Macca

Only 9 running in the AJ Scahill Stakes but it's not a bad field and it could be a decent betting race as there are a number of chances. The Weir horse (Ulmann) may well start favourite and there's been a switch of jockeys for State Solicitor. Others horses such as Profit Street, Variation & Silverstream could all figure in the finish too. Link - AJ Scahill Stakes (Ascot) ... 1400m WFA $250,000 Group 3 (race time should be about 7.50pm AEDT) The Group 2 Villiers Stakes at Randwick on Saturday might be worth a look as well.

2 points on offer for week 15 in the comp ... 2 games on Sunday too (Oz time) Both games are on ESPN. Games to look out for ... Chargers @ KC ... Sunday 12.30pm Green Bay @ Carolina ... Monday 5.00am Rams @ Seattle ... Monday 8.05am Pats @ Steelers ... Monday 8.25am Miami @ Buffalo & Dallas @ Oakland holds some interest as well. Leaderboard in the comp 12 - Clintosaurus 9 - Go the Biff 8 - Dappa Dan 5 - Macca 4 - JV7, Gorgoroth The Ravens, Falcons & Eagles standout as probable road wins but who knows?

Pats lose to the Dolphins - who saw that coming? None of us tipsters, that's for sure. No points awarded this week in the tipping comp. The Jags have a chance to snag the 2 seed if the Steelers can beat the Pats next week. Jacksonville would probably need to win their last 3 but that is entirely possible (vs Texans, @ 49ers, @ Titans) Right now, the Jags hold the tie break advantage over the Pats (conference record) Suddenly, New England are perhaps looking a little vulnerable and they've got some injury concerns as well. But there again, they've a habit of winning when it matters. Who would bet against them? Leaderboard in the comp 12 - Clintosaurus 9 - Go the Biff 8 - Dappa Dan 5 - Macca 4 - JV7, Gorgoroth

You need to maintain the 1 seed to have a chance ... that has to happen. Your likely opponents in week 2 and/or 3 could be 2 dome teams (Saints/Vikes) or a Rams team that hasn't been in the playoffs for yonks. Seattle or Carolina would be tough though. Atlanta might find the conditions at Philadelphia a bit difficult too. Packers probably won't make it but with Rodgers at the helm, that game wouldn't be easy either. One thing is for sure, you will play your first game at home because you've won your division. And you'd probably have to lose all 3 of your remaining regular season games to fall below the 2 seed - that gives you a week off (which in turn gives Foles more time to become accustomed to his offense) We're about to see how good a coach Pederson is. His first job is to make sure the team maintains the 1 seed.

He must read 'land. Btw Foles is miles better than Hundley (right now) But that doesn't mean Foles is good. We've won 3 games with Hundley but all 3 teams we played were/are poor. Packers need to win all 3 remaining games and we're relying on at least 2 teams above us to lose 2 games each. Long shot.

Champions League Round of 16 draw FC Basel v Manchester City Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur FC Porto v Liverpool Sevilla v Manchester United Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain FC Shakhtar Donetsk v AS Roma Chelsea v Barcelona Bayern Munich v Besiktas

Foles wouldn't be expected to improve that much on what we've seen historically but he's now stepping into a role where the overall team has improved immeasurably and your running game is often very good. And your D is good too. Previously Foles was asked to hit WR targets a ways down the field but if your coach is smart, Foles should be asked to hit targets over shorter distances. The best coach in the business (Belichick) does it with Brady constantly yet Brady is a star - play the percentages. Reid does it with Andy Smith to good effect as well. Foles is not accurate past 15 yards but he doesn't necessarily have to be if he's asked to play a role that best suits his skill set. With Foles playing a low risk role complimented by the other facets of the Eagles game, you can still prove hard to beat. Especially at home. However, it's crucial that you hang on to the no.1 seed. Houston & Green Bay fell away after losing their QB's but the reliance on those QB's was way too high. The key is your running game - it has to be A grade (or at least B+)

You've got a more than decent all-round game but Wentz really is something special ... it's just as well you made that play for Ajayi. I reckon you can hang on to the 1 seed and that will give you 2 home playoff games. At least Foles is a veteran and not a rookie. They won't be asking him to do what Wentz can do but your running game is quite good anyway. Short cut-out passes might be the order of the day. But as you said Dappa, it's been a horrible season for injuries.

That's rotten luck for Wentz & Eagles fans ... he would have had thoughts of leading Philadelphia in the SB this season. It's just the worst type of injury too (if it is the ACL) On his way to the MVP as well - I just hope he makes a full recovery.

I'll PM you @Earl Hood .. saves doing the back & forth here It's a case of cross wires

Earl, I'd answer your question but that might be entering the spoiler zone

Great memories of a great horse D77 ... around that time a few of us ventured to Moonee Valley to see a couple of champs in action.

Yes hardtack, what I especially liked was how the story was depicted ... Nolan could have taken the film in a few different directions but decided to take a path which was most pleasing. Others may disagree of course as these epics are often taken down a different path. As you said, quite exhausting but it's a film deserving of a number of repeat viewings. The big name stars played their parts in an often understated way although I thought Mark Rylance was quite superb.

4 Group 1's at Hong Kong tomorrow (ranging from 1200m through to 2400m) ... the event is on the free-to-air racing station as well as racing.com. Doubt I'll have a bet (maybe one ) but there's a number of the world's best jockeys involved (as well as the top-notch horses) The Prizemoney is through the roof even after the conversion to AUD. By my calculations 2 x $3million races and 2 x $4million races.

The good bit about the feature races is that they're on late in the day ... so there's all Friday evening & most of Saturday to square things up. Some I know like to bet all day (when they do bet) and then others are like me, they're just interested in the big races. I had a small first 4 on the Zephyr race too - no good but again, no harm done. Oddly enough, I nearly got it as I had Amadeus to win as well as our adopted horse. But you've got to get all 4 in correct order to win 2k was a decent dividend when considering that 3 of the 4 were fancied runners and Amadeus came right in too.

It's not really an organised thing Wadda ... we just text around about a particular race. The input varies. I usually kick things off and then wait for feedback. By the end of it, there's about 4 -8 horses that get mentioned. The first 4 is my target but some just like trifecta's or even just the quinella/exacta. It's way easier online - for instance, I put Tom Melbourne & Perfect Jewel in my multiples because you & D77 liked the horses. I had them in beforehand but the input acted as reinforcement. I don't profess to know a great deal other than often fancying 1 or 2 horses based on form.

That's right, you're out of metro. So the free-to-air channels are different in the country yeah? Redzone is great but there's nothing like watching a big game from go to whoa.

Your thoughts & D77's too (and anyone else for that matter) ... it all helps when trying to put a multiple together. I do it with mates during the Spring & Autumn carnivals (usually via text) A few of us (sometimes 4 or 5 of us) pick out a horse or 2 in one of the feature races and then we can bundle them up individually if we so wish. That way you bet with each other rather than against one another. The field & barriers for the feature races are usually out by Wed or Thurs so you can get an early heads up ... I'll post up a link to the AJ Scahill Stakes midweek if I'm online.

I settled on 3 horses in the field that I thought could win so that ruled out any win & place outlays. It's Somewhat & Great Shot were the other two I liked. You're right though Wadda, same as you were right with your call with regards the Sandown Guineas. A number of the fancied horses looked tired. But I don't give up easy ... I'm already looking ahead to next week at Ascot! The AJ Scahill Stakes is another WFA race over 1400 where a few horses from the Winterbottom Stakes could well be running. Might be another roughies race. The following week there's another WFA race (The CB Cox Stakes - 2100m) finishing up with the Perth Cup (2400m) on New Years day. And then we go to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions!

Missed the tri & first 4 though - typical! To be fair, I didn't have the 2nd or 3rd in either multiple. Good dividends though. It's last run was the pointer, all the same. More than doubled it's prizemoney in one run. A perfectly timed run from the back ... I felt that it was going to win before the turn. But not to worry, I bet small to win big so I'm going to miss a fair bit along the road to the big payout. Pounamu is a 6 year old so the horse is worth following. It's got a really good finish.

Eagles @ Rams game is on 7mate from 8.30am Monday morning. Vikings @ Carolina is the 5.00am game on 7mate.

It's Somewhat' has won some very big races too ... it could be a blanket-finish D77. My pick (Pounamu) in the Railway Stakes came flashing home to come 5th and if the horse is freshened up, the extra 200 might suit. Very good odds too. I just love these WFA races ... more so 1400 metres and above although I have occasionally done ok with the 1200 metre races. The racing calendar is chock-full of big races but I have been known to follow the big races in Europe! (May through to October) Here's the full list of those European Group Races (for those who might be interested) And once again, here's the full list of all the Australian Group Races

I vary it Wadda ... depending on the depth in the field. A base of 3, 5, 5, & 7 but sometimes I'll go for just the 2 winners to increase the percentage. I'll usually have 3 roughies in the 7 with the other 4 runners being the top fancies. $20 will get you 14% with 3 horses winning or 21% with just the 2 horses winning. I always have a horse at good odds to win ... same for 2nd & 3rd. I've had collects this way but no big collects (yet!) I do like systems but that might have more to do with me trying to find some sort of order in all the chaos! 3, 5 & 5 is my preferred trifecta combo - again with 2 or 3 roughies mixed in. 2, 5 & 5 sometimes. It's not something I'd necessarily recommend, it's just my way of doing it.

Yeah, now that I've seen that fabulous catch by Deoin Jones, I'm not sure that it's all on Brees at all (the loss) You should beat Tampa (although nothing is ever certain) and then it's the Panthers & Saints to finish. If you can get to 10 wins that should be enough ... a win against the Panthers would ensure you'd hold the tie-break against most or all of your wild-card rivals. But if you win out I believe you will win the division.

'Dunkirk' was just superb ... often bleak with many of the characters being shell-shocked, demorilised & traumatised, the movie was as realistic as a film can get. It was like watching a documentary or a docudrama ... character development was kept to a minimum but the film had to be depicted that way. My only criticism was that the movie could have been longer (i.e. 40 - 60 minutes longer than the 1hr 46min) Christopher Nolan has written & directed a great film. 4.5/5 The 'Mad about Movies' crew produced a podcast about the movie which is more than decent - listen here from 16.15 (the podcast is not spoiler-free)