Connections

Four pretty good college basketball programs between Maryland and Georgetown's men's and women's teams; Derrick Rose back at the United Center (wow); and Charlton seven points clear of a playoff spot more than half way through the season. These are neither coherent nor defensible allegiances, but it is a good time to have them.

The biggest treat over the last couple of weeks nevertheless has come from Stranraer F.C. My experiments with sponsorships with overseas clubs have largely been disasters and I've now scaled back to just two teams -- Blue Square North's Blyth Spartans and Irn-Bru SFL Third Division's Stranraer F.C.

Stranraer's where Gregory Tade's Scottish career really took off after a false start with Forfar Athletic. We sponsored Mr. Tade for two seasons with Raith Rovers, found him to be both an exceptional talent and person, and are thrilled with his debut results in the Scottish Premier League (where he's tied for the club lead with seven goals).

Stranraer's a fantastic club and they're currently enjoying a very good run in their league -- with a ridiculous +21 goal differential that's placed them 2 points behind Alloa Athletic for the sole automatic promotion slot.

Stranraer's success is not going to register stateside, but boy do I love this club.

For 50 quid (plus VAT), the team offers the opportunity to sponsor one of their players and show support for the squad. That's roughly the cost of a replica top (and sponsorship comes with the gift of the actual top at the end of the year). Yet, despite the limited contribution to the cause, folks at the club take it seriously and go out of their way to communicate appreciation.