Did you hear about Ghana’s first ever participant at the Winter Olympics, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong (nicknamed the ‘Snow Leopard’)? He competed in the men’s alpine skiing slalom event, finishing in 47th (2nd last) place. I did, but I did not hear about who won. It is another reminder of why I don’t get too excited about the Winter Olympics. The media think that it is more important to fill up their coverage time with human interest stories rather than the sporting results. As a sporting fan I watch sport to see the action, the competitiveness and the champions. At each Olympics the same thing seems to happen – the media outlets focus their telecast towards the common man, non sports fan, who are more interested in gossip and drama.
Rob's Blog
Entries Tagged as 'Major Events'
We Just Want To See A Snow Leopard
February 28th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Olympic Games, Winter
Tags: Ghana·Winter Olympics
Go to Bed Tomic
January 22nd, 2010 · Comments Off on Go to Bed Tomic · Grand Slam Tennis, Tennis
Young Australian rising star tennis player Bernard Tomic had a few complaints after his second-round match at the Australian Open against Marin Cilic finished at 2.10am local time. The 17-year-old Tomic was given a wildcard into the tournament and played well against the vastly more experienced 14th seed Croatian, pushing him to five sets over the course of three hours and 48 minutes. However, Tomic let himself down and embarrassed many Australians with his comments after the match.
He said that if he got the daily schedule as requested, that “I think I should have won” … “I can’t see after 1.00am, 2.00am for a 17-year-old to go out and play – It’s difficult.” Welcome to the big world. There are other players who have been playing at these times and winning tournaments.
If he wants to be a top 10 player, which he says he does, he will have to learn to handle playing at any time, and he will need to learn to be more gracious in defeat. No excuses.
Related Pages: Australian Open, Grand Slam Tennis, About Tennis
Bad Sport Serena
September 13th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Grand Slam Tennis, Tennis
In the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, defending champion Serena Williams was fined $10,000 for her tirade directed at a line judge. She said: ‘If I could, I would … shove [this ball] down your throat’. There were a few expletives deleted from that quote.
Can you get a bigger contrast between the champion of men’s tennis, Roger Federer and her? Thankfully such bad sportsmanship has not gone unnoticed, with the big fine and her losing the final match point based on that outburst.
Williams was going to lose the semifinal to Kim Clijsters anyway, and the fine is only a smidgeon of what she earned playing the tournament. Let’s hope she gets punished in more ways, but somehow I think she will not be repentant.
Related Pages: US Open, About Tennis, Roger Federer profile
Tags: bad sports·grand slam·serena williams·sportsmanship·Tennis·us open
The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live
May 24th, 2009 · Comments Off on The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live · Major Events, Spectators, Sport
A new book by Robert Tuchman, who works in Sports promotion and management, is called, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime. Tuchman used live appeal as the main criterion for his selection. There is a US bias, which is not surprising considering that many Americans think that they are the center of the sporting universe (which is true in some sports).
I don’t doubt his top four but am not sure that the UNC vs. Duke Basketball Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium deserves top 10 status. I have not seen such a game, so maybe I am not qualified to comment. I have ticked off two of the ten, still quite a way to go. Check out the complete list of 100, and my list.
Here are the top-10 events you must see, according to Robert Tuchman. What do you think?
1. The Golf Masters
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Super Bowl
4. Summer Olympics
5. Army vs. Navy Football Game
6. New York City Marathon
7. World Series Baseball
8. Winter Olympics
9. Red Sox vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium
10. UNC vs. Duke Basketball Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium
Tags: events
A New Drug
October 3rd, 2008 · Comments Off on A New Drug · Olympic Games, Sports Medicine
When any athlete beats their opposition by a large margin at the international level, there are always suspicions that an artificial aid has been used.
I have always thought that when something is too good to be true, it often is. At the Olympic Games, there were two athletes that dominated the opposition and surprised many: Bolt and Phelps. Why have the questions not been asked?
As in many of these cases, time will tell, and then people may be saying ‘why did we not see it? It was right in front of my eyes”.
Related Pages: Doping in Sports, Michael Phelps Profile,
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Radio vrs TV Olympic Coverage
October 2nd, 2008 · Comments Off on Radio vrs TV Olympic Coverage · Olympic Games, Spectators
By all accounts the TV coverage of the Olympic Games in Australia by Channel 7 was disappointing. The TV coverage is not made for the sports fan. They spent too long interviewing the families of athletes, delving into the stories behind the stories, and about China and Beijing.
What the sports fan wants is an educated commentary of whole events, without breaks at crucial points in the events. The alternative on Australia TV was SBS, which was better as it showed continuous coverage of some events, but the mainstream sports were not given to them to show.
What we did hear on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) radio coverage was excellent. I wonder why they cannot take lessons from the radio for the TV coverage. The radio is able to convey the excitement of events as they are happening, cross from one event to the other when they are on at the same time, and be thoroughly entertaining.
Related Pages: Summer Olympic Games, Australia at the Olympics
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Missing it All
October 2nd, 2008 · Comments Off on Missing it All · Olympic Games, Spectators
The Olympic Games have come and gone, and I practically missed them. I have been traveling around Australia in a campervan (see website) with no TV and mostly out of radio range as well.
We stopped at caravan parks that have a TV room a few times and dropped in for a beer at the pub to catch a little bit of the highlights, but there is so much on, you need to sit in front of the TV all day to get a good viewing.
We did manage to regularly buy the newspaper to read about what was going on and to check the news updates on our mobile phones.
On a positive note, we did miss a lot of the disappointing TV coverage, and what we did hear on the radio coverage (ABC) was as usual excellent.
Related Pages: Summer Olympic Games, Australia at the Olympics
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Unusual Olympic Fuels
October 2nd, 2008 · Comments Off on Unusual Olympic Fuels · Olympic Games, Sports Nutrition, Track & Field
Does fast food make you fast? Usain Bolt (which has to be one of the greatest names for a sprinter – like he was born to run fast) was quoted as saying he eats Mcdonald’s nuggets before his events as if it was some kind of wonder pill.
Similarly, Australian race walker Jarred Tallent (winner of silver in the 50 km walk) was also in the local press revealing that he fuelled himself on pizza on the eve of his race and coke during the final stages of his race. Pizza is his favorite food and he finally gave in after two weeks at the food hall right before the race. After his 20 km race he threw up during the final stages and afterward, and after his pizza binge, he was afraid it would happen again.
Where are the sports dietitians advising these athletes? Why would they risk one of the most important events in their sporting careers? They were obviously good enough to still win their races despite having junk food, but please don’t brag about it as if it helped you. There is too much fast food eaten in this world already, we don’t want our elite athletes promoting it too.
Related Pages: sports nutrition
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Lance Armstrong Returns from the Dead
October 2nd, 2008 · Comments Off on Lance Armstrong Returns from the Dead · Cycling, Sports Medicine, Tour de France
Like Jesus, Lance Armstrong is set to rise again. The champion seven-time winner of the Tour de France, he made a comeback from testicular cancer.
After he retired from cycling, Armstrong tried resurrecting his sporting career as a marathon runner. He completed a few races over the last few years, though not spectacularly.
He has now set his comeback on the bike for the Australian Tour Down Under early next year. At 36 years of age, can we expect him to perform as he has shown he can in the past? This is a time that can catch out an athlete, with the pressure to perform in an aging body, he may be drawn back to the world of drug taking to prime his body for the exertions of professional cycling.
Don’t slip up Lance, as all the accolades from your successful career can be permanently tainted from a positive doping test.
Related Pages: Tour de France, cycling, Lance Armstrong profile
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