By Stewart Weir
Saturday
The World Athletic Championships in Daegu have caused me much consternation, as do most sporting events on that side of the world. What is live, what has just happened, what is recorded, and how long ago means that some events I want to see I miss – often by a day – while others I have little of no interest in, I end up watching seven and eight times over.
One event I did watch through choice, several times, were the qualifying heats for the 100 metres. How fast can the top men run without damaging their legs or stamina? Who puts down a marker, and who sandbags?
One athlete who had no such problems was 17-year-old Sogelau Tuvalu from the tiny South Pacific nation of American Samoa, who clocked an amazing 15.66 seconds for the 100.
OK, he is a shot-putter to trade, but having failed to qualify in his chosen sport, he entered the sprint, or in his case, jog.
To put it in perspective, I ran almost three seconds quicker than that at the Lanarkshire Sports, aged 12, on grass, wearing football boots. Or, to view it differently, 13.6 seconds is the official world record for running that distance, backwards.
Needless to say, the urine sample he gave later tested negative for speed…
Sunday
The Sabbath turns out to be a very busy day sporting-wise, for a great many reasons.
At some point in the day, Usain Bolt, the quickest man on the planet, was dramatically disqualified from the final of the 100m for a false start. He did however manage a new world record for covering 40m while peeling his vest off.
It was not the outcome anyone would have wanted, but rules are rules. One strike and you are definitely out in athletics, or at least, you are if you false start. You get two chances if you just take drugs.
On Twitter, I am mightily relieved to read – courtesy of @Scotlandteam (Scotland Rugby Team) – “after 25 hours we’ve arrived safe and sound in Brisbane Airport.”
So, no injuries to our World Cup squad on the flight, no one pinned by a drinks trolley, no one tempted to go wing walking, and stating the obvious (with the safe and sound line), no dramas with the landing. Don’t you just love Twitter...
Monday
The answer to that last question is "yes, except when it brings bad news". Sunday was blighted by news that Len Ganley, one of the most recognised faces in snooker over the years, had passed away.
My erstwhile colleague David Hendon did raise a smile from many a glum face when he asked, just hours after his passing was announced, if Len might have already asked St Peter for a tenner. For those who don’t know, Len was a great fundraiser for charity, and no one escaped him especially at the Crucible, where everyone in the press room and backstage was stung for a tenner, no matter who you were.
My memories of him are countless, one being that he at one time still drove around in a sponsored Skoda, with his name emblazoned up the side – and this after the game’s governing body had lost the said car manufacturer as tournament sponsors.
Arguably the best, though, was in Aberdeen when a young boy pushed his programme in front of Len for an autograph.
“Where do you want it?”, enquired Len.
“On the back,” said the lad, at which point Len applied his signature across the back of the boy’s tracksuit top, not to the programme.
It was a measure of just how big snooker was during the 80’s and 90’s that Len starred in a beer commercial and was even heralded in song by Half Man Half Biscuit with The Len Ganley Stance.
What a tribute it would be to a fine man if one of the players used that as his walk-on song at the next tournament…
Tuesday
I could never describe myself as a swimmer. Someone who stayed afloat quickly, perhaps. But not a swimmer. For one, I didn’t like water in my ears and secondly, 4:30am starts interrupted either my sleep pattern or milk round.
So I am full of admiration for comedian David Walliams, who has committed himself to swimming the length of the Thames, or about 140 miles of it, in just eight days for Sport Relief.
This is nothing new for Walliams, who has previously swum the English Channel in 2006, and then did the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco two years later.
This time, starting on 5 September, the Little Britain star will swim from Lechlade in Gloucestershire to Big Ben in London, passing Oxford, Reading, Henley, Maidenhead, Windsor, Kingston and Richmond along the way.
So well done David. Although I’m sure there’s a bus does that same route.
Wednesday
Sky Sport’s News could have been invented for Transfer Deadline Day. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff the whole day long, even if it is watching someone in the dark, in a car park, near a deserted training ground.
Others hold the fort during the day, but they make way for the Grand Master – our own Jim White. From eight until after 11, White enthused, celebrated, commiserated, talked up, talked down and made an event out of every transfer, swap deal or loan signing.
As I Tweeted on the night; “30mins until Jim White is on #SkySportsNews, the man who creates excitement for every fan even if your club’s transfer window is boarded up”.
At one time, I was beginning to believe he was just throwing names out there to see if he could get a reaction or a sale.
Brilliant viewing – and we get to do it all again in just five months.
Thursday
This morning I reflected on what I said last night, namely “The Jelavic bid by an unnamed agent from an unnamed club has all the hallmarks of a fantasy from an unnamed source.”
Maybe Celtic supremo Peter Lawwell took the piss-take a bit far when he said that the Parkhead club had rejected a “£29 million offer for Gary Hooper”. These things do have a habit of coming back to bite one's derrière.
But there are a great many dissatisfied Rangers fans, who have put a lot of faith in new owner Craig Whyte, particularly this summer when they were expecting to see the cash being splashed.
Don’t get me wrong, like a few clubs, we have yet to see just how good, bad or indifferent the some of the new Ibxox arrivals are. Not all greats or future legends cost a fortune (as any Celtic fan who watched Henrik Larsson or Lubo Moravčik would tell you).
But not everyone takes holding on to your star striker as a great bit of business. And some Gers fans are feeling decidedly short changed post-Deadline Day…
Friday
And well done to Dai Greene, who collected Great Britain’s first gold at the World Athletic Championships yesterday, today, last night, whenever...
Couldn’t help but notice all the empty seats, but that shouldn’t take away from what was a brilliant performance, rounding the final turn in fourth, taking up the running on the home straight, taking yards out of his opponents over every hurdle in the closing lengths, and sprinting across the line.
Now, if it doesn’t interrupt his preparations for London 2012, would he consider an appearance at the Cheltenham Festival?
– Tweet Stewart Weir with thoughts and comments, @sweirz
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