Macca

For those of you who like your "Westerns" , there's a brand new series called "Hell on Wheels" set immediately after the Civil war . It centres on the building of the Trans Continental Railroad by the Union Pacific Company ............... Tough , Gritty and pulls no punches . Here's the IMDb link .............. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699748/

"el clasico" on at 7.55am tomorrow morning . Real Madrid vs Barcelona . Arguably the 2 best soccer teams in the world and interestingly , both teams are owned by their fans .

Patrick Cummins out for all the Tests vs India - what a shame as I was looking forward to seeing him live in Melbourne . Suppose it gives another quick a chance to cement a spot in the side but it's still a big blow .

Yeah , Sydonia are great . And I liked the solo guitarist in your 1st post - wow !

Thanks for that link HG . I remember the days when we used to get the last session of select Shield games on the tele !

Played a lot of cricket at 2 cricket clubs - at one I was known as "Nuggets" after the great Keith "Nugget" Miller - somebody added an "s" and it stuck ! Btw It had nothing to do with rivaling his cricket ability ! And at the other club I was known as "Macca" - most people I know call me that . When I played footy I had various nicknames but "You" and "Mate" figured predominantly in the early days ! I'm figuring yours is self explanatory yeah ?

Excellent article in that link "Nasher" . Perhaps Dave Warner will set a trend of T20 batsmen progressing to Test cricket - can't see why not . As for India , they were woeful in England a few months back and are notoriously poor away from home . Aussies to win the series though India might win 1 test . Can't wait to see this Cummins / Pattinson duo in action . Bring on Boxing day !

Shane Warne's 1st Test figures 45 - 7 - 150 - 1 ( Ist innings vs India , Sydney , 1992 ) We need to give these new players a bit of a go . Hughes has major issues but what's the bet he makes a big score in Hobart ?! Don't know what to make of him really . Jayasuriya . Sehwag , Gilchrist and plenty of others were highly successful without having perfect techniques , which leads me into "The Suburban Boy" otherwise known as the "Bull" . I reckon Warner will be fantastic for Test cricket if he's successful and I'm backing him to do it for this reason . He may get found out but I really hope not . Cummins and Pattinson should lead our attack for many years if they remain healthy . And Starc will hopefully be a goodin' as well with his variety . And there are other young quicks on the horizon ( Cutting , Hazelwood . Herrick etc ) . Lyon keeps getting better and better . Suddenly this Indian team are quite vulnerable .

J.L. Pattinson! ... and he's a Victorian.

Terrific song HT . Thought I'd bump it up to top of the Billboard being a Saturday night and all that !

Macca 3.7

Great song - and a great sound . Another band I need to explore more - rest assured I will !

Ha ha ha ! Must see if I can find that painting on the net and update my avatar ! I never get tired of Seinfeld , my favourite episode is when George is "O'Brien" in "The Limo" . Classic .

Yeah , IASIP is very good JJ . What an awful , opportunist bunch hey ? A train wreck really but funny as . A big departure from "Sunny" is a new comedy called "New Girl" . Better than I thought it would be . Kinda corny but Zooey Deschanel is terrific and plays a zany type sharing a loft with 3 blokes . One of those shows you immediately like or ...........................

Macca 3.6 - slideshow only for this Kiwi classic !

Wouldn't hit the "doom and gloom" button re Test cricket just yet "jako" . Whilst I agree T20 will be huge it might help Test cricket just like the 50 over game has . Test cricket will survive and will probably get better aesthetically with run rates rising etc . And how about if Warner is successful at the 5 day game ? Already there has been a change of scheduling with the big 4 teams ( Australia , England , South Africa and India ) playing each other home and away over the next 3 years instead of over 4 years . I remember people started saying that 50 over cricket would kill off Test cricket back in the late 1970's - It didn't . And the "Ashes" is just as big as it ever was . I love both forms of the game and am looking forward to watching the Tests vs India during the day and the "Big Bash" in the evenings - bring it on !! As for the "Big Bash" I reckon most Victorians will "secretly" follow both Melbourne teams - Warnie playing is gonna be huge so get ready for some big crowds . I was at the Vics / Tassie game 2 years ago when 43,000 turned up - it was like a footy crowd ! I'm going to follow both teams as I cannot see myself wanting any interstate team beating a Victorian team . I may form an allegiance later on but for now .............. Go the Renegades ! Go the Stars !

Macca 3.5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waacof2saZw&ob=av2e

My observation on the lack of representation at Test level for Victorian batsman might have been seen as a complaint about the National selectors but that was not my intention . My point was about the Batsman only as I do think Victoria's bowlers get a decent go at it . I don't reckon there's any bias against Victoria or bias towards any State either . The only Test class batsman who might count himself unlucky is Hodge - wrong place , wrong time for him I'm afraid . Siddons was another with claims . Another point is that Victoria often seem willing to give young bowlers a go and as I mentioned earlier the Victorian Bowlers do get a decent go at Test level - Hughes , Warne , Fleming , Reiffel , Siddle and now Pattinson . Perhaps if Victoria took a leaf out of NSW's book and played more young batsmen ( especially at the top of the order ) then things might be different . Though I doubt anything will change .

You're missing my point Rhino - regular Test batsman in the last 20 years - none . There's been a number tried but that's not my point . I'm making an observation on the end result .

Just on NSW Grade cricket , Canterbury / Bankstown had Thommo and Pascoe as their opening bowlers in the 70's . And no helmets !

Yeah , though I reckon not producing 1 regular Test batsman in nearly 20 years isn't good enough . And it's got nothing to do with parochialism . NSW country cricket is very strong and their Grade system is even stronger because of it . And they're not afraid to promote youth . Now when it comes to Victorian cricket we've done very well in the Shield lately but this doesn't convert to good representation at National level . Whilst I agree with you Rhino ( in part ) that it doesn't matter where they come from re the Test team , I would still ( As a proud Victorian ) like to see 1 or 2 batsman in the team from Victoria . A bit like Demon players being All Australian . Though we don't get many of these honours for obvious reasons .

I'm all for the new policy though I was a bit surprised nonetheless ! It's certainly a departure from the immediate past . And the Vics haven't produced a regular Test batsman since Dean Jones ( last Test 1992 ) Quite absurd when you think about it . Especially given Victoria's rich history in this area . The Vic selectors need to realize that winning Shields doesn't mean much anymore ( to the Australian selectors ) NSW keep producing Test batsman because they promote youth whenever possible . And 19yo Nic Maddinson will possibly be next cab off the rank ( much to the ire of most Victorians ! ) Here's a short video of him .

The 12 man squad for the 1st Test in Brisbane has been released . 4 new faces ! http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/victorian-paceman-james-pattinson-named-in-test-squad/story-e6frfg8o-1226206870598

Macca 3.4

Macca 3.3