Free Republic

The sports journalism community is mourning the sudden passing of Mike Dickson, a prominent figure in tennis reporting. Dickson, who was set to celebrate his 60th birthday on January 27, died suddenly while in Melbourne for the Australian Open. The news of his death was confirmed through a social media post by his wife and children. "We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and Dad, Mike, has collapsed and died while in Melbourne for the Aus Open," read the message shared via Dickson's X account. "For 38 years, he lived his dream covering sport all over the world....

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have thought about leaving Britain after the London bombings, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. The figure illustrates how widespread fears are of an anti-Muslim backlash following the July 7 bombings which were carried out by British born suicide bombers. The poll also shows that tens of thousands of Muslims have suffered from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.

Well, that time has come for me. I’m leaving FR. However, I do not consider this an “opus”, as I am NOT going to use it to rehash old slights or arguments, or to give my personal opinion of what “should be done around here”. As has been so often pointed out, this is Jim Robinson’s site, and he runs it as he sees fit. Rather, all I’m going to do here is give a general reason for my departure, and say a hearty-but-sad “GOODBYE!” to all the folks here who have enriched my life in the past four years....