Is there are greater waste of time in the world of sport than in listening to post match player and coach interviews. Normally, very little is revealed. Cliches, complaints about officials and restating of the bleedingly obvious abound. It was refreshing to see a coach interview, earlier this week, that revealed clear insight into a prominent coach's coaching … [Read more...]
Just six words…
I met a former NBL point guard, who, for the sake of anonymity, I will call Dave. Dave told me how he remembers the day he approached Shane Heal (one of Australia’s greatest ever basketball guards), before a game, and told him that there was no way that Heal was going to drop 38 points on his head in the way that he had to other guards in recent matches. Shane and Dave had … [Read more...]
Their sporting life – A journalist’s story
Last weekend, when driving around a sharp bend (that overlooks one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful ocean views anywhere in the world), I remembered an incident that happened on that very spot over forty years earlier. On that day, my best mate demonstrated that he would not put up with bullying or bullshit from anyone. He bloody nearly got himself (and me) killed, but … [Read more...]
Book Review – “CHEAT – The not so subtle art of conning your way to sporting glory” – by Titus O’Reily
What do Luis Suarez' teeth, Nancy Kerrigan's knees, Cameron Bancroft's pockets, John Hopoate's fingers, an Olympic Games Intellectually Disabled basketball competition and the Barbados national soccer team (oh... and lots and lots of other soccer teams and players) have in common? They all take center stage in some of the world's nastiest and most hilarious sports cheating … [Read more...]
Priorities in times of Covid-19
There is a eighteen-year-old girl who, six months ago, left her small country town (and family home) to have a crack at living in the big city. Despite being an above average athlete, she is one of many, in the western world, who battles with anxiety. Settling into the city has not been easy. Finding work. Finding accommodation. Buying food. Making friends. Believing in … [Read more...]