2014 Commonwealth Games preview edition - out now!

It’s been hard to know where to look lately. Between the deeds of our bright new tennis hopes on the grass of Wimbledon, the brilliant spectacle of the FIFA World Cup (and our own lads’ fine showing) in Brazil, footy stoushes, Origin, plus a (pardon the pun) stream of left-field stories involving players in urinals and court docks, an honest sports nut might be looking for a breather. Well, forget about that. The Commonwealth Games are on us this month, which means time in the sun for our other species of athletes.

I’ve seen a few Comm Games in the 22 years I’ve been working on this magazine. Sure, they’re second-tier behind the Olympics or the respective world championships in any of those sports, but here’s the thing: virtually no one (except the athletes themselves) seems to care too much about them, and hardcore sporters downplay them – until the gun goes off on the first event. Suddenly, everyone in the land is paying close attention.

You’ll be ahead of the Games after getting stuck into this issue. Walking encyclopaedia Travis Cranley runs us through every sport, detailing our best Aussie chances for gold. And isn’t gold what it’s all about?

Well, no, actually. The Commonwealth Games have a different feel to them – and not just because we get to win a lot. I dunno: you don’t have to be royalist to get a buzz at the friendly atmosphere that surrounds this event. Bruce would say it’s something “special”, and he’d be right.

Let’s hope a few of our stars get to shine again, like our cover man James Magnussen. Things went off the rails back there in London 2012; it appears to us that he’s steadily winning back a public shocked by the antics and arrogance reported about our blokey swimming stars back then. We wish him well. But we also wish Cameron McEvoy well. Heard of him? Maybe not. But he’s been cleaning the Missile’s clock in each of their meetings so far this year. It will be a classic stoush in the 100. Get up to speed with Jeff Centenera’s article.

Of course we would never overlook footy at this time of year. You’ll find some ripping redemption stories across three codes inside. In the meantime, play on.