them for copyright infringement," they said.CIAPC's crime was to use the infamous pirate ship image that is so hated in the Big Content industry on the front page of its website.The copyright cops twisted the image to show the boat sinking, which no doubt passes for Wildian humor in such circles, and which should legally be fair use. But CIAPC forgot to do its homework in this case, it seems.According to screenshots provided by The Pirate Bay, CIAPC cut and pasted the CSS style sheet from the media indexing site to obtain the image. Under the website's terms and conditions that's fine, so long as permission is sought first – but CIAPC didn't bother, it seems, so a penalty clause kicks in.

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"We reserve the rights to charge for usage of the site in case this policy is violated," The Pirate Bay's policy reads. "The charge will consist of a basic fee of EUR 5,000 plus bandwidth and other costs that may arise due to the violation."There's also the question of how CIAPC got the code in the first place. The group has spent the last few years publicly pillorying pirates and successfully forcing Finnish ISPs to block The Pirate Bay, so it's a little embarrassing to be caught out not eating its own dog food.CIAPC hasn't responded to requests for comment, but El Reg suspects the chances of the group paying up are roughly equivalent to those of the New Horizons probe finding intelligent life on Pluto, and any request for payment will be filed in the recycling bin. But it's yet another embarrassing time for the organization.CIAPC had an unwelcome sojourn in the headlines last December when it organized a police action against a Finnish copyright infringer. In an 8am raid, the fearless officers of the law apprehended their suspect (a nine-year-old girl), seized the offending hardware (a Winnie-the-Pooh bestickered laptop), and threatened her with over €600 (£485, $773) in fines.

The pint-sized pirate had apparently attempted to illegally download a single track by local pop star Chisu, but failed and bought it a day later from a legitimate source. The scale of the overkill drowned CIAPC in a welter of unwelcome attention and it quickly relented, returning the laptop and dropping all charges.A month later the group reported that a bomb threat had been made by Finnish members of Anonymous against its offices, but the group (presumably known as Anonyymi in the locally spoken Suomi), denied the allegations and so far it has been all quiet on the Finnish front.It's not outside the realms of possibility that The Pirate Bay's crew are just yanking the Finnish pressure group's chain, but it's a good example of how easy it can be to fall foul of all those pesky media-management rights that Big Content is so keen on. That will begin when the latest version of the specification is formally ratified by the IEEE. Right now, the specification is done and has been placed in the hands of the standards organisation’s pre-publication vetters, who will determine whether it can be published or needs revision. Since the specification has got to this stage in a mere two years - a positively brisk pace for a process that has a reputation for unhurried deliberation - publication of the standard seems likely, which takes us to April.