Macca

If a Chargers fan suddenly appears on this thread, it may well be the great man! I'm guessing he'd be a fan of the NFL. In other news ... here's a couple of columns from 'Grantland' by Bill Simmons ... AFC Power Poll & NFC Power Poll The Giants are at Big D for SNF on Monday morning (10.30am our time) Always a good match-up and the game often ends up with a close finish.

Just a walk in the park for Peyton ... threw for 462 yards, a 141.1 passer rating and 7 touchdowns with 0 interceptions (the best since 1969) He's all class. Looks like Denver are heading for another big year. Early doors but The AFC West Divisional title seems to be heading the Bronco's way already. KC with Andy Reid could rack up a number of wins but Denver looked very good. The Ravens looked to be out of synch. They did score 27 but to give up 49 points is not great by Baltimore's standards. Maybe the call will come for Ray to make a comeback!

Got 4 for the tipping comp so far ... just a reminder to the following posters that the comp starts this week (if you'd like to participate) Details of the comp can be found at the top of this page ... Dappa Dan Cards13 QueenC Whispering_Jack DemonDave 45HG titan_uranus Norm Smith's Curse Strafford DirtyDees DDC New Age Hipster daisycutter rpfc Striker 475 Adzman MFC4Life JT9 the master Dr Gonzo belzebub59 Good Times Grimes old dee Demon Land 7 biggestred america de cali Demon2 jezzzza Entry is free! Yes, you heard it - FREE entry And what's more, there is no prize for the overall winner! ... just bragging rights.

Once again, here are the week 1 TV games. Great 1st up game too ... reckon the Broncos will prevail but it could be another close one. Packers are back at San Francisco in a tough opener for my blokes. The Falcons/Saints game should be a beauty but there are a number of other big match-ups. If I had the time, I'd watch all 7 games that are being broadcasted Fri Sept 6 10.30am Baltimore at Denver (OneHD & ESPN) Mon Sept 9 3.00am Atlanta at New Orleans (Fox1) 3.00am Minnesota at Detroit (OneHD) 6.15am Green Bay at San Francisco (OneHD) 10.30am NY Giants at Dallas (OneHD & ESPN) Tues Sept 10 9.00am Philadelphia at Washington (ESPN) 12.15pm Houston at San Diego (ESPN) ... here are all the other games in week 1 For those interested in seeing how your team is rated for this season, here's a couple of podcasts from Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal. They discuss the relative merits of each team in an 'overs and unders' format ... AFC (part 1) ... NFC (part 2)

3 'away' winners for week 1 ... New England Miami Houston

Rules of the 'Demonland' NFL tipping competition * You get 3 picks only in any given week (but they must all be 'Away' teams) * Anyone who correctly tips all 3 winners receives 1 point (so any number of people can win a point in any given week) * Bonus points are up for grabs in weeks 5, 9 and 13 (2 points to all winners) whilst week 17 carries 3 points to any given winner. * No margins or correct scores are required - just the straight winners. * If you miss a week or come into the comp later on, there is no penalty. You just simply miss the chance to win points for that week or weeks. * Your tips must be in before the start of Monday's games (AEST) ... or before the Friday game if you include that game. All 3 tips must be included in your post (editing your tips is strictly forbidden ) * The person with the most points by the end of the season wins (Kudos being the prize!) If there are any questions or you're unsure, ask away. I think I've covered everything but I've possibly overlooked something. I'll post a 'Ladder' on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. We probably only need 5 or 6 participants to keep it going - if not, no harm done. For those of you who just read this thread, feel free to join in the comp. It's just a bit of fun and we could do with a few more people on the thread anyway. Definitely need some more fans from the AFC.

Just the winners Gorgoroth - seems quite straight forward but it's trickier than one might think. There's always a few upsets and 'home' underdogs can get up when you least expect it. I'll do my tips later today when I re-post the TV games but just looking at this week's games, it's not easy to see 3 sure-fire 'away' winners. The next post will give a brief outline of the rules (don't ya just hate rules!)

'cfh' ... the tipping idea was to pick 3 'Away' winners in any given week with the proviso being that you only get 3 picks. 1 point to anyone who gets it right. Fairly straight forward comp that way. We could start it off and if there are enough participants, we can keep it going. I'll do my tips tonight

That sounds like a good idea, pantaloons ... gets the picks out early - which is ideal. We could do it here if we could get 10 starters. Was thinking of doing a weekly tipping thing but your idea is way better. Apart from that, I'll usually post up the TV games on a Thursday evening but for this week, here they are ... (note that Foxtel aren't covering a late game in week 1 but that may change - I'll bump this post a couple more times before Monday) Fri Sept 6 10.30am Baltimore at Denver (OneHD & ESPN) Mon Sept 9 3.00am Atlanta at New Orleans (Fox1) 3.00am Minnesota at Detroit (OneHD) 6.15am Green Bay at San Francisco (OneHD) 10.30am NY Giants at Dallas (OneHD & ESPN) Tues Sept 10 9.00am Philadelphia at Washington (ESPN) 12.15pm Houston at San Diego (ESPN) ... here are all the other games in week 1 For those interested in seeing how your team is rated for this season, here's a couple of podcasts from Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal, discussing the relative merits of each team in an 'overs and unders' format ... AFC (part 1) ... NFC (part 2)

Here's 2 from a couple of Aussie bands from yesteryear ... Macca 13.7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_g4THMfo5c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2zcVkYbpGE

Good post JJ ... And now for something completely different ... a Bill Simmons podcast focusing on NBA team nicknames/mascots. Quite funny in parts with guests Zach Lowe and Dave Dameshek. Dave joins the podcast about half way through (40 mins in) when the NFL nicknames are talked about as well. ... Bill Simmons breaks down the best and worst team names with Grantland's Zach Lowe and NFL.com's Dave Dameshek.

The QB's are protected to a certain degree - it's more about players like Fitzgerald and AP being targeted (now) I reckon the NFL will have to address the issue before too long.

There's always a surprise or 3. Last year the Colts, Redskins, Vikings and Seattle made the playoffs after not making it the previous year. 3 gun QB's and a gun RB helped a lot of course! Going to be interesting to see how the Sean Payton/Drew Brees combo works again. That division may come down to the head to head results of the Falcons/Saints games (they play each other first up in New Orleans) At some stage the Patriots may slide but that Belichick/Brady partnership is hard to break down. They just keep winning games whilst their divisional rivals are often all over the place. Tannehill is a good QB though and I can see Miami having a winning season. The other talking point is the possible targeting of the knees of the RB's and WR's. The QB's are protected and if we see a rash of knee injuries, they may clamp down hard (whether they'd change the rule 'in season' is another matter)

Time for some Preseason predictions Division winners and wild-cards NFC Green Bay (though not with a great deal of confidence) Atlanta San Francisco Dallas Seattle (wild-card) Minnesota (wild-card) AFC New England Pittsburgh Denver Houston Baltimore (wild-card) Indianapolis (wild-card) Wouldn't surprise me if 3 or 4 of the above don't make the playoffs, but which 3 or 4? Who knows? Other teams to look out for - Bengals, Redskins, Giants, New Orleans, St Louis, Chicago and maybe Miami, San Diego and Detroit. I really like the Saints as the next biggest mover besides Dallas (btw if the Cowboys don't make it, there will be another guaranteed 'Story' behind it) The Ravens might fall back a little but they may not (they have lost a few players) It's so hard to predict any of the good teams coming back to the field but maybe Atlanta? (especially if the Saints get on a winning streak and pip the Falcons for the Division)

Not sure England could catch South Africa regardless ... and they don't play them again until they go to South Arica in late 2015/16. South Africa would have to fall away a bit before that and with their line-up, that's hard to see. ... Test Rankings and Predictor Looks like England might be taking up the challenge. Hope we've got enough - don't fancy another 4 nil scoreline!

Once again, they're making it hard for our batsmen. They do seem to have a gear that they switch into and Cook has to take credit for that. I reckon he's quite a good captain and it could be assumed that he is highly respected by his players. In the key moments in this series, he's been well on top of things. Perhaps he's a bit of a throwback but his team is very hard to beat all the same. Every win we might get against England in Australia will be hard fought. They're a good team that are well led. My tip is that Clarke will set them about 225 to get in about 44 overs (if we can get that far ahead!) Currently lead by 204 with 47 overs remaining.

Watson opens up and Haddin is padded up and may go in next. Looks like you may have read it right, TD! Not sure England will take up the challenge which makes a declaration a lot easier. Could be an interesting finish.

4-51 for James Faulkner. He bowled ok but his biggest asset seems to be his ability to make a few things happen. Not a bad debut and although he's behind our top 4 or 5 quicks, he does offer an alternative. At his pace he needs a few tricks but well done to the bloke all the same. Bowled a few out of the back of his hand as well. Confident sort of character.

It's the cricket thread curse. It rivals the Norm Smith curse!

I think the best we can hope for is a quick-fire innings from Dave Warner. Like to see him tee off and maybe get a ton. They'll probably call it off about an hour or so before stumps (what is the rule in that situation?) Haddin has been terrific and his foot movement has been very good. He's taken a number of very good catches down the leg side. With the ability that Siddle, Starc and Pattinson have with the bat, Haddin can bind it all together at no.7. Harris can smack a few as well! We really need Brad's experience in the home series. Wade or Paine will get their chance in time.

I'd say the reality is that in a country of 1.3 billion people, there is a truckload more money to be made out of TV rights rather than gate receipts. The BCCI don't have to spend a penny this way. The TV companies have to provide all the infrastructure, cameras, commentators etc etc whilst all the BCCI have to do is cash the cheques. The facilities and seating at most of the grounds in India isn't always the best. Not sure the BCCI make much of an effort to get people to the Tests (that 5 day pass is a good example of effectively pushing people away) Outside of Australia and England, Test cricket crowds have been on the wane for quite some time. Once again, there are no easy solutions to the problem. Seems Rupert is involved with the BCCI by the looks of it ... Star TV bags rights for Indian cricket Another interesting partner is ESPN. A few years ago they paid 1 billion dollars for the rights to the t20 Champions League (for 10 years) Some big players getting involved.

The practical way of looking at is to possibly make the best of a bad situation. Maybe that's what CA decided to do a few years ago. In other words, they could see what the future had in store and got in for their chop. Why else would we play 7 ODI's against India every year? In 2011 we ended up playing a 2 Test series against South Africa in South Africa because of our commitments in India (mixed in with the t20 Champions League) Ordinarily, in October this year, we might have played a couple of Tests against one of the smaller Test Nations as a lead in to this years home Ashes series. However, the money on offer from when we play India is hard to resist. The caveat might also be that we may not be able to send a team to India with our 2nd string quicks. The money from the BCCI may well be conditional. In a perfect world none of Harris, Siddle, Starc, Pattinson and Bird (if fit) would be part of that One-day squad. It's not an ideal warm up for the Ashes but if any of them are in India for those ODI's, that might tell a story. The truth is that Australia and England are keeping Test cricket at the forefront. In the future I can see both home and away Ashes series' being played over 3 years instead of 4 years. As it is, we're back in England in 2015. The general public in India still love their Test cricket but they're being pushed away from it. Pricing has gone through the roof from what I've heard and quite often a 5 day pass needs to be purchased. Easier to watch it on the tele (where the viewing numbers are obviously still huge) The BCCI are not making it easy for themselves to get good crowds at the Test matches but with all their other huge revenue streams, they simply don't need those big crowds. Much more money to be made elsewhere. There are no obvious or easy answers to the whole situation. On a brighter note we may see a bit of cricket tonight. The sun is doing it's best to get out (apparently)

... Cricket Australia's Annual report 2012 (go to page 15 and 'enlarge' for the numbers) Looks like we had quite a healthy surplus of 45 million for that 2011/12 financial year with that figure being helped out enormously from the income derived out of all the ODI's involving India in early 2012. I've heard that CA pocketed 6 million from the BCCI for every ODI that India played in Australia in early 2012. It's any wonder we have an agreement to play India every year. Not a big fan of ODI's but they do bring in the big $$$'s for CA (Especially when we play India) Another aspect of cricket that the fans just have to accept. That money generated would help subsidise Shield cricket (which must cost millions to run) Obviously, Shield cricket is essential in helping to create a winning Test side. Other nations are endeavouring to do the same (playing against India in ODI's) and it largely explains why India doesn't play as much Test cricket as a few other countries. They are too busy playing ODI's. It also explains why certain countries won't take on India with regards to their refusal to use DRS. Why bite the hand that feeds you? India rules the cricket world in a financial sense and that won't be changing in the foreseeable future. It's simple economics. India generates 80%+ of the income derived out of cricket so they get to call the shots to a large extent. Of course, the IPL with all the players involved reaping lots of $$$'s only complicates things even further. To me, the ODI games are often meaningless but it's all about the money. (who can ever remember who wins a One-day series?)

US Open starts on Monday (Tuesday 1.00am AEST) ... Sam Stosur's win against Victoria Azarenka a valuable boost on eve of US Open Mens and Ladies seeds ... Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal Andy Murray David Ferrer Tomáš Berdych Juan Martín del Potro Roger Federer Richard Gasquet Stanislas Wawrinka Milos Raonic Kei Nishikori Tommy Haas John Isner Jerzy Janowicz Nicolás Almagro Fabio Fognini Serena Williams Victoria Azarenka Agnieszka Radwańska Sara Errani Li Na Caroline Wozniacki Petra Kvitová Angelique Kerber Jelena Janković Roberta Vinci Samantha Stosur Kirsten Flipkens Ana Ivanovic Maria Kirilenko Sloane Stephens Sabine Lisicki

Starc has had a few injury concerns and the selectors might decide to put him in cotton wool until he starts getting prepared for the Ashes. I know we play a series of five ODI's against England before going to India for another seven ODI's (played in the month of October) No real sense having Harris, Siddle or Starc involved in these games. Those 3 need to rest up for 5 or 6 weeks. Those ODI's are an ideal time to give Faulkner, Coulter-Nile, Mitch Marsh, Hazlewood, Henriques and a few others some valuable exposure. If our fast bowlers are definitely going to play t20 cricket (the money on offer is almost impossible to resist) then the Australian selectors might decide to keep our Test fast bowlers away from the ODI's and the domestic 50 over games*. England are in a unique position where their players are tied to central contracts. Because their season starts in late April, it means their players are largely unavailable for the IPL. Shield cricket, Test cricket, the IPL and maybe the Big Bash is plenty of cricket for Harris, Starc, Pattinson, Siddle and Bird. (the IPL pays a truckload more than the Big Bash so the latter doesn't represent that much of an issue) For the batsmen, they just need to learn how to adjust their tempo within all 3 forms of the game. Many other batsmen around the World can adapt to the 3 forms of the game (especially the South Africans) so our players really don't have any excuses. *Effectively, the ECB pay their players to not play in the IPL. Maybe CA could do the same with our bevy of fast bowlers. They've always had a few bob in the coffers so it might be money well spent