Macca

I might end up going 1 - 4 - 4 - 4 DZ as I reckon Egg Tart & Ace High can get to at least 3rd. The Winx race last time threw up an unlikely 2nd placegetter and that F4 paid just under $3k! A 1 - 4 - 4 -4 F4 costs the same as a box 4 trifecta. If I was to go one-out for 2nd I'd choose 'Unforgotten'. It's a good horse. And I've marked Santos on top as well but 'Neutrality' and the smoky 'Prophet's Thumb' might run Santos close. I'll probably do a 3 - 5 - 5 trifecta on the race and will include 'Charge' in the placegetters as well. At this time of year I up the ante a bit but am still quite fussy with the sort of race I invest into ... the Santos race & race 3 at Flemington ('The Sofitel' formerly known as the 'Tontonan Stakes') are the only early races that I'm interested in. And the Makybe Diva Stakes has got a crack field which includes the grey from the West 'Pounamu' ... the field looks way too tough but the wide expanses of Flemington might suit. There will be easier races for the horse of course. Interested to see how it goes, all the same.

Some top fields engaged for Saturday which includes Winx running around in the George Main Stakes A F4 with Winx winning is an obvious option although there are only the 8 runners so an outright 2nd could be the go as well. Unforgotten & Le Romain are likely candidates although Egg Tart & Ace High will be running on you'd reckon. Anyway, in terms of good betting races, I've marked the following 5 in order for the weekend ... Flemington Race 7 Makybe Diva St. G1 Randwick Race 7 Tea Rose St. G2 Flemington Race 5 Bobby Lewis Hcp G2 Flemington Race 6 Let's Elope St. G2 Randwick Race 5 Bill Ritchie Hcp G3 The Group 3 Newcastle Cup is being raced on Friday as well ... the race following the Cup is a decent affair also (Cameron Hcp G3) Good field's in both races.

Great question by Gorg all the same The other part of the argument is all the new gun QB's just starting out or newly established Protecting the QB's has its own rewards.

Aesthetically pleasing - Rodgers by a street Overall effectiveness - Brady easily Most effective = Best. In my opinion = Yes.

Maybe ... but it's a hypothetical so we have almost certainly never seen Brady's true brilliance 24/7 When he is called upon he has been brilliant. So Brady wins out because of the success that cannot be ignored. And we can't also can't ignore the 'Super-fan' element that surrounds Rodgers from non- Green Bay fans and the resentment and dislike that can often surround Brady. So there is bias involved but not from this here realist ?? And Joe Montana could well beat the both of them!

Brady although Rodgers is still Super-Great Brady (thanks to Beluchick to a large extent) has had a lit more success and that matters. And Beluchick is the greatest coach of the modern era ... in any sport, anywhere.

Top rate start for your Jets and a real good start for Darnold - got picked off with a return TD with his first ever throw but he joins exalted company in Brett Favre in that department. Did well from then on though. Highest winning margin (31pts) in Darnold's first game too since ... Tom Brady in 2001. Heady stuff! Your defence took Detroit apart with 4 picks as well. Apparently they got a read on Stafford's play-calling (hand signals) so kudos.

Might post up the lines late Tuesday's to get it out of the way ... some like to post their tips early as well. 2 points on offer this week as it's the first of the bonus weeks - other bonus weeks ... 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17. Good luck! Leaderboard in the Comp 0 - The Usual Suspects Guess The Lines Week 2 | The Bill Simmons Podcast

63 first acceptors for the Cox Plate and it is being reported than 9 of the acceptors are overseas horses but I counted 37. Am I missing something? If horses are here for a while do we now count them as Aussie horses? And are the NZ horses now counted as Aussie horses as well? I remember a time when the NZ horses were regarded as the 'Raiders'. It should be noted that it doesn't bother me much at all where the horses come from although I do reckon there should be some sort of limit otherwise we may end up with not much representation at all ... we're mainly breeding sprinter/milers these days. Top quality too but there's a dearth of 2000m+ quality Australian bred horses (Winx and about 10-12 others aside) Here are the 63 first acceptors

The Nations League has been a huge step up from the 'Friendlies' that we've otherwise been subjected to during the International weeks. And the Countries involved are seemingly taking the games seriously too. The concept is quite easy to understand with the winners of each of the 4 groups within the B, C & D Leagues all being promoted whilst the last place-getter within the groups in the A, B & C Leagues all being relegated. And of course the 4 winners within the 4 groups in League A all get to play off for the Nations League trophy (on a biennial basis) Thus because of the greater importance of these Nations League games (replacing a lot of friendly games) the FIFA World rankings will therefore have greater credibility. The games also count towards the next European Cup qualification. I reckon it's a terrific concept. Nations Cup Standings

He's obviously had a jab or 2 to get back out there but knee injuries are notoriously difficult to evaluate unless it's an ACL (which it isn't) We're going to have to wait until Wednesday and even then we probably won't know all the details. MCL strains can be 2 weeks up to 2 months yeah? We've got the Vikings at home next week but if it is to be Kizer for a time, we can at least compete at the QB position. Happy to see the end of Hundley. I watched the movements of Rodgers very closely and he moved reasonably well, all things considered. But I'm no Doctor haha

Good luck with all that Dappa ... I'm busy trying to figure out a trifecta combo in the 7th at Moe tomorrow! ? Anyway, a number of ex-players are making mention of the rustiness of teams early in the season with references to the lack of intensity in the practice games. I guess we're just going to have to live with it as the teams don't want to risk their stars until the main games begin. It's only week 1 but a number of the better credentialed teams have limped over the line or have failed to win when favoured to do so (Steelers, Saints, Chargers, Dallas, Seahawks)

As you know, I'm an Andy Reid fan as he keeps getting his teams into contention. KC keep racking up the wins and often fly under the radar. Mahomes with 256 yards with 4 TD's and no interceptions at the Chargers is impressive. A lot of the teams were all a bit rusty though ... as an example, Green Bay couldn't advance the ball with a fit Rodgers in the first half but did advance the ball with an injured Rodgers in the 2nd half. Ravens are worth keeping an eye out for same for the Panthers. Jury is out on Cinci but the Pats won as expected. The 2 games tomorrow are of high interest for all sorts of reasons. The Rams @ Raiders game especially. Gruden might have some surprises in store for us. And such is the divisional implications in the NFC North I'll be barracking hard for the J.E.T.S tomorrow! That's divisional football for you.

Rodgers just keeps doing these sorts of things but that was out of the box great. But his lack of mobility helped the team advance the ball in a different way (quick, short 5 - 7 yard passes that I have been advocating) Loads of other highlights from the day of course ... but it's only week 1 - we'll know more in a month. Washington, KC, Jags, Ravens & Vikes the most impressive? And Tampa won't be easy next week for your blokes.

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In shock! That was some sort of comeback victory .... and as you said, adds to the legend. So many twists and turns including the Fuller dropped interception that could have ended it. To be honest, once the injury happened (MCL perhaps but to what degree we don't know) all I could think of was long term. But Rodgers has said that he will play next week. McCarthy was forced to play a conservative game-style and we looked quite effective because of it (apart from the 2 game-changing TD's) The Bears played well, especially early, but couldn't finish it off. It's going to be a dog-fight in the NFC North though, all the same

Racing's worst kept secret? Prizemoney percentage and who gets what was probably the issue Nature Strip to win Everest slot after McEwen Stakes victory

Nothing available from the Valley but you can go to Racing.com/Moonee Valley to view any of the replays from yesterday. But here's The 'Run To The Rose' from Rosehill yesterday and the G1 Sprint from Haydock (UK) raced overnight.

Grinter was actually quite a skilful player ... could mark & kick but he had a bit of dirt about him. There were better backmen than him around the league but the sport was way different back then where positional play was a staple. Could run out of defence and set up play but he was no Bruce Doull ! vanders will get better with his disposal and decision making as he plays more footy at the top level ... he's only played 5 games after a long lay-off so there's a decent amount of upside. Needs to work on his kicking because he can create goal-scoring opportunities for himself due to his ability to take a mark in the forward line.

We only missed on the Collingwood game (by 1 lousy point) so we've done quite well this weekend DZ. Novak is still to play of course but who would bet against him? Might re-load with some more Nations cup soccer.

Grinter was more than reasonable WD ... I included him in my best 22 Demons that I've seen play (as part of a would-be team) vanders has a ways to go but his vigour, aggression, tackling, presence and hard-at-it approach is worth any number of cheap possessions. Fritsch has real value in a similar way but for different reasons. The numbers often doesn't always give us an accurate picture ... the eyes have it though. And we all witnessed Weideman's impact as well. The kid might just have it. Have watched all 3 other finals and the standout team is Richmond ... they can be beaten but only if they don't get to play on their own terms.

It was a difficult day in terms of trying to find a winner that wasn't at prohibitive odds today. Landed one decent trifecta but went awfully close with 3 or 4 others ? It was that kind of day and The Autumn Sun was a good thing beaten as well. Best Bet Strike Rate 21: 7 - 3 - 4 Australian Group & Listed Races I'll post up a few more replays when they become available but here's the Theo Marks Stakes from today ...

And Magic Consol wins the other feature event at the Valley ... and therefore gains automatic entry for the Cox Plate. Not bad for a 9YO! Not sure the connections will bother but 2nd carries around $1Million whilst 3rd earns $500k in the Cox Plate so finishing behind Winx is not always a bad result.

Course record for the horse so Houtzen running a close up 2nd was no slight on Nature Strip. Decent gap to Shoals and then another decent gap to Viridine. It gets an Everest slot on the back of the course record you'd reckon DZ. There aren't too many other candidates anyway apart from 'Home of the Brave' and the American horse 'Bound for Nowhere'

'Home of the Brave' wins well ... track conditions a bit questionable but the horse looks the goods and beat home some very likely types. Firmed into $17 for the Everest and with 2 slots left, Home of the Brave might get snapped up.