Friday, August 22, 2008

Olympics 'not all about sport' shock!

Honestly, you lot.

I go away for a couple of days to try and beat Blogger into submission and when I come back it’s all cyber-kissie face and typing one-handed.

Get your minds out of the gutter comrades.

Anyway.

The real reason why I’m writing is this breathless report in today’s Age.

The paper notes

AUSTRALIAN Olympic athletes have been paid five figure sums not to appear on a rival television show as bidding wars for exclusive access to medal winners turned nasty yesterday.

One competitor who has really earned the big dollars is world recordholder Stephanie Rice, who has agreed to sign a two-year deal of around $800,000 with Channel Seven, which is the Beijing Olympic broadcaster.

But Channel Nine, which has the Olympic rights for the next Games in London in 2012, has been aggressively pursuing its own signatures
.

Really! Imagine that! Television networks are ruthlessly pursuing Olympic figures worth millions of dollars in advertising revenue - paint me pink and call me Pope Benedict.

Why anybody pretends the Olympics is primarily about sport is beyond me. It’s a rolling celebration of greed, corruption and fat-headed stupidity.

It also has its dark side.

But I do like this quote from an anonymous industry source

"This is unprecedented, the level of desperation, the underhandedness and ugliness that went on," a source said. The wheeling and dealing followed big ratings for the Olympic coverage and an insatiable appetite for the inside stories of the stars”.

Translation: “Their cunts got in with a bucket of phat cash before our cunts could”

Also - Stephanie Rice, goth or not?

12 comments:

wari lasi said...

Good to have you back to keep us on track Ramon.

And my vote is Goth, but attractive goth.

catlick said...

There's a disturbing pic over at Grods that raises a different question.

Puss In Boots said...

I met her a few times a year or two ago(went to school with my partner's little sister), and she is definitely not goth. Or at least, she wasn't then.

Anonymous said...

It's funny how the same people that have no problem with professional athletes earning six-figure incomes then bitch about the amateur Olympic athletes (who can't be paid to compete) being sponsored by the government AND accepting lucrative TV and/or advertising deals.


and when I come back it’s all cyber-kissie face and typing one-handed.

Sure you weren't typing one-handed there in exile, sure.

wari lasi said...

Thanks for that catlick.

I'm off her now, I really hope it was someone photoshopping out the camel toe.

Some of the comments are rippers.

Perseus said...

Not a goth. Not in those ear-rings.

Ramon - I accuse you of confusing cause and effect. Yes, the result is crass, but some of them also happen to fucking fantastic sportspeaople, not more or less deserving of money than successful artists or even business people.

WitchOne said...

Ramon, I LIKED cyber-kissy face!

Catlick, that pic is classic, the look on her face suggests she is well aware of the pouch iss-soo and is daring the world at large to comment, which they have.

catlick said...

She might have a surf board tucked in there. Our Dawn once told me a funny story about her introduction to tampons. She knew little of the 'ins and outs' and when bent over on the starting block, the sight of the protruding tampax caused the starter to fall off his chair.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

I'm keeping a very close eye on you, Witchie.

WitchOne said...

Good, I'm worth watching.

Desci said...

Who the fuck is Stephanie Rice? Some athlete? Bitch please. By definition not goth.

Closest athlete to goth is Thorpe. I kid you not. Look at how he talks; if he hadn't jumped in a pool when he was young now he'd be a puffy guy in a frilly shirt who would make you call him 'the Baron'.

shitbmxrider said...

Rice has a bigger bulge than a XR8's bonnet...that exact same photo was published in the hun the other day, flicking thru it at the pub waiting for dinner I damn near fell off my chair...it was just like *BAM* there


Id still hit it tho.


Speaking of goths, there were some lovely specimens out on king street last nite...gotta love a skinny-yet-top-heavy chick with facial piercings in a corset, pvc skirt, and boots that go all the way to her ears