13 May 2012 246.2 – Featuring the Professor, Daniel Eade and Sportzfan Stan in studio with Daniel Eade talking basketball and NBL with the Gold Coast Blaze going into administration. Mark Fiorenti comes on to talk A League and the upcoming match between Melbourne Victory and Olympiacos of Greece. He also talks Premier League with Manchester City and Manchester United fighting it out for the top place. Paul Dalligan discusses the current NRL round and the forthcoming State of Origin match. Daniel looks at the AIHL round and how the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs are faring.
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Would 11 Championships save a coach from the axe?
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!
Sportzfan Radio #200.2
1 May 2011 200.2 – Daniel talks NBL finals and says it has been one of the worst Grand Final series he has seen between New Zealand Breakers and Cairns Taipans. He says game 2 had absolutely nothing and Cairns only scored 52 in game 3. He also talks about the recent coaching appointment by Melbourne Tigers, Trevor Gleeson. Mark Fiorenti comes on to discuss soccer with Champions League and predicts a ‘mouth watering’ Manchester United Barcelona final. He also looks at Premier League and confirms he still feels the three W’s will be relegated. There is also a brief look at the Championship with Sportzfan Radio’s own Hull City finishing middle of the table. Paul Dalligan talks NRL and reviews the weekend’s matches and the coming Australia v New Zealand test match. He is disappointed that coaches are not given time to build a squad and feels there is no loyalty in sport. Paul Gamble wants to get Sportzfan Stan in to sack Bowls Australia. The Panel also talk with Sean Callanan about Telstra retaining the rights to the digital side of the AFL with games being able to be watched from mobile phones. Daniel gives his sports highlights over the last four years.
Sportzfan Radio #199.2
24 April 2011 199.2 – Mark Fiorenti also looks at the mathematical possibilities of Melbourne Victory and Sydney in making the knockout round of the Asians Champions League. He says Arsenal’s mediocre recent form with two draws seems to have finished its Premier League run. Sportzfan Stan believes Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger should be sacked. The Panel talk with Southern Football League CEO, Wayne Holdsworth about Jason Akermanis playing as a ‘gun for hire’ in local leagues and whether it is a good thing for football at grass roots level. Drugs in sport also raises its head again with Alberto Contador still cycling notwithstanding he has been found guilty of returning a positive test to clenbutrenol. He has lodged an appeal with the Courts of Arbitration for Sport and can ride pending the appeal. Sportzfan Stan says it is an outrage. Paul Dalligan comes on the show to talk rugby league and this week’s round of matches. He goes out on a limb and selects the Roosters to beat the Dragons 16-12. He discusses the off field trouble that Todd Carney and Anthony Watts have found themselves in and says it is a massive blow for the Roosters. Sean Callanan talks sports digital and Essendonfc will use a fan cam tomorrow to take a panoramic digital picture of the crowd at tomorrow’s Anzac Day game. He also discusses new teams strategies to draw in fans especially for the new 20/20 franchises, the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder. Don’t forget next week is the 200th Sportzfan Radio show.
Sportzfan Radio #198.2
17 April 2011 198.2 – The Gelding sends a cheerio to two new listeners who do the gardening whilst listening to Sportzfan Radio. Mark Fiorenti comes on to talk soccer and confesses to not having sent a second tweet as yet. He also discusses further departures at the Melbourne Victory, Asian Champions League and the mouth watering Champions League tie between Real Madrid and Barcelona. With six games to go, Mark doesn’t believe Arsenal can catch Manchester United in the Premier League. The Socceroos are back in the top twenty after their win against Germany. Paul Dalligan talks NRL and thanks channel 9 for broadcasting the Melbourne Storm game at Penrith this afternoon. The Panel discuss the NRL teams solidarity and foundations go out the window at this time of year when players and coaches announce their intentions on where they will be playing mid season. Paul doesn’t like the whole process. He believes it has got to affect the onfield performance. The Gelding disagrees that is affects performance. Daniel is confused as to how Damian Martin from the Perth Wildcats was awarded the Player of the Month in the NBL. This leads to a discussion of what MVP actually means. Sean Callanan talks social media and coverage of sport on mobile phones. The NBA spike in numbers is coming from people following the league by mobile phone. It is one area that the AFL could lift in. One issue in Australia is the lack of or poor coverage on 3G network in stadiums.
Sportzfan Radio #197.2
10 April 2011 197.2 – Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is in the press again for all the wrong reasons. Daniel is on Rooney’s side in that he is under so much pressure whereas the Gelding says he is the tosser of Premier League football. Daniel also says Mark’s tweets are as far apart as goals in soccer. Sportzfan Stan talks about the AFL’s plans to increase the number of teams and the necessity for good transport to be provided to the new team’s grounds. He recalls AFL Park where there were promises to build a rail link and that did not eventuate leading to the ground’s demise. Paul Dalligan talks rugby league and NRL and says the Storm were fantastic on Monday night who scored before Paul and the Professor had sat down. Paul says he would walk naked to Redfern if Wayne Bennett takes the Rabbitohs coaching job. He also talks about the hospitality at the Great Western Hotel. The Panel talk basketball and Daniel says common sense dictates D-Mac should coach the Melbourne Tigers next season. The Professor suggests Brian Goorjian should be approached. Sean Callanan talks sports social media and suggests we should alter the way we look at the AFL ladder. Percentage should be scrapped and be replaced with a head to head record between teams tied on points.
Sportzfan Radio #196.2
3 April 2011 196.2 – The Panel discuss the final of the World Cup cricket agreeing that the Indian middle order played very well when the game was on the line. They then look at the selection of Michael Clarke as Australian cricket captain. Paul Dalligan thinks it is a ‘safe’ selection. Sportzfan Stan says that not only should the captain have been changed but also the selectors and coach. He also queries the qualifications of the selectors to do the job. The Panel look at the Socceroos win against Germany during the week playing a lot better style of football. Holger Osieck gets the thumbs up for positive, attacking football. Sean Callanan comes on to discuss social media and Carlton FC letting Daves Hughes tweet during last night’s game against the Gold Coast Suns. Sean doesn’t think it was a success as there is a fine line between comedy and respect. He believes some would have cringed at the tweets. There’s also a discussion about the Yankees being caught out giving hand signals from the stands in a post on twitter. Paul Dalligan talks rugby league and is critical of Matt Orford’s mistake that eventually cost the Canberra Raiders the match. He is happy that the Rabbitohs have won another game. Mark Fiorenti comes on to talk soccer and is congratulated for finally tweeting. He discusses the Socceroos and Premier League and thinks Manchester United may be over the line for the Championship with more interest in who will be relegated. The Panel talks NBL finals with Gold Coast Blaze’s Mark Worthington. He thinks the Townsville Crocodiles will win the Championship.
Sportzfan Radio #195.2
27 March 2011 195.2 – The Panel wants to know when Mark Fiorenti is going to send his first tweet. Daniel says he is probably waiting until a team scores a goal in soccer. Mark talks about the good, the bad and the ugly of the A League. The Professor gives Mark $46million and asks him to do two things to fix soccer in Australia. We don’t quite know what Sportzfan Stan was getting at but he talks about taking the heads off the Manchester United players and putting them on A League 
players. The Gelding asks the Professor about former Green Bay Packer player Johnny Jolly who is in trouble with drugs again. The Panel then discuss Australia’s exit from the cricket one day World Cup. Paul Dalligan talks rugby league and NRL. He’s happy with the Rabbitohs form and says Greg Inglis responds to criticism with more force than the Chinese government. He says Mark Fiorenti’s first tweet will be something. There is a discussion on who will win the Australian Grand Prix – the verdict is Vettel. Sean Callanan comes on the show to talk sports social media and says Fiorenti should get off the fence and start tweeting. He also talks about good and bad hashtags in tweeting. Daniel suggests that the Professor should change his twitter name from Packers4.
Sportzfan Radio #189.2
13 February 2011 189.2 – Daniel asks the Gelding why Richmond didn’t put a side in that had a chance of beating Carlton in the NAB Cup so that they could get at least try and get through to the next round. The Gelding didn’t like the alternate jumper and says the Tigers shouldn’t have taken away the yellow sash. The Professor says that the lid is definitely off with Melbourne winning the first two pre-season games. Daniel thinks the NAB Cup is a circus with teams having to wait to play a second game. It can’t be good for the game especially with the introduction of new rules – Daniel says whoever introduced 
them should be sacked. Mark Fiorenti comes on to discuss soccer and he takes positives out of the defeat in the final of the Asian Cup. He is definitely right behind Holger Osieck as coach of the team as he has emphasised team unity. He discusses the A League which is coming to the crunch time of the season and also thinks it may be North Queensland Fury’s last game. In Premier League, Mark looks at the Man Utd & Man City derby. Paul Dalligan is looking forward to the Charity Shield later tonight between St George and South Sydney. He says Wayne Bennett is on fire as a coach and he won’t tip against him in the game, the Newcastle Knights are all cashed up behind Nathan Tinkler and are chasing players and the new NRL Commission needs to be appointed by 30 April 2011 as that is when New Limited intends to step away from the NRL. Paul then
looks at the ABL championship games between Perth Heat and Adelaide Bite. Daniel says Tom Walter the basketball coach of Wake Forest donated a kidney to save one of his players, Kevin Jordan but the College had to first check with the NCAA to make sure it didn’t break any rules. The Professor says that is taking rules too far. Sean Callanan comments on Super Bowl XLV and the effect social media had on the event. He also discusses Sportzfan Radio’s attempt to get Aaron Rodgers on the program. Finally, the Panel differ as to whether Shane Warne and Liz Hurley are a worthy story or not.
Sportzfan Radio #185.2
16 January 2011 185.2 – Daniel believes that skill goes out the window in 20/20 cricket and therefore this is not a good thing for cricketers who are wanting to be successful in test matches. He says 20/20 should be scrapped. The Professor says there are too many players over thirty in Australia’s cricket sides and the Gambler suggests that perhaps there should be a compulsory retirement age. Daniel thinks it could be a case of mates scratching mate’s backs and even he gets into the groove suggesting sackings. Mark Fiorenti talks soccer in particular the Asian Cup and reviews the Socceroos matches against India and South Korea. He thinks Holger Osieck is demanding a more attacking game from the Socceroos. He thinks the squad is getting older and a few players are at the end of the road. Mark also talks about the A League, in particular the form of Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory and the poor crowds attending A League matches. There is also a discussion with the Panel on the happenings in Premier League with Man Utd, Man City & Arsenal going well at the top. Paul Dalligan chats about the ABL and the recent poor form of the Melbourne Aces having lost 6 in a row. He also talks with the Professor about Sportzfan Radio’s broadcast of the Aces match against Perth Heat. Paul even manages to sneak a discussion of rugby league in even though it is not in season. Daniel exclusively announces a charity baskets game to aid the Flood relief appeal. Sean Callanan comes on to talk social media and a Liverpool soccer player being charged by the Football Association over what he had written in his twitter account. The Gambler talks about Essendon FC’s high numbers on their Facebook account. The Panel conclude with their thoughts on which Australian tennis players will do well in the Australian Open.