Macca

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?

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.

Good news for fans of the acclaimed series - 'Power Without Glory' All 26 episodes have been posted up on youtube ... they've been up for 6 months now so hopefully they'll stay up. Power Without Glory (youtube link) And here's a short biography of the show's central character - John Wren .

A couple from one of my favourite bands from the 70's ... the first track is more meaningful whilst the 2nd is a rocky little number that the band obviously enjoyed doing (watch for Shirl's signature move, 2 mins in)

Yeah, good point Gorgo ... moving to a team within a division is often frowned upon but he is 32. Regardless, AP will probably end up in the AFC if he moves. As always, money talks and at his age he has to take on a good offer if it comes his way.

It's difficult to know what is going on ... he's a free agent and the Raiders are interested but the Vikes may want to keep him. I'd love him at the Packers even if it was just for a year or so. Doubt he'd end up at Green Bay though.

If we end up with a list of 13-16 good footballers, we'll get our chance. It sounds a bit formulaic but it's something that I've come to realise over the years ... lesser lights don't really deliver unless surrounded by quality. Whilst I'm here, and seeing we're on a new page, here's the current EPL Standings ... (Chelsea look like taking out the title and will be hard to shift)

I agree Wrecker but younger Demon fans will want more than 1 flag ... I know a couple of Bulldog fans who are getting on and they are both well satisfied with last's years triumph (but their thinking might change down the track) As for Leicester, they turned in one of their best performance of the year in defeating Liverpool overnight. A bitter sweet outcome and they may well rally and prove my theory wrong. It's hard to predict (sport)

It was a highly entertaining event and I watched it live (as I often do) .... the bit that will get forgotten is that the La La Land cast & crew would be devastated ... but let's face, they've all made a stack of money and the movie might even get an extra boost at the box office. And the winner (Moonlight) was such an excellent movie that it was a fully deserved winner anyway ... if you haven't seen it hardtack, do so, I highly recommend it. It winning makes me think that 'Manchester by the Sea' might have gone close too. And yeah, Kimmel was terrific and Damon played his role to great effect.

I was assuming it was the right envelope with the wrong card inside - see edit below. The 2nd last award presented was for best actress so we at least know the envelope (or the contents) were doubled-up. Anyway, does it matter ht? It's as funny as in my opinion. I love the Oscars but I don't take them all that seriously. To me, it's just a simple error with hilarious consequences. And again, the tonight shows are going to have a lot of fun with it all. Here's a couple of up-to-the-minute podcasts about the shemozzle ... The Oscar's Were Crazy The Oscar's Surprise Ending Edit: Apparently there were 2 sets of envelopes just in case something happens to one of the envelopes and Warren Beatty was handed the copy of 'The Best Actress' award. Again, we'd need to have a look at the envelope but they (Dunaway & Beatty) couldn't assume they were given the wrong envelope. Regardless, they couldn't have been expected to look at the writing on the envelope. .

As it stands, the outcome will be fodder for the satirists for years. "They put the wrong card in the right envelope" ha ha l just loved the way the producer from La La Land snatched the card out of Warren Beatty's hand as if he'd taken over the running of the show. So much of the whole ending was just high-farce. Fake news? You betcha! .

Wow, what a monumental stuff-up at the Oscars Faye Dunaway with the help of Warren Beatty read out La La Land as best movie when they were meant to read out Moonlight. The whole crew of La La Land were in the middle of their acceptance speeches when the blunder was discovered. It's just laugh-out-loud hilarious! The satirists are going to have an absolute field day Edit: As it turns out, Dunaway & Beatty were handed the wrong envelope. So no real blame should be attributed to either of them (in my opinion)