Torah Bright on her way to winning GOLD for Australia

I wonder which hypocrites are celebrating Aussie champion Torah Bright’s Gold Medal performance in the final of the Ladies Snowboard Half Pipe at the Vancouver Winter Olympics?
 
I reckon there would be heaps of them!!
 
The average Aussie punters laughs about the relevance of the Winter Olympics and I bet they are the same people today saying how great it is that Australia has picked up it’s fourth ever Gold Medal.
 
It truly was a memorable performance by Bright. She qualified first for the final but crashed out on her first attempt trying to land a manoeuvre that would have sealed the Gold. However, the crash left her in last position after round one in the Final. Having the lowest score from round one, Bright had to lead the pack and face all the pressure in round two knowing that she only had one more opportunity to win. 
 
The pressure would have been immense but Torah Bright nailed her round two run and scored a massive 45 out of 50 which put her in the lead. Twenty-three year old Bright waited nervously for the other finalists to complete their runs before being able to claim Gold.
 
It seems Torah Bright knew exactly what was required to win at Vancouver.
 
“I knew how to do what I was about to go and do, so it was just a matter of having fun,” Bright told the Nine Network.
 
Fellow Aussie Holly Crawford finished in eighth spot in the Final in an effort not to be sneezed at.
 
To see the smile on Torah Bright’s face and on all of the Australian athletes and support staff competing at the Games should be enough to quash the hypocrites.
 
Just because they have chosen sports that aren’t necessarily popular or accessible in Australia, does not mean they aren’t champions in their own right. In fact, I believe it makes them even better than some of our Summer Olympians or traditional sporting champions because they have had to move away to follow their dreams and make it on their own.
 
Well done Torah Bright and well done to all of the other Aussie athletes competing in the Winter Games. You deserve the victory and deserve Australia’s praise!!
 
If you’re one of those hypocrites hopefully a Gold Medal for Australia is enough to shut you up!!!

Pakistan captain Shahid Afidi biting the ball

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s stand-in captain for the One Day International cricket match against Australia in Perth on Sunday 31 January 2010, has been suspended for two matches by the International Cricket Council after pleading guilty to ball tampering. He was caught biting, yes biting, the ball!!

This latest controversy involving the Pakistan team makes me wonder if they will ever give up on their less than noble tactics and just try to win a match like every other cricket playing nation.

Initially Afridi told ABC radio he was just trying to smell the ball as he thought there was something strange on it. Well I smell a rat about Afridi’s ball smelling excuse. How ridiculous!!

The suspension could not have come at a worse time for Pakistan or Afridi. The Pakistani team had picked up some real cricket fans this summer during the Test Series and One Day Internationals. They were a team of no-names when they arrived down-under. After some good cricket, the average punter actually began respecting them until their latest ball tampering episode.

Afridi won over Aussie cricket fans with his skills whilst playing for South Australia in the domestic KFC 20/20 Big Bash tournament this summer but those fans have now written him off. He has lost any ground he made.

Afridi did apologise.

“I shouldn’t have done it. It just happened. I was trying to help my bowlers and win a match, one match,” Afridi told a Pakistan news channel. ”There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball. My methods were wrong. I am embarrassed, I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it.

“I apologise to all and everyone involved in the match and to the fans around the world. This will never happen again,” he said.  

Well the apology was nice but his comments about everyone ball tampering is garbage and to say this will never happen again is also garbage. Pakistan has a long history with ball tampering. In 1992 during a test series against England, Pakistan was accused of ball tampering. However, there was no evidence of this. Pakistan legend Imran Khan sued England’s Ian Botham for slander in 1996 as a result of the 1992 accusations. In 2000, Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis was the first player to player to be suspended for ball tampering. 

And who can forget the absolute farce in 2006 when Aussie umpire Darrell Hair awarded England five runs in accordance with the rules after Pakistan team members allegedly were tampering with the ball. At the time the Pakistani team copped the five run penalty but than cracked a wobbly later in the match and would not return to the field after the tea interval. Pakistan’s captain Inzamam ul-Haq refused to let his team play on and as a result the umpires awarded England the victory. This was the first time in history that a Test Match was decided in these circumstances.

So whether Afridi is sorry and embarrased I don’t care. I only have one thing to say.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck…then it’s a duck!!

This cricket fan doesn’t believe for one second that it wont happen again.

Kevin Rudd with Pakistani players

The dedicated cricket follower would have noticed Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, getting in on the action in the Channel 9 and ABC radio commentary boxes this summer during the test matches.

He also launched the ‘Know when to declare’ advertisements aimed to quell binge drinking ths summer on Day 2 of the Melbourne test match. He got on board and helped cook the barbeque at the SCG in aid of the McGrath Foundation during the third test match.

So the question must be asked - Does Australia’s Prime Minister actually like cricket or does he like the thousands of possible votes from Aussie cricket fans?

After seeing some footage during the summer of Rudd trying to bowl to some kids, it is clear the bloke has never crossed the picket fence, let alone a backyard fence, to ever play the game. Suggesting to Shane Warne during a stint in Channel 9’s commentary box that it is his national responsibility to return to the field, in my opinion, was just a stupid comment aimed a drumming up support.

We all know former Prime Minister, John Howard, was a massive fan of the game. He would sit and focus on applauding the Aussie team, not turn a day of cricket watching into a publicity campaign.

I believe Prime Minister Rudd is just using cricket to increase his approval rating. I’m not sure how well it has worked because everyone I’ve spoken to has said what a fool he has made of himself. He’s like a kid in a candy shop around genuine Aussie sporting stars and celebrities! Do you think the invite is only extended because he is our Prime Minister? I certinaly do. 

As for knowing when to declare, perhaps he should have taken some of his own advice during his boozy incident at an American ‘gentlemen’s club’ in 2003 whilst on a taxpayer funded trip.

The only good cricketing news is that Rudd has picked Matthew Hayden to captain the Prime Minister’s XI against the West Indies in their tour match.  Next thing you know Rudd will be out fishing with Hayden and will launch his next cookbook!!

Please Kevin, give up on the cricket and focus on some real national issues….like securing the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2018 or 2022!!

Australia is bidding for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup

What could derail Australia’s chance to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup?

No it’s not that soccer isn’t our number one sport and no, it’s not that most Aussie’s laugh when soccer players take a dive!!

The two big football codes have started questioning the reality of a FIFA World Cup bid because there could be a shortage of grounds. The National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) have both raised concerns that hosting the soccer World Cup would spoil their respective seasons.

A successful FIFA World Cup bid requires stadiums and pitches to be off a certain quality and size. Although the Federal Government would kick-in for any upgrades needed if a bid was successful, the NRL and AFL are concerned that their competitions will be adversly affected as the stadiums they use wouldn’t be available.

What a joke!! Australia hasn’t even won the bid yet and our two biggest sporting codes are already whinging. There are some genuine concerns but let’s focus on winning the right to host the World Cup first. If Australia gets a tick in the box, then we can work out what to do with the regular NRL and AFL seasons.

Those codes juggled timetables for the Olympics in 2000 so why can’t they do it again??

This is going to be an interesting debate - Soccer v AFL and NRL. Not sure who will win but one thing is for sure, all Australians should be behide a bid to host a FIFA World Cup!!

I’ll be right behind the bid - supporting all the way. Are you supporting the bid?

Umpire Dickie Bird is not happy with the referral system

It is no surprise that bar-room discussions about the current Australia v West Indies test match series is focused on whether the ability to refer umpire decisions to the Third Umpire should continue.

We experienced similar commentary when rugby league introduced the video referee and tennis authorities enabled players to challenege line calls. In fact, these discussions continue today after both systems have been in use for some years.

So should it continue in the cricket? Personally I think it is too early to judge the system. Of course it will need some tweaking and perhaps a decision should wait until then.

No one doubts Australian captain Ricky Ponting stupidly used his two opportunities to refer decisions early in the West Indies second innings during the Adelaide test match. He had to suck it up when later in the innings what looked like a certain LBW dismissal was given not-out and he was unable to challenege it.

What do you think about the system? Should it stay or should it go?

England’s favourite umpire Dicky Bird is not a fan of the referral system. “I would never have brought them in,” Bird was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph Monday. “They are taking the authority away from the on-field umpires and the whole thing is causing more problems than it`s worth. In the old days, controversial decisions became talking points in the bars and clubs but everybody respected the umpire`s authority,”said Dicky Bird.

I think the use of the hawk-eye, hot-spot and ’snicko’ technology is terrific and will help get decisions correct, surely something all the players, umpires and fans want. However, I don’t think it will be popular until the players learn when to use it and when not to.

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates

The Australian sporting community is at war. A report funded by Kevin Rudd’s Government has suggested that future funding for sport in Australia should focus more on sports that have a higher participation rate and not continue to provide additional money to Olympic sports just so we can stay in the top five ranked countries on the medal tally.

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said he was “pissed off” about the Crawford Report and why wouldn’t he - he just lost a bid for an extra $100 million a year.

With only one bucket of money it is no surprise that the big hitters from the Olympic side of the house and those managing larger sports such as rugby league and AFL have been vocal to assure their balance sheet isn’t afected by any new government policy.

The independent panel that compiled the report, led by BHP Billiton director and Lend Lease and Foster’s Group chairman David Crawford, has rejected outright the Australian Olympic Committee’s plea for an additional $100 million a year to keep Australia in the top five on the Olympic medal tally.

There are good arguments from both sides of the fence as to who should get the cash but one thing that must not be forgotten during the debate is the obesity epidemic facing Australia and the decline in child and teenage participation in sport or recreation activities.

Similarly, we can not dismiss the value of national pride when we win medals and at the same time we can’t dismiss the need to increase physical activity in our youth.

So where to from here?

National peak sporting organistations are loving the Crawford Report and Olympic sports are blowing up.

 I believe the Federal Government should place the emphasis of sport funding on the following criteria:

• participation rates
• physical activity and health benefits
• ability of sport to generate national pride
• exisiting revenue structures such as sponsorship and television rights
• Olympic or Winter Olympic status

No one formula is going to please all of the different sporting bodies so maybe it’s time to sit down and work out what sports mean something to Australia and what sports we actually play. This would be a good start and may enable some sports like synchronised swimming to be cut immediately.  

However, I’m sure the debate on this issue will rattle on until someone in the Rudd Government makes a decision. Let’s hope they do a better job with our sport than their asylum seeker policies.

What’s your solution?

Tiger Woods could earn $49 000 a shot while being in Australia

Tiger Woods, the best golfer in the world, is now in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Masters and anyone would be forgiven if they thought he was a Hollywood star and not a bloke with a better than average one-wood drive.

He arrived at Essendon Airport yesterday morning on his private jet before enjoying a practice round at the Kingston Heath course that was watched by thousands of fans and media. There is no doubt Tiger’s involvement in the Australian Masters will put golf back in the newspapers and attract a new breed of followers but the average punter may be amazed that he is getting paid appearance money to be here.

I personally find it a bit ordinary that Tiger Woods is getting paid $3.25 million to be part of the Masters. Sure he attracts the crowds and of course he’s the number one ranked player but does the first sportsman to become a billionaire really need money to come to a nation where he’s never won before? Tiger Wodds’ only two events in Australia were the 1996 Australian Open at the Australian Golf Club and the 1997 Masters at Huntingdale. He won neither. I think the challenge of winning in Australia would have been enough to get him here but I guess you don’t become a billionaire by pleasing everyone.

This year Forbes released the top 400 rich list for America and Tiger Woods was there. He deserves every penny after winning 14 major titles and he has hundreds of sponsors knocking down his door. He is after all, the greatest golfer we have seen.

However, I can not get past the appearance fee. First prize at the Australian Masters is worth $270,000. Not bad if you consider there are four rounds. I’ve done some interesting sums and if Tiger Woods wins the $270,000 for finishing first and he bags the $3.25 million for coming to Australia, he will earn the tidy amount of $3.525 million. Now Tiger usually scores well under par but to be a bit conservative let’s say he scores an even par for all four rounds, that is four times the course par of 72. This means that if Tiger Woods wins the Australian Masters with an even par, he’ll earn  close to $49,000 a shot.

Looks to me like Tiger’s trip to the land down under will leave him on top and well on the way to becoming the first sportsman to be worth two billion dollars.

Mark Webber after winning the Brazillian Formula One

What a moment for Australian motor sport and for Australian sport in general!!

Mark Webber won his second Formula One race in Brazil and in the process secured fourth spot in the championship. Casey Stoner won the Australian Motor GP at Phillip Island.  

This sports fan can’t remember any other time in history when Aussies have been winners at the same time in the premier motor sports events in the world.

Red Bull’s Webber was first to see the chequered flag in Brazil after a superb pit stop that allowed him to enter the track in front of the BMW and McLaren drivers. In claiming victory, Webber praised his team.

”It’s been a fantastic day for the team to win again. We’ve had quite a few victories this year off the back of some tough seasons at Red Bull,” Webber said.

”Obviously we weren’t good enough over the whole season to win any championships, but we’ve done ourselves very proud as a team.”

At Australia’s motorcycling mecca, Phillip Island, Casey Stoner was too quick for world champion Valentino Rossi and lead from start to finish to win his third straight Australian Grand Prix.

Twenty-four year old Stoner had been battling an illness in recent times and his victory is testament to the courage and skill of one of Australia’s best performing sportsman.

Both Mark Webber and Casey Stoner should be given the praise and support from the Australian sporting community. Winning in two truly world wide sports is phenomenal and a massive achievement.

Good work lads!!  

Casey Stoner winner of the Australian Grand Prix

South's Coach Jason Taylor has been sacked. Was it fair?

Jason Taylor, one of the greatest goal kickers in rugby league history, has been given the boot from his coaching role after an incident at South Sydney’s end of season function.  Former first grade coach John Lang has been appointed to take over in 2010.

Rumours all week suggested the first grade coach was on his way out after he was involved in an alleged punch up with David Fa’alogo at Forrester’s Hotel in Sydney on 6 September 2009. Some insiders believe the South Sydney Board may have used this incident as an opportunity to get rid of Taylor from their payroll rather than the incident being so serious it warranted him being sacking.

NRL chief David Gallop, South Sydney power duo Shane Richardson and Nick Pappas flew to Coffs Harbour on Wednesday night to meet with South’s owner Russel Crowe. At this point, no decision had been made on Taylor’s future by the club and this was confirmed in a statement by South Sydney.

However, an overnight stay on the Coffs Harbour farm and further deliberations by the South Sydney Board today led to the sacking.

Jason Taylor who still had one year left on his contract issued a statement today and promised to clear his name.

“I refer to the much publicised incident involving me and David Fa’alogo at Forrester’s Hotel on 6 September 2009,” Taylor said.

“My attendance at Forrester’s was expressly approved by the club. I was never told I should not attend and no time restrictions were ever put on my attendance. I drank responsibly at Forrester’s. I was not intoxicated. I have three independent witness statements from Forrester’s bar and security staff that confirm this.

Taylor continued.

“Along with players (including David Fa’alogo), I engaged in pretend, light-weight, kung-fu play. David was a willing participant in the play encounter that directly preceded the incident. My actions at Forrester’s and since have not brought the Club into disrepute and I did not breach my contract of employment or any code of conduct. I deeply regret the impact that this has brought to my family, the players, the members and the Club.”

It looks like this fight is far from over.

“I believe that I have been treated unfairly by the Club, I will be taking the matter further and doing all I can to defend my honour and clear my good name,” Taylor said.

In my opinion Jason Taylor is one of the most respected men in the game. Surely if Taylor’s description of the incident is true, no contracts should have been torn up. 

I hope the South Sydney Board know what they’re doing or it may well be their contracts being torn up.

Opals after beating New Zealand and securing a spot in the 2010 World Championships

Just when I thought the dominance of Australia on the world sporting stage was over, some of our lesser known champions are flying the flag and doing us all proud.

We lost the Ashes in pathetic style, we lost the Bledisloe Cup again and we can’t win a rugby game against South Africa. New Zealand has smashed the Kangaroos in the rugby league and this sporting nut nearly lost all hope.

That was until Mark Webber won his first grand prix this year and our athletes returned the best result of any Australian team at the World Athletic Championships in Berlin in late August. The Aussies won a gold in the pole vault thanks to Steve Hooker’s amazing talent.  Newcomer Dani Samuels won gold in discus and Mitchell Watt leaped into third place to snare bronze in the long jump. The Australian mens 4 x 400m relay team also picked up a bronze medal which was a huge result and left Australia in tenth position on the medal tally.

 To add to this, the Australian womens basketball team, the Opals, smashed New Zealand 97-57 tonight to secure a spot at next year’s FIBA World Championships to be held in Czech Republic. The world number three ranked Opals beat the Tall Ferns to finish first in the Oceania Championships.

It might be time to give up on the cricket, union and rugby league and start following some of our other Aussie champs. Who’s joing me?