pantaloons

I wore my Melbourne underpants today hoping this would bring about Roos' signing. Do not make me wear them every day until next Tuesday Mr Roos!

And then Roos can delist a few of them.

I believe we went to some zany points scoring system last season that rewarded players who played in most games, as opposed to giving out votes to only a handful of players a game. With a normal scoring system, I'd say Jones by the length of Paul Roos' MFC contract broken down into 5c coins and lined up along Brunton Ave.

10. Have you guys seen how expensive finals tickets are these days? It isn't 2006 anymore! 11. I will discover that I haven't actually mellowed and matured as a person due to civilised behaviour at the football since 2007, as Melbourne has not played a meaningful game since 2006 and I've had no reason to lose the plot. 12. We will see fewer exciting goals (from the opposition).

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/critics-question-roos-15m-deal-20130831-2sxr2.html

I really like the weighting system. At least it looks fair and it's there in writing any time someone wants to have a cry about the fairness of the draw. The increase in byes is lame for supporters but was really inevitable with the amount of pushing for it.

I have been conditioned over many years with this club to expect the most painful outcome possible. I'm going to stick my head in the sand until he's signed. Please let it happen.

I would trade one million dollars for one and a half million dollars, but I wouldn't trade one dollar for fifty cents. How can I say whether I'd trade Jack Watts if I don't know what I'd trade him for? Every player in the AFL is tradeable for the right price, some just would require so much in return that clubs wouldn't do it. If we were offered a good enough deal for Watts then I'd do it, but any talk of accepting pick 15 or worse, given our suicidal drafting record, is madness. If we can trade him, possibly packaged with a pick depending on the player, for a very good young midfielder in the Swallow/Sloane/Adams sphere, then I'm all for it. Any avenues to help significantly improve the midfield without damaging the key position core of Frawley/Garland/McDonald-Clark/Hogan/Dawes should be rigorously explored.

You're right. It was the first rounder in 1999 and our second and third rounders in 2000.

I think anyone who wants to whinge is just that - a whinger. In seven seasons, we have won 34 games. In that time, we have had ONE first round priority pick. One, and the #1 pick that year bolted two years later. We should have been given pick 1 in return, but as it was, the only reason our compensation was so good was that we went unexpectedly down the toilet, helped in part by losing a midfielder we had just invested pick 1 on.

If he's half as good as the other President Bartlet I'll be happy.

I'm happy with the AFL scrapping priority picks once and for all, but if they're still going to be handing them out then we should be at the front of the queue this year.

Except that of those eight coaches, there are a few multiple flags at their second clubs. Malthouse - 3 (2 at his second, 1 at his third), Matthews 3, Barassi 4, Jeans 3, Hughes 4, Worral 5, bentley 2, parkin 3. So those 8 coaches, once they had finished their first coaching gig, ended up with a total of 27 VFL/AFL premierships at their second or third clubs. That's 23.3% of all premierships won by a coach not in his first senior coaching appointment. Everyone feel better?

Thanks. I'll happily take your word for it. So if the AFL doesn't have to follow the penalty guidelines of WADA/ASADA, why are people assuming it is out of the league's hands? Sorry to drag the debate back to stage 1.

I find it staggering that the AFL is in a position where sanctions can be handed down to its own clubs and players by an external force other than the police. I haven't read up on all of this stuff because quite frankly it bores the tripe out of me, but surely it was possible for the league to carry out its own drug testing in a credible manner while maintaining control over rules and penalties around the use of PEDs. It's obviously not essential for a sporting league to sign up for this as no major US league has adopted all of WADA's recommendations. Clearly PED-related offenses should be punished, but for the AFL to have lost control over this situation is scary.

You don't think Roos is competitive enough? Played more games than most players in history and broke the longest premiership drought in league history as coach. So we're probably not going to agree on this. He's certainly not the certifiable nut job Blight is so don't worry that he will completely lose the plot and flake out on us. Williams is my next preference, so I'm fine with that. Craig on the other hand - no way.

There needs to be a message pinned at the top of every whiny article about Melbourne getting a supposed free ride that says "You cannot be too crap to receive a priority pick".

It may have been mentioned amongst the 14,000 Paul Roos posts, but Leigh Matthews turned down the Brisbane job several times before he finally relented. Turned out ok.

We're safe on that front. As if Melbourne supporters would go to Etihad.

Spencil. Barely moving while his opponent lunges head first at his crotch. I sound like a broken record when I talk about this stuff but I've never understood the weird obsession in the AFL community with suspensions. We give out suspensions with idiotic regularity.

Don't even try to use logic when discussing the clash jumper. There's absolutely no doubt that the 80s royal blue guernsey solves any clash issues but good luck trying to convince anyone at the AFL.

Embarrassing for the competition that this could result in a suspension. Just makes me care even less.

Another OT classic today ties the series at 1-1. Great stuff. I headed along to the USA v Canada exhibition game at Hisense last night. While there were only a handful of current NHL players and the quality of play was nothing like NHL standard, it was a good night out. Nice to see so many hockey jerseys in the one place in Melbourne!

He actually played in our last important game.

I'll go Blackhawks in 6. After a dominant regular season they were pretty unimpressive in the playoffs until the conference finals, but I think they're the best team. If they win, the Conn Smythe will be very interesting. Crawford hasn't been as good this playoffs as Quick or Niemi (not that you give the award to a team that doesn't make the finals, just pointing it out), and Kane and Toews were mocked through the first two rounds for invisibility.