The battle for the hearts, minds, and viewing time of people in New South Wales became front page news yesterday when Swans coach Paul Roos publicly announced his team would be “slaughtered” in tomorrow’s practice match, organised by the AFL, against Essendon. For the AFL, who are no doubt hoping last year’s grand final victory […]
How are ex-prime ministers and the ex-captains of international sporting teams alike? When they retire, they don’t go away. They just get louder. Perhaps the best current example is Arjuna Ranatunga, the feisty Sri Lankan who barely goes a day without exclaiming something about his beloved cricket team or their dastardly opponents, especially when those […]
Ahead of tonight’s do or die one day final between Australia and Sri Lanka, the players are doing plenty of good work off the field in an attempt to unsettle their opponents. After Australia’s crushing defeat of Sri Lanka on Sunday night, Ricky Ponting stepped immediately into spin mode, presumably to capitalise on any doubts […]
Under a plan by the Victorian Government, Australia’s major sports would get a financial reward from the gambling organisations that profit from taking bets on, for example, who is going to win the Melbourne Cup, or the winning margin in the NRL grand final. As the Sunday Agereported yesterday, Australians wager $1.6 billion annually on […]
The one day finals start in Adelaide today, but it seems South Australian cricket fans aren’t very interested. Thousands of tickets reportedly remained unsold this morning for the game. Strange, given that the traditional Australia Day match can be counted on to sell out, and the Test matches are always well attended. All this in […]
Cricket Australia have finally played their hand and it’s no secret that they want grounds filled with Aussies during the next Ashes series. No surprises there. In typically bland corporate language, designed to dull the fact that Aussies would be getting an easier run at tickets than their British counterparts, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland […]
The cost of missing out on this year’s soccer World Cup just got much higher for Turkey. After losing on away goals to Switzerland in last November’s qualifier against Switzerland, Turkish players and officials lost their cool. As both teams were leaving the field, Swiss officials were kicked, players were punched, many ending up in […]
Even the most ardent supporter of South African cricket will have trouble finding many positives in their just-finished tour of Australia. Two-nil in the Test series, but it could have been one-nil had Graeme Smith not handed Australia the final Test with an overly generous declaration. And yesterday Sri Lanka, ranked number seven in the […]
Is there a more controversial figure in world motorsport right now than Max Mosley, president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile? Probably not. He knows, like the rest of us, that a rebel Formula One season in 2008 is highly unlikely. Maybe that’s why he continues antagonising the five teams in the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ […]
Super Bowl XL (XL meaning forty, not Extra Large, though that would be an apt description) has been run and won by the Pittsburgh Steelers in what many are describing as a forgettable game of football. Forgettable for the errors and penalties and missed opportunities, but memorable because the Steelers had to create history to […]
