Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Australia comes last in World Cup 2022 bidding

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I suppose the good thing about all of this is that we can stop talking about the World Cup until it comes time for the Socceroos to qualify for 2014.  Rather than give my own thoughts I thought I’d include some from my fellow Sportzfan radio panelists that have crossed my desk since the decision was made earlier today.

Daniel Eade – With Australia unsuccessful after its $45million bid was rejected by the FIFA voting panel, will the A-League survive?

Do we blame Julia Gillard? The Computer Animated Kangaroo? Paul Hogan? The Marketing Department who green-lit the ‘Bid’ video?

So once again, Sportzfanradio made the correct call before everyone else.  Well the Professor and Fiorenti called it.  They just made sense to me so I agreed with them.

Paul Hogan appeared in the commercial and he got the Taxman off his back. Coincidence?

Sean Callanan – For mine it was always a long shot but I think it is a bit like the old sporting adage you have to lose one to win one. Or in the case of Qatar have so much money no one will care about sunburn.

Paul Dalligan – I don’t think it is far removed from the AFL with their planned $300 million kitty to conquer Western Sydney

I know the Olympics bid was public money, whereas the AFL’s riches have been raised from the game but you can’t conquer new seas if you are afraid to turn your back to the shore

For Mr Democracy Obama to describe the 2022 decision as “wrong”, perhaps we didn’t lose on merit but were defeated by much more sinister forces!

Mark Fiorenti – Disappointed but like I said yesterday and will continue to say, I don’t think the financial report was the be all and all.  If it was Qatar wouldn’t have won the bid – in a landslide, no less.  The report placed them at 2nd last, yet they scored 11 votes in the first round!

 

…and you can add to that “no one cares about not being allowed to drink alcohol at the world’s biggest sporting event”.

 

I agree with the comment “you have to lose one to win one” quote Sean.  How many times did Sydney/Aust lose the Olympics before they/we actually won it? Three times from memory.

Some tweets from last nite –

  • Doesn’t Russia constantly Snow? If movies have taught me anything, it’s that it’s always snowing in Russia.
  • I won!! Soccer is so boring. Give me AFL.
  • Andrew Demetriou is laughing and smoking a big fat cigar.
  • LeBron James is taking his talents to Qatar.
  • This might be a silly question, but does Qatar even have a soccer team?
  • Is Chewbacca from Qatar?
  • Both ‘Quatar’ and ‘Katar’ are trending. People are stupid
  • The AFL should’ve expanded to Qatar instead of Western Sydney.
Sports

Australia’s 2022 World Cup bid becomes a Greek tragedy

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Professor’s Rant #4

I’ll start this rant by repeating what I said on Sportzfan Radio last Sunday (see show #181.2) – I would love Australia to get the 2022 World Cup (a view shared by The Gelding, but not Daniel or Stan – is that OK Daniel?). 

The report on the assessment of finacncial return to FIFA  from each of the bidding countries, which has only been recently released (more about that later), seems to be a fatal blow to our chances. 

Given the findings of the report, what are the chances of Australia getting the nod when the vote is held in the early hours of tomorrow morning?  Zero, zilch, zippo, naught, nil, zip.  Get the picture?

Why?  It comes down to simple mathematics – which Board would vote for an option that reaps the least (that’s right, the least) profit for it?  Think about that question for a second or two…now roll it around……easy to answer when you consider it.  Let’s for good measure add that the favourite in this five horse race is the USA ,who just happens to be the country that reaps the most reward for FIFA if they are to be successful with their bid.  The answer becomes a no brainer!

Even if I am wrong and the USA aren’t successful, there are still three other bids that make more money for FIFA.  I can’t see a kangaroo, Hoges and Julia Gillard making up for the giant cash shortfall. 

Ask yourself this further question should you still be struggling with the economics of the situation.  If you were a share holder in FIFA Inc., would you want the voters to vote for a bid that would give you the least money in your pocket to pay increasing mortgage rates and rising electricity and gas bills?

Yet another question.  If FIFA had released the report much earlier (ie when bidding opened) would Australia have run as hard or invested as much money.  I think not!  Synics like me wonder why the findings of this report have only come to light in the last week of the process.  You don’t need to be a Rhodes scholar to work that one out.  Why would FIFA reveal findings that would stifle the competition?  Another no brainer – they wouldn’t.

On Sportzfan Radio, we have queried from the start the wisdom of making such a large investment in a bid that was against the odds from its very beginning.  We felt the money would be far better spent putting resources into growing the game at the grass roots level and enhancing the A League and its teams.  Make no mistake, the local product needs to improve significantly if we are to be rated a credible force in world soccer.

So in the end, what will we have?

Nothing for $45 million dollars.  Shareholders just love that sort of equation!

To quote Paul Dalligan “ah, yep!”

Sports

McDaniels of the Denver Broncos – there may be smoke but sadly there is not enough fire….

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It is never a good situation when as a coach in the NFL your Wikipedia page has been hacked and someone has changed your name to ‘Fire This Bum’.

But in the case of Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos that is exactly what is happening out there in cyberspace right now. At the tender age of just over 30 when he was appointed, there was always going to be a danger that McDaniels would be overawed on entering the cauldron of football fanaticism that is the city of Denver. This is of course the city whose home team the Denver Broncos have sold out EVERY game since the 1960s. The city where the only way to get yourself season tickets is in a will or buying the house of people leaving town who have left their tickets on the kitchen bench.

At the time of his hiring, the Broncos made McDaniels one of the youngest ever head coaches in the NFL. McDaniels certainly had showed promise during his time as an Assistant Coach at the Patriots and arrived in Denver full of passion and momentum. In his first few games as head coach McDaniels prowled the sidelines with all the enthusiasm of a 6 year old at Disneyland. The fist pumps, the wild eyes and the audible roars after a great play would have reminded many of the cauldron of simmering fury that was the previous Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, whose match day complexion made Alex Ferguson look positively albino in comparison.

But sadly for Denver Broncos fans, that was where the similarities will end.

Because while they may share the same wound up persona on field, McDaniels (sorry, ‘Fire this Bum’) will never now match the record of Shanahan who managed to win two Super Bowls during his 11 year reign as head coach of the Broncos.  McDaniels may still be the head coach of the Broncos but it will only be a matter of time until their owner pulls the trigger, especially after a woeful Monday Night Football performance against their biggest rival the Chargers.

Monday night is the night when an already sports mad country steps up their fanaticism to maximum intensity. Surely that would have been the perfect stage for McDaniels to find some of that old fire as his team tried to keep their season alive.  As the game wore on however McDaniels seemed to retreat more and more into his shell on the sidelines. It looked like someone had spiked coach’s Gatorade with prozac as McDaniels looked about as ambitious and energetic as a three toed sloth.  What really made the Broncos fans howl however was McDaniels incredibly conservative play calling. When you are down by 30 points, it is time to roll the dice. McDaniels on several occasions decided to punt on 4th down, rather than find those dice and throw them with caution to the wind like wedding confetti on a windy day.

Punting on 4th down is usually a wise choice, but when you are down by such a big margin it is the equivalent of standing on 12 against a dealer’s 10 in blackjack. The game was well and truly over and even trying anything could seem like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, but surely the fans deserve to see their coach at least giving it a shot.  Exactly why McDaniels decided to close the shutters and play out the game with all the intensity and excitement of a man serving his sentence on death row is well and truly beyond this observer.

Broncos fans can take some comfort from the fact that McDaniels days are numbered in Denver. Until that day they will simply have to endure the Titantic that the Broncos season has become, with a coach who promised so much but has now become too scared to sail the stormy seas.

POSTSCRIPT: Since the time of writing this article McDaniels has been faced with one of his assistant coaches being caught spying on and recording an opposing team. In worse developments for McDaniels only today the Denver Broncos lost at home to the previously woeful St Louis Rams – it can’t be long until there is an axe being wielded in Denver…

Sports

Sportzfan Radio visits the Bentleigh Festival

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Show #180 (podcast below) was broadcast from the Bentleigh Festival.  Nothing like taking it to the streets!  The Panel of the Professor, the Gelding, the Gambler, Daniel Eade & Stan enjoyed sunny weather conditions and a big crowd.  Special guest, Bentleigh MLA Rob Hudson was in his element too.

The Professor asks a searching question of Daniel whether Melbourne Tigers loss to Wollongong was a ‘good’ loss with the Gelding and Stan ready to pounce on the answer (left) whilst Stan takes Daniel to task over the generally poor performance of the Melbourne Tigers and whether Corey ‘Homicide Williams will make that  much difference (right).

 

Special guest Rob Hudson talking sport and politics with the Panel at the Bentleigh Festival confirming the announced grants during the week to improve facilities at Moorabbin and Centennary Park (right) whilst the Professor and Rob talk candidly about their football teams after Rob’s segment on Sportzfan Radio (left)

Punting, Sports

Sydney Colt’s Mail For Kensington 27 November

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I hope you took the suggestion last week and took the good thing of the day as the first leg of all up bets with our other 2 tips. If so, you would have been like me and had a fill up. Some good mail about for Saturday’s races at the Kensington track.

Race 2 n3 LADY’S ANGEL This neddy did the the right thing by us last week as the 2nd leg of an all up. Looks better than these.

Race 4 n7 SIENNA RED I have been told to completely ignore the last start failure and join a couple of shrued pro punters who have already bet into this one. Has trialled great.

Race 8 n7 KISS ‘N CHASE e/w 2nd up and I’m told it has improved heaps on the track. Nash will steer this one into the placings somewhere.

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

Sports

Can Brett Favre make THE decision himself?

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Professor’s Rant #3

Prior to commencing this rant, I need to declare myself as a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan.

When I heard that Brett Favre was coming back for another season with the Minnesota Vikings in August this year, I polled a number of people about how difficult it would be at 40+ to step back in as a quarterback in the NFL with no adequate pre-season training or conditioning.  It is not surprising that all those questioned said that it would be almost impossible.  The season is certainly playing out like that for Favre.  There was one other word used by the people responding…’arrogance’.  Not a word that I had really associated with Brett Favre until then.

I suppose that I have wanted to give Brett the benefit of the doubt over the years…even through all those years of ‘will he or won’t he?’ (aka THE decision) at Green Bay when, as a supporter, it was what I expect death by a thousand cuts to be like.  But that was Brett being Brett and he was in the most part forgiven each year (by the way LeBron only did it once…and look how he has been pilloried in the media).

At the time the Packers made the move to go with Aaron Rodgers, I was dismayed and upset about the thought of Favre not being part of the Packers again.  However, the Packers rightly said enough was enough and took control of the quarterback situation for the long term.  With the benefit of hindsight it was a great decision as since then Favre’s career reads more like a soap opera episode than a sporting career.  If we take out the stellar season with the Vikings last year, we see a mediocre season with the New York Jets where there was bickering amongst the team and this year where the scene is playing out exactly the same only this time in Minnesota.  We also have the unwanted distraction of the sordid allegations surrounding Favre and a former Jets female employee which are being investigated by the NFL.

I must say that I never thought I would hear the call from the media for Favre to call it a career and retire….or worse be benched by the Vikings in favour of Tavaris Jackson.  But they are the unfortunate realities when one tempts fate and tries to go to the well on one too many occasions.

I sincerely hope that Brett finds a way to exit gracefully from the playing field without the decision being made for him.  Like I said, I hope but somehow I think that word ‘arrogance’ may stand in the way of that happening.

Sports

New Mets manager like the boy with the barrow!

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Professor’s Rant #2

I guess there is one thing we can say for the New York Mets management now being led by Sandy Alderson…..they picked a recycled manager in Terry Collins who has a winning record (444-434)!!  That at least allows me to put a tick in one box for Jeff Wilpon, Alderson & Co (and there haven’t been too many of those handed out by me to the Mets over the last few seasons).

Collins main claim to fame seems to be that he managed teams that finished second…..that’s right, second, in their division five years out of six.  I guess that is better than appointing a potential manager from a list that seemed packed with candidates who had losing records and were sacked from their previous roles (Collins, Chip Hale, Bob Melvin, Wally Backman, Clint Hurdle, Don Wakamatsu to name but a few).  Let’s look at some of the candidates – recently sacked Mariner’s manager Don Wakamatsu for one.  The allegations of ‘losing’ the players during a tough season isn’t a great start to a resume, especially when you combine that with a 100+ loss season and you have a recipe for disaster in New York.  Let’s also take a look at Wally Backman (currently managing the Mets affiliate the Cyclones).  He was sacked as manager of the Diamondbacks in 2004 just four days after starting in the job after not revealing two arrests and ‘financial problems’ to the interview panel.  One heck of a stint in the big leagues Wally.

So, my burning questions are these.  Weren’t there any potential managers sitting out there with winning records?  Weren’t there any that had World Series experience?  Why wasn’t Bobby Valentine at least interviewed?  He is curently not managing, having come off a very successful stint in the Japanese league with the Chiba Lotte Marines where he won the Japan Series and the inaugural Asia Series, but perhaps more importantly, has managed successfully before in the heat of the New York sporting spotlight garnering a 536-467 record over seven seasons (which included two 90+ win seasons).  Don’t forget he is the last manager to take the Mets to the World Series.

In any event, out of all that, Terry Collins has the job and now gets to confront what to do about closer Francisco Rodriguez, the non performing Jason Bay and Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran in the final year of a seven year contract.

Like the boy with the barrow, Terry has it all in front of him!

Sports

Penny pinching Tigers should learn from false economy!

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This is the first in a series to be known as the ‘Professor’s Rant!”

Over the last few weeks on Sportzfan Radio Stan and I have had lengthy discussions with basketball expert and panelist, Daniel Eade.  The topic for most of  those conversations has been the poor start…no, make that the very poor start to the NBL season by the Melbourne Tigers.  Daniel conceded last week that it is quite conceivable that the Tigers could start the season with a 0-8 win/loss total….well, make that loss total.

I was surprised when Daniel told our listening audience (on Sportzfan Radio #179.1) that the Tigers, during the off season, had considered signing Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams (the reigning NBL MVP) and Julius Hodge (who played with the Tigers in 2009), but in the end Tigers management had elected to go with the cheaper option of an untried paring of TJ Campbell and Eric Devendorf.  Needless to say, the cheaper option did not get the job done and, as we all expected, Campbell was cut loose during the week to make way for Williams.  Who knows how long Devendorf will last, but given the loss to Perth Wildcats last night, he is possibly one step closer to a ticket home.

Make no mistake, I do not have a problem with NBL teams showing prudent financial management.  Signing ‘no name brand’ imports may have been all the Tigers could have afforded.  Of course, it doesn’t get fans excited or flocking to the stadium but it hopefully keeps the team in the black.  This premise though seems incorrect when the Tigers are eventually forced to admit the mistake in judgment and go with the cheque book to sign Williams in an effort to save their floundering season.  Problem is that the ‘momentum train’ has long since left the station and their is now almost no hope that the Tigers can fill their stadium or sign up new members.

Given the NBL is struggling anyway in the crowded summer sports market place, to go with ‘no name brand’ players is a recipe for disaster for both the scoreboard and hip pocket.

Punting, Sports

Sydnet Colt’s Mail For 20 November 2010

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Having a really big tip for a neddy in Melb today. Mail is a bit light again for Sydney where 2 very short priced 2yo dominate the early races.

SYD

Race 2 n3 FOXWEDGE This will win if trial form and trackwork mean anything for early season 2yo races. Make this a banker for an all up with the next 2 mail horses.

Race 7 n5 LADYS ANGEL Impressed some keen judges after leading and winning last start.

MELB

Race 8 n4 VERY DISCREET I am told this neddy has a ton on this field based on ratings. IAS went up at $7.0 and the best on offer this morning is $3.9o. Some smart people have jumped on. What will you do?

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