By tony keen
September 6th 2009 @ 2:18am
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Qualifying Final Preview: St Kilda v Collingwood
The honours have been shared in the past four clashes between these two sides. St Kilda snapped a two-game losing streak with a solid 47-point win over bottom side Melbourne at the MCG last Sunday. The victory saw them become just the fourth club to win at least 20 games in a season since the [...]
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![We often assume media interest is a barometer of a sports’ popularity. If it’s not at the forefront of priorities for newspaper editors and newsroom producers, then it must not be important and entertaining enough to warrant sufficient media and public interest.
But that logic, in my mind, is flawed.
Rather, it’s the media that is dictating [...] Adrian Musolino: The media dictates the popularity of sports in Australia](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/lleyton-hewitt-th.jpg)
![Rain interrupting cricket is annoying, but has its advantages. During the one-dayer between Australia and the West Indies at the SCG on Friday, I had interesting chats with the ABC radio team.
“I have an idea for a book for you, Kersi,” said Jim Maxwell, tongue-in-cheek. “Why don’t you write a book on tattooed Test cricketers.”
“It [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Celebrating the ‘Bearded Ones’ in Test cricket](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/south-africa-cricket-hashim-amla-th.jpg)
![On Saturday, La Gazzetta dello Sport declared it the greatest derby in the world and the game hadn’t even happened yet. The pink sport daily had “analysed” all of Europe’s other derbies and decided none had as many titles between them, as big attendances or successful teams as the Derby Della Madonnina.
La Gazzetta’s liberal criteria [...] Davidde Corran: Is this the greatest derby in world sports?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/serie-a-th.jpg)
![While globalistation is now considered an antiquated and accepted concept of the twentieth century, it seems its effects are hitting the biggest domestic sporting leagues.
With the NBA and NFL having staged sell out matches in London, and the EPL floating the 39th game idea, sport is set to face one its biggest shake ups. [...] Adrian Musolino: Why sports should never abandon their heartland](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/never-abandon-heartland-barrichello-th.jpg)
![The cranky Brian Moore, former England hooker, now a lawyer and an excellent rabble-rousing sports columnist for The Daily Telegraph UK, has put the boot into the assistant referee Bryce Lawrence over the Schalk Burger affair. The boot has missed its proper target.
“The man that has cost the Lions dear, in not one, but both [...] Spiro Zavos: Bryce Lawrence was right on the Schalk Burger incident](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bryce-lawrence-schalk-burger-th.jpg)
![UEFA ban Eduardo for two matches for diving, Chelsea are blockaded by FIFA from making any signings until 2011 after illegally poaching Gael Kakuta, and now Manchester United will “appeal for ideas (from fans) as to how to curb (the vile chant directed at Arsene Wenger during the last round of Premier League action).”
Maybe it’s [...] Davidde Corran: Which football chants are acceptable?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/which-chants-acceptable-th.jpg)
![Twitter training might just become part of media skill development for the modern athlete, if it isn’t already. Once you get past the “I had toast for breakfast” tweets, athletes tend to open up online, and sports administrators don’t necessarily like it.
It’s different when a microphone is shoved in one’s face after sporting triumph or [...] Benjamin Conkey: Sports adminstrators Twittery about players using the Internet](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sports-admin-th.jpg)
![Word games involving cricketers have long been a juvenile pleasure for myself and a handful of mates. Whole elevens have been selected and pitted in battle.
For example, the “Ancient Professions” – Archer, Butcher, Fletcher, Ironmonger, King, Knight, Laird, Slater, Taylor, Bishop and, of course, (Halford) Hooker – continually duel against the “Modern” – such [...] Andrew Jones: The top five most Edible Cricketers](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/top-five-edible-cricketers-graham-onions-th.jpg)
![Last Friday, the Melbourne Knights announced Mark Viduka would be the team’s number one ticket holder for the new Victorian Premier League season.
In an article on the Knights’ website, the former NSL club also revealed that former Socceroo Danny Tiatto would be joining the club for two games as a guest player.
Interesting news that mostly [...] Davidde Corran: Viduka shows the way to embrace football’s roots](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ACT-government-shoots-viduka-th.jpg)
![They may have taken centre stage at Surfers Paradise by default, but it was still a significant moment for the V8 Supercars. Should they convince the Queensland government to retain the event as a V8 Supercar-only weekend, it will be another significant development for the series.
The V8 Supercar calendar has slowly transformed [...] Adrian Musolino: V8 Supercars entering their own crucial phase](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/V8-Supercars-crucial.jpg)
![It’s cold here in England and occasionally windy as well. Perfect weather for cricket. The Poms love wearing an anorak to Lords or The Oval, a thermos of tea and a cheese sandwich tucked under the arm on the Bakerloo Line or Northern Line.
When they arrive at the grounds, they can buy a plastic bucket [...] Geoff Lawson: Twenty20 has set the cricket world alight](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/twenty20-west-indies-th.jpg)
![The player drain is now without doubt the biggest concern for the A-League and all the other issues – crowd numbers, style of play and franchise development – can be traced back to this exodus. While it can never be stopped, measures can be taken, and quickly, to slow this trend.
Firstly, it is important [...] Adrian Musolino: FFA, it’s time to slow the player-drain now!](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/central-coast-mariners-player-drain-th.jpg)



