Some Sporting Observations

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Some Sporting Observations

8. The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament have been completed and all four number one seeds remain. North Carolina have outclassed both Mt St Mary’s and Arkansas and will now play number four Washington State in Charlotte. Kansas have recorded two comfortable wins and will meet number twelve Villanova in the Sweet Sixteen. UCLA were lucky to get out of the second round and will meet fairytale team Western Kentucky next. Memphis, the number one team in the country, have looked good and will come up against Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen. Of the four, North Carolina has been the most dominant while UCLA look the most likely to be the first to fall.

7. Laconic Australian golfer Geoff Ogilvy has ended Tiger Woods winning streak in winning the CA Championship at Doral, one of Woods most successful courses. It was the first tournament win for Ogilvy since the 2006 U.S Open. It was also Woods’ first loss of the season and first defeat in over six months. Geoff Ogilvy is not the most consistent Australian golfer on the world stage but he certainly is the player with the most upside. Geoff Ogilvy will be the next Australian to win a major. Never mind Scott, Baddeley or Appleby. Ogilvy is a big tournament player who comes through in the crunch.

6. In a move that has surprised nobody, Australia’s most successful basketball coach Brian Goorjian has quit the Sydney Kings. Goorjian is the most revered coach in Australian basketball with a history of success and a reputation for maximizing talent. Due to significant off-court tumult that has included Kings players and staff not being paid on-time and the sale of the franchise, Goorjian felt he had no future at the organisation. Both the South Dragons and the Perth Wildcats are in the hunt for his signature and it would be a real coup if either club could snare his services. The Wildcats look to be on the verge of another golden era while the Dragons are looking to establish themselves after joining the league two seasons ago. Whichever team he chooses, results are sure to follow.

5. In what is surely one of the greatest shocks Australian racing has ever seen, Bob Ingham has sold Woodlands Stud for nearly $500 million to Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Woodlands Stud has been the definition of success for many decades, winning Australia’s greatest races with some true superstar horses. Among the races won were eight Golden Slippers, three Tancred Stakes, two Doncaster Handicaps, two Australian Derbies, one Victorian Derby, one Cox Plate and one Australian Cup with stars that included Octagonal, Lonhro, Unworldly, Viscount and Arena. There has been a good deal of unrest in the Ingham family since the death of brother Jack but it was never thought that Bob would sell the lot. While the investment is a great show of faith in Australian racing, it is a sad day that the famous cerise colours that have dominated Australian racing for so long will no longer be as prevalent or as powerful. It is not known if the Sheik will retain trainer Peter Snowden once the deal is complete.

4. It has been an interesting week for Australian boxing with retired former champion Jeff Fenech announcing a comeback and current world champion Danny Green announcing his retirement. This is just a continuation of the sad cycle of the boxer. Fenech, lauded and regarded as one of the fight game’s greatest, has been lured out of retirement to put his health on the line for one more payday. Hopefully Danny Green is content with his decision to give it all away but the odds certainly are that he will be back. While Green has achieved a great deal as a boxer, he will forever be remembered for his poor performance against loathed rival Anthony Mundine, which he lost on a unanimous points decision. Lets hope Green has more sense than Fenech and sticks to his word. There is nothing sadder than a boxer still fighting years past his prime.

3. The AFL has been embarrassed this week by the antics of Brendan Fevola and Kane Johnson. Both have been caught urinating in public. In both cases, the player was not sacked. The AFL needs to step in and take action in order to protect the image of the code. Rugby league needs to do a similar thing after the King’s Cross shooting and the actions of a number of players when drinking. Both the AFL and the NRL are assisting in a government-sponsored campaign against binge drinking and the message certainly won’t get through if stars are continually going to misbehave and act in an anti-social manner when drinking.

2. Josh Perry would have to be one of the dumber footballers in the NRL and once more allowed his emotions to cost his team the game. Whilst Newcastle fans were outraged at the sacking of many of their favourite sons by new coach Brian Smith, there were very few upset at Perry’s departure. His performance on Saturday showed why. With less than four minutes remaining and a Manly scrum feed deep in their own territory, Perry gave away a penalty by laying on a cheap headbutt on Knights opponent Danny Wicks. Perry then knocked-on minutes later, allowing the Knights to score and then win the game in extra-time. Perry will now be suspended, which is nothing knew for Perry. Thanks to a simple act of stupidity, Manly lost two premiership points and will now lose their key off-season signing to suspension.

1. The video referee is again in the news after some strange and wrong decisions left both players and fans infuriated. The worst decision without a doubt was the call by Stephen Clark to not award a try to Roosters winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall on the basis of obstruction. The simple fact of the play is that Justin Hodges made a wrong read in defence and the Roosters scored a legitimate try. Of course, the video referee saw it differently and in the end, it did significant damage to the Roosters winning hopes. The NRL once again needs to review the role of the video referee.

Upper of the Week: The performance of Brad Johnson and the Western Bulldogs for the Footscray legend’s 300th game. Johnson kicked five goals, including the eventual winner and was inspirational in getting the Dogs home by three points. Brad Johnson is a hero in the suburbs of western Melbourne and that legend continues to grow with each hearty performance. No player is more deserving of such a milestone victory.

Downer of the Week: The cheap shot by Ben Ross on Cooper Cronk. Ross attacked Cronk with an elbow as the halfback was unprotected, having just kicked a bomb for his outside backs. Ross was rightfully sent off and has been referred to front the judiciary. The Storm have every right to feel aggrieved at the actions of Ross and it is certainly hoped that he is given the maximum suspension.