Macca

Can't see Clarke getting moved from no.5 now (unless under extraordinary circumstances) . Reckon the Tasmanian, Alex Doolan will come in and bat at no.3 with Watson moving to 4 . Or Doolan will bat at 4 and Watson stays at 3 . The other 4 batsmen are doing enough in their spots . An article about the possible selection of Doolan appeared a couple of days ago . You can go to this link to read the story .

Have only seen edited highlights of our game so far . Relieved to get the win really . AP is one hell of a running back . The Vikes are gonna have to finish the season well to make the playoffs but ya never know in this sport . Every game played by the contenders is like a mini final from here on in . Some teams will 'Win out' whilst others will stumble . The Giants last year and the Pack the year before had to win their last couple just to get in the playoffs . I wouldn't be conceding until it's mathematically impossible (it's weird how it works , I wanted Seattle to win today and now I want them to lose all their games except when they play the Niners - go figure !) . Houston and Atlanta may be able to 'Rest' their starters soon as well . As you're no doubt aware , Minnesota play the Texans in week 16 . Here's how the contenders sit after today's games ... Playoff standings

That's a huge win by the Steelers . Gets them right back into contention with Big Ben to return (when is he back?) . Seattle winning helps my blokes big time . The Seahawks still have 3 games at home to come including a big clash against the 49ers in a few weeks . The Colts are now 8-4 and playoff bound you'd reckon . Who would have predicted that at the start of the season ? Luck has really proved his worth and it's looking like a win/win with the Broncos going to 9-3 after today's victory . The Bengals picked up a must win in San Diego and that week 16 clash at Pittsburgh may well decide a wild-card spot . Edit : Just watched the press conference's of the Head Coach and QB of the Chiefs (Romeo Crennel and Brady Quinn) . Both spoke exceptionally well, given the circumstances .

Yes , agreed . It's hard to know what the NFL Commission could do without changing the very nature of the sport . Maybe if they outlawed 'Leading' with the helmet under any circumstances ? You're still going to get lots of incidental contact anyway . Of course , we don't know the exact details with the latest distressing happenings but it's safe to assume that many will believe that it's related to concussion's and depression . I feel very sorry for all concerned .

MON, DEC 3 5.00 AM New England (8-3) at Miami (5-6) OneHD 5.00 AM Seattle (6-5) at Chicago (8-3) Fox2 8.05 AM Tampa Bay (6-5) at Denver (8-3) OneHD 8.25 AM Pittsburgh (6-5) at Baltimore (9-2) Fox2 12.20 PM Philadelphia (3-8) at Dallas (5-6) OneHD & ESPN TUE, DEC 4 12.30 PM NY Giants (7-4) at Washington (5-6) ESPN For all other games ... Week 13

I wonder about the help that people can get in the States when faced with this sort of crises . We may never fully know the reasons why this latest tragedy occurred . It may be concussion related and it may not be .

Chuck Loeb and his crew with a rendition of 'Sunny' called 'Sonnymoon' . This song currently tops the Jazz charts in the States ... Macca's jazz 5.2

Now he drops a 'Soda' . It's a cruel game ...

Remarkable catch . It's been a dirty day but that was one hell of an effort from Lyon .

Johnno !

Bill Simmons weekly column can be found http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8694627/the-year-living-cautiously'>here ... Some quotes

Matchweek 15 throws up some interesting games . We have a couple of London Derby's on offer but probably the game of the round sees Manchester City host Everton . City manager Roberto Mancini has some pointed things to say about Samir Nasri in this article . For the current standings you can visit this link ... Table

We might be chasing a few in our 2nd innings Steyn right at the top of his game . Philander not far behind him . Morkel lurking . We're in allsortsa . Reverse mozz required

We will improve . Not sure we could get worse anyway so we can only improve . Of the 15 players (all up) that we've moved on, none were doing anything of any substance . 'WJ's ratings on these players in post #8 sums it up very well . The players we've brought in all have to prove themselves . Viney , Toumpas and Dawes are the key . If all 3 have some sort of impact then we will improve . A few of our other recruits may have an immediate impact as well and if this happens it's a no-brainer . Our existing players should have all 'bought in' to the new régime by now so it's all systems go . It's generally accepted now that the 2012 year was about teaching the whole group a new way of playing and the season itself was regarded by many as another 'pre-season' (in terms of getting the group up to acceptable fitness levels) . A few of our discards may do ok elsewhere but what's important is that the new régime gave all of them the chance to prove themselves (in season 2012) . These 15 players either couldn't cope or weren't up to it . We've got a reasonably kind draw so we should expect at least 8 wins . That's double last years tally and wins are generally the best measuring stick for improvement .

Creedence ... Macca's 60's 11.4

This weeks games on the tele ... FRI, NOV 30 12.20 PM New Orleans (5-6) at Atlanta (10-1) ESPN MON, DEC 3 5.00 AM New England (8-3) at Miami (5-6) OneHD 5.00 AM Seattle (6-5) at Chicago (8-3) Fox2 8.05 AM Tampa Bay (6-5) at Denver (8-3) OneHD 8.25 AM Pittsburgh (6-5) at Baltimore (9-2) Fox2 12.20 PM Philadelphia (3-8) at Dallas (5-6) OneHD & ESPN TUE, DEC 4 12.30 PM NY Giants (7-4) at Washington (5-6) ESPN For all other games ... Week 13

Neitz has been our best player since Flower . I saw both their career's and in terms of value to the team you could argue that Neitz was better . He played in a much tougher position, was arguably a better captain, made many of our forwards walk tall and 'frightened' a number of opposition backmen . His year at CHB was superb and he won All-Australian honours in 2 positions . A lot of the stuff that Neitz did is hard to measure but look at what happened to our team once he lost his influence through injury etc Yet somehow Flower is still ahead of him . Because of his sheer brilliance. As for Trengove, you cannot 'lose' 2 yards of pace from the age of 19 to age 20 (he turned 21 in September this year) He showed all the signs of having OP .

This is how I reckon the selectors will go ... Cowan Warner Watson Ponting Clarke Hussey Wade Johnson Siddle/Hilfenhaus (one misses out due to fitness and/or 'rested') Starc Lyon Johnson is in the squad which leads me to believe he will play . From all accounts he's got a bit of his mojo back and a yard of pace . Been working with DK (who is pleased with his progress) . Means we'd have 2 lefties in the side but in Perth that may well be an advantage . Hazlewood is a bit of a risk in such an important game though he is coming on and they might go with him . Would be surprised if they went with Hilfo and Siddle again . Our attack has lacked a bit variation and Starc must have been close to playing in Adelaide . I'm not making any predictions because I'm a mozz .

I see the Packers are 9 point favourites . That's way too much . Should be more like 4.5 . Reckon they're overestimating Green Bay and underestimating the Vikes . I'm a shocking tipster (esp in the NFL) but I can't see there being much between the sides in the finish . Foxtel have got the early game (5am Monday) listed as Detroit vs Green Bay but I've got a hunch it's meant to be our game . I reckon the Packers have been on the box every week bar one, (at the Colts) so I can't complain .

Yep spot on, or Wonna . The Ox is far easier to use as well . Imagine if Woewodin , Grgic and Leoncelli were still around .

I suppose most football followers know that nearly all clubs that are clearly out of finals contention will start preparing for the next season.(this has been going on long before we had the National Draft) . You can transfer that thinking to nearly every other sport except where relegation applies . So, if we can assume that the 'Investigators' know this, then they're going to be looking for stuff that hasn't been done before . And we haven't done anything that hasn't been done before . How long has this investigation been going on for ? Over 2 months ? It's my guess they can't find anything so it's 'Case closed' (sooner or later) However , I thought we'd win the Test match in Adelaide today, so as much as I'm confident of a good outcome for the club, you just never know

Yep, ditto for the Packers - never really in the game . Just a bad day at Black Rock (that's the movie, not the beachside suburb) . There wasn't any real pressure put on Eli and besides that, nothing else seemed to work . Just write it off and move forward . Those Giants stepped it up and they only needed a win like this for everyone to get the jitters . They're starting to annoy me (again) Only solace is that Seattle and Tampa Bay lost . Keeps the wild-card spots attainable for both our sides . Another huge game next week at Lambeau hey 'cfh'. Pittsburgh are now looking a bit shaky - losing to the Browns . That could be costly . The 49ers seemed to have the Saints covered from early in the 3rd quarter . Didn't get to see the whole game but Brees was sacked 5 times and the 'niners' got 2 picks for TD's . Denver are now 8-3 and are a sneaky chance to get to the 2 seed . The Ravens sure now how to win close games - they've now won 5 games by 3 points or less Here are the playoff standings after today .

They've probably got a fair bit of 'stuff' but the problem the investigators have got is that it's the same stuff that a myriad of other clubs have done before . GWS this season, for instance . They need something more substantial than the norm, and it's highly doubtful that they have got anything of any real substance . The reason many are 'sweating' is because ultimately it will be back in the Commission's hands . And they've been known to make the odd 'Poor' ruling . I'm assuming it will back in the Commission's hands before any ruling is handed down

If they had anything concrete, there's a reasonable chance it might have leaked out . The reason it's still ongoing is because they need something more concrete . And if they haven't found something substantial then what are the chances of finding something new now ? That's just my gut feeling . Could be wrong of course .

I thought this quote (below) was quite telling from Neeld . Obviously a tad sarcastic but sounded rather confident at the same time ... She's run out of stuff . That's what happens when you play "Make believe's"