When Bart’s filly swooped down that long Flemington straight to claim the Group One fillies’ prize, no wonder the Oaks Day crowd stood and cheered, writes TP Maher: They’d taken the poisonous short odds quoted by those legalised vampires in the betting ring and they were happy.
Life / Sport
Classic Crikey presser: Tasmanians unite to free Jason Krejza
Is this Crikey’s funniest ever press release? Join Concerned Tasmanians for Jason Krejza (CT4JK), a lobby group aimed at getting Tassie spin bowler Jason Krejza selected for the Aussie side.
PHOTO GALLERY: The drunks, the bogans and the freaks of the Melbourne Cup
It’s the inevitable photo gallery after every Melbourne Cup, rubbish everywhere, passed out sunburnt men and drunken girls being carried by friends. Australians are a classy lot.
The Melbourne Cup: just a drunken school formal for grown ups
Bob Dumpling lets loose on the Melbourne Cup and the mess that happens on the other side of the track. No horses involved, just drunk D grade celebrities and fake charities funding the TAB. Time to grow up Australia.
Video of the Day: The 1896 Melbourne Cup
Footage from the 1896 Melbourne Cup: slightly fewer drunken women throwing up champagne all over their frocks, but pretty much the same as it is over 100 years later.
The powerful myth of the Melbourne Cup
Yep, get all the clichés out, today is the race that stops a nation, the sport of kings. But the Melbourne Cup is also a strong example of the distinct Australian social classes, from the supermodels in the birdcage to the country horse lovers.
Nine’s cricket team: all out except Slats
As the cricket season eases into its being, it’s time to reflect on the Channel Nine commentary (read pensioners) team, most of whom are well beyond their use-by dates, mulls Michael Vaughan.
My tips for tomorrow: don’t drink and don’t bet
Getting ready for tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup? Then don’t follow TP Maher’s example, as he reflects on the drinking, gambling and also the horses from Saturday’s Derby Day.
Andrew Agassi: no more heroes anymore?
Five-times Grand Slam champ Andre Agassi’s new autobiography is getting lots of attention for all the wrong reasons, with revelations he used crystal meth, took speed before matches, and his ’90s mullet was a fake. Neil Walker laments another sporting hero’s fall from grace.
PHOTO GALLERY: The secret view of surfers: inside the wave
Just in case you were underestimating the power of the ocean, here’s an incredible collection of photos taken by surfers, some taken from inside breaking waves, others underwater after surfers have wiped out. Surfs up!
Alexander McCall Smith on his love and addiction to bridge
Bridge, that card game played by grandmothers everywhere, is a “quintessentially bourgeois game”, writes author and player Alexander McCall Smith. It’s intellectual, addictive and its players are fiercely devoted.
Football codes bury hatchet to defend alcohol sponsorship
Football codes are uniting against a Health Task Force recommendation that would see advertising during live sport broadcasts phased out during high adolescent/child viewing times and the end of alcohol sponsorship of sport, writes Simon Chapman.
Ah, sweet mystery of life found at Cox Plate
The W S Cox Plate has been running at Moonee Valley since 1922 and is billed as “the greatest two minutes in sport”. But this year’s version took your breath away more than all the knee-tremblers you could possibly fit into 124 seconds in a month of Sundays, recounts TP Maher.
Carey and Cousins may be buffoons but don’t be too quick to judge
The behaviour of sporting bad boys has pulled apart by all manner of social commentators in the last few years, some thought-provoking, others laughably simplistic. Just examine Ben Cousins and Wayne Carey.
Albo gives Howard’s NRL dreams the boot
The SMH reveals how Labor MP Anthony Albanese played a key role in scrapping plans to give former PM John Howard a senior position administering the NRL.
NSW Blues bat their way to a million-dollar pay-day
The NSW Blues are set to leave India’s Champions League Twenty20 competition with at $US1.3 million — and a potential $US2.5 million if they can take out the series. Howzat?!
UFC Australia vs. The Moral Minority
Next year, the UFC — the world’s largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion — is coming to Australia. Prepare yourselves for an onslaught of fist waving and moral indignation from the mainstream media, says Ruth Brown.
Family ties: the curse of sports fans
Last week, Neil Walker did something far worse to his four-year-old son than hitting him with a wooden spoon: he took him to his first football match.
CC tips: I like the Pricer and the wog horse. Turf accountant fancies Vigor
If the new breed of online celebrity bookies had read Runyon, they might not have turned Irish Lights out to 5/2 on Wednesday for Australia’s premiere mile race for fillies, TP Maher.
How playing poker made Obama powerful
Poker has long been a game for every race, sex and political persuasion, with many US presidents being poker fans. How is poker so intrinsically linked with power in US society?
Dwarf jockey fights Midget Cup criticisms: “Not tacky!”
One of the actors in the middle of the ‘Midget Cup’ scandal at Cranbourne Cup has come out against criticism of his work. ” I was hired as an actor to professionally act”, writes Jeremy Hallam.
Sheer, unadulterated Starspangled pleasure at Caulfield
Flexi boxed winnings were reclaimed by the turf accountant on an otherwise splendid day of horse racing at Caulfield racetrack, writes TP Maher.
Hard tracks, soft options and the Maxsted great scheme of things
Irish trainer Dermot Weld says he’s not bringing Profound Beauty to Australia. TP Maher will keep his money in his pocket.
