Thursday, 28 June 2007

Oden will go 1st Overall in NBA Draft


Oden will go 1st Overall in NBA Draft

[NBA] Oden will go 1st Overall in NBA Draft

The Portland Trail Blazers have the 1st overall pick in tomorrow's 2007 NBA Draft but there will be no last minute suspense over the selection as had been anticipated, with a report today confirming that the team has decided on Ohio State centre Greg Oden.

Texas forward Kevin Durant - considered the most naturally talented player available, will now in all likelihood, go 2nd overall to the Seattle Supersonics but the rest of the first round is well and truly up in the air.

The Draft will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York - Thurdsay night in the USA.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AppWmD.fv9tUArcKhJhagnk5nYcB?slug=txodentoppick&prov=st&type=lgns

Anthony Mundine wins again, but Haumono steals the show


Anthony Mundine wins again, but Haumono steals the show

[BOXING] Anthony Mundine wins again, but Haumono steals the show

The WBA Super Middleweight title is still Anthony Mundines but he was forced to tough it out against his Argentinean opponent Pablo Zamora Nievas last night. Mundine won with a unanimous points decision after the 9 rounds failed to produce a winner by knockout.

Nievas certainly gave Mundine and the Gold Coast crowd a fight worth remembering but lacked the poise of the 32 year old Australian and the final score cards went in Mundine's favour: 119-107, 120-108 and 119-108.

But despite the Mundine fight going the full 9 rounds, another former NRL player Solomon Haumono marched on in relative ease with his 12th straight win in the ring - beating Fijian Mosese Kavika in the first round. Haumono has always been a beast physically and here's hoping the experience he's built up over the past couple of years can have him challenging for a significant belt in the near future.

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Round 16 NRL Teams & Really Quick Predictions


Round 16 NRL Teams & Really Quick Predictions

[NRL] Round 16 NRL Teams & Really Quick Predictions


Round 16 of the NRL competition is upon us and with the Eels, Storm, Cowboys and Sharks all having their bye this week - there will only be 6 games on the schedule.

FRIDAY
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS v SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS @ ENERGYAUSTRALIA
KNIGHTS
1-13: Hinton, McManus, Carmont, Tighe, A MacDougall, Mullen, Walsh, Sargent, Seu Seu, Woolnough, Abraham, Paterson, Tanner.
Bench: Young, Bailey, Royal, Snowden, White, Taia.
RABBITOHS
1-13: Peachey, Merritt, Vagana, Hegarty, Mellor, Rogers, Smith, Cusack (c), Webb, Asotasi (c), Stuart, Fa'alogo, Widders.
Bench: Luke, Rigon, Manuokafoa, Lowe.
Referee: S Hampstead
Quick Tip: Rabbitohs by 8

SATURDAY
GOLD COAST TITANS v WARRIORS @ CARRARA
TITANS

1-13: Campbell, Petersen, Rogers, Delaney, Webster, Lewis, Prince (c), Stosic, Friend, Donnelly, Swain, Minichiello, Hilder.
Bench: O'Dwyer, Hodgson, Cooper, Amos, Kahler.
WARRIORS
1-13: McKinnon, Ah Van, Byrne, Mannering, Vatuvei, Witt, Rovelli, Wiki (c), Fien, Tuimavave, Anderson, Swann, Luck.
Bench: Gatis, Hohaia, Koopu, Lauaki, Rapira.
Refereee: S Hayne
Quick Tip: Titans by 6

PENRITH PANTHERS v BRISBANE BRONCOS
PANTHERS
1-13: Georgetown+, Daniela, Jennings, Lewis, Youngquest, Firman, Gower (c), Grant, Peters, F Puletua, Pritchard, T Puletua, Smith.
Bench: Nuumaalii+, O'Halloran, Rodney, Clinton, Aiton.
BRONCOS
1-13: Kemp, Michaels, Stagg, Boyd, Frawley, Perry, Ennis, Carlaw, Lacey, Hannant, Parker, Thorn (c), Eastwood.
Bench: Taylor, Moon, Te Reo, Kenny, Roberts, Emmett.
Referee: G Badger
Quick Tip: Panthers by 10

SUNDAY
CANBERRA RAIDERS v WESTS TIGERS @ CANBERRA
RAIDERS

1-13: Zillman, Milne, Chalk, Best, Kelly, Campese, Carney, Thompson, Withers, Logan, Plum, Turner, Tongue (c).
Bench: Miller, Tilse, Thurling, Hinchcliffe, Jones.
TIGERS
1-13: Fitzhenry, Ryan+, Collis, Whatuira, Tuiaki, Morris, Farah, Payten (c), Halatau, Gibbs, Fulton, Heighington, Lawrence.
Bench: Galea, Flanagan, Harrison, Galea, Galloway, McDonnell.
Referee: S Clark
Quick Tip: Raiders by 4

ST.GEORGE-ILLAWARRA DRAGONS v MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
DRAGONS
1-13: J Morris, Nightingale, Stanley, Luila, Hewitt, Chase, Soward, Poore, Woolford, Hunt, Scott, Houston, Creagh (c).
Bench: Peek, Ellis, Setu, Payne.
SEA EAGLES
1-13: Robertson, Bradley, Neumann, Menzies, Hicks, Burns, Orford (c), King, Monaghan, Bryant, Watmough, G Stewart, Williamson.
Bench: Ballin, Hall, Finefeuiaki, Afamasaga, Cuthbertson.
Referee: T Archer
Quick Tip: Sea Eagles by 16

MONDAY
BULLDOGS v SYDNEY ROOSTERS @ TELSTRA
BULLDOGS

1-13: Patten, El Masri, Millard, Tonga, Phelps, Roberts, Sherwin, Hickey, Hughes (c), Cleal, Williams, Kouparitsas, Maitua.
Bench: Perry, Morrin, Brideson, Green, Holdsworth, Wheatley.
ROOSTERS
1-13: Roberts, J Williams, Monaghan, Soliola, Perrett, Sa, Pearce, Shillington, Wing, Nutley, Tupou, Fitzgibbon (c), Aubusson.
Bench: Paul-Nuuausala, L Paea, D Williams, Harrison.
Referee: J Maxwell
Quick Tip: Bulldogs by 2

Last week I tipped 4 from 8...

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Origin III: NSW & QLD Sides Named


Origin III: NSW & QLD Sides Named

[RUGBY LEAGUE] Origin III: NSW & QLD Sides Named


Here are the two sides named today for Origin III at Suncorp Stadium next Wednesday night.

NEW SOUTH WALES
STEWART, Brett
KING, Matt
LYON, Jamie
COOPER, Matt
HAYNE, Jarryd
BIRD, Greg
KIMMORLEY, Brett
KITE, Brent
BUDERUS, Danny (c)
MASON, Willie
HINDMARSH, Nathan
RYAN, Andrew
GALLEN, Paul
Bench:
BAILEY, Luke
SIMPSON, Steve
HOFFMAN, Ryan
GIDLEY, Kurt

QUEENSLAND
HUNT, Karmichael
TATE, Brent
BELL, Steven
HODGES, Justin
INGLIS, Greg
LOCKYER, Darren (c)
THURSTON, Johnathan
PRICE, Steven
SMITH, Cameron
CIVONICEVA, Petero
CARROLL, Tonie
WEBB, Carl
JOHNSON, Dallas
Bench:
BERRIGAN, Shaun
LILLYMAN, Jacob
MYLES, Nate
COSTIGAN, Neville

Quick take:

NSW have failed to pick anything resembling a class playmaker (Kimmorley is the closest thing in the side but he's a busy player rather than a classy one) and they might be good enough to stay in the contest in Game III but I just can't see their lack of class overcoming the Maroons' abundance of class in the 6, 7 and 9 jerseys.

Queensland will be heavy favourites unless the bookies want to be fleeced.


Great retrospective feature over at SI.com


Great retrospective feature over at SI.com

[NBA] Great retrospective feature over at SI.com


One of the great features over at Sports Illustrated (
www.si.com) is how they mix great action shots of athletes and a topic that links those athletes in a countdown of sorts.

Today they did a feature gallery called 'NBA Draft Steals' and listed 15 players who they believed were great steals (as in bargains where they were picked) of recent NBA Drafts. With the 2007 Draft just around the corner it offers a nice retrospective look at the quality NBA GMs have unearthed in the past.

They have also done a list of the great NBA Draft busts (as in no bargain found with that pick at all) so check it out.

Check it out here
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0706/gallery.nba.draft.steals/content.1.html

No more chances for Tank Johnson


No more chances for Tank Johnson

[NFL] No more chances for Tank Johnson

Just how many chances should a professional athlete get before he or she is shown the door by their team?

For the Chicago Bears they simply couldn't keep excusing the off-field actions of their defensive tackle Tank Johnson and in the end it was a relatively minor driving while under the influence offence in Arizona that saw him punted from the organisation.

Before you start thinking the guy has been hard done by check out the article link below and judge for yourself if what he has done off the field prior to this offence should have seen him released long ago.

Although the Bears stood by him for all of last season the fact that Johnson was facing an 8 match ban in this coming season made their decision to cut him a little easier.

Check out the full article here:

Monday, 25 June 2007

Who I like tonight - MNF


Who I like tonight - MNF

[NRL] Who I like tonight - MNF

The Brisbane Broncos will be too good for the Wests Tigers tonight at Suncorp Stadium to complete Round 15 of the NRL. Look for Darren Lockyer and Petero Civoniceva to have big games after a good ten days of rest since their last game.

Although given I've only managed to pick 3 winners from the 7 contests so far this round... back the Tigers if you are a punter.

Broncos by 12 points. Big Petero for man of the match.

New logo & uniforms for Atlanta Hawks


New logo & uniforms for Atlanta Hawks

[NBA] New logo & uniforms for Atlanta Hawks

The marketing department for any professional team never stops working on ways to get more money out of the fans who support their team and today the NBA's Atlanta Hawks released their new logo and uniforms for the coming season.

In the past (heck as recent as just 15 years ago) teams found their marketing team's best tool was the love fans had for the logo that team had had since their birth way back when. Fans loved their logo and uniforms because they had a tradition, a history and a uniqueness that allowed the fans to identify their team from the crowd.

Sadly for any marketing team in today's day and age - a new logo and uniform are just a way of life every two to three seasons.

The Atlanta Hawks new logo and home and away uniforms can be found here: