Eamon and Stephanie sitting in a tree

Who else is sick of the major Australian news story of the last week? The breakup of the relationship between Olympic swimmers, Eamon Sullivan and Stephanie Rice. I know I am. The TV news has been going on about it for days. Big fucking deal I say.

Both of them are clearly focussed on their sport at the moment, Sullivan appearing in a photo spread in GQ Australia, and Rice in FHM.

God knows why she’d want to be on the front cover of a wank magazine for teenage boys.

But regardless, I’d have thought these athletes would be better off getting results on the board in Beijing then going for the publicity, rather than the other way around. Seems arse about to me, and puts extra pressure on them to perform.

Personally I don’t think Australians should set expectations too high for our Olympic team - just a little reminder that a gold medal is their entry ticket back into the country should be motivation enough!!!

Technorati Tags: Stephanie Rice, Eamon Sullivan, Olympics, Beijing

Olympics drug cheats easier to detect?

Apparently athletes are using drugs like Viagra and Cialis to improve their performance - and I don’t mean their horizontal dance performance.

Drug testers say they are regularly turning up traces of the drugs in urine samples they examine, but the drugs are not on the sports list of banned substances. It is thought the drug helps the delivery of oxygen to muscles. Some experts believe it could help in events requiring spurts of power, like sprinting. Others think it might help endurance athletes, especially at altitude.

At least in the male athletes this will be easy to detect, no drug tests needed.

Dr Don Catlin, an American anti-doping expert, said:

“There has actually been a study in mountaineers, people climbing at high altitude on or off of Viagra, showing that it does produce marginal improvements,”

Not only that, it gives them an extra piton to use if they get in trouble during the climb, perhaps another brake bar on their rappel rack?

Technorati Tags: Viagra, Cialis, drug cheats, anti-doping

Mockery of a mockery

Thats what Jeff Fenech and Azumah Nelson did last night in Melbourne. Made a mockery of the so called sport of boxing, which is itself already a joke. Fenech, aged 44, beat Nelson, aged 49, on points in their 10 round fight.

Fenech, 44, did not regret that he and Nelson, 49, came out of a decade of retirement, but conceded Tuesday night’s bout at Vodafone Arena would not rank alongside their fabled clashes of 1991-92.

Both men said afterwards they would not fight again, but felt they offered the 6,000 crowd value for money.

Lets see if they stick to that. Track record of boxers suggests as soon as someone waves enough cash at them they’ll be tempted again.

Technorati Tags: boxing, Jeff Fenech, Azumah Nelson

Goose

Well, India beat Australia in the one day international cricket last night. Congratulations, India, but who really cares? The big news of the night wasn’t cricket but Andrew Symond’s crash tackle on a streaker who invaded the field while Symonds was batting. This has made the news around the world.

Here’s the streaker, one Robert Ogilvie, aged 26 of the Brisbane suburb, Parkridge South, running towards Symonds.

Then Symonds puts the shoulder into him as he runs past, and absolutely decks him.

Ogilvie scored a $1,500 fine today after pleading guilty to charges of interfering with a person engaged in sport and wilful exposure. The court did not enter a conviction after hearing that he took to the field after getting drunk with his friends and that he was now remorseful. Police prosecutor Tina Green told magistrate John Costello that Ogilvie had explained to the arresting officers that “it was just something he had to do”.

My favourite photo of the incident is this one of the police attempting a cover-up.

I had to have a laugh with senior commentator and cricket doyen Richie Benaud when he said when on the wide shot “at the moment we don’t know if it is a boy streaker or a girl streaker”. Ha! Ha! Suck eggs, Robert Ogilvie, goose!

Hey boys, keep your f@#%#’g mouths shut

It seems to me that the fairly obvious solution to the row going on over the 2nd cricket test in Sydney last week is to tell the players to keep their mounths shut on the field.  If they say nothing, they will offend nobody.  If they don’t sledge at all, they won’t cross the line into racist insults.  Why not just make a rule that says no talking to the opponents on the field (about anything apart from the game in play)?  Simple.

And why not give the umpires the power to enforce this and impose penalties?  Maybe something like this:

• first time - 5 runs deducted from batsman’s score or added as extras (where the bowling team is guilty)
• second time - 20 runs
• third time - if its a batsman, they are out, if a bowler they are removed from the attack for the rest of the innings, if a fielder, their side loses its best bowler of the innings for the rest of the innings,

This would only need to be applied a handful of times … unless of course the players are very dumb … and the problem would go away.

I really can’t understand why cricketers, and the Australians in particular, feel the need to behave like schoolboys and swear at and abuse their opponents.  They don’t need to, they are plenty good enough without it.   Cut it out of the game, its just rubbish.

And I think the Australian team needs to take a good, hard look at itself.  I don’t think it has dawned on anyone in it that “mmm, everyone else seems to be pissed off at us, wonder if we’re doing something to cause that?”  Certainly not captain Ricky Ponting.  Not Mike Hussey either.  I’m certain the prevailing thought within the team is “we’re ok, everyone else has the problem”.  Until there is some acknowledgement in the team that some things do need to be toned down, nothing is going to change …and it needs to, otherwise the Australians will only have themselves to play with.

While I’m on the subject, why do cricketers carry on like they’re having an orgasm whenever they take a wicket?  Umm, at least at the professional level, its their job, taking wickets is part of it, indeed it happens 10 times each innings.  Its not like at my work we carry on with exaggerated celebrations every time we finish a project or achieve a milestone …. we do celebrate major achievements, but not every single one in the way they do in cricket (and plenty of other sports).

Choke

Once again the NZ All Blacks have choked in a big match.  Early this morning they were beaten in a World Cup quarter final, by France, 20-18.   Once again, the All Blacks have failed in the biggest competition in world rugby, keeping going a lack of success since they won the first world cup in 1987.  Of course, they completely dominate most other countries in between world cups, but inevitably fail when they get to the big, important matches at world cup time.

According to Kiwi rugby commentator, Murray Deaker:

“Sadly we are a dumb rugby nation, we don’t play the big matches well,”

“We were a bunch of boofheads playing out there tonight against a French side that isn’t that good. On the big occasions we choke.”

The loss was particularly painful as NZ had lead the match 13-0 in the first half and seemed well in control.  (Thats what I thought when I first heard a progress score on the radio this morning …thought the All Blacks had it in hand, fell back to sleep rather than getting up and watching on TV - only to hear later that France won).

I think that the shitty looking grey jumpers they wore probably contributed to the loss …what is it with some of the colours at this world cup?  They’d have won playing in their traditional all black jumpers, no doubt.

Also last night England knocked Australia out, winning 12-10.  This score didn’t reflect England’s dominance … their forwards completely outmuscled and out-enthused the Wallabies.  Australia did though have its chances to win, but weren’t good enough.  I guess the Wallabies going out at this stage is about right given their fairly ordinary form for most of the last few years.

All I will say now about the rest of the World Cup is, go Los Pumas!!!!

Meeeeoooww!!!

Well, the AFL grand final yesterday was over as a contest after about a quarter and a half, and I suspect thats being generous to Port Adelaide. The Geelong Cats just blew Port off the park right from the word go, and in the end won by a record grand final margin, 24.19 (163) to 6.8 (44). The Cats were totally in control all game. I’d expect the big win and their first flag since 1963, will help erase all the bad memories of the 5 losing grand finals Geelong had been in since then. Geelong deserved to be premiers, they have been the dominant team all year. Congratulations to them.

Twenty20 and other things sport

Haven’t posted about sporty stuff for a while so here goes.

India won the inaugural cricket Twenty20 world cup last night, beating Pakistan by 5 runs in the final.

I quite like Twenty20 as a spectacle, but hadn’t given much attention at all to this world cup.  However, I did leave the TV on last night and started watching it, and continued through to the end.  Very exciting it was!  India first looked to have not scored enough, then Pakistan fell in a heap, then almost came back from the dead, before finally falling 5 runs short off the 3rd last ball.

Its footy finals week.  In the AFL I’d like to see Port beat Geelong … but I don’t really mind one way or the other.  But it would be good to see the AFL flag not go to Victoria once again - plus make Geelong wait another year to break their premiership drought.  Their last premiership was in 1963, and they’ve lost 4 (I think?) grand finals since then.  In the NRL, Melbourne Storm to beat Manly …. Storm deserve it, having been the dominant team of the last 2 seasons, but falling short in last year’s grand final.  Plus I detest Manly (boo! hiss!).

Also on football, Geelong’s Jimmy Bartels won the Brownlow Medal last night as the AFL’s best and fairest player - caught the end of the count last night on TV, its one of those quaint old traditions that I like about sport (just like the Stawell Gift at Easter).

And in rugby we’ve got the World Cup in France at the moment.   Its closing in on the business end, and I’d say its looking like New Zealand, South Africa and Australia are going to fight it out.  I think the All Blacks will take some beating, but they and the South Africans have been good for a choke in the big games in the past, so the Wallabies could surprise.  What is it with the jumpers of some teams at the World Cup?  Some absolute shockers.  The Australian one is a shocker - what possessed the designer to draw manboobs on it?

But what about these abortions in the NZ vs Scotland game?  Bit of a clash there perhaps?

We wuz robbed

Took my son to the footy tonight, and watched in dismay as the mighty Canberra Raiders got absolutely robbed by the incompetence of the refereeing, and lost 28-24 to the North Queensland Cowboys. The video referee made an absolute shocker of a decision ten minutes from the end, awarding the match winning try to the Cowboys - shit, don’t know what he was watching on his TV, but it wasn’t the same as was happening on the field right in front of us …and I mean literally, like 10 metres away. I hate it when my team loses, but its much worse when they get robbed by the officials. Hell it was cold out there, I don’t like to sit there shivering to watch my team lose.

And what is it with food prices at the football? $4.20 for a Coke …thats about a dollar more than the servo charges and they’re bad enough at charging ripoff prices. What sort of parallel universe do the people setting prices at sporting events come from? Do they feel the need to recoup all their capital costs in the business in one game?

Post script: Ha!ha! Heard on the radio on the way home that the Cowboys had an extra player on the field at one point in the game. Chances are they’ll lose the competition points they get for winning. Ha! ha!

Cricket’s green experiment

Playing cricket at night without the lights. No unnecessary wasting of electricity, reduced power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Amazing forward thinking by the International Cricket Council!

As I confidently predicted, Australia beat Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Barbados. Adam Gilchrist blasted Sri Lanka out of the match, scoring 149 in quick time. Australia scored 281 off 38 overs in the rain-reduced game. Sri Lanka put up a good fight, and looked even remotely likely when Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sanggakara were going hell for leather for a while. But once they were out, Sri Lanka were never going to win.

But what the match will really be remembered for is the farcical ending. After a rain delay, Sri Lanka had a revised target of 269 off 36 overs - but the umpires forgot to tell them. Then, as the light was fading fast, and Sri Lanka had nearly 70 runs left off only 3 overs, the umpires offered them to leave the field because of bad light (ie it was nearly dark), effectively meaning a concession of the match. Australia began its victory celebrations, the ground staff began cleaning up, and setting up for the trophy presentation, and then the fun began as the match officials told the teams that the match wasn’t over, there were 3 overs left and if necessary they would have to be played the next day.

This didn’t happen, as the teams agreed to play the last 3 overs, in the dark and rain. It was pretty funny to watch … without the enhancement of the TV cameras, it really was dark. I don’t know how the batsmen would have seen the ball. It was embarassing for the game of cricket - playing 3 pointless overs in ridiculous conditions when the teams had already acknowledged the outcome of the game, simply because the officials felt the need to stick to the letter of (what they thought were) the rules. In fact they were wrong, as has been admitted subsequently.

All in all, a farce of an ending to a tournament that has dragged on and on, with the inevitable result of the best team by a wide margin beating the second best team, which in turn was better than the next ranked teams by a good margin. That Australia and Sri Lanka would play the final was the obvious outcome after about the first week or two.