‘Homicide’ Williams has unfinished business in Townsville

Feb 6 2011 019Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams believes he has unfinished business in Townsville and in the NBL, opening up the possibility the 2010 MVP might one day return to The Swamp.

“Like LeBron coming back home to Cleveland,” said Williams, who added he would “one hundred percent” return in a quest to bring theUnknown Townsville Crocodiles a long overdue first championship.

Williams, who averaged 19.1 points per game over four seasons, arrived in Townsville early in the 2007/08 season and played three years in Townsville, leading the Crocs to back-to-back semi-finals in 2009 and 2010, before joining the Melbourne Tigers in 2010/11.

“My body feels great,” added Williams, 37, who just recently finished the season in Lebanon with Tadamon Zouk where he averaged 23 points per game and 6.1 assists per game.

UnknownStill holding onto great memories from his time in the NBL, Williams reminisced about his greatest achievements Down Under.

“Last two years (in Townsville) lost game three on the road, in the semi to Wollongong (2010) and South Dragons (2009) … but that Perth upset (victory),” recalls Williams.

That upset Williams recollects over the favoured Wildcats in the Wild Wild West during the 2009 post-season is etched in NBL folklore as one of the most entertaining playoff games of all-time.

Williams finished that night with 28 points in the Crocodiles 103-96 triumph as his backcourt partner, John Rillie, stole the show on hisUnknown-1 way to 34 points including 10 three-pointers in front of a hostile Perth crowd.

Williams remembers his time in Townsville fondly. “The fans. The town showed unbelievable love, ’til this day bring back Homicide hashtags still get posted,” said Williams. “That’s love.”

In his 17 years as a professional, Williams has played in Australia, Brazil, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Sweden, USA and Venezuela.

By Daniel Eade

Gelding’s red hotties for today’s Flemington race meeting

sean & geldingThe Gelding’s attention returns to Flemington today and after a mediocre outing last weekend, is looking to redeem himself.

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

Flemington

Race 3 Horse 3 – Northroza (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 5 Horse 2 – Anatina
Race 7 Horse 2 – Warrior King
Race 8 Horse 10 – He or She (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 9 Horse 6 – Orion

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

Friday musing – Chris Judd, Neale Daniher, French Open, Stan Wawrinka

Chris Barwin HillsIt was sad to see a champion of the game in Chris Judd end his career as he did last weekend. He is most certainly one of the modern day champions and for a period of 5-8 years was the undisputed best player in the competition. In my opinion his best form was at West Coast which took in a Brownlow medal, a Norm Smith medal in a losing team and he captained their 2006 premiership team. In this team he stood out in a team of good Unknownplayers like Kerr, Cousins & Cox. While there was no doubt he was still an exceptional player at Carlton where he won three consecutive best & fairest awards and another Brownlow medal, he stood out because he was so much better than the rest of the team. I think champions deserve to go out on their own terms and maybe going out the way he did took emotion and the fanfare away from his retirement which probably, in some strange way, suited him.

Sticking with football, it was great to see the football world rally around Neale Daniher and his cause last weekend. Neale was one of the most sublimely skilled players I have seen much in the mould of a Unknown-1James Hird, but unfortunately his body let him down before he really established his greatness. Having said that, I remember Leigh Matthews rated him ahead of Bruce Doull as a half back flanker, even though he had only played 60-70 games before he did his knee. Unfortunately for Neale his body has also let him down in life, but not dulled his spirit.

Moving away from football it was refreshing to hear Novak Djokevic acknowledge that he was beaten by a better player on the day in his post match interview after the French Open tennis final against Stan Warwinka. Too many times you have the sour grapes post matchUnknown-2 interviews where the skill of the opposition is not respected. In tennis I doubt I have ever heard Serena Williams acknowledge she was beaten by a better player on the day and certainly, in soccer, Sir Alex Ferguson never did!

Have a great weekend!

Gelding’s red hot tips for today’s Moonee Valley meeting

MarkThe Gelding’s attention is at Moonee Valley today and after a reasonable outing last week is looking to consolidate with some more winners.

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

Moonee Valley

Race 2 Horse 2 – Act of Valour
Race 3 Horse 3 – Jessy Belle
Race 6 Horse 6 – Yesterday’s Song (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 7 Horse 1 – Kenjorwood
Race 8 Horse 1 – Miss Promiscuity (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

You can hear the Gelding discuss the results on Sportzfan Radio tomorrow at 11.30am on 88.3 Southern FM.

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

Friday musing – Arsenal, Sepp Blatter, Adam Goodes & Adam Voges

Chris Barwin HillsWell it was great to see Arsenal salute in last weeks FA Cup final and what a comprehensive result. I don’t think Aston Vila had a shot on target for the entire game, whereas the Gunners put four past their goal keeper and he also made several good saves. This now makes the Gunners the most successful club in FA Cup history and whilethe Cup doesn’t carry the aura that it once had, it is still a significant alexis-sanchez-arsenal-burnley_3223813piece of silverware. The goal from Alexis Sanchez had to be seen to be believed and it certainly caught the Vila goal keeper by surprise. I thought I would not see a better goal for quite sometime, until I saw Lionel Messi’s slalom effort in the Spanish Cup final, unbelievable!

While we are on the World Game, it was no real surprise to see Sepp Blatter re-elected last Friday, but it was a big surprise to see him resign by Tuesday. He clearly has caught wind of further Unknown-1investigations which may involve him and yesterday we hear that Jack Warner from Trinidad & Tobago may be tipping the bucket on him. With 14 arrests already this organisation is clearly toxic and it will take someone of extreme integrity and resolve to sort it all out.

I was not going to weigh in on the Adam Goodes situation, but his behaviour last Friday night probably demands some comment. I have no particular issue with him doing the dance during the indigenous round, but it was clearly directed towards the Carlton supporters in the crowd. I have not booed Adam Goodes and nobody can say with certainty the booing is not racist, but for me it is his on-Adam-Coodesfield demeanour, coupled with his ability to escape suspension for issues that other players get weeks for which I don’t like about him. He is self congratulatory and a bit of a “look at me” character, you notice it at the ground particularly after he kicks a goal, he actually goes looking for his team mates to give him high-tens. He is also not the first and won’t be the last player to get booed consistently and most of the time those players that do get booed are absolute champions, like Wayne Carey and Diesel Williams. I think Goodes is a fantastic player and I don’t think the Hawthorn crowd that booed him would do so for racist reasons given they have at least three indigenous players in their ranks, including Cyril Rioli who is just about their most popular player.

It was great to see a 35 year old debutante make a century on debut over night in the West Indies. I saw Adam Voges playing in a domestic one-dayer about ten years ago and thought I had just seen the next Adam Gilchrist. Well that didn’t quite pan out as I expected,Unknown but he finally got his chance at test level and scored a remarkable century given no one else in the team could get past 39 and that was the number 11. This reminiscent of Mike Hussey and Chris Rogers coming into the team in their 30s and making a strong contribution.

Have a great weekend!

Gelding’s red hotties for Moonee Valley on 30 May 2015

42The Gelding’s attention is at Moonee Valley today and after having last weekend off, is chafing at the bit to get these tips up on the website.

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

Moonee Valley

Race 3 Horse 1 – Manhattan Avenue (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 5 Horse 14 – Pilly’s Wish
Race 6 Horse 4 – Metaphorical
Race 7 Horse 12 – Jessy Belle (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 8 Horse 9 – Killarney Kid

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

Friday musing – AFL, Malthouse, NRL, State of Origin, FIFA, Sepp Blatter & more

Chris Barwin HillsWell the Carlton/Malthouse issue was finally brought to a close this week with Mick challenging the board to make a decision which they duly did. While I have not been a supporter of Malthouse, it is sad that the coaching games record holder should go out in such an inglorious fashion. I also have an antipathy towards Carlton built up over many years, but watching them play Geelong last Friday nightUnknown was quite painful and I must say I felt sorry for them (a first). I didn’t think Geelong played all that well, but Carlton did not punish them for their plentiful mistakes. Something had to give and it is always the coach in that situation, but not usually so early in the season. With Carlton playing again tonight I think I might watch a movie as you would anticipate that the Swans will show no mercy.

I also watched the rugby league State of Origin game during the Dalligan & Gordieweek and while the game was close, I must say I found it rather boring. It did not have any real highlights and Queensland’s
experience in the end got them over line.

The FIFA situation with a number of delegates being arrested was probably the biggest issue in world sport and if every country was honest, Sepp Blatter should not be re-elected president. The problem will be that the delegates, who have been involved in the untoward activities, will probably feel safer with the existing regime that has propagated the issues that are under scrutiny now.

Well we have the dream final in the NBA with Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, so we should have an Australian on the Unknownwinning team again. As stated last week I would like to see Andrew Bogut salute. He has been around for a long time and suffered a number of injuries, and not only that, he is an Essendon supporter!

Speaking of Essendon I cannot let the week go by without congratulating Dustin Fletcher on his 400th game. In his 23rd season at the age of 40 he has missed over 100 games through injury and suspension which makes his milestone all the more remarkable.

Have a great weekend!

Friday musing – A-League final, AFL, Mick Malthouse, NBA Playoffs, Andrew Bogut…..

Chris Barwin HillsThe biggest thing in local sport in the last week was the A-League grand final and what a comprehensive result for the Melbourne Victory. They were aggressive and positive from the start and played almost the complete game. Sydney FC only had two real shots on goal and both went straight to the keeper. Speaking of the keeper, Lawrence Thomas, in my far from expert opinion, he is better than
the injured Nathan Coe so they didn’t lose anything there. I think in Unknown-4the previous week Melbourne City put more pressure on the Victory defence for the same score line. This is perhaps the most complete side to take out the title and while they lost and drew a few games during the year that they should have won, it was evident that if they clicked no other side in the competition could beat them. Mark Milligan was a deserved winner of the Joe Marston Medal and it is surprising that he has not find greater success overseas.

In the AFL it is interesting to see the issue about the head high tackles and the tactics employed by the likes of Lindsay Thomas in drawing free kicks. I raised this issue earlier in the year and players Unknown-3that drop their knees and dip/raise their shoulders are almost impossible for the umpires to detect even though it is the equivalent of ducking the head. I think it is unfair to be critical of the likes of Thomas, the Selwoods, Shoey and Puopolo when coaches from all teams should be teaching the players the same tricks. Every supporter hates when these frees are paid against them, but delight when they go in their favour.

The heat on Mick Malthouse continues and it reminded me of when Ron Barassi went back to Melbourne. He had been successful at two clubs, but could not work his magic a third time. I think the main issue at Carlton is their atrocious disposal. They win the ball in Unknown-2contested situations and then give it straight back to the opposition. I think they could be a sneaky chance tonight against Geelong, but I am still not prepared to pick them. My upset for the round is the Saints to topple West Coast.

The NBA finals are entering the final phases and wouldn’t it be great Unknownif the Golden State Warriors played off against the Cleveland Cavaliers so we could be guaranteed an Australian was on the winning side. Andrew Bogut v Matthew Dellavadova. From a personal point of view I Unknown-1would like to see the Golden State Warriors win the title for Andrew Bogut given his constant battles with injury he deserves the reward.

Have a great weekend!