Roar Guru
Joined May 2011
41k
Views
33
Published
142
Comments
'A grade' Sports Geek providing independent views on cricket, NBA, EPL, AFL & more.... or less. Also at twitter.com/leemacsports
Published
Comments
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ryan Harris is a fantastic bowler. On playing ability alone, he deserves his call-up to the…
The Australian batting line-up is currently as fragile as butterflies made of snowflakes. As pretty as that sounds, from an Australian perspective it makes…
For 20 years, Australian cricket fans have greeted each summer with enthusiasm. This was born from the knowledge that, like Mark Cosgrove at the…
Australians and South Africans don’t get along on the cricket field. There, I said it. Now we can all acknowledge the elephant in the…
Shane Warne could be Australia’s Michael Jordan. I’m sure that would come as a welcome comparison to a man who chose to wear the…
Cricket, as they say, is a funny game. By funny I’m guessing they mean funny as in weird, not funny as in “ha-ha”. And…
The biggest game of the English Premier League season so far is this Sunday. Surprisingly, it doesn’t involve Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea. Not so…
[caption id="attachment_17892" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Pakistan\'s Shahid Afridi makes a run against Australia during the one day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia in…
The Mumbai Indians won the Champions League Twenty20. Does anyone care? Maybe a few Mumbonians/Mumbainians/Mumbaiz do, but most people were about as interested in…
Kids have Christmas, shopaholics have Boxing Day, alcoholics have St Patrick’s Day, pirate obsessives have Talk Like a Pirate Day, and AFL fans have…
Australian cricket was shot. Down and out. It was without a paddle while exploring the upper reaches of a particularly pungent creek. Now it…
The 2011 AFL Finals series has been a bit of a snooze-fest. So much so that while watching Hawthorn and Sydney on Friday night,…
By next Tuesday the mystery that is the state of Australian cricket will either take a step towards being solved or plunge back into…
The Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium (or the Muttiah Muralitharan International Cricket Stadium if you prefer the long name) may be located in the sweetly…
Fortune favours the brave but also sometimes the naive. Whichever Nathan Lyon is, he deserves all the credit he gets for his five-wicket haul…
“It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”. The Australian cricket team and their fans should adopt the slogan from the Pantene shampoo commercials…
England are number one in the Test rankings, India are insipid and Australia are in crisis. Kind of like Bizarro Superman, welcome to the…
For three Test matches now England have played the role of Jean-Claude Van Damme. India, on the other hand, have played the role of…
[caption id="attachment_36418" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="India\'s Pragyan Ojha, left, V.V.S. Laxman, center, and Suresh Raina. AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi"][/caption] To be number one in any discipline…
Confession time. I’m a Manchester City fan. Since the dawn of time, aka my birth in a Manchester hospital, my Dad and his Dad…
Thanks Fussball. Unlike a lot of City fans, I don’t hate United (tho I do rejoice when we beat you). I wish you all the best for this season… Except when you play us :-p
Manchester City: The future is now
Thanks Manny. I’ve only watched one or two if the pre-season games, but from all reports they’ve played quite well (though most of the headlines have been about Balotelli).
Manchester City: The future is now
Hi Diggsy. Good to see you on hear!
If the fieldsman ran or sprinted immediately after fielding the ball then I think his team was showing competitive spirit, knowledge of the laws and was playing perfectly within the spirit of the game.
If however, the fielder performed some sort of deception to make the batsman believe the ball was dead (I.e. – Field the ball and pretend to lob it back to the bowler or pick up the ball and slowly walk towards the stumps while shining the ball), then I would say his team weren’t playing in the spirit of the game.
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
True, I probably need to add that to the example.
However, I’m not holding up Dhoni’s actions as the perfect example of sportsmanship as some others may be. Just that any other captain probably would have acted exactly the same. As amazonfan mentions above, the event isn’t quite as clear cut black-and-white as some appear to think it is.
The appeal wasn’t sporting but is was within the rules. The decision to rescind the appeal, despite occurring after protest from England, was a sporting gesture.
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
Haha. Clearly misread by me! Well I still maintain that I am jealous of his hat collection 😛
I’ve never really felt Dhoni’s keeping is that great. However, it has been particularly atrocious this series. Surely he only has the same number of responsibilities as in the past so why would that affect his capability more now? Just seems odd to me.
I agree that this whole rescinding the appeal situation is not clear-cut black or white.
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
The point of the piece is that competitiveness & sportsmanship can be at odds in any sporting contest & I believe Dhoni acted the way any competitive & reasonable person would have.
I think your bank robbing example is a little off the mark Greg. Dhoni and India were not breaking any rules when they appealed for the wicket. They were adhering by the rules like any good sportsman.
A more accurate example would be if a man was given some money by a friend as a gift, a legal transaction. Only afterwards the gift didn’t sit right with him as he didn’t feel he had earnt it. The man discusses it with his family & eventually decides to return the money to his friend.
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
I wonder if there are any photos of Hansie wearing the leather jacket he got for fixing that match?
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
He does seem to have a nice selection of hats. I’m rather jealous. Whatever it is that is affecting his wicket-keeping it now seems to be having an impact on his batting. Terrible leave first ball for his dismissal.
What would Steve Waugh have done? Well I think he would have acted in a similar way to Dhoni. Appealing for the wicket at first due to his ultra-competitive nature but later rescinding the appeal in the spirit of the game.
Bell's end: Standing in Dhoni's shoes
The series is shaping up as a real cracker. My criticism of Strauss’ captaincy is more so to do with how he is in the field. I thought both declarations in the first match, in particular the first innings, were good.
England versus India: advantage Strauss
I did consider that option Seano. But my initial reaction was that it made things more confusing. Also I felt it sabotaged one of the things that made what I eventually proposed quite fair – that teams with similar schedules are only competing against each other for ladder position. I’m willing to reconsider though.
A few posts down Black Diamonds proposes a divisions system with one ladder that I quite like. Though again, I am concerned that it takes away from some of the fairness that a conference system schedule would provide.
How an AFL conference system could work
As you say, I think that one conference is weaker than the other would always be an argument in some way. It could easily be argued that many teams have stronger or weaker schedules than others under the current system. It’s just under a conference system it becomes easier to identify (though under my system it is then slightly negated as sides with the similar schedules only compete against each other for ladder position).
The conference system I propose is a way to make the system fairer than it currently is. A middle ground between what we have now and what the fairest possible system would be (everyone playing twice. Which wouldn’t happen because of how many games would be required).
You have good possible analogy there with Major League Baseball so far as there was resistance to the change at first but it was eventually accepted.
How an AFL conference system could work
So if GC and GWS become powers in a relatively short time doesn’t that mean that the Pies and Hawks are going to have at least some challengers in that conference?
Your argument about the deficiencies in the Eastern Conference I proposed could easily be attributed to the Western Conference I proposed as well. That is, breaking them into future powers, middle ground and also rans.
Yes there is one less elite side in the proposed Western Conference right now, but the AFL is so cyclical that could change in a year or two. You say so yourself with GC and GWS rising to prominence (albeit with concessions).
As of today both of my proposed conferences have 4 teams in the top 8. Yes the proposed Eastern Conference have 3 of the bottom 4 sides (I’m counting GWS as 18th), but you are saying that within a couple of years 2 of those sides will be near the top.
And re a Victorian conference and an interstate conference, as I said to Allen’s comment below, I don’t hate it as from a rivalry standpoint it does make a lot of sense. And it could increase interest in State of Origin again (Vic vs the Rest maybe). But I think realistically we want to try and have a cross-section of teams for the overall promotion of the game.
How an AFL conference system could work
Fair enough. Either way we agree they should keep playing on that day.
How an AFL conference system could work
I like it! Though getting back to your first post, if you added two more teams like you say would be called for, maybe 5 divisions of 4 teams would be better? That way you play each team in your division twice and everyone in the other divisions once. That way you get the magical 22 games that everyone is craving!
How an AFL conference system could work
Well they say great minds think alike Mr Diamonds!
True it provides more flexibility. And over a four year period it would provide a more equal draw (one of the aims of this exercise). And I would be all for more divisions, but I think it would make it even more confusing for punters.
One ladder may be a better way to get a conference system in as people don’t like too much change. However it would negate one of the positives that make a two conference system fairer – as each conference is a separate ladder then any ease of draw for that particular season is diminished by the fact that any teams playing a poor side twice, or good side twice for that matter, are only competing against each other for ladder position.
How an AFL conference system could work
I don’t hate it. From a rivalry standpoint it does make a lot of sense. And it could increase interest in State of Origin again (Vic vs the Rest maybe). But I think realistically we want to try and have a cross-section of teams for the overall promotion of the game.
How an AFL conference system could work
Essendon and Collingwood, even if once a year, would always be on ANZAC day. They pioneered the game on that day and thus deserve to keep playing it. Possibly other matches will be in addition to Pies and Bombers as per what has started to occur the last couple of seasons.
How an AFL conference system could work
I think the AFL is reasonably cyclical these days and it is difficult for any side to dominate for years on end. Even one that is as strong as the Pies at the moment.
How an AFL conference system could work
My whole idea destroyed by pooh-pooh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moaayvc1cOY
Seriously though, why do you think it is dead? Because of the leage or the AFLPA? I’m sure the league, broadcasters and sponsors would love more games. The AFLPA would take some convincing but by reducing the pre-season comp it is alleviating some of the load on players.
How an AFL conference system could work
Yeah I considered the divsions and/or redistribution of conferences (or divisions) each year. But to me it just felt more confusing and took away from addressing one of the issues I identified with the current system – That the draw is quite unstable and has no rhyme or reason (or at least appears not to).
How an AFL conference system could work
Glad you like it Seano!
Re the Hawks, I said Collingwood and Hawthorn were two of the biggest drawcards. I didn’t mean that Hawthorn were necessarily a bigger drawcard than the Bombers or Blues. Just that they are up there as a big drawcard. They do have the second most memberships total in the comp.
Though it sounds like the Pies playing the Bombers and Blues twice is more important than I first realised. I’ll have to revisit that in the next version. Your suggestion of swapping Collingwood and Geelong could come into play.
How an AFL conference system could work
Much younger?!? I don’t consider myself that old at 31… Though maybe that’s a bit of Peter Pan syndrome.
It’s certainly always cooler to like something that is a little off the radar. I suppose I felt like that myself when City were rubbish.
Manchester City: The future is now