What have you done Rodney?

I felt moved to write a word of sympathy for Rodney Marsh, who got sacked from his job presenting Sky Sports football for a throwaway quip:

The ex-Manchester City striker, 60, joked David Beckham had turned down a move to Newcastle United because of trouble with the "Toon Army in Asia".

Alright, awful pun, but that is presumably not the sackable offence.

A spokesman for the channel described the joke as "offensive and inexcusable".

This seems a bit harsh. I appreciate it is not the thing to be quipping about, but surely getting Rodney to apologise would have done. I think he has the right to feel quite aggreived about receiving his P45.

Meanwhile, the Carnival is just kicking off, and among the upcoming festivities is a live performance by the Thelonius Monk ensemble. I thought the great man passed away in 1982, but then there are similar rumours about Elvis...

posted by Jim @ 4:45 PM