by Andrew Gigacz Cricket’s big issue of 2010 is the future of the one-day international. Whatever your preferred medium of cricket coverage, chances are the undercurrent flowing beneath it will be the debate about how the Twenty20 form of the game will shape the landscape of the sport over the next decade or two. And [Read more]
Tennis: My big day out at the Open
January 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment
To anybody who saw Dan Silkstone’s ‘Around Melbourne Park in Six Hours’ report in Saturday’s Age my effort might seem like a pretty feeble imitation, but here goes: My day at the Open on Friday kicked off with Peter Luczak and an Oz of Indian background called Rameez Junaid play German Phillip Marx and Slovak [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]
Footy: How I seduced my wife (with a little help from Max Rooke)
January 25, 2010 by 6 Comments
By Richard Naco It was Saturday 11 June 1995 when sheer dumb luck introduced me to the most amazing woman in the world. It was the Matisse exhibition at the National Gallery (in Canberra), and although this was beyond the normal scope of my activities, I took the advice of friends who had ventured forth, [Read more]
Footy: Linga a worthy leader of my All-Ranga team
January 24, 2010 by 50 Comments
By Adam Bulman Cameron Ling, the new Geelong captain, is famous for being one of the ugliest and most popular players in the AFL, due to his red hair, burnt, creased face and his skill and tenacity on field as well as his friendly and down-to-earth nature off it. The man known as the Paddle [Read more]
Footy: How I got back my passion for the Saints
January 24, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Luke Mather I bought back into the Saints with about 15 minutes remaining in last season’s prelim final against the Dogs. Thankfully we won. Seven days later the result wasn’t as satisfying but that was probably a good thing. My love for St Kilda and the AFL in general has always run deep. My [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]
Footy: Which coaches are sitting pretty?
January 22, 2010 by 172 Comments
The players have had their turn and now it’s time for the coaches. Who is on the AFL coaches’ pretty list? Well, only three are worthy.
Footy: I’ve got my number
January 22, 2010 by 278 Comments
By Jeffrey Paterson Number 36 is not highly fought after at any club, really. Simon Goodwin, Dane Swan, Aaron Davey and Dustin Martin are the players that spring to mind when I think of the AFL players who don the number 36. Also it’s the number I don for my team the Katunga Swans, although [Read more]
Footy: It couldn’t get any better for a Cats fan, could it?
January 22, 2010 by 207 Comments
By Susie Giese I will admit it. I am a footy tragic. A completely untalented footy tragic, much to my chagrin. You’ll run into your run-of-the-mill fanatic who can remember every stat from the last hundred games their team played (and sometimes the games of other teams, too). There are people who can recall a [Read more]
Footy: Tigers to do it the Hard way
January 22, 2010 by 70 Comments
By Adam Bulman Let’s be blunt: Terry Wallace’s tenure as Tiger coach was a totally atrocious time for the Richmond Football Club, one that will be remembered badly, or preferably not at all. Just off the top of my head, I can think of many mistakes: Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and Cleve Hughes in the 2005 draft, [Read more]
World Footy: A global round-up of premiers
January 22, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Brett Northey from worldfootynews.com As the new year begins we present below the club premiers and provincial champions from across the world of Australian football for 2009. This is the fourth year in a row at worldfootynews.com that we’ve compiled the list. It was a year that once again saw powerhouse clubs dominate some [Read more]
Footy: Every time I relive the Grand Final, I’m a joyous Cat all over again
January 21, 2010 by 3 Comments
It’s early in the last quarter when I decide to play the reverse psychology card: ‘We’re gone, that’s it.” I say this to my long-time football compatriot, Paul T. It’s all I’ve got left in my hand; the rain is like ice and I’ll know in half an hour whether or not the footy gods [Read more]
Cricket: Yeah, but is it cricket?
January 20, 2010 by 5 Comments
By Darren Dawson The movable feast that is the “20twenty Big Bash” is all but over for another season, and I am now feeling a little bloated from the viewing. However, a number of questions remain unanswered, and to me, chief among those queries: “Is it really cricket?” As a traditionalist, I have been a [Read more]
Footy: When Jeff joined in the chorus
January 20, 2010 by 32 Comments
By Josh Barnstable School athletics have always been fun to me, through primary school years and in high school. In primary school, you strive for that finish line, trying to win points for your house, while in high school, many kids, like myself, would rather go down the street to grab some fish and chips [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]
Cycling: Tour offers one of the highlights of the year for an Adelaide sports fan
January 19, 2010 by 7 Comments
By Anne Federowytsch The middle of January is a time I look forward to every year. And no it’s not because of the chance to spend mornings sleeping in, afternoons lazing on the couch watching Ricky make a double ton, or warm evenings with my toes in the sand at Glenelg; it’s because of the [Read more]
Fantasy Footy: Any pointers? I’ve just got to beat my mate
January 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Flashback, January 2009: My wife brags that she is taking these competitions seriously this year and will purchase the AFL Prospectus to assist her. “You’re kidding. Just go with the players you know and see how you go,” I indicate to her, having confidence in her football knowledge.
Book Review: Krakouers biography is full of heart
January 19, 2010 by 3 Comments
Brotherboys: The story of Jim and Phil Krakouer, by Sean Gorman Reviewer: Paul Daffey As footy-mad youngsters, the Krakouer brothers’ inventive quest to improve their Aussie Rules skills included practising over the kitchen table in the family home at Mount Barker, WA. While their father Eric, one of several quiet heroes in this sad and [Read more]
Twenty-first Century Names
January 18, 2010 by 6 Comments
by Dave Nadel There’s no footy and the cricket is one sided and so lying on the beach I wrote the following piece of doggerel. I stress that it is doggerel, it doesn’t even scan. It should not be classed as poetry – there is a Magpie supporter who writes poetry for the almanac but [Read more]
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