mpjmcevoy

GBR are reigning European champions, and the coming force in WOMEN'S European flag football. They are not all that close among the men, In Softball GB are already in the ballpark but it is baseball, bizarrely, where GB seem to be making strides - most might have predicted basketball to kick on rather than baseball...

Don't you realise cricket celebrates the END of colonialism, not colonialism - every great non-England team has been based, to some extent on the nation finding its separate identity - the original Australians, the great West Indies teams, the brilliant Indians and Pakistanis - all reclaiming their own identity, not celebrating colonialism at all. You need to watch Lagaan.

You've answered your own question: "the all too-predictable USA v Japan WBC final" Cricket is not as predictable because there more genuine contenders GBR(Eng, technically Sco), AUS, NZL, IND, PAK, SRI, RSA are all plausible gold medalists. As for West Indies, they'll do what they do for Commies - have an internal island tournament - which they have anyway - and then send JAM, BAR, TRI or GUY, and whoever they send might be good (or might not, at the moment!). All five continents have a plausible contender for gold and as for baseball - why do you think it is followed so strongly in Japan?

I'm european. Did I complain about diversity?

Rugby League nine's wouldn't bother me, despite it being unlikely Ireland would get in. The Rugby League World Cup is a niche event, but the international game exists. The better comparison would be Flag AFL, or Dublin hosting a game and reinstruding Gaelic football 9's or Hurling. Actually, lacrosse, hurling... You'd love hurling though. Only sport in the world actively designed for psycopathy.

Indeed, it was patently obvious that Brisbane would be a better place to 'introduce' cricket, but IOC can't wait that long for the big TV rupees

Yep, that's the main difference. Cricket is a batter's game with occasional wins for the bowler, and baseball is a pitcher's game with occasional wins for the batter.

Lots of people have 'given it a go' at school. Include all those and you might get there.

Reminds me a bit of Parkour - it has a really interesting possible offering of events (in Parkour, sprint, freestyle and pursuit, in Disc, golf and Ultimate), but the politics is just not right...

The key is Lacrosse is an indigenous sport in the US, and North America - in a way even flag football and basketball are not. There are major political benefits, potentially, to including a sport like that.

If cricket is in, with India eyeing hosting, this will be to India what rugby sevens has been to fiji.

I'd heard the federation was not considered very 'professional'.

I'm pretty sure India will get in, will send its best teams, and will fight like b******* to win it - all the better for cricket to be the centerpiece of an indian Olympics bid. One of the few countries where the Olympic football tournaments won't fill stadia - but the cricket sure will.

Cricket is no more complex than baseball - sure, like baseball, there's jargon and certain arbitrary rules, but the fundamentals are pretty straightforward, and can be taught in ten minutes. In addition, a hell of a lot more countries have some sort of cricket than baseball, which is very geographically limited. As for qualification, there will be rankings, hosts and possibly a final selection contest. I'd be surprised if they don't go on a 1 per continent basis for starters - GBR, AUS, JAM, RSA, IND, then the Host, USA, then one specifically from Asia (say, PAK) because of the five full members there (and to protect India for the money), and then one from a final tournament with remaining full members outside asia, two from Asia, maybe one Caribbean island, and handful of top associates - say NZL, IRL, AFG, SRI, NED, GUY, CAN, NAM An Olympic 8 team comp is doable in a whole series of formats, though 2 groups of 4 seems the most obvious - although knowing the IOC it'll be one giant group of 8, to eliminate just two teams!

It would be odd - in a nice way. but odd - to see families of team sports back to back as it were = both rugby sevens and flag football = both cricket and baseball/softball = arguably even field hockey and lacrosse ...is suppose we already have basketball and handball, but that's more like a middle ground between basketball and soccer, rather than members of the basketball family - which would be korfball and netball. I applaud the NFL for realising the World doesn't end at Cape cod, but I'm not sure what sort of event the flag football would genuinely be. Lacrosse has a more international history Should add Squash finally getting an outing to essentially complete the set with badminton, tennis and table tennis (though padel and pickleball may beg to differ) I only hope IOC allows an increase in quotas rather than decimate existing events

Personally, I'd rather have arena / indoor football than flag - And will Aus/Brisbane now start agitating for Rugby League 9's and AFL (Irish medal chances there!)?

As I understand it, as in '84, LA is a completely privately funded bid, using almost exclusively existing venues. If they are willing to pay for it themselves, I'm pretty certain IOC will let them have what they want, and any other future host that gets worried, they'll just say - that's LA, different rules there. Recall IOC was apparently giving serious consideration to a three week Games with 15000 at one point. 10,500 was never set in stone. That said, much as it will make LA an absolute festival to enjoy, it does put pressure quietly on future hosts - when personally I'd have prepared some negotiation for a more slim line programme, with alternating team sports.

Cracking Game. Happily Japan are now safe for 27 and hopefully by then may be in the Rugby Championship - they looked perfectly capable today. With Fiji qualifying and Australia holding on to third, Samoa are rock hard favourites to qualify from Oceania for 27. Word is that 27 is almost certainly going to 24 teams, but there may not be the post-pool shield competition for the 3rd and 4th place teams that many people, myself included, argued for - tell me you wouldn't want to see Portugal, Samoa, Georgia, Australia, Italy, Scotland, Tonga, Japan, Chile and Uruguay having a crack at each other in the midweek between the Cup knock outs!

No Irishman will ever, EVER, underestimate the All Blacks. No point to lull us into a state of complacency, though it's lovely that the Kiwis think it now worth bothering with mind games for us - we've come up in the world! All joking aside, what a quarterfinal ! I'm sure more than one New Zealand fan was hoping Ireland and Scotland would connive the result that eliminated the Boks and gave the All Blacks a Scottish quarter!

Against England who just squeezed past Samoa by 1?

He's a smart lad. Only Whitlock can crucify him on D score, he's absolutely competitive with everyone else, and his execution is peerless, almost freakish - when he hits it, his execution is as unmatchable as Whitlock' difficulty. Once Max fell, his move was obvious. With my smaller GB hat on, pity of Max today but the week has been a huge success for him - he's back, his D is still ridiculous, and now it's just practice, practice, practice. With my big 'top-0-the-mornin' Irish hat on, I'm dancing for Rhys!

From an Irishman, I am delighted for ye, for your country, your region and the continent - there is something amazing that first time you think "this can't be done, We don't win world/olympic medals at this". and then one of your own goes and wins one. Gamechanging.

Made the harder by the fact that, fall or not, Whitlock is clearly back and in form. Sometimes the long break is too much to come back from. Clearly not in Max's case. Would be kinda funny if Ryhs completed the grand slam - Olympic, world, continental and commonwealth - before Max did...

Agree, super solid gymnast who deserves his 'show'. His achievements in multiple global medals cannot be denied, and hopefully one way or the other we will get the 'super final' on pommel we'd all love. It's pretty much a golden age on the apparatus.

Fractured lower leg, I think. She has a humongous ranking points score, so even if she loses all her World Champ points, she may be alright Edit : if you look at the points on offer for a World Champs, and then look at the lead Sky has, it seems clear she's very safe for the time being - healing up is much more important. Only 5 skaters can overtake here at these worlds, and all five cannot do it at the same time, as there's at least three would need to win outright to edge ahead