by Andrew Fithall There is a phenomenon at multi-stage music festivals known as “band envy”. Similar to order envy at a restaurant, it arises when someone raves about a performance they have just witnessed when the choice you have just made was a little underwhelming. At Golden Plains, this phenomenon is less prevalent, the main [Read more]
Pre Season Cup – Animal Challenge
March 16, 2011 by 1 Comment
by Bill Walker’s taxi driver The big animals were playing the little animals in the annual pre-season challenge match. At half time the score was Big Animals 11 – 12 (78) Little Animals 0 – 0 (0) The Little Animals’ coach addressed his players at half time “We’re getting a flogging. We need to lift [Read more]
Footy kicking on in Coffs Harbour
March 15, 2011 by 5 Comments
by “Rocket” Rod Gillet The Sydney Swans defeated last year’s AFL runner-up St Kilda in a NAB Challenge match at the BCU Stadium in Coffs Harbour by 31 points last Saturday night. Almost 5000 attended the fixture on a unseasonably cool night on the north coast of NSW. One of those in attendance was my [Read more]
Black Caviar does a Thommo
March 15, 2011 by 10 Comments
Jeffrey Robert Thomson REF (the E stands for extremely, exceptionally etc) was able to propel a cricket ball at velocities that, on occasion, probably exceeded 160 km/h. At these kinetic energy levels, pink plastic cricket boxes designed to protect a batsman’s ability to procreate were unable to absorb the impulsive force of cricket ball on [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – The making of a Swannies fan
March 15, 2011 by 10 Comments
by David Butler I am the Sydney equivalent of a “Broadie Boy”, brought up amongst the factories and workshops of western Sydney. I spent the seventies negotiating the bland tarmac between brutal suburban Rugby League grounds. Belmore Oval, Leichhardt Oval, Redfern Oval and Cumberland Oval. I watched as the first scrum erupted, as always, with [Read more]
One for the ages
March 15, 2011 by 3 Comments
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners 2-2 full time 4-2 on penalties Lang Park 13/3/2011 Crowd 50 128 By Hamish Townsend The problem with soccer in Australia is that it has no weight. Thousands of people like me love the game, but having wiped their ethnic history and any sense of tribalism it feels like [Read more]
ACT Comets – time to bring them back?
March 15, 2011 by 13 Comments
In a recent lecture [to a bunch of Knackers, and the world in general], Gideon Haigh said he believed we are witnessing the fourth major epoch in cricket as we know it. Each previous period instigated significant change to cricket. The first was when English cricket ‘died’ in 1882 and the Ashes cremated. The second was Bodyline [Read more]
John Button Oration
March 15, 2011 by 2 Comments
Button Oration to Highlight Founder of Australian Rules Football The Hon. John Button once said of the Geelong Cats, “The pain I can handle, it’s the hope that’s so tough!” Button’s passion for sport, Australian culture and history will be remembered at the inaugural Geelong Cats Sports Foundation Hon John Button Oration, to be held [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Keep The Faith
March 14, 2011 by 19 Comments
I somehow knew that the Brisbane Roar were still a chance. Even inside the last 5 minutes a neutral supporter, such as me, hung on to the unlikely. But it is not always so easy to “keep the faith”. How often have you ripped up a betting ticket, left in time-on or switched off the [Read more]
Theo takes a great leap forward at Princes Park
March 13, 2011 by 23 Comments
Saturday morning. Sunny and mild, but the breeze picking up, and bringing with it northern stickiness. Family Harms is pottering about: no plans. I am thinking about Collingwood. They have done it pretty easily the night before. Dawes and Daisy Thomas continue to mature. They are good, and there is much improvement in the squad [Read more]
Apologies in Advance
March 13, 2011 by 9 Comments
In a misguided gesture of good will, last week I decided to volunteer to fill in a place on the school swim team for an upcoming inter school competition. This was promoted by the desperation on the face of the girl attempting to recruit Year 12s from our homeroom and the rude shock I received [Read more]
Yes we won the NAB Cup but I want Medders back!
March 12, 2011 by 15 Comments
I kinda thought it would be pretty exciting to win the NAB Cup, but when it happend I wasn’t exactly happy dancing or anything. The year could not have started any worse, with our deteriorating backline of champions sidelined with injury, our captain tweeting photos of himself in a hospital bed (mind you in seeing that [Read more]
The Abu Dhabi Falcons juice Muscat
March 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Abu Dhabi Falcons made the 4 ½ hour trip to Muscat for the third time in as many years. It’s one of the best and worst places to go. The best because the Magpies put on a great ‘after game’ in Rugby Union club facilities, (bbq feast and plentiful beers) and worst because it [Read more]
Why we all need a Clive the Concierge
March 12, 2011 by 3 Comments
Tickets to the English Premier League are a hot commodity. Tickets to the Premier League between teams occupying the ‘big four’ are even hotter with most games sold out well in advance. However, with a little persistence and a constant ear to the ground tickets can be sourced. What do you think the chances are [Read more]
Almanac Racing: Newmarket Hcp
March 11, 2011 by 17 Comments
The media gush for Black Caviar is further proof that a great racehorse, moreso than a jumping castle or a hat competition, is the best possible product for promoting our “game”. The VRC is now crossing its fingers for good weather and hopefully a bumper crowd for the “Super Saturday” meeting. Moody’s mighty mare has [Read more]
Think Tank At Work
March 11, 2011 by 13 Comments
Extract from secret tapes inside an AFL team’s coaches’ meeting: Forward Coach: We’ve got to do something about the inside 50s differential. Midfield Coach: Yep. We’ve run that through our processes. We’re going to increase the rotations of mids and smalls through the front half. Forward Coach: That’s fine but will the smalls know how [Read more]
Fifteen
March 11, 2011 by 7 Comments
In answer to your question, a story… Fifteen. I never played junior footy. I was 15, skinny, and went straight to the tatts and knuckles league of a suburb that is now gone. The oval is still there, but it is now a smooth, green thing. The creek at the city end is no-longer toxic. [Read more]
Do Real Sports Cry?
March 10, 2011 by 13 Comments
Craig Little provided this link to an Atlantic piece on crying in sport. Do we still regard it as unmanly? Surely we’ve moved on in these “enlightened” times? To judge from elements of this article, the debate in the USA hasn’t entirely advanced. What do you think Knackers? http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/03/attention-miami-heat-in-sports-crying-is-for-winners/72205/
We Want Cossie
March 10, 2011 by 8 Comments
In choosing Mike Hussey as the replacement player for the injured Doug Bollinger, the Australian selectors have missed a big opportunity to mould the national team into a group with which the general public could more easily identify, and once again grow to love. Much has been written about the “disconnect” that the grass-roots cricket [Read more]
Home sweet Waverley
March 9, 2011 by 5 Comments
What’s it like living in the forward pocket of footy history? Vin Maskell took his camera to Waverley Park to see what happens when a stadium becomes a housing estate. You’ll find the pics at: http://www.23hq.com/vinm/album/6551185
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