Macca

Week 11 games ... no fewer than 11 road teams won in week 10. Is that some sort of record or is it more utterly baffling that the usual suspects here couldn't seem to find 3 road winners amongst that lot? (apart from cfh) The good news is that there is still a total of 11 "possible" points available ... weeks 13, 15 & 17 are bonus weeks. Once again the leaderboard in the comp ... 5 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_ hell 4 - JV7 3 - Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - The rest .

They're not giving up on Marsh are they? I thought it was a perfect opportunity to blood Bancroft - he hasn't hit a lot of runs this summer but I thought he was more a chance because of his potential and greater upside. A few of the other younger batsmen around the country might have been considered but Shaun gets another chance to prove himself. I can understand O'Keefe getting a call up because he's been in the mix for a while and deserves a chance ... not sure we'll play 2 spinners but Lehmann has hinted that we might. The selectors might like to see how he would work in tandem with Lyon. Pattinson for his fire-power yeah ... Siddle would have to be a chance too. I wonder if they'll rest Hazlewood and play both Pattinson & Siddle? There are a series of 8-11 day breaks between the next 3 tests (including the current break) so the bowlers will be getting plenty of rest. Here's how I think we'll line up ... Burns Warner Smith Voges S Marsh M Marsh Nevill Starc Pattinson Siddle or O'Keefe depending on the look of the wicket. Lyon .

The Panthers will probably get the 1 seed in the NFC the way they are travelling ... if the Vikes can win at home next week then you might start planning for a busy January. That win by Arizona yesterday probably means they'll win the NFC West - they've now got a 3 game break which will be hard to peg back. Who knows in the East? I'm now looking at the wild-card standings for the Pack ... our game is the 8.30am game on 7mate next Monday. It's fair to say that I don't have a great deal of confidence but will Green Bay lose 4 in a row?

Packers are struggling ... we're no certainty for a playoff spot. Suddenly the rest of our schedule looks difficult. Once a team reveals it's weakness in this league, it can suddenly find itself on that losing train. The only consolation is that a number of NFC teams lost as well (Seattle, Eagles, Rams, Saints, Giants et al) Anyway, 10 road teams have won their games this week (so far) but only cfh managed to pick up the 2 points on offer - even when there's a truckload of road winners we still can't pick 'em! Tipping Comp Points Table 5 - Gorgoroth, cowboy_from_ hell 4 - JV7 3 - Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - The rest

The terrorist attacks in France makes sport (at least for me) to be quite insignificant for the time being. Will chat to you about the programming at a later date dl.

Tips ... 2 points on offer this week ... Carolina Saints New England

The Jets could have kicked a field goal to draw within 2 points (with 3.02 left in the game) and banked on their decent defense getting the ball back from Buffalo's average offense. Play to your strengths? It's interesting with these percentage plays or analytics ... damned if you do and damned if you don't sometimes. Kicking the field goal looks a little weak but that is quickly forgotten if the Jets had got the ball back (and then only needing a field goal for victory) Watching it "as live" ... I thought they would have taken the 3 but wasn't surprised when they went for it - anyway, it didn't work. Everyone loves to see teams go for it but sometimes a team just needs to do the most obvious thing. The Pats probably would have gone for it but they've got Belichick, Brady & Gronk. We saw an almost identical situation with the Falcons/49ers game except Atlanta took the 3 (with 3.30 left) and then didn't get the ball back ... again, damned if you do and damned if you don't. There's a school of thought that you go for it on the road and take the points on offer at home.

Warner has played test cricket for less than 4 years and has already hit 15 centuries (including 12 centuries in the last 24 months) The way players are extending their career's these days he could end up playing for another 8 years (at least) So how many centuries all up? 40? More? He could easily get another two or three 100's this summer alone ... then we go to New Zealand early next year for another 2 tests. As for this test ... another fizzer of a contest by the looks of it. It could get even more one-sided when we play the Windies (Gayle, Bravo, Sammy and 1 or 2 others are playing in the big bash instead) CA really needs to find a way for either England, South Africa or India to be here playing tests every summer. We know the South Africans won't come here over Xmas but 4 tests could easily be scheduled for mid/late Oct through to mid/late Nov. As it stands, South Africa and Pakistan are here next summer but this year's scheduling lacks real drawing power. We don't play South Africa nearly enough anyway ... and when we do it's for 3 tests only (generally) The Ashes home & away could be played over 3 years instead of 4 and having a strong team like India here every 3 years would create a lot of interest.

You get out & about a lot nutbean ... good on ya mate. Gotta take a bite out of life I say. The following song was featured on the latest opisode of Fargo (season 2) The show itself is stupendously good and I highly recommend it but the music that accompanies the show is first rate as well. A little different for this thread but what the hell ...

Bridgewater cleared to play? I heard he passed the first concussion test but it was a decent blow he received. I reckon he's being used well and the Vikings have a very even game because of it ... 6 & 2 is a very good start, all things considered. As I mentioned earlier, Rodgers has needed to thread the eye of the needle to find his WR's this season and that's a hard thing to sustain ... we really need a strong running game to be a threat and we're up and down in that area. Plus, our opposition are getting too much of the ball which is putting pressure on our average defense. We're the sort of team that needs to score a lot of points to win games against decent opposition - that's entirely possible of course. When we're on our game, we're always a threat ... but, there's any number of sides that we could say that about. Anyway, 2 points are up for grabs this week in the comp and here's the week 10 games (man, the season is going quickly - again!)

It's like deja vu all over again with the Packers & Vikings cfh (it was 3 years ago actually - how time flies) The game in 2 weeks has suddenly become an ultra important one. If your blokes can eke out a win at Oakland next week then our match-up will have a lot riding on it. Are Dallas completely out of it now? Even with Romo back they still have to go to Green Bay and they also host the Panthers in 3 weeks. All the same, they'd still need to win at least 7 of their last 8 games to make it you'd reckon. In my opinion it's now down to the Eagles or Giants.

No one pick up any points in the comp ... next week we play for 2 points again (I'll post up the week 10 schedule tomorrow) Tipping Comp Points Table 5 - Gorgoroth 4 - JV7 3 - cowboy_from_ hell Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - Everyone else

On the road you'd reckon you'd have to go for it ... I take it that Atlanta didn't get the ball back? Haven't seen the highlights yet.

I'd expect the Kiwi's to fight things out from here on in but they'll need a lot more rain to avoid defeat. More rain is forecast for today and tomorrow and bad light might come into it as well. Hazlewood has bowled without luck in this test ... the selectors might rotate him and Siddle this summer but I'd be giving Hazlewood as many games as possible. The batting order suddenly has some stability to it ... the Sheffield Shield system continues to replenish the team just when many might have predicted that the team could have struggled for a while. Of course, it's only 1 test but we look to be getting back on track. Well done to Burns & Khawaja on their maiden test centuries. Warner is getting better and better ... not only is he a hard man to dislodge now but he continues to churn out the big shots.

Dallas without Romo are a below average team whilst the Eagles aren't too bad. I wouldn't be putting any real money on Philadelphia though Atlanta are probably the only road team who "should" win ... the rest of it is a crap-shoot.

Giants Atlanta Eagles

Tape? Cassette recorder? I was too young to appreciate GTK back then but still watched it occasionally out of curiosity ... Bellbird should have been screened later in the night as a perfect cure for insomniacs. What about "Take Kerr with Graham Kerr" ... a forerunner to Masterchef?

A few of the pundits reckon that because Kaepernick is not great throwing out of the pocket, the other teams have stopped his run and have blitzed him more - I haven't watched the niners games but a similar tactic was used on RG3. All the same, it's a remarkable fall from grace considering he took the 49ers to 3 x NFC Championship games and a SB. He may or may not get back but Cards is on the money with regards to the 49ers almost certainly cutting their losses. It's not all his fault of course because San Francisco as a team are struggling in a lot of areas. Not sure that Gabbert is going to make much of a difference.

Week 9 games 7mate games (Monday) 5.00am - Packers @ Panthers 8.30am - Broncos @ Colts 12.30pm - Eagles @ Cowboys Tipping Comp Points Table 5 - Gorgoroth 4 - JV7 3 - cowboy_from_ hell Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - Everyone else .

Here's a couple from the GTK days ...

Mostly retro of late Earl ... here's a blast from the past from 'Ayers Rock'. Can't recall if I saw them live but might have done ... another progressive rock band/jazz fusion.

Well, we got a close one - Luck was awful early and then came good. Newton was good without being outstanding ... ran with the ball well but he cops some hits. The Colts now lead the AFC South with a 3 & 5 record. Panthers 7 & 0 to join 3 AFC teams with the same record.

The Vikes are playing well and the first of the Packers/Vikes clashes is in Minnesota (in a few weeks) ... even though Green Bay have played quite well all year Rodgers has struggled to find open WR's (highlighted in the game against Denver) Rodgers can thread the eye of a needle but it's a bit of a flawed strategy against the best teams. Up until the Denver game our running game and defense has been reasonably good as well - but that part of our game hasn't previously been our strength and I'm not sure it can be relied on ... next week @ Carolina will probably test all facets of the Packers game. I'm much happier when Lacy and to a lesser extent Starks are impacting. Plus, we need to get much better on run defense. The good news is that there are not too many really good teams in the NFC ... despite their W/L records, I'm not entirely convinced with the Panthers, Arizona or Atlanta. Others with poorer records might be more of a threat (Seattle, Giants, Saints) If Dallas sneak in they could be dangerous (Romo has been missed) Both the Rams and Vikes have real opportunities to make the playoffs but as always, it's another fascinating season with any number of teams capable of making it through to January. By contrast 3 of the 4 divisions in the AFC seem to be decided already & the Colts could conceivably win their division with only 8 wins. Looking forward to today's game - hope it's close.

Watched the game and Denver were just far too good - in all areas. Their D was what stood out though - Elway, Peyton and that crew are getting it done with a terrific overall game. The overall numbers for the Packers were abysmal ... Denver probably should have won by a lot more. Rodgers running for 31 yards was about the only positive (if that can be classed as a positive) Still, it's only one loss and I'm sure the team will bounce back ... I've said it before but I believe that Rodgers is the type of QB who needs to play every week. He gets out of whack after a bye or a week off. The Vikes keep winning too and they're now 3 & 0 within the NFC North. As for the Falcons, I didn't see the game but that's a costly loss with the Panthers playing so well - if Carolina win tomorrow they might prove difficult to peg back. After tomorrow they next host the Packers in an early Sunday game.

We have a new leader in the tipping comp ... Gorgoroth was lucky enough to pick up 2 points whilst most of the rest were put out of the running for points by the Packers. The curse of winning this comp is at work again too - previous winners have bombed out the following year and this year seems no different. At a guess I reckon 10 or 11 points will win and there's about 14 points left on offer. Leaderboard 5 - Gorgoroth 4 - JV7 3 - cowboy_from_ hell Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - Everyone else