The Sporty Ushers

**This podcast was recorded Sunday 25th October, so expect predictions that are VERY out of date. We were also planning a second, football centric episode, but that did not happen either!**Dave is back to chat nonsense about sport! We give our reaction to Tao Geoghegan Hart's amazing victory in the Giro d'Italia, as well as Teófimo López's historic Lightweight championship win. We also give our predictions for the end of the 6 Nations, and our view on the Barbarians' debacle.James' also gives his view of the state of boxing scoring and judging, in light of Lewis Ritson's split decision victory, as well as a personal story about Terry O'Connor.Plus, as the IPL reaches a climax, what are our hopes for our beloved Rajasthan Royals?**Again, this was recorded a while ago, so it's not the most topical podcast we have ever done, but quality stands the test of time. And then there's this!**

THE USHER VERSUS USHER CHALLENGE returns this week! So to celebrate, here's a special from the archive episode that collects together all of the times that Dave and James have gone head to head, going all the way back to the very first Sporty Usher episode, back when we were still The Snooty Ushers. Re-live the highs, the lows, and the damn ridiculousness of that England team against Croatia, as Dave and James present 6 totally original challenges!

James is flying solo in this week's Sporty Ushers Extra, with an episode is all about DONCASTER ROVERS and LEAGUE 1, with long time fan, lower league football expert, and all round good guy Chris Bouttell. Doncaster Rovers are one of the success stories of the Football League over the last couple of decades, growing organically to compete against clubs with much bigger budgets, whilst playing an attacking, attractive brand of football. Darren Moore's team finished just shy of the play-offs last season, so what does Chris think of Rovers chances this season? Who does he fancy for the League 1 title? Who will struggle?We also discuss Chris' first game, his favourite player, and his favourite ever live game (which is one of the most dramatic games of football ever), while James shares his memories of Rovers, and seemingly uses every possible excuse to talk about Hartlepool United!Look out for more Sporty Ushers Extra podcasts in the future where we take a deep dive into a special subject. If you would be interested in talking on the podcast, get in touch on Twitter or Facebook - just search for the Sporty Ushers and you will find us very easily!And do not worry, Dave will be back as usual very soon.

Dave is back and on great form celebrating Scotland's historic penalty shootout over Israel, and two further wins for Steve Clark's men. James is back and... well he talks about England! The Sporty Ushers also discuss how they would handle Harry Maguire - and you might be surprised at how understanding we are!Plus a look ahead to the Merseyside and Old Firm derbies in our preview of the Premier League and Scottish Premiership, a round up of the French Open, the Giro d'ITalia, and salute Lewis Hamilton's latest record-equalling win at the Eifel Grand Prix. James also waxes lyrical about Hartlepool United's unbeaten start to the season (enjoying it while it lasts!), celebrates Fran Kirby in our WSL round-up after her matching contribution for Chelsea against Man City, and talk about the Sporty Ushers' latest adopted team Durham Women getting another good result.Look out for our next Sporty Ushers Extra episode, coming Monday 19th October, as we look at Doncaster Rovers and League 1 with Chris Bouttell.

A BUMPER, DELUXE, SUPERSZIED EPISODE!At the end of a remarkable weekend for the Premier League, Dave and James discuss the craziest set of results seen for many a year and try to make some sense out of them. In this bumper episode, the Scottish Premiership has completed 10 games (mostly) so we go into that a bit more, as we with do the England and Scotland squads announced earlier in the week. Who are Dave and James looking forward to seeing the most?Dave and James also look at the European groups for all the British teams, and give some expert verdicts on who will do well - and if you know how well our predictions usually go, you can expect absolute carnage in the group stages!Plus James looks back at Hartlepool's 2-1 win of Aldershot as the National League got back underway, and Dave takes on James TOTALLY ORIGINAL new game called Screeech ooof Ravanelli oink awooga Juninho sneeze evening gazette Emerson why can't we be friends Branco. And finally we finish off with a quick round up of the Women's Super League, and the adoption of another team to add to the Sporty Ushers' stable - Durham Women FC!Any suggestion that the podcast was rushed so that Dave and James could watch Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night is a sickening lie. Honest.(BTW, if you think James has lost it with the quiz, please listen to the excellent Athletico Mince podcast, it will all make sense then)

A brief preview of our next football podcast, as Jed gives his no-nonsense opinions on the Scottish football coefficient...

The Sporty Ushers are back as to chat about all of the non-Football related sport that you could ever want. Dave and James review Josh Taylor's latest defence of his WBA and IBF Light Welterweight titles, seek positives from a rather dull first week in the French Open (yes, we recorded this before Stan Wawrinka went out!) and James attempts to fully explain to Dave the England Cricket Board's England Pace Bowling development contracts. Plus the IPL, NFL, and NBA!All this and more, as The Sporty Ushers' adopted team The Rajasthan Royals shake off Dave and James' curse to blaze their way to victory, and Dave treats us to the latest edition of his totally original idea: 3rd and 10.

This week's trilogy of podcasts ends with Dave and James looking back at the cricketing summer. We relive the West Indies and Pakistan Test Series, and the ODI series and T20 series that followed. What were Dave and James' moments of the summer? Is Stuart Broad undropable? And how many times will we mention Chris Woakes?(Honestly, it's not all Chris Woakes)Plus we review Durham's impressive end of season form, and decide to adopt a team for the IPL. Who will it be? Find out in THE SPORTY USHERS podcast!

A special guest appearance by Jed (our border collie) marks the undoubted high point of our review of the first couple of weeks of the English football season, as Dave and James also predict the Top 6 and Bottom 3 for the Premier League. Who will be the surprise package? Who will really struggle? And which manager prompts a Dick van Dyke in Scrubs reference? Plus a round up of the Scottish Premiership with Steven Gerrard stirring the pot while Celtic, Rangers, and Hibs give it a familiar feel at the top of the table, we discuss the major transfers - and who still needs what - as well as taking a look at the Women's game, as Alex Morgan becomes the latest high profile player to join the Women's Super League.

Ever wondered what the podcast is like but never taken the plunge? Here's a brief preview, with Dave getting a furious reaction from Jed when he dares to suggest Newcastle United look at replacing Steve Bruce.Full episode coming later today...

The Sporty Ushers are back to give you all of the sports chat and nonsense you could ever want. We've got a review of the US OPEN(s) in Tennis and Golf, look forward to the French Open, and also have a look at James' nailed-on predictions for the Tour de France. Plus a review of the opening weeks of the NFL, with Dave's brand new, and totally original feature 3rd and 10.

The Sporty Ushers are joined by special guest Alan McKee to talk all things boxing. James and Alan exchange stories of their love of the sweet science, where it came from, and who their favourite pugilists are. We review each week of the Matchroom Boxing Fight Camp, and look forward to the fights lined up for the rest of the year.

Dave and James predict the traditional season opener for the English football season The Community Shield, the Scottish Premier League results, England v Pakistan in the cricket, Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors in the rugby, and the Tour de France winners!

A bumper edition this week again! Dave and James look back at the return of Andy Murray, discuss the upcoming Tour de France and Chris Froome's future plans, and more rugby/BLM controversy. Then in the football, we discuss the Champions League and Europa League Finals, the Scottish football from the weekend, the international squads named this week, and the transfer rumours of the week.Finally, we have a look back at the end of England's Test summer, discuss the upcoming T20 series, and round up the domestic cricket scene.All of this, plus The Treble, 10 for 3, and of course, THE USHER VERSUS USHER CHALLENGE!

In From The Archive, we look back at the Sporty Ushers best bits. Over the cricketing summer, one man became a hero to Dave and James: Chris Woakes. In this episode for the first time you can hear in one place the growth of the obsession from an off-handed comment to discussing tattoos and Alice bands.

Part 2 of this week's bumper edition. Please check out part one for our round-up of the USPGA, World Snooker Championship, Boxing, and much more, including the USHER v USHER Challenge!Here Dave and James discuss the latest lockdown breaches threatening Scottish football and look at the possible knock-on effects, Dave debuts THE TREBLE in rounding up this week's SPL action, and preview the Champions' League and Europa Finals. Plus all the transfer rumours and confirmed signings of the week.In the cricket we take a look at the awesome Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes performances from the first England v Pakistan Test Match, debate the farcical bad light issues, and the totally original 10 for 3 rounds up the latest round of the Bob Willis Trophy in domestic cricket.All this and so much more in the Sporty Ushers fifth episode!

A bumper episode this week means we bring you a two-parter!In Part One, you will here Dave and James discuss the amazing USPGA Championship, Ronnie O'Sullivan's amazing performance to win an amazing World Snooker Championships, and the increasingly-amazing Michael Conlan. We also review all of the boxing from the last two weeks and have a look ahead at Whyte-Povetkin and Taylor-Persoon, touch on the Billy Vunipola/BLM controversy, as well as Lewis Hamilton's latest record. All that PLUS the USHER v USHER CHALLENGE is back!Part 2 will be available with more football and cricket chat than you could shake a stick at. Amazing.

Dave and James take a punt at predicting the results of the weekend's sport, including the Champions League and Europa League Finals, Whyte v Povetkin in the boxing, and the Test match between England and Pakistan. Plus an ancient rivalry comes into view with Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors in the rugby.

This week we go into the archive to hear about the Sporty Ushers' favourite sports film. Extracts are taken from The Snooty Usher Podcast, a film and TV based podcast that can be found everywhere podcasts are available! So if you enjoy these snippets, please check out The Snooty Ushers Podcast.What are Dave and James' favourite sports films? Who are their favourite fictional sports people? Who is the best real life sportsperson in film? And what are their goosebumps moments? There's only one way to find out: sit back and enjoy this From The Archive episode

In these "From The Archive" episodes, Dave and James look back into their extensive podcasting past and bring you all of the best bits. There's some dodgy predictions that we will look back on and laugh, some terrible analysis that deserves mockery, and occasionally the times when we actually got something right.In this first episode, we have dipped into the recent past to bring you a full run down of all of one of the most remarkable summers of Scottish football, as our special guest Alan McKee (trained solicitor, Hamilton Accies fan, and more talented brother of Dave) took us through the controversies and courtroom drama step by step. Alan then turned his insight onto the upcoming season, and gave his predictions for each team in the Scottish Premiership.Sit back an enjoy this episode From The Archives!