Macca

Comparing times is tricky D77 because races are often run at different tempo's ... but if a horse is a clear winner and runs a quick time then that is often a good sign that the horse has genuine speed. It's what caught my eye with Sunlight ... it won in a canter with a very fast time in the lead-up to the 2yo Classic last week. Wise Hero with Malaise & The Avenger are my 3 top picks in the Zephyr race but I've included the Dan and 1 or 2 others in a Tri. By the way, for those who may not know, one second generally converts to 16-17 metres or 5-6 lengths. Weight is another big factor for me especially over the longer distances ... for instance, Civil Disobedience carrying 60kgs in race 3 proved too much over the 2000. It was easy to make a case for the 5-4 Favourite to be beaten. But watch out for the horse when it meets its rivals on equal terms. It's why I prefer to bet on WFA or Set Weight races.

I'm into the NFL but that's nearly done Wadda - games are on Monday morning too which isn't exactly the weekend! The EPL for similar reasons. I'll get into the tennis from this weekend - Ash Barty is playing later this afternoon whilst Roger & Novak are both engaged in matches this evening. The Autumn carnival is just around the corner though (Feb 10) ... kicking off with one my favourite events - The CF Orr Stakes. As you well know, it's then full on for another 10 weekends! I may have mentioned this here before but the Demons only play 2 Saturday arvo games this season (plus 2 Saturday twilight games) so it's the horses all year round for me. Just a couple of small Tri's today though with nothing to recommend especially. I do like 'Wise Hero' in the Zephyr race - it is up a couple of kg's against its rivals though. 'Amber Sky' back from running well at Sha Tin is a speedy one which I've included in multiples (it's in the preceding race - The Kensington Stakes) Anyway, let's hope that the Dan can get into the finish today

'Apparently' Tom Brady hurt his hand at Wednesday practice and didn't practice on Thursday. Normally you'd be inclined to dismiss the concerns but he is a 40yo. They are saying he 'collided' with a teammate. My guess is his hand followed through onto his teammate's helmet during practice. But is it a serious injury? Vegas reacted by bringing the Pats into -7.5 favs (they opened at -9.5) Anyway, we'll find out soon enough whether he's effected or not. Read more here ... ill-advised Jimmy G trade will haunt Patriots if Tom Brady isn't healthy

Series 3 (6 eps) of Black Mirror was a step-up again ET. Currently watching season 4. I haven't seen an average episode yet but I am a huge fan of the genre. X-Files season 11 has just kicked off after the iconic show returned last year (season 10) Duchovny is looking a little worse for wear but he's lived a life. The chemistry is still there with Gillian Anderson but I like the new series' mainly for it's nostalgic value revisited. Hangin' out for Billions, Homeland, Better Call Saul, Silicon Valley, Goliath, Baskets, Westworld & True Detective - all should be out (hopefully) early this year or at least by June/July

Minnesota 20 Philadelphia 17 Jacksonville 20 New England 31 I'm not confident with the Vikings pick so I wouldn't be displeased with an Eagles win. Same sentiment for the Patriots - I'd like to see the Jags knock them off that pedestal. Putting the post-season tipping comp aside, it would be great to see Dappa & Clint squaring off in the Super Bowl ... one would have to win that elusive SB with that match-up. Of course if @cowboy_from_hell was still lurking here we'd have 3 reps out of the last 4.

I'm a fan of Black Mirror and so is the rest of the household ... quirky, futuristic tales with a twist. The episode with the Star Trek theme was riotous. All the episodes aren't A grade but each episode is at least original and thought provoking. The show might have escaped my attention but for this thread. Homeland was another that I followed up on after the show was recommended here. The new series of X-Files is worth a look - a lot to live up to but just seeing Scully & Mulder back along with Skinner & the 'Cigarette Smoking Man' is enough for me - a trip down memory lane.

There's not a great deal happening until about mid February D77 so the Zephyr race keeps the interest. It's not a bad looking field but you never know. The 3 (Wise Hero) has only ever run the 1400m once but it won in 1:22.42 and it was at Flemington (in it's last start) Looks the horse to beat. The 10 & 12 have claims too. The preceding races - Inglis Dash (Race 7) and the Kensington Stakes (Race 8) are both interesting races ... smaller fields but that suits me (less horses to eliminate for the Tri's!) The Kensington Stakes in particular is a wide-open affair ... only 8 runners but nearly all the starters could feature in the finish.

Livin' the dream @Grapeviney Good on ya mate! (great snaps too) That Liverpool/Man City game from the weekend was all the talk back in Oz. A 3.00am Monday morning kick off made it difficult to watch live but the extended highlights are worth another look ...

It's going to be some sort of game ... the 2 D's could dominate but it doesn't always pan out that way. As an example, the over/under total points in the Jags/Steelers game was around 40 points yet both teams scored over 40 points each! And as Gorg said (above) you won't be facing Brees. The weather might be mild and not too cold though ... which swings things over to the Vikes (only slightly) I reckon the Eagles were in their element in the game against Atlanta (re the freezing windy conditions) I can't make up my mind which team I'm going to pick and with 2 points on the line, I won't want to get it wrong. If I were an Eagles fan I'd be quietly confident - but I might say the same about the Vikes. This should be a close game throughout but again, sometimes these games are blowouts.

Hey @Dappa Dan & @Clintosaurus ... both your teams are the underdogs but I reckon there's a few factors that can go your way next week. With the Eagles it's home field, the weather, their defence, the underdog status which the Eagles players are feeding off and the fact that in a possible low scoring game the aforementioned factors come into being. Again, this is a line-ball game and fumbles/picks/luck could play a big part. The Jags have a much tougher task but have a strong defense which the Pats aren't too familiar with. A nothing-to-lose attitude can be a factor in the sense that the Jags could try a few different plays that might surprise. Beating the Steelers (twice) will fill the team with confidence too. It's a big ask but you never know.

Here's that play and catch again ...

The saving grace is that it didn't happen in a Super Bowl. The Seahawks not handing the ball off to beast-mode in the dying seconds of that Super Bowl will haunt that organisation and their fans forever. And I still maintain a 60/40 stance on last year's SB - the comeback by the Pats was greater than Atlanta blowing that lead. Many will disagree of course but I don't believe any other team could have come back from a 28 - 3 deficit in a SB.

I'm actually in line for the 3-peat in the post-season tipping comp ... not bad for the world's worst tipster.

Leaderboard in the Comp (post-season) 5 - Macca 4 - Go the Biff, Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth Remembering that it's 2 points for each winner in the Championship games with 3 points up for grabs for the Super Bowl winner.

It's pick the Pats to win and hope you get it wrong. That's how I'm viewing it. I give the Jags a puncher's chance ... maybe more of a chance than I would have given the Steelers. New England are -9.5 point favourites. As for the NFC Championship game - that's a toss of the coin even though the Vikings are -3.5 point favourites.

How was that crazy catch off the Atlanta players knees? The following link provides the video of the play ... the videos that follow on adds some humour and analysis to the Eagles win (including the dog mask bit) Torrey Smith makes immaculate-ish reception after pass bounces off DB's knee

I reckon we might have chatted about the subject here a few years ago GtB. I'd be all for it but I can't see the AFL adopting any sort of change. A simple 3 division comp that @daisycutter once suggested on the footy threads would have my vote. All the teams from within each division play each other twice whilst playing the other 12 teams from the other 2 divisions once - 22 games. The winners & runners up from each of the 3 divisions go automatically through to the finals with 2 or 4 wild-cards for the next 2 or 4 best performed teams from across all 3 divisions. Seedings based on W/L. except for possibly the 3 division winners filling the top 3 seedings (?) From a biased Demon point of view our division could look as follows ... Melbourne, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond, Carlton & Geelong. 5 home blockbuster games against those 5 big drawing teams every season would do nicely.

I'm quietly confident about the Demons chances mainly because I believe we're now a well run club, have good admin, coaching and development and we have about 12-13 good players (in my eyes a good player plays well 4 out of 5 games or at least 3 from 4, beats his opposite number and can influence games) And I've often been a pessimist - from half way through 2007 all the way through to the end of 2014. There's now genuine reason for hope. And it's an exciting time when you know your team can truly contend - especially if you know that's probably ongoing. The Northey & Daniher teams gave us a glimpse of what might be but I always felt we were 3 or 4 good players short in those years - and not enough genuine stars either. I also follow the Boston Red Sox so I've had success there (3 times) ... especially the 2004 breakthrough year - the curse of the Bambino was squashed. And I have a soft spot for the St Louis Cardinals in the NL who have also won another 3 World Series in my time Favre should have got another ring and Rodgers too - when you've got 2 great QB's for a total of about 30 years, 2 SB wins aren't enough. Both are Hall-of-Fame so the great tag is for real. The Eagles probably should have won a SB with McNabb - that bloke could really play. As for the teams that the current posters on this thread support, I can see the Rams, Falcons, Jags & 49ers all being able to contend going forward. And the Eagles with Wentz are going to be around for a bit.

I know about as much as the next bloke Dappa - which ain't much Although I've done ok of late. We've got a thread still going in Other Sports - read more here ... Spring Carnival Caulfield There's up to 5 or 6 of us over there who chew-the-fat from time to time. I'm more into the feature races and Group races and focus in on that only. The Autumn carnival is just around the corner so come and join us. I was in my element yesterday at the Magic Millions. Some great racing. As for the trading of future picks and draft-day trading, I'm all for it. Anything that can speed up the improvement of teams I'm in favour of. I can remember evaluating our list in 2013 thinking that we were a million miles away from having a list that could truly contend - and the road back was going to take an age. It shouldn't have to take that long when we have a draft, free agency & a salary cap. But it does when you completely bottom out like we did. As you well know, in the NFL it's way different. Teams can come from nowhere in a very short space of time. 20 different teams have made the playoffs in the last 2 post-seasons alone.

Not much is ever going to change in the AFL Dappa. It's my guess that in 5 - 10 years time the season and finals format will be the same ... although, they might bring in a wild-card weekend in the weekend that is currently devoid of footy - 7th vs 10th & 8th vs 9th. As for the game itself with all the congestion coupled with puzzling rule interpretations (mainly holding the ball/incorrect disposal) I don't expect anything to change. The formula works despite my misgivings - the TV money keeps rolling in and the game is still wildly popular. I tend to just watch and attend Demon games these days. I'm more of a fan of overseas sports & test cricket. And the horses

As much as I like Rodgers and what he does I'm all about the team. Individuals come and go but winning titles is what it is all about. Rodgers will want more than one SB ring and he's about to embark on the tail-end of his career (5 more years of top QB play - hopefully) The reality is that in 10 years at the helm Rodgers has only reached one SB. Brady is probably going to be playing in his 8th SB this year. Rodgers and McCarthy have to find a way of getting to the 1 seed ... winning the division is the first task but home field advantage at Lambeau is of even more importance. Your Eagles have that advantage - without it, you'd probably be out of the playoffs already (because of the loss of Wentz) And you've earned that right too. A 13 & 3 season has its own rewards.

Yep Wadda, I reckon keeping up a bit of an interest between the Carnivals helps when the Carnivals come around. We develop an eye for the good horses so when they pop up again it makes distinguishing the form easier. There will be a few horses coming over from the Ascot carnival and the same goes for those that ran at the Gold Coast yesterday. Those 4 horses that won the feature races yesterday are all worth following up on. All won well and all ran sizzling times. 'Care to Think' was just off running the track record (it ran 1:20.72 for the 1400m) yet had to come from the outside barrier and was 3-wide all the way. Viddora carried 59kg and could be anything. Sunlight is a real speedster whilst Pierata looks a gun 3yo.

It's almost like Belichick uses Brady as if he's a 2nd string QB but lets him off the leash when it suits. And over time Brady has realised that Belichick is right. Maybe Tom realised it early on when the SB rings kept coming. I can't imagine Rodgers being used in that fashion - these gun QB's are the Alpha-Dogs and they have colossal ego's. They have an inner urge to do the spectacular. With Brady, he's often an unspectacular superstar. But the Belichick way works much like Ferguson had it all figured out at Man Utd - or Popovich at the Spurs. Winning is winning.

Louis Riddick is probably my favourite pundit on all things NFL ... after the game on 'Sportscenter' he was talking about how Brady is more often than not used for those short throws down the middle and then letting the receiver gain the extra yards. He then went on to say how he doesn't understand why other teams don't just simply copy what the Pats do. I've got a mate who follows the Pats and we've both been saying the exact same thing for years. Brady is only ever called upon to do his "stuff" when it's absolutely needed or as a surprise move ... and Belichick knows he can and does deliver when called upon. Foles is asked to do more at the Eagles yet he is not in Brady's league. Drive for show, putt for dough. So there is a way to use Foles effectively even though he is not a deep ball thrower nor is he good with his legs. Foles went 23/30 and threw for 246 yards. No TD's but he wasn't too shabby. Should have been intercepted at least once but again, only on deep throws. Foles should throw long when the odds are in his favour or if it's a sideline throw. Play the percentages.

The Pats would probably beat the Jags comfortably but if the Jags can somehow beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh then they'd have to be some sort of show. But I reckon the Steelers will probably win against Jacksonville anyway ... and then the Steelers would need to come out of the blocks against a team who have dominated them in the recent past. Pats win. They are just too professional - the best in all sports if we're being honest. Over in the the NFC the Championship is up for grabs - I've picked the Vikes to win tomorrow but not with any great confidence. The Saints could win in equal measure and then we get a knock 'em down affair regardless of who matches up against a rejuvenated Eagles. The 'line' next week will almost certainly be around the 2 to 3 mark (either way) By the way, Foles is ok when he doesn't have to throw more than 15 yards - when he does throw long it's hold-your-breath time. There is a way to use Foles well but for that answer they might have to put in a call to Chip Kelly