The Roar
The Roar

Alexander Grant

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Joined July 2012

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He’s not quite getting the variation and turn that Swann is, but that’s only to be expected. Keeping the runs down a bit more compared to the first innings and bowling a little neater.

Give him time.

Agar's near-ton a piece of sporting folklore

I certainly have, like quite a number of cricket followers. It was more a reference to the general public

Agar's near-ton a piece of sporting folklore

Ditto. I wrote an article here criticising his inclusion for the place of someone like Khawaja, but he did indeed step up.

Who could be the wildcards of the Ashes?

If you give equally poor calls at times to both sides then the refereeing can be deemed not great, yet unbiased and mostly clear 😉

O'Connor strikes for the Wallabies - at last

Absolute bollocks.

If that keeps getting called a penalty then rugby league is dead

2013 State of Origin Game 2 – Queensland vs NSW live scores, blog

The fact that Nadal has won more Wimbledon titles than Australian Open says a lot about the respective surfaces of both events

What does Rafael Nadal's loss mean for Wimbledon 2013?

Come on guys, I asked for removal of the brackets based on last nights final result in the Netherlands! 😛

For the record, Wawrinka was upset by Nicolas Mahut in the final in straight sets! Still, horror matchup for Hewitt but both men carrying in some nice form. Should be a cracker of a game.

Aussies hopes handed nightmare draw at Wimbledon

+1

What I wouldn’t give to see genuine serve/volley again

Tennis: Could rule changes serve up a better game?

To be fair Scott, it’s to help cater for all styles. Wimbledon is supposed to help strong servers, though not so much anymore come second week. I don’t want every match to be won by defensive baseliners (I wonder who the top five in the world, minus Federer are?), I want things to be mixed up. If every Grand Slam played the same then that wouldn’t be fun as a tennis fan.

Tennis: Could rule changes serve up a better game?

Want more serve and volley? I do to too.

Go tell organisers to make grass courts the way they should do. Nothing stays low enough to justify it anymore. It’s killing variation in tennis.

Tennis: Could rule changes serve up a better game?

I really need to contest two of these ideas:

1) You can’t draw a parallel between a let on serve and one in play and simply say both should be played on. People set themselves in a position during a serve that will counter a hard shot. If the ball clips the net hard and just dribbles over then how is that fair for the receiver. The reason it’s played on during a point is because have to be set for a ball to go anywhere, not just into the box.

2) The serve is a lot less dominant now than you think with the major issue of court homogenisation and the slowing of virtually all surfaces (except clay, ironically). Your rule change is amusing (in a good way, it’s interesting), but a little impractical and difficult. Seems to challenge the nature of the serve a little too much. People shouldn’t be forced to watch a match where potentially half the time players become limited to not being able to play at full potential. Spectators and organisers would have a fit.

Agreed a grunting. Don’t how anyone can argue that 😉

Tennis: Could rule changes serve up a better game?

In that respect, should we be talking about Gallop as much as HO? He’s the one that has more power to change the direction of this side.

We need to talk about Holger Osieck

I’m still not sold on the idea of coloured tiles being used as a measure for where horses are running in the field. It’s a lot of clutter on the screen for all the races I’ve seen using it.

What I do like is the track map showing time left until the post as well as sectional times popping up within this map. Sectionals are never mentioned in the same amount as barriers and weights in television coverage I’ve found, which is strange considering their significance. Sectionals allow a much more accurate determination mid race of how the race tempo can affect different runners releative to their current position. Many people can accurately determine this from things like how stretched out the field is or the running patterns on show, but it would make a huge difference to actually put a numerical value on that for all viewers to see.

At times it’s embarrassing how far this country falls behind in sports tracking. Alfred has already mentioned the NBA as a great example and I’d like to add NASCAR to the argument with its incredible ability to update car positions live even as they scroll across the screen – as they update split times literally every half second and not just at set points across the track. Horse racing is something almost made for this kind of input yet nothing has come about.

Australian racing must utilise Trakus technology

Further to this, if they get their Honda engines in 2015 this means in the space of three years they will have 3 different engines to work with. What a pain for the team. I can’t see good times ahead.

Spain 2013: McLaren plays it safe

Let us dwell on our dismal team.

Respect to a man who blitzed passed our record and managed some of the most exciting teams of the modern era.

Fergie's Man Utd exit ends Scot's EPL domination

With a French Open court that plays closer to a hardcourt? Can’t be doubted.

It’s maybe slightly exaggerating, but the surface speed is certainly quicker – which would give him an edge over Nadal in his current form. In saying that, Nadal is starting to look like his old self again. Odds of someone other than these two winning should be 20/1 minimum.

Can Novak Djokovic win the French Open in 2013?

“The team is lacking confidence, motivation and determination”

And not just that, they lack a true leader figure. Someone everyone can aspire to both off field and on. Hindmarsh is sorely missed not necessarily for his game but for his presence.

Seriously, what’s wrong with the Eels?

All good points.

I think though that Cole constantly seems lost in the defensive line. Something is just… off. Can’t quite pick it.

And Perkatis looks like an exceptional talent, in my book. Made some excellent contributions towards season’s end.

The Wanderers: looking ahead

Elrich was a class ahead of Cole. Not even close. Was very disappointed to see him let go.

The Wanderers: looking ahead

Always tough for the industry to keep holding mainstream attention after Champions leave us. Black Caviar for Australia, Frankel for England and (to a lesser extent) I’ll Have Another in the United States.

Always interesting to both watch the next crop come through but also whether previous champion success help bring more people to the track.

Preview: England's 2000 Guineas and America's Kentucky Derby

Am I right in assuming you’re from Melbourne or the Cnetral Coast?

Nothing like trying to have a good discussion about implications of this deal when people like you try to be funny.

On topic, that Adelaide/Perth matchup can’t happen.

Who will decide on the A-League's Friday night football?

Bugger. DId a quick count. Make that the first 8 rounds. If I was writing a story on it I would’ve gone back several times.

It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it? Teams that pull in the fans more get the better timeslots yet the better timeslots continue to aid in increasing fan numbers anyway. Those who stay ahead keep getting chances to do so (which I have no real problem with – for the most part they’ve earned it!). We wonder why the Panthers can pull in members when they were given (again off a quick check!) 2 Friday night games last season.

We are getting off topic, but the world of timeslots and tv deals is always interesting when we consider the relationship between them and the people attending live games.

Edit: I see your edit and give you my own back. You were right to call me out on incorrect stats. Don’t even back down on that, because on any other day that’s the difference between getting a story right or completely wrong.

Who will decide on the A-League's Friday night football?

Perhaps replace ‘big clash’ with ‘big team.’

To start the 2012 NRL season, the Brisbane Broncos played 7 straight Friday games. 7 straight! Now I don’t care that they have a huge support base and can draw in decent viewership – it’s unfair to both other teams and other fans. It gives them a consistent weekly turaround which gives them a better recovery chance for players while other teams have staggered wait times.

Also they ended up playing 17 of the 26 regular season rounds on a Friday night. Ridiculous. Just three rounds featured neither the Storm or Broncos playing on a Friday night, and one of those was because both of them had the bye. Funny how the two clubs News Limited have the greatest interest in get the bigger slice of Friday night games.

That is the trend I’m speaking of.

Who will decide on the A-League's Friday night football?

Ah the way it was worded made me assume there two consecutive games slotted with one put on each station 😉

Well that is indeed phenomenal news! I don’t see at all how people can whinge about it, I wasn’t if that’s what you were getting at. I was just dissecting it. I do stand by my view a bit, would be good to see key games shared between Friday and Saturday but in the end it’s a great result – don’t get me wrong!

Who will decide on the A-League's Friday night football?

What on earth.

With my working hours I can’t stay up/get up to watch these but a 7-0 agg. victory??!

I can’t express the love I have towards these two clubs from saving us from another dull “El-Classico” affair. So happy right now.

This will be one of the most anticipated CL finals in a long time!

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: UEFA Champions League live scores, blog

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