Macca

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.

For those who might be interested here's a short article about 3 of the 4 big sports in the States and their individual drug codes ... the article also includes those athletes who fall under the Olympics drug code (the full Wada code) The differences are quite stark It should be remembered that the AFL are signed up with Wada along similar lines to the Olympic athletes. Not sure whether the AFL players can be tested 24 hours a day, 365 days a year but I'm guessing they can be. Sports drug testing policies: NFL, NBA, NHL, Olympics

Oh yeah, I'm fully aware of the procedures involved - my take is that Essendon and it's players are in for a rude awakening. If that happens it might have the effect of bringing the people who want to turn a blind eye into the real world of PED's. There's also a reasonable chance that the penalties will be relatively light - again, the aftermath of that type of scenario will be an interesting one. The other, medium to long term issue is that as the players who took these copious quantities of injections move on with their lives, they'll almost certainly be getting a fair bit of legal advice on whether they'd have grounds to take some sort of action against those who administered and recommended these "mystery supplements" The whole saga might carry on for a number of years.

No he wasn't but if we were to point the finger at him, we'd have to point the finger in all sorts of directions. I refuse to believe we went from Justin Charles to Essendon with one giant leap. There's got to have been some stuff going on in between ... however, the chances are we'll never know either way for sure.

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.

I think you'll find that there's also another very influential person on the commission who is an Essendon supporter (apart from Kelty) Everyone has many biases - it's those who hide their biases that are the concern. The footy public should have the wherewithal and the free thinking ability to be able to make their own appraisal of the situation ... if they're "media driven", they shouldn't be. I'm sure you're not and I'm certainly not media driven. Each individual has a chance to make up their own mind - if they choose not to do that they open themselves up for criticism. Anyone with any sense would know that Connolly and Robinson have been hopelessly compromised from the beginning. In fact, most of the journo's have been compromised - they don't want to be biting the hand that feeds them. The public should know this too and I believe most do - so, it all gets back to my original point ... here I'm exceptionally cynical about most things written in the print media Doc - it's been that way for me for a long time too.

I've had various friends & acquaintances freely admit that their footy teams have tanked on various occasions ... this "opening up" happened a number of years ago as well. It took a bit of cajoling and persuasion but most came clean. Pies, Hawks, Blues, Tigers, Bombers, Doggies & Saints all tanked at various times. It's only the Cats & North who never tanked of the Victorian teams by my reckoning (I stand corrected on that) I've always taken a keen interest in tanking because of my interest in American sports (where tanking has been freely practiced and still goes on) Again, tanking comes under the banner of "people are the same all over" I remember the "Bryce Gibbs cup" like it was yesterday ... 1/14 Essendon were playing the 2/13 Blues - the match ended up in a draw. Funny about that. As for all the other dodgy goings on in the years prior to 2006, it's now a case of out of sight, out of mind (9 priority picks were handed out within a 3 year stretch - 2003-2005) After 2005 the AFL changed the rules on how a priority pick was to be awarded ... I wonder why?

If we had have had just one Melbourne supporter on the commission, then it's my belief that we would never have been investigated ... and the commission was originally put in place so as to eliminate any bias towards any of the clubs. Aren't there a couple of Essendon supporters on the current commission? Or is it just Bill Kelty?

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.

I don't disagree with you Redleg ... my comment about us being "an easy head to kick" was more my perception of the public's view. Again, we had another situation where the footy public were being fed by the media because the media knew what the footy public wanted to read and hear. With regards to the tanking investigation there was very little balance being shown by the media but also, by the footy public. And that lack of balance extended to Melbourne supporters as well. Some here still refuse point blank to believe that tanking was widely practiced by various clubs.

I've long held suspicions about PED's in the AFL, NRL, soccer the world over, NBA, NHL, MLB & the NFL. In reality, all sports where the testing for PED's hasn't been of a thorough nature. I also believe that there is a correlation between taking "recreational" drugs & PED's - somewhat so anyway. Let's not forget that for a 5 year stretch just prior to the Essendon story breaking there were 69 players who tested positive to recreational drugs - and that's just the ones that they caught. Track & field and cycling are looked upon with disdain by many people these days but have a guess which sports do the most testing? People are the same all over - where there's big money at stake, you'll see lying, cheating, greed and all the other human traits that contribute to the wrong thing being done. We're no different in this country.

Ordinarily I might agree with you but my view is more based on a general prejudice against those who take PED's outside our shores as against Aussies who might take PED's here or overseas. The media know how the public generally think and they often just feed the masses what they want to hear. Essendon & it's players have got off lightly in terms of the court of public opinion (so far) Look at at the Cronulla situation as an example - the media down here & the footy public from the Southern states would almost certainly have gone a lot harder on rugby league & Cronulla if none of this PED stuff had happened within the AFL. I'm more talking about the early days of the investigation and the first 6 - 12 months of the investigation - sure, people's opinions have changed over time but again, if this sort of thing happens overseas, we're very quick to pronounce guilt. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy, contradiction and inconsistency of people's views. Not everyone of course - but a large percentage of the footy public. Most people I speak to just want the whole thing to end and they wished it had never happened to "their" sport. Whenever there is a heavy bias involved, the truth can often get pushed aside. Your reference to tanking and how we were singled out is interesting - we were just an easy head to kick in that situation. You'd reckon the same rules would apply to Essendon but it hasn't. They've largely been given the benefit of the doubt for other reasons that I've pointed out. It hasn't just been the media and I've put the "donkey vote" aside in forming this view.

I'm not necessarily basing my view with regards to this site (or this thread or the other thread) More so the views I've gotten from work colleagues, friends, acquaintances, people at the sporting clubs I'm associated with and other people I might have conversations with about the subject. The general theme right from the get-go is that Essendon were innocent until proven guilty - that view has changed as time has gone on but there's still a hesitancy to pronounce guilt. Now that would be ok if those people's views were consistent - their views aren't consistent though. At various times over the years their views on PED's being used outside of Australia is that the athlete's or team's involved are guilty. A presumption of guilt is often formed right from the get-go. I've even had a few acknowledge their bias. They don't seem to care about the inconsistency either. People love their footy and love is often blind. There have been people here wanting Essendon to be cleared because of the damage it might do to the game if they aren't cleared - I know a few people who feel the same way. As a comparison, I reckon the average Aussie truly believes that Shane Warne only ever took 1 slimming tablet - fans of cricket who live overseas might have a view that he overstepped the mark in a far greater way - are they wrong? I'm firmly of the belief that Aussies have a soft approach when it's their own sportspeople being caught out on drugs but when it's an athlete from overseas, that view is often harsh with very little benefit of the doubt given. By the way, people on this site have been more inclined to question Essendon supporters - as I mentioned previously, it stands to reason that Bomber fans were always going to be hopelessly biased and compromised.