John Harms, P.J. Flynn and all lovers of fine sports commentary mourn the passing of Sid Waddell, son of a coal-miner, Cambridge history graduate, novelist and lover of language. Darts will never be the same. Here is a tribute: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2187467/Sid-Waddell-dies-Tribute.html?ito=feeds-newsxml and from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/12/sid-waddell Almanac Admin
Quadrennial Introspection; the Olympics we had to have
August 13, 2012 by 10 Comments
Whilst it might have been nice to see a few more Aussies fulfil their life’s dream, I can’t help think London 2012 was the Olympic version of the ‘recession we had to have’. It’s about time we hit the reset button on our approach, as we re-evaluate funding priorities, what constitutes success and sport’s role in Australian [Read more]
Ee bah gum!
August 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
To its residents, Yorkshire is known as ‘God’s Own County’. And were it a country in its own right, the white rose county would be riding high in the Olympic medal table. Four Yorkshire athletes, including Sheffield’s Jessica Ennis, have won gold at London 2012 so far, prompting Twitter users to celebrate how the county [Read more]
The View from Shepparton – Olympics Special
August 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Tried to find the source of the quote, “Getting old is not for the faint hearted” but apart from finding a qualification, “neither is the alternative” , the best that I could come up with is “as the old man said”. Not very satisfactory I must confess. And what is the link with sport?.I have [Read more]
The secrets of Olympians
August 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Sometime during the past 12 months, I fell in love with PostSecret. PostSecret is a website updated each Sunday with a series of postcards which have been sent to the site that week, each containing the sender’s anonymous secret. I love the site because it can make you laugh, take pause, and even re-think one’s [Read more]
Hindsight….it’s a beautiful thing
August 1, 2012 by 4 Comments
By Neil Anderson Whenever I check the Almanac’s website for the latest offerings and before I have a go at writing myself, the first thing I see written in bold lettering is, ‘Write From The Heart’. This credo is evident in most pieces and none more-so than articles by JT Harms. I have finished reading [Read more]
What is pressure?
July 31, 2012 by 3 Comments
At a recent press conference in London the coach of the US Women’s Basketball team, Geno Auriemma, said: “Real pressure is when you lose your job and have to pay the mortgage, or if you are a single mum wondering if you can afford to pay your kid’s education”. That is the most sensible comment [Read more]
Olympic sadness
July 31, 2012 by 69 Comments
I woke this morning (a small victory in itself) to a couple of the sadder images I have seen in sport. Initially the sound was down on the TV so I don’t know what happened to the fencer. I don’t know her name. I think she was Korean. I just saw her sitting on her [Read more]
5.30am and 4.40pm starts – on the same day
July 31, 2012 by 2 Comments
Alarm rings at 5.30 AM. Just in time for Olympic opening ceremony. Not a problem as was asleep early on Friday night, couldn’t stand to sit up and watch the Hawks again after their demolition of the Pies last week. Text Uncle Deano, he’s up early for the opening ceremony too. Could have stayed in [Read more]
The View from Shepparton: Round 18 and other things, or was it other things and Round 18?
July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
John Harms and Jon Faine on ABC 774 this morning stole my thunder but I too wanted to make a point about life and that is this, when does confidence become cockiness? You could apply this as much to those who thought that Black Caviar only had to stand on the track to win that [Read more]
Steve Hooker the Olympic highlight for Harms
July 30, 2012 by 109 Comments
Harms set tongues wagging with his comment on Offsiders that Steve Hooker was his Olympics highlight, saying instead of withdrawing with “injury”, Hooker faced his demons in the glare of the world spotlight, showing a “magnificent nobility”. Some words from Harms: I knew this choice of moment was FWD (fraught with danger). And the two [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Olympic armchair experts
July 30, 2012 by 5 Comments
Every four years armchair experts adopt a sport, its rules, its champions and its scoring nuances. Outside of the Olympics there is very little general interest in beach volleyball or diving or table tennis or women’s 400m running….. But, from under a rock we emerge to absorb and then challenge Drew Morphett, or Sandy, or [Read more]
Greetings from the XXX Olympiad
July 29, 2012 by 2 Comments
Greetings from the XXX Olympiad in London! It’s been an absolutely incredible day. For the past few weeks I will be honest I have been slightly confused. I knew that the Olympics were coming, but I just wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. The anticipation was there, but it felt different to a [Read more]
Building up to Bradbury*
July 26, 2012 by 2 Comments
Building up to Bradbury * Not all good sports stories end with glory. Keiran Deck, an International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) 2nd Dan Black belt, ventured for his first time into the Olympic style taekwondo (WTF) at the NSW/ACT State Selections to see how the two collide. Not very well, apparently … It’s Saturday night. The mood [Read more]
Open fall out – summing up
July 25, 2012 by 7 Comments
By Nick Innes Scott’s short game let him down in the last round. Think he might have had 1 up and down for the day. Sure the greens were a bit slower than day 3 but he left that many putts short it was ridiculous. Also all of the shorter putts he missed were pulled [Read more]
Moe and Me: Encounters with Moe Norman, Golf’s Mysterious Genius
July 20, 2012 by 6 Comments
A couple of years ago I was playing golf with Robert O’Callaghan for a small wager, a box of Footy Almanacs to three bottles of Rockford wines (a bounty that was incentive enough). We’d had huge overnight rain in Canberra and Robert was out of the blocks quickly to go two up. Golf can be [Read more]
A Tiger in a nest of Magpies
July 17, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Phil Dimitriadis Alexander John Eastham is a different cat. In fact, he is a tiger. Yes, my grandnephew barracks for Richmond. The noteworthy feature of this highly unexpected phenomenon is that 99% of his immediate family are Pies fans. His paternal grandfather Jock is the president of the Gippsland Magpies and has [Read more]
Gold Coast footy alive and well
July 12, 2012 by 4 Comments
By Cheryl Critchley “Gee-long, Gee-long, Gee-long!” Some things never change, even 1800km from Sleepy Hollow. We’re at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast and the Cats’ Cheer Squad sounds as hick as ever. “Gee-long, Gee-long!” The small but dedicated band of “Southerners” is surrounded by Suns supporters decked out in their still [Read more]
News from Greymouth
July 7, 2012 by 3 Comments
We’re still over in Te Waipounamu, where the only sport of note is Rugby Union, with the primary, if not sole emphasis being on all things All Black. But not for much longer, will their shirts be simply All Black. The local corporate media have run stories of a new sponsorship deal with American international [Read more]
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