Given this power and cricket’s struggle for relevance in the past few decades, it is staggering that it has taken so long for the sport to be welcomed back into the Olympic fold. But it is now fully expected after the game’s inclusion was recommended by the LA28 organising committee on October 9.
My dog has enriched my life and, though troublesome at times, continues to soothe the soul of my family. For its devotees, the gentle yet ultimately pointless hubbub of county cricket acts in precisely the same way
‘It is not about using the majority of your focus and resources to try and be successful on the pitch. It is about using almost all your focus and resources to the detriment of other key drivers’
The comparisons with county cricket are clear. The early tactics - neglect, underfund then marginalise - have already been enacted. Soon they will have a couple of years of data that 'proves' the success of the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named in comparison to the Blast.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Thierry Henry, Gerard Houllier and the art of the exit interview when you leave a football club. Why should you do it, why most don’t and what it says about modern football
Recently, I watched my first non-league game in 25 years. A lot of things have progressed in the last quarter of a century but the ability of a largely unnoticed local game to arouse the emotions of a couple of hundred people in a small stadium on a Saturday afternoon remains undimmed.
Depending on your viewpoint, Frank Sidebottom is one of light entertainment’s so-bad-its-good merchants, a half-decent gag stretched out into a career or complete and utter nonsense.
But there was an enchanting and obsessive creativity behind the madness of his creator, Chris Sievey, and if he had been around today maybe he would have made it pay.
The followers of ‘Wittertainment’ are so devout they speak of it as a church not just a radio show.
Every Friday afternoon for almost two decades, Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode have spent an hour or two reviewing the latest film releases; pouring praise on the Oscar-worthy, frying the turkeys and interviewing those who create magic on the silver screen.
As the “BBC’s flagship film show”, it has won a host of major awards and was the corporation’s fourth most downloaded podcast for most of the noughties.
But what are the lessons for content creators?
Content Lessons is an occasional series taking lessons in storytelling from outside sport. This time, the pool hall scene from Carilto's Way and it shows us about ‘depth vs length’
What is in a name? How have they been developed in different sports? In MLS, the introduction of St Louis City and Charlotte FC follows the trend towards traditional football names. However, the Seattle Kraken suggests NHL is taking the opposite route. Then there is the Washington Football Team, who have flipped their story by ditching the “Redskins” and are now actively looking for assistance from their fans to frame their future.
I got an email from a Darlington fan: “You're probably not aware, but Darlington FC Supporters Group (the DFC fan-ownership vehicle) has been running a phenomenally successful 'Boost the Budget' scheme for the past four seasons. Despite the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, donations towards the 2020/21 playing budget have just passed £100,000.
“Given that Darlington is a predominantly working-class town and DFC's average gate is <1,500, it really is staggering that the fans donate so much money season after season.”
Here’s what I learnt from the SportsContentStrategy podcast with Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team and founder of Fans First entertainment
