Christmas is within sight and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 15-20th March 05 is just around the corner.  I can smell the sweat already.

In recent years Australia has edged further and further ahead of the medal tally.  I have a feeling that this year might not be as successful as previous years despite the Games being held in Australia.  I would like to see some of the smaller nations be more successful.  It would be an enormous boost to their psyche.

More individuals and countries have taken up the challenge and viewed the games as seriously as Australia does.  I remember several games ago where well known athletes would not compete in the Commonwealth Games because they thought of the Comm. Games as being inferior to other championships in other parts being held at about the same time.

Is anyone going as a spectator or perhaps involved in a professional or voluntary capacity?

sorry caqctus but i have zero interest in C/W games...the sports I like are either not worth watching 'cos the best atheletes aren't there or they're not featured at all...franly C/W games should have cricket and netball and leave it at that

I like to watch the gymnastics and diving ...but in slow motion replay.

but why do you wanna watch C/W atheletes do those things when Russia, America, China and a dozen other European and Asian countries produce better atheletes in both sports?

I mean I love my swimming (the only boys who should be allowed to wear speedos) but I'd rather see the best compete at the one time

Seems Grant Hackett has bit the dust so who now for the 1500m.  I can't see Australia winning this event without Hackett.

I prefer the Commonwealth Games to the Olympics.  I find it laid back and friendlier, yet still fiercely competitive.  Yeah cactus, I think the 1500 metres was hackett.  I can't think of another Aussie that does it as well as he does.

In the FINA world rankings for the 1500m Hacket is #1, the next highest ranked C/W swimmer is a Canadian called Kurtis MacGillivary (ranked #7) but he lives and trains in Queensland (and is reportedly friends with Grant Hackett) so if he wins we will undoubtedly claim him as our own (in the same way we claim Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, the Finn brothers etc).  The next highest ranking C/W swimmer is a South African at #19 but as far as I can tell he's never been anywhere near Australia so we'd better hope he doesn't win

4 months to go, and I am sick of hearing about it already!

Watching the results of the Commonwealth Swimming Trials I was happy to see a local lad, after much hard work get into the Commonwealth Games and winning silver a couple of nights ago. His name is Josh Krough (pronounced Crow). Josh and his sister both excelled at swimming. Not sure what happened to his sister but Josh is now at the Sports Academy in Canberra. He and his sister attended a local private school and the sister was in the same year as my son. I noticed another local was in the trials tonight, a 19 yr old woman named Melanie Schlanger from Maroochydore.

Gee, Channel 9 has gone overboard of reminding us that the Commonwealth Games is on again. It annoys the wits out of me !!   I know they will telecast 2 weeks of the Games !!

I know Channel 9, you don't have to remind us every friggin' TV ad that the Commonwealth Games is happening in Melbourne !!  

well , just like predicted ! ..these games are turning out to be an unorganised dud .

now, remember when it first had tickets available? ..that predictable time we knew when they would try and completely rob the general public with way over priced tickets !!  ( taken advantaged of, yet again)

i dont usually get to see the " what goes around ,comes around " theory come true with Aussie rip offs , co's even when it's so obvious, no-one ever seems to step in and regulate ... and i truelly believe we need strickter price regulations in this country !!  ( ACCC should get real ) - except on this occasion, the Games Pricers were their own worst enemy fpmsl  !  

so many tickets available now.... no-ones even been freakin interested ! ...so the poor thieving money hungry opportunistic Corporate lovers ( THE High End Organisers ) are looking a bit embarrassed now and looking for excuses ! ...ahhh well - stiff sh*t !
of all nights to have a sell out , the opening night - they are even giving these away for nothing !  
of course 'Thorpe' and co missing has no doubt contibuted to this decline - but even so , just how would it have turned out i wonder ?

im finding this all just so humourous, to see them actually cleaning things up in Melb now, when these should've been done even without the commonwealth Games !
and even then , they've left some things too late !

* just wait's for train strike now etc etc .

personally , i'd be happy for these games - if it wasnt for the fact that these organisers get soooo cocky with an opportunety and then milk the people for all there worth !   ...it's about time the public won , but it does'nt happen often enough if you ask me !

Lordy, the tall poppy syndrome is at epidemic proportions.  

oh here we go ...you on the attack already . ( regarding influence from other topics , hey )  
well, unlike yourself obviously, i give a s**t about people being ripped off ....to be fair to be fair - and it's exactly silly attitudes like yours that only further encourage this rip off behaviour to further increase.
so i give a sh*t about the everyday Aussie about not being walked over and treated fairly !
has nothing to do with tall poppy at all, see, i admire a few billionaires & Millionaires as well - R.Branson is one em ( except for the needed promotion of airheaded Bimbo's to represent a product - why ? ) - K.Packer was another and has been since i first heard about him in the mid 80's . so there blows your theory straight out the water !!! .

( good retaliation try though Paula .. i'll give you 3.10 for trying )  

Yeah, looks like they will have to give tickets away to get bums on seats. Pity the people who paid full price.

Problem is, nobody wants to go to Melbourne - should have been in Sydney. Hook set....waiting for bite...

no ! .. definetly not buying into that debate          err,  ok then         ........ & sinker !  


Sydney .. SYDNEY !!!!  

i think it's more the fact it's the Commonwealth Games  & not the real Olympics that is turning people slightly off or at least, caring a lot less, ( and of course the exclusion of some big names probably did'nt help much either).

but really , if there was one great sporting facilitated city to be in, for any sporting event what so ever - it's definetly in Melbourne though.... easily, no comparison at all !  

plus we're nicer    lol

your turn  

The MCG is big and a great stage (except if you're up the back). The show was extremely boring - it's a wonder Her Maj didn't fall asleep, although Phillip kept jumping around.

What's with the duck? Whoever thought of that one is a goose.

Maybe it was meant to be dull, to fit in with the surroundings...and the people...

PS one of the biggest highlights was Big Bad Barry Hall from SYDNEY of course.!

Man, Melbournians do know how to respect Jana Pittman, but the other 19 million Aussies here reckon she is a drama queen. Why are you all boo-ing Jana, Melbournians ??

Oh that's right, Melbourne is not only the sporting capital, but it is where Neighbours is shot !! Why don't you take up acting, Jana ?? HAHA

Quoted from babes_mate

Oh that's right, Melbourne is not only the sporting capital, but it is where Neighbours is shot !! Why don't you take up acting, Jana ?? HAHA

Sporting capital, only in the eyes of the Vics.............

oh c'mon ...don't get defenceful now    
it's very common knowledge ( and .....im trying not to sound biased here )  

i've lived in Perth for a while ...ok, it's very differant - ( so is every other city i guess ) ..which is a good thing = more variety in each Aust city.... which is good thing for this Country ( like any city i guess )  

but , in this case - there's ABSOLUTELY no comparison what so ever when it comes to this subject  !!!
my brother lives there , ( bout' 30 km north of yourself )    , and even he knows this bit !
and i certainly say this without putting down Perth what so ever !!
i enjoyed it too over there ... ( except perth's road layout ) lol

* Sydney siders , please - dont even think about it !
still no contest !   lol

i do personally think this "Pittman's" bagging has gone way overboard though.
i think " T.Lewis " should concentrate on her own performance etc etc - i also think this whole picture is really low & sad  !

i realise Pittman probably did have a damaged reputation ( or at least, it appeared that way back then ) ..with the god like " oh, it's a miracle " display with her knee recovery episode ...but - i truelly think it's been blown out of proportion deliberatly by the public/media since then ... some of her reason's for missing local practise events have been actually a wise move.

on ya gizmo  

and to the dumb Sydney vs Melb debate contest crap !  ...boring plus alright  
just in case : i certainly was'nt meaning to bring on a debate like that , it's just, i had a prediction something would get started with regards to my honest post - i'm too use to the  " NO ! - where better " comeback's from those sider's      ( non offence to the reasonably members from there though )
gaaawd, Sydney will certainly beat us in other area's too  - even an unbiased Melbournian would know that     ( just cant think with what though ) lol  ..kidding  

btw ... that previous post was extended ( i added Pitmann bit ) by the time i came back to yours sometime later !  

yeah , i think it's stupid too ? ...i really do !  

          

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!
WAS THAT AN ENDING OR WHAT!
THANK YOU MELBOURNE
FOR A MORE THAN GOOD SHOW LAST NIGHT,
  

I loved the Dame Ednas!

Yeah yeah, Melbourne, Melbourne, Melbourne !!

Thank goodness, the Commonwealth Games is over !! The only two things interest me is the opening and closing ceremonies, BUT, what is with the flying tram at the opening ceremony ?? Trams can't fly (well if you are high on drugs they do) !!

And what is it with that duck ?? Did that boy pinched it that poor duck from the Yarra ?? Gee, maybe that duck by now is being slaughtered now in some Asian restaurant to be the most expensive dinner in Melbourne. One of the chefs there, may call the dinner "Melbourne Mad Duck" !!!

Anyway good riddance to the games !!

Yep. It may as well have been the Melbourne games and teams competing for Melbourne. At least at the Olympics all things Australian were showcased, not just from one state.

The opening and closing were boring because Melbourne has got nothing. Except a duck???

Now we know why everyone is booing Jana. She is a snob. Seen the footage of Tamsyn going over to hug and congratulate her and she turned her back. Says it all really. What a patriot and fine example for our younger athletes.

Quoted from The_Phantom

Yep. It may as well have been the Melbourne games and teams competing for Melbourne. At least at the Olympics all things Australian were showcased, not just from one state.

The opening and closing were boring because Melbourne has got nothing. Except a duck???

I thought all the athletes were competing for AUSTRALIA, not Melbourne.........it just happened to be in Melbourne.  

With the games not too far away, this is not a good sign.  

Two injured in Delhi tour bus attack

Two tourists have been injured after gunmen opened fire on a tourist bus near the main mosque in India's capital New Delhi, police and medics said.

The attack took place outside the Jama Masjid mosque area in the ancient walled city that is one of the main attractions on tourist routes through the city.

"Two persons were injured in the firing," New Delhi assistant police commissioner Jagbir Singh said, adding that the victims had been transferred to the nearby Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Hospital.

A doctor there, Vijay Kumar, said the victims, both male, appeared to be of east Asian, possibly Taiwanese, origin and one had a serious stomach injury.

"One has been shot in the stomach and is serious, but his pulse and blood pressure appear to be normal," Mr Kumar said.

Eyewitness Hafeez Javed told local Zee television that the attackers fired with automatic weapons.

The shooting comes as New Delhi gears up to host the Commonwealth Games, which start in two weeks, with thousands of extra security forces on duty to ensure the safety of athletes and officials.

Indian officials have promised that the event, dogged by delays and overspending, would be secure amid persistent worries over safety from participating nations, notably Britain and Australia.

Chief minister of New Delhi Sheila Dikshit confirmed the firing and appealed for calm.

"It's a very sad incident," she told NDTV news channel. "I appeal to everybody: please do not panic. An incident like this is worrying but nothing to panic about."

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said that the remaining tourists on the bus were safe and "we have launched a man hunt for the attackers and intensified security".

-AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/19/3015865.htm

Chief minister of New Delhi Sheila Dikshit confirmed the firing and appealed for calm.

"It's a very sad incident," she told NDTV news channel. "I appeal to everybody: please do not panic. An incident like this is worrying but nothing to panic about."

A little bit of an understatement, I think

What channel is exactly covering the Commonwealth games? Where I come from we are seeing ads on both Channel 7 (Southern Cross) and Channel 10 and I am wondering if we are going to see the same stuff on both channels.

This happens with the AFL too Channel 7 plays the game and then Channel 10 plays the exact same game from half a hour to a couple of hours later.

It is very annoying.  

Not happy if we are to only have one Free to Air channel to view if the games are on both Ten and 7.

Network Ten and FOXTEL today announced they had secured the exclusive Australian broadcast rights to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi,
India.

The agreement will see TEN and FOXTEL deliver Australian viewers the most comprehensive coverage of this blue ribbon multi-sport event ever seen on Australian free-to-air and subscription television.

TEN, who today officially won the rights from the Organising Committee for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games as part of a competitive bid process, will partner with FOXTEL to broadcast the 2010 Commonwealth Games, from October 3 to 14 that year.

Under this landmark partnership agreement TEN and FOXTEL will share all broadcast rights, allowing both TEN and FOXTEL to broadcast simultaneous live coverage of all events. Both networks will have coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, with TEN exclusively live.

Importantly, many key events from the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games will be broadcast within Australian prime time zones.

TEN and FOXTEL will also look to on sell the radio rights, with FOXTEL securing the exclusive subscription television and exclusive new media rights, including mobile, internet and digital video broadcast handheld (DVBH).

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will also be the first to be host-broadcast produced in full High Definition.

TEN last held rights to the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada in 1994 and in 2010 will broadcast the most comprehensive free-to-air coverage of the event ever seen in Australia across its high definition, standard definition and analogue channels.

FOXTEL will compliment TEN’s extensive coverage by offering its subscribers an expanded service that will provide an unparalleled choice of Commonwealth Games competition across all 17 sports.

Mr Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, said: “The rights for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, which are represented by Fast Track, our exclusive broadcast rights agency, were keenly sought by a number of parties, but the TEN and FOXTEL partnership was compelling and will deliver the most comprehensive coverage ever for Australian audiences in the 80-year history of the Games.”

http://www.throng.com.au/ten/network-ten-and-foxtel-secure-rights-to-2010-commonwealth-games

Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities

THE Delhi Commonwealth Games were thrown into chaos last night after a footbridge near the main stadium collapsed and major teams threatened to pull out over the state of the athletes' village.
Bridge collapse near Delhi stadium

Doubts were also raised about India’s ability to protect athletes and spectators from terrorist attacks after an Australian TV crew exposed shocking security flaws.
Australian discus chamion Dani Samuels last night became the first athlete to pull out over security fears. She said that no gold medal was "worth risking her life".

World triple jump champion Phillips Idowu is also considering pulling out and said early this morning that he had serious concerns about preparations in India.
India won the right to host the event seven years ago and spent an estimated $3.16 billion preparing for the biggest multi-sports event in its history, a showpiece that it hopes will project it as a regional power to rival China.

But with less than two weeks to go until the opening ceremony, many facilities have yet to be completed - including the athletes’ village, which is due to open in just two days’ time.

The collapsed footbridge from the parking lot  to the arena was among the building projects.

Police said that at least 23 people were injured in the collapse, five of them seriously.

The 100-metre overhead bridge was to connect a parking lot with the main stadium, which is to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the $3.17 billion Games.

Nitin Gokhale, security editor for Indian channel NDTV, told Sky News that most of the injured are thought to be construction workers, who were working ahead of the opening ceremony on 3 October.

He said the bridge could have been weakened by weeks of heavy rains in the area.

A spokesman for Delhi police told reporters there was no need to panic over the incident. "There is no need to panic and the pictures on TV make it look much worse than it is," he said.

But the accident has stoked fears that New Delhi is seriously underprepared to welcome the 7000 athletes and staff due in the next week for the Games.

The president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell, said earlier yesterday that he had asked for the urgent intervention of the Indian government after severe delays in the completion of the village, where the thousands of participants are to be housed.

Team officials went further, with both England and Scotland issuing veiled threats to withdraw from the Games.

New Zealand, Canada and Ireland also objected strongly to the condition of accommodation given to them in the village, with the New Zealand team taking the unprecedented step of switching its accommodation because of the lodgings, described as "filthy," "uninhabitable" and "not fit for humans" by participants and officials.

The Games organisers called a press conference to allay fears about the village's state. They said the bridge collapse was "unfortunate" but insisted everything was under control.

With reference to cleanliness, the organisers said 60 to 70 percent of the residences were complete and everything else would be ready "in the next 36 hours"

"We are doing our best and we are sure and confident that we will be able to complete the entire cleaning of the residential wing," they said.

Meanwhile, a crew from Australia’s Channel 7 filmed the backstreet trade in ammonium nitrate and a range of other powerful explosives from illegal stores in the Indian capital.

The crew also filmed a salesman in a parking lot illegally offering a “remote detonation kit” built into a rolling suitcase.

The Channel 7 reporter Mike Duffy subsequently wheeled the empty case past armed police guarding the Nehru stadium without once being challenged.

Security fears were already high in the capital after a gun attack outside the Indian capital's main mosque injured two Taiwanese tourists at the weekend.

Both the US and Australia issued warnings to their citizens over the incident, which prompted Australian discus gold medal favourite Samuels to pull out of the Games altogether.
British athletes Christine Ohuruogu and Lisa Dobriskey also withdrew today, but because of injuries.


Delhi police said they increased patrols across the city, particularly in areas frequented by foreigners.


http://www.news.com.au/world/b.....555089#ixzz10DCMUhvP

Undercover report: Inside the Delhi athletes' village filthy underbelly
By Amanda Hodge
From: The Australian
September 24, 2010 12:00AM


Just metres down a landscaped boulevard designed to transport visitors from the chaos of suburban Delhi to the tranquillity of the Commonwealth Games athletes' village, a small child squats to defecate in the elegant sandstone gutter.
Well, where else would he go?
In a country where mobile phones outnumber toilets, this is a common sight - and it looks as though it's one the world's finest and fittest may not be spared despite the best efforts of the Indian government and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

The air is, by turns, fragrant then fetid, as the stench from stormwater outlets intermittently defeats the flowering frangipani trees that line the way.
Just hours before the arrival of the first 50 athletes in Delhi, workers shovel dirt onto large puddles of still water to try to reduce the potential breeding ground for the dengue fever-carrying mosquito that has wreaked havoc across the city this monsoon season.
The media centre - the only place The Australian is officially permitted to enter - is well appointed and the volunteers pleasant and smart in their teal blue Games T-shirts.
Security is also good, despite several early successes to exploit it by visiting media, with all three gates leading to the village crowded with security officers and, later in the day, even bomb squad officers and dogs.
But it is not foolproof.
A quick detour across the sodden training oval - which weeks of incessant monsoonal rains had reduced to small islands of grass between lakes - takes The Australian to the athletes' training facility.
Inside the two-storey training centre, the building is still covered in construction dust. It looks close - maybe a week away - from being finished.
A wrestling hall and giant gymnasium look just about ready to go, although it's difficult to see how the exercise room lined with dated-looking equipment will adequately cater for 7000 competitors and officials who will inhabit the compound at maximum capacity.
But god help the first female athlete who goes to use the change rooms.
Just as officials from several Western nations described with no small degree of horror after arriving in the village this week, The Australian found apparently brand-new toilets with inexplicably blackened bowls.
The showers are caked in mud with chipped and broken tiles on the walls and floors.
The entire bathroom is filthy beyond description but worst of all is the disabled toilet - a slippery nightmare of squalor and rubble.
In the communal area where athletes will meet, eat and socialise, deep ponds of water still lie around the quadrangle, while exposed electric wires hang dangerously overhead.
The Australian saw dozens of workers armed with brooms, buckets and mops walking around the compound. But few were doing any cleaning.


http://www.news.com.au/world/u.....725958#ixzz10OjhvDza

two words.... Disgusting and Farcacle!

look at this gallery.....
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/gallery-e6frer9f-1225928568041?page=1

Isn't it suppose to be about the GAMES....not a media frenzy. I'm sure India will be a gracious and confident host. They are doing their best.

I agree entirely, too much emphasis is put on all this media hype trying to stir up trouble. Its anything for a story/.  I am sure it will all be ready for the start

and.... the Terrorists and radical factions will take a holiday and not endanger any westerner during the Games. Yep... sure Everyone I have spoken to says something bad is going to happen because what better opportunity do these terrorists have to show the World how they feel? I hope and pray it does not happen and no-one loses their lives but it's not a place I would like a loved one to be going, especially at this particular time when India is the Centre of the sporting World's attention!

Anyone going to watch the games?

And if so...which sports?

Lawn Bowls....if its shown

Oh yes...of course LB

for me..I like the athletics and diving.

Here is flashback picture of NZer Hamish Carter carrying the flag as he leads the team during the opening ceremony for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.




190 New Zealand athletes are expected to be in India for the games.

I got that many of them camped next door at this very moment.....lol

fun and games then !!!

... First rant about the games. WHY AREN'T 10 SIMULCASTING THE OPENING CEREMONY IN HD ON ONE!?!? Grrrrr

... and what was with all the ads *sigh*

Quoted from Matt

... and what was with all the ads *sigh*

Because that's what 10 do.  

Thats why I mainly watch ABC and SBS

I watched to opening ceremony today as it was on too late yesterday  (due to the time difference)

It was OK. A lot of thought had gone into it. It cant be an easy job to organise.

All gone off safely so far.....