Posts filed under 'Sport'
There are two things that really irk me about the AFL in recent years, one is that they left Channel Seven (thankfully they are going back), and secondly, and probably more importantly, they have been abandoning some of their common-sense traditions, such as having umpires in noticeable white uniforms.
When the umpires were in white, they were noticeable and they looked professional, no team is dressed fully (or even mostly) in white, and there is no logical reason for changing the colour of umpires uniforms. I really hate seeing them in a different colour every single match, they just don’t stand out. Sure, they aren’t the same colour as any of the competing teams, but they just look like players anyway. The white uniform was obvious, noticeable and made sense…the AFL was stupid to remove it, and I hope they change their mind soon.
I was prompted to write this article after reading a similar opinion in yesterday’s Crikey newsletter.
27. AFL Heritage Round does more than remember the good old days
Nick Place at the Crikey sports desk writes:
Brave or stupid? So often it’s a fine line, and that’s how it was for the AFL with the 80s-themed Heritage round. Why? Because by showcasing some of the old fashions and how footy was played not so many years ago, the League accidentally turned the spotlight on some of the worst of the changes to the “modern game”.
I’m talking about the cosmetic but significant changes that have all helped to bland out the AFL. Like putting goal umpires in smart coloured polo shirts and baseball caps, instead of the traditional white painter’s coats and broad-brimmed lawn bowler hats. They were back on the weekend, and looked sensational.
Or like having umpires wearing white, as they did for 100 years, before some genius at head office decided that their uniform clashed with team guernseys also featuring white. Somehow Collingwood, Geelong and the Kangaroos all took the field on the weekend, along with an umpire in traditional white, and nobody died.
My question is this: if the AFL felt so moved to make the “Men in White” the “Men in Multi-Coloured Hues” as some kind of workplace safety measure, why can they carelessly ditch that concern for an entire round for marketing reasons?
I know this is all low-level stuff, but it matters. You want to hark back to the 80s? I interviewed some Americans at a VFL game back then who had only come to that game to stand behind the goals and marvel at the goal umpire in the white long coat and big hat. They actually had fan clubs devoted to these idiosyncratic officials on the college circuit back in the USA. I’ll bet nobody has a Goal Umpire Fan Club these days, now they’re dressed like every other ho-hum official.
Is the AFL gutsy enough to admit a mistake? Put the umpires and goal umpires back in the clothes they belong in, and only bring back the coloured shirts and baseball caps as a chuckle in a future Noughties Heritage Round? Let personalities like Akermanis have their head, instead of slapping them down for breaking team ranks?
Not likely. Which is a shame.
From memory the umpire colour change only occurred after Seven lost the rights to the AFL…I hope Seven put pressure on the AFL to revert back to white.
Samuel
July 26th, 2006 at 08:20am
It would appear that Nostradamus thinks Spain will win the world cup. Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos (probably not related to Nine’s “60 Minutes”) has run a story which quotes one of Nostradamus’ prophecies, namely:
In the sixth month of 2006 the King of Spain will cross the Pyrenees with his troops. The legions of Beelzebub will battle him in central Europe and suffer doom and destruction. The Holy Grail will then come to Spain.
The only problem I can forsee here is that the world cup ends on July 9…still, when you write something nearly 500 years in advance, I think you can be forgiven for getting the date wrong by 9 days.
For the record, Spain are currently paying $11.00 on ACTTAB Sportsbet to win the world cup.
Samuel
June 26th, 2006 at 06:46am
You may recall that a couple weeks ago legendary race caller Tony Campbell passed away after a battle with cancer.
Well I’m pleased to be able to bring you the news that Tony’s amazing contribution to racing and the community will not be left to disappear in the pages of mass public history. Instead the Canberra Racing Club have decided to name a day and feature race on their new racetrack after the late Tony Campbell.
Thoroughbred News informs us of the following:
Canberra to honour Tony Campbell
1 Jun 2006
Canberra Racing Club announced on Thursday that it will honour its former legendary racecaller, the late Tony Campbell, by staging a new feature race meeting in his name on the Club’s exciting new Acton track.
Friday, 25th August 2006, will see the inaugural running of this event which will be highlighted by a new feature race; the Tony Campbell Cup. Additionally, to honour the great skill of all racecallers, the second feature race on Tony Campbell Cup Day will be known as the Racecallers Cup.
The Canberra Racing Club is planning for this meeting to become a very special annual event and one that will grow into the premier meeting to be conducted on the Acton track each year.
The last Canberra meeting that Tony called was on Melbourne Cup Day 2005. On that day two races were conducted on the Acton Track. To date only three racecallers have called races on the Acton Track; Tony Campbell, Ian Craig, and Josh Fleming. Both Ian and Josh have been invited to call at the inaugural Tony Campbell Cup meeting.
Craig, Sydney’s premier racecaller, and great friend of Tony Campbell, has agreed to be the inaugural caller of the Tony Campbell Cup. Josh Fleming will call the Racecallers Cup and a number of other supporting races on the day.
A number of other great racecallers from around the country will also be invited to attend the meeting and to call a race in Tony’s honour.
Chief Executive of Canberra Racing, Damien Foley, said: ‘Canberra’s Acton Track, Australia’s first synthetic racetrack, has performed brilliantly since being opened for racing and it is fitting that the first feature meeting to be conducted on this surface be named in honour of one of Canberra racing’s greatest ambassadors, the late Tony Campbell. This annual event will ensure that Tony’s contribution to Canberra and region racing will always be remembered.’
The Chief Minister & Racing Minister for the ACT, John Stanhope, will be invited to present the trophy to winning connections of the first running of the Tony Campbell Cup.
The 2006 Tony Campbell Cup, an Open handicap run over 1280m, will offer $40,000 in prizemoney and the 2006 Racecallers Cup, a 1206m Class Three Handicap, will offer $22,000 in prizemoney.
I might just have to try and make my way out there on that day. It may mean not being paid for a day, but it is something I would like to cover here on this site, especially seeing as Tony Campbell is one of the few people to ever receive the prestigious Samuel Salute.
Samuel
June 5th, 2006 at 10:38am
I enjoyed the state of origin match last night, I muted the television and listened to the coverage on 2CC with Andrew Moore, Steve Roach, Daryl Brohman and Tony Megahey, which was quite excellent as usual. The match was brilliant, although it did have a few contentious referee decisions, although it is hard to think of a single NRL match that doesn’t have a contentious decision these days.
The one thing that I’ve been thinking about for a while which I think needs improvement in the NRL, (and I raised this with Andrew and Steve after the match) is that the “modern” game is too fast for one referee. Personally I think we need two referees, one ahead of the play (much like what we have now) watching general play, and another in closer watching the play-the-ball incidents and the other little things that the main ref seems to often miss.
Steve didn’t seem to think that would work as the close ref would get in the way of play, and he is probably right, but we eventually agreed on giving back some power to the touch judges, who used to fill the role of “close ref” before the video referee came in. In my view this would be a good idea, and would improve the game as it would be cleaner, and there would be less controversy. I would give the touch judges the power to pull up play when there is a forward pass or play the ball error (how long has it been since you’ve seen somebody use their feet in the play-the-ball? It’s rare…very rare) or some other problem which needs to be pulled up.
So what do you think?
Samuel
May 25th, 2006 at 12:35pm
It is with a heavy heart that I must bring you the news that race caller Tony Campbell, the legendary stalwart of horse racing and associated sports in Canberra and surrounds, has died of cancer, aged 58. Tony passed away yesterday morning just before 8am.
I really don’t know what to say, it’s just very hard to believe that he is gone, especially when he looked so well only two months ago (as seen in the picture above).
Oddly enough, Telstra Bigpond Sport covered the sad news fairly well, so I will leave the words to them.
The NSW racing industry is deeply saddened with the news this morning that the ‘Voice of Canberra Racing’ Tony Campbell passed away just before 8am today after a courageous battle with cancer.
Tony Campbell, 58, had been associated with the Canberra Racing Club for 29 years in roles that range from Nomination Clerk to Master of Ceremonies. But, of course, Tony was best known for his role as racecaller for Canberra for 26 years.
During this time Tony called 25 consecutive Black Opals and is well known for his thrilling call of the 1992 Black Opal in which his great mate Frank Cleary’s Clan O’Sullivan became the first locally-trained winner of Canberra’s premier event.
Whilst Tony was well known as one of Canberra racing’s best ambassadors, he was also a passionate Canberra Raiders supporter and was the ground announcer at many of the Raiders home games in the early days of the Raiders.
In a long career Tony regularly called many Sydney races for the ABC and occasionally as on-course broadcaster for the AJC. Tony skills were very diverse, as demonstrated by the fact that he also called harness races including three Miracle Miles at Harold Park.
Tony was also a great community man giving up countless hours to entertain the residents of numerous Canberra nursing homes belting out some of his favourite old tunes on the piano. Tony always made himself available to charity organisations helping with many roles such as MC and was always happy to provide animated phantom calls when requested, and even acted as Santa Claus on the odd occasion.
Chairman of Canberra Racing Club, Howard Powell, said: “Canberra Racing and the Canberra community have lost one of their greatest ambassadors today. We are deeply saddened of Tony’s passing.
“Tony was known as ‘The Voice of Canberra Racing’ for 26 years and not only have we lost a great supporter of racing we have all lost a dear friend. Tony will be sadly missed; his passing will leave a void in our industry”.
While details are yet to be confirmed, it is likely that the funeral service of Tony will be held at St Brigid’s Catholic Church, Cnr Bancroft & Whilshire Streets, Dickson, on Friday, 26th May 2006 commencing at 10am, followed by a private burial, and Queanbeyan Racing Club will host a wake following the service.
At Canberra Racing Club’s meeting this Friday jockeys will wear black armbands and a minutes silence will be observed. The Canberra Racing Club Committee will announce a fitting tribute to honour the contribution that Tony made to Canberra Racing in coming weeks.
I suppose the best thing I can do for Tony is to award him with a Samuel Salute, quite possibly the greatest honour I can bestow on someone.
Rest In Peace Tony, you will be missed.
Samuel
May 23rd, 2006 at 06:26am
According to radio 2UE and some audio from the AFL commission, Fremantle have been awarded the win from their match against St. Kilda on the weekend.
Therefore, I will have my footy tips results online later tonight.
Update: The following from an article on afl.com.au
Dockers win
6:15:13 PM Wed 3 May, 2006
Matt Burgan
Sportal for afl.com.au
The AFL has awarded Fremantle the win over St Kilda, with the league’s commission deciding after a special meeting on Wednesday that fairness must prevail.
The AFL Commission met for more than four hours on Wednesday afternoon, hearing submissions from both the Saints and the Dockers, before AFL chairman Ron Evans announced the decision.
“The AFL commission has determined that the correct interpretation of the relevant rules and regulation is that the match concluded immediately after the siren sounded to end the match in the final quarter,” Evans said.
“Effective of this interpretation is that the Fremantle Football Club won the match.
“The commission understands and accepts that there will be significant debate over the outcome of this afternoon’s hearing and the final decision, however, it is the responsibility of the AFL commission to administer the game in the best interests of the competition – I believe that is what we have done today.”
The meeting came about as a result of Sunday’s match at Launceston’s Aurora Stadium, which finished in a draw but only after the Saints kicked a point to level the scores several seconds after the final siren rang. A timekeeping error meant that the siren was rung off before the field umpire could acknowledge the end of the match.
In handing down the decision, AFL Commission chairman Ron Evans said that all timekeepers would be reminded again of their requirement to ring the siren until acknowledged by the field umpire and also committed the AFL to immediately improving the technology available to umpires so that they know immediately when it is the end of the match.
Evans said the AFL took full responsibility for incident.
“As the organisation charged with the management of the national competition, the AFL accepts full responsibility for what took place and unreservedly apologises for the clubs involved, the players and football fans,” Evans said.
“Since Sunday’s incident, the AFL has acted decisively and moving quickly to investigate the incident – seeking submissions from the competing clubs and compiling that evidence for the commission to consider this afternoon.
“It was vital that the process be thorough, fair and just and it was also important the clubs be given time to prepare their submissions. Both clubs acknowledge that it was the right and proper that the commission determined this matter.”
Evans said several action points will now be enforced from next weekend’s matches to ensure that this situation will not occur again.
These processes include:
1. That all AFL timekeepers be instructed about their obligations and reminded of the process in correctly signaling the end of each quarter and their requirements under the rules.
2. An immediate review of the siren and audio system at each AFL venue to check the decibel level of each siren.
3. The investigation of new technology to ensure that the field umpires are alerted to immediately after the siren sounds.
Samuel
May 3rd, 2006 at 07:02pm
The controversy surrounding the AFL match between St. Kilda and Fremantle will be officially resolved on Wednesday afternoon. According to a story on afl.com.au:
A meeting of the AFL commission on Wednesday afternoon will determine the outcome of Sunday’s controversial drawn match between St Kilda and Fremantle at Aurora Stadium.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said at a media conference on Monday afternoon that league investigations officer Allan Roberts had consulted timekeepers and other staff on Monday about the events at the match, in which the Saints snatched a late draw after the field umpires failed to hear the final siren.
Anderson said the AFL commission was empowered with determining the outcome of the match because it had final authority to deal with the rules of the game.
And the commission will be given until Wednesday in order for both the Saints and Dockers to be given enough time to properly present their cases to the AFL.
This is probably a good time to update you on my basic scoring procedures, where a correctly tipped win is worth 1 point, an incorrectly tipped loss (ie. the team I selected, lost) is worth 0 points, and untipped draw is worth 0.5 points and a correctly tipped draw is worth 1 point.
As it stands, (and as it is likely to stand if the rules of AFL are followed by the commission) I will get 0.5 points from that game for an untipped draw, however if the result is taken from the scores at the apparent siren time where Fremantle Dockers were leading, I will get 0 points for an incorrectly tipped loss. If St. Kilda win based on a commission decision (which is remotely possible due to an apparent unawarded 50-metre penalty to St. Kilda which would probably have resulted in a goal and a 5 point victory to St. Kilda, then you can expect a lot of controversy and a higer authority to be called in.
This will be an interesting few days.
Samuel
May 1st, 2006 at 05:58pm
Due to the controversial end to the AFL match between St. Kilda and Fremantle at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, and the official protest surounding it, I will be waiting for the outcome of today’s meeting between AFL and club officials before calculating the results of my footy tips.
The outcome is unlikely to change, as technically no rules were broken, however the exact manner in which the match ended is something which will come under close scrutiny.
AFL officials were unavailable for comment after the match, I was listening to 3AW Football through 2CA and they managed to speak to just about everybody involved except the AFL officials. Even team officials reported being unable to contact AFL officials.
For those of you who haven’t heard the news or clicked on the link above, here is what happened according to Seven News.
Fremantle has launched an official protest over Sunday’s controversial AFL draw against St Kilda at Aurora Stadium in Launceston.
Dockers officials lodged paperwork with the umpires a few minutes after the match, where the Saints scored 13.16 (94) and Fremantle ended on 14.10 (94).
The ground siren’s volume was not loud enough all day and field umpire Matthew Nicholls failed to hear it at the end of the game.
Fremantle led by a point when the siren went, but Nicholls let play continue, bouncing the ball as Dockers players complained.
Approximately nine seconds later, St Kilda’s Steven Baker kicked a behind to level the scores before the umpires ended the game.
Baker was then given another chance after being awarded a free kick after disposal, but that shot also went through for a point.
Dockers coach Chris Connolly and several other bemused Fremantle officials were on the ground as the drama played out.
The AFL football operations staff are currently discussing the matter with the umpires and timekeepers.
This will be interesting to say the least. The rules as they stand are open to exploitation by umpires as they decide when the game ends, however that is unlikely to change due to the simple fact that technology does fail, and a human needs to be able to make the decision. Perhaps we need a “third umpire” to assist with the decision if the ground umpires don’t hear the siren. Admittedly this wouldn’t be a “third umpire” as there are already three main umpires, two goal umpires, two boundary umpires and an emergency umpire, so perhaps the term “grandstand umpire” would be best.
Personally I think the AFL could use Hawkeye, the system which is able to accurately track the ball through a three dimensional space. It wouldn’t solve the issue of timekeeping, but it would be useful in cases where the umpires aren’t sure if the ball has been touched prior to going through the goals or touched prior to going out on the full, or even in cases where it is unclear whether the ball has bounced in the field of play or gone out on the full, and especially useful when the ball goes too high for the umpires to clearly know whether it has gone through for a goal, behind, or out of bounds.
Surely this (and general overseeing of umpiring decisions) would be a good use of a “grandstand umpire”.
Samuel
May 1st, 2006 at 12:38am
I am pleased to be able to confirm that AFL did not get the chop in 2CA’s recent format change, and will be broadcast again this year, continuing to make the Capital Radio Network the sports leader in Canberra, with the excellent 3AW AFL coverage relayed on 2CA, and the excellent 2GB NRL coverage relayed on 2CC, with 2CC’s own local team covering Raiders matches not covered by 2GB.
Samuel
March 30th, 2006 at 09:16am
Last Sunday was Black Opal day, the feature day of the Canberra horse racing calendar. Southern Cross Ten were broadcasting live from Canberra’s race track, Thoroughbred Park.
This is something which should be commended as it shows as comittment to local television and the local community, as well as setting an example for the other local stations which haven’t ventured out of the studios for a live broadcast since…well…I don’t think living memory goes back that far. A live broadcast of a sporting event is no easy task, especially for a station that hasn’t done anything like it since stopping live local news bulletins from a studio about five years ago.
Anyway, the coverage got underway at 2:30pm
Our host was Alison Drower (rhymes with “grower”), who appeared to be in front of a green screen, with the background footage superimposed. The studio was probably up in a corporate box somewhere, and I don’t know why they stuck the netting there, but they did, and it made for an interesting background.
On 2CC that morning, Mike Frame announced that he would be part of the coverage, adding “colourful local racing personality” to his business card on top of “2CC’s Classic Aussie” and various other titles. This got me thinking…what titles would people get? Mike Frame appeared, with Ex-Fill In Prime TV Weatherman David Honke (pronounced Honk-EE).
David Honke did not get a title
Despite hiring Mike as a “colourful local racing personality”, they gave him the easier to fit on to the captions “Racing Commentator”. It is worthwhile pointing out that Mike worked for SSS FM, Canberra’s old ACTTAB funded community racing station, and former inhabitant of 103.9MHz, long before News Radio moved in from their old 1440KHz (AM).
Mike and David spent a bit of time talking, before we went to Simon Dearing and Julie Nehme, the fashion and crowd reporters for the day. They started off in a bad for TV shaded area next to a sunny area.
Later on we saw ex-2CC newsreader Guy Sweeting talking with Canberra race caller Tony Campbell about the history of the Black Opal and what will happen today.
Near the end of the interview, and in a different location, we finally see the face of Guy Sweeting.
Tony Campbell then did a “phantom call” of the race.
Mike Frame appeared again, interviewing Gratz Vella, the trainer of One Time, a horse running in the Black Opal
We then saw One Time having a bit of a roll in the sand.
The first studio guest was Camille Ducker, head of Fashion and Design at CIT, mildly eccentric, but great fun to interview…or so it seemed.
Julie Nehme appeared again, this time with Fashions On The Field
Simon Dearing then went to the opposite extreme and found the people who were looking somewhat odd for the day.
David Honke then had a chat with local bookmaker Roger Norton, who has been at every Black Opal.
He even got a title of “Bookmaker”
David Honke then had a very interesting chat with Ted Doon, the jockey who came second in the inaugural Black Opal of 1973. This is an interesting story because it came down to a photo finish, and apparently an earthquake a week beforehand had moved the photo finish camera slightly out of allignment, and cost him the race…according to him.
David and Ted did a rerace, won by Ted
And the photo finish from 1973
We got to see the crowd quite a few times, and it looked like a good turnout.
Mike Frame had a chat with Gary Buchanan of the Canberra Racing Club about the training pool.
And a horse in the training pool.
Alison then had another studio guest, this time a short interview with John Crommie, Manager of AAMI Insurance in the ACT/Regional NSW area. This mainly involved their reasons for sponsoring the Black Opal.
Next up was Kevin Sweeney, who has been involved in every Black Opal since the first. Guy Sweeting did this inerview.
The horses enjoy Kevin’s company by the looks of it.
Then it was time to cross to Mike Frame in the bettin ring to tell us who the punters thought would win.
Alison’s hat decoration managed to move the netting a few times
We headed back to Julie Nehme who had Trish Hanrahan telling us about the winners of Fashion In The Fields. Apparently we saw the winners briefly…but it was that brief that it could have been anyone.
Simon Dearing checked with the racegoers who they thought was going to win
Then it was time to head back to the studio, where Mike, Alison and David conducted an in depth look at the race
They appeared to have fun too
The analysis continued as the Sky Channel footage started to roll in and ruin the lovely green oasis images which Southern Cross Ten had been producing all day.
The all important race list was shown
Now bored of watching Sky footage of horses slowly entering the barrier with no race caller, we went back to the studio
Race Caller Ian Craig appeared, and Sky footage returned to the broadcast, but the barrier attendants had to push a horse into the barrier, it didn’t want to budge for a while though.
Finally the race was ready to go with light flashing and Ian Craig ready for the 1200m Black Opal. The Cyclist at top right made it just in time for the race and television coverage, arriving just moments before this picture.
“They’re off in the Black Opal”
They were pretty spread out through the back straight.
Coming around the home turn
With 200m to go One Time is in the lead
With 100m to go Down The Wicket is flying up the outside
Down The Wicket wins the 2006 Black Opal, followed closely by One Time and Luvuleo
Back to the studio with Mike, Alison and David while we wait for Sky’s interview with the jockey.
A race replay while we wait.
Alison tears up her non-winning ticket.
According to the ACTTAB race board’s offical results display, the first six horses were 8 (Down The Wicket), 7(One Time), 2(Luvuleo), 4(Solar Mighty), 14(Ellas Bar), 9(Navaho Trail). Down The Wicket ran a time of 1 minute, 9.94 seconds, with the last 600m taking up 35.84 seconds. Down The Wicket beat One Time by a long neck, and One Time beat Luvuleo by 1 length. The track was good.
There was some post race analysis with Mike, Alison and David.
Unlike Mike Frame, Julie Nehme tipped the horse Mike said would win, and it did. Simon wasn’t so lucky.
Alison informed us that Sky didn’t provide an interview.
And that it is time to say goodbye.
It was then time for the extensive credits, and the Southern Cross Ten logo, before they returned to pre-recorded programming.
Well done Southern Cross Ten, you did a fantastic job, and let’s hope that more of these “live and local” events occur. It is good to see that regional television is still alive and kicking. Well done to all involved!
For the record, the ACTTAB dividends were as follows:
8. Down The Wicket: Win $35.10, Place $7.00
7. One Time: Place $7.30
2. Luvuleo: Place $2.60
Quinella 8-7: $325.40
Trifecta 8-7-2: $9830.10
Exacta 8-7: $1102.80
Running Double 6-8: $341.90
Scratchings: 3-6-17-18
Samuel
(Update: It would appear that Southern Cross Ten misspelled Simon Deering’s name, and I did too as I based my spelling of names on their spelling of names. Sorry about that.)
March 24th, 2006 at 03:30pm
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Lynsey Armitage and Karen Murphy, the two ladies who won gold in the women’s pairs lawn bowls event at the Commonwealth Games. The won gold is a thrilling and convincing show of power and excellence, overcoming Scotland 11-7, 14-3 in the final.
Lawn Bowls is a magnificent sport, and I am glad that it is receiving the profile it deserves by being a part of the Commonwealth Games.
Well done Lynsey and Karen!
It is worth noting that Australia got a medal in each of the Lawn Bowls events, with another gold going to the Mens Triples team.
Samuel
March 22nd, 2006 at 11:35pm
As citizens of commonwealth countries would be well aware by now, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games start on Wednesday night. Various broadcasters around the world will be covering it, but here in Australia the coverage will be brought to you by Channel 9, ABC Radio, and much more interestingly, Southern Cross Radio and affiliates.
Among the people bringing you the Commonwealth Games on Southern Cross are Bruce McAvaney, Kieran Perkins, Shane Healy, Tony Leonard, Murray Olds, Matt Granland, John Gibbs & Raelene Boyle.
The “host” broadcaster is 3AW (not surprising considering that they are in Melbourne), and the games coverage will be relayed to Southern Cross and subscriber stations. In most cases this is likely to be your local John Laws broadcaster.
Games coverage on 3AW will take place from 10am to 1pm and again from 6pm to 10pm daily. I would presume that 2UE will continue the John Laws Morning Show during the 10am-1pm session, and possibly even Afternoons with John Stanley during that time for the benefit of network stations who aren’t taking the Games, but I would expect 2UE to take the full games coverage.
Network stations’ own broadcast schedule is a mystery, and will obviously be up to them. I would personally be surprised if 2CC interrupt the rugby league coverage for the Commonwealth Games, and would be even more surprised if they don’t interrupt Laws and Stanley for the Commonwealth Games. None the less, contact your local stations for details.
Radioinfo have a bit more information about the Commonwealth Games coverage:
The game plan for the Games on 3AW Southern Cross Radio
10 Mar 2006
3AW, the official commercial radio broadcaster for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games will begin its coverage with a special program at 6pm on Wednesday by the breakfast boys, Ross Stevenson and John Burns, from the station’s outside broadcast site at the special Live Site at Queensbridge on the Yarra.
The coverage will then move to the MCG where Clinton Grybas will join Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady to cover the opening ceremony in Nightline.
For the 12 days of the games 3AW will provide extensive coverage of all sporting events. There will be block coverage of events from 10am through to 1pm and again at 6pm to the close of the day’s competition around 10pm.
3AW programs will also be out and about during the games. Mornings with Neil Mitchell, Afternoons with Ernie Sigley and Drive with Derryn Hinch will broadcast from 3AW’s special games outside broadcast facilities at the Live Site and from the MCG.
Each night after the conclusion of sporting events, Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady will broadcast from the Queensbridge Live Site.
In addition to more than 80 hours live sporting coverage, 3AW will bring listeners all the news as it breaks, interviews with the stars and The Games Today, a daily wrap of all the action, hosted by Bruce McAvaney and Clinton Grybas at 6pm.
Weekend programs will also be out and about the city during the duration of the games.
The broadcast team is headed by Bruce McAvaney with more than 20 years of broadcasting including six summer Olympics under his belt. Sportscaster Clinton Grybas has broadcast just about every sport over the last 11 years, spanning the Olympics, the AFL Grand Final, The Australian Open Tennis and the Manchester and Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. And Kieran Perkins brings his great knowledge of swimming to 3AW listeners.
Also joining the team will be Shane Healy, Tony Leonard, George Grljusich, Benny Pike, Smokey Dawson, Murray Olds, Matt Granland, John Gibbs, Karl Langdon and Andrew Hewett.
Expert analysis will be provided by Raelene Boyle, David Wansborough, Phil Smyth, Michele Timms, Jim Irvine, Eloise Southby-Halbish and James Victor.
So, my plan for the Games. I will naturally be listening on 2CC, and when I’m watching on TV I will have the TV muted, and 2CC turned up. It will be very good to hear Bruce McAvaney in full voice and, to change the topic for a moment, I can’t wait to hear him calling Friday Night AFL for Seven again next year.
Samuel
March 10th, 2006 at 11:16pm
The Canberra Capitals have beaten the Dandenong Rangers 68-55 in the WNBL (Women’s National Basketball League) grand final.
This from our friends at The Age
Canberra wins WNBL grand final
Lauren Jackson has spearheaded the Canberra Capitals to their fourth women’s national basketball title in seven years with a 68-55 victory over Dandenong Rangers.
Jackson scored a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds in the WNBL final with 13 of her points coming in a blistering second quarter performance as the Capitals raced to a 14-point halftime lead.
The Rangers powered back early in the third quarter, closing to within three points and keeping Jackson scoreless for the entire term.
But Canberra steadied and closed the match out in front of a sellout 2,200 crowd at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
Jackson received great support inside from fellow Opals giant Jenny Whittle (12 points and nine rebounds) while guard Kellie Abrams scored 14 – including two important late third quarter baskets.
For the Rangers, Caitlin Ryan and Carly Wilson top-scored with 17 points apiece.
The defeat ended the Rangers’ recent dominance of the WNBL after they had won the past two championships.
For the Capitals, this season’s victory adds to their 1999-00, 2001-02 and 2002-03 titles.
The grand final is expected to be Jackson’s final WNBL match for the foreseeable future as she concentrates on her American WNBA commitments with Seattle.
I caught the last ten minutes or so of the TV coverage on the ABC, and was rather surprised to find erstwhile AFL commentator for Seven and ABC News Radio was the main commentator and host of the ABC basketball coverage. It’s good to see Drew still doing what he loves, and I hope he comes back to Seven when they resume coverage of AFL in 2007. Drew was looking well too.
Update: ABC2 (Available on free to air digital and possibly pay TV) will be replaying the full two hours of live coverage tomorrow at 11am. I’ll probably tune in as I would like to see the match.
Samuel
February 18th, 2006 at 06:51pm
The AFL have now confirmed that the Seven/Ten consortium have won the broadcast rights for the 2007-2011 AFL seasons with the right to sell up to four games per week to other providers if they desire.
Hooray for good coverage, and congratulations to Seven & Ten.
Further Update: Seven/Ten have decided to sell three games to Foxtel per week
Samuel
January 5th, 2006 at 05:33pm
The Seven/Ten consortium have matched the Nine/Foxtel bid for the AFL, unfortunately this makes things slightly unclear as to who will win the rights. Seven/Ten have first and last bid rights, but a match isn’t an outbid, so who knows?
Ultimately I would prefer to have the AFL on Seven/Ten. Firstly, Seven/Ten do a better job of it in my view, plus Nine are already tied up with NRL and can’t really put both on live on Friday night.
Seven & Ten also have the better commentators in my view, hopefully Bruce McAvaney will take up the commentators position again. He is in my view, the best AFL commentator of the current era. He has done well hosting things for Seven, hopefully they can persuade him into the seat behind the microphone…or he might just jump in…
Putting that to one side, Nine (excluding Dennis Commetti Ex-Seven) and Foxtel have some of the most boring and pointless AFL commentators the game has ever seen, and don’t get me started on Collingwood president Eddie McGuire commentating on Collingwood matches for Nine.
Bring back good AFL Coverage, give the rights to Seven & Ten!
Samuel
January 5th, 2006 at 03:00pm
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