Cav surely a shoo-in for BBC Sports Personality of Year?

[bobbins]

Congratulations to Cav on receiving his MBE. I'm not sure exactly how much it meant to him because despite dressing in a suit and brushing/gel-ing his hair he couldn't be bothered having a shave. It's not like he was told at the last moment "Hey, Cav, get up, you've won an MBE, you've got 5 minutes to get your *** down to Buck House!'" "Crikey! Where's me suit? Oh ****e, no time to shave. How does me hair look?"

I've always thought that the wording of the MBE rationale "for services to the sport of <insert sport name>" was somewhat misleading. For me, the ones who actually do a real service to the sport are the unpaid, often unthanked, volunteers at club level (and higher) who spend heaps of their time (and money too, often) organising events for the athletes themselves simply for the love of the sport and a sense of community. Cav, while winning cycle races, is actually doing a service for himself, rather than the sport of cycling, by getting bonuses and increasing his market value.

I'm not knocking Cav for winning races or being awarded an MBE. It's in his job description to win bike races as often as possible and he may be performing a service to the sport in getting heaps of young people inspired enough to take up the sport of cycling. I'm just saying that perhaps it's time to change the wording of why the MBE is awarded to top sportsmen/women. Something like "...for being really, really good in the sport of <insert>"?

Cav doesn't just win bike races. He supports the Right to Play charity, supports charities and clubs on the Isle of Man plus other things that don't get a heap of press coverage.

If anyone deserves an MBE, he does.

 

[The Hitch]

No state honor should ever ever ever be given to athletes or celebrities unless like Bartoli they do some real good rather than just win for themselves.

 

[Thomsena]

Congratulations to Cav on receiving his MBE. I'm not sure exactly how much it meant to him because despite dressing in a suit and brushing/gel-ing his hair he couldn't be bothered having a shave. It's not like he was told at the last moment "Hey, Cav, get up, you've won an MBE, you've got 5 minutes to get your *** down to Buck House!'" "Crikey! Where's me suit? Oh ****e, no time to shave. How does me hair look?"

 

[ferryman]

Gee whiz a tennis debate over Andy Murray FFS In Scotland we just accept him now for what he is, very good but just below the big 3 and unlikely ever to win a GS.

Anyway, the bookies have this a 2 way fight between Cavendish and Clarke.

The MBE has got to help Cavendish though and surely it will be his year. I may even pick up the phone and vote for him

 

[BYOP88]

No state honor should ever ever ever be given to athletes or celebrities unless like Bartoli they do some real good rather than just win for themselves.

Agreed.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Cav doesn't just win bike races. He supports the Right to Play charity, supports charities and clubs on the Isle of Man plus other things that don't get a heap of press coverage.

If anyone deserves an MBE, he does.

Lots of riders and sportsmen and women have impressive lists of charity and grass roots endeavours. Carlos Sastre, for example, has his fan club tied in to the Children's Cancer Ward at the University Hospital of Gent, and spent one of his 2009 Tour de France rest days hosting and entertaining the club, and has provided a whole host of charities with coverage and support.

I don't buy that Cav has done anything beyond anybody else that means that "if anyone deserves an MBE, he does", because many others do as much or more, and Cavendish has done some stupid and insensitive things in his time too. On the other hand, it is a fair point to make that many riders' charity contributions go unheralded, the same as how Ayrton Senna's donations - estimated in the millions of dollars - to children's charities in Brazil were not known until after his death. And Cavendish has been superb to Jonny Bellis over the last two years, of that there can be no doubt.

No state honor should ever ever ever be given to athletes or celebrities unless like Bartoli they do some real good rather than just win for themselves.

Agreed. Although I assume it's Gino Bartali you mean here - I'm unaware of any specific heroic acts Bartoli has done (I may be missing some) and presume it's just a typo. You could argue that Gino Bartali is the gold standard for sports stars being heroes not just in their chosen sporting field but in general society as well.

 

[happychappy]

*snip*

What a load of old waffle!

 

[greenedge]

Gee whiz a tennis debate over Andy Murray FFS In Scotland we just accept him now for what he is, very good but just below the big 3 and unlikely ever to win a GS.

Next year i reckon he could win one. Nadal will have lingering injury effects so i think it could soon become the big 4. He's always up there and he should get a breakthrough win soon. Also is Novak younger than Murray???

 

[Swabian Lass]

Agreed. Although I assume it's Gino Bartali you mean here - I'm unaware of any specific heroic acts Bartoli has done (I may be missing some) and presume it's just a typo. You could argue that Gino Bartali is the gold standard for sports stars being heroes not just in their chosen sporting field but in general society as well.

During the war Bartali used his bike fame to carry messages and documents to the Italian Resistance. He also smuggled papers for Jewish families trying to get out of Italy. I think it was only last year that it came out that Bartali had hidden a Jewish family in his cellar. I think that he was eventually arrested by the SS, but they couldn't find any proof and were afraid of the consequences (riots) if they hurt him, so they let him go.

After the war the only comment Bartali ever made about this was to his son, "one does these things and then that's that".

Guy was a hero in my book.

 

[theyoungest]

During the war Bartali used his bike fame to carry messages and documents to the Italian Resistance. He also smuggled papers for Jewish families trying to get out of Italy. I think it was only last year that it came out that Bartali had hidden a Jewish family in his cellar. I think that he was eventually arrested by the SS, but they couldn't find any proof and were afraid of the consequences (riots) if they hurt him, so they let him go.

After the war the only comment Bartali ever made about this was to his son, "one does these things and then that's that".

Guy was a hero in my book.

I think Libertine refers to the fact that Hitch mentions Bartoli, not Bartali.

 

[The Hitch]

is Novak younger than Murray???

By like 3 days or something.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

During the war Bartali used his bike fame to carry messages and documents to the Italian Resistance. He also smuggled papers for Jewish families trying to get out of Italy. I think it was only last year that it came out that Bartali had hidden a Jewish family in his cellar. I think that he was eventually arrested by the SS, but they couldn't find any proof and were afraid of the consequences (riots) if they hurt him, so they let him go.

After the war the only comment Bartali ever made about this was to his son, "one does these things and then that's that".

Guy was a hero in my book.

As theyoungest pointed out, I am fully aware of Bartali's heroic acts, and so is Hitch. Hence why I call him the gold standard of heroism beyond the sporting field for sportsmen. I assumed Hitch meant him on the basis that I am not familiar with any similar acts by Michele Bartoli. Not saying that he might not have done heroic things himself, just that I am unaware of them.

 

[GWAR79]

I thought the title of this thread was 'cav surely a shoe in to lose to BMC several times next year'

 

[stephens]

I'm one who doesn't know a thing about cricket or golf, so my outsider perspective of British Sports Personalities would rank the top three as Cavendish, Mo Farah, and Chrissie Wellington. Farah had a phenomenal year, as did Chrissie, but the brits didn't nominate a single woman so...

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I'm one who doesn't know a thing about cricket or golf, so my outsider perspective of British Sports Personalities would rank the top three as Cavendish, Mo Farah, and Chrissie Wellington. Farah had a phenomenal year, as did Chrissie, but the brits didn't nominate a single woman so...

I'd never heard of her before this week, but watching her petulant hissyfit, and bizzare denials that her hurt pride has anything to do with it, has been most amusing.

 

[sublimit]

I'd never heard of her before this week, but watching her petulant hissyfit, and bizzare denials that her hurt pride has anything to do with it, has been most amusing.

The first I'd heard of Wellington was last last year at the Tour Of California when it was mentioned some triathletes were going to turn up for some reason or another, so no sympathy for her particularly.

Its difficult to expect british sports hacks and journo's that know zilch about most sports to have heard about this person either.

But Rebbeca Adlington can feel aggrieved about not making the list because of the epic 800 metre freestyle race against a Danish swimmer and taking her out and getting world champ status. The thing about Adlington is she's based in Britain and is well known personality of some sort and a top athlete and deserves to be there IMO.

 

[will10]

I'd never heard of her before this week, but watching her petulant hissyfit, and bizzare denials that her hurt pride has anything to do with it, has been most amusing.

What more can Wellington do to get a nomination?

 

[El Pistolero]

What more can Wellington do to get a nomination?

Take note of Waterloo sunrise's hissyfit when Cav wouldn't have been selected

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

What more can Wellington do to get a nomination?

Take part in a major sport.

She's the best at a minority subset of a minority sport.

Brownlee has a right to be upset, not her.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Take note of Waterloo sunrise's hissyfit when Cav wouldn't have been selected

I'm genuinely interested to know if the underlying grammar of that sentence makes sense in dutch, or flemish, or whatever it is you speak.

I suspect it is stupid in any language.

 

[theyoungest]

I'm genuinely interested to know if the underlying grammar of that sentence makes sense in dutch, or flemish, or whatever it is you speak.

I suspect it is stupid in any language.

It reads like an imperative, but I don't think that's what Pisti means.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

It reads like an imperative, but I don't think that's what Pisti means.

It reads that way and the twists halfway through, like a person who can look down at their own heels.

 

[El Pistolero]

I just don't think you should laugh at someone because they didn't get elected for an award when he/she is genuinely upset by it. Because we all know how you guys would cry here if Cavendish wasn't nominated. The old "cycling is treated unfairly because it isn't a big sport" argument would be brought up again. But hey, as long as you can laugh with other small sports, go right ahead Might make you feel better about your self or something, big boy.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I just don't think you should laugh at someone because they didn't get elected for an award when he/she is genuinely upset by it. Because we all know how you guys would cry here if Cavendish wasn't nominated. The old "cycling is treated unfairly because it isn't a big sport" argument would be brought up again. But hey, as long as you can laugh with other small sports, go right ahead Might make you feel better about your self or something, big boy.

Your mind works in strange ways.

I am not laughing at the fact she was excluded. I am laughing at her graceless response to that.

I laugh at her being a bad loser who then tries to pretend her calls for a boycott have nothing to do with the personal snub. It is ungraceful for her to act in this way, even if she is justified in being upset at not being selected.

 

[stephens]

Chrissie Wellington may just be the greatest athlete ever, that happens to be a woman. Sure, there may have been women who were equally dominant over other women in more mainstream sporting endeavors, but there has never been a woman whose performances have been as close to the absolute best performance in the sport regardless of sex. In other words, she's closer to the best men than any woman has ever been in any other sport. To me that makes her the greatest female athlete ever.