EUROPEAN MEDAL RUSH MEANS NOTHING.

After a few days, the European Athletics Championships have ended and Great Britain & Northern Ireland (why not 'The United Kingdom' ?) has topped the medal table with 12 golds, ahead of France; whatever has happened to Russia and Germany ?

This was GB's best performance at a European championship and one has to admit that some of the performances were good. However, Europe is not the world and the excessive enthusiasm with which some of the successes were greeted by television commentators is a little questionable. 'Incredible', 'fabulous', 'unbelievable', 'wonderful', 'superb' and so on are words used by television reporters with such alarming regularity that they have become meaningless; actually, they need to invent some new words as they've used up all of the ones currently available to describe achievements of previously undreamed of heights. None of the performances actually required such excessive praise as the likes of Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt and many others can give testimony to. Greg Rutherford is now the Olympic, Commonwealth and European long jump champion without ever coming within a couple of feet of the marks achieved by Beamon, Lewis, Mike Powell and a number of others. Is Rutherford really a great long jumper ? Is he simply the best of a poor bunch or were the 'super-jumpers' of the past all on drugs ? Who knows ? The only genuinely world class athletes that we know we have are Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis - their performances have been repeated and at world level.

Of course, the achievements of our athletes have been good but no where near good enough to deserve the ludicrous hyperbole heaped on them by the television bunch and general media world. What happens as a result of all of this silly nonsense is that our expectations are raised. Come next year's world championships and the 2016 Olympic Games, we'll all be expecting our athletes to be leading the gold rush; not a chance with the USA, China and all of the African nations taking part. There'll be a few medals and, with luck, a gold or two, but to hope for more is ridiculous. For those who present our sport to build up hopes in the way that they regularly do is to do a disservice to our often very, very good athletes; let's be honest and start out by expecting nothing. That way, we'll be surprised and gratified by every little improvement, personal best, season's best, national record, and, yes, medal.

For us to do anything else is childish and pointless.

BBC SPORT AT ROCK BOTTOM.

What is happening at the BBC ?

In what appears to be a mad race to achieve the mythical 'equality', the BBC seems intent on destroying itself. It's been very noticeable in recent months that an increasing number of women have appeared on our screens, almost always in inappropriate roles. In particular, much of the sports' reporting gas now been given over to women who clearly have no real knowledge or understanding of the sports on which they are attempting to report. It is also quite ridiculous to have women reporting on what are almost entirely male sports; what would be said if a gaggle of men suddenly began to present 'Woman's hour' ? It must surely be a logical necessity that presenters are matched to their subjects and not simply pushed forward because of some moronic notions of 'equality'.

Even worse has been the Beeb's coverage of the Commonwealth Games and European Athletics championships. Out has gone reporting and in has come interminable chat, much of it from a grouping of totally unnecessary women in the studio. I've never had any problem with Gabby Logan as a presenter of football programmes but her elevation to studio-lead alongside a collection of women - Paula Ratcliffe, Denise Lewis and Tanny Grey-Thompson, for the most part - has left me seething. Her apparent true belief in her abbreviated forename - 'Gabby' - and their shrill and mostly pointless waffle has turned the studio into little more than a TV version of woman's hour, and found me turning the sound off on numerous occasions as I've longed to return to some action, rather than listen to yet another rehash of some success, be it from the previous hour, day or century.

And, as if matters could get any worse, when we have returned to the track and field it's been to suffer the incessant natterings of the garrulous Brendan Foster, Steve Backley and, to a slightly lesser extent, Steve Cram. Fine athletes all, these 3 seem to believe that television audiences need to hear the same level of commentary as those on old fashioned 'steam radio'; Foster, in particular, has whittered on like an old woman, saying nothing in as many words as possible while both he and Backley have peppered their commentaries with ludicrous hyperbole. Cram has offended slightly less but the continuous stream of shouty noise coming from the television has had me tearing my hair out. 

Added to all of this, we've had the imbecilic interviews of almost every British athlete by Phil Jones, a man whose range of questions appears as limited as his pate, and cretinous attempts to jolly things along with cowbells in the studio. What Lord Reith would have made of all of this one can only guess, but we are surely nearing the end for this once great corporation.

JO PAVEY : SUPERMUM !

Oh  Jo Pavey, you lovely girl !

I've been watching Jo Pavey compete as an athlete for England and Great Britain for decades. She's always been one of those who tried her hardest and was very good, but without being quite good enough to win major championships. A few silver and bronze medals and some very good times, but never the gold. Yesterday, everything changed.

A couple of weeks ago, Jo took part in the Commonwealth Games and won a brilliant bronze medal at 5,000 metres, being beaten only by 2 renowned Kenyan runners. In itself, this performance was good, but it becomes remarkable when realising that Jo is a women approaching 41 years of age and who gave birth to her second child only 10 months earlier. The manner of her success was also new, with Jo producing a storming finish to outlast one and nearly catch a second Kenyan.

Following on form that success, Jo was entered in both the 10,000 and 5,000 metres at the European Championships in Zurich and one German newspaper named her as 'one to watch'. How right they were ! Up first, the 10,000 metres was a relatively slow run race and the runners were bunched for much of the time. Jo stayed back and ran wide for long spells before moving up in the last 3 or 4 laps and staying with the leading group as it gradually pulled clear. With 3 laps to go, 5 were still in contention and by the bell for the last lap it was 3. Now Jo strode passed her French challenger, Calvin, and headed off for the tape. Every time Calvin closed up, Jo kicked away and, quite magnificently, she stormed clear on the home straight to win GOLD for the first time.

No competitor in recent times has ever deserved victory more than Jo yesterday. She always gives 100% every time she competes and she's been a wonderful stalwart of British athletics for nearly 20 years. She's now one of the best ever over-40 runners in the history of modern athletics and one wonders how long she will continue. With her getting better and better as the years pass, might we even see her at the Rio Olympics in 2016 ? On yesterday's form, there's no reason why not.

Not only is Jo a great athlete but, on the evidence of her television interviews and what everyone who knows her says, she's also a truly lovely person. Overall, she really is a SUPERMUM !

GERMANY WIN; BRAZIL, SPAIN AND ENGLAND REGROUP.

The humiliation of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in their own country was hardly unexpected after their first match or two. At no point did they appear to be the dominant force of previous years and their only outstanding player was the brilliant Neymar; too many of the rest were clearly make-weights, with the likes of Fred and Joe completely out of their depths.

Inevitably, the winners were a well organised team, not without some fine players but with none of the hype attaching to the few superstars on show. Ronaldo had departed at the group stage and, although Messi made it to the final, his few flashes of genius could not make up for the general paucity of greatness in his Argentinian side. In the end, Germany, with a well drilled squad and 2 or 3 high class players, won the day, and deservedly so. That said, the tournament was generally of a low standard and few will remember much about it in a year or two, except for the drubbings handed out to the hosts by Germany and Holland.

Where all this leaves Brazil, Spain and England is a good question. As the reigning champions, Spain came to the competition with high hopes that were smashed to pieces in their first match. Thereafter, they did nothing to repair a shattered reputation and now have to rebuild. Brazil, as hosts and the world's top footballing nation, expected to win but were, instead, humiliated. England, ............... what can one say ? Expectations were deliberately played down but, even so, their performances were pretty lamentable and their much vaunted stars were shown to be men of clay.

No doubt, after much huffing and puffing, there'll be plans put in place but nothing is likely to change. Teams such as the Manchesters, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and a few others will continue to ignore home-grown players in favour of foreign superstars and the national team will continue to have a dearth of real talent. Major club competitions and money will continue to dominate and England's quest for international glory will continue with little chance of success.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose !

JIMMY ANDERSON, BATTING SUPERSTAR !

After his desolation at the end of the Test Match against Sri Lanka, it was marvellous to see Jimmy Anderson do so well at Trent Bridge yesterday. His record last wicket partnership with Joe Root was just one of the plethora of records that were broken, mostly by Anderson, as he drove, pulled and nicked his way to a career best score of 81.

Against Sri Lanka at Leeds last month, Anderson batted for approaching 1½ hours without scoring, but in the process taking England to within one ball of saving the match. Batting with Moeen Ali, he helped to add 21 for the last wicket while keeping the enemy at bay for more than 20 overs before falling to the penultimate ball of the match; his despair was evident for all to see.

Yesterday against India, Anderson joined Joe Root with England again in a perilous position, 159 runs behind and with only wicket remaining. Slowly but surely, the pair consolidated, built and eventually took control. Their partnership passed 50, then 100; the Indian lead, which had looked frighteningly big, shrank, becoming less with every passing over. The stand passed the highest ever recorded for the 10th wicket by 2 Englishmen, the previous best being the 130 amassed by R E 'Tip' Foster and Wilfred Rhodes against the Australians at Sydney in 1903; Anderson reached the first half-century of his career and then passed the previous highest score by an English number 11, the 59 scored by John Snow during his famous stand with Ken Higgs against the West Indies in 1966. The partnership reached 150 and then passed the previous world record for a last wicket stand, the 163 achieved by Philip Hughes and Ashton Agar for the Australians at this very ground last year. By this point, they'd eclipsed the Indian score and taken England into an improbable lead, yet still they marched on.

Root passed 150 and Anderson's innings became the longest ever by a number 11 batsman in Test cricket. The partnership approached the 200 mark but, just as anything seemed possible, Anderson finally fell, caught at slip, and an incredible partnership came to an end at 198 and after 230 minutes. Anderson's 81 is the third highest score ever by a number 11 in Test cricket while Joe Root had quietly accumulated 154 not out in a stay of more than 6½ hours which had brought England from the brink of disaster to a position of potential strength.

After nearly 4 hours of batting heroics, Anderson then had to come out and open the bowling for India's second innings. Although he didn't take a wicket, his return of 9 overs for 21 runs was no mean achievement for a man who must have been exhausted, mentally and physically. Well done, Jimmy, you're a true star !

NEMAR INJURY SHOWS FOOTBALL AT ITS WORST.

Some call football 'The Beautiful Game. After the appalling physical assaults carried out in yesterday's match between Brazil and Colombia, it's hard to see it as anything but organised warfare.

Throughout the match, I can't call it a game because there was little sport in it, both sides did their best to cripple their opposition. For the Brazilians, their principal target was the excellent new Colombian star, James Rodriguez, while the Colombians aimed their worst atrocities at Brazil's true superstar, Neymar. The referee and his assistants, by and large, stood by and let the increasingly vicious assaults go unchallenged barring the award of a few free kicks, the first yellow card only being shown well into the second half for a stupid but harmless lunge by the Brazilian captain, Thiago Silva. Meanwhile, the rest of the warriors kicked lumps out of each other, culminating in Colombian Zuniga leaping at Neymar from behind and quite deliberately sticking his knee into the base of the Brazilian's spine. While Neymar lay on the ground in genuine pain, the offender walked away scot free. Neymar received a broken vertebra and a long time on the sidelines - this is an injury which may well see him out of action for the rest of the year, or even longer.

If Zuniga's offence had been committed on a British street, he'd have been arrested, charged with assault and causing grievous bodily harm; quite probably, he'd have received a prison sentence. Similar action could easily have come the way of some of the Brazilians for their attacks on Rodriguez. However, the match officials did almost nothing and the response from the commentary team and 'experts' in the studio was muted to say the least. None of them saw anything other than normal footballing activity, which must say a lot for their warped view of normality.

If this is sport, I'm a Dutchman. FIFA are presiding over one of the poorest displays of sporting activity I've witnessed in a long time, while subjecting viewers to some shocking scenes of violence. One 5 year old I spoke to yesterday even believed that the purpose of football was to kick your opponents on their knees; now, where did he get that idea from ? Television programmes which include similar scenes of violence are prohibited from our screens until after 9pm; films carry warning notices and the impressionable young are refused entry to cinemas. Football, with all of its associated mayhem is immune to these strictures because of its position as our 'national sport'. Phooey. Played like this, it's no more a sport than was medieval jousting, in which the objective was to beat your opponent into submission by any means available.

Luis Suarez has quite rightly been banned for his animalistic behaviour and yet the thugs who took part in yesterday evening's match go free. Neymar is in hospital and who knows what injuries were suffered by the rest of the players. Suarez can rightly feel aggrieved that he's been singled out in an unfair way, notwithstanding that his actions were inexcusable; they were no more inexcusable than was the violence seen on a football field in Brazil last night.

FIFA has the power to review on-field incidents after matches and yet it rarely does. In Rugby Union, officials take such matters seriously and frequently review players' actions after games, often handing out significant bans for incidents which were missed by the match referee and his assistants. Why does not football do this ? So far, this World Cup has been more about warfare than about sport. There's been little great play and much overly-aggressive interaction between participants; there's been a lot of very poor refereeing and very little discipline has been imposed on matches. If FIFA doesn't do something soon, their 'Beautiful Game' will become no more than legalised thuggery and someone may well be really hurt or even killed.

MURRAY CRASHES OUT; NOW ALL CHEER FOR ROGER !

Andy Murray's exit from this year's Wimbledon championships was a clear reminder that while he is very, very good, he is not the best. He wasn't only beaten by Grigor Dimitrov, he was ignominiously thumped.

Of course, he's not the only big name to have a bit of a bad time this year, with Rafael Nadal also finding it tough going and losing to a largely unknown 19 year old Australian. What makes Nadal's exit less significant in some ways than Murray's is that he's already accumulated 14 Grand Slam titles to Murray's two, and grass is definitely not his surface.

In the men's draw, we're now down to the last four and it's an unusual bunch. After several years of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray making this part of almost every major championship their own, only Djokovic and the Grand Old Man, Federer, remain, to fight it out with a couple of young upstarts in Dimitrov and Milos Raonic.

Who will make it to the final ? For what it's worth, I can't see Dimitrov troubling Djokovic but I can see Federer having difficulty with Raonic. While 'my man' is Federer, I can't see passed a Djokovic-Raonic final, with Djokovic eventually winning his second Wimbledon crown. With any luck, that prediction has now cursed the other three and Roger will make it 8 titles - wouldn't that be something !