Re: Another Drive4show 'Anything goes' thread

[mystiroakey]

First topic message reminder :

Btw Fader 25 is fine anyway- your in the healthy scale so either way its no dramas at all mate!

[McLaren]

I actually meant it was a little hard to find the motivation to watch the wgc event, given how mundane golf is at the best of times, after watching the excitement of the Olympics. I doubt the PGA will seem much better this week.

[super_realist]

No problem if they carry their own bags and run between shots.

[navyblueshorts]

...Id imagine Australia's 58 medals in 2000 is the best haul ever per capita...

Think the Kiwis pip the Aussies in that regard...

[mystiroakey]

No problem if they carry their own bags and run between shots.

you got me thinking- speed golf. say you have to add a shot to your score for every minute you take.

Who would win.

Remebering that cabrerra and daly are naturally such fast players and quick thinkers

[Doon the Water]

One factor about golf in the Brazil Olympics that no one seems to have figured is TV coverage.
BBC has done superbly well with it's red button but how are Brazil going to sell 40 hours of fairly boring golf.
Perhaps SKY will be allowed to pick it up on their channel.
I like the silence on the Red Button events, makes you feel you are there.
Commentators have been very good. I like Michael Johnson and Jonathan [the long jumper guy]
Liniker is useless as usual, why on earth he is employed in such high profile events like the Open and Olympics beats me. He is barely passable at the football.

[mystiroakey]

i cant see the golf being covered all the time. id like to think bbc would stick it on the red button- but not sure if that will happen!

personally i think it should just be 36 holes in one day anyway!

[mystiroakey]

or what about scraping a traditional event and having a golf onimon or decathlon.

chip outs,bunker play, long drives, putting course,250 shot to a green, 200 into green 150 and 100..

[Slowride]

Commentators have been very good. I like Michael Johnson and Jonathan [the long jumper guy]
Liniker is useless as usual, why on earth he is employed in such high profile events like the Open and Olympics beats me. He is barely passable at the football.

i think you mean jonathon edwards [the triple jumper guy]

as for lineker you may be right even if you cant spell his name, but hazel irvine should also be added to the list though you probably dont see that as she is scottish not english

[mystiroakey]

lineker is perfect at what he does- whats the problem?

[barragan]

Lineker is awful - constantly tripping over his lines. Sue barker is far worse than hazel irvine . Irvine would be ok if she stopped the relentless stream of repetitive phrases and words. If i had a quid for every time she uttered the word 'stellar' for example...wow it irritates me just thinking about it.

[mystiroakey]

Why do people really care so much about a presenter - that isnt even there to express opinion of views and on the whole doesnt?

[navyblueshorts]

Question: What on earth do you want in a presenter? A lot of the coverage is live and therefore subject to whatever vagueries are happening at that moment. Who would you suggest is anchoring a given session? I'm waiting....

[mystiroakey]

NBS i think the question is clearly what you want in a presenter?
Its kinda clear i dont really give a monkies- I am always so suprised how crcitical people are of the peops on the telly- But then i rarely listen to a word they are saying..

[dynamark]

Bit late but we really should have had an Olympic cliche thread.
Plenty from Hazel and M Johnson (who I like cos he has actually done it).
'maintaining his form down the home stretch'

[barragan]

there are some excellent anchors in there, claire balding, gabby logan, hazel irvine(apart form use of the word 'stellar', and other such irritants!), etc, all deliver information clearly and lead us smoothly between events. linekar is difficult to watch as he stumbles over his lines and tries too hard to be clever with little puns (obviously scripted) - in fact it is very tedious to watch. sue barker is becoming a bit of a bruce forsyth character, simply painful.

[Diggers]

I think Balding is head and shoulders better than anyone else personally, real joy to listen to. Have liked Inverdale as well, he has the relaxed air that puts guests at ease. Lineker hasnt been great to be honest, not helped by silly things like the studio being so big. He just isnt totally comfortable with being auto cued yet. Think he will improve though.
Colin Jackson though, the man should be taken away and never allowed to talk on TV again, he is literally painful. Someone should say, look Colin, you just arent that eloquent or bright, stop trying to sound like something your not as you end up sounding like an 8 year old trying to show off. Just talk about the race in simple terms. Indeed, indeed.....

[navyblueshorts]

NBS i think the question is clearly what you want in a presenter?
Its kinda clear i dont really give a monkies- I am always so suprised how crcitical people are of the peops on the telly- But then i rarely listen to a word they are saying..

I wasn't talking to you was I? It was obvious from your previous comment that it didn't matter to you.

[mystiroakey]

So who would you want to see then?

Personally as i am clearly bored of the sporting anchoring approach- it would have to be a ricky gervais or any decent comedian i suppose!

[barragan]

You mean like adrian chiles

[mystiroakey]

Actually tell a lie that tall F1 lad is quite good- but on the whole 90% of them drive me to sleep- Adrian chiles does look like a monkey lol!! kinda mellow- but just not funny!

I want an out there comedian that slates them

[super_realist]

So who would you want to see then?

Personally as i am clearly bored of the sporting anchoring approach- it would have to be a ricky gervais or any decent comedian i suppose!

He doesn't fall under the category of "decent" comedian, he's just a self obsessed smarmy creep who laughs at his own "jokes", as for Jake Humphries he should stick to doing the sport on John Cravens Newsround, it's about his level.

[Hibbz]

I've been watching the Athletics on the interactive channels so as to avoid the presenters. The pole vaulting I watched didn't even have commentators, just crowd noise. Bliss.

I did notice myself either saying yes or no (my wife was next to me on the sofa I wasn't talking to myself) depending on whether they cleared the bar or not so I don't think I'll be putting myself forward for the role.

[incontinentia]

Jimmy Carr would be pretty good

[navyblueshorts]

Me? Not that bothered. For me, Lineker is fine as is Inverdale and Balding. Of the 'expert' pundits, Johnson is head and shoulders above everyone else although Ian Thorpe was a pretty good addition for a newbie - hope he's seen again for the swimming events.

[mystiroakey]

So who would you want to see then?

Personally as i am clearly bored of the sporting anchoring approach- it would have to be a ricky gervais or any decent comedian i suppose!

He doesn't fall under the category of "decent" comedian, he's just a self obsessed smarmy creep who laughs at his own "jokes", as for Jake Humphries he should stick to doing the sport on John Cravens Newsround, it's about his level.

He cracks me up half the time, sometimes he grates on me- but he is more about what he has produced and writen- the office(uk) and the idiot abroad- cant beat them- well not many do anyway!

[mystiroakey]

yeah jimmy carr would be good for sure- surely the fastest witted bloke out there- perfect for live stuff

[kwinigolfer]

Gold Medals:
USA: 28, of which 16 are from their powerhouse swim team, 12 otherwise.

GB: 22, none of which are from swimmers.

Even if you take our seven cycling golds away, we have 15 golds.

Amazing that the US boxers are medal no-shows, their track team a shadow of past glories.

And Mitt Romney's $70K tax write-off for his dressage horse was money poorly spent, off to the knackers yard even as I write. The horse too!

[navyblueshorts]

...And Mitt Romney's $70K tax write-off for his dressage horse was money poorly spent, off to the knackers yard even as I write. The horse too!

[oldparwin]

Mac
I watched the golf, you could not have got a better finish, Furyke having a one shot lead, double boggies the last hole to let Keegan Bradley in to win it.

As for me it was just as good as the ladies football match between Canada and the USA, when the USA scored in the last 30 seconds of extra time to win, looking forward to the final on Thursday.

[McLaren]

Anyone like Richard Thompson on here?

I am a bit of a fairport fan and for some odd reason have only just got round to listening to his solo stuff. I am liking what I hear so far.

[kwinigolfer]

Mac,
Saw Richard Thompson twice in the past four years, once terrific, once peed off because of a heckler and performed the bare minimum then did a runner. Brilliant guitarist and his son Teddy is making a small print name for himself.

[Shotrock]

Tremendous job by the UK running and competing in the Olympics.

They obviously know how to support their athletes -- lesson there for ROW.

[kwinigolfer]

Sr,
Too many US sports have gone awol this past ten days, swimmers a more than honourable exception. Couple of girls my daughter competed against now have golden gongs!

But all success will be for naught if there's an "incident" before the Games are closed.

[Shotrock]

Kwin - Generally speaking US gets 1/3 of their medals in Swimming, 1/3 in Track and Field and 1/3 in all other. Not a great -- nor terrible obviously -- outing for the US thus far.

My son throwing up good enough times for Jr. Olympics -- Zones in his gunsights and then Trials as a long term goal.

I have even more respect for UK cyclists since I can't imagine how many times they have to start a training ride in wet weather. (Something I never had the discipline to do!)

[super_realist]

SR, Britain isn't as wet as you think the country over. The east coast is pretty dry.

[dynamark]

Didnt Wiggins train in his garden shed?
According to Hazel this morning Britain 'has 48 gold medals'

[barragan]

wow - 30 golds in the last 24 hours, gotta be a 'british record'

[super_realist]

Oh christ Barragan, you aren't another of these wretched SNP flag waving loons are you?

[barragan]

no chance! i cannot understand the motivation for independance. as far as i see it scotland has a seperate enough identity as things stand. becoming independant would be very reckless indeed.

all this going on about british records is so 'small pond' though. many of the gb athletes are breaking world records, that's much more impressive.

[Slowride]

john inverdale gets right on my t1ts he even makes colin jackson seem interesting

[super_realist]

By far the worst reporter/presenter I have ever seen is Lizo Mzimba. He makes Chris Moyles seem high brow.

Thank goodness the BBC stick him on the braindead area of Entertainment and not sport.

Michael Johnson is superb though, I'm amazed as an American athletics legend he isn't a broadcasting institution over there.

[Diggers]

Track and field very much a minority sport in the US Super, much easier for him to be well paid and high profile over here. Amazing how they win so many medals really off the back of the collegiate system I guess. We get lardies like Lewis Francis driving around in BMW's and there 3rd or 4th, 5th and 6th string guys who stuff him and most of our sprinters regularly are basically skint.

[super_realist]

I wonder if Phelps goes largely unnoticed too then Diggers, despite his brilliance Swimming doesn't exactly fit into the psyche of American sports.

I think British athletes have it far too cushy though. Many of them were gifted a BMW for the duration of the games, no need for that at all. They are like the Shane Lowry of the Athletics world, not willing to put in the hard work to be as good as they can be, just happy to make a comfortable living.

[mystiroakey]

I really cant see track and field being a minority sport in the usa

[mystiroakey]

well no more than any other deveolped country anyway and that includes britian..

I think the fact is America have so many top class athletes that johnson is just another great athlete- of which they have loads

[super_realist]

COme on Oakey, 4 Olympic golds in track and field, two of them in his home games of Atlanta, world record holder plus 8 world championships. I think that puts him above any track and field athlete out of America other than Carl Lewis. He really ought to be considered an all time great, and not just another great American athlete.

Saying that, I'm happy for him to stay reporting over here.

[Diggers]

I really cant see track and field being a minority sport in the usa

Do some research on it then and come back with an informed opinion.

[mystiroakey]

I think its you that needs to diggs- participation is up there in usa for track and field

[mystiroakey]

Right - gonna admit to searching the web for some extra knowledge on the subject. I really cannot find a thing that sugests track and field is low participation. It seems to me that all schools have athletics programmes.

If you mean it isnt a highly veiwed sport- well it isnt anywhere- is it!

[Diggers]

Participation is up on a lot of sports in the UK, say fishing for example. Does that get TV coverage, do the competitors get paid well ?
Track and field does not get a lot of air time in the States, its way down the list of sports and gets little press attention. Even the Olympics doesnt go out live, which is bizarre. The athletes dont earn a lot of money through endorsements so most of them go off into other sports.
So to answer the question...why does an athletics superstar like Michael Johnson, who is an all time great (its just bizarre you would say he isnt an exceptional athlete even by American standards) and a very good broadcaster choose to work over here...well go back to my first post on the subject for your answer.

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