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Public Address
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1047
Field Theory: Long Weekend
It has been a long and sleepless weekend. A weekend of tremendous feats, where black became gold and inspiration was only a gnat's whisker away. The kiwis have dug deep and showed the entire world that we are indeed a sleeping giant. They come from a small town and the heart they show is part of an immense effort from that big engine they have in them.
Russell Brown
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 5333
Moderator
Only on a day where we win five Olympic medals can the All Blacks blanking the Springboks in South Africa (for the first time ever) be second page news. And that was a great game by the way, featuring Captain Tackles at his best.
I liked the Guardian's mach report headline: All Blacks manage crisis.
Oh, and Stephen Jones, still a cock:
The contrast between the sides was massive. New Zealand are nothing special. They hardly offered anything in attack and Dan Carter, who missed five kicks at goal, is these days nothing more than a serviceable player with the odd decent flash of brilliance, but New Zealand’s tactical aware-ness and basic skills were on a different planet, and their defence was outstanding. Furthermore, they took massive advantage of the fact that yet again, a referee in charge of a match involving New Zealand was utterly hoodwinked by their infringements at the breakdown. South Africa, staggeringly, were penalised off the park at the breakdown.
giovanni tiso
From: Wellington
Since: Jun 2007
Posts: 1195
I liked the Guardian's mach report headline: All Blacks manage crisis.
I'm printing T-shirts with the phrase: If only all our crises were like All Blacks crises.
Hadyn Green
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1120
Moderator
Mike at the Dropkicks managed to unearth the Michael Phelps frame by frame.
Mark Thomas
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 239
How about that Usain Bolt? He smashes the 100m record, cruising with his arms out wide from about 80m, all with one of his shoes untied (supposedly).
Michael Phelps, bah.
Bob Munro
From: Christchurch
Since: Aug 2007
Posts: 365
Oh, and Stephen Jones, still a cock:
Peter Bills for the Independent does much better.
A towering mountain overlooks the beautiful Newlands ground in the Cape, and a towering rugby player graced it yesterday. Richie McCaw gave one of the greatest displays in rugby history to shatter the new world champions in their own backyard. South Africa finished a fumbling, broken outfit, laid to waste by the genius of McCaw on the floor and his brilliant reading of the game, allied to coruscating tackling.
The Kiwi flanker and captain gave Schalk Burger a lesson in accuracy and precision. The Springbok lacks nothing in courage and commitment but when it came to detail, McCaw was in a class of his own. He won the loose ball constantly, cleverly slowed it down when the situation required it, and made tackle after tackle. No other player on the field was remotely in his class.
I had to look ‘coruscating’ up in the dictionary.
Russell Brown
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 5333
Moderator
Mike at the Dropkicks managed to unearth the Michael Phelps frame by frame.
Cool! Picture, thousand words, etc. It plays out like I thought I saw it live -- all in the last reach of the arms.
Craig Ranapia
From: North Shore, Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 4375
I had to look ‘coruscating’ up in the dictionary.
I had to buy one with laminated, wipe-clean pages. :)
Hadyn Green
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1120
Moderator
How about that Usain Bolt? He smashes the 100m record, cruising with his arms out wide from about 80m, all with one of his shoes untied (supposedly).
Michael Phelps, bah.
Yeah but when Phelps won his medals he wasn't even wearing shoes!
Craig Ranapia
From: North Shore, Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 4375
But seriously -- does sports writing have to swing violently between the Grinch-y and the kind of prose an editor at Mills & Boon would find... well, ever so slightly over-wrought?
Bob Munro
From: Christchurch
Since: Aug 2007
Posts: 365
I had to look ‘coruscating’ up in the dictionary.
I had to buy one with laminated, wipe-clean pages. :)
I think that's a fair point Craig. In all sports you have to buy into the importance of it to care about it. If you don't care it does look a bit silly. One thing about the Olympics is the level of skill on display. It's hard not to be impressed by a gymnast doing back flips on a beam, or two divers hitting the water simultaneously, even if the 'why' of it is remote. Same with the nationalism. If you care, Valerie's near tears on the dais brings a lump to your throat, if you don't care it all looks rather contrived.
Bob Munro
From: Christchurch
Since: Aug 2007
Posts: 365
And ditto to the point about sports writing in general. Couldn't agree more.
Hadyn Green
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1120
Moderator
This piece from Omega, raises something I should've thought of (by putting 2 and 2 together).
With timing Olympic swimming comes the problem that it is impossible to create a pool where each lane is exactly the same length!
So was it the fact that Phelps' lane was .001seconds shorter?
Sue
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 227
really interesting to read the blog of mr silver medalhttp://www.miloradcavic.com/portal/
Megan Wegan
From: Welly
Since: Jul 2008
Posts: 54
the odd decent flash of brilliance
Stephen? How can something be brilliance and decent at the same time?
Rachel Prosser
From: Christchurch
Since: Mar 2008
Posts: 80
can the All Blacks blanking the Springboks in South Africa
Does this mean the All Blacks quaxed the Springboks?
Graeme Edgeler
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 838
With timing Olympic swimming comes the problem that it is impossible to create a pool where each lane is exactly the same length!
Of course, it will also be impossible to create a pool where each lane is the same length as itself. Perhaps Cavic should have aimed for the part of his lane that was closest :-)
Craig Ranapia
From: North Shore, Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 4375
In all sports you have to buy into the importance of it to care about it. If you don't care it does look a bit silly.
Sure, but I think the baseline of all good writing is that it communicates enthusiasm and knowledge, especially when the subject in hand isn't necessarily something the reader knows or even cares about. I love good science writing, for example, precisely because I'm an utter tech-tard. But perhaps it's just me, but when the hyperbole gets cranked up to eleven I feel pushed out rather than engaged.
Sue
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 227
Well i think hadyn is a reall asset to the world of PA.
and the thing i love about his posts is that he is writing as a sports fan, not a critic not some educated scientist, but a fan.
and it's brilliant and it's fun and you know what if it's not your cup of tea, why not say your peace and leave it at that.
Rachel Prosser
From: Christchurch
Since: Mar 2008
Posts: 80
I'm printing T-shirts with the phrase: If only all our crises were like All Blacks crises.
I'll take one
Bob Munro
From: Christchurch
Since: Aug 2007
Posts: 365
and it's brilliant and it's fun and you know what if it's not your cup of tea, why not say your peace and leave it at that.
I think the discussion was about hyperbole in sports writng in general and Craig's point about it in the Peter Bills quote. Not anything from this fine post.
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