Right from his first column on Tim Bickerstaff continued in the
tradition that stood him in such good stead during his talkback days --
be contentious and call it how you see it.
Never one for pussy-footing around, Bickers regularly called it as he
saw it -- a quality so often lacking in journalism these days but one
that translated well to his new-found medium of the Internet.
As a columnist he had his pet hates -- Netball adminstrators -- and his
regular jibes at the Warriors didn't win him any fans in the league camp.
But then he could also be unashamedly positive and back people for the
honours overdue to them. This time two years ago Tim was busy
proclaiming why Lance O'Sullivan, our most successful jockey, should
be named Sportsman of the Year.
In that column Bickers lambasted the judging academy for "being too far
up themselves" to rate racing as a bona-fide sport. Being a bit of a
gambling man, Bickers also reckoned that O'Sullivan would never get the
nod because "racing" is a dirty word and with betting comes the
inevitable "corruption".
Bickers made a great case for O'Sullivan being given the highest honour
in sport in 1997. He'd already busted his own record with over 160
winners and won the premiership a record 10 times. As it happens the
judging academy held steadfast in their belief that it's the horse that
does the work and Bickers was vindicated again.
He then went on to bag the NBR's Rich List of NZ Sportsmen. He
highlighted the potential for inaccuracy in the estimates of sporting
wealth and got stuck into Kiwi sailer Chris Dixon for demanding $5,000
for an on-air interview from him back when KZ7 was wowing the NZ public
with some great sailing off Fremantle. And this from a guy said to be
worth $NZ13 million. The paradox was not lost on Bickers.
And sometimes he'd come out with what could only be described as a true
scoop -- like the column that detailed the massive blow-out in spending
on the pre-match hoopla provided by Mr Ray Columbus before the All
Blacks versus Boks test at Eden Park in August 1997.
Expecting the figure to be around $5,000, Tim detailed the bill of $61,369 plus a GST component of $7,671.00.
The five grand just covered Ray Columbus' management fee with the
biggest ticket item being $18,000 for a new stage. Alarming stuff, but
nothing new for Bickers and his dedicated audience who by now had
regularly come to expect the contentious and the revelatory twice a week
from the man who, through his nouse and knowledge, has managed to
esconce himself pretty much permanently in his huge home in rural
Ramarama, south of Auckland.
With the sporting appetite that Bickers managed it was little wonder
then that last year he should release on to the stage his book full of
skeletons rattling in the closet, Heroes and Villains. Bickers himself wrote in a subsequent column that
"Veteran writer Lindsay Knight best summed up the book in The
Dominion when, he said, "Bickerstaff has been brutally honest,
perhaps too much so for those who prefer skeletons to remain in cupboards"."
We liked Bickers like that. Blunt and honest. Sadly he's decided to call
it a day and concentrate his energy on the other projects that fill up
his life. Good luck Tim.
Tell
us what you thought of Bickers ...
