Entertainment picks: Bewitched by sporting chances

TV
I'll watch almost any sport. I love it. Although shooting is good only if you're squeezing the trigger. And get rid of synchronised swimming - what a silly creation.

But plonk me in front of the 50km walk, the lawn bowls or the diving, and I'll watch them. Those three sports, and many others, are just some coming up in the second week of Commonwealth Games coverage on TV One.

Take the 50km walk ,for example. Most of you probably can't think of anything worse to watch. But the drama of that sport is anything but boring. Similar to the marathon and triathlon, where else do you get an athlete whose body is convulsing uncontrollably because he or she wants to, but can't, go on any further. Or when a walker is in first place, puts a foot wrong and is red-carded out of the race with the finish line in sight, like Australian Jane Saville was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Now, that's sporting drama at its best, and it just creeps up on you like the lactic acid in those walkers' legs.

And bowls. Well, there's nothing like seeing a big black object hurtling violently towards some delicately poised balls at the other end of the green. Even if it misses, it's still spectacular when it thuds into the grass bank.

And I've been intrigued by diving since American Greg Louganis hit his head on the springboard at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It must have hurt, but the reigning world champion - considered the world's greatest diver - got back on the board and won gold.

At the Melbourne games, check out the 10m platform (women's final Thursday/men's final Saturday) which is the glamour diving event and more of a daredevil's domain than one for a graceful athlete.

Other highlights at the Games this week include Beatrice Faumuina in the discus final (tomorrow), Valerie Vili in the shotput final (Wednesday), golden girl Sarah Ulmer in the individual road time trial (tomorrow) and, for pure spectacle, you can't go past the high jump (Wednesday/Thursday) and pole vault (Friday/Saturday).

Also, don't feel obliged to watch the closing ceremony. I mean a flying tram at the opening ceremony? Who's idea was that?

Music
Last week was the start of what can only be labelled gig season - a two-month onslaught of concerts that started with Dinosaur Jr and Kanye West and stretches through to May when Korn and Simple Minds play.

Between, there's something for everyone, including Bob's son Damian Marley, hip-hop veterans Public Enemy, singer/songwriter David Gray, dramatic Finnish rockers H.I.M., Swedish metallers Opeth, our own Bic Runga, and of course, the Rolling Stones.

And James Blunt and Scott Stapp (ex-Creed) are playing gigs, too. Great.

This week, though, starts with a visit from those primitive punks, the Misfits at the Kings Arms tomorrow night.

Then Friday sees Washington DC band Weird War play the same venue. These guys are like Prince and Funkadelic meets a raunchy rock band you can dance to, so it's fun stuff and their drummer is from sonic noise rockers Trans Am.

Also on Friday is the album release party at the Odeon Lounge for Simon Comber's solo album, Pre-Pill Love, which features collaborations with Edmund Cake (Bressa Creting Cake), Graeme Downes (The Verlaines) and Li-Ming Hu (The Tokey Tones).

And Saturday is a biggie. First up there's Edgefest (with P.O.D., Thirsty Merc, Elemeno P, Living End, Frontline, Savage and Aaradhna, and Nesian Mystik) at the Supertop, and hip-hop stars De La Soul play the Studio.

And lastly, for a bit of a jump around, head to the Kings Arms for straight-up, hard-hitting punk rockers, the Bouncing Souls. They're a bunch of good-time boys from New Jersey who have been at it for more than 18 years. So, one thing's for sure, they will be tight.

Movies
At the movies this week there's Cry Wolf which is one of those teen thriller, scary movie type films. When a local kid is murdered, several high-school students try to scare their classmates by spreading internet rumours that a serial killer known as the Wolf is on the loose. But then people start turning up dead ...

The new Jennifer Aniston film Derailed also starts Thursday. It's about Charles, a married ad man, played by Clive Owen, who meets Lucinda (Aniston) on his morning commute and, what do you know, they start having an affair. But things turn from hot to nasty when they are blackmailed.

Don't expect too much from those two movies, but Lord Of War is a more solid bet. Nicholas Cage plays global arms dealer Yuri Orlov who finds himself up against nosy Interpol agent, Jack Valentine, played by Ethan Hawke.

At Rialto cinemas this week is After Midnight, a love story about the relationship between silent movie addict, Martino, and the enchanting Amanda who is on the run from the police.

Theatre
The Orderly (starts Wednesday at the Herald Theatre) is a new play by Michael Downey which was inspired by a hospital orderly who died in 2003. During the week, Peter is an orderly and at the weekend he is a Saxon warrior. He is preparing for the biggest re-enactment battle his group has done but one long day at the hospital will change his life forever.

And hurry, Mr Marmalade at the Silo Theatre is worth checking out before it ends.