Olympic fallout

Depending on your palate, sports politics can be dry as chalk or fruity as a tangerine. For those who find it fun, the next few weeks should be interesting. The Irish Sports Council is trawling through our Sydney athletes to find their views on the "Sydney experience" and that report is due on Sports Minister Dr Jim McDaid's desk by the end of January. John Treacy has assured us that the report, which is very detailed in its questions about the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) but not so probing about the Irish Sports Council, will be made public. That is just two weeks before the OCI's a.g.m. on February 15th. Following the recent letters sent by Irish sports bodies to the International Olympic Committee complaining about the OCI and the possibility that more will follow from other federations, the a.g.m. should be fun. However, given the OCI's track record of post-Olympic a.g.m.s being closed to the press, the media will be the last to hear just what the February 15th fireworks display in Jurys hotel, Dublin was like.