Macca

It was a nasty delivery alright. The Aussies have started the way they left off against England. Great centuries to Marsh and Smith. 3-23 the South Africans and we're well on top. The track has got a bit of spice in it as well. Johnno on fire!

You can listen to the cricket online here 'dl' ... Cricket Radio (tunein) The broadcast cuts out occasionally but hopefully the glitches can be sorted out. Doolan and Marsh both playing (listed to bat at no.3 and no.4) Interesting that Pup has moved down to no.5 and the selectors are happy to go in with just the 4 specialist bowlers. Aussies sent in and we're 1-15 (Warner chopped one on to Steyn)

Super Bowl advert ... Seinfeld reunion Frank Caliendo ... 30 for 30 'Mockumentary' .

Seattle were just far too good today and if the Seahawks can keep all their players together, they'll be thereabouts for a number of years. Their defense is like their "other" offense. They were all over the Broncos and it seemed like their defense was making all the plays against Denver's offense. Sooner or later their young guns will be come out of their existing contracts but if their GM (John Schneider) is switched on like he has been, they'll remain strong. And they'll always have that huge home field advantage. Wilson and Seattle's offense has a big upside as well. Who's gonna stop 'em? It would be easy to be critical of the Broncos but really, it was all about the Seahawks today. Worthy winners is a phrase thrown around a bit but this team was emphatic with their dominance. Kudos to a champion team! And ... we have a winner in the playoff comp. Congratulations to 'titan' - he even gave himself a bye in the Super Bowl and still won! Thanks to all for participating - it adds a bit of interest to the thread. Final points tally in the playoff comp ... 7 - titan_uranus* 6 - DemonDave 5 - cowboy from hell, Macca 4 - Strafford* 3 - Gorgoroth 2 - Pantaloons*, the master* * denotes missed out on 1 or more weeks of tips.

Bruno and the Chili Peppers were great - they certainly know how to put on a show. That Harvin TD has to hurt - who would've predicted a 29-0 scoreline at this stage of the game. Stunning!

Wow! Everything has gone pear shaped for Denver. They finally get a break with that fumble but lots of work to do. Seattle have brought their A game and look like men on a mission. It's not over yet but if the Seahawks are smart, they'll eat up the clock in the 2nd half. Broncos need a score here - but that's an understatement!

You'd have to be pleased with the weather forecast, Cards. Heard Eli talking about how the wind behaves in the stadium and he reckons it won't be a problem unless it's really windy. They're predicting only 13km winds and a top temperature of about 9 degrees celsius for the day of the Super Bowl (at this stage) If it had of been below zero with gusty winds I would have probably picked the Seahawks but now I'm leaning towards your Broncos. Game starts at 6.30pm local time so it's sure to get a bit colder than the expected top temperature. Not cold enough to effect Peyton if we look at how he's performed historically (in certain weather conditions) Peyton is such a key player in this game but if Lynch and/or Wilson have big games then Seattle will be right in it. Obviously the Seahawks defense and in particular their secondary is super strong but the conditions have now swung around in Manning's favour. His offensive line has been tremendous all season and he's certainly got enough targets to throw to. Anyway, here's my tip ... (remembering there are 3 points on offer for correctly picking the Super Bowl winning team) Denver 27 Seattle 24 ... MVP - Peyton Manning Points tally in the playoff comp ... 7 - titan_uranus 6 - DemonDave 5 - Macca 4 - Strafford* 3 - Gorgoroth 2 - cowboy from hell, Pantaloons*, the master* * denotes missed out on 1 or 2 weeks of tips. Oh, and here's the BS Report for this week. Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal go over all the weird prop bets surrounding the Super Bowl. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but this particular episode of the BS Report is usually good for a laugh.

Their tracks are a lot like our wickets. Good bounce generally which should suit Lyon. Philander gets good seam movement on his home tracks so he could be a real handful (apart from Steyn's swing and pace and Morkel's pace and bounce) 3 tests in 22 days will test a few of our fellows out. Same for the South Africans of course. If any of their 3 fast bowlers breaks down it will open the door for our batsmen. They will miss Kallis' bowling a lot unless either of their all rounders (Wayne Parnell or Ryan McLaren) steps up to the plate. They might have to expose their spinner more than they'd like and what's the bet the Aussies will go after Robin Peterson regardless?

Phil Hughes gets the nod for Test recall

I'm sure Richard Sherman will be nice and fired up on the day of the Super Bowl but here's an interesting view on proceedings by Keith Olbermann ...

Last October they played all the domestic 50 over games in one hit. All the games were held in Sydney and I'm not sure if any of the games were televised. It seemed like an ok idea at the time but I'm not sure it worked in terms of exposure. Previously, the 50 over domestic games were played over a 6 month period. I can see CA keeping the games in October but it needs a lot more promotion. It's needed, otherwise what happens to the Australian ODI side? The "Big Bash" probably has to be played over the holiday period and I can't see them moving it anyway. It's been very successful in terms of crowds and TV viewers.

Tuned in for the 4th quarter and it wasn't too bad a standard this time around. Apparently there's been a few decent hits and the tackling has seemed at an acceptable level. 22-21 in favour of the Rice team. Maybe there's hope for the concept yet - the game will no doubt have a big TV audience again.

Perfectly understandable Strafford! There's always next year A week out from the Super Bowl and I can't split the teams. I guess the colder and windier it gets suits Seattle but I can't help but feel that Peyton will still play a big game. It's a fascinating match-up. Pro Bowl tomorrow. Gets a huge audience but no one cares. Go figure! (I'll probably take a bit of a look at some stage) Apparently the teams have been picked by Sanders and Rice and ... a few players are a bit miffed at being picked so late. Doubt we'll see many hard hits though and the tackling is usually at a low intensity.

Led Zeppelin ...

Champions can often find that last gear towards the end of their career but Roger didn't have it tonight. He did defeat Andy Murray in the quarters although Murray may not have been at his best in that match. I did hear Jim Courier talk about Roger's new racquet and how it could have a big effect on his touch. It's a brave move to change things up so late in his career but I guess it's a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. Federer will probably gear himself for Wimbledon now - hopefully the Wimbledon officials won't put Nadal, Murray and Federer in one side of the draw like what has happened in the Aussie Open. Full credit to Rafa tonight, he was very aggressive throughout the match and to win in straight sets was quite impressive. Wawrinka awaits ... I've watched a few of Stan's matches and what does stand out in particular is that he showed great form against Djokovic. Nadal may not have it all his way in the final although you'd reckon Rafa's experience will be telling. Looking forward to the Ladies final tomorrow night - Li Na against the "pocket rocket", Dominika Cibulkova. Apparently, 116 million people in China watched Li Na win her first and only major back in 2011 (the French Open) so it's fair to say she's got a reasonable amount of support She's my tip to win tomorrow night (now!) but I don't know a great deal about Cibulkova.

Glad to see I didn't embarrass myself at least! (one year on) Looking forward to tonight's clash.

Interesting bit of news ... Roger Goodell: PATs may be in past As it stands now, the 'PAT' is rarely missed and it probably makes sense to get rid of a largely obsolete part of the game. Alternatively, they could make the extra point a lot harder - say from 40 or 50 yards. ... in other news ... Bill Belichick calls out Wes Welker No love lost between Welker and Belichick it seems. Here is the video of the incident - Wes Welker's hit tackle on Aqib Talib The following quote came from an 'SI' story about the same incident

Playoff tipping comp points tally ... (3 points on offer for correctly tipping the Super Bowl winner) 7 - titan_uranus (6 correct tips in a row) 6 - DemonDave 5 - Macca 4 - Strafford* (technically you can still do the "double," Strafford) 3 - Gorgoroth 2 - Pantaloons*, the master*, cowboy from hell ('possibly still in "road team" mode 'cfh'? ) * denotes missed out on 1 or 2 weeks of tips. Perhaps along with our Super Bowl tips we can have a go at the Super Bowl MVP. While we're at it, posters here might care to name their regular season MVP, ROTY and defensive player of the year (Peyton would have to have a mortgage on the regular season MVP)

Fair enough - I guess what I was intimating at was that we possibly needed to see some magic from his WR's against that strong defense of Seattle's. A freak catch or such like. Sometimes a WR has to make the play. There might have been a couple of "short arm" efforts as well - but that can happen in any game with any team I suppose. What do they say - you may as well catch it as you're going to get hit anyway! I saw at least a few (in total) of those such incidents in this game (from both sides) ... and CK was hamstrung a bit because his RB's had very little influence (Frank Gore had 11 carries for 14 yards) But you make some good points, all the same. As for the Super Bowl - you'd reckon that Denver might have the advantage but they're only 1.5 point favourites. So many variables and then any particular player might have the game of their life.

Kaepernick will get better with more games. We sometimes forget that he only became a regular starter about 14 months ago. He's still quite raw in terms of managing a game. I felt that 1 or 2 of his receivers today might have made a better fist of things and he didn't get much help at all from his running backs. In the end, it seemed that he had to do it all for the 49ers to win. A good comparison is Russell Wilson - Seattle seem to have more structure with their offense so Wilson tends to just blend in (of course, he's a lot more than that but that's the perception sometimes) As for all the peripheral stuff with CK, you may be right but I'm not sure it effects his actual game. He's probably my favourite player to watch outside of a number of the Packer players so I guess I'm a little biased. That 58 yard run today was great to watch. There wasn't much in that last throw either - 40 seconds left, it was worth a go. If Sherman doesn't get his hand up there, Crabtree probably would have caught it in bounds and the 49ers win the game. Fine line sometimes. Classic match-up in the Super Bowl though ... no.1 offense vs no.1 defense and no.1 seed vs no.1 seed.

Terrific 2nd half by the Seahawks. Seattle's run defense (specifically against the 49ers RB's) was probably the difference but it could be argued that the 49ers only passing for 153 yards just wasn't enough either. A lot fell on Kaepernick's shoulders but perhaps the niners needed at least one other offensive player to have a standout game. Not much between the 2 sides in all reality but one team had to lose. But full credit to an all round excellent game by Seattle. An intriguing battle awaits in 2 weeks time.

Sometimes one or 2 of the cricket journalists might get the inside word but Malcolm Conn has definitely got this one wrong. However, I believe he was the journalist who broke the news that Alex Doolan was on standby for the Sydney Test against England. Looking back, the original squad selections of Warner, Cummins and Pattinson (at different times) has first come to light through the media. Of course, cricket journalists do get their speculative squads wrong - more often than they'd like to admit. They're far more likely to get it right with "certain" individuals within those squads. ... anyway, Hughes needs to have a sustained run at Shield level and I wouldn't have taken him to South Africa regardless - too early for a recall IMO (although I thought the selectors might pick him because of his Shield form) In the past, Hughes' technical issues have been shown up against quality test bowling (both pace and spin) However, I wouldn't write him off as he's still young enough to improve. I just wonder how he's going to be tested properly (to iron out his deficiencies) Shield attacks don't have too many Dale Steyn or Ravi Ashwin types. There are other young players like Silk, Maddinson and Burns who might get their chance before Hughes is possibly recalled. The Marsh selection is a bit of a left field one. There seems to be a bit of a policy towards picking more seasoned players (specifically batsmen, although our 3 current quicks are also very experienced) Marsh went off the boil after originally looking to be a decent prospect. He's got some talent and technically, he's not too bad - his temperament might be the issue. I'd like to see him do well. Nice to see Bird get picked as well as Pattinson. All 3 tests in South Africa are back to back (played over 22 days) so we'll need our back-up quicks to be able to step up to the plate. Here's the "actual" squad ... Australian squad for tour of South Africa: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke ©, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Doolan, Brad Haddin (vc), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner, Jackson Bird, James Pattinson.

10-3 the 49ers way at half time. That's a good result for the niners - so far. San Francisco also get the ball at the start of the 2nd half. Seattle need to get their offense working but like Denver in the preceding game, the 49ers defense has been very good. Kaepernick's run to set up the niners TD was amazing. The game is up for grabs though as there's so many variables that can happen - Lynch, Gore, Wilson, Kaepernick and all the WR's can all influence this result in a big way. That's apart from both defenses. Been a really good game to watch.

Kudos to Denver - far too accomplished. Terrific defense from Denver but Peyton's performance was also first rate. 400 yards with 2 x TD's and no interceptions. The Broncos time in possession in the first half was also telling. Brady and the Pats offense just couldn't get going but that had more to do with Denver's defense. So, it's off to New Jersey for Peyton and the Broncos. If Denver "bring it" like they did today, they'll be hard to beat - no matter who they're up against.

Not looking good for the Patriots - they're now down 20-3, half way through the 3rd quarter. 24.48 to 12.20 "time of possession" advantage to Denver as well.