Almanac Golf: Then along came Smith …

Australian golfer Cameron Smith wins the 2022 British Open reminding Rick Newbery of many memories as he explains.

Almanac Footy (History): 40 Years Ago (plus 3 days)

Here’s one for the historically minded. Rick Newbury poses a question about the Round 8 Sydney v Collingwood clash from May 1982.

Almanac Trivia: 101, not just about dalmatians…

Rick Newbery has a seemingly simple numerical trivia question for the Almanackers…who will work it out first?

Attention Collingwood amateur historians

Rick is having trouble counting how many coaches Collingwood has had. Can you help him out?

Almanac Footy – Essendon in Finals: More fun facts

Rick Newbery has plenty more to add to the headline figure of 6,205 days without a finals win for Essendon. Some interesting facts abound, but you might want to look away now, Dons fans…

Almanac Tennis – Has Kooyong had the gong?

During The Kooyong Classic, Rick checks out Melbourne’s legendary former tennis home and all its memories. but is disappointed by what he sees, acknowledging the glory days of the past have well and truly faded.

A Lament for the Absolutely Lamentable – Carlton v The Fine Young Cannibals

Rick N takes us back to when Carlton were A Good Thing, but now the team just Drives Me (him) Crazy.

Almanac Teams: You tell me… What does a player need to qualify for this team?

Can you solve Rick’s riddle? What ties these players together to form this team?

Almanac Funny Teams: A Right Pack Of Girls

Rick Newbery selects a team of players who have surnames that are also female names. Can you add any?

Whatever happened to ‘Statler and Waldorf’?

Whatever happened to the two old blokes who used to sit behind the goals at the SCG and shake their heads in disbelief every time Tilt Carter was pinged for a push in the back? And what other memories of genuine characters in the crowd do Knackers have?

It’s full time (in the football stadium of my heart)

Rick N’s interest in footy is waning, and it’s not just because of the fortunes of his Blues.

Scanlens footy card week….AKA ‘The Trade Period’

  by Rick Newbery Personally I find this part of The AFL Year an absolute bore. I wish I could just sleep through this week of bluff, bluster and bulldust, and somebody wakes me up when it’s over and tells me who my club picked up, who we lost and what draft picks (if any) [Read more]

Other coaching upheavals

  by Rick Newbery Actually, it’s hard to justify calling the removal of Tim Nielsen an upheaval, esp in comparison with the ongoing Ross Lyon saga – seeing as the only heaving up from most cricket followers would have happened if Timbo had NOT been given the bum’s rush straight after Hilditch. But who should [Read more]

Geish unleashes

I had the same feeling reading about ‘the AFL’s second most annoying Jeff’ and his pontifical ruling on Ballantyne’s kick, as I did in February when I heard about the Big A admitting that the sole purpose of the pre-season mickey mouse comp was to hog the headlines. What many had long suspected is now [Read more]

Memo Blues: Win, and kill off the new anti-Ratts swarm NOW

On The Gruen Transfer last night Russell Howcroft said ‘all advertising works, just some works better’. I feel the same about talk-back radio and ‘comment’ facilities on news sites: it’s all at least somewhat annoying. And football talk-back is generally more than ‘somewhat’. Cicadas are responsible for that God-awful racket you hear in the summer, at [Read more]

Enough is enough! Boycott the AFL website!

by Rick Newbery I know cyberspace is supposed to be infinite but that doesn’t excuse the wanton waste of it. And that is precisely what the AFL continues to do.   I am sick and tired of losing use of my net connection for five or ten minutes while the bloated AFL site loads. It [Read more]

Please Help Find Lost Answer to Trivia Question

Glenn Coleman in the 80s and 90s played between 60 and 70 games for each of Fitzroy, Sydney and Footscray. Only one other player has matched that feat of playing 50 matches at each of three clubs. I have been told the answer but I’m stuffed if I can remember. With the help of the [Read more]

Double trouble for Saints on Friday

If the pattern established by recent Saints-Cats clashes continue, Roscoe and company have a confidence-sapping eight-goal walloping to contemplate on Friday night. Middle of last year, St K beat Ceelong by six points oal in the classic Round 15 encounter. Then in the Grand Final Geelong turned the tables by 12 points, or two goals. [Read more]

It was twenty years ago this week…..

Listening to the dulcet tones of Sinead O’Connor and ‘Nothing Compares To You’ which Mr DJ informed us was top of the charts exactly 20 years ago, I was suddenly filled with foreboding about the Carlton-Geelong clash on Friday night – mostly AT the admittedly unlikely prospect of a Blues win.

Tennis: My big day out at the Open

To anybody who saw Dan Silkstone’s ‘Around Melbourne Park in Six Hours’ report in Saturday’s Age my effort might seem like a pretty feeble imitation, but here goes: My day at the Open on Friday kicked off with Peter Luczak and an Oz of Indian background called Rameez Junaid play German Phillip Marx and Slovak [Read more]