Macca

I have to barrack for Man Utd because I want my team (the Hammers) to get into the Europa league next season. However, in the end, I'll be almost certainly wanting a Palace win ... it's always terrific when a team outside of the big clubs can win the FA cup. Leicester vs Crystal Palace in the Community shield would certainly be different. Good luck.

Had a look at Murray's history and whilst there's a fair bit of game time in the transition/development/2nd tier leagues, I don't know a great deal about the strength of those leagues (you and others would know more) Certainly he's been a great acquisition for the Pens (so far) He was pulled from today's game but these things happen. Anyway, Tampa looked good when going out to a 4-nil lead so that series is very much alive too.

We might end up with San Jose against the Pens in the final - hoping for that anyway. Pittsburgh were quite impressive today whilst the Sharks have their next 2 games at home ... win both and they'll have a 3-1 lead in their series against the Blues.

Stage 6 in the Giro (tonight) ... Cycling News Giro d'Italia - Official site SBS - Cycling Central

So, there's still a bit to play for in the EPL ... (the first 2 points has more to do with the Spurs/Gunners rivalry) Tottenham will finish 2nd (and above Arsenal) if they win or draw* at Newcastle Arsenal will finish 2nd if they win vs Villa and Tottenham lose at Newcastle Man City will finish 3rd if they win at Swansea & Arsenal lose at home to Villa ... Arsenal would then finish 4th Man Utd will finish 4th if they win their last game vs Bournemouth & Man City lose at Swansea 7th spot on the table might secure a Europa league spot depending on various results (see link below) West Ham, Southampton, Man Utd, Man City and/or Liverpool can or will secure a Europa League spot depending on a combination of results (again, see link below) Either West Ham* or Southampton can only finish as high as 5th. Man Utd can finish as low as 7th after losing at West Ham on Wednesday morning. *goal difference is not a realistic factor with some of the above scenarios. Remaining fixtures Premier League permutations: Which clubs can still qualify for Europe next season?

Every season I get a little bit more interested in college (and slightly more knowledgeable) but I quite honestly haven't got the time to fit it in. I find the weekly rankings a bit intriguing but that's about it. Bringing in semi-finals added more interest but they'd need a final 8 (at least) to get more of my attention. If they at least did that the teams would start to feel more familiar.

The Packers drafted 3 players for our defensive line, 2 offensive tackles, a WR and a DE. Our first round choice (DT Kenny Clark) looks a decent pick by all accounts. Anyway, from all reports, all the choices were valid and pleasing but I don't know a great deal about any of the draftees (I don't watch much college football apart from the odd big clash) Time will tell. Drafting remains a bit of a mystery to me as it does in the AFL. All the knowledge in the world can often amount to not much at all. I just trust that they know what they're doing and that they know what they're looking for (and I wish them some luck as well - because, there is an element of luck)

The complication arises is if one or both of the 2 teams that qualify for the Champions league final (this season) doesn't automatically qualify through their own leagues. The spot or spots either opens up or it doesn't ... otherwise, the Europa league winner needs to qualify through the playoffs for the group stages (in the UCL) Finishing 4th in the EPL or La Liga might mean facing Malmo or Rapid Wien for a spot in the group stages. Or Club Brugge

Ha! ... all of a sudden there's a lot to play for - the Europa league might be finally gaining a bit of gloss Getting into the Champions league equals a lot of extra dollars ( a total of €1.257bn. is distributed to the 32 qualified teams - depending on performance) ... and of course, signing top quality talent becomes a lot easier as well for teams who are involved in the UCL. My team (the Hammers) can still get to 4th if we can win out and if Arsenal can defeat Man City on Sunday (or if City lose at Swansea instead - in the final round) The EPL might provide one final twist and Man Utd could get to 4th as well (United are at West Ham next Wed morning) .

I believe either Liverpool or Sevilla will qualify directly for the group stage of the Champions league if either wins the Europa league. A prized spot has been opened up because the Champions league finalists (who automatically qualify for next seasons Champions league) have already qualified because of where they will finish in La Liga. Those teams of course are Atletico Madrid & Real Madrid. So, it's possible that either England or Spain could have 5 teams represented in the Champions league next season (4th place in either league goes into the playoff round for the Champions league group stage) Spain had 5 teams in this year's Champions league (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla* & Valencia) *Sevilla won the Europa league last season.

The Giro d'Italia kicks off tonight in the Netherlands ... in fact, the first 3 stages are being held there. After the flat stages in Holland, many of the stages in Italy involve a number of gruelling climbs and it's quite relentless (especially stages 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 19 & 20) Both SBS & Eurosport are covering the event. Nibali is favourite whilst Mikel Landa is a top pick as well ... Valverde is also a big chance. Here's a few sites to browse ... Cycling News Giro - Official site SBS - Cycling Central .

And there's every chance that the TV money* could keep rising at a rapid rate ... not so much from the money that the EPL gets from 'Sky', but the rights money from all the other broadcasters from all the other countries that have a high interest in the EPL. Optus here paid a premium for the rights, so much so that Foxtel opted out (or were outbid) ... in an open market, these things happen and there's not much that the other leagues can do to stop it other than to make their own leagues more attractive to a worldwide audience. But the EPL is booming just about everywhere and I can't see things slowing down in a hurry. The principles that apply in business also applies to sport - so we could easily end up with a super league much like the NBA, NHL & the MLB are in those sports. *The greater TV rights money will effectively give more spending power to all the EPL clubs which should in turn even up the competition - which will create even greater interest.

Leicester's triumph is just a great story and I can't see them necessarily dropping away ... they've already got a terrific starting 11 with some able back-ups and with the big TV money kicking in before the start of next season, they've got a real chance to strengthen their squad ... there's also the extra Champions league money (tens of millions of dollars) to consider. Plus, Leicester have got rich ownership. Leicester's record against the big 6 clubs was also a positive (16pts vs 13 pts) - all things considered, they did a hell of a lot of things right and are fully deserved champions. The stars aligned. As of next season, the spending power of all 20 of the Premier league clubs will reach unprecedented levels ... the league may well get even more competitive with more of the smaller clubs featuring. Squads will almost certainly be richer in talent so injuries (or the lack of injuries) will play a big part - we're entering a new phase where the overall outcomes won't be as predictable (IMO) Massive new English Premier League TV deal has the rest of European soccer worried .

Well done to Leicester! ... 5000-1 outsider at one stage It's one for the ages

Goff will receive a contract worth nearly 28 million (4 years) with about an 18 million signing bonus ... Wentz will receive a slightly lesser amount (26 million / 16-17 million signing bonus) It's any wonder the 1st round picks are generally beside themselves with joy and who could blame them? ... of course, the draftees are coming from a largely amateur background (College) so it's like going from one extreme to another. 2016 NFL Draft Tracker .

Hope he goes well for your Rams ... if he turns out to be a star, the trade will be a great one. Interesting for the Eagles with Wentz (who could also turn out to be a gun) ... who knows who will ultimately be the initial starter at Philadelphia though? A lot can happen between now and the first game. Eagles take Carson Wentz at No. 2, say Sam Bradford is 'guy we want leading this charge' .

And now Brady gets 4 weeks (again) ... and another appeal may not be granted or have little chance of success (but who knows for sure?) Brady seems hell bent on clearing his name so it may not be over.

And after the big game tonight (hopefully a win) we can settle in for the Leige/Bastogne/Leige classic on SBS (and Eurosports) ... lots of steep climbs involved and I believe it's the last of the Ardennes Classics. The Giro d'Italia starts on the 6th of May (SBS & Eurosports are providing coverage)

The issue with RG3 is that since his knee injury he seems to have lost his mobility, pace and sharpness. So much so that Washington didn't even really want to suit him up ... there might be other issues as well. I hope he comes good because his first year was very impressive and he looked like he was going to have a bright future ... Kaepernick is another who seemed to have the world at his feet but his form fell away alarmingly as well. Being the QB for the Browns is no easy gig, no matter how talented a QB might be ... Goff and/or Wentz may well be breathing a huge sigh of relief in all reality. Being at the helm in LA or Philadelphia is far more enticing.

And the other big story is the Browns passing up the opportunity to draft Goff or Wentz. Not sure Cleveland know when to pull the trigger and when not to, given their recent history. RG3 might come good but he may not. You don't ever want to be 2nd guessing yourself and it looks like the Browns might be doing just that.

Couple of highlights packages for both Goff and Wentz, Gorgo ... the pundits are saying that they'll go 1 & 2 in the draft. Cleveland have the 2nd pick and unless something changes, they'll just pick whoever the Rams don't pick.

So is it Goff or Wentz? The Rams have probably already decided much like the Demons went after pick 3 to get Oliver. Anyway, both players look to have game but maybe only one of them becomes a star ... choose well and your team might be set up for 10-15 years. Good decision to go trade for that pick too - gotta take chances in this league.

All of a sudden the title race has tightened up appreciably ... and all it took was one round of matches. I 'originally' thought that the title was going to be decided on the last day and that may still happen ... Spurs need to keep winning though. Also, Leicester will miss Vardy and he might be out for more than 1 game.

A 2-2 draw between Leicester and West Ham adds a twist to proceedings. Leicester scoring in the last minute means they're now 8 points ahead of Tottenham ... effectively, if Spurs win at Stoke tomorrow they'll be 5 points behind the Foxes. And they'll need to win at Stoke with only 4 games to go after tomorrow. Spurs need to win out to have a hope of catching Leicester anyway (IMO) Vardy being sent off means he will miss the next game vs Swansea ... and that's probably a bigger blow for Leicester than drawing the game tonight. His 'dive' which brought his 2nd yellow card might have even been given as a penalty ... it continues to confound me why soccer never has a replay facility for incidences within the box. West Ham would be miffed that they didn't win the game but a draw was probably a fair result. I would have preferred a win of course but we weren't at our best tonight (although the Cresswell goal was a beauty)

Still haven't quite given up on a top 4 spot for West Ham but we'd almost certainly have to win our last 6 games and hope that Man City slip up ... big ask for both things to happen but I suppose you just never know (although City seem to have a slightly tougher run home) The Gunners should hang on to 3rd. Anyway, we (the Hammers) have got some nice momentum heading into the new stadium next season (we now just need a rich benefactor to jump on board!) It's Leicester's title to lose now and barring a meltdown, they'll win it. Their last 3 are tricky though, all the same ... @ Man Utd, vs Everton and then @ Chelsea ... hosting West Ham next up and that won't be easy either. Tottenham need to keep winning as well of course. Arsenal are too far back you'd reckon. Here's the table again (this table magically adjusts itself too - I've no idea how that happens)