Category Archives: News

News, Sports

The Professor in the USA #3

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One of the main points of interest on this trip for me would be the visit to Green Bay to see the home of the Packers, Lambeau Field.  Having been a Packers fan since the 1970’s it has been a long time coming and one that I was looking forward to.

Let me say that I was not disappointed!  The high point of the stadium tour was the chance to run out of the player’s tunnel onto the hallowed turf and to be able to stand and soak up the incredible history that has been made there….Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Brett Favre, Reggie White, Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver, Mike Holmgren, Mike McCarthy….I could go on forever.

A trip to the Packers Hall of Fame followed which included a meeting with three Lombardi trophies. (the fourth was out on a ‘Meet the Fans’ tour around Wisconsin) and an opportunity to follow the storied history through the decades.

Visiting the city of Green Bay also allows consideration of just what the people of this town of just over 100,000 people has managed to achieve. 13 NFL Championships, 4 Super Bowl wins….something that the larger populations centres in the USA can only dream of! How have they done that…focus! Green Bay is football with Lambeau Field the centre of a lot of the activity in the city.

I can say that there are a number of other activities that were enjoyed on the tour including a trip to Nala’s Fromagerie to sample the various cheeses of the region and  Captain’s Walk Winery.

News, Punting, Sports

Gelding’s tips for 14 May 2011

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The Gelding’s attention this week is on his home track at Caulfield where the track will be very heavy and make winners hard to select. More rain today will just serve to complicate matters, but the Gelding thinks he has got it right.

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

Caulfield

Race 1 Horse 2 – Royal Bender (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 3 Horse 3 – Aspinal
Race 5 Horse 1 – Shylock’s Daughter
Race 7 Horse 1 – Curtana (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Back Caviar is running in Queensland and should salute for win number 13.

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

News, Sports

The Professor in the USA #2

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What a difference a day makes. Yesterday (and for that matter every day since I have been in Denver), was sunny and warm leaving my Melbourne friends full of envy with their temperatures in single digits. Contrast that with overnight and this morning…..rain, hail, snow and everything that Colorado is known for. If the temperature gets past 5C today we’ll all be very happy!

The ball game between the New York Mets and Colorado Rockies that Dan Butterly and I are slated to attend today is in jeopardy at this stage. Hoping for the weather to clear but it would appear to be a forlorn hope at this stage. Fingers crossed.

Yesterday, I caught up with Dan and another friend, Russ Laney for lunch. A great time with plenty of stories being exchanged especially about the first time Russ and I met at the US Air Force Academy when I was a member of the visiting Western Bulldogs study tour led by the incomparable Murray Herron. Needless to say that led to stories of Murray and the visit to the Indianapolis Colts (& Peyton Manning’s car), Murray and the visit to Colorado State, Murray and the visit to the Colorado Rockies, Murray and the first class seats on Air Canada, Murray and the Quality Hotel…..the list goes on with each one a gem. I really should complete that TV sports/comedy series script!

Purchase of the day – the Miller Lite baseball cap with the bottle opener under the brim for just $3.00 at Wal-Mart.

News, Sports

Would 11 Championships save a coach from the axe?

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We all joke on Sportzfan Radio about resident panelist Sportzfan Stan being quick to suggest sports coaches, administrators, teams & players being sacked. Most recently he called for the sacking of Melbourne Football Club coach Dean Bailey (podcast #200.1). This despite the Demons being in the top eight and with the best start to a season for many seasons. By the way the Demons have since beaten Adelaide by more than 90 points!

My feeling is that we are too quick to pull the trigger in today’s sporting world.  Even having excellent records in the recent past is not enough to save a coach or player. One only needs to look at the way the Melbourne Tigers behaved after their season didn’t turn out the way they thought it should. Two NBL Championships and four trips to the playoffs in as many seasons couldn’t save long time servant and coach of the club, Al Westover. On our show, Daniel Eade urged restraint and argued a case for Westover’s retention. History tells us that Al was sacked mid season. If one compares Westover’s coaching record to that of Lindsay Gaze, Westover had more success in a much shorter time but even that comparison couldn’t save him.

It seems that today’s ‘must have now’ phenomenon pervades all areas of sport. Being in the USA now and with the NBA finals series in full flight, I am amazed at the reaction of the media to the LA Lakers whitewash at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. Let’s remember that the Lakers were the two time defending champion and have been one of the most successful franchises of all time with 11 championships (5 since 2000 and runners-up twice). Yet today, we are greeted with the media saying the Lakers are a ‘train wreck’…’the locker room needs massive repair’…’fractured franchise’. There have been calls to trade anyone but Kobe…meaning one of last season’s best players, Pau Gasol is on the block because the Lakers failed to win for a third time in a row. Reality check – the NBA is one of the most competitive competitions in all of sport and the Lakers have been to the big dance in each of the last three seasons. Is there really a need for ‘massive’ change?

Memo to the sports media of the world….have some patience. I find support for this proposition in the example provided by my fellow Sportzfan Radio panelist, Mark Fiorenti when he spoke recently of Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United fame. Early on in his tenure and with not much success, the media and fans were calling for his sacking (a la Sportzfan Stan). The club, to their credit, and eternal satisfaction, stayed the executioner’s hand and one only needs to look at the stellar record since, that has put United at the forefront of soccer in not only Europe, but the world. They are in line this season for the Premier League/Champions League double.

One lucky person is the former coach of the Lakers, Phil Jackson. His retirement after the Lakers last loss at least means we won’t have calls for him to be sacked by all and sundry including Sportzfan Stan. Goodness knows his 11 NBA championships may not have saved him in this ‘need it now’ world.

Restraint is what I will be preaching on Sportzfan Radio from now on!

News, Sports

The Professor in the USA #1

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First stop on the Professor’s USA tour sees me touching down in Denver to visit with Dan Butterly from the Mountain West Conference (our regular Sportzfan Radio contributor) and also take a look at baseball and the New York Mets at Colorado Rockies series played at Coors Field.

The weather has been simply stunning with the sun shining in a cloudless sky and temperatures being in the mid to high 20’s (that’s centigrade) during the day but down to a cool around 5C at night.

After watching game 1 of the series last night (from the Club seats), the Mets were truly unlucky not to have come away with the ‘w’.  On two occasions they left bases loaded, managed to strand a total of 10 base runners for the night and were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.  You won’t win too many games of baseball with those figures, no matter how good the pitching is.

Mets pitcher Chris Capuano did admirably after escaping from a bases loaded jam in the first to make only one further mistake in the 7th inning allowing a line drive home run to left field by the Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta. In pitching 6 2/3 innings, he allowed only 5 hits and in my opinion did enough for a win if the Mets bats had come through for him.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the usually hitter friendly confines of Coors Field were affected by a swirling cross breeze which reduced two sure home run hits from Jason Bay and David Wright to catches made on the warning track.  The Mets certainly lack a quality hitter to take the game by the scruff of the neck.  I can only hope that in the final two games of the series, the Mets hitters find some pop and can hit a winning score.

News, Sports

Sportzfan Radio #201

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What you missed on the show yesterday – the Panel having a robust discussion about jumps racing in light of last week’s Warrnambool carnival, the Professor reporting from the USA on the ‘Young Brands’ Kentucky Derby and the making of mint juleps. He passes on that Sportzfan Stan has called for the sacking of Michael Voss, the Brisbane Lions players, the Fremantle Dockers players and the rider of Dialled In. The Gelding defended jumps racing in the face of a full on onslaught from Nicole Chvastek and John O’Callaghan. He was also on the mat expaining his four selections from Saturday failing to salute. The ladies at the Tennis club won’t be happy. Mark Fiorenti discussed more mathematical possibilities in the Asian Champions League and Premier League. Paul Dalligan reviewed the Test match between Australia and New Zealand and believes Billy Slater is the best full back in the world..if not the best player. He also talks about the NRL round to date and says the Melbourne Storm’s win over the Broncos was great with so many players backing up after the Test match. Sean Callanan bats clean up on the show talking sports digital. He talks about several athletes who were caught out making comments about Osama Bin Laden and makes the point that athletes need to realise using twitter and other social medium forums are just like commenting to the media.

News, Punting, Sports

Gelding’s tips for 7 May 2011

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The Gelding’s attention is on Flemington today in what looks to be an open meeting. Winners will be hard to pick but hopefully there are some gems here for the punters.

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

Flemington

Race 1 Horse 3 – Deliver the Dream (for the ladies from the Tennis club)
Race 4 Horse 4 – Sheahan (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 6 Horse 3 – Niblick
Race 8 Horse 7 – Traiana

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

News, Punting, Sports

Gelding’s tips for 30 April 2011

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Looking to build on last week’s excellent tipping, the Gelding’s attention returns to his home track at Caulfield.  With the great recent Autumn weather, the track should be in perfect condition today.

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

Caulfield

Race 1 Horse 2 – Avionics
Race 3 Horse 2 – Curtana (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 4 Horse 1 – Highly Recommended
Race 6 Horse 3 – Vivid Vixen (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 8 Horse 10 – Too Deadly

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.

Listen in to our 200th show tomorrow!!

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

News, Punting, Sports

Gelding’s tips for 23 April 2011

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The Gelding’s attention turns to his home track at Caulfield today.  He is looking to build on his good form from last week and to provide a little Easter present to punters.

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

Caulfield

Race 2 Horse 6 – La Praline (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 3 Horse 1 – Miss Octopussy (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 4 Horse 2 – Turnitup
Race 6 Horse 4 – Launay

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