Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian sunlive.co.nz

While Sidline Sid has been an avid watcher of the television coverage of the 19th Commonwealth Games, he wonders if the four yearly event has reached its use-by date.

While the Games will be held in Scotland in four years time, the cost, and more importantly the huge security requirements, may end the Commonwealth event in the future.

The future of the Games hasn't been helped by the slip-shod preparations in India – with many facilities and venues barely ready as competition kicked off.

It is highly unlikely that New Zealand will ever host a Commonwealth Games again, which is a real shame as the country's hosting of the Games in 1950, 1974 and 1990, epitomised the true spirit of the event.

The real shame of this year's event is that the Kiwi (and many other countries) athletes and officials have been mostly confined to the ‘bubble' that is the athlete's village.

The joy of previous Games was for the participants to get out and experience and enjoy the host nation's culture. In India this has been lost because of security concerns.

However, saturation coverage by five Sky dedicated channels has provided plenty of poignant moments and high drama for Sidline Sid.

The Sunday night (our time) men's cycling road race had everything. There was plenty of Kiwi interest with the New Zealanders riding as a team to ensure that one of their ranks was on the podium of success.

While Hayden Roulston missed the gold medal by a whisker, the other Kiwi riders set up the silver medal ride. A two-man breakaway, which left the rest of the field playing cat and mouse, was orchestrated by one of the New Zealanders.

What better sight is there than three Kiwi riders in the leading bunch as the business end of the race approached? Roulston gave absolutely everything in the home straight – hitting the lead only to be run down metres from the line by an Australian rider.

One event that always provides plenty of drama is the weightlifting. There is also plenty of cat and mouse behaviour on display as the participants endeavour to upset their competitor's aspirations by continually upping the weight call. To the sounds of 'stop the clock” a lifter will up the ante by resetting the weight to be lifted.

A Nigerian lifter in one of the middleweight categories showed that tactics can go spectacularly wrong. He allowed himself to get dragged into a duel with the eventual gold medallist.

Instead of taking a path that would have guaranteed a silver or bronze, the African lifter went for three lifts at the top end of the scale; only to bomb out with nothing.

There was no more dramatic event at the women's athletics than the 100m sprint. Confusion abounded with the winner of the final stripped of the gold a couple of hours after the race for breaking at the start. To add to the high drama, news came through a couple of days later that the promoted winner had tested positive in a drug test.

Back in the Western Bay of Plenty, there will be no more exciting action this Saturday than the Bay of Plenty Steamers endeavouring to keep their ITM Cup semi-final aspirations alive at Baypark.

Seeya at the Steamers Game.