La Dee-vina Comedia

And you can add that every time Watts played poorly or was dropped it caused a media circus. That distraction has been removed. Imagine what it would have been like if Watts ended up playing much of this year at Casey?

I expect there was an ultimatum...after repeated warnings, threats, cajoling and persuasions. It's just that the club very carefully kept all such messages in house.

True, but if I understand correctly, it's would appear to be his less than professional approach to rehab from that injury which finally convinced the club that it was time for the club and him to part ways.

And we're not even related!

The Carlton relationship with the AFL reminds me of the Kennedys and J Edgar Hoover. Each had something on the other which they used for their own protection. I wonder what Carlton has which makes the AFL bend over backwards to help them? (J Edgar Hoover had an audio recording made by the FBI of Bobby Kennedy being successfully seduced by Marilyn Monroe; the Kennedys had a photo of J Edgar Hoover with Clyde Tolson in a "compromising position". Side note: Bobby Kennedy was seduced the day he visited Marilyn to tell her she couldn't see JFK any more. It's all much more interesting than Stormy Daniels and Trump.)

And here's a link to the full ratings report for anyone who's interested.

The most recent radio ratings are out. Herald Sun is reporting that while Garry Lyon and Tim Watson increased their ratings, the newer appointments (Whately, Andy Maher, KB and Dr Turf) all went backwards compared with the last ratings period for the same timeslots. Keep in mind that SEN traditionally has a seasonal shift (improvement) when the footy season is in full swing and possibly even during the draft and trade periods which might have helped the last ratings period. And because we've had some great headlines in this thread, following recent events in Washington: David Neary‏ @DeusExCinema FollowFollow @DeusExCinema More Sadly I’m no longer in the headline writing business, but if anyone wants to use “Tyrant is sore at Rex” today, they are welcome to it. 12:47 AM - 14 Mar 2018

Is there anywhere an "official" list of player nicknames? I'm not interested in what we might think players should be called, but what the players are actually called by their family or team-mates. I know Jones is Chunk, ANB is Nibbler. What else?

No need to apologise and it wasn't poorly worded. I was just being a smart-thing. So, it's best that I apologise.

I remember when Greg Parke hurt his...

Unless you liked winning. These were seriously dark days, but I agree there were some memorable individuals and individual performances. I still remember Greg Parke taking what seemed like 16 contested marks in the bog-heap which was the Moorabbin ground.

Just seeking clarification. Do they live elsewhere or have they all died?

So, I contacted the club today to find out that some genius decided to merge my details with another person with the same first and last name. The records now show that I have a different middle name, postal address and email but the same phone number. According to the MFC officer I spoke to that "genius" works for the Melbourne Cricket Club. On the plus side, my membership pack has been re-ordered, although how he knows for sure that I've actually paid my membership is beyond my understanding. If anyone out there is a Melbourne Cricket Club member waiting for their MFC membership pack to arrive, I recommend you call the club. Surely I'm not the only person this has happened to.

No love for David Neitz as a defender?

I'm not sure that Weideman replaces T McDonald given the expectation that the role McDonald was expected to play included ruck support for Gawn. Or, to look at it another way, if McDonald doesn't play, who supports Gawn? The answer is surely Pedersen, not Weideman.

Watts may conceivably win the Brownlow, win the Norm Smith Medal and the Coleman medal with Port Adelaide this year. All that matters though, is whether he would have performed to that standard if he had stayed with us. The evidence to date suggests that he would not. Hence, the club decided it was time for him to move on. Will I feel shortchanged if he stars for PA? Maybe, but my chagrin will be not for trading him, but for woefully mismanaging him in the early years.

Reminds me of the comment that when one of our players left to play with another team, the average IQ of both clubs rose.

I'm not trying to take sides here, but I don't understand why you seem to think tax on profits and increases in entry fees are unrelated. Surely if the AFL pays tax it will need to increase revenues if it wants to continue spending like it does now.

I'm not that troubled that the AFL does not pay tax. The position at the moment is that the AFL still gets money from Federal and State Governments to help with various programs, but primarily to help with infrastructure. If the AFL paid tax, it would just end up getting more money from the Governments. At the moment, I trust the AFL to spend the money it doesn't give to the Government as tax more wisely than the various Governments.

Is anyone else who renewed their membership last year still waiting for their membership package to arrive? If it's just me, I'll contact the club.

But for what purpose? I can't imagine the Court can be used to satisfy curiosity. Doesn't the plaintiff have to show how he/she/it has suffered something for which the Court is the only remedy? In other words...so what if there was a conspiracy? How has the plaintiff been wronged because of it (if there was one)?

What would you expect? One's in Victoria and the other is in Queensland. More seriously, Hodge, while not standing alone, has very few peers. Between us all we could argue exactly where, but I suspect most would have him in the top 10 players or thereabouts for the 21st Century. Very few players will be within the same postcode and of those that are not, we would be very happy to have the best of the rest play for us. Hopefully Salem can become one of those.

Can someone summarise the cause of action that Julian Burnside is engaged for? I'm paywalled out of all News Ltd sites so I haven't been able to read the article. Without access to the article, I'm struggling to work out what the plaintiff is seeking and why. Using the usual logic doesn't generate any believable options.

Not necessarily. Just because the Chairman doesn't like pokies, it doesn't mean all the clubs will get out of the pokies business. The ALP just lost an election in Tassie where their biggest policy idea seemed to be removing pokies from all pubs and clubs. I'm not sure the wider community agrees with the AFL Chairman or the Tassie ALP. And while there is still community support, I expect some clubs will continue to offer the product.

I know it's not on the topic de jour, but in one sentence you've identified the AFL's two greatest fears with the northern expansion.