Punting Ace.Com - A community of thinking profitable punters

	Downloads Bookmark this site Set as homepage Andrew W Scott

Some Sporting Observations

8. Barry Bonds hit career home run number 748 today, placing him only seven runs shy of Hank Aaron’s all-time record. As Bonds inches ever closer the controversy will heighten as many believe Bonds’ career has been tainted by his alleged involvement with steroids. Outside of San Francisco many are hoping he somehow manages to not reach the milestone viewed as the most important in American professional sports. Even Commissioner Bud Selig has not committed to attending the potential passing. Expect to hear a lot of the name Barry Bonds in the weeks to come and not all of it positive.

7. Angel Cabrera was brilliant in winning the US Open showing poise under pressure and playing his best down the stretch. Known as “The Duck”, Cabrera was unflappable in the clutch, dominating the tough final day Oakmont course in the manner of the greats of yesteryear, holding off the charging Tiger Woods and the ever-consistent Jim Furyk. Cabrera, not known for finishing off tournaments, was calm and composed as he managed to recover from a poor third round to shoot below par in the last.

6. The San Antonio Spurs dually swept the NBA Championship series to the surprise of very few. In doing so they claimed their fourth championship in a decade and must surely be regarded not only among the elite NBA teams in history such as the early NBA Celtics, the Lakers and Celts of the eighties and the Bulls of the nineties but as one of the great teams in all of sports. There is no better balanced and more selfless team in professional sports than the San Antonio Spurs with stars like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan more than willing to share the spoils for the good of the team.

5. The scheduling by the AFL during their mid-season split round has been appalling. The AFL has shown no leadership in allowing two Saturday night games to be played while leaving the traditional AFL stronghold of Saturday afternoon vacant. Sports get into trouble when they allow their scheduling to be completely dictated by television and that is the path the AFL is heading down. Next season the AFL needs to insist on a Saturday afternoon game if they plan on keeping the split round.

4. The Wallabies showed all is not lost in regards World Cup and Tri Nations aspirations after a stoic and tough performance against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday night. The Wallabies went down 22-19 after leading 19-10. It was a fine performance in a week that saw John O’Neill return to the fold. The forward pack stood firm against the aggressive Springbok unit while George Gregan organised the backs and forwards in a manner reminiscent of 2001. Giteau was superb and there was some great hustle from the Wallabies. There were still some problems for the Wallabies-namely kicking and the fullback position- but there don’t seem nearly as apocalyptic as they did a number of months back.

3. The Penrith Panthers have played stupid football the last two weeks and have deserved to lose both affairs. The Panthers have been troubled by attitude problems in recent years and that continued on Saturday evening when the Panthers threw away a certain victory in the dying seconds. Coach Matthew Elliott must be at a wits end and will surely make wholesale changes this week. With less than a minute on the clock, Craig Gower was hit and the ball was dislodged. Rather than dive on the ball, Panthers centre Michael Jennings tried to kick the ball across field, the Roosters picking it up and going the length of the field for an unlikely win. Teams cannot win when players don’t respect the ball or the scoreboard and the stupidity of some Panthers in the dying seconds showed plenty of Penrith players did not have their mind on the job. Matt Elliott needs to clean house and do so immediately.

2. There is no doubt that New South Wales selectors will make plenty of changes with an eye on the future after Queensland wrapped up the 2007 Origin series with a 10-6 victory in a game that can only be described as lifeless and disjointed. Braith Anasta, out injured, will be replaced by either Jarrod Mullen or Kurt Gidley. Jamie Lyon will be out for the Tigers Dean Collis or the Panthers Luke Lewis. Steve Simpson will be replaced by Paul Gallen if Gallen can avoid suspension while Anthony Laffranchi may come in for Nathan Hindmarsh. Robbie Farah is some chance to oust captain Danny Buderus while props Luke Bailey and Brett White will be out and Mark O’Meley and perhaps Peter Cusack or Todd Payten joining the squad. These changes need to be made. 2007 is done and it is time to look at next season.

1. The Canterbury Bulldogs are again in trouble and once more it is alcohol related. The Bulldogs, struggling on the field this season, seemingly have a culture of drinking at the club that is not only having detrimental affects off the football field but on it as well. Halfback Ben Roberts was charged with drink driving on the weekend while Sonny Bill Williams was charged with urinating in public last week. This follows the demotion of Roberts and centre Willie Tonga for breaking team curfew. Players are certainly entitled to a drink but if the culture of drinking is damaging the on-field performances of the team then the coach and the administration need to rub it out. The Bulldogs are at the crossroads for 2007 and the tough decisions need to be made immediately.

Upper of the Week: The first three rounds of Aaron Baddeley at the US Open. The young Aussie showed that he can match it on the world stage and if he can hold his nerve in future he will win a major.

Downer of the Week: The performance of referee Shayne Hayne in State of Origin two. Hayne refused to blow penalties and as a result there was no hope of an open affair. It was a shocking performance from a referee who should not have been appointed in the first place. The game does not need a pale Bill Harrigan imitator.