Sportzfan Radio 31 July 2011 #212.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!31 July 2011 212.2 – Mark Fiorenti continues talking about the draw for World Cup 2014. He thinks the group with Spain and France in is the ‘Group of Death’. There is a discusson of Dean Bailey’s tenure as coach at the Melbourne FC and whether he should be sacked or not. This is followed by Glenn Hampson talking about whether the AFL are getting bang for their buck from the signings of Karmichael Hunt & Israel Folau. Sportzfan Stan says their is no loyalty for clubs these days, just players going for the money. The Panel talk with Paul Dalligan about NRL players involvement in AFL and his duties serving champagne at his lovelies baby shower. He also talks Melbourne Storm’s shackle tackle. Paul also discusses the NRL round in depth. The Gelding calls in to talk horse racing and the results from Caulfield. The Professor talks about using Daniel’s method of selecting horses and picked Mr Griswold for a nice collect.  The Gelding even awards an S-hit ride to Keiran McEvoy for his ride on Scarf that upset his all up bet. He also saw Danish Rock’s jump out and says the horse was a bit green and reminded him of a lawyer going to his first conference – all over the place. Glenn finishes off with a discussion on the controversy about Australian cricket contracts. Sportzfan Stan again calls for the sacking of the Australian selectors.

Sportzfan Radio 31 July 2011 #212.1

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!31 July 2011 212.1 – Sportzfan Stan starts the show ripping the Melbourne FC saying they are a ‘team of the past’ and don’t deserve to be in the AFL. He doesn’t think Dean Bailey should be sacked though and that Melbourne should wait until the end of the season before making a move. Daniel Eade comes on to talk about the NBA lockout – he thinks games will definitely be lost and playing won’t commence until December at the earliest, the chances of Patrick Mills playing in the NBL this season and the coming international matches between the Boomers & Opals and New Zealand at the Cage. He also talks ice hockey with the AIHL finals to be played in Melbourne on 3 -4 September. Sportzfan Stan looks at performance enhancing drugs in sport again and the prevalence of their use. Glenn Hampson makes his debut as a member of the Sportzfan Radio panel and joins the discussion on Alberto Contador. Mark Fiorenti talks soccer and the World Cup 2014 preliminary draw and reviews the Asian section group. He feels the Socceroos should make it through the first round of qualifying.

Gelding’s tips for 30 July 2011

Racing returns to The Gelding’s home track at Caulfield today. After showing some great form last week picking 4 winners from 5 tips, the Gelding is looking to build on that and do even better today. 

He is also wondering whether Daniel Eade will go head to head with him again.

As always the bets are on an each way and all up basis.

Caulfield

Race 5 Horse 2 – Lopov
Race 6 Horse 8 – Mid Summer Music (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 7 Horse 1 – Biancon Rose
Race 8 Horse 2 – Mr Make Believe (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

You can hear the Gelding discuss racing with the Professor every Sunday on Sportzfan Radio at 12.30pm on 88.3 Southern FM.  The Gelding’s segment is sponsored by the Great Western Hotel.

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

Sydney Colt’s Mail For Rosehill 30 July 2011

The sun has been out all week in Sydney giving us punt drunks the chance to find a winner. Going a little wide in the market in a few races as the ratings indicate a day of value.

Race 1 I’m backing both n4 WHISPEROSA and n5 VALDHEZ Betting “best of the best” with either Betchoice or Luxbet will hopefully see us return around 6/4 for the total investment. These 2 stand out on form lines.

Race 4 n6 MISS SHAMARDAL e/w Took $13 yesterday with the corporate bookies. Comes in very well on ratings and has drawn a nice marble.

Race 6 n5 FORETELLER e/w This neddy has trialled sensationally. I’m all over it e/w.

Money lost, nothing lost. Confidence lost, everything lost.

Danish Rock update #4

Listeners to Sportzfan Radio will have heard the Professor and the Gelding talk about Danish Rock, a horse they have an interest in. 

Jump Outs Footage 28th July 2011 – Please click on the below link to view footage of your horse having a jump out yesterday at Caulfield.

Horse: Danish Rock
Trial Number: 4
Ridden By: Michael Walker
Colours: Pink 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_DAzqx5I5g

Danish Rock update #3

Listeners to Sportzfan Radio will have heard the Professor and the Gelding talk about Danish Rock, a horse they have an interest in.  This is our third update on the horse…..enjoy!!

DANISH ROCK had a 650m trial at Caulfield this morning on the Inside Grass ridden by Michael Walker. He jumped away from the gates slowly and didn’t go with the pack in the run. He had to be forced along and was given a few with the whip to get his mind on the job. On straightening, he was OK to the line to finish 6th beaten 5 lengths. The time of the trial was 44.91 seconds and they ran home the last 200m in 12.34 seconds. The quickest 2YO trial of the morning was 44.07 seconds. Michael commented post trial that he jumped OK but took fright of the other horses around him and took a furlong to balance up. He was very green this morning but more trials will improve him. All going well, he will trial again here at Caulfield Tuesday August 9th.

The trials can be viewed on the internet as the Melbourne Racing Club now films the trials. You can check the weblink we’ll put up either later today or tomorrow where you will be able to view the run. The horse will be wearing pink racing silks so that you can identify it in the run.

Mick Price 

LA Story – my Dodgers experience

Even before my plane from Melbourne had touched down at LAX, the Los Angeles Times was telling me that the city had fallen out of love with the LA Dodgers.  That, “now batting for the Dodgers, well who cares” and, even worse, that the current Dodgers team had become “unwatchable”. 

I felt like a soccer fanatic on a pilgrimage to Barcelona, only to be told that the city of unbridled passion could no longer find any passion for Barca F.C.  But when it takes a day of your life simply to get to LA, as an Australian baseball fanatic I wasn’t going to have my spirits dampened by a cynical press.

So on a balmy June night I headed straight from LAX towards my date with the Dodgers.  Being from a country where the sporting stadiums are usually a line drive from the CBD, I had thought my taxi driver was lost when he started driving up a mountain.  But then I saw it, the baseball Mecca in the Mountains of Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers baseball sanctuary high up in the hills of Los Angeles.

I had arrived at a time of high anxiety for the Dodgers – in fact it wasn’t even known who owned the team as it was the subject of divorce proceedings filed between high profile husband and wife Frank and Jamie McCourt.  Whilst bitter divorce cases usually involve houses, cars or the occasional speedboat, given that this was LA perhaps the fact that this divorce involved a tug of war over a Major League Baseball team wasn’t so surreal after all.

Due to the financial woes of the McCourts the players weren’t even guaranteed to be paid their salaries by 30 June 2011.  During the 18 hour flight from Down Under I had nightmarish visions of arriving at Dodgers Stadium only to hear the Dodgers players were on strike, and having instead to occupy my time in LA with the dreaded “Secret Celebrity Homes” tour.

On arrival at ths stadium I was elated to find a crowd of nearly 40,000 whose passion for the game and their beloved team quickly embraced me.  In a 3 hour flurry of excitement a Major League Baseball game delivers something for everyone.  It is no surprise that Australia’s favourite pastime cricket has now shifted its focus from five-day epics and day long marathons to a shortened three hour 20/20 style format.  This is no doubt inspired by the Americans who work more magic into their three hour sporting spectacles than David Copperfield could ever manage.

Every Dodgers player arrived at the plate to a musical interlude that reverberated around the stadium. I particularly enjoyed the arrival of Dodgers infielder Juan Uribe to Rihanna’s “Whats My Name”.  It was an ironic choice of song name given this era of self promotion, where too many players often talk about themselves in reverential third person tones.  The ultimate irony of the song choice however was that Rihanna was the last flame of the Dodgers’ biggest star Matt Kemp, before she (reportedly) started batting for the other team.  Big Matt obviously bears no ill will about her departure from his life, or change of team, given that every time he goes to work he is now loudly reminded of her.

Even the romantics in Dodgers Stadium were catered for with “Kiss Cam”, where the cameraman between innings would zoom in on a couple in the audience and they would kiss to the roar of 40,000 people. Cupid missed only once, when his arrow zoomed in on a middle-aged couple where, as the man leant in for his obligatory kiss, the woman pulled away like he was breathing fire.  The local media would have you believe her loss of passion was sadly symbolic of the attitude of LA fans to their Dodgers, but thankfully the reality I experienced in Dodgertown was far different.

Over two nights I saw dominant performances from Dodgers’ pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, local pitchers raised through the Dodgers farm system.  However, the most exciting player I saw however was Devaris “Dee” Gordon at shortstop, another local product who lit up the Dodgers grand stage of baseball with a combination of fleet footedness, rocket armed throws  and a hot bat bordering on a .300 average for the season.

It is one thing we certainly love in Australia, the home grown kid made good, and the Dodgers fans were certainly singing their approval from the same songsheet.  Deep in the game and with the local hero Kershaw due up at the plate, the Dodgers Manager Don Mattingley stuck with Kershaw and didn’t call for a pinch hitter, his loyalty rewarded when Kershaw pounded in the winning runs.  The Dodgers pitchers take their hitting very seriously, another sign that while the local media seemed to have given up on the team, the players were still competing feverishly in every aspect of the game.

Deep in the game and with the game hanging in the balance, a recorded interview with Tommy Lasorda was shown on the big screen.  After 6 decades of loyal service as a player, manager and now club ambassador, Lasorda would appear in any dictionary where “Dodgers Legend” is defined.  Everyone in the stadium listened intently to the great man, whose simple words contained more passion than you would find at any Spanish film festival.  He finished with the immortal words that “….to me this place is not Dodgers Stadium,  it is blue heaven on Earth”.

In a city where the hills are treated like Scrabble racks, his words are appropriately captured as a backdrop to the stadium.

Late in the game, and after polishing off a few hot dogs washed down with the always fantastic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, I got talking to a local about those damn fine “Dodger Dogs”.  I was told that not only are they the best hot dogs in baseball, but they are proudly made at a local farm where the recipe is a more closely guarded secret than Coca Cola.  The dreamy eyed fan even pointed towards the farm somewhere in the distance, as if I could gaze across the hills like a kid outside the gates of Disneyland and suddenly spot the magical land of hot dog heaven.

It was a fitting moment that not only do these fans love their baseball team, they also even talk up their hot dogs as if they are the most treasured culinary treat on earth.  On a balmy June night in Dodgertown they were as I woudn’t have traded that Dodger Dog for anything served up by a Michelin-starred French chef.

On leaving Dodgers Stadium and gazing out at the hills around me I asked a local resident whether locals like the fact that the only thing many people from overseas may know of LA is Hollywood.  That surely the locals would want the world to know that there is so much more to their fine city than the glitz and glamour of showbusiness.

I was however immediately told that “every person in this city loves Hollywood – because we tell the world its stories”. 

And on two nights in June 2011 I saw a few stories of my own.  A tale of bitter divorces, backroom dealings, players playing with passion but with the threat of no pay, and through it all their fight to emerge victorious from the dark shadow cast by a scornful local press.   An epic worthy of Universal Studios indeed.

With my first child due to arrive next month, my next trip from Down Under will surely be more Mickey Mouse than Mickey Mantle.  It was an honour and a privilege while I could to be able to spend some time with the true fans of baseball in Dodgertown.  Now to see if my local stadium will try and replicate those Dodger Dogs.

Sportzfan Radio #208.2 3 July 2011

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!3 July 2011 208.2 – Mark Fiorenti thinks Harry Kewell will sign with Melbourne Victory. John O’Callghan is back for the second time for the year as a special guest. He advises that the annual Olive Branch Achievement Award has not been awarded again since it was given to Kevan Gosper. There is also a discussion about Father/Sons in AFL and in sport in general that is propmpted by an email from Chris from Barwon Heads. John O’Callaghan talks about the AFL players wanting more money and says their grab for more money is misconceived. Paul Dalligan comes on to talk NRL and State of Origin. He also talks about having the chance of sitting in the LA Dodgers press box during his recent US visit.  He says he has heard more noises in doctor’s surgeries and libraries that in the press box. John looks at Bernard Tomic’s announcement that he is considering living in Monarco. He doesn’t believe that either he or any other athlete needs to pay back any money that has been put towards helping the athlete. Sean Callanan talks about his trip to the USA and assisting the Minnesota Timberwolves with a product known as Sports DP.

Sportzfan Radio #208.1 3 July 2011

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!3 July 2011 208.1 – The Panel are back after a mid year break.  Daniel talks about the swamp soccer grand final and his appointment as public relations officer for the Australian Ice Hockey League. The Panel talk to Brian Bales from the Newcastle North Stars about his ‘almost’ first ever short handed hat trick in Australia. The Professor asks the Gelding if Nathan Tinkler has any plans to purchase the North Stars. The Gelding talks horse racing and discusses the results from Moonee Valley and Rosehill. Daniel gives the Gelding a ‘B’ for his selections. Sportzfan Stan asks Daniel when he is going to tip against the Gelding. Daniel agrees he’ll do this but he will go on what the jockeys are wearing and horses names rather than the form guide. Sportzfan Stan raises the problems of current AFL clubs trying to resist offers for their uncontracted players from Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney which leads the Panel to a discussion on what compensation clubs should get for losing those players. Mark Fiorenti talks soccer and admits he didn’t foresee Russia beating Scotland 6-0 in the Swamp Soccer final. He also talks about the crowd behaviour at the Sydney v Celtic match.

Geldings tips for Flemington 23 July 2011

The Gelding’s attention turns to Flemington today and sees that Daniel Eade has finally stuck his toe in the water and made a selection.  No doubt there will be plenty of discussion between the two on Sportzfan Radio tomorrow.

As always the bets are on an each way and all up basis.

Flemington

Race 3 Horse 6 – Module (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 4 Horse 5 – Bel Sprinter (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 5 Horse 1 – Mannopoly
Race 7 Horse 7 – Testascana
Race 8 Horse 8 – Gossip Girl

You can hear the Gelding discuss racing with the Professor every Sunday on Sportzfan Radio at 12.30pm on 88.3 Southern FM.  The Gelding’s segment is sponsored by the Great Western Hotel.

Sportzfan Radio’s Paul Dalligan has also suggested a wager today and likes the following at Flemington:

Race 1 – Star of Giselle
Race 4 – Bel Sprinter
Race 6 – Wilander (each way)

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding