John O’Callaghan leads the discussion with the Professor and the Sportzfan Radio panel to try and unscramble the WADA, ASADA, CAS pudding.
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Tag Archives: the-professor
Gelding’s red hot tips for today’s Moonee Valley meeting
The 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
Some sports teams keep making dumb decisions
In September 2011, the Miami Marlins appointed Ozzie Guillen as their manager on a four year contract. Guillen brought a .524 winning record from his seven year stretch as the Chicago White Sox skipper. Whilst not setting the world on fire in his first season 
with the Marlins, he could have reasonably expected his tenure was not in jeopardy. What Guillen didn’t plan on was the intervention of Marlins’ owner Jeffrey Loria who fired Guillen and appointed Mike Redmond.
Redmond, who last year had his contract extended to 2017, had his managerial appoinment terminated yesterday after a 16-22 start to the season. He was replaced by Marlins’ General Manager Dan Jennings. Jennings has no Big League or managerial experience.
Due to prior questionable decisions, the Marlins now find themselves with three managers on the payroll being Guillen, Redmond and Jennings. What a waste of money!
That is not the worst of it. There is every possibility that the Marlins will have four managers on the payroll before the season is too much 
older. I say this as owner Loria has not shown any patience with his managers and if Jennings doesn’t win games, he’ll be the next casualty.
Aside from the managerial sackings, the decision to appoint a person with no managerial experience is a stunner. Would you employ a person who hasn’t flown a plane as a pilot? How about a person with no medical degree as a doctor? Whilst I wish Jennings well, the cards are certainly stacked against success.
Given the recent decisions, is it is surprising that the Marlins are equal last in the NL East?
Sports Marketing seminar not to be missed
A great initiative from the Southern Football Netball League in presenting a seminar that will provide tips to community clubs on sports marketing in the digital age.
Featuring Senior Associate Commissioner Dan Butterly and Sports Geek Sean Callanan, the seminar will be held on Wednesday 13 May 2015 starting at 6.30pm at Clayton Football Club rooms. Both Dan and Sean are former Sportzfan Radio contributors and have a long history in sports marketing.
Dan is responsible for branding and marketing the Mountain West Conference which forms part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the USA. He is the key person involved in marketing, promotions, merchandising, licensing and advertising. The Mountain West comprises 12 colleges in 8 states of the USA with almost 6,000 student athletes involved in 15 different sporting disciplines.
The Mountain West has been a very successful conference having, in the last 16 years, had one of their student athletes selected as the number one draft pick in the NFL, MLB and NBA drafts. That includes Australia’s own Andrew Bogut who was the first Australian drafted at number one into the NBA.
Sean Callanan or the Sports Geek, as he is better known in sports digital 
circles, is at the cutting edge in the field and his expertise has seen him develop a client base in both Australia and internationally. He
provides advice to teams in the NBA, AFL, NRL and cricket and is also a much sought after presenter at any seminar covering his area of expertise. He is fresh from presenting at the SEAT conference held in March 2015 in London.
This is sure to be an opportunity not to be missed to hear two leaders in their respective fields.
Check out the SFNL website for further details.
One AFL draft that doesn’t make headlines
If you missed the fact that the AFL held its women’s draft last night, it’s not surprising. A Google search of the event brings up links to the AFL, Melbourne FC, Western Bulldogs FC and Canberra Times websites. That the two matches in 2015 are between the Dees and the Bulldogs means it is not surprising that the AFL and the two teams are talking the event up.
What is also not surprising is the total lack of coverage from all major media outlets representing television, radio and print. That 
one of the biggest events in women’s football garners no interest is a sad reflection on the media.
It is not surprising as research shows coverage of women’s sport in the media ranges between 4%-7% (depending on the particular study referred to). Given the paucity of media interest, it naturally follows that commercial investment in women’s sport is a miniscule 0.4%.
That is a totally unacceptable result in today’s world.
It is up to major organisations, such as the AFL, to lead the community and demand more coverage for women in sport. Only then may the imbalance be corrected.
Southern Football League embraces netball
The Southern Football League became the first metropolitan Football League to embrace Netball to the extent that it incorporated it into its name to become the Southern Football Netball League from the 2015 season onwards.
The dramatic rise in popularity after the League included a netball competition has seen the number of teams increase from seven in the first year to fifty-one playing in six divisions in 2015.
On the same evening, the League also announced its community partnership with beyondblue.
At the League’s season launch, the Victorian Premier, the Hon Daniel Andrews said “In particular I want to congratulate the League 
on its great work to grow a thriving netball comp, not as a sideline but an integral part of its being, alongside its important partnership with beyondblue raising awareness of mental health issues.”
“This League is a labour of love for so many – and there’s so much done behind the scenes, whether it’s the people who wash the kits to those who manage the books – these are the people who ensure the League has gone from strength to strength.”
“The strength and resilience of community sport and recreation is indispensable to the future of our state and our suburbs. I know this League has a great future and I wish all the clubs well as the 2015 season properly gets underway.”
AFL’s fan engagement strategy not working for me
Having attended an AFL match last weekend, I can categorically say that the AFL’s fan engagement strategy did not do it for me!
Recorded music that was too loud, boring highlights of a match from last year and annoying interviews during the ritual singing of the Club song after a long awaited win was on offer from my Club.
From my perspective, it was a waste of time and money. I don’t want to hear music I can hear everyday on 101.1 or 104.3 nor do I want to listen to a breathless player ‘congratulate the boys’ while I am basking in the glow of a hard fought win.
Questions – who decides the fan engagement strategy and better still, as a member of the Club, why wasn’t I polled about what I would like as entertainment before, during and after the match?
Why not bring back the reserves playing before the seniors – a far cheaper and better option…..perhaps some live music between games too.
The engagement is not working with this fan.
AFL needs to re-think ‘illicit’ drugs policy
It is about time that the AFL amended its illicit drugs policy.
Sportzfan Radio has been calling for this for a considerable period of time. This week Melbourne Football Club coach, Paul Roos and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley have added their voices to this 
call. Buckley went as far as to say ‘if it’s a battle, we’re not winning it’ and wanted players to be held accountable for their behaviour.
The drugs policy indicates that the AFL does not condone the use of illicit substances and aims to identify AFL players who have substance abuse issues and place the necessary support around them to protect their health and wellbeing with a focus on education of the player. The policy includes a ‘three strikes’ component that means a player’s identity does not become public knowledge until he has been detected three times with illicit substances in his body.
First off let’s look at the word ‘illicit’. It means ‘forbidden by law, rules or customs’. In other words the policy can be described as the AFL’s illegal drug policy.
Interestingly, the AFL Player Code of Conduct that is incorporated into the standard AFL playing contract, is intended to ‘educate players on the importance of maintaining appropriate standards….’ 
and requires them to conduct themselves in a manner so as not to bring the game of Australian Rules into disrepute. The Code also indicates that AFL players must refrain from taking illicit and/or performance enhancing substances.
There are provisions in the Code that allow Clubs to penalise players where there has been a serious breach of the Code and, in cases of wilful misconduct, termination of the playing contract is open to the Club. I would argue that taking illegal drugs is a serious breach of the Code.
The problem with the current illicit drugs policy is that when a player is detected, he has already breached his playing contract with the Club. However, the Club is unaware of this until the third strike and is powerless to take any action it may deem appropriate. It is arguable that after a first strike and certainly after a second, the 
player comes within the ‘wilful misconduct’ provisions and could have his playing contract terminated. Without that knowledge of course, the Club is unable to act notwithstanding the player is engaged in illegal conduct.
Paul Roos’ analogy of ignoring motor car theft three times before taking action hopefully focusses those at AFL headquarters and the AFLPA on the problem of the current illicit drugs policy.
Time for a rethink!
Round one should be compulsory for all fans!
My mother believed any footy fan should always go to their team’s first game of the season, even if they missed all the others for the year. She reasoned that round one was the only time where hope and expectation collided.
As a long suffering Melbourne supporter, I have over the last ten or so years realised just how right my mother was. 2006 was the last occasion on which the Dees made the final eight (even beating St Kilda in an elimination final). As of 2007, after round one, all hope for Demon supporters is pretty much gone and expectations have been for a cold and long football season.
I don’t know how Melbourne will fare in 2015. I hope they improve and that Paul Roos has moulded a team that can be defensive as well as having attacking flair. Expectation is that the new signings will add some class and ability to the team.
Whatever may happen during the game, there is one thing certain
and that is before the first bounce of the ball I will be filled with hope and expectation of good things to come. I am sure all sports fans have similar feelings on the opening day of the season.
It certainly is the one game of the season a fan shouldn’t miss!
3 thoughts on Thursday
With the Easter weekend looming, sport is definitely in the headlines!
Sitting in fourth spot on the A League table, Perth Heat are facing allegations that they have ‘significantly’ exceeded the salary cap due to the Club paying $150,000.00 into a bank account held by a family 
member for striker Andy Keogh. The payment was found after a forensic examination of the Heat’s accounts by Football Federation Australia. At present the Club is one point off the lead and if it loses points because of this that will be the end of thoughts of playing in the finals.
There is nothing to gain and everything to lose by not complying with the rules.
ASADA indicate there is a possibility it will appeal the decision by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal in the Essendon supplements scandal. They have twenty-one days to make that decision and until it is 
decided, one way or the other, the whole of the football world will continue to be fixated on the topic. Regrettably, it has shifted the spotlight off the AFL’s opening round.
If ASADA proceed with an appeal, I hope Ben McDevitt has more evidence than was produced to the Tribunal.
The incoming Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board is looking at reducing the number of days in a Test match from five to four with play starting at 10.30am on each day and the bowling side 
being required to bowl 105 overs per day. The rationale is to save on costs. What is left unsaid is that today’s society doesn’t have the concentration span to grapple with a five day event. Reducing the time of play by only one day won’t cure that.
Another example of less is more this week (see also AFL players looking at a 17 game season). Where can I get a job where I get paid the same or more for less work?