Diamond_Jim

Vale the Zephyr for 2017 ... may he come back and sweep all before him in 2018. In the "old" days there would perhaps be talk of putting him over the jumps but alas no longer

Interesting figures for GWS membership. It shows a membership of over 20k for 2017 but I cannot remember them attracting crowds of much more than 13k for any of their home games not to mention their 15k for the final against West Coast. Must be some arbitrage system on GF tickets at play methinks.

Interesting Dr G... I very much agree Geelong is a god case in point. Would not be surprised if they play some of their bigger games down at Karidinia Park and make it a high priced ticket affair. I suspect that they would do better with 35k ticketed game as compared to 65k at the MCG where 20k or so are MCC and AFL members

In a country that carries the death sentence for drug trafficking this has to rate as a way out means of marriage proposal: IPOH: This Christmas Eve would be unforgettable for 20-year-old administrator Yew Kar Yee after she saw the love of her life hauled away by auxiliary police personnel for the possession of an illegal substance at the Sultan Azlan Shah airport. But that is not the reason why it is particularly memorable. She was overwhelmed with relief and happiness when she learned that it was all just a staged act, planned by her sweetheart Cheung Chan Choon, 30, who popped the big question to her. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/12/24/boyfriend-arrested-for-drugs-turns-out-to-be-an-act-for-proposal/ Merry Christmas guys from the Equator

Minneapolis StPaul has a population of around 3.3 million according to Wikipedia and the stadium capacity is 67k for the 8 or so games of NFL. Many years ago I lived in Washington DC. Even then tickets to a Redskins game were impossible to obtain. People literally left their entitlements by will to family members. I managed to get to a practice game two rounds before the start of the regular season. The stadium was full even for that. In the year before I went to live in DC, Congress passed a law requiring the NFL to broadcast matches into cities where they were played if no tickets were available. This was almost 15 years or so before the AFL allowed live broadcasts of the Grand Final when they were sell outs. We are very lucky with our ability to attend games and the price while not insubstantial is low by comparison to followers overseas. I often wonder how traditional supporters of the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool ever afford to follow their teams.

Another run for the Zephyr .... fantastic news.... excuse the pun but I hope the jockey can "boot him home" for all of us !

Like the Dees "The Zephyr" will come good but I am not sure we can say he is young and inexperienced .... perhaps a run in Darwin next winter might be good for our horse

Go the Zephyr !! Pakenham Park.... remember when it was just Pakenham and a country race meeting at that. Now it's the major Saturday venue ... Melbourne is growing ... very appropriate venue for our horse given the Casey connection. Love the form guide.... "not the worst"

Have been reading with great interest the story of the Zephyr and feel that I vicariously know each leg of this horse. Any chance of a photo and good luck Zephyr !!

wonder if you can guess number 1.... a clue it's British If it was an Australian countdown I suspect number 3 would be tops

Came across this youtube compilation today entitled top UK 100 of the '70's. It features 10 second clips of each song and only goes for 15 minutes or so. Worth watching for some of the clips alone let alone the costumes PS and who are number '74 above

3 for 117 and Australia use their only two reviews ... no refreshes these days ... please don't let England win !!!

Rather important two sessions coming up. Strange decision by Smith not to enforce the follow on. The ball swinging in the evening session is nothing new and while England bowlers may not be quick they can certainly swing that ball. 354 not an easy target so hopefully we can have them 7 down for 100 at stumps tonight 3 for 150 or thereabouts could make for an interesting last day

So my opening match in good old Kazan is Australia v France... will have to take the right coloured scarf Who would have thought that when I bought my series tickets. Will pretty well decide Australia's chances... hopefully a draw or a 1-0 loss. If we repeat the German loss 4-0 a la South Africa that is almost certainly the end of our chances. Australia's second game (Denmark) is in Samara which is not far from Kazan so I might think about the logistics of trying to catch that game as well. Spain play Iran in Kazan followed by Germany v South Korea. The other game is Poland v Colombia which should be a close game. Round 16 match is most likely France v Croatia or possibly Nigeria. Should be fun. Looking at heading to Moscow for a week before going to Kazan but accommodation is seriously expensive. Wouldn't mind tripping around Kazan but so far have not managed to crack the code for independent tourism given that most web sites are in Cyrillic Russian.

Given that he is stick thin and makes Weideman look muscled I think there might be a deceptive camera angle in that shot with Hogan. Would be interested in training observers' comments

Half way through Godless the new Netflix "Western" mini series. Thought after the first few episodes that it might rival Deadwood but after episode 3 I don't think so. That being said well worth watching. Guardian gave it five stars: "Godless, Netflix’s new seven-part miniseries, opens in 1884, in Creede, Colorado, with a thick cloud of smog shrouding the camera. The haze slowly dissolves to reveal a chilling landscape: parched bodies being tended to by swarms of flies; a man, sedentary, with a gunshot through his head; a train-wreck near which a young boy hangs from a noose; and a woman, crouched over a corpse, singing mournfully about Christ. It’s a near-wordless several minutes, a triumph of mood and cinematography, that evokes the sort of rough-and-tumble anarchy of the great filmic frontiersman. Soon after, we’re in La Belle, New Mexico, where we learn who’s responsible for the massacre, and from thereon it’s guns blazing. " https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/nov/22/godless-review-netflix-wonderfully-wicked-western-fires-on-all-cylinders watch out for spoilers in the comments

Like MFC the AFL went to automatic renewals last year. Can't say it thrilled me as I stay well clear of automatic debits where I can. On a positive note one can't say you aren't warned that they are going to hit your credit card. I have had three emails over the last month telling me that the membership will be renewed. Tomorrow is the magical renewal date so we should see memberships jumping up as the club based AFL members are included in the count.

Have been watching the third season of Ballers which focuses on the pursuit of a team for Las Vegas. Some serious money in that sport but I had not appreciated how much This little snippet from the Washington Post on my Redskins. According to Forbes magazine’s 2017 valuation of sports franchises, the Redskins are worth $3.1 billion — trailing only the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and New York Giants. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and his partners bought the team in 1999 for roughly $800 million. Snyder also owns FedEx Field, which is expected to be replaced in the next decade https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/football-insider/wp/2017/11/24/redskins-call-threadbare-condition-of-fedex-field-a-non-issue/

Almost posted a two hours back that this session could well determine the Ashes but thought it a little trite. Had England scored a 100 for the loss of none or one wicket it might have been hard for Australia. Now for one of those pesky small run chases. Unfortunately for us older people we will still remember the difficulties some Australian teams have had in knocking off such totals. Some interesting views on the Ali stumping: http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21560783/twitter-reacts-moeen-close-stumping It is being suggested that the crease line was not straight !

Interesting.... had not thought of that angle USA and Italy not making it must be a huge disappointment for the TV rights owners not to mention FIFA itself. Have now got my accomodation in Kazan. A one bedroom unit with a pull out couch for the son in the living room. Apparently a 15 minute walk to the stadium which has the largest outside screen in Europe which I assume will make a good fan site for the non Kazan matches. In the scheme of things the accomodation while basic was not expensive but it was still 3-4 times what they usually charge. Looking forward to the draw next week.

wouldn't read anything into that .... he will be gone by pick 50 if not 40

The dream draw ... better still easy to get tickets

So Ange has gone..... love him or hate him his tenure must be rated a success if for no other reason than his willingness to utilise A League players. Left field .... what about the coach of either the Italians or the Dutch Not sure what to expect at this WC but even though I like the attacking style of Ange's game plan we just don't have the players to pull it off at the WC level.

Essendon reported a record profit of $5 million today. In a few years that will probably be $20 million as they "monetise" their membership base. The AFL will try to cap football department spending in theory but that money has to go somewhere and somehow I don't suspect it's going into the suburban leagues. Perhaps they could reduce the price of their reserved seats?

Forgot it was on but I did enjoy the NRL last night