Sport: Does It Even Matter? (Editorial)
Author: Jon Kaufman
Why Matthew Syed is Wrong The Times 11/11/09 Author: Jon Kaufman
Matthew Syed has produced a beautifully crafted article on the global dimensions of football, the so called, ‘the beautiful game’, but in the process has made a fundamental mistake. Syed writes, ‘When future historians look back at the age of globalisation, it is not the Americanisation of the planet’s culture that will amaze them most, nor the pervading presence of brands such as Coca Cola and Nike. No, it is the global conquest of football’.
LAUNCH OF WEB SITE-REPLY TO JON@SPORTINGPOLEMICS.COM Author: Jon Kaufman
Sport, as in life, is riddled with contradictions, the most basic being that between the joy of participation and the individual human desire to win.
Cheating Neanderthals Author: Jon Kaufman
In the space of just a couple of weeks three articles appeared in the press devoted entirely to the subject of cheating. I should add as a point of clarification, that we are talking both sport and the company boardrooms; the inner citadels of the banking world and the committee rooms of parliament. In short, humans seem to be genetically programmed to lie and cheat if it means we can get one step ahead of our competitors.
The BNP and Sport Author: Jon Kaufman
This week the BNP were themselves a type of sport whereby the political class argued bitterly over whether to allow this nasty little fascist grouping to have prime time TV exposure or whether a blanket ban should starve them of publicity.
Rio Must Learn From Our Costly Olympic Mistakes, Evening Standard, Author: Jon Kaufman
Simon Jenkins has been as relentless as he has been consistent. From the very start Jenkins has championed a smaller, more manageable, more human, less corporate Olympic Games. I’ve agreed with him from the very start.
LTA Mediocrity Author: Jon Kaufman
Neil Harman writes in The Times (21/09/09) of the LTA, ‘Mediocrity in leadership, mediocrity in playing strength, mediocrity in coaching, the first murmurs of a grassroots uprising.
Football Old Farts Author: Jon Kaufman
We’ve seen where it leads in the financial world. ‘Light touch regulation’, the catch phrase for the Blair/ Brown Labour administration for the past twelve years, has seen the so called Masters of the Universe plunder us mere mortals for all they could, and in the process very nearly bringing the entire rotten edifice crashing to the ground.
Chelsea Child Poachers Author: Jon Kaufman
The headlines say it all. ‘Beware Child Poachers’, screams the Daily Mail. The day before the same paper was content with the single word, ‘Thieves!’
BLOODGATE Author: Jon Kaufman
Bloodgate: A Sporting Tale for the 21st Century. Here is a classic Shakespearean tale of the heroic but fatally flawed protagonist who is destined to fall from grace, set against the backdrop of turbulent and uncertain times. Press Report July 09 Author: Jon Kaufman
If July 2009 had a dialectical sporting theme it was that of sporting decency battling against the baser instincts of man; cheating, lying and grubby double dealing. Lord of the Rings, Andrew Anthony, The Observer, 19/07/09 Author: Jon Kaufman
This was not the first and it definitely will not be the last, but Andrew Anthony has produced a thought provoking assessment of Lord Sebastian Newbold Coe, Knight of the British Empire, twice Olympic 1,5000m winner, former Tory MP and advisor to William Hague, and current Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games. Cloud of Suspicion, The Guardian, 25/07/09, Anna Kessel Author: Jon Kaufman
We all like fairytales. They brighten up the all too often grim business of life. Come On-Be A Sport-Linda Whitney, London Evening Standard, 2/07/09 Author: Jon Kaufman
It was a particularly dispiriting article that I’m sure had the opposite intention. Linda Whitney had set out to show how sport is growing as an industry and consequently so are the number and range of jobs involved in sport. Ecclestone, F1 and Hitler, Observer, 12/07/09, Catherine Bennett Author: Jon Kaufman
Let me start off by saying I know nothing about F1 racing and its supposed attraction to millions of people world wide. |
