La Dee-vina Comedia

True story related to me just last week. A waiter working in a restaurant (thankfully in Los Angeles) used to send an order to the kitchen for a steak occasionally with the words "step on it" included. She wasn't requesting that the meal be prepared quickly. Rather, she was responding to rudeness or physical harassment (bottom pinching) from the customer and asking the chef to drop the steak on the floor and step on it before cooking it.

I love the MCG, but sometimes it's worth not thinking about what goes on behind the scenes too much. This article is about US sports stadia, but could it be the same here? Warning: For those with a weak stomach, you might want to avoid opening the article.

That's a tautology, isn't it?

Good point. We don't see enough numerology on Demonland.

I think the bottom right is Team Fallopian

No. Which is why AFLX doesn't work with AFL teams. It's meaningless. And the AFL needs to be very careful that the meaningless product doesn't drag down the premium product with it. That's cricket's big risk with BBL cricket. I still think there's a role for the AFLX game. But not with professional AFL players. Just like there's a role for Auskick. It can be used to introduce non-AFL jurisdictions to AFL.

It's taken me a while to come to this view but I reckon we should just let Andy do whatever he likes with the banner. He maintains the site for us and as such I think he should be given carte blanch to do whatever he wants with the banner. It's not like he's going to do something stupid and inconsistent with a Demons supporter site. Go on Andy, do your best. PS: Obviously he doesn't need our permission to do it. I just want the rest of us to respect his efforts and leave him alone to do what he wishes.

Care factor? Below Collingwood. Here's the point of it all...I suspect "super hero theme" is code for players linked to the Marvel franchise. What a surprise.

Collingwood-speak for "We don't know how many members we have because we can't count"

One man's graveyard is another man's pleasure dome. I quite like the 3.20 slot but dislike the 1.10 pm start as it takes out the whole day. And I still don't like Thursday nights (with the exception of the Thursday before Good Friday and Anzac Eve, should it fall on a Thursday).

Every time I go to Adelaide I have to remind myself to put my watch back 30 minutes plus 20 years.

To close the loop, I have today renewed my membership by phone. I also discussed with helpful staff member the difficulty of MCC members renewing online on the MFC website and had it confirmed that we have to do it through the MCC website. I suggested that the MFC website could include this information. In all seriousness, the club should be making it simple for all categories of member to renew. It's basic business knowledge that retaining a customer (or, in this case a member) is easier than finding a new one.

I tried doing it then and the MCC website wasn't allowing it either! The MCC site theoretically allowed a member to sign up with any AFL club* but the system didn't actually work. *Personally, I think anyone who joins an AFL club other than Melbourne should have their MCC membership cancelled as it's a clear sign that the person does not have the requisite integrity or intelligence expected of an MCC member.

If Melbourne is to be typically Melbourne, it should start by using correct grammar. The club is singular, therefore the statement should be "Melbourne is entering an exciting era". Unless, of course, Pert was being deliberately ironic and making a statement about the ignorance of the average non-Melbourne supporting Melburnian.

And nothing says "common" more than a Richmond or Collingwood membership.

I imagine that at some time in the not to distant future the Players' Association will say that players are being unreasonably coerced to attend the club during their supposed break. It will only take one club being unreasonable - and there will eventually be one - before the dam wall breaks.

I think this is one of the greatest posts on Demonland ever. I don't quite know what it means but " a royal commission for scum bags" just rolls off the tongue delightfully. Sounds like Paul Keating in Parliament circa 1990.

I'm not disputing this statement, but how does it fit in with the Collective Bargaining Agreement? I see no problem with players voluntarily doing extra work, but are the club's fitness and conditioning staff able to advise the players on what they should do during their break? Wouldn't that breach the agreement? Conversely, if the club's staff are not able to advise players on what they should do, how is the "extra" work monitored to ensure it fits with requirements and, more importantly, doesn't lead to players over-exerting themselves or potentially causing themselves injury?

I've just tried to renew online. I'm an MCC member wanting to take up the MCC/MFC offer but I can't renew online. Anyone else having the same problem? (I will ring the club and renew, but my concern is with the inefficiency of the membership renewal system).

Is that even possible? Can salmon coloured boots be beautiful? Makes me doubt the credibility of the rest of your posts (not).

One of the data conundrums would be whether things are better if that figure of 60% goes up or down. If it goes up, does that mean the club has better data or does it mean worse player management?

So, you're the one who watches her movies.

For every person who thinks one year out of the game is not enough to recharge there will be another who thinks that anything longer would be too long and too hard to get back in. I admire Pert for taking on this job. Without denigrating Jackson, there was a lot of low hanging fruit when he arrived. He picked all that off and then went on to the more difficult matters and will be rightly remembered as one of the best CEOs the club has ever had. So Pert comes into a job where all the "easy fixes" have already been done and will have to suffer the inevitable comparisons with his immediate predecessor. He would be smart and experienced enough to know that, so I admire him for taking on what has become difficult job to be seen to be successful in.

Thanks, that explanation is both interesting and helpful.

I don't know what the bolded bit actually means. But doesn't someone have to decide which actions should be measured and recorded in the first place and how much to weight a handpass, kick or tackle? And who decides what qualifies an action to be a "1 percenter"? This is what I meant by referring to assumptions having to be made by people who build the model in the first place.