racers and royals 8,711 Posted October 22, 2019 Wikipedia report that Alan was a big Speedway fan and he and the BBC covered the Wembley finals from 55 to 69 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wealdstone 3,454 Posted October 22, 2019 Alan Weeks was mainly an Ice Hockey man associated with Brighton Tigers. Speedway on TV was in the early days a disaster due to the technology available at the time. One memory I have is that BBC Sportsview showed live during the programme a meeting from Wembley v Wimbledon one heat Brian Crutcher and Tommy Price v Ronnie Moore and Barry Briggs, resulting in 5 -1 to Wembley. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted October 22, 2019 Just now, racers and royals said: Wikipedia report that Alan was a big Speedway fan and he and the BBC covered the Wembley finals from 55 to 69 The King's Lynn Linnets faux pas was presumably just a momentary lapse. It's no surprise, if Wikipedia is accurate, given the links between ice hockey and speedway, especially in our 'golden age'. Some here may not be aware that the Speedway Star used to carry ice hockey news and stories. I've seen it in early 1960s issues. Alan was expert at dealing with the minor sports so was valuable to the Beeb. I was used in the same way by Screen Sport for a while - until the night they had me do Thai kick boxing in Amsterdam and my promised co-commentator had already finished six bottles before I got there.....Tractor pulling's another nightmare memory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orion 7,610 Posted October 23, 2019 19 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: Alan was expert at dealing with the minor sports so was valuable to the Beeb. I was used in the same way by Screen Sport for a while - until the night they had me do Thai kick boxing in Amsterdam and my promised co-commentator had already finished six bottles before I got there.....Tractor pulling's another nightmare memory. zzzzz 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,631 Posted October 23, 2019 20 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: The King's Lynn Linnets faux pas was presumably just a momentary lapse. It's no surprise, if Wikipedia is accurate, given the links between ice hockey and speedway, especially in our 'golden age'. Some here may not be aware that the Speedway Star used to carry ice hockey news and stories. I've seen it in early 1960s issues. Alan was expert at dealing with the minor sports so was valuable to the Beeb. I was used in the same way by Screen Sport for a while - until the night they had me do Thai kick boxing in Amsterdam and my promised co-commentator had already finished six bottles before I got there.....Tractor pulling's another nightmare memory. For a person of your calibre I'd have thought they would have at least provided a limo!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted October 23, 2019 4 hours ago, orion said: zzzzz Sorry, I'll ask your permission in future. If I 'd known you were reading this I would have typed more slowly so your fingers and lips didn't struggle to keep up. I'll use shorter words and capitals in future. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Skidder1 said: FFord exploreror a person of your calibre I'd have thought they would have at least provided a limo!? I've never been bothered about calibre or ego. I just work when people ask me to and try to do my best for the sport I love. I wasn't that good or I'd still be doing it but for a while my whole life centred on helping speedway rather than myself. More fool me for trying since all you get is crap from time wasters like you and Orion. I put my love for the sport way above ego or money. You should try it instead of just being an online bore. Edited October 23, 2019 by RobMcCaffery 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Doctor... 1,478 Posted October 23, 2019 12 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said: I've never been bothered about calibre or ego. I just work when people ask me to and try to do my best for the sport I love. I wasn't that good or I'd still be doing it but for a while my whole life centred on helping speedway rather than myself. More fool me for trying since all you get is crap from time wasters like you and Orion. I put my love for the sport way above ego or money. You should try it instead of just being an online bore. I was previously advised i was on ignore from you so you may not see this, but anyhoo... Nothing changes here i see. It's like you're a younger version of Gustix the way you come across on here y'know that. Quite sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 23 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: Some here may not be aware that the Speedway Star used to carry ice hockey news and stories. I've seen it in early 1960s issues. The Speedway Star also carried ice hockey in the 1950s as did the old Speedway News until it was taken over by the Star. Edited October 23, 2019 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Smith 5,645 Posted October 23, 2019 This move is perfect for a none attending Speedway fan like me. Certainly won't be watching any meetings live and will just watch the highlights. Most TV meeting are abysmal and a drain to watch live with significant numbers switching off before a meeting is finished as they're so bad. If a high number of Pole's do decide to check out what the fuss is all about, it will be a very embarrassing moment for British Speedway imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orion 7,610 Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: I've never been bothered about calibre or ego. I just work when people ask me to and try to do my best for the sport I love. I wasn't that good or I'd still be doing it but for a while my whole life centred on helping speedway rather than myself. More fool me for trying since all you get is crap from time wasters like you and Orion. I put my love for the sport way above ego or money. You should try it instead of just being an online bore. I just happy to share this forum with a legend of the media world . What I like about you most is that you never go on about what you done in the past . Stay by the phone as I reckon Eurosport will be giving you a ring asap . Edited October 24, 2019 by orion 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 24, 2019 8 hours ago, Daniel Smith said: Most TV meeting are abysmal and a drain to watch live with significant numbers switching off before a meeting is finished as they're so bad. Sadly Daniel Smith I share that impression of speedway on TV. Other motorcycle TV sport appear more suited to the media. For non-speedway followers it is probably the fact there are only four participants in a race that lasts basically one minute. Non-Speedway fans watching the sport on TV want something of longer duration in order to hold their attention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iainb 4,962 Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, gustix said: Sadly Daniel Smith I share that impression of speedway on TV. Other motorcycle TV sport appear more suited to the media. For non-speedway followers it is probably the fact there are only four participants in a race that lasts basically one minute. Non-Speedway fans watching the sport on TV want something of longer duration in order to hold their attention. When live Speedway was first televised a lot of people thought and were saying that it's the perfect sport for TV with it's natural advert breaks. The trouble is that the production has never evolved since the early days of the Sky contract, in fact it's possibly devolved and is very much the same today as it was 20 odd years ago. The coverage is kept very much at a high level, with the usual questions of "what's the track like?", "are you going to make any changes to your bike?" and the trouble with that is that if the answer is anything other than "slick, patchy" or "yes" 20 years after it first being televised I still have no idea about the finer aspects of the sport because instead of digging down into this the TV producers seem more intent on plugging what's coming up in the next few weeks instead of concentrating on what's going on at the particular match they are televising, it's something that particularly annoys me when after heat 1 or 2 they're already turning their sights on to what's coming up in the future Edited October 24, 2019 by iainb 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chopper 88 Posted October 24, 2019 Could possibly mean a return to league racing on tv in aus which isnt the current case, as Eurosport do show the SEC, only issue with them is they rarely start on time and find the meeting is often part way through, is it similar in the U.K. Chopper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,631 Posted October 24, 2019 1 hour ago, chopper said: Could possibly mean a return to league racing on tv in aus which isnt the current case, as Eurosport do show the SEC, only issue with them is they rarely start on time and find the meeting is often part way through, is it similar in the U.K. Chopper That is usually at weekends when they have even more variety of sport to broadcast. Midweek speedway should be better served in 2020 - except when the Olympics, Para Olympics and Euro Footie championships are on?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
