Mazer Rackham

That's if he doesn't die of a broken heart first.

Well, goddamn. Just got back from the game. I suffered through the entire debacle. We hit all our performance indicators today. Come out meek and insipid instead of breathing fire after a thrashing? Check Weak start giving the match away by quarter time? Check Make Carlton look like they're West Coast? Check Play 15 minutes of decent footy just to show that they can? Check Play the oppo's junk forward into form? Check Fall over at every opportunity? Check Deliver the ball to teammate about to get poleaxed? Check Deliver ball behind teammate? Check Save time by just delivering ball straight to opposition player? Check Carlton. Effin Carlton. Or do I mean, effin Melbourne.

Good on you Trenners. Goddamn I hope you get back. On a related note, I heard a whisper that Tyson was carrying an injury but instead of letting him get it right, the club (take your pick of which individuals) told him to harden up and play through it. Let's hope he doesn't get to play out Trenners Mk II.

Riv was good player, good reader of the play, forced to take best or second best forward when with us, played his heart out and I didn't begrudge him leaving.

Every pollie: "Does this have the potential to bite me in the @rse somehow?" Yes = meddle manage it; no = doesn't register as an issue.

About Harry, he said they had a bet with the Collingwood coaches about how many games he would play this year and they need to keep playing him to win it. But just in case, they laid it off with a bet of how many turnovers he will make. It's looking good on both counts and will fund the end of season trip.

And we (the AFL) say under our breath, "if it wasn't for that darned ACC, we would have successfully covered up a club's wholesale team doping programme and we wouldn't be in this mess now."

The latest justification for this holiday is that it will "boost tourism". If the gov't was so concerned about rural tourism, they could have announced their new holiday to fall almost any time in August, September, October ... or to fall on a Monday. Had a kind of "rural tourism festival". If they were going to be really sneaky about giving tourism a boost they could have it fall on a Thursday or Tuesday, knowing people would turn it into a really long weekend, and wouldn't that give tourism a boost? So why didn't the tourism minister announce it? It was the Small Business minister who announced it ffs! The bloke who represents all the people who hate it already! I note Dan was nowhere to be seen. Could be he's not so sure any more. This thing was proposed originally as "Grand Final Friday" to cash in on the GF buzz but looks like it will in fact kill it. So now we're hearing that it will be good because it will "reduce absenteeism". We now throw holidays to "reduce absenteeism"? Imagine how productive we'd be if every day was a holiday. The only thing that can save this new holiday is a booming GF parade crowd that the pols can hold up as a triumph over all else. Even if there turns out to be bugger all rural tourism. Prediction: if crowds are good we will see pics of Dan all over the HS the next day. If crowds are poor, he will be nowhere in sight. (Yeah, I know, not earth shattering.)

The extra money will be used to (try to) cement Aussie Rules in NSW & Qld. Dogs, Dees, North, etc, will be kept on life support just sufficient to ensure 9 games a week.

"Mr Abbott, who is a rugby man, harked back to his playing days. "'As a broken down former rugby union prop who had trouble catching, running, tackling, kicking or even passing - but I could scrummage and I could sledge - I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary athleticism of the AFL's players which seems to reach new heights every season,' Mr Abbott told the gathering." Seems like Tony has received his new instructions from Rupert, Friend of the AFL, already.

If the AFL had their way we would never had heard of any of this except for shadowy rumours. None of it would have seen the light of day and Tird might right now be getting the plaudits he so desperately wanted. But a mob called the ACC were on the case ...

What WADA fears is exactly what you have outlined and that is why they appealed the non-decision of the AFL tribunal. "We didn't know" "We lost the records" "The sports scientist went rogue" "The players were duped" "Ha ha ha-- I mean, this has gone on long enough!!!"

Outed! And the tragedy is, it should have been a colon. real men refuse to punctuate just look at bigfooty

Ol' Danny boy has painted himself into a corner. He made an election promise about this holiday, and if he goes and breaks an election promise then he can't throw darts at the feds for doing that. Not to mention opening himself up to attacks from the former Minister for No Planning. Dan's walking a fine line as he doesn't have a lot of political capital to play with. Will this holiday grow it or spend it? Everyone in politics is waiting and watching to see which way the wind ends up blowing.

He's more likely to require that Carlton Essendon and Richmond are in the 8 every year come hell or high water. And 3 blockbusters each per year.

The Hand of Murdoch is already at work. Hands up anyone who thinks he hasn't loaded this deal with restrictive, one-sided and punitive conditions. Think of it as the AFL's "free trade agreement" with News. The NRL fans are glad to see the back of him. He did no favours to them while he was in bed with NRL. We may come to rue the 18th of August.

Shame ... politicians ... shame .... politicians ....... seomthing's not adding up here ....

Oh, I dunno. Maybe the Ess players are in the right head space to respond to being called soft pansies who need to harden up or they'll be out on their ears tomorrow.

You know Kevin Sheedy is right there under their noses and not doing very much at the mo...

There's some funny stuff on bomberblitz. Calls for an EGM to reinstate him. Hird is apparently doing this so he can *really* get stuck in to the AFL. The delusion is strong.

Bad idea.

Losing sides always look slow. No flies on McCartney. I'm glad we have him and don't get why the Dogs dropped him. (They won't be regretting that choice though.)

And all because of Rod Grinter. They've got long memories, those Wallaces.

Yep. Because our umps are so confused by the nonsense direction pushed on them by the ump department they don't know whether they're Arthur or Martha. No wonder there are so many ratspit decisions in every match. Interpretation of the rules. Name one other sport where there is such a thing as "interpretation"of the rules. You might get clarifications, or examples of how to apply a rule, but actual "interpretations"? It's a farce. Not to mention the blatant disregarding of various of the rules, eg the "5 metre protected zone". "Running 15m without bouncing" -- happened a fair bit yesterday. Throwing. Dropping.

Would rather they keep playing Harmes to find out if he's up to it, than Bail who we know isn't up to it. Tyson as an example. If they can do it, they'll show it, given time.