91Èȱ¬

>>>> It's the heat. Thirty-five degrees in the middle of a big city is hot. And I wonder if this warm, sweaty climate might affect the British athletes.

Stay at home then ......

John, I usually read your Blogs with a mix of trepidation and expectation. Trepidation because I'm always certain you're going to offend someone somehow with what you say. And Expectation, because for the most part they are usually well thought out and well written.

I say usually. I was very disappointed with your comments about Elena. She has recently recovered from a life threatening illness, and has taken the decision, after much debate and consideration, not to participate in the Games for fear that it will affect her health. Perhaps I misread the tone of your piece, but first and foremost Elena has to look after herself. She has recently broken into the world top 50. When was the last time a British woman did that, let alone a Scottish woman? She is fiercely patriotic...ok, she's an Ipswich based Scot of Ukranian descent, but still...prior to the Games she talked with passion of representing Scotland, and I'm sure she's devastated that she is unable to play. But I respect her decision, and will continue to follow her career with great interest.

As for Willie Wood, the man is a leg-end, and an example to us all. He's obviously delighted to be at his eighth Commonwealth Games (his first was 2 years before I was born. Two years!!!) I wish him, all the other Scottish bowlers and the Scottish team in general all the very best for these Games. They should be interesting.

And as for your comment, BakedBeans - if that's all you have to add, stay quiet, there's a good lad.

"There's horror stories from previous Commonwealth Games where you roll over in the middle of the night and give your neighbour in the bed next door a black eye," he said.

Edwards said one comment from a bowler who had been at a past Games was the space in the rooms.

He is talking about melboune and manchester dude....

"I must say they [the organisers] are not there yet and I'll be frank about that," said Perry Crosswhite, a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation evaluation team. "This village is difficult and everyone knows that."

Competitors will be housed in accommodation normally used by students. There are concerns that the Games' organisers will be under extreme pressure to have rooms ready between the students leaving in early summer and the Games starting on 25 July. The capacity has also been questioned, as has the standard compared to previous major events.

"It's a small campus in a small area, which seems to have about 3,000 students normally and they are going to put 4,800 people in there," said Crosswhite, who is also the chief executive of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association.

"Our man Kevin Keane has been out filming the Scottish accommodation."

And it's very much a hatchet job of a report that Kevin Keane produced. The report was prefaced with headlines about "athletes putting on a brave face" and still having "grave concerns" yet those interviewed were very upbeat but Keane preferred to concentrate on loose wires and leaking air conditioning units. It's a new build for pity's sake.

He obviously went in with a negative agenda (no different from the majority of the British media) and regardless of what he was shown or told he was sticking to it. Like the mosquitoes, the Scottish athletes should give Kevin Keane a wide berth the next time they see him approaching.

I'm disappointed in Elena Baltacha's withdrawal but I wonder if it's linked to her disappointing loss in the final qualifying round in Tokyo. Tennis is an individual sport and it's all about gaining ranking points none of which are available in Delhi and perhaps it was thought time would be better spent preparing for her next ranking event. Withdrawing due to health risks seems a little odd given these health risks would have been known when first accepting to play in Delhi. It could mean depriving another player of a place on the team.

hot and sweaty ? fantastic? what do u want us to do ?build a virtual sky for ur pointless cwg, common guyz dont forget that u had problems too , we accept that we have goofed up big time and playing catch up but the actual games havent yet started thats the point.
91Èȱ¬ is making mountain out of molehill. dont forget that what you give is what u get , we will keep our eyes really wide and open for the common wealth games
time for good honest self introspection for u bbc guyz eh? read thropught this , when u try to accomodate more than what u should have its called creative arrangement when we try to do it its called congestion eh?

Mr Beattie, thta might have been a abit rude reply by me i apologise, but what iam saying is no body showing the good parts of the games village , which goes with out saying. i am glad that u ve bn welcomed by indian hosts and i sincerley hope that u and ur crew would enjoy ur stay in india. we are not a developed nation and we just recovered from slavery 63 years ago so we r just a so called developing nation and once can either enbrace the culture and ambience or refute it .

i hope u would have the time to look at these pictures , i hope bbc would show atleast one of them with repeating a few filthy pictures they have managed to get time and again .


dont be suprised its the same commonwealth village

Got to agree with exkirkyjambo.

You said:
Perhaps the sheer physics of a Delhi day have dissuaded some athletes - like Elena Baltacha who has just decided not to play - from coming and I find her decision sad given that the status of these games diminishes with each withdrawal.

The tone e.g. just decided not to play would leave anyone who didn't know better thinking that she simply didn't fancy it, or that she wussed out. Her decision is a medical decision, not an "I don't really fancy it" or "I've got more important things ahead" decision. I appreciate that you are disappointed she can't be there, but I'm sure you're no more disappointed than she is.

Compare this to other who have decided not to go because the games aren't high enough up their agenda - absolutely nothing wrong with that by the way, each athlete must make their own decisions - but it's not fair to lump Elena in with them.

Looking forward to watching your coverage.