Riders and racers

Last week in Bari, the riders in the Giro d'Italia refused to race at the end of the stage because it was raining too hard. They said it was dangerous.
In 2005 at Donington Park, it rained from start to finish of the Moto GP race. Many riders slid off. The remaining riders picked their way round carefully, trying to find where there were rivers and where they could go fast. Seven laps from the end, Valentino Rossi took off and went fast through all the rivers to win in style.
Yes, it was dangerous, but it was also a chance to show who was the maestro.
Some are racers. Some are just riders.
Jack Brabham keeled over this week. He was a racer, too.

This sporting life

Last Saturday, Spurs scored five. What did all the TV and newspapers think was the big story: one player not shaking hands with another player.
Last Sunday, West Brom scored five. What did all the TV and newspapers shout about? The same non-handshake.
I'm a sports fan. I love to see brilliant sportsmen doing brilliant things. 
I couldn't care less what rude things players say to each other, what obscenities the fans sing and shout about.
I don't expect sportsmen to be model citizens, any more than I expect or want rock stars to be model citizens.
I want them to lift me out of my seat with their brilliance. And I want the TV and newspapers to tell me about their brilliance, not about their social graces.