Macca

Well I'm just a terrible tipster ... all the info in the world won't change that! St Louis v Nashville Anaheim v Edmonton Washington v Pittsburgh Ottawa v New York Rangers

Here's a One-Series-Wonder from the past called 'Nowhere Man' (IMDb link) All the episodes from this one and only series (released in 1995) have been uploaded onto youtube so if you like your drama/mysteries with a real twist, you may like this. The show is very much in the mode of 'The Prisoner' You can watch 'Nowhere Man' here

Went 3/8 myself so you win again (is that every time?) And yeah, with a bit of luck your Leaf's could have won that series ... all 4 losses were close and 3 of the losses went to O/T. I'll do the next lot of tips later on but the Pens/Caps series should be a beauty. Nashville could be tough to beat too - very impressive over the Blackhawks.

Well I'm nearly 'over-it' but mainly because I reckon the punishment was fair enough. What I would like to see is an admission of guilt and for the EFC club to face up to it's responsibilities to the sport - won't happen though. They remind me of common criminals who never admit to their crimes. Also, the AFL had a great opportunity to get really tough with regards to PED use ... but that didn't happen and almost certainly won't happen either. There's too much money at stake and in their eyes, PED use is far too difficult to curtail. So we get a softening in all areas - in turn, the footy public and the whole order of things is kept in check. Weekly blood tests which results in blood-passports would help enormously ... instead of that the players are subjected to 1 or 2 urine tests (on average) per season. Token.

Have any of the 34 players ever said a bad word about him? You would think they should especially after being rubbed out for a season. Strangely quiet though ... 4 years later. Anyway, some of us were saying exactly the same thing as to what you've said both here & elsewhere in early 2013 TF. Not that many of the footy loving public were ever listening back then. Even now many just want to turn a blind-eye. But that's the nature of sports fans the world over ... we shouldn't ever expect anything otherwise. The media will in turn reflect the public sentiment and there you have it. At a guess I'd say there's any number of copies of the records - and those records will almost certainly never see the light of day either. The big losers were the EFC ... they are still in recovery mode and will be for quite some time. As for the drugs-in-sport issue, most have come around to the realisation that all sports are tainted with PED use (with some more so than others) But there's big money at stake in sport and those monies must be protected. Could have said that 30 or 40 years ago too - it's not necessarily a recent phenomenon. I'm assuming that you've heard all of the above before but others might not have.

Can't complain with the Packers schedule either ... our home games are all winnable. We're @ Atlanta in week 2 with other road games at Dallas, Pittsburgh & Detroit but I relish the games against the good teams. Helps having Rodgers of course. We've got Seattle at home in week 1 - Lacy might have a bit to prove first up for the Seahawks. The Falcons are at the Patriots in week 7 (SNF) ... that will be interesting.

And just like that the EPL title race just got interesting again. It's still Chelsea's to lose as Tottenham would need to just about win-out but 4 points can be whittled down to 1 point in the space of 1 round of games. Ironically, Spurs play Chelsea next up in a FA Cup semi-final.

The Leafs made it ... tough series first up vs Washington though GTG. I've picked the Capitals but you may surprise. Still, it's playoff hockey where anything can happen and often does ... here are the 8 matchups with (for what it's worth) my picks in dark italics. East Montreal vs NY Rangers Ottawa vs Boston Pittsburgh vs Columbus Washington vs Toronto West Minnesota vs St Louis Edmonton vs San Jose Chicago vs Nashville Anaheim vs Calgary

Adam Scott would have to be a realistic chance as he does finish well and is only 3 behind. However, Justin Rose might just be too good in the end. 31 on the back 9 today from Rose might be pointer. Spieth, Garcia, Moore, Fowler, Hoffman & Schwartzel are all within striking distance as well. As always, high drama will almost certainly ensue. Especially on the back 9.

A few TV series to look out for ... Better Call Saul (season 3) April 10 Fargo (season 3) April 19 Silicon Valley (season 4) April 23 Orphan Black (season 5 final) June 10 The most recent seasons of Billions, Homeland & Baskets have already been released this year ... all up to their usual standards too. Big Little Lies might be worth a look ... just released on cable (foxtel) the show was written by Australian author Liane Moriaty and stars Nicole Kidman & Reese Witherspoon. Glitch looks the goods after a decent first season - this award winning Australian paranormal drama loosely borrows from Les Revenants (The Returned) I'm delving into some more Aussie drama with Jack Irish, Janet King, The Code, Rake, Tangle, Spirited, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Serangoon Road & The Doctor Blake Mysteries all on the must-see list.

For those who are interested in watching the replay, here's the edited highlights with the various players & coaches mic'd up ... the link can't be embedded so you'll have to clink on the link & watch on youtube ... 2 months later and I'm still 40/60 on Atlanta blowing it vs the great comeback by New England. Super Bowl LI - Patriots vs Falcons ... NFL Films

A big media gig awaits (CBS) I was thinking he might have landed in Houston ... seemed an ideal fit. Anyway, he was a more than decent QB who, with an ounce of luck, could have had a fair bit more success - when he finally started to hit his straps, injuries intervened.

I'd never watched the show in it's entirety before (Power Without Glory) ... when it was originally aired I wasn't as interested in these type of historical dramas and whenever it was repeated I'd always miss an episode or 3. House of Cards series 5 airs in late May but the real-life goings on at the White House and elsewhere means the TV drama is going to have to be even more 'out-there' ha ha

Yep DJ, noticed that ... I binge-watched it knowing that the show might be taken down ... it was a great, great Australian series. A veritable who's who of Aussie talent were involved too - Graham Kennedy, Graeme Blundell, Helen Morse, Gerard Kennedy, Rowena Wallace, Gus Mercurio, John Hargreaves, Briony Behets, Cul Cullen, Elaine Baillie, Frank Wilson and numerous others all played minor but memorable roles. Gets a rerun on free-to-air periodically so keep an eye out - @Sir Why You Little might be able to tell us when. Another favourite of mine from that era was a show called 'Boney' ... true story - the band 'Boney M' was named that way after the producer of the band caught hold of the Aussie detective series when it aired in Germany. Anyway, you can catch hold of the show at this web address ... it will cost you $3 per episode but unless you can somehow get hold of the DVD's, it's the only way to watch the show. I've watched a few using paypal.

Gawn paying 51.00* for the Brownlow ... nice odds. He could dominate a dozen games or more and with the no-third-man-up rule in vogue, he may stand out even more. 16 votes in his breakout year last season could be a pointer too. *gamble responsibly

Raiders heading to Vegas ... 2019, maybe 2020. Some are saying they should just go now ... interesting to see how their fans will react. It's a different culture over there so who knows?

Well, again, you might have come to those conclusions Wrecker but it wasn't widely reported that way ... another example of how individual thought (however correct) differs from the reality of how things are perceived. Before the election we were hearing very little about the 'rust-belt' States and let's face it, those rust-belt states were a significant reason why Trump actually won. Hindsight tells us many things but foresight is far more valuable. The so-called experts (pollsters et al) couldn't have forecast the result more incorrectly. As for the 2nd bolded bit, Trump is fast becoming his own worst enemy in terms of getting policy through ... or perhaps it was always going to work out the way it's working out because of the way he is. As a result of the way he acts and of what he actually says, he doesn't have that mandate even though he has a clear majority in the House of Reps (he also does have a workable majority in the senate) He needs to butter-up the Republicans and garner a reasonable amount of support from the Democrats (for certain policy) but apart from that, what he has said previously is coming back to haunt him (the muslim comments etc) Whether he likes it or not, he has to play the game in order to get things done. The new health bill has failed (perhaps permanently) and his immigration bill has also failed (for now) But the biggie is the manufacturing base and the jobs associated with all that ... again, we're back at the rust-belt States and the other States who's citizens are expecting real results that suits their respective hip-pockets. If the House of Representative numbers flip in 2018 then the conflict will increase to an unworkable situation. .

Of course not ... I don't know how you could possibly jump to that conclusion. Perhaps you are having trouble interpreting what I've said or you haven't read what I've said properly. Either way, you couldn't be further from the truth. 'Fake news' ... Wrecker style. I might just try it myself - stay tuned. I can play that game. Anyway ... an example of seeing the world through the world's eyes is you forecasting the US election as another 'Brexit' ... now that was interesting. I interpreted that view of yours as you weighing up all the data and then arriving at a likely outcome. You did however have grave doubts on the day of the election and if I recall correctly, you were warming up your Hillary avatar ha ha.

What might be of high interest to you and myself personally may well be of little interest to the masses. The truth is that our personal views aren't that important in the whole scheme of things. An example of that is my view that the USA should have an inexpensive medical coverage program that looks after all and sundry. But here's the catch ... how can it be inexpensive and do the Americans want such a program anyway? And is it ever likely to happen? I don't believe that they are the sort of country to embrace such a scheme. I also have strong views about their insane gun laws and their paltry minimum wage over there. But again, my view is irrelevant if nothing is ever likely to change. Wasted words in fact.

Ha ha! ... even if that happened it's well over 2 years away. In terms of governance & policy it's all about right now ... so it's about Trump, his administration and the Republicans. I've got nothing to let go of as I've got a foot in both camps ... having a firm belief system in either side of politics is not for me. There's too much compromise involved otherwise.

Fair points Wrecker but the here & now is what matters most ... it's what effects actual lives and hip-pockets right now. The Clinton stuff only matters to those who could give a fig. As stated previously, largely irrelevant to those who are judging those with the power to make actual decisions. (Trump & his associates and the Republicans) For that matter the Democrats is yesterday's news and so is Hillary. We may as well be talking about a would-be coach who missed out on the top job. The Dems will come again but Hillary won't. Mind you, the mid-term election banter will start up in less than 12 months.

Or Comey is incompetent or biased Or he may have seen the Hillary investigation & the Trump/Russia investigation as completely different to each other (for various reasons) Bottom line is the Russian stuff is not going away and could drag on for months. The Hillary stuff is now largely irrelevent ... that ship has sailed. We know who won and now we judge the winner only.

Was going to say the same re the Trump/Russia ties investigation dating back to July Imagine if that news had been made public back then? Then again any investigation of this sort might be compromised if it's made public. Didn't stop Comey from going public on the Hillary investigation (which lasted a week) Regardless, I'm not sure full disclosure would have changed the minds of Trump voters anyway. Hindsight tells us they seemed to be well and truly locked in. Those rust belt States were his. Other, associated issues would have come into play. Trump won the Republican nomination on July 19 so that might have been a close call (re the investigation starting date) Anyway, interesting times ahead (as always)

The 10 best signings of NFL free agency so far, ranked

Eddie Lacy off to Seattle ... rumour is LeGarrette Blount might be heading to Green Bay. AP still hasn't been snapped up but they reckon his price might be too high.