So the Singapore Grand Prix has been and gone in a flash of blinding lights and flying sparks. The overwhelming response to Formula One’s first foray into the glitz and glamour of Raffles Boulevard was that is was a massive success - ‘wasn’t it spectacular!’ they'll say; ‘look at all the shiny cars flying through the bright city – it’s like a computer game!’ they shout whilst they count their piles of Singapore Dollars. Well, yes – to an extent, it was. You can’t deny it was a dazzling... Read Full Story

So the day has come when we find out whether Dwain Chambers has been successful in his attempt to overturn the British Olympic Association's bylaw banning dopers for life, allowing him to compete in Beijing. The whole affair has been a shocking indictment of athletics. The fact that people are debating whether the problem here is the severity of the punishment dished out to Chambers leads any sporting fan to question the collective will to eradicate doping. People seem to forget that Dwain... Read Full Story

There was an interesting article on the BBC today about British skier Chemmy Alcott, and her determination to achieve something in a sport where Britain should barely be able to compete, given our lack of snow and mountains. The article focusses on the extra funding and expertise being thrown at one of our medal hopefuls for the Winter Olympics in 2010, in order for her to break into the women's top 10; over the last year, Chemmy has employed a team consisting of psychologists, a... Read Full Story

I was having a discussion with my Dad today when he mentioned that amidst the commentary for the athletics Europa Cup today they were discussing how they could change the format of some of the events in order to appeal to a greater demographic. Apparently, one of the ideas muted was in longer distance events, the last placed runner would be eliminated on each lap until only four or five were left. I have to admit, my initial thought wasn't that athletics didn't need to appeal to a larger... Read Full Story

It's a Sunday afternoon at around 12.45pm. I'm tuned into ITV for my fortnightly fix of high-end convoy racing. This week it's at Magny-Cours, in France - Ferrari are looking dominant after locking down the front row in qualifying, and Lewis Hamilton is set for a tiresome afternoon carving through the field from 13th after his cock-up last time out in Canada. The well-informed Martin Brundle is having his usual pre-race discussions with fellow commentator James Allen, as he utters the... Read Full Story

I had my first experience today, not just of Twenty20 cricket, but cricket full stop. We went to Richmond County Cricket Club - one of the most picturesque cricket grounds, I'm sure, even though I've not been to any others - to see Middlesex Crusaders take on the Hampshire Hawks in this year's Twenty20 Cup. As I walked through the gates, I was greeted with the sites of red wickets (how the purists must have fumed at this heathenesque defecation of the fine game!), and cricketers wearing... Read Full Story

One of the great inequalities in sport dictates that some individuals do not receive the praise for their efforts that they deserve, simply because their sport doesn't command the attention of the masses and the lucrative sponsorship opportunities of others. As the country gets swept up in Euro 2008 and berates itself over the absence of any home nation, and then braces itself for the inevitable failure of Britons at Wimbledon this Summer, one Englishman is making waves on the world arena... Read Full Story

The organisers of Wimbledon, until this year, at least, have employed the common courtesy of giving British players - most of whom it could easily be argued don't warrant nor deserve such charity - a wildcard into its tournament. The consequence of such a process has led to previous tournaments being peppered with stories of plucky Britons taking a game, or even a set off some of the top players (anyone remember when little known Miles McLagan took the first two sets off of Boris Becker in... Read Full Story

Fair play to Roger Federer - you have to commend him for winning Halle for a fifth time. Does anyone else think though that he's shirking away from the prospect of a high-quality field at Queens to maintain his record on grass? Halle is ultimately a warm-up tournament to Wimbledon, and playing there almost guarantees that Federer has three or four matches preparation. But I don't consider playing Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final as a test for Roger. In his run to the final, the highest... Read Full Story

It's been great to enjoy Euro 2008 without the inevitable blood, sweat and tears that comes with following a home nation in a football tournament. We don't have to worry about broken metatarsals, or the lurid binge drinking stories that would grace the front and back pages of our newspapers. Even better, we don't have to read about WAGS and their handbags, their tantrums, or their shoes. It's fantastic - for the first time since Euro 96, we have a tournament where the football is geniunely... Read Full Story