28 August 2011 216.1 – The Professor is back behind the microphone with Daniel Eade and Brett. Dan Butterly comes on to talk US sport with the College football season about to start next week. He is keen to see how the Mountain West Conference teams go. He also talks NBA, NFL and MLB. The Gelding is away on holidays in Hawaii so the Gambler calls in to talk horse racing and defend his selections for yesterday’s race meeting at Caulfield. Mark Fiorenti talks soccer and previews the Socceroos World Cup tie against Thailand on Friday.
Tag Archives: nba
Sportzfan Radio 7 August 2011 #213.1
7 August 2011 213.1 – Once again Daniel Eade is unable to join the Panel, this time through illness. The Panel start the show with a discussion on the Melbourne Football Club. Dan Butterly comes on to talk US sport highlighting the imminent start of the College football season. He thinks it is no surprise that Oklahoma is ranked number 1 in the polls. It could be a great year for people who are against the BCS system. Dan is surprised that the Air Force Academy and San Diego State are not in the top 25. He believes that if TCU were a member of one of the BCS conferences they would have been ranked higher. Dan says it is a perception thing. He thinks it is out of Luke Fickell (OSU), Mark Richt (Georgia) and Rick Neuheisel (UCLA) who will be the first College football coach sacked. Dan then looks at the NBA lockout. He thinks it is going to be a very long dispute and realistically they could lose the whole season with the owners playing hardball. Plenty of players have signed overseas agreements meaning they think it won’t be sorted out soon. The NFL has solved their problems and their lockout is over with the teams now in training camp. Dan says it will be interesting to see how the pre-season will go with only a few weeks to the first game. He finishes with a chat about injured Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez being investigated for participating in an underground poker tournament. The Gelding comes on to talk horse racing from Flemington and Randwick yesterday. The Gelding picked three winners and a placing. He also indicates Danish Rock is due for a jumpout at Caulfield on Tuesday.
Sportzfan Radio 31 July 2011 #212.1
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.
Sportzfan Radio #206.2
12 June 2011 206.2 – The Professor queries when Daniel is going to attend a production meeting at the Great Western Hotel. Mark Fiorenti comes on the show to talk soccer & the Socceroos. He is bullish on Holger Osieck’s coaching and also the young players he tried in last week’s friendly matches. There is also a discussion of the problems confronting FIFA with corruption claims and the rumors that Cesc Fabregas will leave Arsenal for Barcelona. Mark thinks time might be running out for Arsene Wenger. Daniel and the Professor discuss NBL and the plight of the Sydney Kings who are thought to be in debt again. They also look at cricket with Simon Katich’s axing, the review into Cricket Australia and the selectors. Stan sacks the lot. Paul Dalligan talks rugby league and the coming State of Origin match. He thinks NSW will win 16-12. He also reviews the current NRL round. The Panel look at the dangers of spectators running on to the field at AFL games. Sean Callanan talks about his coming trip as Sports Geek to the US. He will meet with the NBA, see some Mets and Yankees baseball and then assist the Minnesota Timberwolves during the NBA draft in engaging the fans on line.
Sportzfan Radio #206.1
12 June 2011 206.1 – The Panel start off the show with a discussion on the cost of going to an AFL match. Daniel says it is not cheap to go to the footy. The Professor says local footy is a far better (and cheaper) alternative. Sportzfan Stan has the AFLPA in his sights with their claim for an increase in payments. Dan Butterly comes on to talk US sport and gives his opinion on the NBA & NHL finals. Dan still thinks the Heat will beat the Mavericks and the Canucks will overcome the Bruins. He believes Michael Jordan in the best basketballer of all time. Dan gets technical talking hockey with his assessment of fast & slow ice and which leads to more goals. He discusses the re-branding of the Mountain West Conference and Mordiboy poses a few questions to him regarding Tiger Woods and Tiger’s association with a doctor whose background is questionable. The Gelding talks racing and looks at the results from Flemington, Randwick and the Belmont Stakes. He also gives an update on the progress of Queen Asa and Danish Rock.
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 #200.1
1 May 2011 200.1 – A milestone 200th show for Sportzfan Radio – Sportzfan Stan starts the show by taking a swipe at the AFLPA with their quest to get 27% of future AFL revenues. Stan is not happy with it as it seems too much. Dan Butterly comes on the show to talk US sport from Phoenix, Arizona. He looks at the NBA & NHL playoffs, the NFL draft and the problems with the lockout and Major League Baseball especially the takeover of the LA Dodgers by MLB. The Gelding talks racing and explains why his selections won or lost. The ladies from the Tennis club did well with a 1st and 2nd. John O’Callaghan highlights prior Sportzfan Radio stories about the annual Olive Branch Achievement Award presented to Kevan Gosper, the research on the age grouping of footballers both of which were also featured in the Age. Mordiboy joins the show from the golf course and discusses the highs and lows of golf over the last four years including the story broken by him about Tiger Woods.
Sportzfan Radio #199.1
24 April 2011 199.1 – Sportzfan Stan leads off the show with suggesting the Port Adelaide FC coach, Matthew Primus should be sacked after yesterday’s loss to the Gold Coast Suns. Daniel says the club should look outside for a replacement. This leads to a discussion on whether the Melbourne Tigers should also look outside the club and not go with Darryl McDonald as coach. Stan suggests they should appoint Andrew Gaze. The Panel talk to former NBL player John Rillie who is now with Boise State’s basketball program. He discusses College basketball, NBA and the NBL playoffs. The Gelding comes on the show to talk racing and the weird behaviour of jockey Shane Scriven during the week when he ‘borrowed’ the whip of another jockey during the race. He has been suspended for 5 months over the incident. The Gelding also reviews both his and the Sydney Colts selections. His two tips for the Ladies at the Tennis Club got up. The Panel then discuss the Anzac Day game and whether it should be limited to just Collingwood v Essendon or should other teams also get a chance to play on the day. Mark Fiorenti has finally tweeted again…about the Copa Del Rey between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
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 #198.1
17 April 2011 198.1 – Sportzfan Stan leads off the show suggesting that the Australian Cricket Board should be sacked and appoint an independent Board with no parochial interests to improve cricket in Australia. Dan Butterly returns to the show to talk US sport including college basketball finals. He previews the NBA finals and thinks it is out of Chicago and Miami in the East and the Lakers are the team to beat in the West. In NHL action he feels the Canucks from the West and the Capitals from the East look good to advance to the Stanley Cup final. Dan reviews the first weeks of competition in MLB and says it is early days yet but the Mariners are looking at another 100 loss season. The Mets could also be a 100 loss team. Jackie Robinson is remembered on the 64th anniversary of him breaking the colour bar in major league baseball. The Professor queries whether Brett Favre will be back for a shortened NFL season. The Gelding reviews the racing at Flemington and Randwick with a much better performance this week on the punt. The Sydney Colt was not quite as successful.