Ben
@seldomseenben.bsky.social
Editor, writer, shark sympathiser. Helping people finish their weird, beautiful stories. Spurs fan but otherwise reliable. Check out www.justpunchtheclock.com for my services.
Americans have got enough going on. Can they leave football alone ffs
They're changing football from two halves to four quarters to fit in more ad breaks in the 2026 World Cup.
News: Every 2026 World Cup match will feature two "hydration breaks," no matter the weather.
Each half will pause for exactly three minutes midway through.
It's a player welfare measure. It also has sporting & commercial implications.
More @theathleticfc.bsky.social:
Each half will pause for exactly three minutes midway through.
It's a player welfare measure. It also has sporting & commercial implications.
More @theathleticfc.bsky.social:
December 8, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Americans have got enough going on. Can they leave football alone ffs
Bazball is essentially the six-seven meme. Meaningless, largely victimless, shallow. A post-modern natural conclusion.
December 8, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Bazball is essentially the six-seven meme. Meaningless, largely victimless, shallow. A post-modern natural conclusion.
Screen Rot’s Donald Trump episode is laughably bad. ‘Without Trump we wouldn’t be able to make our bad jokes, but he might have also emboldened the right so that seems like a net negative’
Deary me.
Deary me.
December 7, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Screen Rot’s Donald Trump episode is laughably bad. ‘Without Trump we wouldn’t be able to make our bad jokes, but he might have also emboldened the right so that seems like a net negative’
Deary me.
Deary me.
The world may be falling off its axis, but it’s reassuring to hear Australian commentators still falling into racist tropes about Archer #theashes
December 6, 2025 at 5:34 AM
The world may be falling off its axis, but it’s reassuring to hear Australian commentators still falling into racist tropes about Archer #theashes
Archer brilliantly caught, switch, Dickinson hits the post. I’m having a ball this morning.
December 5, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Archer brilliantly caught, switch, Dickinson hits the post. I’m having a ball this morning.
Having to sit near the Barmy Army looks an absolute nightmare. That is absolutely not what I want from a day at the cricket
December 5, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Having to sit near the Barmy Army looks an absolute nightmare. That is absolutely not what I want from a day at the cricket
Wondering if I’m the only person in the world flicking between the England cricket and the Chicago Blackhawks game against the LA Kings.
December 5, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Wondering if I’m the only person in the world flicking between the England cricket and the Chicago Blackhawks game against the LA Kings.
I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a batsman at the crease applaud the crowd for their singing
December 5, 2025 at 4:03 AM
I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a batsman at the crease applaud the crowd for their singing
Reposted by Ben
December 4, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Huge Gary Pratt-Ricky Ponting 2005 vibes to that Stokes runout
December 4, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Huge Gary Pratt-Ricky Ponting 2005 vibes to that Stokes runout
@norcrosscricket.bsky.social Dan, are the graphics on TNT their own, or taken from the host broadcaster? Because if they’re TNT’s why are they showing the score as 1-5 and not 5-1, given they’re a UK broadcaster?
December 4, 2025 at 4:11 AM
@norcrosscricket.bsky.social Dan, are the graphics on TNT their own, or taken from the host broadcaster? Because if they’re TNT’s why are they showing the score as 1-5 and not 5-1, given they’re a UK broadcaster?
Reposted by Ben
It's a message that used to be confined to the right wing newspapers and the BNP. Now it's aided and abetted by a Labour government
December 2, 2025 at 3:36 PM
It's a message that used to be confined to the right wing newspapers and the BNP. Now it's aided and abetted by a Labour government
Reposted by Ben
Day in, day out, the people of Britain are being force fed the narrative that asylum seekers are parasites, an invading swarm of sexual predators, undeserving of our hospitality and of basic human decency.
December 2, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Day in, day out, the people of Britain are being force fed the narrative that asylum seekers are parasites, an invading swarm of sexual predators, undeserving of our hospitality and of basic human decency.
I honestly couldn’t give a shit if Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I might have been interested in a dumb debate in the pub about it 10 years ago, but culture now is a baseball bat to the head
December 2, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I honestly couldn’t give a shit if Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I might have been interested in a dumb debate in the pub about it 10 years ago, but culture now is a baseball bat to the head
Very sad news. One of the bright lights at a pretty dark time for English cricket. One of the few who took on that Windies pace attack too
December 2, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Very sad news. One of the bright lights at a pretty dark time for English cricket. One of the few who took on that Windies pace attack too
Genuine relegation fears
November 29, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Genuine relegation fears
Frank has stopped chewing that fucking gum so that’s something
November 29, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Frank has stopped chewing that fucking gum so that’s something
I live in the Middle East atm, so am aware that I’m sniping from the sidelines, but what a snivelling, pathetic little country we’ve become.
November 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
I live in the Middle East atm, so am aware that I’m sniping from the sidelines, but what a snivelling, pathetic little country we’ve become.
There is one party willing to say it, right @zackpolanski.bsky.social ?
"The most obvious cause for Britain's difficulties is Brexit," says Salman Rushdie. "Yet nobody of any political party is willing to say that."
The author on life, death, the 'dumb' BBC and how a brutal stabbing in 2022 gave him "another act"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/salm...
The author on life, death, the 'dumb' BBC and how a brutal stabbing in 2022 gave him "another act"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/salm...
Salman Rushdie: ‘The BBC continues to be really stupid – and there's no cure for stupidity’ | The News Agents
Author Salman Rushdie, who The News Agents describe as a man who "spent probably half of his life under the threat of death" discusses his new book, the root cause of problems in UK society, and the…
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM
There is one party willing to say it, right @zackpolanski.bsky.social ?
So bad. So boring. So passive. This is the least bothered I’ve ever been about an NLD. I know this isn’t an airport lounge and you don’t have to announce departures, but it’s amazing how quickly I’ve done from season ticket holder and a 40-year fan to barely giving a shit
November 23, 2025 at 5:11 PM
So bad. So boring. So passive. This is the least bothered I’ve ever been about an NLD. I know this isn’t an airport lounge and you don’t have to announce departures, but it’s amazing how quickly I’ve done from season ticket holder and a 40-year fan to barely giving a shit
What with this and the news of a jail term for a Reform leader for taking Russian bribes, today is another landmark day for the WE COULDN’T POSSIBLY HAVE SEEN THAT COMING rabble.
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist
Brexit Hit to UK Economy Double Official Estimate, Study Finds
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist.
bloom.bg
November 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
What with this and the news of a jail term for a Reform leader for taking Russian bribes, today is another landmark day for the WE COULDN’T POSSIBLY HAVE SEEN THAT COMING rabble.
England’s 172 nowhere near as bad as it looked - that ground is massive. You can add 50 runs to the total for a start.
November 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
England’s 172 nowhere near as bad as it looked - that ground is massive. You can add 50 runs to the total for a start.
How is Nathan Lyon still a thing?
November 21, 2025 at 2:53 AM
How is Nathan Lyon still a thing?
It is quite amusing, and very on brand, that Adam’s plea for contributions from Bluesky has led to a plethora of replies simply telling him to get off X (from myself included). Although he did frame it in a way that suggested we were a last resort.
Since "X" is down, I must turn to Bluesky to ask for your niche/irrational/highly-specific football fascinations and irritations for tomorrow's recording of the Listeners' Mesut Haaland Dicks.
Email a 30-second voicenote to [email protected] and we'll pick the best six!
Email a 30-second voicenote to [email protected] and we'll pick the best six!
November 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
It is quite amusing, and very on brand, that Adam’s plea for contributions from Bluesky has led to a plethora of replies simply telling him to get off X (from myself included). Although he did frame it in a way that suggested we were a last resort.