La Dee-vina Comedia

For the kiddies out there (meaning probably anyone under about 50) these were wonderful must-have household items. It was made of a stiff piece of paper (like a birthday card) with team names each having a small cut out section which slotted into the ladder. Every Saturday night (because all games were played Saturday afternoon) you could shift the teams around to ensure you had the most up-to-date ladder.

Mitch Clark is back and still having his name mis-spelled on Demonland?

I said he was a victim who inflicted it upon himself. I didn't say anyone had to feel sorry for him.

Bugg is a victim in the same way Gaff is. Self-inflicted, but nevertheless impacted by his own foolish action.

You are quite right. My post can only make sense if some umpires didn't notice him who now may be more likely to because their peers already have.

They can both be victims. Brayshaw is a victim of the physical impact while Gaff may be a psychological victim from feeling guilty. The fact that Gaff made the violent contact does not stop him from being a victim albeit one that was self-imposed.

I don't think it worried us when we were interested in Jake Lever. I have no problem at all with clubs talking to players during the season. It's a professional competition and the players and the clubs are both striving to make the best deals they can. Nevertheless, I don't like the NRL system where players announce during the season that they will be playing with a different team the following year, but I suspect it will inevitably happen in the AFL and we'll all just get used to it.

The biggest surprise in these odds is that Angus Brayshaw is 25/1 for the Brownlow. I only say that because as an "unknown" last year he still managed to come third. I would expect he will now be noticed even more by the umpires in 2019 and benefit from that. Of course, he will also now be subjected to more scrutiny from the opposition, but no more than the names ahead of him on the list.

Wow. I'm starting to think that you're not really Ernest Hemingway. The real Hemingway would have condensed all that down to the second last line and gone off to the bar for a drink.

Change jobs.

I noticed during the week that the AFL Store was selling large pictures of three Melbourne players (Gawn was one, can't remember the other two) and Hogan in his Melbourne gear which was marked down by 50%. I suspect they will still sell zero. Even if given away at no charge I can't see who would want one.

He had sleeves even wearing a standard jumper.

I agree about the saturation issue. I'm no fan of Thursday night football (unless it's a special occasion, such as the night before Good Friday or ANZAC Eve) as it has the effect of diluting the weekend. I'm also not psychologically ready for it. It's the same with cricket. Why we're playing international cricket in Australia in November makes no sense to me. Clearly the Australian public isn't ready for that, either.

I still think it's clunky. But that might just be me. I'm not generally interested in the video clips (particularly coaches' media conferences, whether post-game or at any other time) and the site seems to be hell-bent on being video-clip driven.

I have an alternate view. Instead of being satisfied if he "can take a few games by the scruff of the neck" my preference is for him to become a consistent, solid option. Someone who gets picked every week, takes contested marks and kicks goals regularly without necessarily dominating individual games.

I've said this before, but the role of a Captain is not just about what happens on the field. I have no idea whether Hutchins is a good captain or not, but making a judgment as to the suitability of being a captain on the basis of what happened on the field, particularly in one game, is a fraught exercise.

Nup. He was just a kid being influenced by his Manager and his Dad. Let it go.

Personally, I think booing should be reserved for umpires and anyone associated with Collingwood.

I'll put in a starting bid of Adem Yze and let the rest bid up from there.

Mind you, Robert Flower made any jumper he was wearing look better than it probably was.

While I like your nostalgia, you do realise there is nothing stopping you from sitting at half-time with your thermos and fruit cake and discussing the progress of the game with your family, friends or bloke sitting next to you? And I'll defend the game and the spectacle as it is today. Apart from anything else, getting to watch it played on grass instead of mud and while sitting undercover instead of standing in the rain help make the experience better. Players are fitter, stronger and on average, better skilled. It's the non-football activities which are spoiling the experience. For example, I'd much rather watch a Reserves match than a couple of mascots doing handstands.

Cliche alert.

I think we can anticipate that whatever happens it will be promoted as a major shock: "In a major shock, none of the delisted free agents was picked up by closing time in the delisted free agents period" "In a major shock, player X, was the only delisted free agent picked up by closing time in delisted free agents period" "In a major shock, player X and player Y were the only delisted free agents picked up by closing time in delisted free agents period" etc

I note that Get Smart was first broadcast in 1965. Coincidence?

I feel like I've just read the synopsis of a three-part TV mini-series. It would be even better, though, without the last seven words so I can imagine you as a digger in Vietnam in the late 1960s.