Recently in sport Category

Was that too strong? I'm sorry but I thought I should get straight to the point. World football chief Sepp Blatter has outdone his own previous 'foot-in-the-mouth' moments this week by claiming that racism doesn't exist in football and that racial issues can be settled with a handshake.

What?!

The FIFA boss couldn't have picked a worse week to trot out his latest piece of rubbish; with separate high profile cases fought by Black players in England, Anton Ferdinand and Patrice Evra who accuse John Terry and Luis Suarez respectively of racial abuse.

I would love to know what qualifies this privileged White man from a different place and time to speak on issues of race. But I suppose him hurriedly digging out and releasing to the media fabricated photos of him cuddling up to the nearest Black man he could find makes everything alright again?

With so many football figures having criticised Blatter's latest gaffe, why can't the other national football authorities around the world join them and force the resignation of this horrible individual?

Football chiefs you need to grow a pair and get rid of Blatter. With all the issues that need to be addressed in society, we can do without a clown like Blatter muddying the water.

Is it just I, or has there been a severe lack of newspaper coverage of the ladies' singles at Wimbledon this year?

Is there a coincidence between the scant mention of one of the premier occasions in the British sporting calendar and the fact that for the ninth time in the last 11 years, the name Williams is inscribed on the winning lady's shield? Yes, Serena has done it again; lifting her fourth singles crown at SW11.

Oh you might say, the ladies' singles is getting boring, repeatedly being won by one Williams sister or another. I would somewhat agree with you if this lack of print coverage wasn't joined by a repeated reluctance to recognise just how good Serena and Venus have been.

The commentators and hacks fawn over the likes of Maria Sharapova, who hasn't done much in the game in several years; they lament her bravery in coming back from injury. The revel in taking about Anna Kournikova, who has never done much in the game, full stop.

What about the Williams sisters?

They've rebounded from numerous injuries and the death of their sister to almost seamlessly dominate women's tennis for over a decade. They rank among the most successful players of all-time. So why not give credit where it's due?

I've never been one for reading celebrity autobiographies but I've always had a soft spot for big Frank Bruno, having supported him ever since he appeared on the boxing horizon when I was just 9 years old! So when I came across his 2006 book 'Fighting Back' in a Salvation Army charity shop a few weeks ago, I paid my money and took my chance. I must say it was the best £1.95 I've spent in a long time!

Written with great honesty and clarity, the book begins with his 2003 sectioning after he went through psychiatric problems and then rewinds all the way back to his humble beginnings in south London. It takes in his relationship with his late father, run-ins with authority that prompted his move to boarding school, all the big fights, injuries, drug abuse and even his courtship, marriage and break-up with ex-wife Laura.

It couldn't have been easy for him to go into such detail, particularly that he risked opening himself up to ridicule. In taking the chance Frank has allowed me, like many others in the Sunday Times best-selling book to understand that the challenges of life come to all of us regardless of our fame or the state of our bank balance.

In my teens and early twenties, I harboured dreams of following Frank into the professional ring, until the media bug bit me. Still, now he's set me another challenge - to be able to write with such honesty and self-effacing humour in a way that sheds light into the corners of life many don't understand.

Big Up Big Frank!

Which celebrity tell-all books have you read? Did they disappoint or impress?

By the way, when you have a moment, check out our website, www.GMAgency.co.uk and tell me what you think.