Taking sport too seriously

Brett Kavanaugh suddenly reminded me of an American Ryder Cup player from the 90s - maybe not of the now, they're a bit different now, more obviously brash and rock starry, less "aah shucks". The 90s guys, the country club guys. I've had a big feeling about the American golfers for a long time. They turn up in my writing and in my thoughts. It was the "Thanks, Doogie, appreciate it" that started it off. Good guys, real gentlemen. Fuzzy Zoeller with the little racist joke about Tiger Woods. That one sneaked out. Poor form. Whoever leaked it. Kavanaugh with the rage of the rarely challenged, the weird sentimentality, the love of sports and manly comradeship. He is furious if you don't think he's a good guy. The Battle of Brookline. Kiawah Island. If you're looking for the guys who've let the world rot, you'll find them at the country club with their warm smiles. The world is run by American golfers with their Thanks, appreciate it ...

I found this list of the worst cricket commentators. https://www.thefulltoss.com/england-cricket-blog/top-10-worst-cricket-commentators/ It gets to the nub of it pretty successfully, I think. There are a few I think it’s a little harsh on (including Harsha Bhogle) but certainly picks out most of the main offenders. Easier, and perhaps more fun, to scoff than to be positive. But I thought I’d try to share the best of them. If you watch/listen to as much cricket as me, you end up hearing a vast array of voices. Some of them really are very good. They have to work in a pretty wide variety of contexts, and some deserve a little sympathy for the role thrust on them. Eg I used to like Danny Morrison when he was just a little eccentric and over-enthusiastic. The IPL has turned him into a monster. I’ve tried to think about all my years of watching cricket – the only obvious name I’m missing out is Richie B … seems just a bit pointless, and I’m not quite even sure whether he was m...

The case of Amir Khan is a strange one. His career has revealed a great deal of unpleasantness, stupidity and hypocrisy. No British boxer since I've followed the sport has been more reviled and ridiculed. Why is that? He became famous, aged 17, winning a silver as Britain's only boxer at the 2004 Olympics. His spectacular hand speed saw him almost snatch gold off one of the world's best amateurs, Mario Kindelan of Cuba. He turned pro the following year, but not before we'd seen the warning signs of him being knocked down in a slightly unedifying fashion by British amateur Craig Watson. Still, ITV went to town on him, successfully bringing boxing to terrestrial Saturday nights. The loathing began early and continues to this date - it is fairly common for there to be a little resentment of Olympian boxers getting the fast track to fame and fortune - call it the Audley Harrison factor. Harrison, a 2000 Olympic gold medallist, was also unfairly ridiculed and revil...

I’ve often wondered about all-rounders in test cricket – how much they’re worth, and where exactly is the tipping point between them being worth more than one specialist and less than one specialist. England’s current test team is deemed to have a lot of all-rounders, though I think we should get the past the notion that wicketkeeper-batsmen are all-rounders (in particular keeper-batsmen, like Buttler, who aren’t even keeping). It is a given now that any test keeper worth his place should average 30+, hopefully more like 40 – it’s not really added value. For a couple of decades, England was obsessed with finding the new Ian Botham. In that period, there were a lot of all-rounders given a go, none of whom were up to the job – the likes of Derek Pringle, David Capel, Adam Hollioake, Dermot Reeve, Chris Lewis … Lewis, unlike the other four, was close to being a test bowler level. Dominic Cork and Darren Gough, who were called all-rounders early on in their career, became specialis...