Allen Stanford debacle confirms sport is a whore

As the whole Sir Allen Stanford business goes up in smoke and he becomes the latest billionaire lurking behind an impenetrable thicket of alleged lies, let's not blame poor alleged Sir A for being a monumental power-drunk, publicity-crazed vulgarian who doesn't know a doosra from a nurdle, says Simon Barnes in the Times. That's just the way he is.

When a billionaire comes a-calling, sport doesn't waste its precious time by saying, “I'm not that kind of girl.” No, one whiff of the inside of a fat wallet and sport is flat on its back with it's legs in the air, shouting: “Come and get it.”

Andy Bull in his Guardian blog says the rise and fall of Stanford was full of bluster and shady dealings, and that warning signs showed his empire was built on 'threats and innuendos'.