A SLOW SPORTS DAY

Since when has spelling been a sport? Well - apparently it is, judging by coverage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2007 on ESPN this weekend.
The time difference means quite often, like this morning for example, I get to see live coverage of the closing stages of US golf tournaments right about the time I wake up. But at more civilized times of the day it means there's little in the way of live sport being shown. Last week, for example, there were re-runs of some classic Wimbledon tennis matches of the past, including the likes of Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Hana Mandlikova.
But I must admit to being a little surprised seeing recorded coverage of the Spelling Bee. It's a competition for sure, but is it really a sport?