WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT
HOT MICHAEL JOHNSON
CHEERLEADING is rife among the BBC team at the athletics and to an extent that’s fine. There is nothing wrong at all in celebrating British success. But Johnson provides the safety net, with opinions as sturdy and upright as his running style, and the great 400m runner’s debate with Steve Cram over the Justin Gatlin affair made for great TV.
BURNLEY
THE Lancashire club saw their friendly with Hannover abandoned at half-time after the German fans decided they wanted to take bits of Turf Moor home with them. Burnley reacted quickly to what was an unexpected PR crisis by refunding those who attended. Any fans who don’t turn up for their money back can rest assured it will be given to a local charity.
RYAN ATKIN
PRESSURE on LGBT footballers to reveal their sexuality is unfair and unkind. Football’s ongoing issues with prejudice are not theirs to solve. Having said that, Atkin’s decision to come out as English football’s first gay referee says much for his own strength of character. He says he may get abuse from players and supporters and, sadly, he may be right.
NOT BBC GOLF
THERE is so much to say about the Beeb’s coverage of the USPGA at Quail Hollow, featuring Ken Brown (right) and the team, but so little space. So let’s leave it at this. For those golf fans who love a bit of nostalgia and sentimentality, this was indeed a step back in time.
BRADFORD BULLS
TWENTY years ago the iconic club won their first 20 games of the rugby league season. Now the Bulls will play in the third tier of the game after relegation from the Championship. They won the Super League in 2005 but next season Bradford will travel to rugby league outposts such as Coventry, London, Gloucestershire and Oxford.
DANNY ROSE
THE Tottenham full back deserves to be paid the going rate but two questions emerged from his decision to complain so vigorously about his lot in a newspaper interview this week. First, why did he sign a new contract a year ago? And what will interested clubs like Manchester United make of his decision to throw a bomb into his club’s preparations for the new season?