The Sporting Day: Some Sporting Observations

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Some Sporting Observations

8. The Green Bay Packers are acting in a totally unreasonable manner in regards franchise legend Brett Favre. Favre will come out of retirement and has asked for a release after it was revealed that Favre will not even be allowed to compete for the starting job with Green Bay, a contest he would, of course, win. Green Bay have said that he will not be released and that he can only talk with certain teams. Green Bay should either start Favre or release him. He has earned that right. The Packers are playing a selfish game of brinksmanship and the longer it goes on, the more damage they are doing to the Packer brand. They are hoping that the entire situation will just go away. It won’t and the Packers need to realise that. They claim they want to move on. It is about time they started moving on.

7. Rich “Goose” Gossage has finally been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was the ninth time he was on the ballot. It defies belief that it has taken so long for the baseball pioneer to be given baseball’s ultimate honour. Over a career that spanned twenty-two seasons, Gossage was one of the great relief pitchers in baseball. During his halcyon days in the late seventies and early eighties, Gossage was nearly unhittable. He was the forerunner to the dominant closing pitchers such as Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, highlighting the importance of the reliever. Gossage is a worthy Hall of Famer. The shame is that he wasn’t inducted earlier.

6. Some Are Bent is the perfect example as to why jumps racing must be maintained in Victoria. The champion jumper was absolutely outstanding in winning the Hiskens Steeplechase on Saturday. The Robert Smerdon trained steed held off the fast finishing Frenzillian in what was a brilliant display of jumping. It was the one highlight on an otherwise lackluster card. Some Are Bent has now won ten times and placed a further six in eighteen jumping efforts. Connections have indicated that he will now tackle the Nakayama Grand Jump in an attempt to repeat the heroics of fellow Australian chaser Karasi. He certainly has the talent to win the world class race.

5. Once more, it wasn’t to be for Cadel Evans. Evans was courageous in this year’s Tour De France and again that courage took him to second place. He just can’t seem to get past that last hurdle. Evans, who was beaten by Spaniard Oscar Pereiro last year, was downed by Spaniard Carlos Sastre this time around. Though trailing by 1:34 going into the second last stage, Evans was expected to claim the yellow in the time trial dubbed the “Race of Truth”. It wasn’t to be with an earlier crash and a ordinary team around him eventually leaving the tough Evans bereft of energy. Evans was courageous and will hopefully again be on the podium in Beijing.

4. Collingwood President Eddie McGuire is completely out of line, once again, in attempting to form an alliance with Geelong and poach the Easter Thursday game from Richmond and Carlton. Richmond and Carlton drew over 70,000 to the clash this season and had hoped to lock in the blockbuster for a number of years. Collingwood, however, are seeking to steal the date and lock in a Cats-Magpies match. Collingwood have enough dates set aside for themselves and are only doing damage to the AFL with their selfishness. The AFL needs to step in and ensure Collingwood are kept in line for the good of the game.

3. The Canberra Raiders have shown some real leadership in suspending star halfback Todd Carney for the remainder of the season. They were honest and up-front and did not bow to media pressure and fire him. He was fined and suspended with the leadership group playing a key role. The punishment was handed down in spite of the fact that Canberra are making a legitimate run at the finals. Carney is clearly a kid with problems and the Raiders are doing their best to help him while ensuring a line in the sand has been drawn on unacceptable behaviour. It has nothing to do with being a role model. It is about being part of a team. The Raiders should be applauded.

2. Parramatta may have got the two points on Friday night but they are along way from being back in the finals race. The Eels were lackluster and inept and only barely managed to get the win against a Cowboys team who had lost twelve on the trot. The Eels are painfully decrepit with the ball. Worse, they are playing like a team divided with rumours running wild that there is a clear split in the team between senior players and the young brigade stemming back to the King’s Cross shooting earlier this year. The Eels are done for this season.

1. The NRL and the Bulldogs have no choice but to take on Sonny Bill Williams and those who induced him to breach his contract in the court system. David Gallop made the right decision in banning Williams for life from the NRL and he must continue to operate with an iron fist in regards the issue. Williams must not be allowed to play any code until his contract expires at the conclusion of 2012 and the Bulldogs and the NRL must push this through the courts to ensure this happens. It is a matter of principle that will have long term ramifications for the game. No payout should be accepted by either club or league. This is about the sanctity of a contract and the greater game needs to be protected.

Upper of the Week: The Wallabies stunning 34-19 Bledisloe Cup win. Robbie Deans has turned the Wallabies into a winning team that plays exciting rugby and a win against his homeland will have tasted very sweet after he was overlooked for the All Blacks job. Deans is a bright star and may take Australian rugby to the heights last seen under Rod Macqueen.

Downer of the Week: Sonny Bill Williams. His gross act of betrayal has hurt his team, his teammates, the Polynesian community he professed to represent, fans of the game and the sport itself. His decision to flee without even informing his teammates is the most disgraceful element of his abandonment. It was an act of immense greed. Canterbury and the NRL will now be forced to undertake expensive and time consuming legal action to prevent Williams playing in France. The whole situation is incredibly sad.