Macca

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)

Cincinnati Denver Green Bay

The Cards are now 11/3 which is the best record in the league but they might have to go with Ryan Lindley as their QB. Lindley's career numbers are zero TD's & 7 interceptions so I suppose he can only get better (maybe) n.b ... I've added the 'Elo' ratings and match-up lines to the TV games post (above)

Here's 6 movies I recently discovered that may appeal to Sci-fi fans ... worth checking out if you're into the genre The Man From Earth (2007) Moon (2009) Timecrimes (2007) (Spanish) Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) Cargo (2009) (Swiss/German) Last Night (1998)

That took all of 2 minutes ... the cricket thread mozz factor at work again As for the outcome of this Test ... we'd have to be favourites now. The Adelaide test so often comes down to the wire after often looking like a draw early on - I'd expect Clarke to declare overnight but he may bat on for 30 minutes. A word of praise again for our skipper - a fantastic innings on his part given all the circumstances and he continues to lead the team with excellent tactical awareness - he always seems to be ahead of the play. Smith is coming on in leaps and bounds and Warner is just amazing - he's come a long way from the swashbuckling t20 player he was when he first started out. Nice to see Lyon pick up a 5 wicket haul too ... if he can get a few wickets tomorrow, all the better. It should be a fascinating day tomorrow regardless of the result (I believe at least 7 hours of play is available)

SNF looks to be the game of the week but all the TV games have playoff implications ... Friday 12.30pm Arizona 10/3 at St. Louis 6/7 (ESPN) Monday 5.00am - 11.30am RedZone (ESPN) 5.00am Houston 7/6 at Indianapolis 9/4 (7mate) 8.25am San Francisco 7/6 at Seattle 9/4 (7mate) 12.30pm Dallas 9/4 at Philadelphia 9/4 (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 12.30am New Orleans 5/8 at Chicago 5/8 (ESPN) All the week 15 games & The BS Report Week 15 'Elo' Ratings & Playoff chances

I've seen none of it but kept tabs on the scoreline ... credit to the Falcons by all accounts. Some reasonably big numbers racked up by some players on both sides but you'd have to be happy with Ryan & Jones. I'll have a look at the game later and apart from noticing that our pass defense couldn't have been that crash-hot it was pleasing to see that we ran the ball quite well - Lacy & Starks combined for 148 yards ... it's hard to be strong in all areas in this league but we've previously not been renowned for having much of a running game. Your season's destiny is in your own hands at least - your last 2 games (@ New Orleans and vs Carolina) will decide things - it's great to see the NFL have scheduled more divisional games in the last few weeks - for instance, Detroit visit Green Bay in week 17 (that game will probably decide who wins the NFC North) 11 of the 16 games next week are divisional games. By the way, there were 10 road winners for week 14 - that's right ... 10. And none of us could pick 3 of 'em!

Strange isn't it? ... the chatter and rumour has been there all season. Where there's smoke there's fire I suppose - Harbaugh is certainly an intense character but they can all be like that. As you said, 3 x NFC Championship games in a row and the main talk is about him going back to college (Michigan?) The money is there too but it does seem quite odd. For whatever reason they're just not the same team.

Baltimore and Pittsburgh winning changes things somewhat in the AFC ... otherwise, no huge surprises from today apart from the 49ers losing a game they couldn't afford to lose (San Francisco also cost most of us in the comp) Oh, and Carolina smash the Saints - who knew? Leaderboard in the comp 4 - Dappa Dan 3 - JV7, Go the Biff, Georgiou R. R. Martin 2 - pantaloons, Macca 1 - cowboy_from_hell, Gorgoroth Week 15 games Some other observations ... Seattle loom large New England way too strong for San Diego and look set to get the 1 seed (next 3 ... vs Miami, @ Jets, vs Bills) Arizona win a close one and still lead the NFC West by 1 win. More joy for Rams & Vikes fans The AFC North is probably now down to 3 teams whilst the NFC South is there for whoever wants to take it. Atlanta @ Green Bay tomorrow ... may the better team win 'JV7'

Monday 5.00am - 11.30am RedZone (ESPN) 5.00am Pittsburgh 7/5 at Cincinnati 8/3/1 (7mate) 8.25am Seattle 8/4 at Philadelphia 9/3 (7mate) 12.30pm New England 9/3 at San Diego 8/4 (7mate & ESPN) Tuesday 12.30pm Atlanta 5/7 at Green Bay 9/3 (ESPN) All the week 14 games Bill Simmons' column

You're probably right but there's nearly always a twist in December in the NFL ... one upset loss can change everything for any of those 7 aforementioned teams. It's almost certain that a team will miss due to the tiebreak rules only. In 2008 the Pats missed the playoffs after finishing 11/5 ... there's an outside chance that might happen again in the NFC. What a way to miss ... Denver & New England the only teams to miss the playoffs with an 11/5 record

The Cowboys won well in the end - Murray was immense. I suppose that puts them right back into contention So ... we've got the following teams fighting for 5 spots in the NFC (the other spot goes to the winner of the NFC South) Green Bay 9/3 Philadelphia 9/3 Arizona 9/3 Dallas 9/4 Detroit 8/4 Seattle 8/4 San Francisco 7/5 The 49ers can make it but they're going to have to make it to 11/5 you'd reckon.

San Francisco Houston Indianapolis