sidelined

I’ve long been critical of sporting journalists reluctance to tackle the hard stories in sport, now we see why with the AFL players refusing to deal with match broadcaster Chcnnel 7 in a dispute over recreational drug use in the sport.
Talks fail to heal rift with Seven.
PEACE talks between the AFL, the AFL Players [...]

“Meet Mark. A tall, dark, handsome Australian tennis pro. He has everything. Everything, except …

… a world ranking ever to be in double figures again. No, sorry. Wait. Everything, except someone to share it with.”
And so, sort of, begins Age of Love the dating reality show starring Our Poo [...]

Lote Tuqiri has contacted Wallabies selector Michael O’Connor to apologise for his act of stupidity at a NSW Waratahs drinking session – but this time he left his phone off loudspeaker.
Tuqiri was a goose but isn’t it O’Connor who should be apologising?
What on earth is a selector doing trash talking a player to [...]

No need to mention girlies in the latest Nicholson animation.

A long time ago Shaun gave me a log-in to contribute at Sidelined, but I have confined myself to comments box sniping. He’s probably forgotten he gave me the keys so I hope he doesn’t mind when he sees I’ve taken him up. I was moved to action by this op-ed in the [...]

Cricket fans with a long memory may remember the experiment of having actress Kate Fitzpatrick commentate on the cricket. The experiment failed and ever since women have not been sighted anywhere near a Channel Nine cricket commentary position.
Until this season. SBS’ loss is Nine’s gain as Stephanie Brantz, former co-host of Toyota World Sports [...]

David Boon doesn’t say much. Which is why the Boony Doll was such a wierd promotion. 200,000 of them were given away with a beer that shall remain nameless, and they were designed to start speaking when certain words were used in the (insert television channel name here) cricket broadcast. According to the ABC’s Sydney [...]

It’s about American baseball specifically, but this forum post at Poynter Online is a useful starting point in discussing the nature of sporting journalism in Australia.
But there is a much bigger problem here. Sportswriters want to be one of the boys and accepted in the exclusive sports clubbing world. As the Dallas Morning News writer [...]

It’s nearly time for the Ashes. So, this fortnight I’ve been training. I’ve hired Bodyline, because I never actually watched it before. The DVD says it was made in 1984, when I was in year 10, and I guess my cricket-hating mum didn’t put it on. Maybe she didn’t realised Gary Sweet was a red [...]