The Footy Almanac 2007 Round 3 – Sydney v Brisbane: A day of milestones

Round 3 2007, Sydney v Brisbane was a big day for milestones and a fighting victory for the Swans reported Tony Roberts in The Footy Almanac 2007.

Fourth Test – Day 2: Moranis and Iglesias ride the waves to help da boort coom in

Tony Roberts reminds us of the location of Durham and the sporting environment within which it exists and takes us through the Australian fight. (Includes a defence of Watto)

Third Test – Day 3: Will Mr Kyly Boldy ‘go boldly…’?

Tony Roberts talks Nine’s jingoistic coverage, pop-gun attacks and Australia’s reversal of fortune.

Anyone out there holding an AFL Retro?

The winner of the Norm Smith medal usually doubles up with an AFL premiership winner’s medal. After three gut-busting hours, only flag-winning adrenaline could allow Mr Norm to lump half a stone of metal around his neck on the lap of honour.   I say this because I have recently worn a Jock McHale medal [Read more]

Australia v. India, First Test of four, MCG, Day 4 (29 December 2011)

Australia (333 & 240) defeated India (282 and 169) by 122 runs   My co-founder of Royal Park Reds CC, Dave Nadel and I took our seats in the MCG stand named for the first of only two Australians to score a double-century in his last Test. (Know the other one?)   Assuming that most [Read more]

Australia eats spinach for breakfast; SA has rocket salad for lunch

Cricket: 2nd Test: RSA v Aust, Wanderers, Joh’burg, Day 2, Friday 18 November 2011: South Africa (266 & 0/0) versus Australia (296) Australia’s evaporation at Newlands masked the fact that most ofSouth Africa’s Test cricketers have not yet woken up in this mini-series. Had either Hussey or Watson held the chances given early by Amla [Read more]

World Cup week 2 – tide turns (sort of)

When I clicked the drop menu on the address bar of the hotel’s computer, I realised that I had been held up by prolonged web searches for ‘prostitutas en pretorias sudafrica’ and so forth. Our hotel in Pretoria has been overrun by hordes of Argentinian soccer fans. Whilst some of the few women involved with [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Why should the salary cap strangle homegrown stars?

Melbourne Storm’s hanging has concentrated my mind. Try this proposal on for size: To preserve a competitive AFL, drafted players should be subject to their club’s salary cap for their first three seasons, as should established players acquired from other AFL clubs. To preserve club loyalties, I don’t see why clubs should be restricted from [Read more]

Third Test, Day 1: Dysfunction, thy name is Pakistan

3rd Test Australia v Pakistan at Bellerive Oval, Hobart Day 1, Thursday 14 January 2010 [Stumps score: Aust 3/302. Ponting 137*, Clarke 111*.] by Tony Roberts Preview My return to work having blessedly liberated me from reliance on Channel Nine or the ABC’s deteriorating radio commentary, I followed the first day of this match via [Read more]

Christmas Quiz: How did you go? Check your answers here

1. What the hell do the books The American Way of Death and Love In a Cold Climate have to do with the present-day politics of international Formula 1 car racing? Both were written by aunts (Jessica and Nancy Mitford) of Max Mosley, the recently deposed President of FIA, the F1 governing body (son of [Read more]

CHRISTMAS QUIZ: Some sporting conundrums

1. What the hell do the books The American Way of Death and Love In a Cold Climate have to do with the present-day politics of international Formula 1 car racing? 2. In the history of Test cricket, the names of two players each appear three times in the top-ten list for runs scored in [Read more]

Second Test, Day 2: Aussies’ effort all well and good, but did you hear about Mumbai?

West Indies 451; Australia 0/174 I awoke before dawn on Saturday to pore over the many elements of the impending contest, and then spent much of the morning attending to the nuts and bolts of getting to the big event – next year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, that is. By breakfast, I had [Read more]

Fourth Test, Day 4: RavBop and The Bells: ‘Dead at Leeds’

By Tony Roberts This report on Day 4’s play at Leeds is perforce brief, on account of the match having been already concluded. (Unlike the three days of actual cricket, Monday’s weather in Yorkshire has reverted to type, from Balmy Mediterrannean to Nowth’n Grit i.e. it’s raining most of today – Eric Oldthwaite would be [Read more]

Cricket: It’s Headingley 1981 and I want to be sedated

By Tony Roberts The gloomiest roommate I ever endured was Bernard Disken. At the time we met in September 1983, Bernard was only 23, but he’d already mastered the full Eeyore to an extent that must have made his fellow disciples of the defunct House of York grey with envy.