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26th August 2008

TALKING A GOOD GAME

"The one thing I really wanted from this Olympics was to get on the Jonathan Ross show."
British cyclist Bradley Wiggins after winning the men's individual and team pursuit.

"I was in the laundry and I realised I was standing right next to [Rafael] Nadal. I didn't bother him but he was shoving all his colours and whites in together. I really wanted to say, 'Dude, you're going to have a nightmare with that. You can't just put the whole bag in - there are reds in with whites'. But what can you do?"
Fellow cyclist Jamie Staff who won gold for Britain in the team sprint.

"I don't want to make excuses but I've not had the chance to do any proper training for this, I've been ill and I've had to cut back on a lot."
Sprinter Marlon Devonish steering clear of making any excuses.

DODGY REFEREEING LEAVES A SOUR TASTE IN THE MOUTH

The Olympic Games in China has been an unprecedented success, however some of the refereeing on show could have been perceived as being slightly biased towards the powerful home nation.

Sarah Stevenson was almost robbed of a medal when she was adjudged to have lost to China's Chen Zhong in the taekwondo quarter finals. Fortunately the decision was eventually overturned and the Brit took bronze.

Anyone who got up early for the boxing on Sunday morning would have seen Ireland's gold medal hope Kenny Egan lose to China's Zhang Xiaoping. Again it looked like the referees had missed some of Egan's punches at pivotal moments of the bout.

Of course this may be just down to the home advantage China have at the Games. Closer to home, referees are often swayed by the large crowds at Parkhead and Ibrox into making questionable decisions. However when you see athletes who have trained hard for the past four years lose out on their chance of a medal because of bad officiating it is extremely disappointing.

DONS CONTINUE FINE RECORD AGAINST GERS

Derek Young's equaliser just before half-time cancelled out David Weir's opener and ensured Aberdeen would continue their impressive home record against Rangers.

The visitors were denied a goal in the closing stages when DaMarcus Beasley's strike was ruled out for offside but the Red Army will feel the Dons deserved a share of the spoils.

Elsewhere Shaun Maloney marked his return to Celtic with an impressive display, setting up two goals in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Falkirk as the Hoops prepare for next week's Old Firm match.

Kilmarnock are looking impressive this season as they defeated Hamilton Accies 1-0. Jim Jefferies' side are yet to concede a goal this season and will be a tough test for any side to break down.

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