Run faster than your neighbour, throw sticks and stones further than yer man, jump higher and longer than yer wan. Throw in a 'my daddy's better than your daddy' argument and you're catapulted back into the playground with your mates, preparing for school sports day. Come to think of it, the lads and lassie (there was always one) who came out on top during On the Air's heyday were usually those who had downed a couple of pre-competition fizzy drinks.

One step ahead of the testers, those blighters never had to pee into a container. The drugs issue was never far from the surface during RTE's European Athletics Championships. Early in the week, positive remarks about the state of the sport were as rare as a chocaholic hen's tooth. "It's a tough business trying to sell our sport when you've people like him [Linford Christie] involved, " said panellist Jerry Kiernan. 'Chairman of the Boards' Eamon Coghlan, who has that annoying knack of referring to himself in the third person, bemoaned the fact that Ireland's indoor facilities are abysmal.

Kiernan even blamed the schools system for allowing Gaelic games and soccer to "masquerade as physical education".

On Tuesday, there was a concerted effort to lighten the mood. "Let's enjoy ourselves, " said O'Herlihy at the start of the programme, unaware the cameras were already rolling. Kiernan took the bait and was soon saying he thought Irish high jumper Deirdre Ryan was "very stylish and very good to look at, Bill". O'Herlihy, shuffling his papers with excitement, went further: "She's a real glamour girl for Irish athletics, isn't she? Now, that might not be a right pb (sic) thing to say. However, she's gorgeous, I think.

Let's turn now to the heptathlon and there's some really attractive women in that as well, and wonderful athletes." A delighted Kiernan replied, "You're right, Bill, on both scores, there are wonderful athletes and [they're] very pleasing on the eye.

The obvious certainty here was Carolina Kluft. . ."

The lovely Sonia O'Sullivan restored a bit of order during Friday's coverage.

O'Herlihy asked Ireland's greatest athlete was there any truth in the rumour that she was planning to run in the 2012 Olympic marathon at the age of 43.

"You've obviously been reading the internet, " said our Sonia. "I think I probably said that, you know, in conversation and it kind of got taken up and flew around the world a bit too quick for my liking." Pesky internet.

"But you never know, " she added.

"We'll have to wait and see."

After watching Derval O'Rourke become only the second Irish woman in history to win a European medal, the original trailblazer struggled to hold it together. "It gives you goose bumps on the back of your neck. It's very emotional watching something like that, " said O'Sullivan, before the tears kicked in on the home straight. "That's what happens when you watch sport, I think.

Something really close. She's from Cork, from Ireland." O'Herlihy couldn't control his excitement either, wondering what it would do for athletics in this country, wanting to relive the race through O'Sullivan's eyes and then looking forward to more medals at last night's relay race. What a difference a week makes.

Meanwhile, BBC 2 gave us a taste of Milk Cup Fever from Northern Ireland on Wednesday. Europe's leading youths soccer tournament has played host to the likes of Damien Duff, David Beckham, Steve Staunton, Nicky Byrne (Leeds United's goalkeeper before Louis Walsh gave him a proper career in Westlife) and Robbie Fowler over the years and this show introduced us to a few of the real talents who'll soon be playing for the Chelsea reserves.

There was USA captain Dax McCarty, a naturally gifted midfielder; Burnley's Kyle Lafferty, the good-touch-for-a-bigman striker who has already been called up to the Northern Ireland squad; and local lad Craig Cathcart, who captained Manchester United at the tournament.

We also saw a true legend in the making.

Little Rhys McQuigg, who was one of Brazil's mascots for the World Cup match against Australia, did an impressive report on Cherry Orchard's 4-3 penalty defeat to Rapid Vienna.

The next Jackie Fullerton roared into the camera, "It's goodnight Vienna for Cherry Orchard." Good man, Rhys. For the record, Swindon Town won the Junior section, Spartak Moscow the Premier tournament, and Paraguay were the Elite winners.

The standout section, though, was when the Otago side from New Zealand performed the Haka for the cameras.

Not since Boyzone debuted on The Late, Late Show has a bunch of teenagers been so scarily outstanding in performing their national dance.

More of this kind of stuff please, BBC.