Regular readers will know I’m not generally one for helping the English out of a pickle. One of my favourite pastimes as an irreverent Antipodean is thumbing my nose at the mother country, especially in all matters sport. Please see Exhibit A, B, C and D, otherwise known as my Ashes coverage. So if you’re…
World Cup: we’re beating Spain!
When it comes to soccer,* Australians are a blindly optimistic lot. We came into the World Cup with by far the lowest ranking of the 32 countries and then got handed the crappiest draw of any team. That’s the New York Times saying that, by the way, not just this Aussie diehard. And yet we…
Survivor: Blatter Island
Imagine for a moment that FIFA is the reality TV show Survivor and Sepp Blatter the contestant that’s gone rogue. Delirious from a diet of media bile and the relentless glow of the public spotlight, his words and deeds become increasingly desperate and bizarre. Sitting round the campfire at night, he talks of the World…
Harry Potter and the Unseen Game of Rugby
As the Wallabies took the field on Saturday night for their encounter with Les Bleus, Harry Potter was growing gills for his next challenge in the Tri-Wizards Tournament. Foolishly, I had agreed a week earlier to allow my progeny to watch the Goblet of Fire instalment without first checking the sports calendar. I thought I…
World Cup ads: cast your votes
In the lead-up to the World Cup, things go from bad to worse for Brazil’s government. Now it has been hit with a lawsuit for false advertising, with independent federal prosecutors arguing commercials talking up the benefits of the World Cup are “absurdly divorced from reality.” Which simply serves as an excuse for us to…
Brazil’s World Cup countdown hits discordant note
In a game of word association, Brazil conjures many possibilities. Football. Carnival. Party. Colour. Movement. And, of course, music. Brazilian drums and samba beats that get those hips swinging as only Latino hips can. There’s also The Girl from Ipanema. And let’s not forget Peter Allen’s I Go To Rio or Barry Manilow’s Copacabana. Hey,…
Warning: contains nudity
It’s the April Fool’s joke that went unnoticed for two months. Only last week, a number of media outlets around the world carried the story about a Crossfit gym in Denmark called Spartan Mentality that had started offering nude workouts. The bloke that came up with the idea said: “People are already so scantily clad…
Lewis Hamilton goes diva
For years, Sebastian Vettel has been not only Formula One’s top driver but its greatest prima donna. After his treatment of former teammate Mark Webber, it has been particularly satisfying to see him reduced to just another Sunday driver this season. Vettel’s woes continued at the Monaco Grand Prix overnight when he announced to his…
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