I dont think it counts when you win all your gold in one sport does it?….even though we could end with three from sailing….someone needs to remind the kiwis this is an Olympic Games not a rowing regatta….if there golds were won in three differenct sports by three different people then they may have an arguement…even though we may have five well deserved gold, the silver and bronze have come from across so many different sports….that have been overlooked in this whole medal tally arguement is that how diverse Australia is and how competitive we are at so many different sports,, medals or not…would be very interesting to see if someone sat down and worked out a points system akin to the ones we used ot compete under at school sports carnivals with points awarded right down to say 20th place…I think you would find that Australia would be very close to the top countries…..If we used that method I think we may even have beaten the kiwis at the rowing regatta as although they won three gold we still beat them in five other races….

I often makes jokes and humour about it…the same day I watched a weightlifter hyper-extend his elbow lifting the equivalent of the lounge room couch above his head ,I hyper-extended mine…..screwing up a piece of paper….I kid you not….such a wuss….

I dont expect every person that plays a football code or any sport to speak like Queen Elizabeth or Karen Tighe, as I dont expect the same of people in the street. Although it would be so much softer on the ears. I am just saying that those who are not the best perhaps, should have some training before they are handed a microphone so that is audible to the listening audience and not a bad example to the young people listening….that was the point of the article and Spiro’s too…..I did not expect it turn into a code war…Perhaps Mr Farr-Jones should open a media trainng school for all ex sport people before they hope to enter a role in the media….

perhaps the whole thing reflects the decline in our education system and the poor standards of teaching English!…who knows!….

its called reading between the lines rough conduct…most people know about the traditional class backgrounds difference between the two rugby codes…I just wanted a rugby person to point it out and not myself being…an AFL person……

I have good days and some not so good days…if I push it I suffer the swelling…all a case of balance and moderation…but at least I can walk and for that I am very grateful…another great story is Keninisa Bekele had his wife drop dead beside him while they were on a trianing run together…very hard to carry on after that but he has…

I agree rough conduct…I never said all female athelets speak well…just that a lot of the male ones seem to over do the “blokey” bit and thus their presentation and speech suffers because of it….there are a lot of very articulate players and around like Mr Farr-Jones might have something to do with the time he spent at university…I just wish we would hear them more than the others….also it seems in general, that the Union players seem to speak a lot better than the League players…does anyone have a theory on that?……here is one for you…one of the best spoken people I have spoken with…Evander Holyfield…very intelligent and articualte man…most people would never expect that of a boxer!

My point exactly BigAl… half of the strine and yeah/nah stuff etc is done in an attempt to make sure they appear as blokey and casual as possible and almost afraid if they talk in an articulated manner and tone they may have there sexuality questioned…growing up in rural Australia I know full well the misplaced assumptions that were made to any man that dressed or spoke nicely.

although one ABC AFL caller is one of the worst offenders as a “t” dropper…the constant “Freman’le”….it is great to have ex-players etc to have for expert comments but someone please ensure they get some speech training before they are given a microphone….a particular sport was so harsh on the ears during these Olympics I had to watch it with the mute button on…

David Christenson is his name …former Channel 7 sport guru from Perth….he has been calling hockey for many years

Thank you Matt F…yes I did not comment on other football codes as I do not listen to them…but some that I have heard are pretty bad…it seems everyone tries too hard to be “casual” and “matey” and “blokey” with the players and general public….hence the appalling use of the “yeah/nah” answer to everything….and have you ever noticed when a player is being interviewed all they can do is stand there and shrug there shoulders when they are speaking….they are supposed to getting professional media training!….

It makes listening to someone like Phil Liggot such a joy…..I spent two years out of this country and when I returned I had to get my mother to explain half of what was said on television…..

I am not being paid a 6 or 7 figure salary to commentate. The people that are have an obligation to at least speak properly. And it seems those who are paid the most are some of the worst. The best are on the tiny ABC salaries. The best speaker on any medium is ABC’s Karen Tighe.

Anna is one of the great stories….and humble too…..rarely does she mention it in her pressers or during any media interview….class act

that is colourful descriptive use of the english language and I agree that it adds to the character….but my point is the appalling annuciation of the words…and yes I could ad Olympics to this list in fact it was Spiro’ article Ian Thorpes commentary that prompted me to post….I did write this some months ago…..not only radio commentators…I am appalled that how many radio and television news readers are let get away with their appalling annunication….

Like Cathy Freeman tthe expectation is the biggest hurdle she will have to get over….even more so now as the gold drought continues and Aust continue to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory…I am very nervous for her and think anything better than bronze will be awesome…hope she goes for the win and not a fast time as the WR attempts can come in the Diamond League when the pressure is off.

But still a great inspiration story in itself,,,he is one I had in mind when writing this story.

Okay everyone you have convinced me I will post my story

I am so with you Spiro…I have writtan article on the destruction of the English Language by some even trained broadcasters as well as the FORMER athlete who thinks that is all it takes to become a broadcaster, but I have not had the courage to have it posted on this site. But it seems I have found a kindred spirit in you. Yes the upward infliction is getting appalling worse as is the strine accent. How Rebecca Wilson ever gets a job near a microphone beats me.

RC97 When you have done all you can with the cards you have been dealt then you are a champion and are victorius. You are going to be a champion no matter what you do from now on. You greatest opponent is your disease and with your great attitude, it will not win. As my psych says, evyerone suffers at some point. Some never let others know bur unfortunatley some over do it from a PR point of view and make it almost nauseating to mention it at EVERY press conference and after every win or loss almost using it as her excuse. I am talking of Serena Williams here. Anna Klybenova and Corinna Moriou are two tennis players who beat cancer to come back to play and win but you never heard them go on about it relentlessly like Williams. Even her own sister Venus suffers from a similar case of the same disease I have but she just gets on and plays. Those of us who are blessed to born with healthy limbs have the same chance as anyone else. It is what we do with that gift that counts. There is nothing more tragic than a potential champion athlete treating their gift with contempt and laziness. Everyone that has 2 perfect legs and if they sit on the couch all day and get fat and lazy and are not going to use them then perhaps they can give them to Oscar Pistorius or someone in a wheel chair because they would love the use of them if that person doesn’t have a need for them!.

Tim I am so totally totally jealous…that you have seen him run so close….you have witnessed human effort in its most perfect display..I remember watching the 4×100 relays from the athletes zone at Sydney…they all are the most lean finely tuned human specimens…felt like a lump of lard in comparison especially when I put my arm around Christine Aaron for a photo…not an inch…not and inch of fat!….

Do humans live in water or on land?…we should you invent four different ways to getting the end of the pool faster?..if you are at the beach and being chased by a Great White shark are you going to breastroke? No. Yyou will swim the fastest stroke possible…freestyle…likewise a 100 metre hurdles champion would NOT consider themselves faster than a pure sprinter.

Without question Bolt is the greatest sprinter and greatest athlete to this point..some one in the future may go faster but until then…Tim I too have watched his career since he grabbed my attention as that skinny ex-cricketer from Jamaica that ran that astonishing 19.92 as a 17 year old…he was so lean and thin then it was hard to see him developing into the 100 legend he is…I think there are a lot of batsmen around the world glad he is no longer bowling!…imagine him steaming in from the long run up at the speed he does to bowl a cork ball at your head….batsmen would be running in the opposite direction!

I think now is the time to make the call……as it maybe the technology has given him back waht nature took away…BUT the technology is only going to get more advanced and then we will be getting and advantaged…my call is that somehow if they measure the compression and thrust on the track at the contact point of the worlds number on 400 metre runner or who wins the 400metres in London and then somehow ensure that the thrust that Oscar has on his blades does not exceed that perhaps…it is such a tough call…yes it is his unsteadiness while standing still on the blades that have the relay runners a bit concerned and why the IAAF have said that it is best he runs the first leg of the relay so as to miss the push and shove of the change over zone…I also think that that is a bit unfair as the changeover is a dog fight anyway with everyeon unsteady and puching and shoving for changover position…

This was the fastest race with the fastest humans in history…for Bolt to be a mere 3cms or so slower than his win in Beijing and yet there he eased down and had about 8 to 10 metres on the field…here, he had them on his hammer until the last 3 metres….a blanket across all of them…shame about my favourite Powell breaking down again…his glass hamstring….he was in that mix and was leading after the first 15 metres….with 3 americans in that final running such awesome times it will make the mens 4×100 relay and scintalating prospect…depending on how Powell is but they have a host of other boys to bring in…teh broke the world record last year without Powell…but Bailey and Gatlin were not in this kind of form this time last year….bring it on…cannot wait

I like people to read between the lines…one can always get sued if one gets to close to the line…I think you can read between my lines..

Sand box read my old article on him from about 3-4 weeks ago when he was named in the team…I analyse the whole thing in quite some depth…while I think he has got guts and determination that a few so-so australians could have used in the last week..technology has come a long way since Douglas Badar was given legs made of tin after WWI…it is bit like a pain killer versus a steroid…one is just meant to bring you back to your “normal’ level of performance where the other gives you a clear advantage…ironic that Lashawn Merritt retired from his heat last night as he has been on opponent of the “fairness” of competing against Pistorius…this is a bit rich coming from Merritt since he served a 2 year doping ban….maybe those without sin should be casting the stones….