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Thursday, 12 April 2012

Evening Star: Premiership and Boat Race Antics

Just a couple of weeks ago it was Gavin Hensons wasted talent being discussed and now its Mario Balotellis after his antics at Arsenal at the weekend. Manchester City's Balotelli was sent off in the closing moments of the game, having already escaped punishment for a couple of reckless challenges, as Arsenal won 1-0.  

As an athlete, I get so frustrated when I see people like that and I only wish I had half his talent. I had to work hard and what I achieved in swimming did not come particularly naturally.
It would be bad enough if he was hindering just his own chances of success but he is on a team and he is costing his team-mates the chance of winning the Premier League. I saw Joe Hart's reaction during the game and you could see his frustration. Joe and his team-mates are doing their jobs so for one person to have no control is really sad. It must seem like they are taking one step forward and two steps back. 

It must be so annoying to know that Balotelli can perform if he wants to and can be the difference and score the decisive goals when he chooses. Many people will look at City's manager Roberto Mancini and his team mates to instil discipline and respect in Balotelli but even if they did say something to the striker, would he listen?

I was at the Oxford v Cambridge boat race on Saturday and it was such a shame to see the race disrupted by some idiot trying to make a point. Trenton Oldfield was in the water as the two boats were racing and his intervention forced the race to be halted for half an hour. Oxford were going really well and had held Cambridge off at the bend. By stopping the race, in what was very cold weather, the crews would have lost their momentum and on the resumption, the complexion of the race will have changed completely.
After the restart, Oxford broke an oar and Cambridge went on to win the race, but I guess their victory was slightly tainted.

It was so annoying and whatever his message was, his actions made me totally disinterested. This was an event in which two teams have worked their backsides off for months and their moment was spoiled.

There was a real mix of people there, families, tourists, etc and nearby businesses always do well as a result. It was a great atmosphere. But it was spoiled by one person and i for one do not care what point he was trying to make, his over the top action drowned out any message. I have got no time for that and I hope he is dealt with accordingly.

 

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Evening Star: Olympic Ticketing

This week, it emerged that 400m runner Dai Greene purchased several tickets for his Olympic semi-final and final from a sports fan after expressing his frustration on Twitter. Greene was guaranteed two tickets for friends or family for each session he competes in and although I can understand why he would be unhappy at not being able to purchase more this is actually the first time that Olympians have been afforded this benefit. It might seem a bit tight but this is a massive step forward, especially when you consider the number of athletes taking part in London.

When I was competing at the Olympics, my mum and dad had to buy their tickets from travel companies and would have to purchase a package which might have included events that they did not want to see. They did not necessarily know where they were going to be sat and it cost them a fortune each time.
Quite often you don't want to buy tickets before you know your relative has qualified too so it was always really expensive.

What is happening for the London Games is a big step forward and two tickets per athlete is a big number to put aside. And Logistically it will be vey complicated too since until the heats are completed you wont know who is going to be in the semi-final or final. It will be a big operation. With so many more family and friends guaranteed the two tickets it will add to what is expected to be an amazing atmosphere. If the test events at the velodrome and aquatic centre are anything to go by, it certainly will be loud!

The BBC is to make 24 live HD Olympic streams available to cable and satellite providers. The technology is there if someone has an interest in a certain sport and the red button facility already means there is so much choice available now. People will be able to watch uninterrupted hockey, or table tennis for instance during the Olympics, whereas before they may have had to rely on a highlights package.

There will always be people interested in the early rounds of certain events, especially friends and family of competitors who, before, may have had to wait until the semi-final or final to see the person they were interested in on TV.

We seem to be losing more and more sport to non-terrestrial channels which is a shame for the many people who dont want to pay for extra channels or one off sporting events. I dont have Sky TV in my bedroom and so im already missing the Formula 1 in bed at the weekends

The Olympics is one of the protected events that has to be shown on terrestrial TV and I think it is great that every person in the country will be able to watch the Games.