The Corner Post

Let's make it a race that truly stops the nation.

2008-11-05T17:00:00.003+11:00

Video courtesy of Channel 7 and noteatpig2getha

It’s not often that we talk politics here at the Corner Post, but when there’s an issue to be had in sport we will go after it, so here we go. It’s time for Australia to make the Melbourne Cup a national holiday.

And I’m not the only one with this conviction. It seems quite a few people out there agree that it is finally time to take the plunge and give everyone a day off work on the first Tuesday in November. Forget about the millions in lost revenue, people are blowing all their money on the race anyway so what does it matter!

I love the fact that Melbourne is the only place in the world to get a public holiday for a horse race. It’s so wonderfully Australian, the notion of giving work the flick to dress up, drink up and have a punt on the gallops. It’s what this country is all about.

But why should Melbourne have all the fun? After all, isn’t it supposed to be the race that stops the nation?

Come on Mr Rudd, next year give us all the day off.

Some young fillies enjoy Melbourne Cup festivities.
Photo courtesy smh.com.au

For cricket purists, the real test is yet to come

2008-11-04T18:55:00.003+11:00

Night Test Matches? It could happen if Cricket Australia gets its way.
Image courtesy of Google Images

So what’s going on with the crowds over in India? During the second test in Mohali especially, it looked as if the stadium was less than a quarter full. We have a population of 1.1 billion in a supposedly ‘cricket mad’ country. Their beloved superstars are taking on the top team in the world in one of the most anticipated tours on the calendar, but no one turns up to watch.

One explanation I have heard it that it’s simply too expensive for the average Indian to get to the cricket, with the price of admission equaling an entire day’s wage. Fair enough. But how then do you explain the massive crowds that the IPL 20/20 tournament had earlier this year? During the IPL we were saturated with more than fifty consecutive days of cricket, and the stadiums were full almost every day.

So this begs the question, why will Indians (arguably the most passionate supporters of cricket in the world), turn up for a relatively meaningless 20/20 tournament, but shun one of their country’s most significant test series?

Has the gloss worn off test cricket? Well it certainly is hard to compete with the glitz and glamour of 20/20, not too mention the obscene amounts of money being thrown around in the shorter forms of the game. But I for one think it would be a disaster if test cricket is ever removed from its mantle as the premier form of the game.

But how do we keep it relevant and exciting, especially as it faces stiff competition from the cashed up 20/20 tournaments? I have come up with a couple of ideas that could put the interest back in test cricket.

1) Night Test Matches
This idea is already being floated by Cricket Australia, and I think it has some merit. Same game but put it under lights. It would certainly create a unique atmosphere and some more interest from the general public. I can also see some decent crowns turning up, as people can attend after work. It’s important to keep the day matches going as well, but let’s throw some night ones in there for a bit of balance.

2) Test Match World Championship
I think a lot of interest would be generated in test cricket if the ICC conceived a test ‘world championship’ or something similar. Whenever you play a test match, the points go towards the world championship table (similar to what the current ICC rankings are, but with actual significance). Over a period of 2 or 3 years everyone plays each other once and you crown the Test Match World Champion.

That’s just two of my ideas. I don’t think we need to do anything drastic to change test cricket, just something to spice it up and make it exciting again. What do you think?

End of an era? Or end of common sense?

2008-11-03T16:59:00.005+11:00

A bit of confrontation between Simon Katich and Guatam Ghambir. We love this sort of stuff here at the Corner Post!
Image courtesy of Google Images.

Now on the field I have been loving the series against India. I think so far it’s been a hard fought tussle between two passionate nations. Truly what test cricket is all about.

What I haven’t been loving however is the coverage off the field. Am I the only one sick to death of reading about how ‘the Australian period of dominance is over’ and how this is the ‘end of an era’? It seems a race by the journos (led by Peter Roebuck) to jump on the bandwagon and officially proclaim the end of Australian cricketing success as we know it!

But let me get this straight, four years ago we won a test series in India for the first time in decades. It was hailed as the ‘final frontier’, and one of the side’s greatest accomplishments. Now all of a sudden we lose ONE test match against the same side, in the same country, and the empire is crashing to the ground?

I’m sorry, but let’s call a spade a spade. I agree that Australia may not be streets ahead of the competition as they have been in the past, but to forecast the end of an era because we lose one test match on the hardest tour of our schedule is a bit premature isn’t it?

And before Roebuck and Co get too excited about the Indians, let’s not forget they are in a very similar position to where Australia were a few years ago. They have a number of senior players coming to the end of their careers. In fact, nearly half their team is nearing retirement. Names like Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble will not be easily replaced. Take those names out of the equation and suddenly the Indian order doesn’t look so formidable, even on the flat, lifeless Indian wickets.

Not to take anything away from the Indian side. They currently sport a well-balanced and winning team. But success in sport is fleeting, especially when you have the nation’s media breathing down your neck.

So before we pronounce a new world order let’s just be a little cautious. Sport is full of swings and roundabouts. India might well claim the Border-Gavaskar trophy, and it will be a well deserved win. But please, spare me and the rest of the Australian public the dramatic hyperbole.

Time to get tough on soccer cheats

2008-10-23T17:02:00.002+11:00

If you haven’t seen the video of Adrian Trinidad’s dive in the A-League on the weekend, here it is. If you have already seen it then watch it again, because it’s pretty unbelievable that we are allowing this to go on in our national competition.

What a goose!

Now I’m sorry, but this is send off was simply a joke. Trinidad should have been the one given his matching orders for acting the fool. If there’s one thing I think all soccer fans agree on, it’s that we they hate diving. It shouldn’t be a part of the game and the sooner we get rid of it the better.

Understandably, Sydney FC coach John Kosmina was unhappy with the incident.

He has since called for diving, or ‘simulation’ as soccer types seem insistent on calling it, to be more heavily policed and punished in the A-League, and I reckon he’s got it spot on.

Perhaps the biggest problem with diving is that in can be difficult to pick up when watching the game live. That’s why I believe the A-League should be using a match review committee to be looking more closely at these incidents and punishing the offenders. Make an example of someone. It’s the only way.

Now I’m not the only one blowing up about this. Wally the Fly has written a good article about the incident. I reckon he’s spot on. Diving, simulation, whatever you want to call it, its cheating and it has to go.

In my opinion there is no way Fyfe should have copped a suspension for tapping Trinidad on the head. This type of theatrics may be acceptable in Europe, but we are a far more hardened bunch here in Australia. We like our sports hard and rough. League, Union and AFL are three of the most physical sports in the world. In a game of rugby if you got suspended every time you tapped a bloke on the head we wouldn’t have any players left!

Hence if soccer is ever going to truly break into the mainstream, and win the hearts and minds of us Aussies, they need to eliminate this type of rubbish and do it quick smart.

Check a few of these out. This is deadest one of the funniest videos I have ever seen and demonstrates exactly why diving is the biggest blight on ‘the world game’.

Time to take a piece of history

2008-10-01T23:04:00.002+10:00

So it’s Grand Final time and yet again we have two teams that everybody loves to hate. The whingers from south of the border versus the silvertails from the Northern Beaches. But what Melbourne and Manly lack in likeability, they have made up for in their sheer brilliance throughout the year, and not to mention a fierce rivalry that should make for an absolute cracker of a decider.

This year’s rematch is filled with plenty of intriguing subplots and snippets of history, befitting of rugby league’s centenary decider. Melbourne has a chance to achieve a true rarity in the today’s game by claiming back-to-back premierships. In this modern era of salary caps and European rugby, keeping a star team together for more than a couple of years is a near impossibility. What this has taught us is that any great side, no matter how talented, only ever has a small window of opportunity to mark their place in history. And one need only to look at previous seasons to see just how difficult consecutive premierships can be.

In the early part of this decade the Roosters sat atop the NRL table for several years. side. However despite making three consecutive Grand Final’s from 2002-2004, they were unable to achieve back-to-back success, finishing 2003 and 2004 with disappointment.

Similarly in the mid-nineties Manly was the dominant side in the competition, and despite entering three consecutive Grand Final’s as favourites, they only have one premiership to show for their era of success.

In fact if we don’t count the split competition in 1997, in order find back-to-back premiers one has to go back as far as 1993, to when Brisbane defeated St George in the decider.

And then we come to Melbourne. Few would argue that the Storm has been the most consistent side in the competition for the past three years. They took out last year’s decider with ease and were robbed at the eleventh hour by Brisbane the year before. However with the rest of the league closing the gap, and with several key players including Israel Folau and Mick Crocker set to leave the club at the end of this year, Melbourne’s glory days could be coming to an end. But they have one last chance to make history on Sunday, by becoming only the second team in the past 20 years to successfully defend their title. It would certainly be quite a legacy, and would ensure the Storm are remembered as the dominant team of this decade.

Manly on the other hand have their own piece of history to contend with. The adage that you must lost a grand final before you win one seemed to be confirmed by Melbourne last year. The question now is whether Manly can overcome the big game pressure, and indeed the favourites tag, to claim their first title since 1996. The timing seems right for the Sea Eagles. They won it in ’87 and again in ’96. Now in ’08 they are at their peak again. I don’t think they will ever get a better opportunity to win the premiership.

So there you have it. Both sides have it all to play for. Both are looking to to etch their names into the history books. Will Cameron Smith and the Storm have the last laugh? Can the Eagles send Beaver out a winner? Can Orford silence his critics once and for all? The possibilities are endless but one thing I am sure of, it is going to be an historic 80 minutes.

PS:
For those of you that, like me, enjoy basking in the misery of Manly fans, here’s a reminder of what happened the last time Manly entered a Grand Final as favourites. Enjoy the game on Sunday.

Sorry Craig, but Smith had to go

2008-09-28T22:10:00.002+10:00

A week on and the league world still can’t stop talking about the Cameron Smith suspension. What I have found particularly interesting is the arguments we have heard in the past couple of days, in particular Craig Bellamy claiming that Cameron Smith’s suspension was influenced by the media and by bookmakers.

I disagree.

I think Cameron Smith was suspended because he clearly made unnecessary and prolonged contact with the head and throat of Sam Thaiday. He broke the rules. The tackle was extremely dangerous and both Cameron Smith and his teammate Jeremy Smith had a part to play in it.

And let’s not lose sight of the fact that the only reason Smith will miss the grand final this week is because he is a repeat offender. If it wasn’t for the carry over points from his round one grapple tackle charge, he would have only copped a one week ban and would be back in action for the decider.

So to say that Smith was singled out unfairly is a real stretch. In both the round one incident and the Sam Thaiday tackle a week ago, Smith was in clear breach of the rules and he was punished accordingly.

Let’s also not forget that this is not an isolated incident. The Melbourne Storm, led by Cameron Smith have been the pioneers of wrestling techniques in our game. Craig Bellamy’s side would not have had the same success over the past three years had it not been for their mastery of the wrestle, and many would argue, their use of the grapple.

However whilst the NRL got it right with Cameron Smith, I think they have been getting it wrong for a long time now. Too many grapple incidents have gone unpunished this year and in season’s past. So let’s hope that this incident is the catalyst for change and that the NRL becomes more consistent in stamping out the technique from our game. I think there is nothing NRL fans would like more than to be able to sit back in the week leading up to the 2009 grand final and reflect grapple tackles as a thing of the past.

On another note, Craig Bellamy surely needs to take a step back and assess exactly what has transpired over the past week. His comments after Friday night’s game bordered on ludicrous. To suggest, even by implication that the NRL judiciary is influenced by betting markets not only smacks of sour grapes, but is in fact defamatory. Possibly the reason bookmakers were offering such short odds on a guilty finding was because it was clear as day to any observer that Cam Smith had made unnecessary contact with the head of Sam Thaiday. I don’t think Bellamy is doing himself or his team any favours with the ‘us against the world’ mentality that the Storm seems adamant on employing. Is it a shame that the Melbourne captain will miss the decider? Of course it is. Did the judiciary have any choice but to find Smith guilty? I don’t think so.

Blog Reviews

2008-09-24T13:45:00.002+10:00

Here are a few sports blogs that I checked out...

The Rant
http://blogs.foxsports.com.au/league/index.php/foxsports/index/a310

The Rant is a rugby league blog by Fox Sports commentator Warren Smith. I enjoy reading this blog because it touches on the big issues that affect rugby league and Smith is not afraid to give strong opinions. Most of the time I think Smith is spot on, and even if people don’t agree with what he is saying, the important thing is that he’s putting it out there. From a reader’s point of view, I think this blog works because it adopts a fan perspective on big issues and it is quite frank and to the point.
The blog does however lack in multimedia content, with no links to pictures or videos. It would also be nice if what made easier to find from the Fox Sports homepage, as it seems hidden away at the moment.
Also, Smith seems to have stopped updating the blog recently, which is a real shame since there is some great stuff on there and finals time is prime opportunity for discussing all things footy.

Green and Gold Rugby
http://greenandgoldrugby.blogspot.com/

Green and Gold Rugby is a fan blog dedicated to discussing all things about the Australian Wallabies. This blog has a more news feel to it (as opposed to opinion), as it attempts to stay on top of all things related to the team, for instance updates on team selections, results etc.
One noticeable thing about this blog is that the author has done a great job keeping it up to date. There are regular posts every couple of days and the blog acts as a complete guide to what the Wallabies are up to at the moment.
The blog also boasts some great multimedia content. There are video highlights from games and these are usually accompanied by some insightful comments from the author. Overall the blog is really easy to navigate and a must read for any rugby fan.

Cricket 24x7 – All the cricket
http://www.cricket24x7.blogspot.com/

This is another fan blog, this time dedicated to all things cricket. Whilst most of the content in the blog is dedicated to news about the Australian cricket team, the blog does not seem to be as ‘one-eyed’ as a lot of other fan blogs, and it attempts to provide a snapshot of everything that is happening in the cricketing world.
This blog seems to combine a news and opinion approach. The author takes current issues and gives quite strong opinions on them.
The blog is certainly an interesting read, and the author provides some insightful thoughts.The layout of the blog is quite easy to follow however it would benefit from more multimedia content, as some videos and pictures would do well to break up the text.