Macca

As I was typing in the 2/12 records for both teams I kept thinking ... why am I doing this for this game? Tony Kornheiser described the game as the worst ever match-up in prime time and called it a G.O game (gamblers only) Thankfully, the rest of the TV games hold a lot of interest - looking forward to the 2 Sunday games.

Rondo to the Mavs ... can they win the whole thing now? Mavericks' rank in West with Rondo?

Apart from the BS Report with Cousin Sal, Bill Simmons conducted a podcast with Larry David last week ... aside from chatting about the 'Seinfeld' and 'Curb your Enthusiasm' days, Larry has a few things to say about sports in general (including some interesting thoughts about his NFL team - the Jets) ... BS Report with Larry David Friday 12.30pm Tennessee 2/12 at Jacksonville 2/12 (ESPN) Sunday 8.30am Philadelphia 9/5 at Washington 3/11 (ESPN) 12.30pm San Diego 8/6 at San Francisco 7/7 (ESPN) Monday 5.00am - 11.30am RedZone (ESPN) 5.00am Kansas City 8/6 at Pittsburgh 9/5 (7mate) 8.30am Indianapolis 10/4 at Dallas 10/4 (7mate) 12.30pm Seattle 10/4 at Arizona 11/3 (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 12.30pm Denver 11/3 at Cincinnati 9/4/1 (ESPN) All the week 16 games (remembering that this week we play for 1 point in the comp but week 17 carries 3 points) Leaderboard 4 - Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Go the Biff, Georgiou R. R. Martin 2 - pantaloons, Macca 1 - cowboy_from_hell, Gorgoroth

Seattle Green Bay New England

Apart from the BS Report with Cousin Sal, Bill Simmons conducted a podcast with Larry David last week ... aside from chatting about the 'Seinfeld' and 'Curb your Enthusiasm' days, Larry has a few things to say about sports in general (including some interesting thoughts about his NFL team - the Jets) ... BS Report with Larry David Friday 12.30pm Tennessee 2/12 at Jacksonville 2/12 (ESPN) Sunday 8.30am Philadelphia 9/5 at Washington 3/11 (ESPN) 12.30pm San Diego 8/6 at San Francisco 7/7 (ESPN) Monday 5.00am - 11.30am RedZone (ESPN) 5.00am Kansas City 8/6 at Pittsburgh 9/5 (7mate) 8.30am Indianapolis 10/4 at Dallas 10/4 (7mate) 12.30pm Seattle 10/4 at Arizona 11/3 (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 12.30pm Denver 11/3 at Cincinnati 9/4/1 (ESPN) All the week 16 games (remembering that this week we play for 1 point in the comp but week 17 carries 3 points) Leaderboard 4 - Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Go the Biff, Georgiou R. R. Martin 2 - pantaloons, Macca 1 - cowboy_from_hell, Gorgoroth

If Seattle are on their game, they should win comfortably ... stop Arizona's running game (which isn't great anyway) and force Lindley to throw the ball (Sherman could have a field day) On top of that, Seattle are starting to hit their straps ... I can't see them losing. Seattle's passing game is their weakness (31st in yards) so the only real chance for Arizona is to stop the Seattle run - trouble is, that's easier said than done ... Seattle lead the league in rushing yards quite comfortably - against that, Arizona have the 6th best rushing defense. In the end, if it comes down to Lindley vs Wilson, Wilson wins easily. As for the Packers, I've got my fingers crossed!

The reality is that we've seen 6 good teams go about it in 3 NFC divisions (it was 7 teams until the 49ers dropped away) Apart from Arizona, one of the other 5 teams is gonna miss out. Maybe losing to Buffalo is the wake up call that the Packers needed - if we win our last 2 we'll at least get the 2 seed I believe. If we drop another one and miss out - so be it. If I was to analyse the season we've at times been really good but only really at home ... we've had 4 poor losses on the road and we were lucky to defeat the Jets & Miami. It hasn't been a "great" year but we could say that about nearly all the contenders. Seattle & New England look likely but it wouldn't surprise me greatly if the Super Bowl match-up is 2 entirely different teams. I'm reminded that the Ravens won in New England on the way to their SB triumph and Dallas won in Seattle earlier this season. As we all know, anything can happen on the day.

... and if the Packers lose to Detroit in week 17 we could miss the playoffs altogether (and that's factoring in that Green Bay do defeat Tampa next week) It's actually in the Packers best interest for Dallas to win the NFC East (they'd need to be 1 clear win ahead of the Eagles for that to happen) The Packers would then win the tiebreak over the Eagles in a wild-card situation if both teams finished on the same amount of wins. Arizona have clinched a playoff berth for those who may not have been aware. They'll either win the NFC West or they'll secure a wild-card spot.

They're saying DeMarco Murray may miss at least a week with his broken left hand (4th metacarpal) ... apparently this type of injury is often at least a 3 week injury. Considering his influence, the Cowboys are going to miss him a lot (if he misses any games) It was going to be hard enough for Dallas to beat the Colts anyway ... the door might have opened up a bit more for the Eagles (who would hold the tie break over Dallas in the NFC East in the event that both teams end up on 10 or 11 wins) ... RB DeMarco Murray has hand surgery

Go to youtube and start playing a clip that you want to upload ... then, right click and copy and paste the address bar to here. The clip will initially just show up just as the address that you've copied but once you press "post" ... the clip should appear. Anyway, here's one of my favs from 'Blondie' ...

Bedi took 129 of his 266 wickets outside of India ... Ojha bowls in a similar way but he's not in Bedi's class (not yet anyway) I reckon the captaincy may well improve Smith as a cricketer ... he's on a big upward curve anyway and sometimes greater responsibility brings out the best in a sportsperson. He's a confident young bloke and from what I've read and heard about him, he reads the game very well. ... and lets not forget that Roo was awarded the 'International cricketer of the year' in the early 80's ... I remember him having a big summer that year - 35+ wickets against Pakistan and the Windies? Spun his offies with his middle finger too - maybe that explains the bounce he used to get.

I've mainly had my eye on Detroit and was happy in the knowledge that we could drop a game so long as we took care of Detroit in week 17 - we'd then win the division ... today's loss didn't really effect the division so much but it has effected the seedings in the NFC. Seattle's destiny is now in it's own hands for the 1 seed. Your Vikes had a real chance to win today but that last blocked field goal really cost your team. Arizona might slip to wild-card status but they'll probably end up as the 5 seed (where they'd face up to the winner of the NFC South - on the road) Cowboys win but they'll probably have to win their last 2 to win the NFC East ... costly loss for the Eagles but they're by no means out of it. Need to win their last 2 to give themselves a real chance. Over in the AFC, former Super Bowl champs - the Steelers & Ravens are coming home strong ... New England should get the 1 seed but the Bills may have an outside chance for a wild-card if they defeat the Pats in week 17. To have a chance for the playoffs, KC will have to win @ Pittsburgh next week. In fact, I believe if the Chiefs win out, they'll get a wild-card (the playoff machine is getting a big big workout) Anyway, zero points allocated in the comp - again! The good news is that all the participants have a chance to win the comp outright ... 1 point on offer in week 16 then 3 big points available in the last week (week 17) Leaderboard 4 - Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Go the Biff, Georgiou R. R. Martin 2 - pantaloons, Macca 1 - cowboy_from_hell, Gorgoroth Week 16 games

Green Bay losing has the capacity to hurt all the teams in the NFC (including Detroit) If, as I expect, Seattle get the 1 seed - who is gonna stop 'em? With that team, that home field advantage is the biggest in sports in my opinion. Of course, anything can happen in the lead up and on the day but they're getting hot at the right time. Especially their D.

Steve Smith named Australian Test captain for rest of Test series against India

Bishan Bedi (266 wickets) ... in 67 tests ... he'd probably play a lot more tests these days. Pragyan Ojha is well on his way to a successful career as well (113 wickets) In terms of guile, drift, change of pace, spinning ability, use of the crease & flight, Bedi was the best finger spinner I've seen ... many who faced him have had similar praise for him. Underwood was a different type of bowler - much quicker through the air and extremely accurate - he could turn it too and when the conditions were in his favour, he was brilliant.

We've opened the door wide open for Seattle to get the 1 seed now I'm not that surprised we lost today though ... we're just not a very good team on the road but I suppose that could be said about many of the teams in contention. I can't see the Seahawks losing in Arizona next week and their final game is home against the Rams. If Arizona do win next week they are guaranteed the 1 seed (stand corrected on that one though) Dallas hold the tiebreak over Seattle but the chances of that factor coming into play is remote. Playoff Machine Edit: The Bills have defeated all 4 teams in the NFC North this season.

Only time will tell ... I suppose when you weigh it all up he's going to have to deal with 4 injury issues ... his lower back issue which may or may not be related to his existing back injury plus ... he went into the match with a dodgy left hammy and then tore his right hammy on the last day - if it's "off the bone" then he'll struggle to get back for the WC. It's a hell of a lot to overcome and then he's got to get match fit. I'm a fan of Clarke so I'm hoping he gets back in time for the World cup. If not, the Ashes beckon. I'd hate to see him forced into retirement because of injury.

Yeah, I agree Smithy but whether he plays in the World cup or not is largely up to Michael (fitness permitting of course) He will want to play in the tournament and if he gets himself up for it, I believe the selectors will give him the go ahead. If it were up to me I reckon he should have started concentrating on Tests only as soon as his back started giving him major concerns. But we're talking about a highly driven individual who doesn't want to quit.

You make some good points there 'TD' ... all your ideas have merit even though I may not agree with all of those ideas I reckon Clarke will want to get back for the World cup and if he can overcome these latest injuries, he can get back. A lot is going to depend on how badly he's torn his hammy. The back issue might be a '4-6 week' thing but the world cup doesn't actually start for 2 months - it's gonna be a close run thing by the looks of it. Because he's the captain, a lot rests with how Clarke views things. Of course we can get by without him but the world cup is something that all our cricketers would want to be involved in. He probably wont get another chance to play in another one.

Enjoy! We'll be looking for daily reports Smithy so I hope you're "ipaded up" Clarke won't want to go out on that note ... he knows he'll get picked if he gets his body right and I believe he'll do everything possible to get back - maybe some alternative type of training is required. Pilates? Yoga? ... I know next to nothing about these type of things but he's got to try something. Apparently Watson has gone down that track but don't quote me on that (unless someone can "quote" me for verification )

If we can get all our quicks fit and firing we're well set up for the future ... once again the sheffield shield proves it's worth. We don't hear it called "The best domestic competition in the world" much these days but I believe it still is (along with the South African model these days) I've heard Benaud mention on more than one occasion that some shield games he played in were fiercer and more competitive than some test matches that he played in ... it's a shame that the games aren't well attended but that's been much the case since ODI's came into vogue. Much like the test matches from the UAE - the lack of attendance doesn't mean the cricket isn't highly competitive. It's a classic case of out of sight, out of mind for many cricket followers but people should at least keep tabs on who is at least performing well in the shield. Too often I keep hearing ... "there's no one else" or "no one is knocking down the door" - both those statements simply aren't true. The lack of proper appraisal from the cricket scribes is at an all time low - I barely ever see them writing about the next generation - in footy, it's almost the opposite. Agree with you on Siddle.

He'll be back ... the selectors have been unbelievably patient with Watto so you'd reckon that the captain will at least be afforded the same luxury. Haddin should captain in his absence - Clarke's next aim should be to get back and firing before the World cup starts (the world cup commences on Feb 15) I like Watto as a cricketer but in my opinion he's best suited to the late middle order. For the foreseeable future I see Watson at no.5, Mitch Marsh at 6, Smith to move up to no.4 and Shaun Marsh to probably come in at bat at no.3 (as titan pointed out in the above post, he's probably next in line) What complicates things a bit is that Shaun Marsh has been batting at no.5 for W.A. As an alternative to Shaun Marsh I'd take a chance with a young up and comer (Burns, Maddinson, Silk, Bancroft, Stoinis, Handscomb or Carters) 5 of those aforementioned 7 players are in the top 10 for aggregate runs this season in the Shield ... only Maddinson & Silk are missing from the top 10 but previously, both those players have performed quite well ... Shield aggregates (Cowan and Voges top the list but I'd be looking elsewhere)

Yep, hats off to Nathan ... we've been waiting for a performance like this from him and he sure did deliver. Kudos to him.

Never in doubt ... Well done Nathan Lyon!

I'm not sure Lyon is necessarily a 5th day wicket bowler Smithy as he seems to be at his best when the surfaces give good bounce ... you'd reckon that the uneven bounce that is generally on offer later in games would aid him but from what we've seen so far in his career, it doesn't seem so. I wish him well today though. It's not that Lyon bowls badly later in the matches - he just can't seem to get the wickets that we want him to get. I agree with 'TD' in the above post to a certain extent - horses for courses. Unless a player is 'A' grade in the Test side, I believe others could be tried to a certain extent. At the moment we've got about 4-5 players in the side who wouldn't be classed as A grade although I believe that one of those non A grade players (Mitch Marsh) should be given a decent run. Players who can be relied on to play a role can get favour as well but you can't have too many in the side who are in that category. My reckoning is that each player in the test side should 'generally' at least have have that 'A' grade possibility. ... looks like Dhawan has copped a howler - the ball might have just nicked the glove but I reckon the umpire might have thought the ball "hit" the glove ... I was just coming to terms with DRS and a few of it's flaws but the luck can go both ways without DRS. We may well get an LBW turned down today which is out (or something similar)