sidelined

By now any casual sporting fan will have heard of the doping problem in cycling, so I’ll just link to this article by Chicago Tribune columnist Philip Hersh for a brief summation.
Yep, it’s big, but other sporting fans need to realise that cycling is the only sport airing it’s dirty laundry in this way. [...]

Back to your regularly scheduled NRL after the hype of Origin I. A full round this weekend so let’s get to the analysis and tips.

In the aftermath of Queensland’s win in the first State of Origin game the focus south of the border has been on Jarrod Hayne’s 61st minute blunder. Hayne, unfairly, been made a scapegoat for NSW loss by certain blinkered scribes. While Hayne gifted the Cane Toads 6 points, he didn’t lose NSW the game.
Not [...]

According to a poll of 57 Sideliners, taken over some weeks, and left to run for ages because nobody thought of a better poll!
The question was, ‘the true national winter sport of Australia is …’ The answer ‘Australian Rules, because it’s truly national’, scored 13 votes. Only three Sideliners answered ‘Australian Rules, because the boys [...]

When I started doing this, it was partly to keep a record of the reliability of bookies’ odds. I wanted to do this to (a) test the strength of such predictions and (b) see if the bookies’ odds could be believed in other fields, such as tipping Federal elections. Keen readers of other blogs, the [...]

Coming into this match, FC coach Branko Culina said his side needed the ‘X factor’ — that little extra killer instinct that can capitalise on the groundwork a team lays out voer the course of match. Sydney have displayed plenty of the latter over the course of their ACL campaign but have failed to find [...]

From the outset this Sydneysider was cautious about SFC’s chances in the ACL: despite our 2005 Club World Championship showing we were newbies on the international scene, going up against mature, well-heeled clubs from established leagues. It wasn’t quite UEFA Champions League stuff, but well beyond anything any Aussie football team has been asked to [...]

Other codes may try to imitate it but there is nothing like the annual league State of Origin clashes. A contest steeped in folklore and the constant whining of those north of the border about, well anything really. Yes folks, no objective commentary from myself. State of Origin offers no comfort for the indifferent.
I [...]

Hard to believe 10 rounds in the season already. And I’m yet to wear me uggies this winter. Lovely warm weather so far.
State of Origin will see a few teams short of their star players. Apart from Manly and the Storm, the rest of the comp is a wild ride for most teams. [...]

Here’s the fixture:
(96% / $1.10) Crows Tigers ($6.50 / 4%)
(46% / $1.80) Bombers Lions ($1.94 / 54%)
(88% / $1.36) Cats Dockers ($3.00 / 12%)
(36% / $2.20) Hawks Saints ($1.62 / 64%)
(86% / $1.53) Kangaroos Blues ($2.40 / 14%)
(64% / $1.65) Swans Power ($2.15 / 36%)
(48% / $1.80) Bulldogs Magpies ($1.95 / 52%)
(96% / $1.16) Eagles [...]