Well, here’s the third of our series on Billy Miller Goes to the Old VFL Grounds. This time it’s the Sardine Can, better known as Glenferrie Oval. Just don’t think Huddo, and especially not Round 1, 1972. The pain, the pain! Almanac Admin
Link: Times are strange when Dougie butts out
February 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Holy smoke! Doug Walters has given up the durries! The Guardian gets over its shock to explore the link between cricket and cigarettes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/feb/02/the-spin-cricket-smoking Almanac Admin
Footy: Billy Miller goes to Brunswick Street
February 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Here’s the second instalment of our countdown to the AFL season using Billy Miller’s travels to the old VFL grounds. This time we bring you the Brunswick Street Oval. Watch and learn. Almanac Admin
Footy: The troubles and triumphs of Richo, Part 3
January 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Domenic Favata 2002-2006 As Matthew Richardson got older, the better he got. Injuries still hampered him but he continued to provide the goals and spirit that Richmond desperately needed. Richmond were struggling, they had failed to back up their finals appearance from 2001. Sometimes Richo’s tantrums on the field were blooming more often as [Read more]
Footy: Billy Miller on Arden Street
January 30, 2010 by 3 Comments
What a way to count down to the season … one of Melbourne’s favourite musicians and Saints fans, Billy Miller (late of the Dingoes), has made short films on the 12 grounds of the old VFL clubs. We start here with North Melbourne’s Arden Street Oval. Almanac Admin
Tennis: It’s not the same without Damir
January 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Did someone say Damir Dokic? Amid all the talk about fashion and Prince William’s bald spot, we miss him. Almanac Admin
Footy: The troubles and triumphs of Richo, Part 2
January 26, 2010 by 2 Comments
By Domenic Favata 1997-2001 The next few years were mediocre years for Richmond, but solid seasons for Richardson. He was carrying the Tigers while the club failed to set a stable foundation; they had three coaches in three years and languished outside the eight. (Twice in four years they finished ninth.) Richardson had to cope [Read more]
Footy: The triumphs and troubles of Richo, Part 1
January 25, 2010 by 141 Comments
By Domenic Favata Matthew Richardson is a Tiger legend, and a legend of the AFL. He’s known for his spectacular leaps, goal kicking and shows of emotion. He was a player who on his day could win a match off his own boot. He could kick a match-winning goal and then stop one on the [Read more]
Tennis: My lowdown on the Open so far
January 23, 2010 by 289 Comments
By Domenic Favata Well, we’re just about to start the round of 16 and things are starting to heat up. There will be mouth-watering battles coming up, none better than the Hewitt v Baghdatis tonight. The pair will meet for the second time in a month, the last time being in Sydney, where Baghdatis won [Read more]
Link: Stand up and fight like hell!
January 20, 2010 by 5 Comments
Peter Flynn’s rollicking report on the Grand Final in The Footy Almanac 2009 (Go Travis!) concludes with the following memorable scene: On Sunday, I call in at The Lord of the Isles. Chappy signs the Courty ard Bar’s blackboard. I congratulate Chappy. He is humble, gracious and polite. Brilliant. The replay of the last quarter [Read more]
Tennis: My Australian Open preview
January 15, 2010 by 64 Comments
By Domenic Favata Men The men’s singles is headlined by Federer, Nadal, Murray, Del Potro; all have a chance of claiming the first tournament of the year. Almanac Admin
Tennis: C’mon, give it a go. Tip someone other than Federer
January 14, 2010 by 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again: the time when everyone tips Roger Federer to win the Australian Open. Is anyone willing to tip another player in the tournament that starts in Melbourne on Monday? What about Juan Martin del Potro? Or the unlikely-sounding Robin Soderling? As for the women’s title, surely there’s a candidate among [Read more]
Tennis: Federer’s class separates him from the rest
January 14, 2010 by 259 Comments
By Domenic Favata Roger Federer, the magician, the king, whatever you want to call him, is back at Melbourne Park and ready to rock. The fifteen-time grand slam winner is back after a loss to Nikolay Davydenko in Qatar. Some may call it a setback, but I call it ‘warming up’. Federer will release his [Read more]
Footy: Year of the Tiger
January 13, 2010 by 110 Comments
By Domenic Favata According to the Chinese zodiac, Richmond should have a pretty good year. That has been promised for years, but will Richmond, under new coach Damien Hardwick, finally take the giant step all the fans have been waiting for? When I heard about one of former coach Terry Wallace’s theories of coaching — [Read more]
Link: Somehow you can come clean but leave others feeling dirty
January 12, 2010 by 1 Comment
Dear Almanackers, Here’s another interesting piece from the New York Times, this time concerning the stage-management of mea culpas. The apologist here is Mark McGwire, but it’s an issue that play on the minds of footy administrators in 2010, I’m sure! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/sports/baseball/12sandomir.html?hp Rob Clarkson Almanac Admin
Launch: Top night at Adelaide launch
December 4, 2009 by 1 Comment
Crows fans partied like it was 1998 in the Adelaide Lutheran rooms during the SA launch. Add your comments on this night of mirth and midfields. Almanac Admin
Launch: A time to acknowledge our comforting, yet slightly mad, friend
December 4, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The Footy Almanac 2009 Perth launch speech by Dr Ken Spillman, delivered at the Subiaco Football Club, 27 November 2009 What an honour it is to launch The Footy Almanac 2009 in Perth – particularly so because the invitation to do so recognises the place of a book I conceived and co-edited almost 25 years [Read more]
Review of the 2008 Footy Almanac
November 26, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Review by Bernard Whimpress John Harms and Paul Daffey (eds), The Footy Almanac 2008: The AFL Season One Game at a Time, Penguin Viking, Melbourne, 2008, pp. xxv + 507, pb, $29.95. John Harms, Neville Turner, Bob Speechley and I were into our third bottle of shiraz over a long lunch at the Pumphouse Hotel, [Read more]
2009 Malarkey Medal
November 1, 2009 by 12 Comments
THE 2009 MALARKEY MEDAL THE TOP TEN (Brownlow votes in brackets) Chris Judd (Carlton) 28 (22) Gary Ablett (Geelong) 26 (30) Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) 23 (15) Jonathan Brown (Brisbane) 19 (19) Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda) 18 (17) Alan Didak (Collingwood) 18 (12) Almanac Admin
Melbourne Cup tip – take a cardigan
October 28, 2009 by 1 Comment
by Brett Dutschke The early tip for the Melbourne Cup is for brisk winds and a high of about 20 degrees, according to weatherzone.com.au, so it will be worth taking a jacket or cardigan. Almanac Admin
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