Macca

Yep ... the prizemoney on offer is remarkable for the Magic Millions meeting. As previosly mentioned, I'll have a go at the 1400m Cup race and will probably have a few 'Interest' bets on the other feature races. There's not a lot of sport happening on Saturday arvo's now so the races takes centre-stage. Even in the footy season we rarely play on a Saturday arvo so the Brisbane & Adelaide carnivals fits nicely after the Autumn Carnival. And the big races from Europe kicks off in early May as well ... there are any number of Set Weight or WFA races to hold my interest. 'Winx' travelling over there for a few races adds to the interest.

Keep forgetting to ask about how either of you are faring or if you even have a flutter at this time of year? I tend to bet the same way all year round ... a trifecta on a feature race or 2 most weekends (when they're up) and that's about it. First 4's sometimes but they are really hard to get unless one throws the field in for 4th (and by doing that you often end up with a low percantage of the dividend)

Got 33% of the Tri D77 but missed the First 4 because of the topweight running 4th. I ended up putting the 6 in for the placings otherwise I might have got 100% of the dividend! ha ha The 7 and 8 were way overs but they'd both been running against the 2, 4 & 5. in the lead-up races. Running 5th a few times (the pair) Premiere got a great run. Anyway ... onto the Magic Millions we go ... the Cup race might do me at the big meet as the feature 2yo & 3yo races are a bit of a lottery. Any of the horses in those events might shine through. The Cup race is over 1400m with a million up for grabs.

Yep, not your night tonight Gorg although full credit to the Falcons. Their big players had an impact and they got better as the game wore on. Ryan managed the game well for Atlanta. The Rams will no doubt bounce back although this loss will sting. The older heads in the organisation need to get around McVay & Goff.

Atlanta held on to the ball for 26 plays in that 3rd quarter ... playoff experience at work.

Ryan has done well to hang on to the ball - they've come at him hard.

Both D's playing very well ... turnovers, fumbles could decide this game. Atlanta's running game not there and the Rams need to use Gurley more.

Big moment there ... the ball was like a piece of soap. Falcons need to take advantage here

Victory formation for the Titans ... they'll go to the Pats next week unless the Bills win. KC imploded again.

Hope all is well there Wadda ... Pounamu has found it's true form and is worth following up on. I do like horses that swoop late ... 'Art Series' is another horse from the Ascot carnival to look out for down the track. Aside from the big Magic Millions meeting on the 13th Jan, there's not a lot happening with regards feature races until the Autumn carnival kicks off in February. However, there's 1 or 2 Stakes races most weekends to keep things interesting. For those that are interested here's a list of all the Group and Stakes races for the entire Australian season. I did find a G3 race at Sha Tin on Sunday to have a go at though - only 8 runners but 3 stand out and all 3 are well down in the weights from their lead-in runs. Those 3 horses are the 2, 4 & 5 and I'll put together a Tri & F4 and hope that some sort of combination comes through with the goods. The 7 & 8 could get into the minor placings as well. Sha Tin (Hong Kong) Sunday 7th Jan Race 7 (The G3 Bauhinia Sprint 1000m 7.10pm)

Here's a good article that covers all sorts of categories Bill Barnwell makes a good case for Kamara but it's line ball between him and Hunt. Barnwell's 2017 NFL awards: Picks for MVP, best rookies, more

Wentz hardly had an off day in the 13 games that he played ... he was probably very good to outstanding in 10 - 11 games. Those numbers would probably measure up quite well against Brady & Gurley but Wentz got injured at the wrong time for an award such as this. What happens at the end of the regular season stands out more ... that's why I reckon Gurley can win the award. We'd probably have any number of Brownlow comparisons through the years where similar scenarios have happened.

Given that it's an award for the regular season only it would have been interesting to see how Wentz would have fared if he missed the first 3 games of the year and then played the rest of the season unimpaired (the reverse of what actually happened)

I reckon Gurley wins in a bit of an upset ... he's been outstanding however and finished off the season well. 2 strings to his bow has to be acknowledged. Brady has been very good again and is odds on favourite but he's had better years.

Yeah it's hard to go past the 4 home teams to win but there's nearly always at least 1 upset in both of the first 2 weeks of the playoffs. Atlanta are probably the best road team this week but the Rams will be primed and ready. Maybe Carolina if they can produce their best? The framed odds reflect that too - KC $1.25, Rams $1.30, Jags $1.25 & Saints $1.33. All 4 teams are either -6.5 or -7.5 to win at the line. Having said all that I'm picking all of the home teams! Titans 16 @ KC 27 Falcons 19 @ Rams 22 Bills 13 @ Jags 27 Panthers 29 @ Saints 32

I reckon the NFC is wide-open. Any of the teams can progress to the SB if they get hot ... home field throughout for the Eagles keeps them right in it too. In the AFC the Pats & Steelers obviously stand out but neither team is as good as they've been in the recent past.

I don't believe they'll make a move on McCarthy anytime soon. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do with Hundley and whether they decide to pay for a decent back-up QB. Thompson was all-in on drafting and seemingly had no interest in free agents. I reckon that will change. The GB roster has a number of holes to fill ... that was highlighted with the loss of Rodgers. McCarthy is safe as long as a healthy (or unhealthy) Rodgers is on the roster.

Not surprised ... there have been murmurings for quite some time about his position. You've often got to make changes in order to improve.

8 new teams make the playoffs ... which means that 20 different teams have made the playoffs in the last 2 seasons. Quite amazing. I'm not sure there's another sporting league in the world where the parity is as it is in the NFL. Every team has 167 million to spend on player salaries which should mean that every team gets to have it's fair share of top-end talent. Except for the Browns it seems

Ha ha! Again, just a great story D77. As much as it's a gambling sport, the stories that surround the winning & the losing of these major races is very real for the participants. I really do like seeing people achieve their lifelong ambitions. It's part of what attracts me to these group races ... they are quite literally life-changers. Anyway, we've got the Magic Millions coming up on the 13th of Jan but I may have a nibble at Japan & HK next weekend (there's 3 or 4 Group 3's on show - all with very healthy prize-pools) And for those who haven't seen the Perth Cup, here it is as well as the interviews afterwards et al ...

Pounamu was a good thing beaten wasn't it? Definitely worth following if it comes over to the East - looks a Flemington horse the way it powers home. It's a 6 year old but it's found it's true form. I got a percentage of the Tri as I changed my mind on Material Man - took it to win as well as Pounamu & Trap For Fools instead of Royal Star to win. But it was a grandstand finish and a fairytale ending for the family involvement of Material Man. A great story.

From ESPN ... 2017 NFL playoff primer: Bracket, schedule, Super Bowl paths, more

Yep, agree with all that Gorg. The Browns just have to keep going back to the well with fingers crossed ... the Sixers (NBA) and the Raiders have also both had horrendous luck with drafting but both franchises are now slowly starting to come good. All that tanking and then they draft busts! Drafting is often a cruel beast.

They could draft a couple of busts again! ... and I've yet to witness anyone ever being able to predict a bust (or at least being able to do so consistently)

Noted NFL insider Adam Schefter is saying that Jon Gruden is set for the Oakland Raiders job. A huge story if true. Jack Del Rio has been fired to make way? If it happens Gruden will end up coaching out of Las Vegas. Chuck Pagano has been sacked as the Colts coach