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Former FIFA president and IOC member and honorary president Joao Havelange passed away yesterday in Brazil at the age of 100. His final breath was taken at the Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, although it would be pushing it to refer to Havelange as a good Samaritan.
Mr Live Wire would like to join the rest of the world in remembering the visionary administrator who took football away from the clutches of one continent, Europe, and gave it to one man, himself.
(Copyright AFP 2014/Matias Recart)
Havelange is best known for bringing big money to FIFA and then pocketing as much of it as he could. He is the former water polo player who grew to have such affection for football that he once banned Pele from a World Cup ceremony.
And the man who oversaw the spread of the game to all parts of the globe before his corrupt practices led FIFA and the IOC to ban him from seeing any of it.
Rest in peace, Joao. One suspects your next destination will have little to do with whatever is written on the bid document.
Mr Live Wire cannot confirm whether, as a mark of respect, ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner only accepted bribes in black envelopes yesterday.
Sporting ethics was a hot topic in the Olympic village—even before Havelange passed on his famous golden briefcase—after Bahamas athlete Shaunae Miller scored gold with a superb diving header past USA’s Allyson Felix on Monday night. The problem was Shaunae was not at a football match but in the women’s 400 metre final.
Wtf, Shaunae?! You know this is a foot race right?!
The whole episode reminded Mr Live Wire of playing “Cowboys and Indians” with a ‘creative’ school friend at Tunapuna Boys RC.
“Bang! Bang! You’re dead, Garrick!”
“No, I am not.”
“What do you mean? I shot you.”
“I had on a bullet-proof vest.”
“This is the wild, west. There are no bullet-proof vests!”
“I got one with my time machine.”
“Wait… What?!”
Take win, Shaunae. Hopefully the IOC’s attorneys will get on that loophole before everyone starts crossing the finish line like salmons and some poor athlete pops her neck and ends up being represented in the afterlife by Gerald Ramdeen.
Trinidad and Tobago’s athletes stayed on their feet yesterday and gave a decent showing.
Janeil Bellille (400 metre hurdles) and Semoy Hackett (200 metre) failed to advance past their respective semifinal events. But La Brea sprinter Rondel Sorrillo, who was dipped on the line in his 100 metre heat, gave a more decisive showing to advance to the 200 metre semifinals.
And Michelle-Lee Ahye—that dashing, dreadlocked diva who treasures tattoos the way Colm Imbert nurses grudges—raced her way into a second Rio Olympic final, as she booked her place in the women’s 200 metre final with a new national record of 22.25.
Ahye was sixth in the 100 metre final on the weekend. Now she will try for an even better finish in the 200. Maybe the second time will be the charm. Maybe not.
Sigh. They hold anybody for LifeSport yet? Eh?
When we were supposed to be taking care of 400 metre hurdle star, Jehue Gordon, or investing in a cycling coach for Njisane Phillip… Instead, they were trying to play ‘Tonya Harding’ with amateur deep-C diver, DJ Lurbz or chat up former football union man turn slave master Brent Sancho.
Take a big steups for that yes, People’s Partnership!
Just four days left for glory in Rio, allyuh. Oh gorm, bring it home T&T!
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By any means necessary
OH GAwd,,
look at this racsit cyat trying to blame the PP for the PNM’s shame ..
is the PP who moulded Kershorn and Nisane ..
it is the PNM who effed over Nisane to send an “official” and cut is training partner ,,
oh and Nisane’s coach used to be that big fat “indian”, man ..
who is probably fired by the PNM for an investigation in “thiefing” ,,,
cuz all indians thief ….
and it is the PNM who sent Marisa Dick to Rio and eff over that gorna against Niki Crosbie’s niece …
cuz no Indian lover’s kin will get to represent T&T ..
this Olymics is a TESTAMENT to the PNM and the PNM legacy of WASTE, INCOMPETENCE and FAILURE …
I watched the video over and over and her fall seemed genuine. It’s not a way I’d want to win a race but it doesn’t appear as though she did it on purpose. But of course the US probably won’t drop it.
Like that dive she did not obstruct any athlete she is ah champion a fighter if our athletes fight to the finish like her we would of win medals
Get over d shit u people. The same happened with the dutch in the 200. Carnt you people see these women werw running their hearts out and fell. STEUPS
Ka Si. How is this not honourable? She got the gold. This was done as recent at the US Olympic trials in the 200m race where the same Felix lost to another athlete and did not qualify for the 200m. It was done in the 2008 Olympics by an American athlete who won silver. Athletes do this all the time. It is not encourage by coaches because most times the athlete do not win. She won fair and square. Look at the time difference also. She was in front of Felix throughout the race.
What is the problem? When in the 1952 olympics Lindy Remigino dived to win the 100 metre gold to beat Herb McKenley (silver) and MacDonald Bailey (bronze), it created no furore. What is the difference now? By the way, the winning time was 10.79 with silver 10.80 and bronze 10.83.
A splendid piece of work as usual. I do, however, have one little correction:
“Mr Live Wire would like to join the rest of the world in remembering the visionary administrator who took football away from the clutches of one continent, Europe, and gave it to one man, himself.”
That sentence fails to take account of the statement made post-mortem by JAW that Joao was his “friend and mentor.”
Know why he said that? It’s because JH did not give it to one man, himself” but to TWO men, himself and JAW, although obviously not in equal proportions.,
Yuh know 2008 when do us dive none all yuh ent say nothing steeeeeups
We need administrators who are there for the right reason. And we have to identify such persons and encourage them.
Andreas, tell your peers not to encourage you to hide behind a bushel 😉
ahaha… well Lasana, encourage your readers not to issue blanket statements against administrators and …. i’m still here anyways….
Touche
Not at all Andreas. I do serious satire! 🙂
all good then, as you noticed i is in fighting mode today…lol
And Btw Lasana sorry for spoiling your as usual spot on Satire with this serious topic….
Just look at the comments on your page: for most of the people commenting here ALL Admins are bad, i know you wont say that, but be real. There is little differentiation for most here. And i have been told by friends to stay out of here, because at the end i only draw attention to me and will become a target myself. Because lets be honest, who never in his life has done something that was not politically correct….and can backfire?
and they will have to continue trying… they are the voters and have the ultimate power… but one of the main problems is that there seems to be only a choice between lesser evils and in sports it appears to go the same direction. Why? Because the good ones stay out of it or getting less and less, because it is difficult to crack up those bonds existing for years…. especially when one doesn’t feel the support by those that matter….. a lot of the guys that make a positive impact really thinking whether they shall go up for re-election or just let the sharks take over again…
But it isn’t that nobody cares about State-level corruption and ineptness. The public has been trying to find a way to impose itself on the elected for some time now.
And still haven’t.
Lasana, if you run a sports program it has to run through the Federation or you look for serious trouble, oversight for finances has to improve for all of that, but why would we expect that a good portion of sports runs different to the rest of the country where smartman and streetwise seem to have become a honorable trait rather than a menace…. just look at the fact that the Ministry of National security offered a 1million dollar price (which was not cash as a lot of participants may have believed) and the Federation at the Nationals can offer nothing more than 10,000.00 Dollar for the winning team (now that is cash), where would you start? 1mil vs. 10k, no-brainer right…? well hoop of life dead and Basketball got screwed over in the process from what i understand…. as i have said in plenty other places before: unless we as Voters and consumers make a clear choice that sport is more important (than fete for example) nothing will change. Politicians and corporate citizens react to their clients… (mostly at least). But as long as our sofa-experts will go back to sleep for the next four years as soon as the Olympics are over nothing will change and winning medals will be left to the occasional bit of luck and talent. Most of these experts here probably will not even wait till the Paralympics are done, in which btw with just a total of 5 Athletes from Trinidad we may very well end up collecting more medals than in the Olympics. So we can rant and rave as much as we want, as long as we do not pay attention to our Athletes while there are NO Olympics we will be lost. And btw: the so much hated Admins (at least the good ones) trying exactly that, plan for the next Olympics from next week on….
I can’t remember who had promised George but I think somebody was supposed to build an aquatic center in Diego Martin that was to be named after him. Of course that never happened. Waiting to see if the PP built complex in Couva will bear his name.
Both George and Jehue were promised money and goodies too. Will have to find it.
Kev Villaroel ” Slave master Brent Sancho”….so people know about him and he can still get away with this behavior? Slave masters do not pay their slaves. …. yes Me. Sancho, you are indeed a slave master and a crook!
i feel your pain
The Gov’t isn’t equipped to directly manage a project like Life Sport and Hoops of Life. That was always a recipe for corruption and mis-management.
I agree in fans being realistic. Many have questioned Jehue being there. The man is 24 and a former world champion. If there wasn’t a health risk, I would send him even though I know he isn’t physically in shape.
I’d consider that an investment.
Mind you, that i very much agree with those that believe the answer to effective long-term crime fighting lies within sport…. but both attempts in Trinidad, Lifesport and Hoop of Life, were not about crime-fighting in the first place, aside of the fact that both obviously had serious shortcomings in their own way….
LifeSport and Hoop of Life… just a means to enrich the pockets of a few in the Ministry of Sport and their ‘trusted’ friends…
I also want to raise the point of expectations again as it has been dcne by a few already: I agree, that one g0es to the Olympics t win medals, however one has also to be realistic of ones ability and standing within 0nes sport. The question here is: d0 we rather have n0 representation 0r take the chance t0 0nly be f0und at the bottom 0r the midfield. (s0ry fr the zer0s, but my 0-key gave up, unless auto correct recognized the word, zero it is)
got another keyboard, so shall be fine with the o’s now…lol
And that elusive 34 million?
Is part f Lifesport, actually. That was one f the contractors as far as i know
Yes I know. It was a rhetorical statement. Mr Daniel has already indicated that he is has no intention of giving it back
lolof course he is not and knowing our policing and justice system i take a wild guess that he will get away with it…. since he accepted payment for his contract we shall insist on delivery and once he refuses, he then is in breach and can be sued…
Well if you hear him speak he would not say that he is in breach
he will in the minute he is being asked to deliver and refuses…
In the interest of accuracy, it was $36m! he got an initial $2m “downpayment” I think, in addition to the sum paid under the terms of the contract.
But maybe i should be more circumspect and not say he got; “The records show that that sum was paid to him” would be way more accurate.
Lasana, thanks for making the connection to lifesport. It is my honest believe, that a lot of the missed opportunities of these two weeks can be explained with that. Not only Njisanne had a bad 4 Years, every sporting body had a bad 4 Years as far as i can tell.
At the 2012 Olympics, we were cheering athletes whose cycles started under the previous regime.
I’m not saying the PNM is great at producing athletes… But I am suggesting that Anil Roberts might have been the worst Sport Minister of all time!
Man spent more on gangsters than athletes. Btw, up to know Jehue Gordon has NOT gotten the house he was promised after his World Championships title.
I wonder if George Bovell III, who was Anil’s own swimmer, got everything he was promised. :-/
Well TT sent our ‘gouti Marisa Dick…I guess the Bahamas have this manicou…nothing honorable in gold at whatever the cost. Diving may not be illegal but it isn’t done, low integrity in the sport if you ask me. Glad we don’t have this kind of light shining over TT. Condolences to the Bahamas. This is not honourable, ethical sportsmanship.
Rubbish! The Olympic games have come to be the equivalent of war without weapons (See 1980 and 1984 for prime examples) and the old adage says clearly that ALL is fair in love and war. So…
Yep! Well said, I totally hated this move
Marissa dick!!!?? Cheat,cheat, gouti never win!!
They really need to have a truthful satire competition in the olympics.. so Lasana could ensure a gold for TT, and still he mighn’t get funding… lol
??
Well I will surely be funding him all the way eh. hahahaha
Hahaha
Lasana I will miss this series after the Olympics. Great points about Jehue and Njisane.
COngratulations in order for yesterday’s performances from all our track stars. I am very proud of you and Michelle you did it like a boss. Great performance.
Good stuff. By the way, it is not the first and probably not the last time an athlete would have finished a race with a dive man. Definitely within rules, so no issue to me.
Not the first time. But i still think it could potentially be dangerous.
110m hurdles in this Olympics
It happened before this Olympics too Brian. And it was an American athlete doing it to a Bahamian then. My point still stands. It is my opinion on that.
Administrators, to me, have to consider the safety of the athlete at all times.
I think in youth games, it is more of an administrator issue. However, grown ups know the risks and everything cannot be legislated. Agreeing to disagree on this one, but let’s see if the powers that be, see a need to change.
Grown ups have to wear shin pads (in some sports) or seat belts while driving, etc. I won’t wait for someone’s dive to go wrong to make the change.
We agree to disagree.
Lasana you eh play you is ah boss nah. Could’t stop laughing. Oh gorm!!