AFL Footy: Cats v Pies

Wow, did that suck. But I'll get to what happened on the pitch in a moment. Inky and I took a tram from St. Kilda up to Federation Square last night and then walked over to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). As soon as you cross the Yarra river you can see the MCG's lights all blazing down on the pitch, which served as our signal to get ready for the Footy.

The students became the teachers, as we walked with two girls from New Zealand who thought we were Expat Yankees living in Oz, and were asking us all about the game. We told them about how fast and exciting the pace of footy is, and also told them that the Cats are one of the best teams in the comp, and that they should have the Magpies for dinner. Oh well, but again, I'm rushing.

Our seats were again right behind the goals, just like the game we went to in Tasmania last week. After settling in for a moment, we used our "pass out" to go out to the area surrounding the MCG where all the food stands are. We got two burgers and split a drink and "chips" all of which only set us back $20, which was fine since the burgers were huge. We had planned on getting some meat pies, but couldn't find the stand, so we went with what was close.

Seeing a game at the MCG is amazing to say the least. I've been to Fedex Field in Landover with 100,000 other screaming Skins fans, but there is something about the shape of a Cricket Oval that makes it look 10 times bigger. The MCG holds just over 98,000 sports mad fans, but you would have thought it was twice that many. They watch the game intently, and almost seem to rise as one in approval or in scorn. Even a small perceived oversight by a ref leads to a collective murmur that sounds like a roar.

I would have loved if my first trip to "the G" had been to see a famous victory for the Cats, but it was not. Inky, decked out in her Cats scarf and I in my Geelong Hoodie sat and watched as the boys from Collingwood had their way with the defending champs. The Maggies won 20.14 (134) to 7.6 (48) a complete victory to say the least. And so it was that my team, who were 8-0 this year, and 27 for their last 28 including a championship won by well over 100 points, fell in front of my eyes.

It wasn't all bad, however. as we met some amazingly nice people. The family in front of us were all Collingwood supporters, but they we're very engaging with us and even gave Inky a Tim Tam. We talked about Footy and NFL Football, and the players that have bridged the gap, ironically one from Collingwood (Sav Rocca) and one from Geelong (Ben Graham). Even though the Cats got their assholes pushed in by one of their arch rivals I loved every moment of our time at the football last night!

Fuckin A Cotton....Fuckin A

I can't seem to stop quoting movies lately namely Old School and Dodge Ball but what else can you say to a 10-0 Orioles lead over the hated Yankees. Not only did the Birds chase long time traitor Mike Mussina after just 2/3 of an inning (Mr. Vaughan I thought you were pitching tonight. I did. Oh, I didn't turn the game on until the second inning). I was not home to see the beginning of this game but I do know that Brian Roberts had batted three times in three innings and La Marquis de centerfield is 4 -4 with 4 RBI's and the ancient Kevin Millar is 2-2 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. Daniel Cabrera is on the mound and poised to get his third straight win so things are lining up. Another juicy tidbit from this game is Derek Jeter had to leave after being hit in the left hand with a pitch. Not to wish bodily harm but I'd be happy if he missed a few weeks especially being as A-Rod is just now back and healthy. The Yankees are in the basement just behind Toronto while the birds chase the Rays and the Sox. At this point I'm still happy with a .500 season but I'd love to at least see a wild card push this season. If the Rays can keep up their momentum I'd be happy to see them win the East. After all, they are way way way over due on contributing anything worth while to Major League baseball. What is a bigger shame is that the people in the bay area could care less win or lose. All the more reason to contract or relocate....

In other news the NFL owners voted to absolve the current collective bargaining agreement effective in 2011. This also leaves open the possibility of a capless 2010 which could prove to be a real problem going forward. I know a lot of people would love to see a capless year but then what? Why would the players accept a cap in a future deal if they already played a season without one. I think we can all agree that the NFL is what it is because of parity and the salary cap helps to keep that in place. We have some years before we have to worry about it but it's something to keep in mind. Also it is being discussed to replace the 4th pre-season game with a regular season game therefore going to a 17 game season. I don't think anyone would disagree with that being as the pre-season in the NFL is pretty much a joke.

AFL Footy: Hawks v Port

I swear I didn't set it up this way, but Inky and I found ourselves in Tasmania when there was a footy game going on. Five times a year the Hawthorn Hawks become the Tassie Hawks and play home matches at York Park in Launceston. It would be like the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing at a DIII Stadium in Akron Ohio, but it is an amazing treat for Tassie footy fans.

Inky and I started our day off by each downing a Carlton Draught and then settled into our seats in the Northern Terrace. We were right behind the 4 goal posts and had a great view of the whole field. We got to watch one of the AFL's most prolific goal kickers in Buddy Franklin as he booted six 6 pointers for the match. The Power (who played in last year's Grand Final) pulled ahead early, and lead by as much as 39 points in the game. The Hawks stormed back to win 17.15(117) 15.12(102) after pulling away late in the third term.

We were also intently watching the Geelong score as they fell behind early to Richmond, but got into good form to win by 30. That means both Geelong and Hawthorn are both undefeated and careening toward a huge clash down the road. It also means that Geelong is still undefeated going in to their game on Friday at the home of Footy, the MCG. Inky and I will once again be behind the goal for that one, and I'll let you know all about it then.

This Is Sports Centre Mate?

One of the things Inky and I love about Australia is that they are sports mad here. Think of that face painting, zuba pants wearing dude you know who is way over the top, and you’ve got just about every Aussie sport supporter. So it is no surprise that they have a few different cable networks that bring them sport all day everyday. `

I was surprised find out that ESPN is one of them, however. Inky and I checked into our hotel in Tasmania to find that the US version of SportCenter was on. So I got caught up on what was going on back home, which was nice. Then upon waking up this morning I got to watch the Aussie SportCenter, which looks exactly like its US cousin.

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They have an identical set, and use all the same fonts, graphics and transition devices and most importantly the same sound. During the breaks they promo live NRL, Rugby Union, Cricket and PTI? That’s right; they have an Aussie version of Pardon the Interruption. It is kind of a surreal experience to sit in my hotel this morning (7:00 PM yesterday at home) and read about the football game that I’m going to later today, while watching New Zeeland v England cricket highlights which were then followed by Spurs vs Hornets game 6 highlights.

That settles it, there is no reason to go home now.

What The Fuck???

I have been abandoned for the month while Inky and Greazy tour Australia and possibly take a spiritual walk a bout. As I am typing this the O's are on top of the hated Red Sox 5-3 roughing up Josh Beckett for 5 earned runs in 2 and 2/3 innings. The announcer has just stated that this is the most runs and hits allowed for Beckett this season so go O's!! Lets hope they can hold on to this one. The 4 run inning was capped by a Luke Scott mammoth blast onto Eutaw St. What I liked most about this home run is not only is it off Beckett but on the big score board Old School with Will Farrell doing the Frank the Tank dance was playing. That movie is fucking classic and that scene was genius so all the better to celebrate a home run with. Another tidbit on this game is 2 of the three Sox runs are unearned so if we could play some fucking defense we'd be up even more.

Onto another sport the Ravens have started mandatory mini camps with new head coach John Harbaugh. Everyone is accounted for accept Terrell Suggs (contract dispute) and Jon Ogden (likely retirement) so things appear to be off to a good start. There was a reported incident on ESPN that there was an all team brawl on the first day after some heated words were exchanged between guys who will be bagging groceries by Labor Day. The high light of the camp was Joe Flacco completing a 50 yard TD pass to Mark Clayton who got behind the secondary. Also being reported is offensive coordinator Cam Cameron may want to go with a 3 receiver set as their primary attack which would be a big change. I'm not sure how I feel about that, I guess it will depend on who is playing QB.

That's all for now, hopefully Greazy will give us some insight as to what watching a live Aussie Rules Football game is like. I also want to know how the hell he eats the traditional meat pie without wearing half of it.

Optimism is for Suckers

Okay, I'll admit it. The Flyers may be better than I give them credit for. They managed to dispatch the number one seed Montreal Canadiens. They now move on to Pittsburgh. (which doesn't seem far, but really is) Can they win? I don't know. Will they win? I don't know. Do I want them to win? Yes. I do. I'm only human. As much as I don't want to believe, a tiny little part of me is rejoicing.

As a wise man told me this weekend about the Flyers chances: Why not? This logic may not be based on statistics, or goals against averages, or anything like that. But, let's say that the Flyers are going to win. Why? Because they might. They might just be able to pull it off. They could win. Couldn't they?

I like it. Not needing a good argument is a plus. But, it is also such an uplifting idea. Why can't the Flyers win? Why couldn't they get lucky and erase 25 years of suffering for the city of Philadelphia, and, 32 years of grief for their own franchise? They could win. It's kind of a "Yes I Can" for the cynical. It is not a definitive answer, but allows those of us who have been hurt by this team to hedge our bets. If they blow it, we can still say we knew it. But, if they win, we can say we knew it. Brilliant. All teams should try this.

So, it could happen. They could really do it. They could collapse like a house of cards on the Brady Bunch. But, they might not. Maybe this time, Marcia will take off her charm bracelet and Tiger won't run through the living room, ruining hours of hard work. It could happen. Why not?