And I quote in full from dear old Granny:

Brendan Telfer returns to Auckland

9:24AM Sunday Apr 05, 2009

Veteran broadcaster Brendan Telfer has been transferred from Wellington to Auckland Hospital to continue his recovery after suffering a brain bleed last month.

Telfer, 58, collapsed at Wellington Airport on March 15 while on his way back to Auckland after covering the New Zealand Golf Open in Queenstown.

Tests showed that he suffered a cranial aneurysm, which involves bleeding from the brain.

Telfer has covered several Olympic Games and international netball tests for Television New Zealand.

- NZPA

Now this is great news of course … except for the Orange.

Ever since Telfer has gone into hospital, stats here have gone through the roof because:

1.  Obviously, people are concerned about his health

2. There’s been bugger all in the MSM (main stream media for those that need help)

So I suspect it’s back to anonymity for the Orange but great news for the Telf Man.

According to the Herald, Telfer appears to be on the mend which is obviously great news.

It has been amazing for me to see the overwhelming response and interest in Telfer which is obviously a credit to his contribution to sports in NZ and his longevity.

Few people get to have a 30+ year career in sports media, particularly in the day and age of transforming sports stars into sports media stars.

While it does work to an extent, what normally happens is that we get the sizzle but not the sausage.

Telfer on the other hand is less interested in the sizzle but more focussed on the “meat” of the topic (which is as bad as food puns can get).  He provides a deeper analysis of the issues compared to his colleagues and is prepared to challenge sacred cows (or in fact anything or anyone who doesn’t agree with him ).

Anyway, I look forward to having Telfer back on air on Radio Sport although it will mean this blog will revert back to anonymity … unless I can find more posts about The Telfman!

The stats show an overwhelming interest across NZ to find out more about Brendan Telfer’s health, particularly given the paucity of information on the interweb.

The Granny Herald had an updated report earlier today.

The guts of it is that he may have had a stroke:

Telfer, a presenter for Radio Sport, has had surgery but it has not been made clear if he had a stroke, which can involve bleeding within the brain.

It is understood he had an aneurism, an abnormal bulging of an artery, and bleeding on the brain.

The fact that the coma was induced at least gives some hope for a recovery.

As I made clear yesterday, I’m not a fan of Telfer’s pomposity or his tendency to have a fixed view of an issue and dismiss those that don’t agree with him.

As I also made clear yesterday, that is what makes him a perfect sports radio host – he can illicit a response without needing to manufacture anything as noted by the good old Granny:

Writing in 2005, journalist Duncan Greive quoted Mr Francis on Telfer’s dogged style: “He’s someone who can probe and delve into an issue as well as anyone working in the sports media.

“Any sportsperson making news or controversy will need to take into account that Brendan’s going to delve and find out what the real story is.”

What irks me given the massive response I can see in the stats for this tiny blog is that the Radio Sport web site has continued to display Telfer’s picture and yet there is nothing on the home page with any information about Telfer.

Frankly, it is appalling judgement on their behalf and someone needs to take responsibility for addressing this embarassment.

EDIT

There is now the opportunity to pass on a message to Telfer although still no information or updates on the home page.  At least some sign of progress.

I find Telfer opinionated, pig-headed, and a bit self-superior.

Luckily, these are all characteristics that make him a great sports radio host.

He also attempts to provide more of an analytical approach to sports radio, albeit blighted by his own clear biases.

Let’s hope he’s OK – it was looking to be a big week for the BTE as his book was about to be released.

Not that you would know anything from checking out the Radio Sport web site – not only was there no information about Telfer, but the site still promoted Telfer as being on air!!  Sort your act out Radio Sport!

EDIT @ 4pm

According to Granny, Telfer is in a coma in Wellington hospital although the coma was induced.  Still, it’s obviously a serious situation and he will hopefully recover fully from this.

And still nothing on the Radio Sport web site.