Gods of Sport

Ok, that is it. GoS has been biting tongue for a while now with regard to the "Pride of the Gold Coast" , the mighty Titans. Now it was only recently that GoS was expressing support for the Titans and saying how impressed we are to have a local Rugby League team to follow again. Then came the news that the Titan’s management had decided to move the teams first (like, very first every as a club) home competition game to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, meaning Gold Coast based fans must now travel 1 to 1.5 hours to another city in order to watch their "local" team make their big-time debut. Titan’s management were on the spin pretty fast, assuring all the fans and members that this was actually being done for their benefit as the bigger ground would ensure that all the fans who wanted to see the Titan’s first game would get the chance. You can rest assured that it had absolutely nothing to do with trying to wring a few extra bucks out of the event. No Way. Nup. Thought never crossed the Titan’s managements mind. Its all about the fans baby.

And then……

GoS hears on the radio that the Titan’s play their first Trial game (against an NRL club) tomorrow night. Excellent. Now this really is the first time the Titan’s will be playing as a club in the big time. After years of complex negotiations with the NRL to get a club based on the Gold Coast, local businesses kicking in sponsorship and support, local and State Government offering support and fans signing up for membership’s this very first ever game will of course be played on the Gold Coast. Errr, well no actually. The very first time the GOLD COAST Titan’s front up for a serious game of football they will be playing in Coffs Harbour, NSW - a mere 4 hours drive south of the Gold Coast. At least the Suncorp Stadium game is in the same State!! The Banana Coast Credit Union (Coffs Harbour based) is a Titan’s sponsor. But of course that is not what drives the Titan’s. Its all about the fans.

And then……

GoS checks the Titan’s web page to see when they actually do play on the Gold Coast. Next week there is another Trial game against the Eels. Gold Coast? Nup, sorry. Lismore - 2 hours drive south. 2nd of March (third trial game) will be your first chance to see the Gold Coast Titans play on the Gold Coast. At Carrara vs the Penrith Panthers. Now we’re getting somewhere!! Unfortunately the following week is the first round of the competition proper (see first paragraph) and if you want to see Gold Coast play at home well you have to go to another city for that. In fact between the 17th of February and the 25th of April (9 games) the Titan’s will play on the Gold Coast twice. Assuming that neither of those games are switched to a more profitable venue of course. Way to build that local supporter base guys.

The Gold Coast has had teams in the NRL before which have failed. They failed mainly because they were never able to build up a decent local support base. Now to be fair the Titans aren’t responsible for the NRL draw but they do have control over where they play trial matches and certainly control the venue for home games. Come on if you are going to call yourself the GOLD COAST Titans then at least play some games here. Remember in the end it really is all about the fans.

Every now and then a story comes along which is just such a slow moving target that you can’t help yourself.

Homophobic chanting is to be explicitly banned at football stadiums for the first time, it emerged today. The move is part of a drive by the Football Association to stamp out the problem at matches. Currently ground regulations merely warn that “racial and other discrimination” can lead to ejection, or even arrest if it is sufficiently serious. But a spokeswoman for the FA said today that the rules were being modified specifically to mention homophobic behaviour.
’Homophobic chanting’ to be banned at English football grounds | 24dash.com - Communities

What the hell are the fans going to do if they cannot call this as they see it??

Football (Soccer), Obsessed Fans, Homophobia, Gay Players

Seriously - WTF is this!! Floyd Landis dressed very disturbingly.

Talk about the wheels of justice turning slowly! The Floyd Landis Tour de France doping case continues to not move in any direction particularly forward. The French anti doping agency (AFLD) were expected to make a decision on the case on Thursday but have instead passed the buck neatly on to the U.S. Anti doping agency apparently at Floyd’s request. The French will now not rule on the case until after the US agency makes their ruling in May. So what happens if one agency says he OK and the otherdoesn’t? Does anyone still care? Does anyone still take cycling seriously?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport and the criminal court system are creaking at the seams with an embarrassingly endless series of cases being heard against pro cyclists. Even if half of those accused are innocent it is still obvious that the sport is rotten to the core.

PARIS (AP) -The French anti-doping agency postponed a decision Thursday on whether to suspend Tour de France winner Floyd Landis because of a positive doping test after he agreed not to race in the country this year. The AFLD had been expected to rule, but agreed to an appeal by Landis to postpone their decision until after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency rules in May, AFLD president Pierre Bordry said. The AFLD will resume its discussion of the case in late June. The decision came after Landis pledged not to race in France in 2007, Bordry said in a statement he read to reporters in Paris. “He understood perfectly that if he didn’t act today, we would start the procedure immediately,” Bordry said. “We will let Landis defend himself as he wishes before the USADA.” Landis had hip-replacement surgery 4½ months ago, so it was unlikely that he would have competed in this year’s Tour.
iWon - Sports News

Athletes Behaving Badly, Cycling, Drugs in Sport, Floyd Landis, Tour de France, UDADA, AFLD

The train wreck that is the life of former World Heavy Weight champ “Iron” Mike Tyson slipped further off the rails to day as Mike booked himself into an undisclosed rehab centre for treatment of what his attorney described as “various addictions”. The more cynical amoung us may think that this has a lot to do with Mike trying to rack up a few brownie points before he faces court on February 26. Mike has pleaded not guilty to charges of drug possession and paraphernalia possession as well as and two misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence of drugs. This all relates back to the incident in December when Tyson was arrested near Scottsdale, Arizona and famously told the arresting officers that “I am F**ked up!!”

As the guys over at Deadspin quite rightly point out maybe the most amazing thing about this is that Tyson has never been in rehab before. With all the stuff he has done over the years you would think that at some stage a judge or somebody able to communicate with him would have got him into a program of some sort. The future don’t look to bright of the “baddest man on the planet”.

MIKE Tyson has checked himself into rehab for “various addictions” while he awaits trial on drug charges, his lawyer said this morning (AEDT). The former world heavyweight champion “needed to get involved in something that would help him with his addiction”, his attorney, David Chesnoff, told Associated Press in the United States. Chesnoff refused to divulge exactly what Tyson’s addictions were, but police said the boxer told officers he was using cocaine frequently. Chesnoff said Tyson checked himself into an undisclosed facility shortly after appearing in a Phoenix courtroom.
Tyson checks into rehab | | The Australian

Athletes Behaving Badly, Boxing, Drugs in Sport, Mike Tyson, Rehab, Cocaine

One of the highlights of the Superbowl each year is the TV ads. Companies pay millions for the air time during the Superbowl so they try and put out their best new stuff. Whilst this years collection were probably not as good as some other years they are still generally pretty funny. Here are some of the best of them.

Well despite his reputation as the greatest choke artist in the NFL Peyton Manning had the last laugh today as he steered the Indianapolis Colts around the park to bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy.

"It’s hard to put into words," said Manning, the game’s MVP after hitting 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception. "I’m proud to be part of this team. We stuck together, won this game for our leader, Tony Dungy."

If every there was a chance to loose the plot in the big game this was it. For a start it was raining (for the first time ever at a Super Bowl) which should have suited the defence orientated Bears down to the ground. Then from the kickoff Devin Hester ran the return back 92 yards for a TD. The happiest man around when this happened was Dwayne who cooked up this scenario on his PS 11 hours ago. Here is the video below. He is probably delivering self-inflicted uppercuts right now while he tries to imagine what odds his bookie would have given him for that.

If you want all the serious commentary on the game check here and here and here and here.

If you would like to know what happened at halftime check out the mighty MJD over at Deadspin. If you would like to read some guys trying to hold it together and write a live blog during the game and failing miserably enjoy the lads from Kissing Suzy Kolber.

Wet and wild - and the perfect winning conditions for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. A team built for indoors found its footing on a rain-soaked track and outplayed the Chicago Bears to win the NFL title 29-17 Sunday night.The Colts were far less sloppy, particularly their star quarterback, who proved he can indeed win the big game - the biggest game.That’s what it was, too, for Tony Dungy, who became the first black coach to win the championship, beating good friend and protege Lovie Smith in a game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl.
Colts Tame Bears for Super Bowl Victory - Forbes.com

America’s influence on the "World Game" appears to be growing. Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers (Baseball) and the Dallas Stars (Ice Hockey) is partnering with George Gillett Jr. (Montreal Canadiens) to attempt to purchase the Liverpool Football Club. Negotiations with the American consortium are serious enough that it caused the Dubai based, Dubai International Capital, owned by the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to pull out of a proposed $882 million offer on Wednesday. Dubai International Capital called off negotiations after hearing that the Liverpool board of directors was considering a bid from Gillett.

This is fairly surprising because only two weeks ago the Dubai bid looked like a done deal. It can only be assumed that the American offer is bigger and better, which means we are talking big, big bucks.

DALLAS — Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers, is close to adding England’s Liverpool soccer club to his list of sports holdings. Hicks has agreed to join Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. in a bid to purchase the five-time European champions, a person familiar with the negotiations said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.The decision by Hicks to join Gillette’s bid was first reported by The Dallas Morning News on its Web site Thursday. Hicks did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
ESPNsoccernet - World - Hicks joins Gillett in attempt to purchase Liverpool

Here is a selection of non-offensive Mexican Wave’s.

And incidentally, if the cricket nazis bothered to do their research they would realise that it is no use expelling one or two people for trying to start a Mexican wave.

"In spite of all the real positives that we’ve had this summer, the blight on the game has been the Mexican wave we have seen at various grounds around the country," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said. "It’s not so much the wave itself, but the people who have participated in the wave have thrown things in the air in such a way that we believe it’s now got to a stage where we cannot ensure the public’s safety and comfort."
’Adios’ to the Mexican wave - News - Ashes Tour 06-07 - theage.com.au

What a load of bullshit!! The fun police have struck again. In a lame, lame piece of spin James Sutherland the CEO of Cricket Australia desperately tries to explain why the Mexican wave has suddenly become unacceptable. In a summer which has seen record crowds at the cricket we have also seen record criticism of the heavy handed "security" at matches in all States. Qld led the charge by imposing new tighter security inspections (without notice) at the Gabba which caused massive delays in getting people into the ground in time for the start of the game on the first couple of days. Huge numbers of people had cameras, musical instruments and "oversized" bag confiscated before they were allowed into the ground. The oversized bag thing is especially an outrage because it has nothing to do with "security" and everything to do with restricting peoples ability to bring their own food and drink to the ground, forcing them to then line up for the overpriced slop served up at the concession stands. The English "Barmy Army" have rated this as their worst tour ever partly because of their teams dismal form but principally because of the jack-booted, strong-arm crowd control tactics employed by Cricket Authorities throughout the summer.

So while paying between $40 and $80 dollars per day for your seat at the one day international you are bound by the following terms and conditions. The most outrageous of these being :-

9. that entry to the Venue is only permitted to spectators who agree to be searched (including their bags, clothes or other possessions) on entry and continued presence in the Venue is only permitted to spectators who agree to be searched (including their bags, clothes or other possessions) while in the Venue;

So some dick from a private security company has the right to search your person (presumably that’s where your clothes will be) and if you refuse to be frisked by the goon you can be tossed out of the ground.

11.that they consent to:
(i) the recording of their likeness and/or voice by any means (including but not limited to audio and visual recordings by television cameras and photographers) (together “Images”); and
(ii) the commercial exploitation, throughout the world, of their Images by any means by Cricket Australia and its commercial partners without compensation;

In other words you can be recorded or photographed without your knowledge and Cricket Australia then retains the right to make money from those images/recordings without every asking your permission or paying you one red cent.

12. that they are admitted to the Venue at their own risk;

13. that they are required to take appropriate care for their sun protection and hydration;

15. that Cricket Australia shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the patron or caused by any act or omissions of Cricket Australia;

Yep the old "all care but no responsibility" defense.

Cricket Australia need to seriously lift their game or they will be putting matches on in front empty stadiums in the near future.

Why has football (soccer) never really taken off in Australia. Behold some fine work by one Alex McCulloch. Behold the video goodness of the two codes most recent world cups.

Football (Soccer), Rugby, Rugby Union, World Cup, Soccer Cry Babies