This will hurt me...

Yet again , I have been drawn to the water and the dazzling orange hull of the Aurora Australis! I had intended to post a photograph of the visiting US Navy amphibious assault ship, the USS Tarawa . Unfortunately, none of my shots met with my strict editorial standards (I am a hard taskmaster). Thus, you get to see the Aurora again, albeit this time with a little friend on the left. Not all is lost though, with Greg at Hobart Daily successfully capturing the visitors very nicely here . I was also pleased to hear a report from notorious man-about-town (and sometime commentator on this blog), the mysterious ‘Coach’, that the pride of the US Navy were spotted in full force at the thrilling clash between the Hobart versus Clarence blockbuster at North Hobart Oval on Saturday. By all accounts the Budweiser was flowing, the Hobart merchandise was flying out the door and even the good old National Pie went down well with the sailors. Perhaps the AFL need to exploit this newfound love of th...

Alright, maybe Essendon won't be winning the flag this year ...

What a big week in footy! The Bombers flying high after thumping North Melbourne , the Tigers spoiling cheating Carlton's party , Melbourne appearing to throw in the towel for the 2008 season about seven minutes in, and the Sydney Swans endeavoring to lift the ratings for SBS's bigamy melodrama Big Love with their special brand of "football" . The sense of excitement has only been heightened with a strong start to the tipping season for our mob, with four tied all on top with a very impressive six from eight, with the inexperienced Henry, pregnant and fatigued Jenry and the unfortunate exile in the city of sin Good Parson Edgar Freelove hot on the heels only one tip behind. This could turn out to be the closest tipping year on record. A scan of the post-round wrap up in tomorrow's fish and chip wrappers has thrown up an early candidate for comment of the year. The newcomer to footy coverage, the Herald Sun's self-professed girly-girl Miss Saints aptly captu...

Alright, I promise that I won't say any more, it's been done to death and he's now been cleared , but I'd like one last word on the whole sorry Roos saga. My understanding of the rule breach that Paul Roos was investigated over states that one is not supposed to "intentionally induce or encourage any player to perform otherwise than on his merits". Roos said that any comment that he may or may not have made was simply in jest. Fair enough, but I struggle with that given that the other part of his defence appeared to be "why would I seriously tell him to not kick a goal (and throw the game), I didn't need to because he knew that we never intended to win the game!" Now, I have no doubt that he's telling the truth. Footage of the game showed McVeigh run on to the groundlaughing after receiving his instructions from Roos, so it probably was all a funny little comment about not kicking a goal that the four witnesses probably heared (albeit their s...

The Swans insist that it is all much ado about nothing ; the AFL is keen to protect the integrity of the competition ; Roos thinks that he is being unfairly persecuted and that the AFL have a vendetta against him ; Andy Demetriou says that it's "nothing personal" , he's even in the Telegraph counselling restraint . Aker (being Aker) just can't keep out of any argument and reckons the pre-season comp should be scrapped . The people of Sydney are in uproar ! In The Age, Carro reckons that it is a farce and is holding the fort for her good mate Snooze; in the Hun noted hack Mark Robinson thinks that it's all the fault of the league ; yet also in the Hun chief footy scribe Mike Sheehan disagrees and thinks that Roos has come out looking soiled , and that the AFL's point is valid. It should shock no-one that I agree with Sheehan. The competitive spirit within me cannot accept that football can tolerate actively trying to lose a game. As I said in an earlier p...