Macca

A few observations ... Dallas & Prescott keep marching on ... what to do with Romo? Detroit are right back in it but they need to keep it up Packers & Vikes are struggling - especially the Packers The Panthers might get on a roll Oakland (7 & 2) look like the real deal - after their bye next week they are then vs Houston, vs Carolina, vs Buffalo The Giants are hanging around and have the 3rd best record in the NFC (5 & 3) KC are 6 & 2 and flying under the radar The Colts might be back Atlanta can skip away - next up @ the Eagles 3 participants picked up points in the comp - miracles do occur

Tips ... Panthers Eagles Dallas

Here's another movie for 'Noir' fans ... 'Pickup on South Street' Stars Richard Widmark whilst 6 time Oscar nominated Thelma Ritter has a memorable supporting role. The opening sequence is very well done and sets the movie up brilliantly. The film is still very highly regarded and has a more than decent plot ... it was made during the the midst of the 'McCarthy era' Here's the IMDb link if you want to know a bit more about the movie. For HD click on settings

That was one hell of a series ... Cleveland fought hard but fell just short. It's often a fine line between ultimate victory & despair. Hopefully they'll get back to the big stage again sooner rather than later. The story was always going to be centred around the Cubs though and they finally broke their curse. To come back from a 3-1 deficit was a grand effort. Kudos. Game 7 highlights ...

Game 6 highlights ...

2 points up for grabs this week ... good luck. Points tally in the comp 1 - JV7, Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell, DeeSpencer 0 - The usual suspects

The Cubs have come good! All to play for tomorrow ... one curse will be over whilst the other will live on. Game 7's don't get any better than this one.

With a likely Vikings win tomorrow both Minnesota & Dallas are creating real separation from the other teams in their respective divisions ... Atlanta are 2 games clear in the NFC South whilst the NFC West is up for grabs. 9 wins might get a wild-card in the NFC so there's hope for any number of teams - outside of the clear-cut division leaders, there are no fewer than 10 teams sitting on 3 or 4 wins in the NFC. Over in the AFC the Pats keep marching on whilst 3 teams from the AFC West are in a position to reach the playoffs (Broncos, KC, Raiders) Pittsburgh needs Roethlisberger back asap whilst Houston could be good enough to win the AFC South. But who knows? There's been a lot of close games - and that will almost certainly continue. Edit: And true to form my predicted win for the Vikes falls flat. The NFC North is now up for grabs as well. The Bears & Cutler were very good today. .

Going to be tough for the Cubs now ... coming back from a 3-1 deficit has been done before but it's a rare occurrence. Kluber supreme again and he can pitch in game 7.

Here's a more than decent western ... a 1946 version of the events surrounding the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. All the main characters are involved ... Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda), Doc Holliday (Victor Mature) and a particularly detestable Walter Brennan (Old Man Clanton) star. The film is of course set in Tombstone. The film is oddly named considering how dark & nasty the movie is for the majority of it's length ... 'My Darling Clementine' is certainly no musical comedy. The movie can be viewed in full HD (click on settings)

As is the way, games 3 & 4 are on live here from 11am on Saturday & Sunday. Cup 'eve' has become a default holiday for many Melbournians so a lot of the 9 to 5 baseball fans here will get to watch game 5 live as well. Putting aside your well made points I'm barracking for the Cubs anyway - I'm just not sure they will secure the series at home. Kluber will be ready to go in game 4 by all accounts and if Cleveland can somehow win game 3, they'll be well set up for the rest of the series. Anyway, looking forward to some live baseball on the weekend.

Patriots Raiders Vikings

Points tally in the comp 1 - JV7, Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell, DeeSpencer 0 - The usual suspects I believe Washington are the 'road' team for their game against Cincinnati in London ... 1 point only on offer this week.

So it's Cleveland & the Cubs in the World Series ... obviously one team has to win but whichever team wins will break a long drought. In the case of the Cubs, the curse as well (although apparently Cleveland have their own curse also) Cleveland haven't won a world series since 1948 and the Cubs since 1908. Starts Wed 11am AEST Curse of the Billy Goat .

Take the win and move on ... the Bears not having a QB of note from early in the game made the winning of the game by the Packers imperative. Without a running back of note the Packers decided to use Rodgers for an abundance of short cut-out passes - worked well but I'm not surprised, the Pats have used Brady in this way for an age. Next up is @ the Falcons in week 8 - a shoot-out is on the cards. Tips ... Oakland Patriots Ravens

Good to see we've got some Film-Noir fans on this thread ... at various times it's my favourite genre. The classics like 'The Maltese Falcon' & 'Sunset Boulevard' are too copyright protected to be up on youtube but there are numerous other quality movies in the Film-Noir genre that are available. Here's an excellent one starring Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore & Kim Hunter - 'Deadline U.S.A' ... the movie can be viewed in HD (press settings) and can be converted to full-screen *Movie was unable to be played on the link provided - I'll re-post the movie up at a later date.

2 points up for grabs this week in the comp - same goes for all the odd numbered weeks for the rest of the season (except week 17 which carries 3 points) Good luck all! Points tally in the comp 1 - JV7, Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_hell, DeeSpencer 0 - The best of the rest

I've watched most of the snaps in our games and we're playing like an 8 & 8 team ... it's not just Rodgers, it's every facet and the coaching and play calling as well. Of course, things can swing very quickly in this league so I'm not writing the team off ... at times last season we played great but I haven't seen it at all this season apart from our first half against Detroit. Standards are high so one decent half doesn't cut it by any means. Schedule starts getting tough soon with a number of road games so we'll soon find out how good the team is.

Packers were very very average as well but Dallas are more than decent, all the same. Prescott out-dueled Rodgers quite easily too - the bloke can play. Green Bay lack purpose and vitality - we need a spark from somewhere. Some good finishes today ... important wins to Detroit, Seattle, Washington, KC, Buffalo, & the Giants. Texans win in O/T and the Jags got up for Clintosaurus but alas, no movement in the tipping comp. Incredibly (or not so incredibly), 1 point still leads the way. Next week looks like a good round for road winners but who would know cfh? Schedule week 7

A lot of the paying customers could be tourists initially but they'd probably get good support anyway ... I reckon it could work based on all sorts of factors. The City has a population of just over 600,000 but there were over 42 million people who visited the City just last year. That's a lot of cashed-up people. The road team fans could be a big factor too ... especially from Denver, KC & San Diego. The NFL would possibly schedule in a Steelers game there as well to kick things off. Mark Davis pledging 500 million says to me that the move is going to happen save for the red tape.

Panthers Pittsburgh Eagles Couldn't pick the Rams in the end Gorgo but I'll no doubt pay a price ... it's a trap game for the Steelers too. The AFC West is tightening up after the Chargers win yesterday - however, the Raiders have a chance to go to 5 & 1 if they can defeat KC at home. Their schedule isn't tough either so they could make a break from their rivals. Nevada Legislature approves plan to build NFL stadium in Las Vegas

Well, we'll probably see a 3rd season of True Detective sooner or later. I can't see it finishing up. I suppose they'd be looking for another state or city to base the series and theme around ... most of the iconic places have been covered but there's still scope when considering all the possible locations. They might revisit the South? 'Stranger Things' is a terrific show and a lot of fun ... it's set in the 80's and I'd describe it as great family entertainment. In other words, you're better off watching it with the better half and/or kids. I've nearly completely watched 'House of Cards' (3 episodes to go in season 4) and what a fine drama that show is ... it's a little over-the-top sometimes but in comparing the show to the real-life events we're currently seeing in the States, maybe not so! Spacey is just superb but Robin Wright (who plays his wife) is equally as good. Robin also directs a number of episodes and does a fine job in that area as well. And I've just found out that 'The Exorcist' has been made into a series (based on the original book & movie) ... I'll have a gander soon enough but I definitely won't be watching it solo - the original movie still frightens the life out of me. Heard some good reports, all the same.

For fans of 'Film Noir' here is a little known classic ... Fritz Lang's 'Scarlet Street' - stars Edward G Robinson but Joan Bennett steals the show with a superlative performance.

Back in the day this band made some big strides in the States ... LRB with 'Reminiscing' & 'Lonesome Loser'

Both the first 2 episodes of 'Quarry' were first rate ...gritty, earthy, 70's, Vietnam, hitman, quite realistic and rather nasty where it needs to be. Rule of thumb is 3 episodes but I'm probably all-in. These throw-back dramas have got their place if done well (Stranger Things) I've still got to get around to 'Peaky Blinders' but Fargo (season 2) was as good as season 1 in my opinion. Anyone know if and when we're getting a 3rd season of 'True Detective'? ... as a stand-alone show, I really liked 'TD' season 2 despite what the fans and critics said. I also thought that Vince Vaughn was very good considering the difficult part he had to play (a mobster trying to be a legit businessman)