Damn those Ducks

The Swans have beaten the Blues tumbling them unmercifully out of the 2010 finals series. Just as the second week appearance had been so tantalisingly close against Brisbane in 1009, the Paddington Ducks have again denied the mighty Carlton Football Club at a crack at premiership glory. In truth, the Blues march towards the finals [Read more]

Beware an All Black

It is often said that a nation’s sporting teams are a reflection of the nation itself. While stereotyping nationality is fraught with obvious dangers, not least being ridiculously generalised, there seems to be a reasonable body of evidence to suggest that the way in which a team goes about their work does indeed reflect the [Read more]

Well played that man

I hope that Almanac community can allow a little indulgence on my behalf as I share with you a story that I’m sure many of you have similarly experienced as parents. It might also go some way to explaining to the uninitiated why golf is the most addictive sport ever invented. I’ve got two kids, [Read more]

Some one call the health inspector as the kitchen stinks

I can smell what their cooking and it smells and tastes like a Tuesday night stew at Pentridge. Carlton have now successfully turned a promising start to the year into what can only be described as a dark and cold month from hell. After losing three of the last four the Blues now find themselves [Read more]

Daughters of the West

Wow Who would have thought that Australia’s predictable elimination from the WC would cost the PM his job. We certainly take our sport seriously down here. Good news for the Doggies however as they now have another forward option with Julia freeing up Bazza to run further up the ground with the new PM in [Read more]

Changes

Watching little of the World Cup ( it’s on at work so it hard to avoid ) has got me thinking about how a few changes would enhance the spectacle, not only of soccer, but many other sports as well. So I’ve put a couple of ideas down for your degustation outlining what I feel [Read more]

Somethings off in the Kitchen

After attending the debacle which was last Friday night I felt I would be better watching the Blues from the safety of the lounge in tropical Canberra. Still emotionally and physical scarred from the mid season trip to the home of sport it was with some trepidation that I switched on the box on Saturday [Read more]

Can he make the step?

It’s been a contrasting week for Israel. One has had a shocker while the other has landed a nice earner with GWS. I leave debate about the former as one should never talk about politics and sport in the same thread, FINA and IOC corruption withstanding. Instead, I invite discussion on the latter as the [Read more]

Killing the goose that laid the golden egg?

In light of the future expansion of sporting teams in Melbourne I was wondering if the “sports capital of the world” may be starting to spread itself a little thinly and start to test the capital’s reputation for turning up to anything including the opening of an envelope. Mondays night’s attendance of 55,000 to what [Read more]

The Proff is in the Tasting

I’m always one to give credit when credit is due but it pains me when that credit is being forwarded to the account of the Hawthorn FC. The Blues and Hawks faced off in what appeared to be a straight forward game of one team in form against a team very much out of form. [Read more]

World Cup, Schmorld Cup

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the chances of Australia hosting the World Cup sit somewhere between Buckley’s and none. It is bad enough that the Federal Govt has ploughed $54 million into the bid without the utterly scandalous decision to spend billions of dollars on a series of rectangular white [Read more]

Two out of three ain’t bad

As the big bloke with the hankie once said, “two out three ain’t bad”. Three weeks ago, Carlton were staring at a 5 and 2 loss/win ration. Finals would have been the stuff of JRR Tolkien. However, after terrific victories over the last year’s grand finalists, the ledger is now 4/3 and September action looks [Read more]

Comment: The times are a-changing?

by Tony Robb Many of the articles printed in the past weeks have clearly pointed the finger at the changing nature of football and the negative impact these changes are having on the game and the way in which we now view it. John’s story regarding “agon” was very thought provoking. But as the game [Read more]

Big Jon, Big Shadow

For the second week running the tone of my weekend was to be determined by Thursday evening. Having spent the past seven days on the fine line between great expectation and misguided hope the clash between the Blues and the Lions would give the Juddites a truer indication of “where we are at”. Buoyed by [Read more]

Comment: The “Football Club”

by Tony Robb Along with the increasing use of the check side, banana, lay it off your boot techniques employed by the modern day footballer to disguise his ineptitude kicking with their opposite foot, there has emerged another insidious trend that his penetrating the very core of footie. I refer to the use of the [Read more]

Motor Racing: Build it and they will come

The expression build it and they will come has been an affirmation for many grand projects throughout time. The vision of an entrepreneur, the courage of an architect, has resulted in buildings and monuments that have thrilled people for centuries. The Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and that great shrine of sporting worship, the [Read more]