Who were the greatest... most egregious... most vile... most talented cheaters in the history of sport? Socrates announces his list of favourites. He starts his series with Emperor of ancient Rome, Nero. Think that politicians could be tempted to cheat at sports? Surprise surprise. They do. It’s not just a recent phenomenon, either. Fudging the rules of sports by leaders has … [Read more...]
Which is the biggest athlete?
Is the soccer player, the rugby league player or the basketball player the tallest? What about bulk? Is it the league player, the basketballer or the soccer chap. By soccer standards Christiano Ronaldo is considered a pretty hefty fella... and he's not afraid to show off his bulk whenever he scores a goal. Daly Chery-Evans is a littlie by rugby league standards but that is … [Read more...]
Dermott and Garry raise key issues about women’s professional AFL
At the successful conclusion of the first season of professional women's AFL two senior male, ex-player, commentators of the game publicly raised a some issues. I won't offer my opinion on what they said. I'll just quote them and leave you to make up your own minds about what they said. I will also raise the question of what the possible underlying motivations for such comments … [Read more...]
North Coast school cancels ocean sports – shark risk too high?
After a string of shark related incidents including several fatalities and a number of encounters with sharks resulting in non-life-threatening injuries over the last few years one Northern N.S.W. High School has decided to cancel all ocean-based sports for the remainder of the school term. Given that, on the face of it, there seems to be a localized increased in shark … [Read more...]
Is singing the National Anthem really that important?
There are lots of reasons why an individual might not want to put their hand on their heart and heartily sing “Advance Australia Fair” at a sporting event. One might think that the words of the song are not only trite and childish but also inaccurate and it would thus be hypocritical to boom them out. If you were an indigenous Australian you might feel the anthem … [Read more...]