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It was great talking to the Olympic Stadium project manager Ian Crockford the other night when the floodlights were switched on for the first time.

Ian is so passionate about the construction work and spoke with such pride about the achievements of all of his team.

As we get closer to the Games, it's important to step back and recognise how well the has done in getting these venues ready on time.

Remember Wembley and its delays? And the people I meet regularly at the Olympic Park - not just the top dogs - are so enthusiastic about their work.

What I'd like to see is the same passion and dynamism being shown by the organising committee () in 2011.

Look, I'm not saying 2012 chairman Seb Coe isn't passionate about the Games.

You couldn't meet a more dynamic man, an inspirational athlete who shows the same energy and tactical brilliance in his work as he displayed on the track in the 1970s and 1980s. And his chief executive Paul Deighton is equally as hard-working.

But what I'd like to see in the next 12 months is more risk-taking. I get the impression the cautious lawyers and the accountants have too much power in LOCOG.

And I'm not the only person who believes this. Quite a few of the partners who deal with them, admit privately that they want more risk-taking from 2012 officials.

Maybe it's because they are locked up with bankers and accountants in a Canary Wharf skyscraper. Every day they step into lifts with money men and women.

But why not start celebrating the Games now? Let's tell the world that we really want to stage them. We're being far too reserved and British about all this.

Why can't they put the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge now? Why can't they shine lights of the rings onto the Houses of Parliament now? Why don't they put them on the London Eye? Tell the world, we really care.

Why are there so few 2012 countdown clocks around London?

The BT Tower sometimes displays the number of days left but why not put clocks in Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, a better one in Stratford in east London, at the Albert Hall, at the London Eye and across the country where the football matches are being played.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has a role to play here.

Why do you see so few children wearing Olympic pins? Why don't they make special ones for the east London boroughs and give them away to every child at school?

Why wait? Let's start building the excitement now. And let's ask Londoners and Brits what they want to see at the Games, what they want at the opening ceremony, what sort of merchandise they want?

It's time to engage the whole country in the Games and not just by selling tickets but by tapping into the nation's ideas.

LOCOG needs to stop worrying about whether it's okay to use the rings here or there - or whether somebody will take them to court for financial credit if they come up with a good idea.

Be brave, guys and spread the word big time.

I expect David Cameron to announce a U-turn on the school sports partnerships row next week.

The Prime Minister is due to make a speech about Olympic legacy which will include plans for Olympic-themed sports competitions between schools.

The worry for the Government is that the idea and indeed Cameron's speech will be widely regarded as meaningless unless ministers tackle the controversial issue of funding school sports.

There's real anger in schools across the country about the £162 million fund being cut because the partnerships have helped children get a taste for all sports of sports in primary and secondary schools.

In the last few days I understand ministers have been involved in intensive talks to persuade Education Secretary Michael Gove to find a solution.

What is likely to happen by next Monday is that some money will be ringfenced for headteachers to use for school sport.

It won't be as much as the last Government's £162 million but Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is pushing for the Department of Education to make enough cash available to keep the partnerships in place.

What that would mean is coaches working on tighter budgets to keep the system going, rather than scrapping a coaching structure which has been very successful.

Some of the coaches I have spoken to say the partnerships could be kept going on less money.

Gove hasn't agreed just yet but I reckon he will before Cameron opens his mouth to talk about the legacy of the 2012 Games next week.

Remember, it was THE big promise of the bid to use the Games to increase participation. There's been more statistical evidence this week that fewer people are getting involved in sport despite the buzz of the Games.

The Government wants the to be something positive in the middle of difficult financial days --not another reminder of the cuts.

It was fascinating to see the 2012 Olympic Stadium battle between West Ham and Tottenham ending up at Prime Minister's Questions today ()

Tottenham MP David Lammy asked for support for the . He's not alone in his opposition since most Tottenham fans I've talked to are against a move to Stratford in east London.

David Cameron played the question with a straight bat, keen not get involved in supporting either of the bids.

But I understand that Tottenham officials have been impressing the with their joint bid with entertainment group AEG, the owners of the 02 Arena (formerly the Dome).

It looks like Spurs really are serious about this and it's not just a bargaining tool to make sure the redevelopment of White Hart Lane goes ahead. Funny how the club kept denying their interest to me, though, when I broke this story in July ). And funny how all those Spurs fans told me I had got the story completely wrong! They were just praying it wasn't true. I knew the club had been expressing their interest.

Nevertheless, I'm still putting my money on West Ham getting the stadium when the decision is announced by the OPLC in the New Year, even if the club looks doomed to relegation.

They have the advantage of behind them who can get special deals on loans for the cash needed to rebuild the arena for football.

West Ham are keen to point out that they could still get the money if they are relegated. This is important because it's looking more "when" rather "if" at the moment.

Only three clubs - Everton, West Brom and my beloved Coventry City have avoided relegation after spending Christmas at the bottom of the table.

It also helps West Ham that the athletics community is fully behind their bid because it guarantees the stadium also being used for track and field after the Games.

A letter signed by key Olympians such as Kelly Holmes, Roger Black and David Moorcroft was published yesterday, backing that stance. The Spurs bid, of course, doesn't guarantee this.

In the end this will come down to money - not letters from Olympians - and to who can guarantee that any financial deal will last long term. West Ham still need to convince the OPLC of this but I reckon they will.

Any parent knows there are frustrating moments when you watch a toddler wander into dangerous territory covered in stinging nettles and see the accident ahead before it even happens.

Sometimes you prevent the tears but often you end up shouting a warning and then racing over to deal with the child falling over in the stingers!

I have to say, I've felt like that frustrated parent as I've watched the Government - and particularly Education Secretary Michael Gove - deal with its plans to scrap the school sports partnerships.

They were always going to land in the stingers on this one. And today David Cameron has ordered a rethink on the plans to cut funding after so many public protests from schools and coaches at grass roots level as well as from more than 70 top athletes including Olympians Denise Lewis and Tessa Sanderson.

Mr Cameron's spokesman said today that the PM had asked Gove to look again at the decision.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Cameron said he was looking carefully at the debate that was held yesterday in the Commons involving Gove and that he would make an announcement soon.

We seem to be heading for that U-turn I predicted not so long ago. Why was it so easy to see it coming?

Well, the school sports partnerships have largely been a success and the coordinators, who have gone into schools introducing students to all sorts of new sports, are widely praised.

I did hear the odd word of frustration about the work of one of them in Hampshire the other day but it was rare criticism.

And the Government has now learned that by scrapping them, they will upset voters from all parties up and down the country - not great politics with an Olympics coming up.
Importantly, the opposition has been well-organised, involving big name athletes as well as schools. A day of action is planned for 7 December.

Cameron must have seen the problem with running back and forwards to Zurich to support the World Cup bid at the same time as causing so much frustration to sports people across the country. It ain't good politics.

The criticism wasn't just coming from political opponents like Labour's Andy Burnham and former Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell.

It was fascinating to see how respected sports writers like David Walsh in the Sunday Times and Des Kelly in the Daily Mail were given loads of space to wade into the debate at the weekend with well-informed attacks on the Government.

Sports editors don't always like letting politics on to their pages. But they did on this one.
Basically, they had all seen the danger of the stingers.

Let's see now if the Government can come up with a solution.