Macca

General classification after stage 18 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) 2 Bauke Mollema (Ned) 03:52 3 Adam Yates (GBr) 04:16 4 Nairo Quintana (Col) 04:37 5 Romain Bardet (Fra) 04:57 6 Richie Porte (Aus) 05:00 7 Fabio Aru (Ita) 06:08 8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) 06:37 9 Louis Meintjes (RSA) 07:15 10 Daniel Martin (Irl) 07:18 Froome has almost certainly got the tour wrapped up but Richie Porte can still get a podium finish. 2 tough stages to come so there may still be a few surprises. Tonight's stage ... Saturday's stage ... Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

In a round about way - Kent. Kent = the compensation pick we ended up receiving for the loss of Moloney & Rivers (and the acquisition of Byrnes) ... the compensation was pick 48 in the 2012 Draft. Where we've lost out is not acquiring quality free agents in the last 4 off-seasons - but that's easier said than done and acquiring free agents would have affected our compensation in at least 2 of those years (which you highlighted, RP) Going forward we need to be a player with regards to free agency. Picking up one good player per year (via free agency) is not a big ask. Here's the list of free agents (Not sure how up to date the list is)

On their way to the Alps the riders encounter the 'Grand Colombier' tonight ... there are 8 climbs all up tonight and the stage promises to be a good one. Froome is looking very strong though and his Sky team have backed him to an immense degree but ... he still needs to get it done. Porte is working his way up the standings and could still get a podium finish as long as he doesn't have a bad day. *SBS are covering tonight's stage from 8.30pm. General classification after stage 14 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 2 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 01:47 3 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange 02:45 4 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 02:59 5 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 03:17 6 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 03:19 7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 04:04 8 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 04:27 9 Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx - Quick-Step 05:03 10 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 05:16 Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

Decent climb to Chalet-Reynard tonight ... originally the riders were required to climb all the way to Mont Ventoux but gusts of wind have been predicted to exceed 100km/h for today's stage ... all the same, with those sort of conditions the stage could get very interesting - the climb beginning at Bedoin should begin a little before midnight (or thereabouts) Here's the preview from the official site ... Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

There's a miriad of stuff to watch these days ... something for everyone. There's lots of stuff that doesn't necessarily appeal but each to their own.

Mr Robot (s02) has just started airing in the US so it's probably on 'Presto' (streaming) again ... you'll have to google etc. IT Crowd is great but the show finished up some time ago. Better Call Saul - excellent show. I've found a lot of European drama worth watching for those who like their drama to be real-life/gritty ... I'll post up a summary of what I've come across down the track.

Mr Robot is back (season 2) Another show to keep an eye out for ... The Bridge (A Swedish/Danish production) The French/UK have done a remake of the show called The Tunnel but the first season of 'The Bridge' was very good. Billions is also quite a good show and well worth a look. Paul Giamatti & Damian Lewis are superbly cast as high-powered foes. .

The big guns are all nearly 6 minutes behind Van Avermaet but the next 2 stages will start sorting the GC contenders out (and Van Avermaet as well) Tonight's stage looks brutal but tomorrow night's stage looks just as difficult. Porte is 1:49 from the main contenders so he's not out of it ... Contador is 1:25 behind those same main contenders. Stage 8 profile ... Stage 9 profile ... Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

First day in the mountains tonight (stage 5) ... here's tonight's profile and Friday's profile (stage 7) Tomorrow night's stage (stage 6) is a flat stage but the riders will have to contend with the Pyrenees on Saturday & Sunday as well. Any of the GC riders might make a move in the next few days especially those who have already lost vital time (Porte & Contador) Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

The Tour de France starts tonight (8.30pm SBS) ... the big news is the tour hits the Pyrenees quite early this time around . Four of the early stages (stages 5, 7, 8 & 9) involves various climbs of varying degrees. So the GC riders will start to be sorted out quite early. Froome is favourite again but there are any number of cyclists who will feature ... Quintana, Contador, Richie Porte, Pinot, Fabio Aru, Nibali, Tejay van Garderen, Bardet, Thomas, Dumoulin, Valverde, Landa & Rodriguez all have claims. Richie Porte heads up the BMC team (along with Tejay van Garderen) so he's no longer playing 2nd fiddle to Froome. BMC announces Tour team for super motivated Porte Official Site SBS Tracker Cyclingnews.com

'Tommy' was far too loud for it's genre anyway ... the loudness served as a distraction. Maybe other people who were older than me at the time may not have thought that the soundtrack was too loud. But each to their own I say ... I've never been a Mad Max fan but that's not to say they are bad films.

How about 'Tommy' in quintaphonic sound at the Athenaeum? Now that was loud! .

Couple from 'Twenty One Pilots' ...

Yeah, watching game 7 live was immense. Sport at it's finest. Though it's a team sport, the championship will be seen as a LeBron James triumph. The first team to win it after being 3-1 down too. That 73-9 regular season record that the Warriors set might be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Yep, the Pens were too good when it counted and were worthy Stanley cup winners ... San Jose weren't disgraced but they couldn't get near it in the last period and a half today. It must be an awesome feeling lifting this historic trophy ... here's a bit about it's history. 22 Things You Might Not Know About the Stanley Cup .

Yep, it's an excellent double tomorrow ... hoping for a Sharks win in game 6 just so we can get a game 7 (which would be Thursday 10am AEST) San Jose are a real show too - they've just got to get it done tomorrow.

The Sharks just have to win game 3 to have any chance in the series ... as it stands, they probably need to win the next 2 because if they are down 3-1, it's almost certainly all over. The Pens have just got it done in a professional way so far ... winning the first 2 games at home sets things up perfectly.

The idea has merit for a number of reasons TD ... one being that the smaller nations could be introduced into the lower division and help grow the game. Teams like Ireland & Afghanistan could cut their teeth against the lesser performed Test nations if we had 2 divisions. If the ICC added 2 nations I'd favour an 8 & 4 set-up as an initial launch (perhaps 7 & 5) Teams from the different divisions could still play each other but for lesser or greater points. One other reason is the promotion & relegation scenario where certain teams would suddenly have a lot more to play for ... the only issue I have with that is do test cricketers need any more incentive other than knowing what is expected and required upon selection? But the biggie for me would be the proper recognition for the best performed team in the top division - the no.1 test ranking isn't really celebrated as it should be or could be. A yearly trophy presented at the end of the New Year* tests could work (assuming South Africa, Australia & New Zealand were all in the top division) Current rankings ... Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 Australia 32 3765 118 2 India 20 2238 112 3 Pakistan 20 2227 111 4 England 32 3370 105 5 New Zealand 25 2449 98 6 South Africa 22 2015 92 7 Sri Lanka 24 2113 88 8 West Indies 21 1374 65 9 Bangladesh 12 687 57 10 Zimbabwe 4 48 12 *We often have 3 tests all played in the first week of January in 3 different countries (Aus, S Afr & NZ) ... those tests are often the final tests of those particular series' ... if New Zealand weren't in the top division then maybe only 2 series would be the deciding factor (to arrive at the best performed test team of the season) Or perhaps a series could be held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Sharjah over the Xmas/New Year period. We could, in theory, have 4 series all played concurrently over the Xmas/New Year to decide things.

In the end we end up with the finalists that were the predicted long range finalists (Warriors vs Cavs) Great comeback by Golden State vs OKC and they might end up winning it all again ... should be a top series though. Hard to see the series not go at least 6 games but if it decided in 6 games then I reckon Golden State will prevail. LeBron is going to need some real help from Love & Irving if Cleveland hope to win ... 6 finals in a row for James too.

Maybe the Penguins for me but I'd really like to see San Jose win it just so we have a new team winning it all. I also like watching Crosby go about it so I don't really have a dog in the fight ... reckon it will go at least 6 games but a 7 game series wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Starts Tuesday in Oz (10am)

3 stages to go in the Giro ... tonight's stage and tomorrow night's stage will decide things ... Here are the classifications going into tonight's stage ... 1. KRUIJSWIJK Steven TLJ 73h 50’ 37” 2. CHAVES Esteban OGE 3’ 00” 3. VALVERDE Alejandro MOV 3’ 23” 4. NIBALI Vincenzo AST 4’ 43” 5. ZAKARIN Ilnur KAT 4’ 50” 6. MAJKA Rafal TNK 5’ 34” 7. JUNGELS Bob EQS 7’ 57” 8. AMADOR Andrey MOV 8’ 53” 9. POZZOVIVO Domenico ALM 10’ 05” 10. SIUTSOU Kanstantsin DDD 11’ 15” Stage 19 ... Stage 20 ... Cycling News Giro d'Italia - Official site SBS - Cycling Central

Managed to listen to some radio coverage ... will watch highlights later. So it's Pittsburgh & San Jose ... should be a cracker of a series.

Well, I'm never confident with these things but it's great to see a new team in the final (Sharks) ... and as you said, today's game could go either way. The game is in Pittsburgh so that might give the advantage to the Pens. I'll be tuning in whenever I get a chance

Louis van Gaal expected to be replaced by Jose Mourinho within the next 24-48 hours ... apparently the news broke from a "source" at Man Utd before the FA cup final. Winning the cup obviously wasn't going to change the decision by the looks of it. I suppose it's been the worst 'best kept secret' for an age but it will be good to have Jose involved again (for the villain factor?) ... the title race next year should be a beauty - especially if Chelsea, Man Utd & Liverpool can all feature. José Mourinho’s Manchester United task list as he prepares for Old Trafford

Stage 14 in the Giro (tonight) ... Cycling News Giro d'Italia - Official site SBS - Cycling Central