Macca

Have you 3 back-ups ... Mullins, Beathard, Heneghan? Any of them any good layz? Shame about what happened to Garoppolo ... if it's any consolation the Packers season went South last year and in 2013 when Rodgers broke his collarbone in both years. Like no other sport, your season is suddenly over without warning when the QB is such an important fixture in a team and then goes down. Hopefully one of your back-ups can perform.

I've had a small wager on Max tonight - 10.00 seems overs too. Such a dominant season will surely be rewarded with at least a top 3 finish ... would be a popular win amongst the footy public too. Go Big Maxy!

Yep ... and the niners look like losing Garoppolo to an ACL injury. Non contact too. I'm surprised there aren't more ACL injuries on the artificial surfaces that have no give in them. You've got to feel for their fans, all the same. The Buffalo win is an absolute surprise ... and to a lesser extent the Giants & Tennessee wins. Bears leading the NFC North although any of the 4 teams could win that division. I'd like to be confident in questioning the Pats chances but they'll bounce back as they always do.

Just a heads-up for next weekend ... there are no fewer than 17 Group races being held across 3 venues across 3 days (Friday Evening - Moonee Valley, Saturday - Randwick, Sunday - Caulfield) 5 Group 1's including the Moir Stakes, Epsom Hcp, Metropolitan Hcp, Flight Stakes & Underwood Stakes. And the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick should have 5 'Everest' runners engaged. Brave Smash & Nature Strip should both be running in the Moir Stakes whilst 'Grunt' will clash with Charlie's Appleby's big import 'Blair House' in the Underwood. The 2 Guineas Prelude's are being held on Underwood Stakes day as well. That's on top of 2 Grand Finals in the 2 biggest codes in the Country being played on the same weekend. That's what you call a big weekend in sport.

Yeah they've all got to be road teams Gonzo and the Vikes & KC are at home. If you don't get this message in time I wouldn't be too concerned ... we're all still sitting on zero points and tomorrow's games are tough.

Osborne was up against some very good types Wadda ... Jungle Cat, Home of the Brave, Land of Plenty, Showtime, Peaceful State etc. It was an authentic Group 1 field and Osborne Bulls was first time up in a Group race (albeit handicap conditions) Carrying only 55 kgs it had a real chance and it was only beaten by 1.3 lengths - it wasn't far away. The winner (Jungle Cat) looked all class though. Definitely one to follow as it can obviously carry weight. It's performances in Dubai certainly stacked up.

9 lots of tips in so far ... a shout-out reminder to @titan_uranus @Dr. Gonzo & @DeeSpencer Sports IIlustrated ( MMQB) Week 3 Preview (Andy Benoit) And if you want to view the following videos you'll have to follow the links to youtube.

A few standout's out of yesterday's racing ... The Autumn Sun stormed home to win the 'Golden Rose' in commanding fashion ... now a 2.80 favourite for the Caulfield Guineas with daylight to the rest The Irish import Jungle Cat stole the show in the 'Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes' ... ran 01.22.31 for the 1400m @ Caulfield which is a very slick time at that course. Was paying way overs too. Next up is the 'Toorak Hcp' according to the trainer. Looked very impressive yesterday carrying the big weight. Night's Watch won very well and is now guaranteed a start in the 'Caulfield Cup' (8-1 third favourite) but will run a week earlier apparently in the G1 Caulfield Stakes over 2000m ($1Million) We snagged 1 winner from 4 out of our best bets yesterday but also picked up a 2nd & a 3rd whilst our 4th pick came 5th. Ellicazoom looked a winner but didn't quite finish off and Sin To Win had every chance but is one to follow. Night's Watch was our winner. Osborne Bulls met up with some very classy types but still ran a close-up 5th. Best Bet Strike Rate 28: 8 - 5 - 5 Australian Group & Listed Races Watch Night's Watch win the 'Naturalism Stakes' here And watch Jungle Cat win the 'Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes' here

The feature races clash with the footy but not to worry ... I'm recording all the racing and will just keep checking my balance at Laddies. Hopefully a win/win/win/win etc etc with the Demons taking absolute precedence.

3 best bets in ... Caulfield Race 7 No.10 Night's Watch $2.90 (was 3.90) Caulfield Race 9 Number 2 Ellicazoom $4.60 Caulfield Race 8 No 4 Osborne Bulls $6.50 Combined odds 85-1 (100-1 Boosted) Good luck all and Go The Mighty Demons

With the Tigers bet done and dusted here are the remaining 6 best bets ... Saturday Midnight EPL Match Score +2.5 Goals & Manchester United Win ($2.45) vs Wolves Sunday 11pm Ligue 1 (French League) Rennes vs PSG Win & Match Score +2.5 Goals ($1.87) EPL Sunday @02:30 Brighton v Tottenham. Tottenham Win $1.75 EPL Sunday @22.30 West Ham v Chelsea Chelsea Win/Over 2.5 goals match total $2.15 West Coast v Melbourne either side u/15.5 pts $2.55 Caulfield Race 8 No. 4 Osborne Bulls Plc $2.40 105-1 but with 'Odds boosted' that comes to about 120-1. Good luck all and Go The Mighty Demons!

Good odds for Ellicazoom DZ ... I'm a fan and the horse is from the Hayes clan as well. Big fields at Caulfield so the dividends will be up - especially for trifecta punters like me. I've included 'Santos' in a Box5 trifecta as well as 'Seabrook' at good odds. Santos just needs a good possie on the pace and we know how well Seabrook can finish.

Ha ha ... I like the Tottenham call DZ but I can't bet against my Hammers no matter how bad we're traveling! I've never bet against the Demons or Packers either. I fancy the Spurs to score a few too ... they'll be smarting from their CL defeat same for PSG which is one of my tips (see above) Have you got anything in the Championship that I can add-on?

Agreed BM ... the line seems too low and it's easy to envisage Richmond swamping the Pies in the 2nd half with their superior game plan and the extra week's rest to enact that game plan. The 40+ margin is tempting @ $3.75 but the safer line option virtually doubles your outlay. Edit: er ... how about a re-take! Pies all over them up until quarter time. And now lead by 44 at half time.

Best Bets Saturday Midnight EPL Match Score +2.5 Goals & Manchester United Win ($2.45) vs Wolves Sunday 11pm Ligue 1 (French League) Rennes vs PSG Win & Match Score +2.5 Goals ($1.87)

Best bet Caulfield Race 7 No.10 Night's Watch $3.90

New England, Packers & Oakland. Another tough week ... there were 7 road winners in week 1 and just the 4 in week 2. But any given week can deliver 6 - 7 road winners.

New page so here are the games again ... Leaderboard in the Comp 0 - Take a wild guess (we are all 'leading' so that is some consolation!) 1 point only on offer this week (and next week as well) but points are hard to come by in this comp! Not sure it gets any easier this week either ? Guess the Lines Week 3 With Cousin Sal | The Bill Simmons Podcast (Ep. 415)

Yes although I reckon most Match Committees/Coaching Departments look at the next block of 4 games in just about any sport ... the players just need to get ready for the next game but the coaching departments often have to plan ahead with regards to scouting and future match-ups. We fans can do as we please as we're just mere onlookers anyway ... it's all out of our control. I much preferred sport when I had some sort of say in proceedings layz! Can you imagine the planning ahead that would go on at an NFL team?

4 standout races for Saturday with another 6 Group races on offer in 3 States. 2 of those being at Morphettville with both being good betting races. Anyway, here are the 4 main features. Rosehill Race 7 Golden Rose 1400m Group 1 3YO SW $1Million Caulfield Race 8 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes 1400m Group 1 Hcp $500k Rosehill Race 6 Golden Pendant 1400m Group 2 F&M SW + P $400k Caulfield Race 7 Naturalism Stakes 2000m Group 3 QLTY $150k

@ KC first up might shed some light ... if you could somehow eke out a win either at the Chiefs or at the Chargers a week later then you're in with a chance. A good win away from home instills real confidence much like it has with our Demons. Win and then you can win again. Your run home isn't too tough.

I just had a look at your Niner's next 5 ... oook! You've got Arizona at home but the other 4 are real tough. We're about to find out very quickly whether you've got a chance at the playoffs.

I don't mind the QB's being tackled to the ground ... their way of avoiding that is to get rid of the ball quickly or to show some elusive skills. If they come out of the pocket they should be fair game and if they hold on to the ball too long, the same. It's fair enough that their head and knees can't be targeted but the torso tackle or torso hit is fine by me. And the above is coming from someone who's premier QB has had 2 broken collarbones in the last 5 years. It's getting way too soft for QB's and the new breed of QB may not require much courage to play the sport. Who's got the best arm wins (without much contact) should not be the norm but it is heading that way. Great for those who are nuts on fantasy sports but I do not watch the sport for that reason and I doubt I ever will.

Try this link which takes you to youtube ... Cam Newton helmet to helmet hit @ Atlanta As for the lifting up part of a tackle ... the refs often just get the one look at it without the aid of video replay. A natural lift occurs when 2 players meet each other going in opposite directions so how can any incident be adjudicated correctly? Asking for trouble with this new ruling - Grey area/interpretation/ill-defined rule = inconsistent outcomes. I hope we're not talking about it beyond this week but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Packers go to the Rams in week 8 after our bye week but we've got a huge battle on our hands in the NFC North ... the Bears are a much improved team whilst the Vikes seem to be the team to beat and the Lions are also quite capable on their day.