So we kind of got the feeling that many of you found columns by footballers a bit dull.
When I use the word column, in many cases they were "ghosted" columns - that is to say one of our journalists conducts an interview and then writes up what was said into an article.
We always made it clear this was the case, with the "ghost" journalist receiving a credit at the foot of the piece. And all of the footballer's words were original, just perhaps arranged in a slightly different way so they made more sense.
That didn't always meet with your approval, so it was why we launched our first blog written by a real-life footballer!
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Hello everyone and welcome to a new series of Inside Sport.
We're back after what must be one of the best summers of sport ever. Gabby has been to meet triple Olympic cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy to see how he's coping with his new found fame - he's even big in Japan as we found on the streets of Edinburgh (do tune in to find out what I mean).
Gabby will also be sorting through double-gold swimming medallist swimmer Becky Adlington's shoe cupboard. Gabby has her eyes on those glittering Jimmy Choos, though I'm not sure she and Becky are the same size.
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So I was telling you that I had been told there was no chance of a hurricane in Louisville... well that was my first mistake.
We were delayed in Chicago en route to Kentucky for 18 hours as the effects of Hurricane Ike swept up the States and, as you probably know, there was some damage to the course as a result. The media centre threatened to take off in the direction of Indiana, the place was closed and our efforts to get things ready were delayed by 24 hours. This was bad on so many levels!
But thanks to the sterling efforts of our engineering team we seem to be back on track with just a couple of hours to go till it all gets under way (touching all available wood).
We were still testing things up until Thursday evening; making sure our microphones worked at all four corners of the course, listening through to 24 press conferences and interviews with all the players and wondering what on earth Nick Faldo had been talking about!
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I don't know about you, but the Ryder Cup is my favourite sporting event of the lot.
While the Cheltenham Festival is full of triumph and heartache, a Test match is filled with nuance and intrigue, and the Olympics is sporting excellence personified, the Ryder Cup is a combination of all of that and more.
It grabs you by the throat on a cool Friday morning and doesn't let go until dusk on the Sunday evening; three days of unremitting pressure, drama and skill that can be won by the smallest of margins and lost by the slightest mistake.
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A quick update on two scheduling issues that have been prompting a lot of e-mail and debate.
First, the Paralympics. Some people have been telling us they don't think we're offering enough coverage - especially compared with the Olympics themselves. In fairness, we're actually among the world leaders for Paralympic coverage: very few global broadcasters even covered the spectacular opening ceremony, and there is no mainstream coverage at all in the United States. Our commitment to these Paralympics ranges from extensive coverage on BBC One and BBC Two on weekend afternoons through to our nightly Games Today show on BBC Two. That's then supplemented by six hours of live online streaming and red button services through the day.
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Has there ever been a crazier week in football?
After a summer of spectacular live sport, with the Euros, Wimbledon and especially the Olympics, it needed something pretty stunning to jolt us back into sports news mode.
But the last few days have certainly done that - not least for our editorial team - and for everyone else too, judging by the traffic we've had to the website in recent days.
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Here in Beijing, there's no sign of Olympic fever abating. Chinese Television is still re-running highlights from the Games; crowds still gather around the perimeter of the Olympic Green to have their photos taken with a backdrop of the Bird's Nest Stadium and there seems to be an Olympic souvenir store on every street corner doing a roaring trade. Even at Beijing Zoo, sales of the panda-like mascots seem as popular as visits to the real life Giant Pandas!
With the Opening Ceremony taking place next Saturday, Beijing is ready for Paralympic fever to take over. No sign yet of Paralympic souvenirs but the first tangible signs were the replacement a few days ago of all the Olympic banners that line the streets of the city with the Paralympic versions. Street signs have changed too with directions to Paralympic venues instead. For 'Olympic Village' read 'Paralympic Village'.
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