Macca

What I've found most stunning in this whole saga has been the general footy public's stance coupled with the media's stance .. the bomber supporters stance should have been expected - they love their team so they're obviously going to have varying levels of bias. The general footy public have largely protected Essendon as have the sporting media - I put this down to protecting the sport and the brand. Essendon therefore had to be protected as an extension of that stance. Essendon are way out on their own on this issue and people who would otherwise point the finger in a damning way have refused to do so - it's been a very interesting study on how people view footy in general - it's taught me that many footy fans are fiercely loyal to the sport way more than I thought. I thought people's view on footy was largely about the team but it's much bigger than that. If Essendon and their players were to be exonerated I believe that most footy fans won't bat an eyelid. They won't really care. They'd be mainly relieved that the whole thing is over. Trying to explain to people that Essendon almost certainly won a lot of games on the back of taking copious quantities of PED's is a complete waste of time - they would have had to have won the flag for that aspect of the saga to take effect. Many people were congratulating Essendon for winning games whilst the investigation was going on - as if the drugs they took had no meaningful long term effect. We are so quick to point the finger when PED's are used by athletes outside our shores. When it comes to our own, we don't want to know about it.

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.

Have you been in the Leighoak lately? ... the oldies are already in there Drove past it the other day and they're offering senior discounts for this and that. It's probably much the same at the Bentleigh club. I've been to both venues on occasions and both places have a fair bit to offer - especially when we play interstate. Situated in our old zones, I can't see a problem with either establishment. I believe they're both very good investments - without them, we'd be posting significant losses. I'd pop in to one of the venues on the next pension day and give you a report on the age demographics of the clientele but I believe the next pension day is xmas eve - I'm kinda busy that night but I might send both establishments an email to at least start offering up some "courtesy buses"

Our pokies venues are bringing in more revenue but without it, we'd probably be in a bit of strife (to be fair, nearly all the clubs extract large revenues from poker machines - especially Carlton & Hawthorn) ... most of our other revenue streams can increase to varying degrees if we were far more successful on the field. We're actually well set up to do well financially but the seasons where we only win 4 games or less are stifling our growth in more ways than one. 8-10 wins would almost certainly see a higher membership, greater match returns in terms of the gate, increased sponsorship and other corporate revenue, merchandise revenue would have to increase and even the much discussed foundation heroes revenue would provide greater returns. Many of the past boards have had a hand in all the above - we shouldn't be squabbling about who was the best at it. I'm not pointing the finger at you either Doc. My view is more of an overview.

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!

Yep ... and sometimes the more you know, the less you know! Agree with you on the development side of things

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'

And if we are to compare the draft to a lottery it is quite feasible for some clubs to have a lot more luck than others ... There are those who believe that it's not possible to get so many picks so wrong but ... we're not talking about an accurate system. In fact, the drafting system we have is far from accurate. Bad system = many poor results (with the good results of that bad system being of a chaotic nature)

We've got so many new players and so many up-and-comers that it's a difficult assignment coming up with a best 22. Unlike other, more recent seasons the coaches & FD know so much more than we do this time around ... what is almost certainly true is that a number of those players who played regularly last season won't be doing so next season. In order to bring in Hogan, Lumumba, Frost, Garlett et al, a number of others will need to make room. Then there's all the 18-20 year old's and how Roos will use them and for how many games. There are just too many variables but that's a good thing in my opinion ... in an ideal world there would be at least 6 players in any given week who are not picked who can count themselves unlucky. However, we still need at least 6-8 players to step it up to 'very good or better' in order for the team to start winning games on a consistent basis ... at this early stage, it does look as though we have far greater depth.

For the most part, Roos settled on Pedersen as our 2nd ruck in 2014. As a general rule, I'd expect that scenario to happen again unless Gawn can improve his marking ability in a significant way (Spencer for the same reason) The story is nearly always the same when ruckmen (who are predominantly ruckmen) are competing for the one spot (especially in today's footy) ... supporters try and find a way to get 2 of them in the one side. As a general rule playing 2 ruckman who don't have 2 strings to their bow probably won't happen because it can effectively leave a team one player short and that it turn can effect rotations.

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

Doesn't sound like the players had too much input on this occasion ... unless the players did decide to sack Green after 1 year. ... Demons’ two captain Jacks the right leadership choice

I don't believe everything I'm told - I'd be quite surprised if Roos, Daniher, Bailey & Neeld didn't have some strong input with regards to our captains and those elected to the leadership group. The major issue I have with the whole process is that there's not enough faith shown in the initial selections - they go to all this trouble and then do an about face if the team doesn't win enough games. We've had 5 different captains in the last 5 years and there have been numerous changes to the leadership groups. ... and if our players are continually picking who goes into our leadership group and who captains* the side then they've failed massively in the last 8 years - maybe a review needs to happen on whether our players deserve that right? (especially when you look at the 6 players they picked to the leadership group last year) Neitz was our captain in 2007 and 2008 - did he and his leadership group suddenly lose the ability to lead the team to wins? Previously, he and his leadership group had led the club to 5 finals series in 7 years. In the end, it all comes down to talent - on the field. *Does that include sacking those captains that they initially appointed or asking them to stand down?

Our original leadership group for the 2014 was as follows ... Jones (co-capt) Grimes (co-capt) Clark Trengove Frawley Garland Paul Roos may well have hand picked the above 6 or he would have at least had a big say in proceedings. 2 of the "so-called" leaders couldn't get out the club quickly enough whilst another 2 of the 6 were not exactly leading by example on the field ... and Grimes has just quit the captaincy. By the way, the above scenario is not an unusual occurrence ... this whole thing reminds me of the draft and how too many show too much faith in a system that doesn't guarantee positive results. This post is not meant to be a knock on Paul Roos and his choices either ... my knock is on the system that has eventuated over time.