Macca

For us to avoid a final @Port, we'll need the Cats to win next week But if we win next week against the Lions the above won't matter Of course, if the GF ends up being played in Adelaide, Port could have the home crowd/home field (if they make it that far) With Covid and with it, triggered lockdowns, I wouldn't be ruling out any venues for any of the finals

It's a good race and an ideal way to start the Group1 season, Gorg Looking ahead nearly all the Group1's have been upgraded to be worth at least $1Million now so the fields throughout the Spring will be strong And that's apart from the 4 or 5 other big races out of Sydney that are worth a mint but not recognised as Group races (Everest, Invitation, Golden Eagle, Bondi St etc)

Got a mate who is right into horse racing and he reckons Cascadian is the one 14 horse field with any number of chances on a fast track in a truly run race could suit the swoopers and a horse like Kolding

What do you like in the Winx Stakes Gorg? I reckon Verry Elleegant will definitely be in the first 3, Kolding for a smidgen of value & Brandenburg is my roughie for the exotics

Best Bet Saturday (Moonie Valley) R5 No.1 Smokin' Romans $4.50 (Win)

Only in America!

Full stadiums for all venues (at this stage) Another sport that needs crowds ... some other sports not so much I'll post up a brief preview on the tipping comp soon enough but I don't see any reason to change anything 3 road winners with 1 or 2 points up for grabs depending on the week (week 17 - 3 points)

Completely forgot that the EPL started today ... Arsenal lost to Brentford and Man Utd put 5 on the board against Leeds Spurs at home to Man City (1.30am Monday) is the standout match

Both bombed!! And Behemoth gets the money over Beau on protest!

PM on the way

I've already answered your question "Short answer - no" ... did you miss that bit? Abuse is abuse ... I'm against other forms of abuse but pertaining to this site the abuse extends to posters abusing other posters, player abuse and the biggie ... Umpire abuse What is obvious to me is that many don't have a problem with some areas of abuse but are red hot on some other areas of abuse And that's ok with me ... I knew all that upon entering this thread I see things differently ... what's the big deal?

All of it ... it's mostly unnecessary though (the abuse) I'm more interested in how games are really won ... real ralent, good game plan and top coaching Umpiring decisions make up about 5% - 10% of a game in my view so the abuse is so over the top. Some decisions are vital of course What do the umpires make ... 40 decisions? But both teams combined make up to a 1000 decisions by hand or foot. And that's without all the 2-way running and running to position

Out of all this I truly hope we can stamp out racism. A big ask but it can be done We can possibly shut down the public utterances although there's always going to be one who chances their arm But the racism won't go away, especially on the net. So I agree with others that social media platforms need much stronger regulation. Governments need to come down hard on these sites and the sites themselves need very strong checks & balances. Free speech ... with caveats. Traceable accounts with full details etc. The racists are there now and there is a way of shutting them down on those platforms For instance, I've given my full details to this site and was happy to do so. I'm not sure but name, address, phone number etc but I may wrong with some of that (10 years ago)

Depends on the actual words and the context but short answer ... no But right now, on this site, abusing an umpire using foul and obscene language seems to be allowed yet (and I'm only guessing) racially vilifying a person would cop a ban There's too big a gap and I've said that twice now.

Speaking of Trump ... I called him a racist on one of the threads in the general discussion area about a year ago The retort by one poster was to call me a racist for calling Trump a racist. I let it go as I thought I'd bring it up later in a similar thread ... which is now! So been there, done that You and many others have misrepresented me, catagorised me and misinterpreted me all in the name of your perceived side Little do you know that I'm actually with you in the fight against racism. You need to stop jumping at shadows as I'm just coming at the subject matter from a different angle

As stated previously, abusing umpires by calling them chxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx says a lot to me about a persons character. They are unhinged and they are everywhere on this site That sort of behavior should carry with it a lengthy ban in my view. Right now, if someone came out with a racial slur, they'd probably cop a ban. And rightly so So right now, the attitude is that one stance is perfectly fine whilst the other carries with a ban of some description. So in my view, both stances are too far apart Do you believe anyone here should get banned for abusing an umpire in such a fashion?

I reckon it's closer than that but we can agree to disagree. Abuse of umpires in an over the top way says a lot about a persons character in my view You couple that with other narrow-minded ways that person might have and then a profile can be formed. So I'm not inclined to buy into a stance that that person might have which serves as the opposite to their normal behavior Over the years here, I've many times ended a post with this .... Say No To Racism

No it doesn't ... it puts me into another area. So save the lecturing ... your basic way of associating one side or the other lacks a broad approach There might be 10 different areas in this thread by the way. It's called nuance It isn't black and white (no pun intended) As for the other stuff, it isn't about you anyway ... I was talking in a general sense so don't take things too personally

I'm just on the lookout for those who don't practice what they preach. So it's perfectly fine to have fair & reasonable attitude towards racial equality and speaking out about vilification & discrimination. I'm on board with all that 100% But fairness needs to be across the board and plain to see for me to recognise that type of stance. I can believe a bloke like 'hardtack' as he is one of the more fair-minded individuals I've come across on this site (the feeling may not be mutual though!) I suppose that's the ultimate point I'm making. Is what we read to be believed? Put it this way, I can't judge anyone on one stance alone. They need to show me that they are fair-minded in all sorts of areas before I'm buying in Like I said, broadening arguments gives a better cross section of an individuals real motive So in my eyes, I see a connection with this thread with umpires being continually abused & vilified on this site ... ditto on player abuse If others disagree, so be it

I'm probably done here for now but the language towards umpires on this site needs to be toned down a lot ... same as racial vilification needs to be shut down. I like to broaden arguments and therefore, not leave anything out. I'm a stickler for fairness in as many areas as possible Abuse of players or put downs ... I have never done it. So let's be fair everywhere Umpires are not chxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx. There's one phrase that should cop a ban but that phrase can pop up 20 times on the game day thread You seriously worried about this thread being used as a conduit for other issues? Your history ... you don't like umpires deanox

You couldn't be more wrong about me Lord Nev I'm not deflecting, more so broadening the argument. Unfortunately my use of the word 'white' in my original post has been lumped in with others who use the word in more sinister ways I indirectly experience racism on a daily basis ... my partner directly. So much so that we had to move to a more multicultural area of Melbourne to escape it all And to say it's not at all pleasant would be understating things Most of it is subtle but that's often the worst type of discrimination By the way, the thread I was referring to was the Dean Margetts one. On top of that particular thread, the general abuse that he cops on a regular basis outside of that thread (game day thread, post match thread etc etc) Over the top, clearly wrong and with a heavy bias to the whole W/L hip pocket area In my eyes I saw him as a fine umpire who paid free kicks to players who play in front and are first in the ball (which the Eagles are good at)

You couldn't be wrong ... especially if you know my life history. Put it this way, I indirectly experience racism on a daily basis. My partner cops it directly And it's not pleasant ... so much so that we had to move to a more 'multicultural' area to escape it all So you've jumped to the wrong conclusion ... the mistake I made was mentioning the word 'white' in my original post ... I've been lumped in with others who use the word 'white' for other reasons So cool your heels and ease up on the face palming

And the reason I brought up my original point is to point out that prejudice lies elsewhere and if people want to be fair-minded, they should practice what they preach

No, Walker got what he deserved I would have turfed him out for at least half of next year and then some