Anybody on here actually considered enjoying life and not whinging about the financials of the Olympics?

Life is short and if an Olympics can take place and your main focus can be on price per medal then I pity your negative existence.

He might be referring to the very expensive drugs now available to prevent contracting the disease in the first place , a bit like a contraceptive

Like most sports our Olympic hopes are based on gambling

Condoms?

If you keep pushing monies into the NHS where is the incentive for driving operational efficiencies? If its funding remained constant and the NHS became 5% more efficient than the status quo would remain? Just throwing more money at things isn't always the answer. Perhaps if we encouraged its customers to stop abusing the service the level of funding wouldn't need to be so high. Whenever people see the service as free they will treat with that mind set. If they miss an appointment they don't care because mentally they think it has no value.

The NHS employs some of the cleverest people in the UK - these people are the clinical staff, perhaps if we employed the same calibre of people in the administration of the NHS then perhaps it would present itself as a completely different organisation. If you go in for an operation your notes appear as reams of paper - why? what is wrong with electronic storage of data - just think of the saving on paper. Can the not update your blood pressure reading on an I Pad/tablet?

I have no objection to people getting treated for Aids - I would prefer that young people got a meningitis jabs but that is the compromises the NHS has make and it comes back to my point of what do you want the NHS to provide. Do we want somebody who is drunk got in a fight needs some stitches be able to rock up to A&E and be out in 2 hours. Do we want all men who start losing their hair to be offered a free hair transplant etc. where do you stop?

My experiences of using the NHS have always been good - I think it is one of the greatest institutions this country has and as a nation we should be very proud of. Is it run as efficiently as could be - its not even close to what it could be.

I trust that is an acceptance on your part that the third sentence was correct then? You started throwing insults as usual not me.

No you interpreted the Delanney comment in the way you wanted as it suited your agenda not as it was written

Why do we have a salary cap in RL? - two main reason, one to stop clubs over spending and to stop one team having all the best players.

Was RL in a great place when Wigan were winning everything - outside of Wigan most would agree not really.

If we continue to increase funding on elite sport there is a chance you will kill the sport itself. SKY's dominance in cycling is making road cycling less attractive to sponsors because they know if SKY really want to they can dominate any of the major tours. If they wanted to target the classics they could easily augment their squad with the appropriate riders they have such a large budget.

If you were a budding sportsman in the USA would you choose cycling when you know your opportunities at Olympic level are non existent due to the comparative levels of investment in your future.

The Olympics have been great - its great to see team GB winning loads of medals IMO we just need to temper that with a touch of realism and avoid having nobody to compete against.

On another note good luck to Yorkshire in the 20/20 finals today

Sadly, the fact that Yorkshire are better-resourced than Durham means I'll be able to take no joy in proceedings should they win.

and that bloody Usain Bolt with all his sponsorship deals winning all those medals, it's about time he ran with his laces tied together.

Most absurd thing I've ever heard, why drive down the standard at the top rather than set a standard for those below to aspire to?! Should Wigan have been told they can't be full time professionals as it wasn't fair, of course not now the whole league is full time.

Do Yorkshire spend more money on their squad than Durham?

Yorkshire's focus is on winning the championship their squad is built around delivering that, they have lost 3 games in 4 years.

They don't have an overseas specialist and they have been pretty poor in 20/20 only the second time they reached the finals - so would suggest some joy if they win it!!

Not difficult to fathom it out really is it?

Clearwing, you do know that cricket is also a salary capped sport don't you?
Also I'd bet that Yorkshire's current deficit (in excess of £24m) is worse than Durham's.
Durham's woes lie firmly at the feet of the ECB in conjunction with Sport England (I believe) who insisted as part of the deal to fund the development of the Riverside Stadium that they bid to hold test matches at the ground. Poor sales & bad weather meant that the costs of that could never be recouped & they don't have a sugar daddy (Colin Graves) to bail them out.

Sigh. It would seem it is. My throwaway comment was a light-hearted dig at some of the moaning at the way the GB Olympic effort has been funded. Still, at least Seth twigged where I was coming from.