Craig Little alerted us to this New York Times piece. Colum McCann, author of “Let The Great World Spin”, has a baseball story with universal themes. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/what-baseball-does-to-the-soul.html?n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/United%20States?ref=unitedstates Almanac Admin
Leaving it all on the track
April 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Leaving it all on the track Patrick O’Keeffe It is a Sunday afternoon in Melbourne. I am at the Hisense Arena, standing in the middle of a recently constructed cycling velodrome, watching competitors from numerous countries preparing for the 2012 Track Cycling World Championships. The championships will be commencing in Melbourne on Thursday [Read more]
Kentucky’s Uncivil War
March 29, 2012 by 3 Comments
The footy season starts in earnest this weekend, but here in Louisville all attention will be paid to an historic college basketball game – for the first time, the University of Louisville Cardinals will play the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Final Four. Wallabies vs. All Blacks? Collingwood vs. Carlton? Try more like [Read more]
Crio’s Question: which individual can drag you to a contest?
March 27, 2012 by 10 Comments
by Chris Riordan News and Sport was silently on a TV in the corner. “I reckon I’ll go and watch a Storm game”, said Robbo, glancing up over a post-cricket drink. “D’ya like League?”,pestered a team-mate. “Nah…but Billy Slater’s on fire. He’s gotta be worth going to watch.” Sounds fair enough to me. We’ve had [Read more]
Death Tracks; Beyond Motordrome
March 23, 2012 by 13 Comments
The spectre of danger, even death, has done little harm to motorsport’s mass appeal. But the attrition rates of the ‘motordromes’, which predated the Great Depression, were something else. As a world champion racer of penny farthings, it’s quaintly absurd that engineer Jack Prince’s second stab at fame would be to kick start the most [Read more]
New Zealand – Part 2. Bungy!
March 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
by Kieran Deck The dawn sun rutilant on the lake sparks and sets-off the cicadas again. I wake early, still buzzing with the excitement of being in another country. This feeling is at odds with the pessimism I hold for today’s activity: bungy jumping. It strikes me that I’m nervous in the car, somewhere [Read more]
Allez Oppy, le phénomène
March 19, 2012 by 3 Comments
The first week of April will see the World Track Cycling Championships commence at Hisense Arena in Melbourne. It may not get the coverage of yore – road cycling is riding the crest of a popular wave – but Australia once boasted a hero of the boards every bit as extraordinary as Cadel. By common consensus, in the [Read more]
Pool Sunset
March 16, 2012 by 3 Comments
Words and picture by Martin Reeves “As he emerged from the water, the swimmer’s lane-rage of moments ago dissipated as he glimpsed the setting sun over Fitzroy”. Martin Reeves
The Inside Lane
March 16, 2012 by 6 Comments
“Get the inside lane.” That’s all he could think of. “Make sure you get the inside lane.” The cut grass between his toes was damp; spring on a Montmorency morning. The sun shone crisply through the eucalypts’ leaves. He was standing at the centre of his universe. Dips O'DonnellI’m passionate about breathing. And you should [Read more]
Is motor racing a sport?
March 14, 2012 by 4 Comments
John Harms asks the same old question that pops up each year at the North Fitzroy Arms: is motor racing a sport? http://tatts.com/news/2012/3/14/john-harms-on-the-australian-grand-prix John HarmsJTH is a writer, publisher, speaker, historian. He is founder and contributing editor of The Footy Almanac and footyalmanac.com.au. He has written columns and features for numerous publications. His books include [Read more]
Choose your poision – the Top 8 Swedish style
March 13, 2012 by 14 Comments
by Rob Scott The Swedish ice hockey (Elitserien) regular season came to a thrilling conclusion during the week as the top teams battled for places in the playoffs (slutspel) and the bottom teams tried to avoid relegation. Positions were so tight that almost every goal scored during the final round resulted in a change [Read more]
Wollongong Surfer
March 12, 2012 by 7 Comments
Photo by Keiran Deck A perfect way to spend a long weekend. Keiran Deck
New Zealand Trip Pt. 1
March 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Had my recent trip to New Zealand’s North Island been graphed on its intensity levels, it would have looked similar to the electrocardiogram of a healthy 21-year-old; high peaks and moderate troughs. This was fitting because the reason for our visit was to celebrate my 21st birthday. The sweet lung-lolly found in rural New [Read more]
Who Do You Think You Are?
March 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
As I jumped on the tram immediately after work on Friday, the familiar thrill of Friday Night Football was back. The worries of the five previous working days were swiped away with my Myki as I shook off the dust of the CBD and crawled towards Brunswick St. The clear air of the weekend descended [Read more]
A MEXICAN VENTURES INTO RUGBY TERRITORY …. IN MELBOURNE !!
March 4, 2012 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones It was never going to be an easy assignment. A Victorian venturing forth to take in his first, live look at a transplanted northern states’ code in Australian Rules heartland. But I agreed to accompany our English son-in-law, his Dad who’s out in Oz on a summer holiday and sundry Queenslanders and [Read more]
Sport and friendship
March 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Knowing people comes in handy. I once got free tickets to a show at the National Gallery of Victoria because I knew a guy who worked behind the information desk. I hadn’t seen him for about three years, but he didn’t mind, in fact he seemed to revel in dishing out free goods. I didn’t [Read more]
In search of a winning score
March 1, 2012 by 33 Comments
By Jeff Dowsing It’s fair to say the rocky relationship between sport and music is an obvious yet strangely elusive one. Venture into any changeroom and protagonists will be plugged in, psyching themselves for battle. What are they listening to? I dare say nothing that relevant to sport. Sure, rousing abstract tunes made for [Read more]
Leave your team and get to the track!
February 29, 2012 by 12 Comments
by Steve Fahey Don’t go to the footy or cricket this weekend !!! Yes, you read right. This lifelong sports nut is exhorting you to not attend the footy or cricket this weekend in Melbourne. Why ? Because I am suggesting that you insteadattend the Olympic track and field team trials at Lakeside Stadium [Read more]
Almanackers take on the Big Issue
February 28, 2012 by 2 Comments
by Vin Maskell It looks like there are two Almanackers in the current edition of The Big Issue. Andrew Starkie has a story set in Warrnambool in the mid 1980s called Pick Your Battles, about school-bullying and boxing lessons from Dad. Not sure if it’s already been published on the Almanac site. Here’s how [Read more]
Duck hunting
February 9, 2012 by 12 Comments
People are inventive. They have found many ways to pass the time. Sport is one of them. But sometimes sport is more than that. People have also found ways to elevate the soul. Some play Bach and watch David Gower. Others have their souls elevated by fiddle-music, Ford pick-ups, the squeal of a pig, and [Read more]
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