Ex sports stars becoming commentators-good and bad

I thought jamie redknapp started off very badly but has come on immensly and is really good now (NOT to mention tres sexy)

sharon davies is not good bless her. i love ian wright too.

Gary linekar is good, if a little smarmy

sharoon davies is ok, but she s well respected by the swimmers and gets good access to them

helen reeves in the canoeing was truly truly awful, and should be put down

jonathan edards is easy to listen to but boring

colin jackson i cant take seriously as he gets more camp by the day

pinsent is good, but is really fat now (see my holy moly post ?)

i agree about michael johnson, he s excellent. but fark me, his fee 4 years ago was half a million. pounds that is, not dollars.

adrian moorhouse is very boring

the diving guy has a lisp and is irritating

Denise Lewis was surprisingly good but not sure she does it anymore. I also like Jonathan Edwards and Steve Cram - they seem to know their stuff and manage to get the atmosphere across.

The ex-blue peter/sports star who was commentating on the ladies gymnastics. his sterling work for the bars clinches it for me:

"ooh! ah! eek! ouch!"

none of this personal best/half pike/competition history stuff that the other commentators talk about, he seems to approach it as if he is still sitting in his living room.

i really don't like sharon davis (?). ok, i know she was a very good swimmer, but her post-race interviewing could be improved. at the weekend, she interviewed one GB guy and her opening gambit was essentially "that wasn't very good, was it?" even though he qualified for the next round.

I'm always a bit confused by Sharon Davies, especially her outfits which seem to be strange combinations of swimsuit-style and early 90s dresses.

Half a million? Goodness. I wonder how much he's charging this time? I hope they get good value out of him, I'd have him commentating on everything even slightly athletic-y for that money ?.

Adrian Moorhouse is boring isn't he? I liked the other guy commentating on Adlington's race because he got so excited. And you're so right about Colin Jackson ?

I'm not keen on Steve Cram, he always seems to be complaining about something. Not exactly a little ray of sunshine - unlike Shirley Robertson; I've only seen her doing pieces to camera rather thank commentating, but she seems promising.

Damon Hill was really good during the Hungarian grand prix. It made such a change as Ted Kravitz and Mark Blundell can get the comentary spectacularly wrong.

Colin jackson makes me laugh. when he was competing, he was all gruff-voiced and macho. now he s out of the closet, he s almost skipping around the studio singing judy garland songs and doing the choreography from "YMCA"

I used to want to marry colin Jackson. he has sucha beautiful face. little did I know eh?

Colin jackson is gay?!

i am so slow on the uptake. ? i was aware of him being a little camper than i remembered, but obviously missed the bulletin.

i still think he's lovely.

i couldnt disagree more. i thought he was boring, dull, not engaging in any way. i think blundell is a tosser anyway, but at least brundle is good on the grid.

F1 commentary has never been the same since James Hunt died.

Youre not alone, its a revelation to me too, I didnt know he was gay!

he was also the last true driver who was immensely talented, but lived like a rock star. neve rmind this early bed and working out nonesense. bring on the women, the booze, the fags and the bars ?

i cant believe those who say they didnt know colin jackson is gay. fark me ?. what more would he need to do? wear a leather cap, chains and chaps and be hanging out of the back of john inverdale? ?

Ian Wright annoys the hell out of me when he's presenting (can you tell I was watching the repeat of Gladiators last night?!). He needs to learn to speak properly - he should NOT be on television presenting, especially on a programme that children watch. I lost count of the amount of times I shouted at him through the television. He doesn't sound his Ds or his Ts and speaks like an uneducated idiot! Oh and he shouts too much instead of just speaking normally. Grrrrr

Colin Jackson is not Gay. I thought that was made public back in March?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-529649/Im-gay-I-like-single-says-Olympic-star-Colin-Jackson.html

Admittedly Daily Mail though so obviously not reliable ?

i can assure you (not from personal experience ?) that *apparently* he is.

not that it makes any difference to anything of course.

"i m not gay, i prefer to be single". ?

I think Ian Wright is great when at the England games, real passion.

Also, I am loving John Macnroe, always interesting and always honest.

Other than that, most of them are average or irritating

I agree re mcenroe, i think he s excellent

ian wright on the other hand. god he s irritating. he doesnt speak properly, he s thick, his clothes look ridiculous and he offers up about as much insight as an amoeba at a dinner party.

Colin Jackson's partner is allegedly thingy Foster, him what carried the flag in the opening ceremony.

Wimbledon was worth watching for McEnroe alone. Tim Henman is as dull in the commentary box as he was on the court.

Shocking - so the daily mail was wrong on two counts - colin jackson is gay and he isn't single?

I'm going to have to have a lie down after all these revelations.

But not before I agree with everyone who dislikes ian wright. I think he's an awful commentator. I've never heard him add any insight into any match/gladiotors. Eejit. He should have stuck with making fat kids exercise.

Noooo, Mark Foster can't be gay. He's one of my secret crushes.

he's as gay as a lord and has been seeing jackson for years ?

You'd think working in the environment I do my gaydar might be a bit more finely tuned - or maybe it's just that I spend so much time with camp men that I don't notice it any more.

I didnt know he was gay either...

I have been enlightened - re jackson and foster - is it really true???

boohoooo all the handsome men are gay

Roger Black isnt is ?

it's just the way they make such big errors during the race. I've lost count of how many times I've yelled at the tv when they have said stupid things like Alonso just pitting when it's obviously a Honda.

Don't worry he ain't gay as he is too in love with himself to have room for anyone else! Actually, he did always have a fair few girls on the go when I used to know him. Re Ian Wright - he is awful and I can't believe the BBC still use him, especially after his rather "non-pc" slip-up in the last World Cup.

Roger Black isn't gay - he's been married at least once (not that that necessarily precludes you but....)

As for commentators/pundits, I really like Michael Lynagh for rugby - Sean Fitzpatrick is good but gets far too annoyed if NZ lose. Stuart Barnes has good days and bad days but isn't bad either.