Macca

Tim Bresnan (Eng)

Yes, that's the 2nd bit. If Cale starts looking like 'Arnie' we're definitely on to something ... Warnie cracked a mention in there as well (but he's always in the news for some obscure reason) Just back to the Super Bowl. Apparently there was only one pass interference call in the whole game. So the last 'Non call' needs to be put into context. Even though it was pass interference in my opinion, I was happy that they didn't call it. In fact, if they did call it we'd be getting countless replays of all the instances that weren't called. I distinctly remember seeing lots of WR's for both sides pleading for favourable decisions. At least the officials were consistent. The only issue I have is if you're not going to make these calls in a Super Bowl then why do we see regular season games often have umpteen penalties?

Yep, was thinking the same thing 'cfh' (nostradamus) These sort of things quite often happen in 'Three's' . I'm making sure I take a lotto ticket this Saturday (can you please PM me the numbers ) Might even take out a multi sports bet on the weekend.

Well 'GTG', I've done a little reconnaissance work in the off season and have discovered (on very good authority) that the Maple Leafs are the 'Collingwood' of Canadian Hockey. Can you confirm or deny this? Even though it's still early days, Boston and Montreal have started well in your division and Toronto will need to get a move on if their going to feature in the Playoffs. Being a short season how many wins do you think it will take to make the post season? p.s Those mighty Canucks are doing ok, so far ... (probably jinxed them now)

Yeah, just viewed the show. Thanks for that. Quite a powerful exposé and well worth a look. The stuff about the UCI, Greg LeMond and Floyd Landis was a real eye-opener. He's in a fair bit of strife. Could be in and out of various Courts for some time. If they nail him about the 2009 and 2010 tours then he could be in real trouble. My gut feeling is he'll have enough money stashed away to be able to be well represented. And you know how that works over there ...

So if irrefutable evidence comes through that he did dope in 2009/10 then he could face criminal charges yeah? You'd reckon there would be a few lining up to ping him if that's the case.

One of the best parts of the NFL is the unpredictability of it. Within the games and overall. There is no 'sure fire' way to win though you do need a reasonably good QB. It seems in todays NFL it's all about timing, belief and getting 'hot'. Same sort of thing has been happening a bit in Hockey and Baseball. Where did we all have Flacco on our lists after week 17? Not even top 15 for mine and yet he was stellar in the playoffs. He's done an Eli ! The roster for next year is out (not the week to week schedule yet) . Our division (NFC North) has got it tough - we play all the teams in the NFC East and all the teams in the AFC North ... Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Redskins, Bengals, Dallas, Eagles and Cleveland. That's apart from the 6 tough games within our division. The other 2 games the Packers have got are Atlanta and San Francisco. Your blokes 'extra' 2 games are against Carolina and @ Seattle ... Aaron and Adrian will both need huge years again ! Anyway, for those that are interested, if you click on the following link it will take you to a site that lists all the individual team's schedules - click on any team to find out your teams schedule for 2013. ... NFL Football Schedule

Yep 84, good point re Williams. Obviously Flacco and Boldin stood out on the offence, but that stand at the end was typical Ravens. Some teams drop away after a loss like this. Can't see it with these 49ers. Jim Harbaugh won't let this team slip back. Kaepernick stays fit and they'll be right back into proceedings.

Ravens win. And to think that they lost 4 of their last 5 games in the regular season. You get hot at the right time and you can win the whole damn thing - once again. Great finish

Did Jim Harbaugh waste that 'time out' on 3rd down? They take a safety. Looked liked they'd practiced it too.

They've got 4 goes at it here

Have to look at it again but that was a vital 3 points. Didn't seem much in it anyway.

Wow, what a turnaround. 28-23 . Akers got lucky. That was an awful miss the first time. Still a stack of time left in the game

They got on the Deer antler juice when the lights went out. Lewis is descending back

Nice 80 yard drive by the 'Niners. They need to stop the Ravens from scoring in this next possession. The Kap has had a decent game apart from that one interception.

It's a conspiracy I say. Joe Montana has flicked the switch . He's seen enough

Flacco has been good hey ... Suppose it's only 2 scores the difference but the 'Niners' need the 1st score in the 2nd half (preferably a TD) . The Ravens are playing really well though. Yeah, Beyoncé was terrific. They do it well. Wow ! Jones with a 109 yard kick return ... 28 to 6 now ...

Horse meat! They've often got the 'Excuse' well planned out in advance. Think there's a website out there that 'lists' all the excuses. Some wild and wacky explanations have been thought up. Anyway, I've gone for option 'A' tomorrow. On the couch watching it live. Had a get together I could have gone to, but it's too big a day sometimes and it's often too easy to get caught up. I'm thinking of Tuesday morning! ESPN have got 'NFL Countdown' from 5.30am. Still reckon it's the 49ers just.

Came across what looks to be a decent new 'docudrama' series from the States. 'The Men Who Built America' starts tomorrow night (Monday) at 8.30pm on the 'History' channel.

Who knows? One thing is for sure, in my experience, many footy fans will 'protect' our sport to no end. And will often have a very cynical attitude to many other sports. There is a real inconsistency there but that's the way it is. Bias often governs how fans think. For instance, I'm way less inclined to point the finger at figures who I 'like' as opposed to athletes who are not very likeable. It's just the way we're built. Warnie is your classic example. Most people don't see him as a drug cheat and were quite happy to believe the 'Slimming tablet' story. That attitude may well be the world over but .... maybe the South Africans or people from the sub-continent aren't so obliging. PED's would have to be tempting for a 'fringe' player in the AFL. You get cut from a senior list at 22 years of age and it could be all over. Is there a correlation between recreational drugs and PED's? Anyway, if blood passports (biological passports) become the 'norm' then it will be much harder to cheat. They got Contador that way. Slight variation and down came the hammer. You'd like to think that our sport is clean. But we are bit biased. Edit : If a certain former no.4 Draft pick of ours starts runnin' through blokes and begins rackin' up 30+ possessions, I'm gonna be suspicious (and not just because he's at the Eagles under Worsfold !)

Ha ha ... Belichick makes Brendan McCartney look like a loud mouth. Though Bill in his own way, is entertaining. He has refined the art of saying 'nothing' to perfection. I think you had Arians as coach of the year - good get. Anyways, Bill Simmons column this week is a decent read. The column has a focus on PED's ... ... Daring to Ask the PED Question

Bill Parcells gets in as well. Cris Carter is a terrific analyst on the sport. Always look forward to his comments. Not much 'filler' with Carter. Just tells it like it is. And he tends to lighten the mood as well. Yep, AP has been talking a bit. But that's how it generally works over there. I don't really have a problem with it. Show a bit of personality - the AFL could learn a lot about access to players and coaches. Shooting from the hip a bit makes the whole thing way more interesting. Even Belichick is interesting (because he's so conservative compared to everyone else) Adrian Peterson wins MVP Russell Wilson wins Rookie of the Year Edit : added award recipients

Thought Pakistan had a decent 1st day against South Africa. Bowled the Proteas out for 253 and seemingly right in the game until ...... day 2 .... Pakistan all out for 49 with Dale Steyn taking 6 for 8 ! South Africa have already got an overall lead of 350 odd with 7 wickets in hand (batting the 2nd time). Game over.

Yeah, I knew what you meant dc, but I reckon a few fans may not know that 'resting' players is already happening (to a small degree). As a comparison, if you look at top level Soccer, all or most of the players are rested a few times a season. Who wants our sport to go down that track? All because of a need for a continuous flood or press. If you bring in new restrictive interchange rules it would help stop the coaches employing these 2 rather ugly parts of our game (the flood and the press). In fact, if you went to 2 and 2 then I reckon the flood and the press could only be used periodically. It will be interesting to see the results of these interchange restrictions during the NAB Cup.

RG3 might get on that 'Deer antler spray' and be ready to go in a month! Apparently all you need to do is spray it under the tongue and next minute you've turned into Usain Bolt. The Kiwi's are revolutionising sport with their livestock. Whooda thunk-it ! Maybe Ray overdid it a bit ... (allegedly)