Macca

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)

Leicester have sacked Ranieri ... that's hard to believe when considering the success he brought them just 9 months ago. I doubt they'll ever win another Premier league title (unless something dramatic happens) so the memory of winning in such an unexpected way is always going to be associated with sacking the coach just 9 months later. If there was player unrest it wouldn't have been all of them ... I'll be surprised if they stave off relegation now. They had a better chance of avoiding relegation with Ranieri in charge. And if they do get relegated this hair-brained decision will look even worse. Claudio Ranieri: Leicester manager sacking made Gary Lineker 'shed a tear'

And in a short space of time the Aussies have found themselves in a very strong position. Bowling India out for 105 was probably not in the thoughts of many. Huge kudos to O'Keefe (6-35) but all the bowlers contributed. Agree on Renshaw ... looks to have a very bright future. I still see Starc as more of a clean hitter - no.8 is his spot. Mitch Marsh is still young enough to improve - he can be rotated in or out depending on whether we may prefer to play a pure batsman at no.6. The no.6 spot can be used in a flexible way and I reckon it will be used that way by the selectors - I'm not rusted on to a certain type of player. It would help if Warner & Smith bowled a bit more and could hold their own.

For those without cable TV, you can listen to the tests from India here ... the ABC are providing coverage but not through their normal radio outlets. The link should work through your phone (if it's compliant)

Here's a quick write-up of 2 more of the 9 movies up for best picture at the Oscars. 3 to go after this post and I'm still to see 2 of the movies up for best film (Lion & Fences) ... looking forward to seeing both of course. January/February are movie months and why not? - there's not a great deal of sport happening. Anyway, here goes (spoiler free) Moonlight A extremely touching movie that will stay with you long after you've seen it ... the film is a coming-of-age type movie but not in the traditional sense. Again, tough to watch at times but very rewarding. The cinematography is superb. The movie is about identity, discovery, is devastating in parts whilst telling a simple story extraordinarily well. Moving & sad at times, this film is one of the best of the year. 8.5/10 If you've seen the movie, here's a podcast featuring the director Barry Jenkins and actress Naomie Harris (contains spoilers) Hidden Figures A feel-good movie with (at times) rather awkward & somewhat sinister undertones. NASA features as the backdrop with the space-race as the theme. The story of 3 women who excel against the odds ... and given the time that the movie is set in (the early 60's) these 3 women excelled in a rather surprising way. A 'hidden treasure', this film will both surprise & entertain. 8/10 Again, if you've seen this movie, here's another podcast featuring the director Theodore Melfi (contains spoilers) Whilst I'm here, a catchy jazz track from "Hidden Figures" ... featuring Pharrell Williams ... .

No, it's not the Palace although I have frequented the Balwyn cinemas over the years ... in fact, I've previously visited nearly all the cinemas you listed when the need to hunt around to see a movie was warranted. It's different now with a lot of the smaller & larger complex's showing a greater variety of movies. The Como was a favourite for years. I'm not normally a name-dropper but I went to a premiere of a movie at the Rivoli once ... Viggo Mortensen was the guest of honour and he introduced a movie that he starred in called 'Good' ... an excellent film too and a bit of reminder of how things can get out of control very quickly. Viggo spoke for 15 minutes about the exploits of his favourite soccer team - San Lorenzo (Argentinian league) ha ha

I've got access to anything & everything in my household ... there are set-top boxes and wires aplenty. It's our one and only real indulgence though. .

Goliath looks the goods if the first couple of episodes are any indication. Billy Bob Thornton stars and he's often good value. He's extra-good in this show,

I'm lucky that I have a cinema which is less than 5 minutes walking distance from my home ... excellent pricing too, all things considered. Like many cinema's these days, the cinema has a 'club' of sorts which makes the experience of going to the movies extremely worthwhile. The cinema we frequent plays a lot of "Non-Hollywood blockbuster type" movies as well which makes it even better. If one wants to view a large proportion of Oscar-type movies before the actual ceremony, then going to the cinema is a prerequisite these days. Most of the nominated movies aren't released until Nov/Dec as a general rule so the released DVD's often doesn't happen until March/April. Thankfully. all 9 nominated movies have been released to cinema in Oz but that hasn't always been the case. It can vary from year to year. The Academy Awards is on Feb 26 (Noon Feb 27 AEDT)