The turmoil over the stadium that threatens to topple the Tasmanian government has its origins in the high-handed and ill-considered demands of the AFL.
As Fremantle’s AFL season lurches from shattering losses to promise and potential, diehard fans know to ignore the hype, hope for the best and always – always – prepare for the worst.
Eephus, a languid film about ageing recreational baseball players engaged in an epic game, reminds the author of his childhood on pitches and fields – when sport framed how he saw the world.
Tenacity got him to the top of the soccer world, but parental devotion played a huge part – it was in recognition of this that Craig Johnston’s illustrious career prematurely ended.
The churn of sporting memoirs sees multitudes published and just as quickly forgotten, but the 1976 diary of Millwall FC midfielder Eamon Dunphy stands out for its honest insights.
A confounding failure to recognise risk, despite numerous warnings, remains at the heart of the Bradford City stadium fire that claimed 56 lives four decades ago.
It was mawkish and fanciful, but 1989’s Field of Dreams became a cult classic among baseball fans, proving, in the US at least, nostalgia and mass delusion add up to a Hollywood home run.
From humble rural beginnings, Shirley Strickland went on to become Australia’s most decorated track athlete – but not without attracting the attention of ASIO.
Quiet evenings in the front bar of the local pub forged for the author a companionship based on a love of sport and literature, and a tantalising connection with Samuel Beckett.
Taking his daughter to her first live sporting event was, for the author and his young charge, a moment of both anxious anticipation and wondrous novelty.
