Punting Ace.Com - A community of thinking profitable punters

	Downloads Bookmark this site Set as homepage Andrew W Scott

Some Sporting Observations

8. The highlight of week six NFL action was no doubt the return of 43 year old quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde, who has played for six teams after being drafted in 1987 and who has not thrown in the NFL for nearly three seasons, was called in by the Carolina Panthers to fill the hole left by Jake Delhomme and David Carr. Testaverde showed he still has the professionalism and the intelligence to be an NFL QB, guiding the Panthers to a 25-10 win against Arizona. Testaverde deserves all the accolades he is getting as it is very rare a man his age can still be an effective player in the NFL.

7. The Colorado Rockies have produced one of the most amazing comebacks in sporting history in winning the Major League Baseball’s National League. The Colorado Rockies needed to win nearly every game from September 15 until October to make the playoffs. They did, including a ninth inning come-from-behind tie breaker win against San Diego. Making the playoffs was truly remarkable. Going on and sweeping both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks to make their first World Series is truly unimaginable. That is 20 wins from their last 21 games. The Rockies will hope to ride the wave of momentum a fortnight longer with their first ever World Championship right in their sights.

6. The two best losing runs from Caulfield on the weekend were certainly the efforts of Lad of the Manor in the Toorak Handicap and Maybe Better in the Yalumba Stakes. Lad of the Manor appeared to find his old form when running a cracking sixth to Divine Madonna. His final sectionals were amazing as he flashed down the outside after initially struggling to obtain a run. He is a very good chance at odds in the Cox Plate where the Valley surface will see him improve further. Maybe Better turned in a sensational Melbourne Cup trial with a fast finishing fourth to Maldivian. The Melbourne Cup has been the plan for well over a year and that plan appears to be right on track.

5. Carlton finally secured the signature of Chris Judd and can now be considered a genuine contender in 2008. Chris Judd is one of the finest players to take to an AFL field and this trade is the most sensational of the last decade. He has the ability to do nearly anything on the park and he can take a young Carlton team that has struggled for leadership over the last five years and make them a contender. The Carlton Football Club is now on the right path and Blues fans will be much happier in the years to come, providing Judd remains injury free.

4. Ben Cousins is a fool and will never play another game of football in the AFL again. After all that has gone on in his life and the life of the West Coast Eagles this year, you would imagine partying would be the last on the mind of Cousins. Not true. Cousins was pulled over by police, shirtless, and then refused to submit to drug driving tests. He has been fired by the West Coast Eagles and will never play top level football again. It is a sad reality for the former Brownlow Medalist but he has nobody to blame but himself.

3. The ARU needs to find the best possible coach to lead them through to the 2011 Rugby World Cup and if that person happens to be a non-Australian, so be it. Robbie Deans is clearly the number one coach available and Australian rugby should do all they can to attract him to the national coaching job. His record as mentor of the Canterbury Crusaders speaks for itself. The fact he is a New Zealander should not matter. It is, however, somewhat hypocritical to call for Deans to coach Australia yet criticise Eddie Jones for helping South Africa, as has been the case in much of the media. Coaching is professional and silly nationalistic tendencies should not interfere.

2. An NRL think tank charged with examining a number of issues in rugby league has come up with an interesting concept of allowing captains’ challenges. At this stage it is proposed that each captain will be allowed to challenge a number of decisions, currently mooted at two per half. The one area that would be challengable would be the strip where a captain could call for the use of the video referee. This would certainly go a long way to amending a major blight in the game and should be strongly considered by rugby league rulemakers.

1. Steve Matai is a cheap shot merchant and his two game suspension for his high shot on Mark Gasnier in the one-off Test with New Zealand is bordering on the comical. Matai rushed out of the line with the sole intention of hitting Gasnier high, swinging his arm after the ball was delivered and smacked Gasnier right in the chops. The hit deserved at least a month, if not more. Matai needs to stamp this aspect of his game out or he will be spending more time on the sidelines than the football field. It is also crucial that rugby league stamps out this kind of thuggery in the international game.

Upper of the Week: Mark Kavanagh’s group one double. Kavanagh prepared Toorak winner Divine Madonna and Yalumba winner Maldivian. This follows on from his Turnbull win with Devil Moon. Kavanagh has done a tremendous job since moving to Victoria and deserves every success he has.

Downer of the Week: The Yankees possibly firing manager Joe Torre. Torre is a beloved figure in New York and across the US sporting landscape and has done nothing to deserve being fired. He has guided the Yankees to some of their most memorable moments in his tenure and his reign should continue.