Macca

Just found out that John Millman is an Aussie ... I'm not up with tennis like I used to be. Good on him anyway and he's now into the last 8 in a Grand Slam tournament. John Millman produces the biggest win of his tennis career

Boxing 5 in trifecta's is going to my go for the feature events throughout the Spring DZ ... and with that sort of bet in the big races one doesn't have to think about it all too much - I just cross fingers that the right configuration salutes. I do like Santos' chances of getting into the finish. Long Leaf has fabulous closing speed as well ... 10-1 is slightly overs in my book. A good betting race, that's for sure. One less class runner to worry about Wadda, you're right. Sunlight will be back soon enough but I reckon she might need it a bit longer now. The Golden Rose over 1400m & The Thousand Guineas over 1600m may well be her target races. A favourite of mine obviously. My Racenet.com Blackbook is getting awfully full right now ... I do like Pounamu's chances at Flemington in the right race (1800m+) but Material Man might be the one to shine. Ran a very slick 1400m time at Belmont 3 starts back in a Stakes race so the mile races for the horse could be the go (at odds) Exotics definitely.

8 participants so far with a few to come ... I might put all the tips together in one post so people can compare tips whilst also making it easier for me to tally them all up on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You won't see your avatar name on the leaderboard until you get off the mark although those on zero points will be lumped together as 'The Usual Suspects' or suchlike Anyway, thanks for the response and good luck to all.

Well what we can guess at DZ is that it couldn't have been a first-timer. And perhaps the punter has never been burnt before with these sort of bets? Not sure you'd 'go-again' in a hurry though ... the quintessential 'Once bitten, twice shy' hey! Oops!

Rams Steelers Dallas

The WA 'raiders' are on their way East ... In other news ... it's very unfortunate but Sunlight is out of 'The Run to the Rose' with an elevated temperature - latest odds ...

1.10 or even 1.08 you'd maybe understand but 1.02? That's what I call skinny odds. And here we are trying to win $700 with a fiver! ?

A bad bet ... a real bad bet! You often wonder about the situation of those who place these sorts of bets ... do they do it all the time? Unlimited collateral? Seems like a hiding to nothing bet DZ.

Good field DZ ... at least 6 winning chances and even without the odds available, a good betting race. Sunlight's trainer Tony McEvoy was saying that the horse might be looking for a bit further in it's 3YO year. Hasn't shown the same brilliant speed in it's 2 runs so 1400m or even 1600m might suit going forward. Graff might start favourite though ... and Sunlight, Long Leaf, Santos, Lean Mean Machine, Zousain, Sandbar & Performer all have claims. One for the exotics you'd reckon.

Network 10 have secured the rights to the Melbourne Cup Carnival (the 4 meetings) ... $100Million over 5 years (2019 - 2023) Racing.com retains the rights to broadcast the races on the 4 days on FTA 68 & 78 as well as on the app. I'd forgotten that Network 10 had previously had the rights from 1978 through to 2001. The 7Network will still provide coverage for the other major race days by the looks of it.

Had the goals but wrong winners ... however, Liverpool, Man City, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona & Bayern Munich all won with all their games providing +2.5 goals (Barcelona won 8-2 in their game) So the method is there but the trust has to probably be with the really big clubs and then be satisfied with the lesser dividend. Just like the horses, it's better to be let down by the class runner/team.

Spurs just have to win those types of games to challenge GV ... in fact, to be the best means that the best team has to be great as a minimum. City gained 100 points last season and if that's the benchmark, 'Elite-Great' might be required. Watford are flying at the moment - 4 from 4 and can they keep it up? There always seems to be at least 1 minnow team that is thereabouts. Last year it was Burnley and of course we all know the achievement of Leicester from just 3 years ago. The biggest underdog win I've seen in terms of how long they had to maintain winning form. City can be knocked off but the better teams will all need to take points off them - win against them if we're being honest. Man City could be expected to just about gain maximum points against the rest. As for Friday, win or lose we all just want to see maximum commitment. And there's no reason why we can't do that as that's what we've done for the most part all season. And if we win, the sky is the limit.

Here's my projected outcomes for the divisions ... The Pats & Steelers could get the 1 & 2 seeds again in the AFC whilst the NFC could go any which way. The Rams & Eagles are going to have their divisional rivals coming at them hard whilst Green Bay will be in a dog-fight in the North as well. The South is between 3 teams but Atlanta could prevail. As for the projected playoff results, who knows? But who would pick against the Patriots getting to the big dance again? And as is often the case, I'll no doubt miss on at least 4 or 5 of the teams listed below ? AFC East New England AFC West Chiefs AFC South Jacksonville AFC North Pittsburgh Wildcard NY Jets Wildcard Broncos NFC East Philadelphia NFC West LA Rams NFC South Atlanta NFC North Green Bay Wildcard Vikings Wildcard 49ers

10 participants would be a good number but even if was 12-15 it's not that hard to manage Dappa. We'll probably get 8+ so no biggie. Had a read of that Sports Illustrated NFL Preview mag (see link above) and the quick 1 page overview of every team is easential reading for those who need a brush-up or who are new to the sport. Half way through the mag is where to look just after the Rams write-up and the article on the QB's

How so?

And here is Sports Illustrated's NFL Preview Edition - the free edition is a bit slow to download but follow the links and you will get it. Read with Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar/equivalent. The Rams & Falcons feature

Thanks I like Bill's column as well ... usually appears on the Ringer around Thursday/Friday but I prefer to read it late Sunday. The BS Report 'Pick the Lines' podcast on the other hand is often better listened to early in the week right after the previous week's games are completed. Peter King's column is very good too ... a more serious approach obviously but good reading. But there's a stack of stuff available online.

I will keep an eye out ... it will probably apoear somewhere in the next day or so.

I once sat on the grand total of 1 point going into week 11 so you may need to be made of the stern stuff DZ. Trust me, every point gained is more often than not hard earned. Points in the last few weeks seem to be easier to attain but in the meantime, good luck! Traditionally I haven't entered the names of those participating on the leader board until thet get off the mark. The comp is cruel enough as it is! ?

The Annual AFC 'Over-Unders' With Cousin Sal | The Bill Simmons Podcast (part 1) Part 2 (the NFC) to follow in the next few days.

Welcome to the comp Gonzo and good luck to the Jets ... it would be refreshing to see the Pats not win the AFC East. You never know, a lot can change from year to year in the NFL.

The lines aren't up as yet but here are the week 1 games ...

Horse Racing in Australia still has Best Bets & Winning Post and both mags are still excellent ... Note to self - must go back to purchasing them again. But what is there available with regards to hard copy magazines pertaining to the World game layz? Is 'Match' still going? FourFourTwo'? Haven't seen 'Shoot' for years but I believe they might do the odd publication.

Tipping comp time again ... easy to play, just pick 3 road teams to win from 3 picks. Most week's there is 1 point on offer for getting all 3 correct but we have a number of bonus weeks where 2 points are up for grabs with the final week carrying 3 points. All tips must be in before the games start for your particular tips. No changing tips or editing allowed. As stated, it's a very easy process apart from getting them right! Missing a week or 2 or starting late may not necessarily effect your chances of winning ... there are numerous weeks when no one gets a point or points. However, the bonus weeks is where the comp is usually won & decided. Bonus weeks are week's 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17 where 2 points are on offer with week 17 worth 3 points. So a shout out to @Clintosaurus @JV7 @Dappa Dan @Gorgoroth @cowboy_from_hell @DeeSpencer @Cards13 @Go the Biff @Strafford @Dee Zephyr @Wadda We Sing @titan_uranus @pantaloons @DemonDave @layzie @daisycutter @Dr. Gonzo @beelzebubor anyone else who might be interested in participating. Regular Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2017 Clintosaurus Go the Biff Dappa Dan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell Clintosaurus/ DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell/ Macca JV7/ DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 Dappa Dan DeeSpencer Gorgoroth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 cowboy_from_hell/ pantaloons/ Gorgoroth Strafford Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2017 Macca Clintosaurus Go the Biff/ JV7/ Gorgoroth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth/ JV7 Clintosaurus Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 JV7/ cowboy_from_hell Gorgoroth/ Macca DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 JV7/ pantaloons Gorgoroth/ Go the Biff Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 titan_uranus DemonDave cowboyfhell/ Macca -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Medal Tally Gold Silver Bronze Macca 3 1 3 Gorgoroth 3 0 5 JV7 2 2 1 ---------------------------------------------------- cowboy_from_hell 1 3 1 Clintosaurus 1 1 2 Go the Biff 1 1 1 Dappa Dan 1 0 1 Strafford 1 0 0 titan_uranus 1 0 0 DeeSpencer 0 2 2 pantaloons 0 2 0 DemonDave 0 1 0