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)

Roy and HG are doing their Olympics segment again. Aptly called the "Russian Revolution", it's on OneHD right now. Not sure when it's airing on Ch10.

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

3-2 but don't ask me which way! Both teams will probably be pushing for a win so we should see a good open and attacking game. Of course, now that I've said that ...

Liverpool vs Arsenal on tonight at 11.45pm. For those without cable, you can listen to the game here ... live coverage of EPL games - TalkSPORT (talkSport.com have the rights to broadcast the EPL games online)

There's been a lot happening in the general vicinity of Sochi in the last 20 years and human rights is often at the centre of those issues. The following article is from early January but it makes for some interesting reading ... ... Security games: Why 2014 Winter Olympics host city Sochi is a city under siege

Yep, you make some excellent points Cards but what about the athletes themselves? 4 years of toil for 1 shot at glory. The truth is that many sporting organisations are corrupt. You could mount an argument that footy, cricket, cycling, the big 4 American sports, numerous soccer leagues etc etc all have certain levels of corruption. We still watch those sports.

The opening ceremony will be shown live on Ch10 in the early hours of Saturday morning (2.50am AEDT) It looks like OneHD will be covering every day of the games live so we'll be able to watch the games in HD. Here's the Official Site which is surprisingly user friendly - you can click on any day and then any sport for a comprehensive overview of each particular sport and/or each event ... Day 1 schedule I guess it's whatever takes your fancy with the Winter Olympics but the Men's Downhill is an event that I won't be missing. It's scheduled for this Sunday at 6.00pm (AEDT) I've read that that the competitors in this event can reach speeds of between 120kph - 150kph. The Ice Hockey, Luge, Bobsleigh, Short Track Skating, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding and Freestyle Skiing are other sports that are well worth a look. There's something for everyone though and because of the 7 hour time difference, nearly all of the "Alpine Skiing" events are on at a user friendly time for Oz viewers. Many of the other sport's gold medal events are on in the early hours of the morning but OneHD will be doing a "Sochi Encore" from 6am every day (by the looks of it)

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

A comparison could be made between our club to many of the "Leagues" clubs in Sydney. Historically, a number of the Rugby League clubs may not have brought in a lot of money through gate receipts, memberships, sponsorship and the like but the revenue from poker machines helped pay the bills and kept those clubs afloat. A lot has changed in those aforementioned areas for the NRL clubs and of course, there's also the large dividends that these Rugby League clubs now receive from the NRL (that money would mainly be derived from their huge media rights deal ... apart from other sources) You could say that a lot of the AFL clubs have done things in a reverse sort of way to the NRL clubs and effectively, many of the clubs in both the AFL and the NRL now derive their income from the same sort of sources. In other words, many AFL clubs have gone down the pokies path and the NRL clubs have gone down the Membership and gate receipts path (as well as keeping their "traditional" revenue streams) Looking at the breakdown of our revenues from 2013, here are the notable figures ... 11,291,234 ... Social and gaming revenue 10,846,244 ... Distributions from the AFL 6,368,135 ... Marketing/corporate sponsorship and general fundraising 5,100,106 ... Membership and annual reserved seating 3,311,071 ... Gate receipts 723,068 ... Merchandise 462,141 ... Foundation heroes/debt demolition fundraising 1,329,341 ... Other revenue What is also notable is our Social and gaming "expenses" ... 7,413,586 (although Peter Jackson did intimate that this figure will drop in the coming years as we service the debt on our gaming businesses)

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.

There's a lot that surrounds the Bentleigh Club and the LeighOak. Gross income vs total costs of running both businesses. Plus of course the net value of both businesses and the projected income of both going forward. Like it or not, we're in the business of making a fair amount of money from poker machines. Without that income we might be in a spot of bother. Also, I'm not sure if both businesses are owned outright or if they are undervalued, overvalued or correctly valued. It's a bit of a grey area sometimes.

Melbourne releases annual report According to Peter Jackson ... Annual Report (go to page 10 for the numbers and page 22 for the breakdown of revenue)

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 ...

Roos might have to play Salem earlier than he wants to. We've got quite a few on our list who still need to prove themselves and if you couple that with the usual run of injuries, I'm tipping he'll debut quite early (round 6? 8?) Don't reckon it'll hurt Christian either if he's used properly (and you'd reckon Roos will know how to use a young draftee properly) Perhaps as the sub for 3 or 4 games? Running off half back? In principle, I agree with Roos' stance but we don't have the same structure as the good teams - we're miles off. If Salem doesn't play at all in the seniors this season, I'll be quite surprised. He's got a bit of talent and he'll probably force his way into the side. It's more about who'll keep him out.

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.