Sports shorts - August 27

AFL

• That was some round, with every game having meaning, and the results making a mockery of my predictions :)  
• Feel for Melbourne, whose loss coupled with a West Coast win meant they missed the finals on percentage (something like 0.5). That along with Geelong's win against GWS mean the first week of the finals looks like this:  Adelaide v GWS (Thursday week); Geelong v Richmond (Friday week); Sydney v Essendon (Saturday week); Port Adelaide v West Coast (Saturday week)

NRL

• After watching an average Parramatta beat the Tigers, I didn't think much of Parramatta.  After their win on Thursday night they sit fourth and are one of the form teams of the competition (along with Melbourne) winning eight from their last ten.
• Next week's round is intriguing. the two ones to watch are Brisbane v North Queensland and Manly v Penrith.  St George will make the eight if they beat the Bulldogs. 

General - AFL, NRL

• I like the idea of starting all of the final round matches at the same time. They do this in English Soccer on the final day of the season.  Given the order of matches this weekend (in the AFL), Adelaide knew that irrespective of the results they would finish first. It would have been different perhaps if Adelaide didn't know the result of the Geelong-GWS game. 
• I'm not sure where I heard or read it, but I also like the idea of playing a full round of matches at one ground. The ground could rotate between country areas and grounds like Suncorp Stadium. 

Other

• I doubt I'm ever going to understand a sport, especially given what we're learning about concussion, where the goal is to knock out an opponent. 
• The UEFA Champions League had their main draws over the past few days. The groups for the Champions League are: 
• Group A: Benfica (POR), Manchester United (ENG), Basel (SUI), CSKA Moskva (RUS)
• Group B: Bayern München (GER), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Anderlecht (BEL), Celtic (SCO)
• Group C: Chelsea (ENG), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Roma (ITA), Qarabağ (AZE)
• Group D: Juventus (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Olympiacos (GRE), Sporting CP (POR)
• Group E: Spartak Moskva (RUS), Sevilla (ESP), Liverpool (ENG), Maribor (SVN)
• Group F: Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Manchester City (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Feyenoord (NED)
• Group G: Monaco (FRA), Porto (POR), Beşiktaş (TUR), RB Leipzig (GER)
• Group H: Real Madrid (ESP, holders), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), APOEL (CYP)
• There's some tough groups there, but I think Group H might be the toughest. Can't wait for the competition to start. 
• Australia started their series against Bangladesh, at stumps on day one, Australia were 3/18 in reply to Bangladesh's 260. 

Sport shorts - 20 August

So, two rounds left before the finals for the NRL, and one round left before the AFL finals. Although the bye in the AFL means the finals will start on the same weekend.

Not much left to do except make a few crazy predictions on how the top eight will finish.

AFL

• Top eight: Adelaide, Geelong, GWS, Richmond, Port Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Essendon. Meaning, Adelaide play Richmond, Geelong host GWS, Sydney play Melbourne and Port Adelaide host Essendon. 
• Sydney could finish as high as fourth, but I don't see it happening. More possible is Geelong losing to GWS meaning Adelaide play Geelong and GWS host Richmond.

NRL

• Found it a little tougher topic, but final eight for me are: Melbourne, Brisbane, Roosters, Sharks, Panthers, Eels, Cowboys, Sea Eagles. 
• I don't see either the Raiders or Dragons sneaking in, might be wrong though ;) 
• So first week of the finales, Melbourne v Sharks; Brisbane v Roosters; Panthers v Sea Eagles and Eels v Cowboys. 

Union

• I guess it was  games of two halves, with the All Blacks winning the first half 40-6, before conceding four tries in the second (14-28) meaning the All Blacks won the test 54-34.
• There's motivation for Hansen to work with for the return test next week in Dunedin.  Hard to believe but the All Blacks have now lost three second halves in a row for the first time since 1996.

Sport shorts - 13 August

AFL

• Sydney has their biggest win of the season - a 104 point win over Fremantle.  I'm looking forward to this Fridays game against Adelaide (who are currently top of the table.
• The other big tests during the weekend were Melbourne who played St Kilda and Richmond tackling Geelong. Melbourne and Geelong were the winners, I still think Richmond are a dark horse to win the tournament but I am fairly convinced the Grand Final winner will be one of GWS, Adelaide or Sydney.
• I'm not a fan of the momentum sapping bye. I would rather take my chances with team selections. 

NRL

• I think the Grand Final winner will come from Melbourne and Brisbane.  They seem to be the most consistent and the best at winning ugly.  The Roosters might be the dark horse. 
• Congrats to Newcastle, winning their third game in a row. 
• At the foot of the eight - North Queensland looks the most vulnerable. 

Bledisloe Cup

• As always I'm looking forward to the Bledisloe Cup.  I'm as nervous as hell so we'll see how they go. 

EPL

• The English Premier League started this weekend.  Arsenal did something they haven't done for years, and won their first game of the season. 

Sport Shorts - 6 August

The business end of the season is nearly upon us with some really intriguing match ups in both the NRL and AFL.

AFL

• The Swans bounced back to form with a good win over Geelong. Win their next three games and they may scrape into the top four. 
• Its great that in August we're talking of Richmond and Melbourne as potential top four and eight teams respectively
• The Giants looked really great over the weekend and maybe starting to click, but their game against the Western Bulldogs will show more about them. 
• Adelaide were awesome in the showdown, absolutely demolishing Port. If the Swans don't win it, I'll be cheering for the Crows. 
• For me, its great the Tigers are playing Richmond in Geelong.  There's a reason teams have home grounds, and the Cats should have the first option on where their home games are played.
• The other talking point this weekend was the tackle. I don't think a tackle, or tackling style, which leaves a player suffering from concussion can be called perfect. 

NRL

• Brisbane roared back to form with a record win against the Titans.  I'd put them second behind Melbourne to win the title. Parramatta with 5 wins in a row now are starting to find form at the right end of the season. 
• Congrats to the Knights, beating the Warriors and winning two consecutive games for the first time in a few years.  The Warriors have been disappointing again, I wish I knew what was going on. They look awesome on paper, but just don't deliver on the field. 
• The Raiders looked good against the Sharks so if the Dragons and Panthers don't keep winning they may sneak into the eight. 
• Seriously disappointed in the latest trend of coaches criticising the referees. First it was Ricky Stuart (I'm still stunned he didn't get a fine) then Paul McGregor and now Paul Green.  To me, if there is a problem called the referees boss and have a phone conversation. Don't question the integrity of the officials publicly. 

Other

• It is now 100 days to the Rugby League World Cup. Both the Men's and Women's tournaments will take place in Australia this year. I expect Australia will win both, but you never know. 
• The Womens' Rugby World Cup starts this week.  Will be an interesting tournament.  Wish it was on free-to-air TV to see though. 

What I'm in to - July 2017

Can't believe that another month is gone and its now the beginning of August. So its time for another, What I'm in too post.

Reading:
Pretty ordinary month for reading.  I haven't read anything. Something to work on in August :)

Music:
The highlight of July was the release of Nichole Nordeman's album Every Mile Mattered.  Nichole is one of my all time favourite singer songwriters. The album certainly highlights that with some really powerful songs. Dear Me a song written to herself, and its certainly caused me to reflect on my faith now and where I've come from. The album also has a wonderful cover of U2's Beautiful Day. The song is slowed down and it really works.

Watching
Quiet month of TV. Most Mondays to Wednesdays I begin the day by watching the Baseball from the US. The catch on this video is one of the reasons I keep watching.  The game is amazing. I think I've said it elsewhere but the walk off hit or home run is unique in sport (and this game had them both, see the game highlights here).

I've also been enjoying watching Shark Tank. Really interesting pitches, the investors are really great people too.