hemingway

My guess Punt is that coming from north of Albury, you are a bourbon and coke drinker or beer drinker. If not, I think you may need rehab.

I was always a spewer when training and racing. For me, it was always a combination of busting a gut, literally running until I spewed and taking in food or fluid within 3 to 5 hours of exertion.

Great reports. And love the constructive comments free from bitchiness. Very encouraging to read those comments about the past and the present.

Now Red, a good education and degree, perhaps a dubious occupation (although I will give you the benefit of doubt due to all your pro bono work), I thought you had some class. You do not sample $3-$5 bottles. Poor old Mrs R. Despite his proclivities Uncle at least drinks some good stuff. And he lives in Romsey.

Sounds like some family or friends are going to be the beneficiaries of your generosity.

How hard is the ground surface at Goschs ? I assume there is a sprinkler system. It always looks well grassed but this hot spell must be drying out the ground. If so, I would be decreasing the amount of time doing hard running sessions.

Strange how anyone could have doubts because he came from Collingwood. Perhaps it suggests that old tribal loyalties still run deep, yet that is juxtaposed against the way supporters quickly embrace players from other clubs. Any other comments from his time at Pieland are just rumour. There are often critics when a person leaves an orgnanization, sometimes simply justification from those remaining. I think that it is remarkable that he lasted as long as he did at Pieland with Eddie.

Yes my dear Watson, except that I would say it’s like growing up in Melb in the 60s. It is expanding on the edges but it really is just a big country town. Just visit Adelaide on the weekend and wander the empty streets. Sunday is still a day of rest. If you pine for less congestion, lower house prices, and white australia (apologies to the Sudanese in the North) it’s the place to be. And if you like food, wine, beaches, festivals it is paradise. And there is also some alternate behaviour that may appeal to some on this site. It is also the murder state of Aus, with macabre, grizzly murders a speciality. Given the number of power shortages in the State, you have a lot of opportunities to get up to mischief in the dark. However, if they know one thing, the mighty South Aussies know how to organise festivals. They are brilliant. Tour Down Under, Clipsal, Womad, Fringe, the list goes on. And unlike Melbourne you don’t have to queue as there are not many people. But even in Paradise, you need to escape. It is just far to nice. I love Melbourne but it has become a gridlocked, congested city, with road rage, anger and impatience waiting around every corner. It is no longer placid or peaceful. It is Paradise Lost. Adelaide by comparison is Paradise incarnated. It’s just that it’s football supporters are insufferable. The rest of the population are so nice you want to scream. But you do have to explain everything in longhand. A direct question is rude so rather than bowl a yorker you have to bowl a leg break around the legs. It does feel that the World has left Adelaide behind. But there again there are no terrorists, no anxiety, no worries. It is the most underrated holiday spot in Australia if you include the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, the Clare, the Barossa, Kangaroo Is. Just a pity about the footy.

Fair enough, your support and positivity for J is admirable. I have no argument with your last sentence.

Hopefully Goody left all that behind at the Dons.

For families, Sunday 4.40pm and night games are a stinker. Also for country folk who have a long journey home by car or rail. Oh, I forgot, the scheduling is for TV, streaming and those sports fans with their wide screen, high definition, radiation emitting screens.

There are a lot in your camp, including young people. Professional sport has changed the whole landscape of sport and viewing sport, so that we view everything now through a veil of cynicism and skepticism. Sadly, superior performance is now viewed against our doubts of doping. Whether it be a team or an individual. Since the beginning of time, cheating has been part of life therefore also part of sport. But the big money and the big interests in sport have taken cheating to a whole new level to the point where we are no longer surprised, and, indeed, expect it. I guess you either like it or lump it. I like it but swallow with the odd lump. At the end of the day, I still enjoy the beauty of the sport tarnished as it may be.

any enjoyment left OD ? other sports?

Fair enough Saty. The problem is that JG has history, has form, has a footy CV. Im sure we all hope that he has a terrific year because JG at his best is good for the team. However he will have to become the footballer he’s never been .....consistent over the whole season. He has to bring consistency in attitude and application. In short become the footballer he has promised to be but never has. But he’s back, apparently fit and displaying a good attitude. He needs to be as he is playing for his career. He will need to be showing form early so he gets selection. If he starts at Casey and can’t crack the Seniors, I suspect his form and interest will go out the window and it will be all over red rover. I hope he surprises us all.

Agreed more like 2nd half of the season. He needs as much time as possible to get his knee 100 per cent right and properly conditioned. One would expect the Club to take a cautious approach knowing whats at stake if there is another problem. I do think that he will have to modify his game somehow. How, I don't know, but his intercept game style where he is often coming from the side and leaping and landing on one leg worried me before the injury and doubly worries me post injury. The Ox only returned to play out his career by changing the way he played.

Potentially a better player than Brad with more strings to his game. Brad played some good games but he played plenty of poor ones as well. Lets hope that Fritta does not get a dose of second year blues.

Consistency of effort every week from all senior players will be expected. There is no place for inconsistent effort whoever the player. My gosh how the standards and expectations have changed.

The other thing 56 as you understand these things: Its a favourite place of residence for folk from the old country. Its hard to pick the Poms from the locals with that odd clipped dialogue. The other group that deserve a special mention is the group of lazy inept tradesmen from the old country. How to rip off customers and do the least amount of work is a fine art. And the brain drain from Adelaide to Perth, Sydney and Melbourne started decades ago, well before the term brain drain was invented. The Crows supporters are the worst. Give me Port Adelaide any day. The locals as a rule are very courteous but distant. . Apart from that it is a lovely place and wonderful holiday destination. The Fleurieu Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Special mention to Kangaroo Is.

Having lived in SA, I know exactly what you mean. A beautiful place, great food, wine, and the best beaches in the country if not the world. However, its a time warp and incredibly inward looking on all things. As for footy, nothing exists other than the SA teams. Blow by blow descriptions of training sessions and media coverage of the most minor details. Victoria is Mexico and Victorians are Mexicans. We don't exist. A huge cultural difference. SA is a world apart from the rest of the country.

My God, May and Preuss look like two tough hombres. Not to be messed with. You would want them on your side. We have one hell of a tough outfit.

Would seem to be a person that lights up a training ground or change rooms. Every organisation needs someone who provides humour, enthusiasm and positivity. And someone who the young guys can go to for advice or who will lend them an ear.

I can understand your sentiments OD. Many feel the same way particularly after Lance. However, for me, cycling is still a beautiful sport. The drug taking thing is a turnoff for many, but for me, it is simply a matter of degree. Professionalism and money in cycling came before many other sports. Cyclists for over 100 years have always tried to gain a competitive advantage by fair or foul means. In the early part of last century, Tour riders would take all sorts of things to keep themselves awake and give them energy. In the 60s, they turned to amphetamine use and then later to anabolic steroids, EPO, testosterone, and growth hormone. However, the use of illicit substances has been part of all professional sport for years. Perhaps not in the same systemic way as in cycling but nevertheless still present. At the same time, we can point to other sports, such as the football codes where drug taking has been rife for many years and where there have been attempts to use performance enhancing substances in an organised systemic way. What I do know is that of all the sports, cycling federations at the world and local level have done more to curb drug taking than any other sport. What's been done by other sports is window dressing and only masks over the true reality of what has happened and is continuing to happen. In any event, my original comments were not about this issue but simply acknowledging the passing of a truly great sports commentator in Paul Sherwen. Whatever, your view about professional cycling, Sherwen was a giant in the commentary field. He shared his knowledge, insights and enthusiasm with sports lovers around the world, and, together with Phil Liggett, has been influential in the uptake of cycling as a recreational sport and as a popular viewing sport.

It would be extraordinary if fitness staff could not give advice to players or give them a fitness/workout program if players voluntarily seek their advice. Even if they don't seek their advice, surely club fitness people can give advice in the off-season. Players should be maintaining their condition outside officially sanctioned club training days. I would expect all professional players to do this. This is not to say that this is part of the clubs official training program or mandated training periods. The consequences of not keeping fit are obvious. Players are more likely to get injured by not keeping fit than getting injured through over exertion. However, players are not going to be punished for turning up out of condition. It players are not able to use their own discretion about maintaining fitness and condition in the off-season, god help me. They may not all be rocket scientists but they are professional footballers and should know what to do.

La Tour will not seem the same without the mellifluous sound of Paul Sherwen's commentary. RIP Paul, you brought pleasure to many cycling fans with your commentary at the Tour, The Classics and the TDU. A class act in every way.

DS, you are setting a whole new training report genre. Originality par excellence. Its a game changer. Going to be very difficult for others to follow.