The BBC Olympic coverage deserves gold. . . pity Rory McIlroy made wrong call
I MARVEL at Clare Balding. Her performance as front woman for the BBC’s Olympic coverage must be worth at least gold.
Always chatty and knowledgeable, almost word perfect and never flustered when the inevitable live coverage goes wrong, she has been an absolute star.
Another surprise winner was the diving commentator Leon Taylor.
Thanks to his background as an Olympian he brought a level of technical detail to his analysis which meant that “over-rotating” became my favourite phrase.
I have only two black marks.
One was for golfer Rory McIlroy for refusing to play in the Games.
His stand was made so much worse when a proud and competitive Justin Rose won his gold on the last hole.
Rose could have done a McIlroy.
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He too had a busy schedule and it certainly wasn’t for the money, nor could he possibly have forecast the outcome as there was talent galore on the leader board.
For Rose it was the right thing to do.
McIlroy made the wrong call and it would be big of him in the weeks ahead if he acknowledges so.
My only criticism of the BBC’s coverage came in the magnificent tennis final between Andy Murray and del Potro.
Like his mother, I turned off the commentary because it was hopeless.
I’m not certain they knew anything about the sport and focused on the negative rather than the positive.
'McIlroy made the wrong call and it would be big of him in the weeks ahead if he acknowledges so'
Why on earth the BBC didn’t fly Andrew Castle out for the final is beyond me.
Only Andy Murray could have won that game.
Del Potro was fantastic but in Murray we have a champion who no longer recognises defeat.
When he won, he sobbed his heart out. He had given everything.
We should be grateful for Murray. I fear it may be another 80 years (Fred Perry’s last Wimbledon triumph) before another Andy comes our way.
How fate transforms lives of footie icons
THIS remarkable photo basically shows you can never be quite sure how life is going to work out.
It was taken in 1992 as a publicity shot for Sky Sports after they won the Premier League rights for the first time.
All four were super young players on the verge of making their mark.
On the top left is an astonishingly youthful Jamie Redknapp. These last couple of decades have been great for him.
A pop star wife, homes in Surrey and Majorca, and a none too taxing job today giving his views on football.
Bottom left is Paul Ince. A tremendous footballer who went on to manage but is equally famous for being the father of the talented Derby star Tom Ince.
'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death'
Then there is the dark side of the coin.
Bottom right is the much missed Gary Speed, the Welsh manager found hanged in his garage some five years ago.
And top right is, of course, Dalian Atkinson the former Aston Villa player who only a few days back was tasered to death by police after becoming violent outside his father’s house.
One photo. Two made it. Two didn’t.
The legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death.
“I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much more important than that.”
I doubt if the families of the four in this picture would disagree with that.
I'll hit 'em where it Hertz...
SO it’s not only Hertz who are ripping off their car rental customers. Enter Enterprise.
New Zealand tourist Barbara Kirkman arrives in Cupar, Fife, to see a very sick relative in a hospice having been quoted £240 for a two-week hire.
The salesman, who is incentivised to flog extra insurance, said Enterprise would need to take £1,000 off her credit card to cover potential damage or she could instead take out £16.98 a day for extra cover.
In an email Barbara tells me she felt pressured and, since family matters were weighing on her, she agreed and two days later discovered Enterprise had taken £237.72 out of her account for the insurance.
I quite understand Barbara falling for this mis-selling con. Could I simply urge everybody that at the same time as you hire online a car, you go on the many sites that deal exclusively with rental insurance, print off the agreement and take it to the counter. They can’t do anything about it.
Further, I am taking Hertz to a county court to fight their deception in public. They will try to settle in advance. I won’t do that, they will lose and you will win.
This racket must stop. Still haven’t heard a word from Hertz. You would have thought they would stick up for their company’s actions or possibly explain them.
I wonder why they don’t? Answers on a postcard please.
Expose the evil of ISIS
NEXT time you hear a representative from the pressure group Muslim Council Of Britain on either radio or television please bear the following quote in mind:
“Groups like the Muslim Council do not do nearly enough to root out extreme versions of Islam because they too have come under the influence of Wahhabism, whose logical progression is to end up with a barbarous theocracy not dissimilar to ISIS.”
That quote comes from the liberal imam Dr Taj Hargey, who runs the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford.
Worryingly he points out that Wahhabism – imported from and heavily funded by Saudi Arabia – is now the most powerful voice in most British mosques, faith schools and Muslim organisations.
Dr Hargey points out that the symbols of the “primitive doctrine” – the burkha and the bushy beards – are seen as integral to British Islam though they stem from archaic Arab life and have no theological basis in the Koran.
I don’t want to appear gloomy but I think I agree with the old song – There May Be Trouble Ahead.
Quick apology
I gave a whack the other week to a magistrate who handed a 56-day ban to a young idiot speeding at 154mph.
It’s been pointed out that was the maximum she could give under the 1984 Road Traffic Act and the cops got it wrong by not charging him with dangerous driving, under which he could have got two years.
So I was right to have a go but got the wrong target. Sorry.
Quite frankly...
—UNBELIEVABLY the Intellectual Property Office has allowed Specsavers to own all rights to its John Cleese-backed TV ad line “should’ve”.
Frankly they should’ve told them to . . . shove it.
Thank you Kelv
Column reader Gregory Metcalf’s daughter Victoria was sent a renewal insurance for her old Citroen Saxo for £1,280.
Dad put her details into a and got her cover for £702, a saving of £578.
And reader Tracey Hughes took my advice after receiving a home and contents renewal quote for £488.64 and switched to Axa for £303.41, saving £185. You can go skint being loyal.
Do tell me how much you saved changing providers. Send your stories to [email protected].
Worst job in the world?
Having watched Philip Green’s semi-violent performance on Sky News the other night, it must be doing his PR.
I could help him out but don’t want to ruin my summer.
More great punnies
Cycle shop in Weymouth – Mud, Sweat and Gears.
Seen on the back of a greengrocer’s van in Willenhall, West Mids – Baby Beetroot On Board.
Dry cleaners in Rosehill, Sutton, Surrey – Cleaners A Whistle.
Mobile dog groomers in Yorkshire Dales – At Your Bark And Call.
Driving school in the Medway towns – Corsa U Can.
Burger van near Norwich – Bears Grill. Picture framers in Aberystwyth, West Wales – Nicely Hung.
Tanning salon in Oxford – Sun Of A Beach.
Gardener in Barton on Humber, North Lincs – Mowzart.
Launderette in Ossett, West Yorks – Washing Well.
Tree surgeons in Aberdovey, Gwynedd – Tree Mendus.
You do the work and I get the credit. Fantastic. Please send more to [email protected].