In regards to point number 1 Fuss, is that on SBS or Foxtel? Just saying that it’s on that night doesn’t say what channel it will be on.

And on that point, that’s actually really bad news. Consider people who are constantly busy on a Friday night – they would have to suffer through missing every big clash because of this rule. It’s a trend I’ve seen in Rugby League as well, though the AFL tends to avoid this a little bit better. Mixing up the ‘big-clash’ days would be a healthier move for the game. But I guess if Friday night is th best time to pull in more viewers then so be it.

Point 3 is pretty hilarious because that’s their insurance to say “Wellington Pheonix will be shown once on FTA this season, probably in a match against Victory/Wanderers/Sydney.”

Ocean Park and BC share a common thread in that they both hardly raced in one chunk of the Australian season. It makes you question the best criteria for selecting horse of the year, doesn’t it? I’d still go with Black Caviar, but All Too Hard has to be closer if we consider race quality the biggest factor over consistency.

Not an easy chocie whatsoever.

With the memories of the Serie A betting scandal still fresh in my mind, I wonder if Italy are even ready for a relegation system. It’s osmething that can easily be fixed the closer you come to the end of a season. This is just me being a bit suspect, which I feel bad about, but I can’t ignore the issues the league has faced before.

The second league itself needs to happen, however. It’s bizarre it doesn’t exist already. And here they are wondering why talent is walking away at a young age!

“If so, is this a bad thing in terms of A-League attendances and club revenues. If the blockbuster games are not on free-to-air, then more fans are likely to go to the games and add to the colour and atmosphere.”

Highly doubt that. That’s some very optimistic thinking. As someone who lives 3 hours west of Sydney I was quick to take to the Wanderers from an early date. Once I had been to one match, I wanted more. Even if a match was shown on FTA TV, I would still be at the ground because you can’t get that feeling of live football from home. Being in that Grand Final crowd was a very special feeling. Fans like myself will not sit at home to watch a game when they still have the opportunity to go to the ground. Conversely, fans who haven’t yet been to a match are very unlikely to go to the game simply because it was on the pay TV station instead. What really matters is that we have a match on FTA.

Would it be nice to get a mix of teams? For sure. I get the feeling Foxtel will treat SBS better than Channel 9 treats Foxtel, though that could be wishful thinking on my part as well!

And really, what’s wrong with more ratings as opposed to a bigger crowd? Each have their own great payoffs as long as more people are watching or becoming a part of the A-League then that’s fine by me.

What’s perhaps sad is the fact that this is news.

Now before that gets interpreted compeltely wrong, I find it funny how this is an ‘issue.’ Does it ever occur to anyone that to single out a community (in this case the LGBT one) only helps to emphasize their supposed ‘difference’ to the rest of the world (which is really disgusting)?

We could look back on this in 30 years time and almost feel ashamed in a way that this was some momentous occasion – even being compared to Jackie Robinson is bad enough. It took a big step for Collins to come out, but it’s sad that such a big step and inspiration was needed for him to do so. Being Australians, I think it’s hard for us to understand how non-secular a lot of American politics can be, and how religion influences people to a much more radical extent over there. I expect death threats to be sent his way from many Christians, no joke.

All in all, because of that, the step for Collins may have been bigger than we realise but it is stil lsad that this still remains an ‘issue’ at all.

100% agree.

I wrote a piece not long ago about surface homogenisation in tennis killing many aspects of the game, and I feel this is a good parallel to what you talk about. By making pitches play closer to each other in nature, in theory it should result in more ‘entertaining’ cricket with higher scores because batsman aren’t being properly tested.

I can’t help but feel that Cadel will go through the exact same thing he did at his previous team, where although he was the leader figure another rider in the team will gain that much on him that people will question his leadership potential despite his accolades. I distinctly remember Jurgen Van den Broeck doing just that to him at Lotto and for me that was the ultimate catalyst to him leaving the team. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds a second time around if it does come to that.

You seem to think that I am happy that these horses are being retired? Of course not. However, I stand by what I said.

Horse racing is certainly supposed to be about the horses and the stories they provide us for generations to come, like Black Caviar’s 25 unbeaten streak or the finish to the 2011 Melbourne Cup or Maybe Diva’s three-peat from 03 to 05. When we talk about the history of horse racing, for the most part we recall extraordinary rivalries or amazing streaks. There are your odd off the track scandals, a-la Fine Cotton, but these often don’t get mentioned as much as the spectacle – which is great. But even those stories find a way to endure.

You simply can’t deny the existence of the business agenda behind the sport. Horses are a fragile, risky investment. You say you want the corporatisation of sport to stop, when you’re talking to me about one of the earliest sports to have corporate ties in history? How am I supposed to ignore the background workings of the industry? They provide just as much intrigue and stories as I’ve already mentioned. Look at the Singo/Gai debacle and tell me horse racing is solely about the on-track results. History in the long run will certainly have the feel good stories endure and these scandals may die out. But they are still there. They still happened.

All Too Hard, Pierro, Ocean Park and Black Caviar have left their mark. If trainers and owners want to pull the plug, why can’t we just respect that for once?

You seem to think that I am happy that these horses are being retired? Of course not. However, I stand by what I said.

Horse racing is certainly supposed to be about the horses and the stories they provide us for generations to come, like Black Caviar’s 25 unbeaten streak or the finish to the 2011 Melbourne Cup or Maybe Diva’s three-peat from 03 to 05. When we talk about the history of horse racing, for the most part we recall extraordinary rivalries or amazing streaks. There are your odd off the track scandals, a-la Fine Cotton, but these often don’t get mentioned as much as the spectacle – which is great. But even those stories find a way to endure.

You simply can’t deny the existence of the business agenda behind the sport. Horses are a fragile, risky investment. You say you want the corporatisation of sport to stop, when you’re talking to me about one of the earliest sports to have corporate ties in history? How am I supposed to ignore the background workings of the industry? They provide just as much intrigue and stories as I’ve already mentioned. Look at the Singo/Gai debacle and tell me horse racing is solely about the on-track results. History in the long run will certainly have the feel good stories endure and these scandals may die out. But they are still there. They still happened.

All Too Hard, Pierro, Ocean Park and Black Caviar have left their mark. If trainers and owners want to pull the plug, why can’t we just respect that for once?

That’s a kick in the face to Epaulette, Rain Affair, Bel Sprinter and Sea Siren to call that TJ Smith field ‘nothing.’

How is it a disgrace? That’s business. Owners and trainers don’t have some secret obligation to continue racing their horses just because the public wants to see more of them.

Not sure if people are trying to be ‘edgy’ by not voting for Black Caviar because I get the feeling that’s the case.

Regardless of All Too Hard’s exceptional performances at WFA level, it’s nothing BC didn’t already do and more dominantly at the same time. It may not matter that she only raced three times in the Autumn and then called it quits because those three wins still blew everyone out of the water. And just look at the quality of that TJ Smith field she beat home! It may not have been her strongest season, but even a below average season for her can be better than any other horse out there.

You have to ask yourself, is a horse that had more races yet two distinctly different campaigns better than a horse with less races that was faultless all the way? For me, it’s the latter and that’s not just her ‘legendary aura’ giving me that opinion.

When it’s a year where we consider not including Fiveandahalfstar in our top 5 you know it must have been a strong competition!

+1

Well said

I absolutely adore AJ and was gutted when I heard that she was never a chance of racing in the spring.

Odds on a 4yo NOT winning the Cox Plate? 😉

And considering the severe lack of play time for both, not really justified.

Still looking forward very much to the GF. Got my tickets and hoping for a Red and Black victory.

If a horse wins a gold medal, does it go to the jockey, the trainer or the owners? What if all three were of different nationalities? What if the horse was born in Ireland, started its racing career in the United Kingdom, trained in Australia later by a New Zealander with French owners?

Too many variables to even begin considering it, sorry.

I feel things like this need time to develop. It’s always funny to see everyone feel the need to slot achievements into some sort of hierarchy immediately after they happen. We are still a touch emotionally invested in this topic right now and I think things like this need time to sink in before we talk about it.

He’s a South Australian who learned to play golf in Queensland.

Is that what you meant to say? Or are you just baiting people like myself?

The less time we spend talking about Steve Williams, the better.

Absolutely horrendous. Would have been the last sporting event I would have thought to be targeted by such an attack, though I guess that’s what the people behind it wanted people like myself to think.

Thoughts go out to all affected.

Sometimes it not only just about the teams having a tough time with them that brings up the debate, but also the viewers.

Without viewers and fans you have no sport – and this issue is making a lot of them feel uneasy.

If the Mariners and Wanderers lost then people everywhere would be calling it a farce, trust me.

I’m a Wanderers fan and I still think it’s a farce.

I wrote a story on Pirelli a while back now:

F1: Is this truly a reinvigoration, or a trick?

Not much has changed.

News just in:

“Standard of play in A-League not as high as other nations”

Who would have thought? Did you also consider that perhaps his increased game time, enjoyment for Australia and other factors have contributed to him playing a better game?

No need for the classless response.

Pertakis might find himself with another start. He was quiet tonight but I’ll take that as a good thing.

Mooy will have to be there to replace Hersi… IF he is deemed fit enough. Plus, he has lacked a bit of game time now. Not so sure, maybe a bench start?