Tag Archives: super-bowl

News, Podcast, Sports

Dr Alan Pearce comments on Senate Committee report into Concussion & Head Trauma in contact sports – Sportzfan Radio #490

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The Professor and the panel of the Judge, the Gelding, Coutta, Dan Butterly and Paul Dalligan talk with special guest, Neurophysiologist Dr Alan Pearce about the recent release of the Senate committee’s report into Concussion and Repeated Head Trauma in Contact Sports. They also looked at the results of the recent Boston University study that discovered 41% of young athlete’s (under 30) brains on autopsy had signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

Paul Dalligan reviewed NRL finals week 1 and put his prediction of how the NRL ladder would look like at the end of the season under the microscope.

Dan Butterly previewed both the NFL and College football seasons and gave his long range predictions on who would playoff in the Super Bowl and College Championship game.

The Gelding had some race tips for this afternoon’s Sale and Casterton meetings.

Sports

Friday musing – Super Bowl 50, Michael Clarke returns…….maybe

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Chris Barwin HillsWell we have one of the biggest sporting events in the world and certainly the biggest sporting event in North America kicking off on Monday morning Australian time being the NFL Superbowl between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. I have never been carolinaa big fan of the sport, possibly through lack of understanding, but the fact that a defensive linesman can have a great game and not touch the ball seems to be quite strange given the AFL emphasis on possession. I also find it peculiar that the main player in American football, being the quarterback does not kick the ball. Of the football codes, the NFL has the least emphasis on kicking. Notwithstanding my indifference to the sport it’s popularity in Australia is increasing and I am sure there will be a lot of people off work on Monday just to watch the game. I am going with the favourites, the Panthers.

I was interested to hear that Michael Clarke has announced he is coming out of retirement. As I understand it, he has only flagged
clarkeplaying the Sydney equivalent of district cricket at this stage, but surely he must be gearing up to cash in on the T20 circuit. As we have seen from other recently “retired” cricketers there is good money to be made. My big question mark over Michael Clarke would be that he has never been an attacking batsman that could do any better than a run a ball at best. If I had anything to do with a T20 franchise in Australia or overseas I would be reluctant to pay too much for his services and query the Melbourne Stars signing him to a contract in the Big Bash.

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – Packers, Seahawks, DeflateGate, Super Bowl XLIX….

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There’s almost too much to talk about in today’s Friday musing!

First off let’s look at the recently completed Championship games from the NFL. The Green Bay Packers had the Seattle Seahawks on Carroll2toast with about five minutes left in the game. At that time the odds makers had the Seahawks less than a five percent chance of winning. A reported six things had to go wrong for the Packers for them to lose the game….and they all did.

Perhaps the worst blunder during those five minutes was Packer Brandon Bostick trying to catch an onside kick with his helmet….denying Jordy Nelson an easy catch and gifting the ‘fumble’ to the Seahawks. That play will haunt Packer fans for years to come.

Whilst on the Seahawks, I came across a 2012 article from the Bleacher Report that gave Pete Carroll and the Seahawks an ‘F’ for that year’s draft…and I quote ‘Pete Carroll is proving why he didn’t Carrollmake it in the NFL the first time….selecting Russell Wilson…was by far the worst move of the draft’. Shows the so called media experts don’t always get it right!

I never thought deflating footballs would become a pastime in New England. The NFL are investigating and have rounded up the usual suspects. The Patriots coach, Bill Belichick says he has no explanation on how the footballs became deflated. I wonder who belichicktook it on themselves then to make that decision. Surely some simple investigation will locate the culprit? Money is on the NFL not sorting this thing out anytime soon…especially with Super Bowl XLIX only a week away.

My tip for the Super Bowl – Pete Carroll and the Seahawks by 10!

If you thought deflating footballs was a stretch, consider the noble sport of golf. In the last week we have seen Robert Allenby’s dubious allenbyreporting of an incident after a night out in Waikiki that left his face re-arranged. His report has it that he was drugged, abducted, bashed and robbed. Reports are now surfacing that Allenby was drunk and passed out in the street and ‘face planted’ a rock. It was even big enough news to make ESPN’s Keith Olbermann show. Olbermann had much glee in highlighting the inconsistencies in Allenby’s story.

As if that wasn’t enough for golf, we then have Tiger Woods’ missing tooth to contend with. Story is he was hit in the mouth by an errant mounted video camera. Whether it did or it didn’t, you would pay money to be in a three on the golf course with Woods and Allenby just for the inside information on those stories.

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – NFL, Super Bowl, NBA, Essendon FC, cricket……

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Chris Barwin HillsNot being a big American sports fan I have not seen a lot of sport in my two and a half weeks in Hawaii, but I was there for the Super Bowl. My daughter and I went to a bar on Maui and watched the game from just before half time. While being seated by the manager I enquired as to whom I should be supporting and I was assured I should be on the Seahawks. The bar seemed to be evenly divided between the Denver fans, who were very quiet and the Seattle fans who were a little more excited with plenty of Sea-Hawk chants. I enjoyed the game, however, the advertisements and the entertainment seemed to go for a lot longer than the actual playing time. My daughter also enjoyed the game and the advertisements! I think the game was an endorsement for the maxim that a good defence will usually defeat a good offence.

My other sporting observation from my time in Hawaii was the saturation coverage of basketball. It did not seem to matter what time of the day it was, if you went into a bar or restaurant and they had sport on the television, it was usually the NBA or college basketball and that included the time leading up to the Super Bowl.

Since being back in Australia I have been disappointed to see the Essendon supplements saga rear its head again. I guess it is not going to go away until such time as ASADA have closed their file. This could go on for years!

A good start to the Test series in South Africa, but I am starting to get a little concerned about Michael Clarke’s ongoing form lapse. Having scored 100’s in the first two Ashes tests he has not passed fifty since. I have been happy with the continued good form of Steve Smith, who in the same period has made three centuries. With Shane Watson missing from the line-up I hope we won’t be found to be a bowler short.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Podcast

Sportzfan Radio show #236.1

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@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!26 February 2012 236.1 – Daniel emulated Sportzfan Stan’s usual start to the show by launching his own rants, starting with Stan himself. Daniel suggested to the Professor that Stan needed to be sent to Florida if he continues to wear cardigans on 36C days. He quickly moved on to Ricky Ponting and whether he retired or was sacked by Cricket Australia. He discussed NFL and Troy Aikman’s comment that American football will not be the most popular sport in America in 10-15 years due to parents’ perceptions towards contact sports and Daniel posed the same question about the AFL.  Dan Butterly returned to the show to deliver his U.S. report and rehashed the lack lustre 2012 Super Bowl. He thought the commercials were the highlight rather than the game itself and that the Peyton Manning saga overshadowed the Giants/Patriots matchup. Dan also considered questions posed by Daniel regarding Eli Manning versus Peyton Manning. With March Madness due to start, Dan’s pick for the NCAA Final Four was, Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas and North Carolina. He also predicted some upsets caused during the tournament.  Finally he looked at ‘Linsanity’ that has taken over not only New York but also the NBA. The Gelding reported on the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield and the Sydney Colt’s results. Sportzfan Stan’s rant du jour was the usage of drugs in sports and the bad image caused by abusers.  The panel expressed their confusion on the penalties outlined by the AFL and the lack of criminal charges for those found offending.

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Sportzfan Radio show #234.1

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@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!12 February 2012 234.1 – Paul Gamble is in the chair hosting this week’s Sportzfan Radio and the Professor, who spent the past week in the U.S. for the NFL Super Bowl, gets to sit back and just be a ‘normal’ member of the Panel. Paul Dalligan and Sportzfan Stan round out the Panel and Paul opens by talking about the ABL Grand Final between Perth Heat and Melbourne Aces. The Professor felt that the Super Bowl was anti-climatic for anyone not a New York Giants fan and was critical of the inaccurate, over-hyped coverage that the Australian news gave to the reports of Gisele Bundchen, wife of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, abusing fans. He said the post Super Bowl news buzzed with questions of whether the Colts will retain Peyton Manning, their quarterback since 1999, who is worth 23 million if they don’t cut him by the first week in March. Sportzfan Stan’s rant was on the two year suspension handed out bythe Court of Arbitration for Sport to Alberto Contador. He was also stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title after his positive test for the steroid clenbuterol. The Professor said the penalty was a farce as Contador has been competing regardless. The Gelding talks horse racing and Black Caviar’s easy win. He also reports on Danish Rock who is now in Mick Price’s stables at Caulfield and is described as a fit colt running even times. Nick Tedeschi comes on to talk NRL and his 2012 Punter’s Guide to the NRL.  He is reserving his opinion on the Bulldogs at the moment. Dalligan’s “Dark Horse” for the year is the Cronulla Sharks.

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Sportzfan Radio show #233.1

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@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!22 January 2012 233.1 – With Dan Butterly’s first appearance of 2012, he recapped the end of the U.S. college football season with the deluge of bowl games involved and discussed the pros and cons of underclass men leaving college in the hopes of being drafted to the NFL. Dan expressed surprise at teams in the NFL Championship game after the Green Bay Packers lost to the Giants and the San Francisco 49’ers defeated the New Orleans Saints. He thought the match up would have been between the Saints and Packers. Dan says the Ravens will fall to the Patriots this week and the home advantage going to the 49’ers over the Giants for the Superbowl. The NBA strike has been the cause of numerous early injuries to players and predicts that the accelerated schedule will increase that number.  Also, aging players might fall prey to being traded as teams will have to weigh whether or not they can keep up with the season’s gruelling schedule. Less than a month until pitchers and catchers report for spring training in the MLB! The  Gelding was back in form this weekend selecting three winerss and two placings from his five choices. It took Sportzfan Stan thirty-eight minutes into the show before he called for the first sacking this week. He also observed that “some horses are faster than others”. Daniel talks NBL and felt that Ayinde Ubaka’s sacking with eight games left in the season was the worst timing by the Melbourne Tigers.

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Sportzfan Radio #189.1

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@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!13 February 2011 189.1 – The Panel start off without Sportzfan Stan again, who is still on injured reserve. The Gelding thinks it will be a long season for Richmond while Daniel thought we might have been talking about Collingwood for two hours. Daniel also complains about how bad the half time entertainment with the Black Eyed Peas at the Super Bowl. Dan Butterly comes on to talk US sport and in particular the Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers & Pittsburgh Steelers. He is reminded of his pick of the Steelers last week. He says it was a great game from start to finish and believes Aaron Rodgers gave a flawless performance with the Packers win was all the better due to the injuries the Packers dealt with not only during the season but also during the Super Bowl itself. Dan also discusses the seat fiasco where it appears the Cowboys only applied for a permit for the seats three weeks before the game.  He looks at NCAAB and was right in saying Ohio State wouldn’t go through the season undefeated having lost to Wisconsin today.  Dan says he thinks Daniel may be the only international Clippers fan in existence.  The Panel talk about who their dream guest would be – the Professor says Aaron Rodgers, the Gelding would like Damian Oliver and Daniel wants Michael Jordan – we’ll work on them. The Gelding and the Sydney Colt were on fire with their selections at Caulfield and Randwick selecting 5 winners from 6 selections. The Panel look at the NAB Cup and the Gelding reiterates he believes it is going to be a long year for the Richmond Football Club.

News, Sports

The quest to get Aaron Rodgers on Sportzfan Radio

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We’ve been talking Green Bay Packers all season…..matter of fact we haven’t stopped talking Packers in the nearly four years that Sportzfan Radio has been on air! We refused to believe that they and their MVP quarterback, Aaron Rodgers couldn’t win Super Bowl XLV from the 6th seed. We hung, as they say, fat!

Now we’d like the honour of talking with Aaron Rodgers on our show so that Australian Packers fans can get to hear first hand how Green Bay managed to win their way through to the Super Bowl and take the coveted Lombardi Trophy for the fourth time.

Help us on our quest and retweet our hashtag #getaarononsportzfan on twitter. Packers fans we can get this done!

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Sportzfan Radio #188.2

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@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!6 February 2011 188.2 – The Professor looks at the coaching records of Al Westover and Lindsay Gaze and says if the current Melbourne Tigers management had been in when Gaze was coaching, he may not have lasted as long. Daniel also discusses the sacking of Eric Devendorf. The Professor feels that the Tigers went for the cheaper alternative with their imports and found that cheaper doesn’t get the job done. Luke Nevill has also gone to Russia and the Panel decide whether he quit or was ‘released’. Daniel believes everything the Tigers have done has been bad. The Panel then talk about Darryl McDonald taking over the team for the last ten rounds and whether that will hurt him or not. Dr Leslie’s CSA is back after a two week spell. Daniel asks why people listen to Sportzfan Radio – he says they do so to listen to sports except Lisa Hayes who uses it so she can get some work done! Daniel has also picked the Tennessee Titans not to win the Super Bowl next season. The Panel look at St Kilda’s players and the problems from the New Zealand trip being created for the club. The Gelding says that most AFL footballers are excellent role models but when something goes wrong, the papers jump all over it. Paul Dalligan comes on to discuss NRL and ABL with the Panel. The Melbourne Storm sending a message ‘Playing for Everything’ with Crown Casino taking a punt and sponsoring the club.  Paul makes the observation there’s not much point having a Ferrari in the garage if you don’t have a driver’s licence.  He also talks ABL with the preliminary final evenly poised between the Bite and Blue Sox, the winner to play the Heat in Perth.  It will be on Fox Sports live.  The Panel then discuss cricket and the cloud that hangs over the game with three Pakistani players being suspended for 5 years for spot bet fixing.  They have also been charged by English police.  Daniel says the team should be suspended as well.  Daniel also talks about his story on basketball being used by the Herald Sun.  Sean Callanan joins the boys to talk social media, Super Bowl & Packers.  He says one of the big attractions are the TV ads during the game and that you’ll be able to check in to Four Square at the Super Bowl even though you may not be at the game.  Sean offered the ‘shimmy’ to Green Bay but they didn’t take up the offer.  He finally talks about the Mississippi State coach who has banned Twitter.