Macca

I should also add that I reckon it's a good move for Tampa to bring in Brady for a year or 2. For all sorts of reasons. It's highly doubtful that they can win big but they can remain relevant and probably won't otherwise bottom out.

Brady's 2nd half against Atlanta in that SB was immense too. He carried the team that day. At other times it's all been on Brady. But the conduit is Belichick. Prefer to view all the greats as great but all the greats would only look better under (arguably) the best of all time in Belichick. Who's to say that the combo of Belichick and Cam Newton doesn't taste success. I wouldn't bet against it.

Brady is/was outstanding but Belichick made him even better. Rodgers has never really been surrounded by that sort of structure - the structure not being terrible but certainly not great. Father time is catching up to Tom as well. And he can't carry Tampa on his shoulders. If he does, I will go out of my way to give full credit.

Aaron Rodgers wasn't underwhelming though GtB! The man looks to be back, better than ever. Pinpoint accuracy with 3 or 4 long throws ... a sight to behold. And Cam Newton under Belichick? ... an unlikely pairing but it might just work if we go by what happened today. I always felt that Brady needed Belichick more than Belichick needed Brady.

The trouble with collating an exotic on a Saturday is that you need everyone here for 4 or 5 hours and it could be a mad scramble. You have to allow lag time and it's a bit of an imposition for punters here who may be otherwise involved in something else. For instance, I work every Saturday and only tune into the thread when I've got time (which is rare) Others can have the same issue. My main interest in the racing is in the lead up days. e.g. Rolling Fog's tips came in too late to be included in the multi last week. No one's fault either, he explained that he couldn't have done it any earlier. So that's 2 people potentially out already. It's just the circumstances of how things work (or don't work) We've had previous issues here waiting on a Best Bet on a Saturday. You could try it on a Saturday Wadda but I doubt whether it would work. The window is too tight. You're going to be chasing people up left right & centre. Myself included. And what about when people are out and about post the restrictions? Right now, many people are stuck inside but that's going to change. Down the track there might only be 1 or 2 people here on a Saturday. Esp if the Demons are playing on a Sat arvo ... for instance, we play Essendon next Sat at 2.10pm. I favour kicking the whole thing off on a Wednesday as the best bets are. Gives us lots of lead up time - problem solved in advance. Finalising an exotic bet on a Saturday makes more sense.

It might be as simple as nominating a horse in the nominated race when putting up one's best bet. Do it at the same time. We'd probably have all the choices in by Friday evening and if we're 1 or 2 picks short 1 or 2 of us can have a 2nd choice on a rotating basis. The fields are out on a Wednesday so we could nominate the race on that day. If the race is a G1 race it will stand out anyway. The standout G1 race gets everyone's attention anyway and a lot of the G1's have around 16 - 18 entrants. The Melb Cup has 24 but just imagine if we snagged that one!? Cox Plate field can be a bit skinny but even the Everest field of 12 is ok considering nearly every horse entered in that race can win it. Just had a squiz at last years Rupert Clarke and there were 14 runners and the F4 paid $5773 Begood Toya Mother (2-1 Fav) Age of Chivalry Widgee Turf Streets of Avalon All decent performers hey Wadda! (So Si Bon ran 5th so we could have landed a F5 if it existed!)

We tried a 5 pick trifecta way back but it didn't take off. But all we needed last weekend was for someone to nominate So Si Bon and we win (or whoever places a bet wins) ... and without boxing the 6 either as we had the winner outright (Fierce Impact - 3 noms) with any 2 others to win (if a multiple exotic instead of boxing suits) But I agree ... get 6 nominated horses and then do whatever you like with them. Not having a bet using the 6 is an option too. Nothing is compulsory. I reckon we stick to the Group 1 races ... Caul Cup, Everest, Melb Cup, Cox Plate, Derby, Oaks. For instance, next weekend we've got the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) or the George Main (1600m) up at Randwick. Small field in the George Main so probably the Rupert Clarke(?) Showmanship gets in at 54.5 kgs but might end up with a sticky barrier around the Heath

With 14 teams now making the playoffs the 1 seed from each conference are the only 2 teams to get a bye I believe 2 v 7, 3 v 6 & 4 v5 is the playoff pattern in each conference but I stand corrected on that. To be honest, I'm tuning in late to proceedings so trying to catch up. 6 playoff games in week 1 of the post-season could get a bit hectic in terms of trying to watch all the games. AFC East - Pats AFC North - Ravens AFC South - Colts AFC West - KC Wildcards - Bills, Steelers, Titans NFC East - Dallas NFC North - Packers NFC South - Saints NFC West - 49ers Wildcards - Eagles, Vikings, Seahawks n.b. 7Mate are covering the Pats/Miami match (Early) and the 49ers/Arizona game (Late) No SNF or MNF though and that might be the ongoing schedule (just the 2 televised games every week)

Well we've certainly got enough starters for the tipping comp but a shout out to @Dappa Dan @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @Dr. Gonzo or anyone else who wants to join in the fun & frivolity. 3 only picks per week but all have to be road winners ... it's that simple. Various points are awarded to those who get 'em right. Anyway, here's a couple of previews for week 1 as well as the game listings again. (n.b. you'll have to click on the youtube link to view the NFL Network clips) Sports Illustrated (The Magazine) NFL Season Preview Free Download

The Tigers will beat Adelaide and make sure of it as they could lose the double chance otherwise. But an 80 point win to the Crows today will see them close in on North. Carlton could rally though ... Crows by 30 and then they'd need a big differential in margins next week I remember the days when there would be upset victories towards the end of the season (pre draft era) The rumour was always that a team would plonk a fair wad on themselves to pay for the end of season trip. Ya know, Captain Groenewegen and all that.

Can't see Adelaide beating Richmond next week LH so they'll get pick 1 you'd reckon (unless they beat Carlton by 80+ points!)

Hawks have probably already decided what they're going to do with pick 3 in the draft. And the Pies to take care of Gold Coast you'd imagine. Best chance is Freo against the Doggies next week. And we still have to beat Essendon next week of course. Footscray being the conduit much like it was in '76 & '87. Let's hope we get 2 out of 3. But in the drafting era clubs put the cue in the rack more often than not. Hoping for the best and if we get in we might even win a final. You never know. But by gee we've made it hard for ourselves.

Yeah and I looked at So Si Bon but threw in Warning for real value. Punters Lanent! They came home for the last 600 in 00:33.29 and So Si Bon was travelling as well as any of the others. I will be (repeat, will be!) including So Si Bon in the exotics for length of its career! It us such a much improved honest horse but is just shy of G1 class. And the depth of our G1 milers isn't that strong either. Bit like Tom Melbourne ... I got a number of exotic collects with good old Tom included. Lesson learned the 2nd time around. And you're right about the bigger pools and that is related to the depth of quality. In similar 16 horse fields at least 2/3rds of the field can often be dismissed but not in a race like yesterday's Makybe Diva Stakes. Bank the top 3 as you mentioned Wadda but come up with 3 or 4 other roughies. A 3/7/7/7 combo costs the same as a box 6. In a WFA G1 one should be able to come up with the winner with 3 choices. Worth persevering with from a personal point of view. Anyway, no luck overnight (but lots of placings!) so it's Sha Tin here we come. Just a few small one-out doubles and a treble or 2.

Some good betting races to look out for tonight & tomorrow ... mostly G1 & G2 racing tonight whilst tomorrow the highlighted races from Sha Tin are C2 & C3 ($390k/$265k) Doncaster (UK) 3.00pm & 3.35pm (add 9 hours for AEST) The Curragh (Ire) 2.00pm, 3.10pm, 3.40pm, 4.10pm, 4.45pm & 5.15pm (add 9 hours for AEST) Sha Tin (Sunday) Races 7, 8, 9 & 10

Lean pickings by the sounds of it today ... got a few late winners but a little down overall for the day. We couldn't take a trick with our tips Wadda although JV came through with a winner in the last at Adelaide. Still, there is lots of group racing at Leopardstown (Ire) & Doncaster (UK) tonight so there's a chance for the recoup. I'll post up a bit of a preview later on Sha tin tomorrow as well ... the quaddie legs look enticing! I'm not done with yet!

Rothfire! Wow, what a horse! Thought it was overs even at $4.50 The Everest for this one. Sharp as.

Ok so we've got Miami Bound, Master of Wine, Fierce Impact, Kings Will Dream and I'll throw in Russian Camelot & Warning (for a bit of value. 4, 7, 9, 10, 13 & 16 Betting has closed! Good luck today to all the punters out there and lets hope the ADATR choices come through with the goods!

I now view footy as a 'new' sport ... defence based. With no real connection to the past. It's the only way I can watch it (with that mindset) I certainly don't love footy any more and I'm not recommending that others view the sport as I now view it. I just got sick & tired of going through the 7 stages of grief year after year And I can enjoy defence based sports to a certain degree.

And the Cats would be feeling mighty deflated right now too. They'll still get at least 2 finals unless they slip up against Sydney next week but they'd want to play a lot better than they did tonight (if they're going to feature)

Might be a generational thing ... most tiger fans I know went through 3 decades of mostly rubbish results. Most witnessed the glory years from '67 - '80 then later on saw their club nearly fold. The feedback I get is still with a tinge of disbelief re how well their team is going now. They didn't think they'd ever see success again. Same as you'd imagine that not many of us would take anything for granted if we ever became successful again. I know I wouldn't.

I know plenty of tiger fans and not 1 of them is complaining. They are still pinching themselves re their ongoing success. It's their team defence that really stands out though. No other club comes close. The Eagles an outside chance but only on their home deck (and that won't be happening) As previously stated, they bring their best and they win the big one again. Their onfield footy IQ is something else as well. And I reckon they are too professional to have an off day.

Tigers will win it all again if they play at their best. Their total football (inc total defence) is hard to counter. In fact, the teams on the end of their brand of footy seem nonplussed during the battle. Clueless on how to respond. To keep an in-form team like Geelong down to 1 goal in 3 quarters was remarkable.

Had 'em both in mind JV, don't worry! And putting together an exotic combo is not necessarily for my benefit. Anyone can use the picks. I'm a great believer in team and with regards to the punt, I'm not sure the team aspect has been explored properly. Just my view of course. For instance, I'm liking the extra best bets that we currently have this Spring. The large multi is an option especially for a small outlay but I also like to pluck the eyes out of the picks for straight wins, double's or even a treble. Got 4 collects last week out of the 6 picks and turned a profit. And all our choices this week look like standouts to me.

Fair bit of value already with Master of Wine & Miami Bound. And to be honest I'd rather trust the collective knowledge of the ADATR crew than my own thoughts. Boxing 6 with a small outlay can still pay a decent dividend especially with a F4. I first struck upon the idea when you made mention of a collect in the Caulfield Cup (?) a couple of years ago. Think it was a Box 6 F4 IIRC.

...And 'Rolling Fog' Interested in posters thoughts with regards to the Makybe Diva Group1 I've got Master of Wine as my best bet (place only) but I'm thinking of taking out a box Tri or Box F4. As much as it's often best to leave the best bet races alone I don't want to curtail any conversations on a big Group 1. I do fancy Master of Wine but the exotics could pay a bit on the race. So feel free to proffer up your choice The event is Race 7 and the field, form & odds in a post above (near the top of the page)