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Everyone loves Top Gear - but are they cool? Really?
“Zombies cannot run - so if you see a person running at you, it’s not a zombie. DON’T shoot him. Give him a high-five.” “You’re blocking one of your own guys out there!” “He doesn’t matter, my safety is more important than his.” This is all invaluable zombie-infestation survival advice, team.
Here’s how to make a single speed hipster bike.
Do I not like that - insane, foul mouthed England football coach doco.
There’s a lot of monkeys on the telly, as any Breakfast TV viewer knows. Turns out they’re pretty good at the Krypton Factor too. If I could just get my hands on a shaved simian to sit here for the day, I’d be set.
Zinc Oxide is everywhere - be careful out there, team
Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World
With computer games, I tend to go for Zombies and shotguns and any combination thereof. But if I played World Of Warcraft, I’d probably be this guy.
Stalking fans might be interested in this snap of me with Cambridge’s favorite rowers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, who made it two Olympic golds in a row (geddit?) on Saturday night. You can click the picture to make it bigger. No, I don’t know which one is which(!).
sportreview.net.nz made its long awaited* debut on the radio today on National Radio’s Mediawatch show, weighing in on TV One’s Olympic commentary efforts.
Download away. It’s the 17th of August show, I come on at 7′55″.
*this bit’s not actually true.
How do you feel?
Well, one of my nuts popped out at the 500 metre mark - I had to do the last K and a half with lefty chaffing the seat. The skin in that area’s pretty raw and I’m fairly sure it’s sunburnt, too. I’m in a great deal of pain and I can’t walk in a straight line. I’ll probably vomit if I see another oar.
Hey! You’re in Bejing! It must feel great to be here!
14 million people live in this city. That’s 7 million women. Seven. Million. Plus, you can get Tiger Balm at every single dairy.
You did a personal best, but still missed out on the final! Isn’t that gutting?
Not as gutted as I was when some ass-clown finished the peanut butter at breakfast. COME ON! Just a bit of common fucking decency is all it takes. I’m looking at those Equestrian assholes. It’ll be tally-fuckin’-ho if I catch them. I mean it.
It must be a great honor to be out here representing New Zealand?
I’m South African.
Have you got anything to say to the family back home? I’m sure they’re watching.
I just wanna say to my partner Sarah, I love you. Mmmmm-mmmm. But baby, I’m a man. A man needs to relax sometimes, living in that village, with all those… athletes. I’m just saying. Nothing to worry about. Just think of my gold medal dreams. Our gold medal dreams.
SRPA: The Rugby League world was rocked today by 5 seconds of silence from Brisbane Rugby League commentator Dickie “Barracuda” McDagstead. A full 5 seconds’ silence went to air on McDagstead’s watch during the weekend’s Roosters v Broncos match, each second a bombshell to the heart of the proud winter code.
League fans wasted no time lighting up talkback switchboards in disgust. “I had no idea if this encounter was bruising, epic, or just plain huge.” said Broncos fan “Stumpy” Hodges, speaking from the East Brisbane RSL. “I mean, there were things happening, and they weren’t being described in unnecessarily intricate detail. Where was the big call? Where? I’ve never been so scared”.
Retired commentary great Roy “Boomer” Stretchtrouser lamented the modern commentator’s lack of standards, pointing to his 53 year career of uninterrupted incomprehensible drivel. “This Wouldn’t Have Happened in My Day. I Was Being Shelled By Japanese Subs Moored In Sydney Harbor, And Still Shouted ‘Jenkins-Barrington’ 34 Times During A Runaway Intercept Try. These Cowboys Today Have No Idea.”
McDagstead, who may be in breach of his contract with Channel 9, apologised immediately, admitting a dropped sausage roll played a key role in Silencegate. “I Took My Eye Off The Ball” said McDagstead. “Ohhhhhhhhhhh, It’s A Tragedy.”
The Something Awful goons are getting behind Hockey Scores, a cacophony of bleating, crying, and drums that sound like something Chris Knox would make when he came home pissed, voting it to become the theme for A Big Serious Hockey Program - and the hockey fans aren’t happy.
This kind of thing is, of course, brilliant, and should be encouraged in this country.
Can Piswiddle win the ashes? - Mitchell and Webb cricketing stupidity ahoy
Some guy wandering around booting footballs into places he shouldn’t, brilliantly.
Little Gary Neville takes life awfully seriously - here he is refusing to shake hands with old mate Peter Schmichael, who went to play for the other guys. He doesn’t look too bothered, though.
Photoshop comp - Unpopular movie-based video games. Har.
Some tennis guy kills a pigeon. Turns out one of the players is part of the scientologists’ avian wing. Bet he wishes he had Tom Cruise’s number now.
From their mad-eyebrowed coach to Tierry Henry, France were crapper than sandpaper undies at Euro 2008. Even their coach driver was woeful.
Here’s a great list of 100 things to love about sport. Baz McCullum gets a mention, but they’re awfully rude about the All Blacks. Strangely, hearing “Why does love do this to me” at 110db at a Rugby match isn’t there - must be #101?
Those American elections go on a bit, eh? This is much better.
The 17th at Sawgrass is the famous Island Green - given the chance, I’d make a complete hash of it I reckon - kind of like this guy.
After football on a Saturday, I’m often parked up in front of TV3’s three (three!) fishing shows waiting for the cramps to kick in - The ITM Fishing Show is definitely the best, new episodes are on now.
Some League guy kicks a goal. Is this news? He’s a prop, so yeah.
Bugger GTA IV - did you know it came out originally on the NES? I’m still stuck somewhere in between San Fierro and Las Venturas in GTA San Andreas.
The Kiwis talk victory chances.
Kiwis rookies Isaac Luke, Setimata Sa and Jason Nightingale feel light thrashing best case scenario.
Kangaroos: Daggy uniforms biggest barrier to victory.
Wayne Bennett - easily distracted.
Having grown up near Te Rapa Straight, one of our great impromptu race-tracks I can confirm that the ‘Tron is NZ’s rightful home of barely-legal street car action, so it’s only fair to hand the mean streets over to the pros for the weekend. Good luck to everyone heading to the V8s, and go the Chiefs
Everyone remembers that Colombian goalkeeper’s Scorpian save at Wembley - but can you score like that? Bloody oath
Alex Higgins is Snooker’s George Best, with outrageous talent at sport and the booze
Southampton turn into Brazil all of a sudden and Kev scores a wonder-goal - only to be ruled out. Robbed
Mitchell and Webb are really funny
Pure gold from Pulp Sport - Chris Martin (test average 2.55) brings you his Learn to Bat dvd. He’s just so serious.
Smug Shots is people, usually pissed, going up to footballers, usually in a bar or airport, and having their photo taken. That reminds me, I must dig out that photo of me with Glenn Osbourne.
Let’s face it - ten pin bowling isn’t cool, unless you’re The Dude. It’s all corporate team building and weird shoes smelling of watered down disinfectant and that. If I was going have a go, though, I’d be wanting to do something like this.
If you’re like me and spend all day in an office, you may enjoy Whack Your Boss. Disclaimer - I don’t want to whack MY boss. Annoy - yes. Whack - No.
So simple it’s brilliant. It’s American football, it’s Brett Favre going about his business wearing shoulder pads, and a fan steals the ball. There’s nothing left to say, really
The hilarious Stuff White People Like blog scores a big fat bull’s eye on the idea of soccer
Speaking of which, they say footballers are prone to gaming referees and try to gain unlawful advantage. This is, of course, completely untrue
Here’s 100 things never to say in a job interview. I’d probably ask if the stationary was locked up at night
In case you missed it, here’s Andrew Symonds’ shoulder charge. Legendary raisin Richie Benaud’s comment proves he’s STILL the master
SRPA: Rower Dave Everlast lashed out at the media storm surrounding today’s showdown between triple world champion Mahe Drysdale and double world champion / Olympic gold medalist Rob Waddell on Lake Karapiro today. Everlast finished 25 seconds behind second placed Waddell. “I was prepared to answer a few questions today, but those reporters jostled me getting out of the boat. I could have drowned.” said Everlast. “Those guys don’t get rowing at all”.
Everlast, whose career highlights include finishing behind Drysdale and Waddell on numerous occasions, and giving Drysdale’s truck a jump start one time was not enthused by the prospect of becoming a trivia question in years to come. “Well whoop-de-fuckin’ shit” he said.
- American Football is so hot right now, with yer Giants, Brady, and second and seven and all that. I still reckon the Glasgow Diamonds are the best, though. They’re here to play football. And rap.
- Scotty Pippen gives Spike Lee what-for
- Out of context takes your Hollywood movie stars and makes them look like dicks - contains spooky foreshadowing of Tom Cruise’s Scientology rant
- Sandwich encyclopedia - for those of us that think bread and dead animal are the cornerstone of any delicious meal
- Gilchrist’s 57 ball century - Gilly is cool, dogdy “I always walk / but sometimes like to appeal for obvious non-catches, too” stance aside
- Attention wincing fans! Here’s the 15 Greatest Mountain Bike crashes eva
- Before Spike Jonze became the guy being mean to Scarlett Johansson in Lost In Translation, he made skateboard videos - and pretty bloody well, too
- Worst sport movies ever - they’re no Carry Me Back, that’s for sure
Luckily, blogging-wise, I’ve really enjoyed it. Getting a cartoon in the paper was nice (another one soon!). I liked this one. And this one. This wasn’t a good idea.I loved making up news stories.
In 2008, I really need to get my shit together with a proper domain (keep your eye on sportreview.net.nz) and Wordpress, particularly before sportreview jr. comes along.
Here’s my best for 2007.
Sporting moment
Hard one. A couple of America’s Cup races were pretty amazing. I’m too childish to nominate Fiji v South Africa. Oher than a few Berbatov goals, it’s looking pretty bleak. I’m going for Luaki handing off Richie McCaw - it’s been that kind of year.
Web
Guardian Unlimited (football and sport) remain my go-tos for sport news, writing, and youtube clips. Locally, the Dropkicks podcast is the best in NZ sport on the web. I love the communities springing up at Sportsfreak and The Silver Fern - I wish I had more time to participate. I joined Facebook, and found it great for finding the long lost, but kind of annoying otherwise. I discovered last.fm. I really enjoy Public Address and Jason Kottke, still.
Links on Friday
- Richie Benaud on the underarm
- Zombie vs Shark
- Never poke a big cat with a stick
- Full Metal Wii
- The Mack vs the Nuge
Albums
Person Pitch - Panda Bear (thanks, Fraser), Happy Ending - Phoenix Foundation, Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
Book
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union - Micheal Chabon
Films
Superbad, The Devil Dared Me To, Hot Fuzz
Top three songs on last .fm
Ramble Tamble - Creedence
Fourtunate Son - Creedence
Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
Australia left Waitakere Arena with the Netball World Championship trophy late on Saturday night. The colorful crowd, many of them wearing costumes and outlandish objects on their heads, is still singing along to the PA in the otherwise empty stadium. “Come on, Silver Ferns, you can do it!” said one fan. “Well, crocodile rocking is something shocking, when your feet just can’t keep still” explained another. “Sitting around an empty stadium singing fits seamlessly into our target market’s lifestyle.” said Netball NZ Marketing Manager Jacinda Severebrows. “Sure, they love top-class Netball, but throw in Van Morrison at 110 db… that’s a total entertainment package unprecedented in New Zealand.”
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Sharp darts, that.
This is kind of like what the Tour De France prologue will be like but without the traffic or combat shorts and that.
Butterworth admitted years of experience in the America’s Cup pressure cooker counts for little when the boat finishes in second place. “Our tactics only pay off when we cross the line first. It’s plain sailing from there. But if you get into a situation where they’re ahead at the end and get the gun… that makes it very tough indeed for us to record a win. We spend hours and hours on the little things, they can be the difference between winning and losing. Traditionally, finishing order has been a key strength of Alinghi’s but we’ll have to look at it tonight, alright.”
However, the American’s Cup veteran remained stoic, saying “We’ll go back to base, haul the boat out of the water, and look at the tape to see what’s in the way of victory. The bit I’ll focus on where NZL92 crosses the line first, that seems crucial.”
TVNZ commentator Pete Montgomery agreed with Butterworth’s assessment. “Traditionally, In A Dogfight Like This There Can Be Only One Victor That Enjoys The Spoils. For The Folks At Home, Usually That’s The Magnificent Boat That Finishes First” said Montgomery before being lead away for a thorough hose down before race three.
The drivetrain is Campagnolo Triomphe, with Shimano Exage brakes. It’s got Tubular tires on Araya ‘Red’ rims, and Wellgo pedals. The handlebars are Cinelli.
This is a very light bike, Vitus are a French bicycle tubing company, and this one is unique in that the tubes are glued together rather than welded, as it usually the case. Here’s more info on this bike. The 979 was made famous by Irish Cyclist Sean Kelly - here he is in the San Remo - Milan race.
5. You find yourself whispering ‘Snappy, snappy. Snappy snappy” under your breath whenever the black boat’s mast comes into shot
4. You’ve been barred from your local’s jukebox after loading up Simple Minds’ “Don’t you forget about me” for 65 plays in a row
3. You’re always talking into a headset microphone that’s not connected to anything
2. Whenever your partner wants to discuss communication issues arising in your relationship, you ask your tactician what he thinks
1. Your uncompromising will to win is now only expressed in playing ‘Snake II’ on your phone
…has some marvellous views of the Kaipara harbour.
Go play it.
Premiership
Wow. The Scousers beat Harlequins Chelsea, exposing their defensive shit-ness without John Terry for all to see and laugh at, and then feckin’ Arsenal went and beat Man Utd, pissing in the beer of those wanting Anyone But Chelsea to win it. It’s going to be interesting, team. Spurs managed not to lose at Fulham, which was nice. Ish.
TV
It’s a magic time for fans of watching floodlight sport from Australia late into the night, with the Commonwealth Bank series competing with the Australian Open tennis for screen time. The shots of Sydney’s sunset over the SCG during last nights’ game were spectacular.
10. Some Marketing guy hears Dave Dobbyn’s ‘Loyal’ and thinks “Wow, that’ll be a great theme tune for the America’s Cup, no-one will ever tire of hearing that 23 times a day”.
If you were in NZ in 2003, you know what I’m talking about. Closely followed by…
9. Sailing Away by All Of Us.
Satellite Spies? Eh? What is it with The America’s Cup and music? If I was in Team New Zealand, this song would ‘inspire’ me to jump off the boat when far out to sea.
8. Wayne Shelford dumped as All Black captain.
Not just ‘cos he restored the All Black Haka to what it is today. Not just ‘cos he was an all time great captain and #8. Not just ‘cos he played against France with his sack ripped open, but because it gave birth to Bring Back Buck, probably New Zealand’s most overused and underfunny three words ever.
7. New Zealand 31 France 43 -1999 Rugby World Cup Semi Final.
John Hart kept job after losing all those matches in ‘98 as the Boer Busters all retired at once. Our forward pack was “mobile and skilled” (read: inexperienced and lightweight), while our backline was “dynamic” and had “special moves we were saving” (read: bung all the flair players in, including Cullen at centre, and see what happens). There was so much SHIT that came on the back of the new Adidas sponsorship - ie those shiny jerseys, the massive billboards all over the world, the over-produced ads on the telly, and the bloody jet with the front row painted on the side. I was living in London then, and it was bad - god knows what it was like at home, with almost 4 million rabid Kiwis getting carried away together. We cruised through the pool matches, upon which the players buggered off to the south of France to have their photos taken on the beach. They came back for a half asleep performance against Scotland, and then THAT loss to France. With no real on field leadership, the All Blacks fell to bits. All the hype, overconfidence, and overexposure had been for nothing. I arrived at work to find a croissant on my desk. So this is professional rugby.
You can read the team talk here.
6. Dave Latta’s brain explosion.
Poor old Otago. Just ahead of Canterbury in the dying seconds of a Ranfurly Shield match, Latta dived out of a ruck and conceded a penalty in front of the posts. The LOOK on his face said it all - Otago had one of the best sides around for many years, but had never taken home any silverware, and Latta had just helped keep that run going. Cruelly, Canterbury supporters still call the block at Jade Stadium built at the time the “Dave Latta’ stand. Ouch.
5. The Underarm.
Yes, we should probably get over it, and Brian McKechnie was unlikely to hit that last ball for six at the huge MCG, but still… There’s been too much written about this murky little incident, so I’ll move on.
4. Phar Lap poisoned.
The Red Terror, Timaru’s Phar Lap was a folk hero who won 37 of the 51 races he ran, including a Melbourne Cup, winning the hearts of Australasia. He was given arsenic and hemorrhaged to death in California with rumors of Mafia involvement, a hugely unjust end to his glorious life.
3. New Zealand 262-7 Pakistan 264-6 - Cricket World Cup Semi Final 1992.
It was a golden summer when anything was possible - beating Australia, Dipak opening the bowling, Greatbach and Latham spanking the world’s best bowlers into the stands. It was magic, we hadn’t had a good build up and people were worried we’d embarrass ourselves - no longer, the whole country loved the, erm, Grey Shirts (Black Caps hadn’t been coined then). I went to see us just destroy South Africa at Eden Park - I’ve never seen a crowd more charged up in any sport, Greatbach hit some HUGE sixes, and wasn’t afraid to charge down the pitch to Allan Donald, a very fast bowler known as White Lightning. We dealt to everyone (except, ominously, Pakistan) and topped the table at the end of the Round Robin. We were at home and in blinding form - surely we were a great chance to win the bloddy thing. We batted first, posting 262, which was good. Martin Crowe was hobbling on his dodgy knee, which was bad, his captaincy and runs had got us this far, and he stayed in the shed for Pakistan’s run chase. We were doing OK, until a young Inzamam-ul-Haq came out and scored a very rapid 60, and got Pakistan over the line, and it was all over. The players did a lap of honour to thank the crowd and the nation for their support. Some of the players, the guys that had done so brilliantly and entertained us all, making cricket perhaps as popular as it had ever been in New Zealand, were crying. It was very, very sad.
2. Team New Zealand 0 Alinghi 5 - America’s Cup 2003.
When Sir Peter Blake was shot on the Amazon, it arguably began a sequence of events that ended with Team New Zealand sailors frantically bailing the boat out in race one of the 2003 finals. The America’s Cup was a very Auckland event - this city’s obsession with water, money, yachts, real estate, expensive sunglasses, technology and drinking shitloads of piss all converged nicely with the arrival of the Auld Mug. Remember, Aucklanders wouldn’t have the Viaduct Basin to play in now if we hadn’t won in San Diego. After some frantic scrabbling to get ready we laid out the welcome mat in 1999 for all these sophisticated vistors to little old us, especially if they said nice things about us, remembered their chequebook, and didn’t win any races. We loved Prada and their cool grey and red uniforms, especially when they got Zip to our Five in the final.
Then it all turned to custard. Coutts and Butterworth dropped their toys and were off to Switzerland, prompting a gang of loudmouth shitbags working in Advertising to form the Blackhearts, a group existing solely to sling mud at some true champions. Anyway. Team New Zealand was under new management, and the boffins that served us so well in the past had the reigns. We unveiled the magical Hula keel, as Alinghi won the Lois Vuitton series ominously comfortably. In race one, leg one of the finals the two boats were neck and neck. “We’re faster!” cried my Dad, but then the sailors were bailing water out of the boat as Alinghi sailed to an easy victory. Really easy. Embarrassingly easy. Same thing happened in the next five races, apart from the one where our mast broke, but by then we’d lost interest. Aucklanders move on pretty quickly.
1. South Africa 15 New Zealand 12 - 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.
We won at home in 1987 of course, and let the Aussies have it in ‘91, but in ‘95 we needed it back, thanks. Laurie Mains had a pack chockablock with all time greats like Fitzpatrick and the Brookes, who along with a young Josh Kronfield brutalised teams to supply Bachop, Merthens, Wilson, Little, Bunce, Lomu and Osbourne all the ball they needed to re-invent rugby. On the wing, Lomu was busy making the the world wake up fearing corned beef and taro, and in the England semi made Keith Quinn scream “LOMU! OUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!” at the nation at 2.30 in the morning. Then Zinzan, a NUMBER EIGHT, drop kicked one from half way. The world had gone mad - there was no WAY we’d lose. The Herald’s typically understated headline was, from memory, ‘Why We’ll Win’.
New Zealand got up (or played sleep roulette after 13 pints) to see the All Blacks lose the final to the hosts in agonising fashion. There’s two images that stick - Jeff Wilson being sick on the bench, and Merthen’s dropkick drifting wide in the depths of normal time (OK, THREE images - Nelson Mandela giving Francois Pienaar the trophy counts, I guess). Laurie got a detective to investigate Susie the waitress, but really, it was over, and it’s now 20 years since we won the big one. This was the one that got away.
Auckland v BOP - I got along to the game on Sunday for a recovery session from the night before. Eden Park was bathed in sunshine, and with feck-all people there, there was loads of room to spread out and take in an entertaining game. The Bay were undone by having two guys sent off so close to half time, and once Auckland got into gear there was little chance of a shield challenge-style result. BOP fans are still the best, we could see your man with the grey wig (what, is it that stressful being the bay’s number one fan?) trying to rile the crowd up. Auckland looked like Auckland always do - fairly ruthless, but little real flair. They’ve got some BIG lads in the team, though.
Bolton 2 Spurs 0 - Shit. I’m giving Berbatov and Zakora more time to settle before drawing any harsh conclusions. We need King back.
Chelsea 3 - Man City 0 - They’re going to win the first ten in a row again, aren’t they?
Performance of the weekend - It’s a tie between Carl Hayman trying to stop Tuquiri looking like a shearer chasing the guy who pinched his 24th can after drinking the first 23, or these guys.
“Aaaaaaaaah now let’s see… Adminstrators… Aaaaah What a bunch of dickheads… No no no can’t say that… but gees what is it with those guys? Do they take dumb pills or what? No no no hang on… Start Now… OK… OK… A national sporting league is only as good, strong and effective as its adminstration… That’s good, that’s good… Aaaaaaah…”
Dybvig gets into Radio and eventually joins Sky in its early days alongside a young Stephen McIvor*, “who could laugh his chops off at a scripted joke and later ask you what it meant”. He was on the fledgling NZ ‘celebrity’ circuit alongside luminaries like Belinda Todd, Willy De Wit, and Glenda Hughes - a very boozy scene by the sound, especially one piss marathon that lurches from the pub to boats to the golf course in the aid of Ronald McDonald House.
TV3 is next, and Dybvig works on Kid’s TV, Horse Racing ‘colour’, and the short lived local Pro-Wrestling show, where the bad guys were pelted on their way to the ring with plastic drink bottles by rioting pre-teens. There’s no end to the book, really, he just kinds of drifts off into TV land, but it’s a fascinating view into the world of local TV and how small time it can be behind the scenes.
My copy came pre-signed by the man himself (”Happy reading, Cheers!”). I met him one time, I was arranging voice overs on an 0800 ad for (ahem) Bacon Magic. Dybvig was huge, but more subdued than I expected (or hoped). He loved infomercials, and told me his golf buddies all wore BluBlockers. He did his shouty voice as you’d expect, and it was class.
If you like this, try Technical Foul (Basketball’s Bad Boy Talks Back!), the story of his coaching career featuring the dreariness of life in NZ in the 80s.
“Buying anything in New Zealand is an exercise in 30 second politeness. It goes something like this:
Customer: I’ll have a dozen eggs, thanks.
Store clerk: Thank you.
Customer: Could I have pack of cigarettes too thank you.
Store clerk: Thank you.
Customer: Thank you.
Store clerk: That’ll be $2.35 thank you.
Customer: (Hands over money) Thanks.”
You get the idea. Dybvig has popped up on a few things since like Hercules, Xena, and even King Kong, and according to his website he’s written another book and is attempting to reinvent himself as Bill Bryson. I’m definitely tracking that one down.
*What is it with that guy - it’s like watching Rugby League with Elton John. Fair play that he showed up to get his face smashed in at the Fight for Life, but I guarentee all usually peace loving people were thinking “Punching Stephen McIvor really looks like fun!”.
“Gutless Scumbags… Softcocks, basically, is the only category that I can put you into… Just like me, you rate highly in the dickhead stakes… I wish I could headbutt that person”.
That showed me, and conveniently illustrates the type of moronic debate you can expect these days on Radio Sport, which is why I’ve started switching off. I really WANT to listen to sport on the radio, and LOVE the idea I can hear it 24 hours a day, but as I said before, the blokey boy’s club atmosphere of the breakfast show, and level of debate on the talkback is turning me off. Guys, it’s just getting boring.
So I decided to share my thoughts with the world - I care about Radio Sport, I really do, and I tried to be constructive, outlining why I used to love it, why I don’t love it anymore, and gave some brief suggestions on making it better. Yes I called Matt Gunn a dickhead, but Matt, you’re a loudmouth talkback host, and comments like that come with the territory. I’m sure you’d be a top bloke to have a beer with when you’re not doing your RadioSportsGuy persona, but if I was you, I’d spend those long, lonely breaks between calls sharing some thoughtful and informed opinion, promising callers a worthy debate, not just an argument.
As for your headbutt offer, no thanks, I’m only a gutless scumbag after all. However SilverFern Overlord Jason Bartley of Whangamata is willing to deputise for me, and there’s more volunteering on the forum and my site. And because my anonymity bothers you, Matt, my name’s Richard Irvine. Dig around my website, and you’ll find that fairly easily, but hey, I’m just some guy on the internet - if I was you, I’d be more worried about WHY I wrote it.
I’m a guy in his 30s living in Auckland, a radio listener who loves going to Rugby and Cricket, playing sport at the weekend and catching games on TV. I’m a professional guy, I earn a crust - in other words, I’m your target market. The forum crowd on TheSilverFern are your target market too, and they (mostly) agree with the sentiment of the article. That’s golden feedback my friend, and I’m stoked the article is on your Smoko room wall. Like I say, I’ve tried to be constructive, and I’ve shared my opinion - surely that’s better than just turning Radio Sport off and never listening again?
Rugby highlights go up very quickly, so if you missed the match or your memory was mysteriously wiped by that box of whatever was on special at the supermarket, you can re-live Jerry sorting out George Smith’s dreads, or Ali Williams dumping Gregan from a couple of stories over and over again. And here’s a good compilation of recent All Blacks tries in one neat package.
Of course there’s loads of football - like the original Panekla penalty, the stuttering dummy one that Zidane did in the World C
