Hold The Front Page: Double Act Could Save Our Stories

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday May 7, 2005

With the departure of Shane Warne to Hampshire I am sure many people thought sport would not appear on the front page of the paper. Now Dwight Yorke has signed for Sydney FC, I am sure this will not be the case. Let's hope Dwight performs on the field as past headlines say he can off it. We can only hope Mark Bosnich is signed to play in Australia so the duo of Mark and Dwight will be reunited.

Robert Pallister, Punchbowl

Reality check

I got excited when I read that "every ball of every Test and one-day international will be shown" on Channel Nine under their new deal with Cricket Australia (Let there be cricket, Herald, April 29). However, nowhere did I see mention of a clause in the deal to prevent Channel Nine from cutting to a game show during the last session, running exposes of shonky plumbers during the opening overs of the second innings in a one-dayer or spruiking their newest reality program while the match continues. I trust these items are among the details to be ironed out.

Greig White, Petersham

Let there be cricket (Herald, April 29) tells us Channel Nine has signed a contract with the cricket board to allow full-day broadcasting of the game in the city it's being played. Hallelujah. But has anyone asked how much it will cost to attend the game? Are we going to be the meat in the sandwich that keeps paying while the numbers drop?

Sue Harris, Goulburn

The Warne standard

In response to reports of poor behaviour by some ageing Australian bowler, the Australian captain gave a general defence of his players, saying: "We've certainly made a very conscious effort over the last few years to clean up a little bit on the field". Talk about aiming high!

Tony Moore, Caringbah

Bad hair daze

So Warwick Capper took mind-altering drugs in the '80s. That explains a lot.

Brian Johnstone, Leura

League of its own

I have stumbled upon the fact that all of the Australian Football League is ugly, not just the Swans' play (Sydney hit back at AFL chief's taunt, Herald, May 2).

Steve Barrett, Glenbrook For a man who doesn't want to interfere in Sydney's affairs, Mr Demetriou has dropped a bombshell on Swans supporters. His accusation that we play a style of ugly football that will cost us attendances was beautifully timed just before a home game with Essendon at the Telstra Stadium. Without Sydney and Brisbane, the AFL would have little advertising revenue from the likes of Emirates Airlines. His parochial outburst, so typical of the Melbourne establishment, is, I believe, designed to discredit the Paul Roos brand of coaching and enable him to support Eddie McGuire's dreams of establishing Collingwood in the Sydney market. As the head of a family of five ardent Swans supporters, I can assure Mr Demetriou that the Swans play the type of football that will give them the best results when constantly pressured by Melbourne umpires who fail to see any infringements made by their teams and unfairly penalise anything that Barry Hall or any other high-profile Swans player does. Get back to Melbourne affairs, Mr Demetriou, and don't attempt to infiltrate our city on behalf of your boring, egotistical and power-mad friend.

John Arthur Daley, Fairlight

Flash Harry

How convenient. Suddenly Harry Kewell's myriad, mysterious injuries, which have plagued him for the past year, have suddenly cleared up, just when Liverpool are playing their biggest matches in 20 years. Just the man you need in the trenches, eh? I guess this is his way of assuring the public he'll definitely turn up for all of Australia's glamour matches later this year as well.

Shah Sahari, Woolloomooloo

Zero tolerance

Why is it that sports section results for soccer matches ending 0-0 always show the half-time score?

Alan Watson, Galston

Ask the brains trust

So the latest to hit the NRL is the grapple tackle. If I've got it right, two or more grapple tacklers attack the neck and throat of the ball-carrier, holding him above the ground so the tackle is not deemed to be completed to the effect that the ball-carrier cannot breathe for whatever period of time the referee allows. Beyond this point I get fuzzy as I'm not sure whether the objective of the tackle is to force the ball-carrier to release the ball or to cause permanent brain damage. Perhaps the NRL could clarify.

Gary Bryant, Gladesville

Stay away Sailor

The only reason Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers would want Wendell in the side is because he makes them look really good. Keep Peter "Intercept Try" Hewat where he belongs - running on for every match.

Gretchen Irvine, Middle Cove

A sporting chance

I notice each one of the letters published on the sports page (Herald, April 30) was written by a man. This will never do. I can talk league, tennis, cricket, golf, horse racing, whatever, with the best of them, and, if I apply myself, I can spit and cuss just as well as any male sports tragic. So, come on all you female good sports out there - write your letters that rubbish Manly, barrack for the "Bears" to return to monster the Eagles (go you Broncos!), join the "c'mon Lleyton" chorus, support Ricky's bat, and urge Makybe to the line. It's all very well to espouse feminism in politics, or in the workplace, but it's in the sporting arena that we dames can make an impact and take the ground from under the males' feet ... and talking about the ancient art of tug of war ...

Rosemary O'Brien, Georges Hall

© 2005 Sydney Morning Herald

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