Macca

That makes 4 starters so far in the tipping comp ... a shout out to @cowboy_from_hell @Dappa Dan @DeeSpencer @titan_uranus @Go the Biff @pantaloons @DemonDave & @layzie If any of you blokes are keen to participate in the tipping comp, just join in whenever. We'll probably end up with at least 5 or 6 players so it's all systems go. Any newcomers are welcome of course. Missing a week or 3 or starting late may not necessarily effect your chances of winning ... there are numerous weeks when no one gets a point or points. However, the bonus weeks is where the comp is usually won & decided. Bonus weeks are weeks 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17 (2 points are on offer with week 17 worth 3 points) It's easy to play ... just select 3 road teams in any particular week who you think can win ... if all 3 win you get the points.

So who's up for the tipping comp again? If we can get 5 or 6 participants, I'm happy to run it. For newcomers, the tipping comp involves finding 3 road winners (from 3 picks) each week. I point for each time you nail it and we normally have about 8 'bonus-point' weeks. Last year's notable's ... Final Leaderboard 12 - Gorgoroth 8 - cowboy_from_hell 7 - Clintosaurus, DeeSpencer -------------------------------- 6 - JV7 4 - Macca Regular Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2013 cowboy_from_hell/ pantaloons/ Gorgoroth Strafford Macca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 Dappa Dan DeeSpencer Gorgoroth ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell, Macca JV7, DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell Clintosaurus/ DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2013 titan_uranus DemonDave cowboy_from_hell/ Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 JV7/ pantaloons Gorgoroth/ Go the Biff Macca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 JV7/ cowboy_from_hell, Gorgoroth/ Macca DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth, JV7 Clintosaurus Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Medal Tally Gold Silver Bronze Gorgoroth 3 0 4 JV7 2 2 0 Macca 2 1 3 ------------------------------------------------------------- cowboy_from_hell 1 3 1 Dappa Dan 1 0 0 Strafford 1 0 0 titan_uranus 1 0 0 Go the Biff 1 0 0 DeeSpencer 0 2 2 pantaloons 0 2 0 DemonDave 0 1 0 Clintosaurus 0 0 2

SBS are covering the Vuelta a España (starts tomorrow night) and this version of the Grand Tour looks to be as tough as it gets. There are no fewer than 43 climbs over 14 of the stages (including 12 x Cat 1 climbs) That includes 8 mountain top finishes. It promises to be a grueling affair and Froome has been installed as the short-priced favourite. He'll get strong competition from Nibali, Contador, Fabio Aru, Bardet and a number of others though. The Vuelta might prove to be the pick of the Grand tours (this year) Blisteringly hot conditions have been forecast as well. BBC Podcast - Can Froome do the Tour/Vuelta double? Cyclingnews.com - stage by stage preview

Ha ha ... that's it in a nutshell. However, Tottenham no longer seem to drop points inexplicably so top 4 is attainable if augurs well. Spurs are well coached & well managed. Winning the league will probably come down to how the big 6 teams all fare against one another. For instance, your blokes could get the 3 points against a slightly dishevelled Chelsea this week. Win that and you're right amongst it. I liked the look of Man Utd on the weekend ... Lukaku & Matic have already made a big difference. This might be the most competitive season we've seen for an age. Hard to fathom why a 28 year old Diego Costa isn't playing anywhere at the moment - I'd have him at the Hammers in a heartbeat. He's a maverick but knows how to get on the scoresheet.

That is sad news rjay ... one of my favourite jazz guitarists. Another musician to be taken by cancer. 'The Music Inside' is a track of his that I never tire of ... at his best on that one. RIP Chuck Loeb ... his music will always live on. Here's 'The Music Inside' & 'Blue Kiss' ...

Ha ha ... I'm very much the same with the Packers divisional rivals. Especially the Bears. Packer fans really hate the Vikings as well. I've got a mate who is a more recent convert to the NFL and he picked the Lions just so we can be rivals (he's also a bloody Collingwood supporter!) The divisions staying with the same make-up of teams for long periods must build up intense rivalries over there. The Packers/Bears rivalry is an ancient one and is ongoing. Outside of the NFC North I always take a keen interest in the NFC East games.

Highlights of last night's game .... And here's the line-up of EPL games to be shown on SBS (assuming SBS are going to be covering the Saturday lunchtime fixtures - ongoing) Sat Aug 12 ... 9.30pm Burnley vs Liverpool Sat Aug 19 ... 9.30pm Swansea vs Man Utd Sat Aug 26 ... 9.30pm Bournemouth vs Man City Sat Sept 9 .... 9.30pm Man City vs Liverpool Sat Sept 16 .. 9.30pm Crystal Palace vs Southampton Sat Sept 23 .. 9.30pm West Ham vs Tottenham Sat Sept 30 .. 9.30pm Huddersfield vs Tottenham

That was a decent opening fixture .... Leicester led twice and ended up losing 3-4 to the Gunners. It could be quite a season with 6 teams having a genuine chance at the title. Here's my finishing order (for what's it's worth) ... Man City Man United Arsenal Liverpool Chelsea Tottenham West Ham (14th)

For those without cable or a game pass the Seven Network will be covering 3 live games again on Monday's (our time) ... and that includes SNF. That agreement is for the 2018/19 season as well. There's a decent line-up of Thursday night games again this season ... the Pats & KC kick off the season on Sept 7th (Friday 8th our time) and here's the full line-up of Thursday night games.

Couple from Donald Fagen ...

NFL for me has become one of my favourite sports to watch (as a whole) ... it's right up there with Test Cricket but It's probably the only sport (NFL) where I have a really keen interest from week 1 to the Super Bowl. Most other sports I tune in and out of or the interest is primarily the finals/playoffs or major events like the Olympics/Tour de France or Golf & Tennis majors. The big impact with the NFL is how things can change dramatically from week-to-week. The division/conference/playoff set-up is second to none with regards to maintaining interest and there are just a stack of storylines (and that's week to week as well) It's a sport where it's so much more than just about your own team (well, that's how I view the sport anyway) I'm not sure @JV7 can bear to click on the following link ... Super Bowl LI: Patriots vs. Falcons Mic'd Up | NFL Films

It's cable for me JV (since the mid 90's) but more specifically, ESPN. Redzone, Sportscenter, NFL Primetime and all the associated shows fulfill my needs. SNF & MNF are also on the must watch list ... I'm hangin' out for the season to start. Redzone especially is great. I pay about $60 per month (HD & IQ) but I get a stack of other sports and other stuff so I see cable as fantastic value. I'm not sure I could cope without it. What do you get for the game pass? Every game? What's the picture like when fed through to the telly?

Here are the stages that involve various category 1 climbs in the 'Tour de France' ... click on the highlighted areas for details. Cadel Evans gives a summary of each stage as well (provided by the links) Wed 5th ....... Stage 5 Sat 8th ......... Stage 8 Sun 9th ........ Stage 9 Thurs 13th ... Stage 12 Fri 14th ........ Stage 13 Sun 16th ...... Stage 15 Wed 19th ..... Stage 17 Thurs 20th ... Stage 18

'Luminous' with "Make it Happen" along with 'Floris' with "You and I"

Johan Brunkvist with 'Downtown Lounge' followed by Hiromi with 'Seeker' (the full version)

Quintana takes the lead in the Giro d'Italia after a gruelling climb to the finish in stage 9 Unfortunately the Giro isn't being shown on SBS due to rights restrictions but the event can be seen on Eurosports if you've got cable. Here's a stage by stage preview ... stages to look out for with regards to difficult clubs are stages 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20 (mainly the last week) Edit: And now Dumoulin takes over the lead after a superb time-trial in stage 10. Dumoulin holds a 2:23 minute lead over Quintana after Nairo had a poor time trial. There's plenty more to play out though.

Gotta go with Pittsburgh this time GTG ... and would it be Nashville's first appearance in the final if they get through over Anaheim? It might be their first conference final appearance. Anyway, I'll be tuning in. Anaheim v Nashville Ottawa v Pittsburgh

Couple from 'Fall Out Boy' ...

Here's a more than decent podcast made recently by the BBC about Kerry Packer and the World Series Cricket days ... 5 Live Sport Specials - Kerry Packer: The revolution that changed cricket

AP to the Saints ... low salary as well (3.5 mil per year for 2 years) He might give them 1 good year, maybe 2. At 33, he's nearing the end but because he's been great previously, he might have a bit left. A new team could be just the tonic. Beast-mode should end up at the Raiders and the same scenario applies - however, Lynch is only 31. Again, 3.5mil per year is not a lot of money by NFL standards.

Well I'm just a terrible tipster ... all the info in the world won't change that! St Louis v Nashville Anaheim v Edmonton Washington v Pittsburgh Ottawa v New York Rangers

Here's a One-Series-Wonder from the past called 'Nowhere Man' (IMDb link) All the episodes from this one and only series (released in 1995) have been uploaded onto youtube so if you like your drama/mysteries with a real twist, you may like this. The show is very much in the mode of 'The Prisoner' You can watch 'Nowhere Man' here

Went 3/8 myself so you win again (is that every time?) And yeah, with a bit of luck your Leaf's could have won that series ... all 4 losses were close and 3 of the losses went to O/T. I'll do the next lot of tips later on but the Pens/Caps series should be a beauty. Nashville could be tough to beat too - very impressive over the Blackhawks.

Well I'm nearly 'over-it' but mainly because I reckon the punishment was fair enough. What I would like to see is an admission of guilt and for the EFC club to face up to it's responsibilities to the sport - won't happen though. They remind me of common criminals who never admit to their crimes. Also, the AFL had a great opportunity to get really tough with regards to PED use ... but that didn't happen and almost certainly won't happen either. There's too much money at stake and in their eyes, PED use is far too difficult to curtail. So we get a softening in all areas - in turn, the footy public and the whole order of things is kept in check. Weekly blood tests which results in blood-passports would help enormously ... instead of that the players are subjected to 1 or 2 urine tests (on average) per season. Token.

Have any of the 34 players ever said a bad word about him? You would think they should especially after being rubbed out for a season. Strangely quiet though ... 4 years later. Anyway, some of us were saying exactly the same thing as to what you've said both here & elsewhere in early 2013 TF. Not that many of the footy loving public were ever listening back then. Even now many just want to turn a blind-eye. But that's the nature of sports fans the world over ... we shouldn't ever expect anything otherwise. The media will in turn reflect the public sentiment and there you have it. At a guess I'd say there's any number of copies of the records - and those records will almost certainly never see the light of day either. The big losers were the EFC ... they are still in recovery mode and will be for quite some time. As for the drugs-in-sport issue, most have come around to the realisation that all sports are tainted with PED use (with some more so than others) But there's big money at stake in sport and those monies must be protected. Could have said that 30 or 40 years ago too - it's not necessarily a recent phenomenon. I'm assuming that you've heard all of the above before but others might not have.