Compiled by PHILIP REID
Realistic GAA moving with the harsh times
AFTER GETTING a rough old time of it since the start of the Allianz Leagues, what with one shemozzle after another blighting things, the GAA should at least be applauded for the grown-up approach they've adopted to the recruitment campaign to attract young footballers to Aussie Rules.
Although it could ultimately see a number of players heading Down Under and being lost to Gaelic Games (such as Tommy Walsh), the GAA hierarchy know that only a very small number will actually make it all the way to getting full-time contracts.
And in the current economic climate how could they possibly put obstacles in front of any player who even has an outside chance to making it in the AFL?
The other side of the coin is that the GAA – just because there is a relationship between them and the AFL for the International Rules series – can’t be seen to block players and evoke memories of the old ban.
After all, they couldn’t stop the likes of Niall Quinn ditching his hurl in favour of a soccer career in England or Rob Kearney leaving his Louth GAA days behind him for a career in rugby.
Panther poised to set hearts racing
THERE’S a difference, thankfully, between catching the bug and an addiction.
I always remember as a teenager, back in the day, going to Bellewstown races – one of many outings to racecourses that ranged from the old Phoenix Park to the grand Easter affairs at Fairyhouse and occasionally the treat of going to the improvised track on the beach at Laytown – and, somehow, managing to win a share of the jackpot.
The sum of £12, as it was, seemed astronomical until the mammy gave instructions that each of my five siblings and the neighbour’s children in attendance would also be beneficiaries of the fortune. Still, the thrill, rather than the money, was the buzz. And, for sure, betting is an integral part of sports, and increasingly so since the advent of online accounts, which – used wisely/correctly/in moderation – can add to the overall enjoyment.
It’s also a serious business, of course, with gambling a multibillion-euro industry in Ireland and the likes of Paddy Power, Betdaq and Boylesports extending their net beyond this island with their online business.
Indeed, online betting has been a huge growth area with internet gambling worth just over $1 billion globally back in 1999 and predicted by H2 Gambling Capital to pass the $33 billion (€25 billion) mark this year. Isn’t it nice that Irish companies are getting a slice of the pie?
For those of us interested in sport with the gambling part of it an aside, as it were, there is also the requirement to get some of that pie – however small it might be – and I must admit the evidence of some old wagers have been turned into merchandise.
There are the ‘Johnson doors’ thanks to Zach’s win in the Masters (at 175 to 1); the ‘Immelman oven’ courtesy of Trevor’s win, also at Augusta (at odds of 130 to 1) and there’s a television that dominates the living room that has the ‘Harrington’ name after his British Open win (second time round) at odds of 22 to 1.
Of course, there is the flip side.
Did I mention Rafael Cabrera-Bello’s win in Dubai last week? You could have got him at 250 to 1 on Betfair. Or course-and-distance runner Phil Mickelson’s win in Pebble Beach? No. Didn’t have either of them. Most of us didn’t. In betting, there are always more losers than winners. Just as in any race, or any golf tournament.
Anyway, these modern bookmakers have spread their wings in more ways than one. Remember Paddy Power erecting a tent outside the Vatican to take odds on who the Pope would be? Or their flagrant guerrilla marketing ahead of the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor where they were in the process of erecting a giant Hollywood-style sign before a court stopped them.
The latest thinking-outside-the- box marketing strategy has come from Boylesports, who this week announced they are to sponsor Milldean Panther.
Who? What?
Well, Milldean Panther is a greyhound who, apparently, has the capability to be the greatest of his generation. So far, the dog has won all 10 of his races (as a juvenile) and he reappears (in all-aged competition) at Shelbourne Park tonight in the opening round of the Easter Cup.
“To be associated with the Lionel Messi of the greyhound world is a privilege and an honour,” said Leon Blanche of Boylesports.
One suspects getting any sponsorship rights to Senor Messi might be a tad more expensive than getting a mutt – however exceptional – on board for the year, but you’ve got to admit it’s a nice move by Boylesports to get on the back of Milldean Panther as the greyhound superstar takes to the track with many observers wondering how long it will take for various records to tumble.
As for the betting? Boylesports quote the superdog at 14 to 1 to go the entire season unbeaten and 20 to 1 to break 29 seconds over 550 at Shelbourne Park (the track record for the distance is 29.23).
Um. Could there be a Milldean Panther blu-ray player to go with that Harrington TV?
Tokyo ahead of the Games
GIVEN THE way the cost of the London Olympic Games has spiralled – seemingly out of control – it is hardly any surprise that countries with struggling economies in Europe have exited the race to play host in 2020 before the starter’s pistol even sounded.
When London won the bid to stage the games in 2005, the estimated cost was €2.76 billion. That figure has since risen to more than €14.4 billion. And some financial analysts believe the more correct figure will top €28 billion by the time that the last gold medal has been dispensed and the flame extinguished.
Hardly surprising, so, to find Rome decided not to proceed with their planned bid to stage the games, although the decision of Madrid to go ahead came as something of a surprise given the state of the Spanish econom,y which has a 25 per cent rate of unemployment and a jobless rate among the youth of 45 per cent.
The ending of Rome’s bid has left five candidates – Tokyo in Japan; Doha in Qatar; Istanbul in Turkey; Baku in Azerbaijan, and Madrid in Spain – seeking the right to stage the games in eight years time.
A decision will be taken in Buenos Aires in September 2013, although the list of five could yet be pruned to a smaller number after the IOC assess the various bid applications.
Qatar is hoping to stage the games two years before it hosts the soccer World Cup, while Baku’s emergence is an indication of the country’s wealth.
At this early stage, though, Tokyo – which lost out to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics – has been installed as the bookies’ favourites. Tokyo finished third behind Madrid in that bidding campaign for 2016.
This time around, the Tokyo bid committee has revealed a technical plan that would make the 2020 Games one of the most compact in recent history with 28 out of 31 competition venues located in the city within an 8km radius of the Olympic and Paralympic village.
Sounds good, even at this very early stage of the process.
Golfing tourists big spenders
THE NUTS and bolts of the Fáilte Ireland survey which found that golf tourists here are among the big spenders should provide some solace for clubs that are finding the going tough.
The survey found that the typical golf tourist spent almost three times the value of the average tourist to Ireland, which amounted to an annual spend of over €200 million.
The drop in green fees has obviously helped, with 94 per cent of visitors claiming to be “very” or “fairly” satisfied with their golfing experience and 85 per cent rating their visit as “very” or “fairly” good value for money. Visitors played an average of four rounds on their holidays here and the majority said they were likely to be back again.
Adventurous Magilton places his trust in young guns 'Down Under'
THE TWO men who marked out their territory on the sideline at Tallaght Stadium in Shamrock Rovers’ march to the league title last season have gone in completely different directions: while Michael O’Neill embarks on a new role as manager of Northern Ireland, where one of his main challenges will be to stop the haemorrhaging of players to the Republic, his sidekick Jim Magilton seems to be – finally – winning over his critics in his role as interim manager of Melbourne Victory in the A-League, in Australia.
Magilton, who cut his managerial teeth at Ipswich Town and Queens Park Rangers before becoming assistant to O’Neill at the Hoops, made the move Down Under after former Victory manager Mehmet Durakovic saw his side muster only 15 points from the opening 14 games.
Up until last weekend, Magilton must have felt a similar pressure as his side had lost just once in five outings under his reign but also failed to register a win. That all changed with a 2-1 success that included a goal from former Liverpool star Harry Kewell but which was apparently based on Magilton’s decision to give youth its fling by throwing a number of teenagers into the team.
“I’m not afraid to take what other people might presume to be a risk. I don’t see that. It’s the way I’ve been brought up and if I can get as many of them in [the team] as I can to give them experience, I will do it. I like energy in my team and people who take care of the ball and youthful exuberance. I’ve always been that sort of manager,” Magilton told The Australian newspaper.
Clearly, a far different style of manager from a certain Giovanni Trapattoni. But then, one of them is in the A-League. The other? Headed for Poland this summer for some shindig called Euro 2012.
There is only a right way, never a wrong way!
