The devotion of Essendon fans towards their coach and club legend James Hird - despite his involvement in the club’s supplements saga - can be easily explained away.
AAP/Julian Smith
It’s times like these when we get to see just how much sports like Australian rules football shape the thoughts and dreams of so many Australians. Not only has the Essendon drugs scandal dominated much…
We’re about to reach intermission in the ten-part Ashes series. What have we learnt about the way we consume the sport of cricket as a social and cultural construct?
EPA/Peter Powell
The end of the English summer beckons, and Act One of the current Ashes drama is reaching its appointed denouement across the Thames from London’s Theatreland at The Oval. The interval will last until…
Catching all dopers would be an expensive exercise, running into tens of millions of dollars.
EPA/Dominic Favre
On the back of an interim report by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) into the Essendon Football Club’s controversial supplements program in 2011-12, the AFL last night charged the club…
As professional sport lurches from crisis to crisis, is there still room for amateurs to enjoy sport at their own pace?
Jim Bryant
Australian male sport is facing increasing public scrutiny in relation to ethics, conduct and cultural legitimacy. Our sports media is saturated with reports of drug enhanced desires for speed and strength…
Despite once being seen as an innovative nation in sport and athlete development, Australia has fallen behind the pack in recent times. How can we improve?
AAP/Alan Porritt
The debate surrounding elite sport funding intensified again this week when newly appointed Minister for Sport, Senator Don Farrell, sent a hard and direct message to sport: …you have to perform or lose…
If the current Ashes series tells us anything, it’s that the roles of Australian triumphalism and British despondence when it comes to sport have finally been reversed.
EPA/Tom Hevezi
The caravan tour of the England-Australia Ashes series, spanning two hemispheres and ten Tests in the space of six months, now rolls on to Manchester’s Old Trafford ground. The current series has so far…
Cyclist Stuart O'Grady’s admission to doping is an important moment in Australian sport.
Ben Macmahon/AAP
Recently retired professional cyclist Stuart O’Grady is the latest elite Australian sportsperson to confess publicly to doping during his career. He admitted last week to using the banned blood oxygen…
Australia fell just short in the first Ashes Test.
EPA/David Jones
The first Ashes Test was indeed a veritable thriller. England edged Australia by a mere 14 runs, after an absorbing four-and-a-half days of action to go one-up in the best-of-five series. For those not…
Did playing against his brothers in the proverbial great Australian backyard help Ashton Agar to his stunning Ashes debut?
EPA/David Jones
Cricket fans worldwide are in awe of the talented teenager that threw Australia back into the ring to contest the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. Melbourne cricketer Ashton Agar chalked up 98 runs in…
Cricket commentators like Richie Benaud attract cult followings and satirical impersonations.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The Ashes are now upon us, and both sets of players are in the midst of the first Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground. As we sit down to watch the Test on television, it is worth reflecting on the…
The Barmy Army, England’s loud travelling band of cricket supporters, may add colour to the Ashes series, but are they just rehearsing colonial stereotypes of Australia?
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
When Australian prime minister Julia Gillard was summarily dispatched in June by her parliamentary team, the British media were bemused. Hadn’t Australia weathered the global financial crisis with aplomb…
Australian cricket fans have long taunted English fans over having foreign-born players in their national team, but they may need to find a new subject for their banter.
AAP/David Crosling
One of the more bizarre hobbies of Australian cricket fans is to taunt and berate the English cricket team for the number of South African-born players in its ranks. This has been standard fare in most…
Having legs with the right type of muscle fibre can make all the difference.
Yoan Valat/EPA
Cyclists in this year’s Tour de France – currently underway – will cover more than 3,300km over 21 stages in 23 days. Of course, due to the extreme physical exertion required to do this at speed, many…
Jimmy Connors: even better than Tim Henman.
Carine06
The whole purpose of professional sport is to find out one thing. Football leagues, cup competitions and all sports tournaments around the globe are set up to answer the question that motivates the entire…
Is sport the last remaining institution of faith in Australian society?
Sascha Wenninger
Australians have a remarkable affection for their sport, an affection which has endured for well over 150 years. They love the sports they play but, even more so, they love the sports they watch – both…
Despite recent appointments of women to sporting leadership positions, comments from FIFA president Sepp Blatter show there is still a long way to go for true equality.
EPA/Walter Bieri
The recent appointments of Moya Dodd to FIFA’s Executive Committee and Raelene Castle as CEO of NRL club Canterbury Bulldogs mark significant milestones for women’s presence in sport leadership. For the…
The media coverage of the Eddie McGuire racism controversy is instructive in showing how far we have to go to combat racism.
AAP/David Crosling
The AFL world has had a tough week, with racism rearing its ugly head again. For an organisation that likes to think of itself as a leader in combating prejudice, the repeated comments about Adam Goodes…
Backlash over the seemingly omnipresence of bookmakers advertising during sport - such as Tom Waterhouse - prompted a government ban on ads in certain situations.
AAP/Paul Miller
What are the odds? In the face of public pressure, prime minister Julia Gillard has given bookmakers an ultimatum regarding sporting events. If the bookies do not agree to a ban on gambling promotion during…
The racist taunt aimed at Sydney player Adam Goodes from a young fan provides an opportunity for education rather than humiliation.
Twitter/Channel 7
Friday night’s AFL match between Collingwood and Sydney marked the opening of the code’s Indigenous Round. Yet the chance for the contribution of Indigenous footballers to the game - both past and present…
If she wants to be a grandmaster one day, practice will only take her so far, according to new research.
Joe Shlabotnik
We’ve all heard it before (usually accompanied by repeating hours of music scales or sports drills over and over): Practice makes perfect. But your music teachers and sports coaches were wrong - well…