By Valkerie Baynes
September 19th 2009 @ 4:24am
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Aussies poised for 7-0 sweep against England
Australia’s cricketers head to Durham with an historic 7-0 whitewash of their one-day series against England firmly within their grasp.
No team has ever swept a seven-match series, but Tim Paine, the stand-in wicketkeeper-batsman whose maiden international century led Australia to a 111-run victory and a 6-0 lead at Trent Bridge on Thursday, says the word [...]
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![If you can’t beat them, join them. So let’s have a Rugby Union Queensland Vs NSW State of Origin series. The notion was floated by John Connolly in his review of the upcoming Super 14 Waratahs-Reds match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
My original reaction that that Connolly was an old Queensland warhorse who was missing the [...] Spiro Zavos: Let’s have a Rugby Union State of Origin](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/union-state-of-origin-beale-horwill-th.jpg)
![Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick had every right to criticise Football Federation Australia and the Asian Football Confederation over the AFC Champions League fixture list.
For a tournament that is supposed to represent the cream of Asian football, neither organisation has acted in the best interests of the game when it comes to the scheduling of [...] Mike Tuckerman: Stubborn AFC are hindering the Champions League](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/victory-acl-ernie-merrick-th.jpg)
![The Wall Street Journal has called Josh Martin, an eleven year-old with a “butter-smooth swing” that he can repeat exactly every stroke, “the best golfer in the world at his age.”
This summer young Martiin, a fair-haired, skinny kid, is averaging 69.9 strokes every round he plays at the tough Pinehurst course, which is 5,614 [...] Spiro Zavos: Tiger Woods’ successor is just 11 years-old](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/tiger-th.jpg)
![The prognosis about the death of Test cricket is exaggerated and premature. But the passion for a five-day game is losing its spectator appeal in competition with the shorter three or eight hour versions.
Still, The Ashes draws big crowds and so do Test series’ involving Australia, India and South Africa. It’s the way tours [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: From can’t wait to ho-hum: is Test cricket dying?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/from-cant-wait-test-cricket-dying-th.jpg)
![Expect a steady stream of positive news stories to come out of the A-League this season. There’s a real buzz about the competition, which kicks off in less than a month.
No where is that more the case than in the west, where Perth Glory are banking on some high-profile signings to return them to [...] Mike Tuckerman: Rejuvenated Perth Glory great for the A-League](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/rejuvenated-perth-glory-rukavytsya-th.jpg)
![If there’s one thing which characterizes Australian rugby at the moment, it’s frustration. Just about everyone you speak to is frustrated and angry, frustrated and worried, or just frustrated and sad.
After fourteen years of professionalism, rugby lovers outside the professional sphere are feeling their game slip away from them.
Where once they felt a part of [...] Andrew Logan: It’s time for the launch of Rugby Australia](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/next-five-things-john-oneill-th.jpg)
![ANZ Stadium is draining the lifeblood out of rugby league one game at a time.
There cannot be a worse venue to watch rugby league and in some perverse form of torture fans are being forced to turn up to the godless place with greater and greater frequency. To be precise it is 34 times [...] Steve Kaless: ANZ Stadium: The temple without a soul](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hazem-el-masri-th.jpg)
![Has FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed what we all should have expected? In a press conference in Madrid, Blatter has given his strongest hint yet that the World Cup is destined for a return to Europe in 2018, which would leave Australia with only 2022 as a possibility.
“From what I’ve discussed with the president of [...] Adrian Musolino: Europe set for 2018 World Cup, Australia eyes 2022](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/players-no-benefit-doubt-sepp-blatter-th.jpg)
![AFL boss Andrew Demetriou last week floated the possibility of a 24-round season, an expanded finals series and the continuation of the NAB Cup once Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney enter the league.
Whilst the notion of the home and away season expanding to 24 rounds is nothing new, and seems fair enough considering the [...] Michael DiFabrizio: The AFL must think before tinkering with season](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/afl-demetriou-rudd-th.jpg)
![It’s a hard life being a die-hard fan. The disappointments far outweigh the triumphs, even though any fan will tell you on the day of victory that it was all worth it. Still, it all got too much for one Hawthorn fan on Saturday night.
Perhaps with the final hopes of a Hawk dynasty disappearing [...] Paddy Higgs: Despite fan’s frustration, Mitchell’s attitude refreshing](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/despite-fan-frustration-sam-mitchell-th.jpg)
![Luca Badoer has become the laughing stock of Formula 1, through no fault of his own. Languishing at the bottom of the timesheets having replaced the injured Felipe Massa, what more were we to expect from a driver who has been out of racing for a decade?
The fault is with Ferrari and their haphazard decision [...] Adrian Musolino: Ferrari pays the price for their arrogance](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ferrari-pays-price-th.jpg)
![Make no mistake, we are currently witnessing one of the most intriguing and wide-reaching expansion phases in the history of Australian sport with codes venturing into uncharted waters like never before.
In the last week alone we’ve seen:
- The AFL’s Gold Coast FC launching their inaugural membership drive.
- An AFL NAB Cup match being held in [...] Adrian Musolino: Where will the codes look to next for further expansion?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sheedy-gws-th.jpg)



