Sport shorts - ANZAC Weekend

Before I get into a few points from the weekends action can I just say I'm over seeing gambling adds on the official websites and during the game.  If people want to gamble, that's fine with me but the volume of advertising is excessive.

League:

• The Warriors go down fighting against the Storm. Hard not to be impressed with the Storm's ability to grind out results.  Next week's Dragons-Storm game should be a cracker, and now has top spot riding on it. 
• Not a fan of players announcing they are changing clubs mid season. Something needs to be done about that. 
• I'd also been keen to see a player draft, but not sure that's likely. 
• As a friend of mine says, the ladder look better if you turn it upside down. 

AFL

• The Swans lost again, now 0-5 for the first time since 1993. If they can string a few results together they are still a chance to make the eight, and if they do that who knows how it could go.  
• At the moment the two most impressive teams are the Giants and Adelaide, You can't forget Richmond and Geelong (who along with Adelaide remain undefeated).  We will get a better handle on Richmond after they play Adelaide next weekend. Geelong are just amazing, they keep unearthing great players and their fourth quarters are super impressive out scoring their opponents 191-38.

Super Rugby

• Still amazed at the Hurricanes-Brumbies game. I looked at the score just after halftime, and it was 21-14 to the Brumbies. I was staggered the final score was 56-21 to the Hurricanes. 
• Super Rubgy is a hard competition to follow, with a weird structure, and with changes a foot for next year which are just taking forever to be finalised. Australia and South Africa are apparently going to lose a team but we are waiting for the final announcements. 

Football

• I am an Arsenal fan, so I'm delighted to see the Gunners make the FA Cup final, where they play Chelsea.  It's been a frustrating year supporting the Gunners so this is a chance to salvage something from the season.  
• Messi. I've run out of words for how good he is. Just a wonderful goal in the Classico this weekend. The win means Barcelona are a chance to win the La Liga title (It does rely on Real Madrid dropping points though). 

Footy notes - Easter

AFL
Have to say I'm surprised by Hawthorns dip in form. Wouldn't have picked them to be 0-4.  Hard to judge this early in the season, so I'm not yet prepared to say they'll miss the eight.
Sydney have had their worst start since 1993. Sure we don't have our best team on the park, but its equally true the team we have on the park isn't good enough
Eddie Betts, what a star. A week after being subjected to racial abuse was brilliant for Adelaide against Essendon.

NRL 
Brisbane and Melbourne mastered the art of winning ugly I don't know how Brisbane beat the Titans and Melbourne almost squandered a 30 point lead remaining scoreless in the second half.
Surprised by the Dragons start to the season - they're still sitting on top of the ladder
The rest of the top eight is not surprising, though I did expected the Panthers to be up higher.
The Warriors unsurprisingly lose to the Raiders in Canberra, they're sitting just outside the eight.

One year ago...

About one year ago I was sitting in a Doctor's surgery receiving the news that there was a cancerous tumour in my bowel, on the 15th April 2016 the tumour was removed.

In June last year, I started chemotherapy. That round of chemo was finished in November. Following the discovery of new tumours in my post chemo scan I restarted chemo. These tumours have been responding well to treatment to date.

But that isn't the whole story, on New Year's Eve 2015, I looked at the past year and said, Everything's going to better in 2016, but clearly that wasn't the case. 2016 was an incredibly tough year. I learnt a lot about myself, and not all of it was pleasant, I learnt about our church's almost limitless capacity to love and give, I also learnt that while everything won't necessarily be better next year, it will provide opportunities to love, give and share from my experience.

On New Year's Eve 2016, the song that was running around my head was Gratitude. The song by Nichole Nordeman has challenged me (watch the song and read the lyrics here). Gratitude has become my word for 2017. It's the word governing how I approach life.

The challenge to me is to be grateful for everything I am dealt this year. Life will be up and life will be down, but no matter what life throws at me, I can choose how I respond. I want to be grateful for each and every day; grateful for the challenges and opportunities they bring. Grateful, for the journey I am on, and what I can give from where I am, thinking 'why not me?' not why me?.

I don't know what the next years will hold. But I do know I can chose how to respond to it, I can chose to be defeated, or chose to make the most of the days the Lord has given me. God is still my strength, my song and my salvation.

Footy notes - 9 April

Some thoughts abut this weekends action.  Firstly I have to say how much I don't miss Monday night football. It's great to have all the action complete on Sunday, and read about everything on Monday.

AFL
Yep it is Sydney's worst start for some time, but I still back them to make the eight.
Was great to see Freo's win over the Bulldogs and the Suns smash the Hawks.  Both pretty well expected by no-one.
Nice to see Adelaide doing well - undefeated after three rounds including this weekends win in the derby.
All the above said it's difficult to read to much into three rounds.

NRL
As above the Tigers win over North Queensland was the highlight - totally expected but great to see.
The Warriors win two in a row with a win over Parramatta, If the Warriors can maintain their record at home, they will be a chance to make the eight.
The Dragons are the surprise packet for me, sitting at the top of the table with a 5-1 record.