Welcome to our weekly review/preview of sport in general. The football nerds get their turn later in the week, but now it’s time to cover the rest of the sporting landscape. A bit harder in summer with just Cricket and A League for company, but if anyone can turn nothing into even less it’s us.
That and the best sporting multi money can buy or spend.
WEEKLY THOUGHTS
BIG BASH = PERFECT SUMMER FILLER
Thank the lord for the Big Bash this summer.
Previously our summer revolved around Channel 9’s test cricket with the audio turned down and radio on ABC until the sync went awry, and pretending to get into or care about Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Pheonixes. Not any more.
Despite a lack of close finishes in most games, except for one super over game and a Brisbane Heat who tried their hardest to lose the unlosable game, the Big Bash is a welcome distraction from summer boredom waiting for the footy to start again.
Sure we could go into detail for each game and have wide ranging analysis and detail for you to marvel at. But you didn’t come here for detail. You came here for the bare minimum, the bare minimum is exciting.
And how can you not get excited with all the big name imports that have been wheeled out for this year’s shindig.
We have previously run the rule over our favourites here.
It also provides an excellent nightly betting vehicle for those in the game.
Add to that the quality Channel 10 coverage and is pure gold filler for those summer days.
HOGG
Back from injury break and better than ever. Of course he is. Has only played two games in the tournament thus far, but is as enthusiastic and unplayable as ever.
Bagging multiple victims with an economy rate approved by the Heart Foundation for leanness he has proven quickly that his call up to the Australian T20 side from last year’s form wasn’t in sympathy but for reward of chinaman bowling of the highest quality.
Now there’s talk of a bolt from the west for the World Cup. What a wonderful idea that would be. Hogg would light up the World Cup and was a forgotten hero of our 2007 win in the West Indies where he was equally unplayable as he is now.
A shame that squad has already been announced, and that it will rely mostly on NSW players, but an injury or a selector with real vision would be a welcome addition and may make the World Cup almost interesting.
We can only hope that there’ll be plenty more GBH goodness this tournament and for many more years.
FA CUP 3rd ROUND
Nothing like the EPL Big Boys getting out of their comfort zone when the minnows, try hards and who-the-hells all meet in the third round of the best sporting comp in the world.
Despite the lack of big shocks like a non league minnow knocking out a Top 4 side, there was still plenty of FA Cup moments to savour.
The best of which was 7th tier Blyth Spartans leading 2-0 to ex-EPL Birmingham City. Unfortunately 3 goals in 10 minutes allowed the bigger side to retrieve their pants, and denied us the biggest opportunity for shocks in the third round.
The big boys all took their time to get past lower league opposition with Man City and Chelsea winning narrowly at home to Championship sides, and Liverpool and Man Utd eventually getting past minnows at grounds smaller than their training grounds. AFC Wimbledon were especially impressive with only the usual Steve Gerrard heroics saving them from being beasted by the Dons. The real Dons. Not you Milton Keynes. What do we mean by “beasted”? Check out Adebayo Akinfenwa if you get a chance.
Third tier Sheffield United proved that they are the cup kings and that QPR are reasonably hopeless. Third tier Rochdale and Preston embarrassed Nottingham Forest and Norwich in some of the other surprises. One manager is gone and the other on thinner ice than a Jeff the Dinosaur-Clive Palmer freeform duo performance in Greenland in summer.
And ties? You bet. Plenty of them, leaving teams with the unpopular task of another midweek game to play. Although as an Ipswich fan whose team played away to an EPL side, a replay will do nicely.
Oh, and Arsenal won a replay of last year’s final.
IN BRIEF
Channel 9 found something just as unnecessary and equally as annoying as Michael Slater with the Spider Cam joining in the play today, happily getting in the way of a catch to Steve Smith. And, like Slater, they are justifying it’s overuse and effectiveness despite it being rated by Mr and Mrs Joe and Joanne Public as reasonably annoying and something that adds little to zero to the TV coverage.
The Darts Championship is a must include on every person’s sporting wishlist. Combining alcohol, dressing up, and a sport that requires the least amount of athleticism is a winning formula. 180 times over.
The Asian Cup starts this weekend, with Australia needing someone other than Cahill to score a goal to trouble any of the latter stages. More in our Asian Cup Guide. We’ll quickly shout out to our second team – Uzbekistan. Go White Wolves.
An interesting article on the Fox Sports website during the week. That “Why 2015 Super Rugby will be the best ever”. It got me interested into how, unfortunately the tournament isn’t cancelled which rules out my theory.
GURGLER MEGA MULTI
And now to the money maker. Not that we make money very often, but our $580-1 multi from earlier in the year that no one paid attention to is a lesson that even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Bet Early. Bet often.
THIS WEEK’S PAY $560
T20 – SYD THUNDER to beat Hobart
T20 – MELB STARS to beat Renegades
AFC – UNDER 2.5 GOALS – Socceroos/Kuwait
AFC – STH KOREA to beat Oman
AFC – UZBEKISTAN to beat Nth Korea
AFC – SAUDI ARABIA to beat China
NFL – SEATLLE to beat Carolina
NFL – BALTIMORE to beat Patriots
NFL – COWBOYS to beat Green Bay
NFL – BRONCOS to beat Colts