³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

In these straitened times it is vital that we make the most of what we have. It is also important that we take time, amid all this austerity, to enjoy the good bits properly and applaud those who have cheered us up.

So I am going to cast my mind back to the show one more time and highlight a team performance that has received almost no mainstream recognition but should be up there with , or the British Olympic team's 2008.

Don't get me wrong, , were superb in 2011 - top of the rankings, a fine summer and a thumping Ashes win Down Under - but they were not my team of the year for the simple reason that another side "played" better.

Their champagne moment came when . To him go the jersey, fame and new contract, but the glory is shared.

Read the rest of this entry

Ballroom dancing, gig racing, hula hooping and Zumba: a fab four when it comes to physical fitness and all were mentioned by callers during a fascinating Radio 4 phone-in on grassroots sport on Tuesday. But are they, you know, actually sports?

The reason I ask is the same reason the venerable "You and Yours" programme was asking. With now little more than 200 days away, do we, as a nation, have any chance of reaching our Olympic legacy targets for mass participation?

The short answer to those questions is "no, they're not and no, we don't".

The longer answer, however, is much more complicated and that is what made "What's Your Sport?" such an interesting listen.

Read the rest of this entry