Jack Jack

Respect is earned, not given. To be honest, I don't really blame the umpires as such, but I think Umpires Director has to cop some scrutiny. No prior opportunity is one thing, but I loathe watching games where players can just drop the ball without being penalised. And don't get me started on the theatrics of "no genuine attempt to dispose of the ball". It's become a blight on the game and an eyesore and I believe the new rules/ inpterpretations are not in the spirit of the game.

I like the concept of making the games more meaningful, but I don't think CPD is the answer. It's already impossible to get an equal fixture, but having draft picks determined over the last half a dozen games just won't work. GWS, Melbourne & Brisbane are pretty close on the ladder at the moment. The remainder of the season is similar for us & GWS, but Brisbane cop the Crows, Collinwood, Fremantle & the Cats in the last 4 rounds. I can't see them improving their percentage much with that. I think getting rid of the Rookie list is a good idea. Maybe you can also add 1 or 2 minimum picks that teams must make each year.

There's been a lot of rumours and specualtion of late, but there's finally big news in the NBA. Lebron's finally annouced his decision (2.0) and is heading back to the Cavs. I, for one, think it's great for the sport, and shows a lot of character on his behalf. Well done Lebron. I'm Coming Home One of the rumours was that Bosh was holding off for James' decision with the possibility of going to Houston if he left. But he's now signed a max deal to stay with Miami. Still no news on where Carmelo is going to sign. NY must be getting a little nervous. And a recap on the draft, well done Dante Exum and Cameron Bairstow. Another 2 Aussies into the NBA. Exum has been widely touted as a lottery pick and was chosen by the Jazz with the 5th pick in the draft. Cameron Bairstow picked up by the Bulls with pick 49. Jazz is probably a good place to start for Exum. But after losing DWill a few years back because they wouldn't add more talent around him, I wonder what the ceiling is for the Jazz team. In any case, it'll be exciting journey. Certainly the Jazz fans think so with close to 10000 people turning up for a practice match.

It's certainly going to make things very interesting for the rest of the tour. Nibali is going to have to watch Cancellara, Porte, Valverede and Contador, I imagine they'll be on the attack to make up time. Can he hold them off? Go Porte!

He was a bit nuts. Did he really think he could stay out front the whole race? The Froome crash could make things interesting. Particularly considering the next stage is the Roubaix lite. He could find it difficult over the cobble stones with his injured hand, and his competition I would expect to attack, to really test it out.

Wow, England has been terrific. These early stages have been a little more exciting than usual thanks to a few undulations. The crowds have been nuts. The British are obviously either starved of entertainment or really love their cycling.

England has gone Tour crazy. The crowds have got on the bandwagon that's for sure. I missed the first half of the race yesterday, so I didn't realise that Gerrans had crashed again. If it wasn't for bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. Mark Cavendish ruled out of Tour I guess it's no surprise that Cavendish is out. But it's interesting that team OGE were a little disappointed that the UCI didn't do anything about it. The heat was on in the final few miles. Was a great race in the end, Nibali taking his opportunities. I was surprised that Sagan didn't go a bit harder for the finish line (finished 4th?). Maybe he was knackered after the race to the finish, or he was happy he'd done enough to get the green.

Yeah, disappointed for Gerrans and Cavendish. Doesn't look good for Cav's tour with a dislocated collar bone. Was still a spectacular finish. The crowds were nuts. I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

Yep. the SBS website is pretty good for viewing Le Tour. It live tracks the profile, leaderboard etc. SBS Tour Tracker Don't forget about Sagan Cards, he must be favourite for the green.

Doh! I was looking forward to seeing Quintana. And another positive drugs test in cycling? I can't believe after all this it's still happening.

Yes, a lot of it we already knew. But the extent of Armstrong's intimidation and influence was quite disturbing. And did he ever legitimately win a race without some sort of cheating? A real shame the damage he's done to the sport. Don't forget Quintana. Was a real revelation last year and is coming off a win in the Giro.

Don't forget the new Lance Armstrong doco is on ABC tonight. Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story Le Tour starts Saturday, can't wait.

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but this is an interesting turn of events, Email reveals split I thought that was the case anyway? Or is there still a sanction for no fault or negligence?

First time I've been in front of a computer since the game, so apologies for the late post. I'll start off by saying what an absolute champion Jones is. He has to be one of the most underrated players in the league, if not the most. His pass between 2 opposition players to JKH and his goal in the final quarter were brilliant. I think he's taken his game to another level, the captaincy role seems to sit well with him and he taken the responsibility to try and lift the team at various stages throughout games, it's just a shame that there doesn't seem to be anyone to go with him. Heart and soul player, inspirational captain, throw any of those kind of cliches at him and it works. There should be a few players that are embarrassed to share the same guernsey. Dawes is another huge positive. A true forward that can influence a game without needing a lot of possessions. I'd like to see him take a few training sessions and teach our team the principles of kicking to advantage. JKH didn't seem to have a lot of it, but made the most of his opportunities. I'd expect to see improvement over time where he'll impact the game more regularly. Howe was much better in the forward line, I hope he stays there and the defender experiment is over. Generally we've got a team of battlers, nowhere near skillful, but players that will generally give effort. I see a lot of these players being just fill ins until we get some quality back or some future talent is brought in. An unfortunate reality. Finally on the "laconic" Watts, I have simpathy for him. There was someone sitting in front of me whose only comments seem to be directed towards Watts. I'm sure he wasn't the only one that was overly critical of him, but Watts didn't pick himself, he didn't ask for the burden of being a Dees high draft pick, so from that regard I think he cops more than his fair share. Having said that, he frustrates the hell out of me. His talent is unquestionable, he's a very clever player. But we are in the era of contested footy and players need to be more than just clever players. He seems to play more like a small forward, trying to push his opponent under the ball so he can run on to the ball etc. He needs to add something to his game an not just rely on doing the odd clever act, because it doesn't come off enough to persist with. He either needs to bring a bit of hardness to his game, start taking a few contested marks or contested possissions, or he needs to increase his work rate and take the game on. I can't see him really becoming a courageous player overnight, but he can run harder. A lot of possession he stops, composes himself and hits up a good option, that's great, but his work shouldn't stop there. He should continue running to at least be an option or link up player. Anyway, disappointing loss. but we were in it for most of the game. Even though GC were thrashed by the Hawks, I thought they played reasonably well and was expecting tem to roll us by a lot more. Not much of a consolation, but what can I say, reality sucks!

Some Fred Wesley. Jack Jack's Jazz 4.7

He's a player at the peak of his game, not only was he the dominant forward but he was in a few centre bounces, got a few clearances, just pushed Dees players away when they where attempting to tackle him. He must be one of the most in form, versatile players around, let alone for a tall dominant forward. He's an absolute luxury for the Hawks to have. Was he given latitude or was he just too good for our (slightly) undermanned defence?

I guess after making the epic journey down to Casey yesterday I should put in my 2 cents worth. The obvious difference in the match to me was skill. Hawks players had the confidence that their team mate would be able to hit a target, be there for support, make good position or a good contest. I saw this a little in the Geelong match, but the Melbourne players would handall too much, break under pressure and turnover the ball. Delivery by foot was also a little haphazard. It seems to be a confidence issue manifested in poor skills, probably a noticeable observation for most. Again, in the Geelong match, frequently there'd be generally one player going up for the contest and a player waiting to crumb, yesterday I saw too many contests of old where 2 Dees would go for the same mark. Lack of confidence, lack of communication, just bad habits I guess. Kennedy-Harris I believe was a sub (along with Georgio and Viney), and only came on in the second half. His efforts where noticeable and certainly added a lot of energy to our performance when he was on. I'd be very surprised if he didn't play in the 1st round. It's hard to knock Viney's performance, he was definitely giving it everything, just needs a bit more composure with his disposal. As has been mentioned by previous posters, I also noticed Watts getting into good positions on numerous occasions, but was largely ignored for his efforts. Had a few clangers too. I was under the impression that Strauss and Watts were some of our better kicks, but it didn't seem to stop them from turning over the ball (although, who didn't!) Michie, Vince, Tyson and Cross seemed to do reasonably well. I'd hate to think how we'd be without that influx of midfielders. Not feeling particularly positive about the whole experience, 8 hours round trip, delayed in traffic and got there late, partway through the second quarter when the score was already starting to blow out. But then again, it's never been easy being a Melbourne supporter has it? Random observations: It's hard not to feel some admiration for Roughy, not only was he kicking a bag and generally making life miserable for the Dees, but he also found time to replace divets in the field and fetch the ball for the umpires. Delta Goodrem made an appearance at the game. And no, I'm not proud that I noticed she was there.

Yes, I think you're right.

From memory, one of the sticking points with the AFL/Essendon punishment negotiations was that Essendon would, under no circumstances, agree to anything that stated they had given their players anything illegal. Have they in fact opened themselves up to further punishment if more than 2 players receive sanctions? One can only hope!

As a matter of interest, has anyone heard or read about the Trans Pacific Partnership? Wikileaks published 1 of the 30 chapters of the proposed partnership last year, and it seems to give horrendous powers to the already powerful corporations. TPP: The Biggest Global Threat To The Internet Since ACTA TPP Secrectly Trading Away Rights Why Australians Should Be Worried About The TPP How Would The TPP Agreement Affect Australians? I note that Penny Wong is asking for more transparency with the Government on this issue. She makes some good points, but it is a little lost considering it was Labor that started negotiations 4 years ago, and as far as I'm aware they didn't release any information to the public (I don't think it was mentioned by anyone during the election campaign). TPP Is Not A Trophy I cannot fathom how giving up our sovereign rights to corporations is a way forward or of benefit to Australian's?

According the the AFL website, the game is at 1.00pm on the 8th of March.

Sorry s81, missed your post. I'm with you, I haven't even finished watching the whole season. Big let down in my books.

I've heard this song a few times on the radio lately. Catchy tune. Jack Jack 5.9

I've heard this song a few times on Triple J recently. Took me a while to track down the artist and song, it's one of the Unearthed artists. I don't think she's released an album yet, just a couple of singles. I can't get enough of it. Jack Jack 5.8

Nice one Macca. The vocals sound a lot like James Hetfield. I heard a song in the movie Crash a few years ago and thought it was by Dave Gray. I kept wondering why I couldn't find that song on any of his albums, took me a while to figure out it wasn't him at all. Great song (and a great movie too). Jack Jack 5.7