Posts filed under 'sport'
January 19th, 2010
One of Scotland’s best loved voices died today at the age of 86. It’s hard to overstate the love and respect felt by the entire rugby world for one of the finest sports commentators that Britain has ever had.
He was more than a commentator, he communicated an understanding and appreciation of a game notorious for the complexity of its laws to a much wider audience than just the fans and players. People who had never been to a rugby match listened to him and felt they understood it. He did it with an honest Borders style, a wonderful turn of phrase that included bars of soap, leaping salmon and charging giraffes, and a gentle humour. He cut through the technicalities and made you feel as if you knew the players and why they played the game. And that rarest of qualities – he was impartial. Who can forget that wonderful Scotland try that went the full length of the pitch and was scored by Alan Lawson – who just happened to be Bill’s son-in-law. Who else could have kept his emotions in check at that moment?
As a teacher he trained generations of Border children in the sportsmanship of the game, and the players loved him for his gentle encouragement. You hadn’t arrived as an internationalist till you’d been given one of his Hawick Balls. Not just the Scottish players either – all over the world people wanted to play in matches that he commentated on and wanted to meet him.
He was a legend, and he’ll go on being a legend as long as the game is played, because there simply will never be another like him.
July 18th, 2009
This time last year I was commenting on how pleased I was to see Greg Norman leading the Open at the age of 53. Greg wasn’t quite able to prevail against the immaculate play of Padraig Harrington but what he achieved was superb. This year with the third round at Turnberry just underway we’re seeing an even more amazing situation – Tom Watson at the age of 59 and having had a hip replacement last year is joint leader.
Watson is of course a legend – 5 times a winner in the event and the star of possibly the finest golf battle ever when at this very Turnberry links he and Jack Nicklaus left a star-studded field for dead and played out what was effectively a match-play event for the last two days with an unbelievable finish which saw Watson win by a single stroke.
Universally loved by the Scottish golf crowd, as much for his gentle and respectful manner and his appreciation of links golf and its history as for his achievements in the game, Watson comes across as a really nice guy, and it’s hard to believe he’s now almost 60. Especially when he’s sweeping golf balls miles down the fairway with a swing that’s as pure as any seen in the game since Sam Snead.
His first round here was immaculate. In the second round he had a bad patch early on in very difficult conditions and most folk watching probably thought that was his cue to fade out and leave it to the youngsters. Not a bit of it! He may look like your favourite granddad but he still has a champion’s competitive nature, a game honed for wind and links play, and knows this course better than almost anyone. Yesterday he also putted better than he had since his halcyon days.
It would of course be nothing short of miraculous if he could win it, but with Tiger out, Harrington having hit a bad patch after a superb couple of years, and Garcia seemingly unable to putt, you have to romantically wonder if experience could maybe just count. It would be a fairytale and it would be the most popular outcome you could imagine. Whatever happens Tom, thanks for the wonderful memories and, go on – do it one last time!!
November 14th, 2008
It seems that politicians just can’t stay out of football. Once again we have them dabbling in the murky world of FIFA and the Olympics, trying to pursuade Scotland to take part in some sort of Great Britain side for the London 2012 Games. It seems they just can’t understand that certain elements of FIFA would jump on any possibility to reduce the number of places enjoyed by the home countries in international tournaments, and that it really doesn’t matter what promises and assurances are given by Sepp Blatter to todays politicians. They also don’t seem to get the other crucial aspect. The four home unions have very different traditions, the players have very different styles, and the fans have very profound identities which would never admit to any form of coalition. Neither the associations, fans, or players want anything to do with the Olympics, which many regard as hopelessly corrupt and drug riddled.
Which brings us to drug testing and the announcement that footballers will be required to tell drug testing squads where they are at any time so they can be randomly tested. Now when applied to athletes, who are training as individuals and often traveling to warm weather or high altitude venues, this may have some purpose to ensure there is no out of competition doping; although even there it is somewhat restrictive. The position with footballers is rather different; they play and train every week and are available at their club’s premises at clearly defined times. There seems no reason whatever for additionally insisting that they reveal their whereabouts in the evening and on Sundays. It can only be seen as standardisation for standardisation’s sake, with the base model being a sport which has become a joke affecting one which has no record of drug use – well apart from beer of course.
Personally I’d like to see the traditionally non-olympic sports tell the IOC where to go and to take their drug issues with them, but sadly the lure of money and supposed prestige seem to hold sway with far too many of them. The sight of tennis players half-heartedly competing for gold medals which mean nothing compared to their Grand Slam tournaments is pathetic. An under-23 football tournament that takes players away from their clubs in the middle of the season is beyond pointless.
July 28th, 2008
We heard today of the death of one of Scottish broadcasting’s most respected figures. Bob Crampsey was a man who made you thankful you owned a radio or TV, for whatever he was talking about it was always worth hearing. While it was the football fans who were the most numerous and regular beneficiaries of his erudition, he was eminently capable of discussing a multitude of subjects with a quiet authority born of copious study; a true Scottish polymath.
A winner of Brain of Britain, and later a semi-finalist on Mastermind, he was also a headmaster, an author, and a historian of many subjects, including sport at all levels which he could recall seemingly at will to the constant admiration of his radio and TV colleagues. On STV at a time when the general quality of their sports content rather lagged behind the BBC, Crampsey’s pieces to camera (which must have been live) were a haven of intelligent and unbiased comment to me as a youngster who was already fed up with the bias that was rife at the time.
In later years on Radio Scotland’s Sportsound in the midst of the football banter and sometimes bickering between Jim Traynor, Chick Young and Gordon Smith it was always Bob who would drop in a persuasive observation or recall a historical precedent that would become the definitive answer on the topic being debated. While he loved football he was also an expert on Cricket, a game he said gave him even more pleasure, frequently attending Somerset’s games in Taunton.
Though he was a summariser rather than a commentator, when Bob retired it was like losing John Arlott from Test Match Special or Bill McLaren from the rugby commentaries; the authority wasn’t there any more. A few years later there is still no-one around with anything like the knowledge or integrity that he had. Now his death leaves an enormous hole and cuts a link to a past in which football was the game of the working class rather than the playground of super-rich businessmen. He will be sorely missed.
July 19th, 2008
I’ve been listening to the radio this afternoon and it’s done my spirit a world of good. Speaking as a 53 year-old it’s just incredible to listen to the 53 year-old Greg Norman leading the Open Championship and doing it in style.
Here is a man who has played only 5 events this year and barely plays even on the Seniors tour; who has recently married one of the pin-up girls of my youth, the lovely Chris Evert, and who spends most of his time building a business empire. Here also is a man who should have won far more majors than he did but was outrageously beaten by a series of one-off shots when poised to add to his tally. He was a great champion at a time when there were lots of great champions – Ballesteros, Lyle, Faldo, Langer, to name just the best of the Europeans, let alone the Americans. Now, 8 years older than the oldest man to win a major, he’s 2 shots clear going into the final round. Forget Nadal winning Wimbledon or Spain winning the European Championships, if he wins this it won’t just be the story of the year it’ll be one of the stories of the century.
Some may say, and have on the radio, that Tiger Woods isn’t there, but conditions such as we’ve seen at Birkdale have blown Tiger away before – remember Muirfield? Woods is a phenomenal golfer, maybe even better than Nicklaus, but there is no guarantee that his swing would have survived the winds this weekend. And the fact is that his great length has come at the cost of his knee joint. Norman has a wealth of experience, vast knowledge of a variety of links conditions, and has nothing to prove. He shows every sign of being happy and content and can give this his all. Some might even say that golf owes him another major.
One radio pundit says it’s ridiculous that Norman is leading the Open, that the younger players are failing to step up to take Woods’ place. Having been struggling with a trapped nerve in my shoulder for a few weeks I know what it feels like to be getting old despite keeping fitter and slimmer than most of my contemporaries, so the thought of hitting golf balls 350 yards and maintaining the sort of touch around the greens that Greg has demonstrated is an awesome thought, but the modern obsession with youth over experience does get a bit wearing. A few weeks ago I heard a 29 year-old footballer described as a veteran with not long to go in his career. Insane. Clearly the commentator hadn’t heard of Teddy Sheringham, hadn’t watched Dalglish at the end of his playing days, or Roger Milla play for the Cameroon side in the World Cup. Within limits what matters is whether you’ve looked after your body and have the drive and mental attitude to make it happen.
But still, 53? Can he really do it?
By god I hope so. And I bet plenty of 50-somethings all round the country hope so too.
Go on Greg!!
May 23rd, 2008
What a pleasure to see that the Man Utd v Chelsea final was a good game rather than an exercise in not losing. As with any penalty shoot-out, those who take the shots deserve praise for bravery rather than blame if they miss – the pressures are unbelievable. Alex Ferguson must have aged 10 years during the match and shed 15 when they won. It seems that this tournament is the one that really matters to him. Having now won it twice, where now do we rank him in the list of great managers?
Jock Stein immortally won it first and lost a second final to an outstanding and emerging Feyenoord team. Amazing to think that Stein’s only major purchase in the Lisbon Lions was the sum of £30,000 for Willie Wallace from Hearts. Ronaldo would cost a thousand times that at least! It shows how impossible it is to compare different eras.
Brian Clough, with two European Cup wins, has to be considered in the same level, especially given the fact that the Nottingham Forest team that he took to European success was languishing in the second division when he became their manager. But perhaps the only man who can be claimed to be definitely above Ferguson was Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to three of their European Cup wins, though the man himself would doubtless have been far too modest to claim it.
As for Man Utd, it will be fascinating to see what Ferguson does next. Scholes will surely now move on or retire. Giggs too is coming to the end of a glorious career. Assuming that Ronaldo stays then the priority will presumably be an attacking midfielder, though another striker might be on the cards if Rooney continues to be played slightly behind the front line. If of course the Real Madrid rumours turn out to be true then there should be enough money for a complete recasting.
Meanwhile here in Scotland I wonder if the Celtic fans who have wanted rid of Gordon Strachan ever since he arrived will have changed their minds now that he’s delivered a third Premier Division title in a row. And will Mark McGee really take on the poisoned chalice of Lithuanian Hearts when he could be leading Motherwell into Europe?
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