Tiger Down Under

Tiger came, he saw and he most definitely conquered. His trip to Australia was a success in every which way. It was as good a public relations as exercise as you could hope for. Everyone loved him, everyone behaved themselves and he won the tournament. Most importantly was that Tiger had a good time. It was his first trip back to Australia in 10 years and it was well worth the wait.

It was also a huge shot in the arm for Australian golf. In the 1970s the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player would go down under to play but in recent years not only have the international stars been avoiding going to Australia but many of the big name Australians haven’t been playing. This has meant that golf in Australia was suffering.

Australia loves its sports and loves to prove itself on the global stage. It hosted the 2000 Olympics which are one of the best games of the modern era. Brilliantly organized, they were basically flawless.

In addition to that, Australia hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the 2006 Commonwealth Games which took place in Melbourne. Australia is also looking to host the World Cup. Soccer betting isn’t sure what to make of Australia’s chances but the biggest sporting tournament of them all has never been to Australia and it deserves to.

Australia would make a great fist of it as it does with most sporting events that it hosts. The spotlight is going to be South Africa to see how it fares with the 2010 World Cup and Rio with the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Before then, Vancouver has the 2010 Winter Olympics and London the 2012 Summer Olympics. Both of these games should be enjoyable as both of these cities seem to be well ahead in terms of planning.

The truth of the matter is that it is becoming harder and harder to host a huge international sporting event. Not only do you have to be able to host all of the athletes, but the spectators and media. You need the stadia to be big enough and you need transportation to carry the spectators to and from the sport. The days of Helsinki and St Louis hosting the Olympics seem to be well and truly over. Likewise you won’t think that Chile, Sweden and Switzerland won’t be hosting another World Cup, at least not by themselves.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about harness betting.

November Reign

The year might be winding down but still there is plenty of top quality sport to be played. The big news at the moment is the World Series. The Yankees just clinched their 27th World Series title. They defeated the Phillies to break their nine year droughts

Elsewhere, the final phase of World Cup qualifying resumes after a bit of a break. There are playoffs in Europe to decide who the final four representatives will be. None of these playoffs are going to easy nor will the other ones which include New Zealand taking on Bahrain and Costa Rica playing Uruguay.
The final round of qualifying in Africa will decide their five representatives.

Rugby league may be finished in Australia, but the Australian side is in England taking on New Zealand, England and France. There may be no NRL until March but that hasn’t stopped the Melbourne Storm from being the favourite in NRL betting.

The Australian rugby union side is also in England. They are on their northern tour as are New Zealand and South Africa.

A new NBA season has just begun. The big question will be if Shaquille O’Neal can combine with LeBron James to bring a title to success-starved Cleveland. Will it be the LA Lakers again or will the San Antonio Spurs be up there? The season is very early but already the Celtics, Nuggets and Suns look the goods. Meanwhile the Nets and Pacers are struggling.
The NFL season is nearly halfway over. The Pats, Colts and Broncos look the teams to beat in the AFC. In the NFC the Vikings and Saints are the front runners. As always it will be an exciting finale to the season.

Tennis is winding down but there is still the Davis Cup final where Spain will host the Czech Republic. Apart from that there is the Paris Masters and the ATP finals to take place in London.

In cricket, everyone is heading to the southern hemisphere. England will be in South Africa while both Pakistan and West Indies will be going to Australia. As always it will be an interesting season in Australia. They are still nursing their wounds after the Ashes and will be keen to bounce back. They are still looking for a spinner as well as someone to replace Andrew Symonds. It remains to be seen what kind of opposition the two teams will pose for Australia.

David Wiseman writes about sport for this blog. When he isn't doing that he can be found greyhound betting.

Looking Back on the Year in League

It was a tale of two stories for rugby league in 2009. On the field it was a fantastic year with spectacular rugby league being played. Off the field it was a disaster with scandal after incident after controversy.

It began even before a match was played when Brett Stewart was pulled up following the season launch. The champion fullback’s indiscretion caused the commercials the league had filmed to be altered as Stewart was the star of them.

As the year progressed there was no respite, in fact it got far worse. A 10 year old incident with Matthew Johns was brought to the surface meaning that Johns had to resign all of his positions. Nate Myles defecated in a hotel corridor and Greg Inglis had to face charges of assaulting his girlfriend.

If these three weren’t enough, countless players were fined for drink driving and getting into various types of trouble.

As bad as that, it was breathless on the field.

Once again the State of Origin was incredible. Queensland have won four series in a row but New South Wales bounced back when they won the last match in a very fiery display.

In the domestic competition, Wayne Bennett’s arrival at Kogarah took the Dragons to the top of the ladder. They won the minor premiership for the first time in 24 years. They were playing aggressive, passionate football and were looking good for the title. Elsewhere, the Bulldogs had a remarkable season. They bounced back from a poor 2008 to finish second on the ladder. Gold Coast Titans also did well to finish third. The Melbourne Storm weren’t as dominant as they were in recent years but still finished fourth. Then followed the Sea Eagles, Broncos, Knights and Eels.

The finals series began with a bang when the defending champion Sea Eagles were eliminated following the Dragons’ defeat to the hands of the 8th placed Eels. Not only did this give the Storm the week off but gave them a home preliminary final.

In Week 2, both the Titans and Dragons would go out without winning a final. The Eels and Broncos both advanced to the final four. With the Eels having to play the Bulldogs for a place in the Grand Final, a wave of nostalgia followed. Everyone was excited for the game by previous Eels-Bulldogs encounters and it resulted in the biggest ever crowd a non Grand Final. The Eels continued the dream while the Storm were simply too strong for the Broncos.

The experienced Storm had too much for the Eels in the Grand Final and made it two from four Grand Finals. The Eels will be better for the experience and are a favourite in NRL betting for 2010.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He is looking forward to the next Melbourne Cup.

Storm to Face Eels in Premiership Decider

Once again the season has flashed by and we are at another NRL Grand Final. The fourth placed Melbourne Storm and in their fourth straight Grand Final while eighth placed Parramatta are in their first Grand Final for eight years.

The Eels have done it the hard way defeating the first, second and third placed sides on the way to the Grand Final. As for the Storm, they only had to defeat the fifth and sixth best teams. They also had the benefit of having a week off. Can they win to have their second title in four years?

The Eels are looking for their first title in 23 years. They last won in 1986 which signalled the end of their purple patch. They won three straight titles in 1981-83, lost in 1984 and then won in 1986. The team in those days consisted of the household names of Sterling, Kenny, Price, Grothe, Cronin and Ella. They were a star-studded side and the fans are happy to see that the side is back in the big time.
Of course they were the red-hot favourites in 2001 against the Newcastle Knights and were absolutely hammered. Nathan Hindmarsh, Nathan Cayless and Luke Burt are the only survivors from that side but it isn’t sure that Cayless will take his place due to a hamstring injury.

The bookmakers aren’t sure what to make of the game. The Storm are the favourite as far as NRL betting goes but the Eels are riding a huge crest and who knows how far it will take them? They have been written off in each of their three previous finals and dominated all three.

For the Eels, superstar and Dally M Player of the year, Jarryd Hayne is going to be the key. He is an excitement machine and is capable of doing anything. Of course the Storm boast several of those players. Billy Slater and Greg Inglis will keep the Eels hands filled and that may open things up for the others such as Cooper Cronk, Steve Turner and Brett Finch.

Ultimately the Storm’ s superior experience at this level and easier lead-up should see them take the title. They still have unfinished business from last year while with the Eels, there is a sense that coming this far is already a huge achievement. They may already have played their Grand Final.

After the conclusion of the NRL season, David Wiseman is looking forward to planning his Melbourne Cup betting.

Stephanie Rice Celebrates Her 21st Birthday

Swimming glamour girl and Olympic star Stephanie Rice stepped out to celebrate her 21st birthday, almost three months to the day after her actual birthday.

Rice postponed festivities because of the world champ meet in Rome in July.

Wearing a dazzling, floor-length, silver-sequined Rachel Gilbert dress and a diamante-studded silver-chain headpiece, Rice blew out the candles on an elaborate one metre-high, casino-themed cake at the lavish bash in Queensland.

About 150 family and friends joined Rice for the 1920s-themed cocktail party, with the yacht draped in velvet and feathers, lit by chandeliers.

A stretch Hummer took Rice and friends to the party from the Marriott Hotel.


News and Image Courtesy: Dailytelegraph.com.au

English Rugby Team Launches 2009-10 Rugby Kit

England have launched their new home kit for the 2009/10 season which has again been produced by Nike and have lost the red swirls and gone for an all-white kit which England have not worn since Will Carling's '90s Grand Slam winners.

Nike says that it is the lightest and most innovative playing jersey yet.

England new's look returns to a classic all-white playing strip with the shirt boasting an open neck collar and iconic embroidered rose.

At 27% lighter than in previous seasons the new kit is designed to give the team every possible advantage on the pitch.

A new and improved 'gripper' print features on the chest panels of the jersey, effective in both wet and dry weather.

Nike's Dri Fit fabric has been specially engineered to be stronger and more flexible than ever, ensuring that sweat is moved away from players' bodies to provide comfort and enhance performance against the opposition.


At the back of the jersey, it's Latin! The motto RUGBEIA FLOREAT UBIQUE - Rugby flourishes everywhere.

News Courtesy: Worldcupweb.com

Uganda U-19 Cricket Players Missing in Canada

Seven members of the Uganda Under-19 cricket team have failed to return home after they went missing in Canada where they were taking part in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, an official said here on Wednesday.

The Uganda Cricket Association spokesman Latimer Mukasa said the players left the camp in Toronto on Saturday, two days before their return to Kampala at the completion of the tournament, where Uganda failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand.

He said the Canadian police have been alerted to search for the players who left without their travel documents.

The missing players include team captain Ahmed Yakub and top scorer Andrew Ochan. Others are Emmanuel Nakaana, Ahmed Sangau, Moses Okwera, Geoffrey Nyero and Michael Abala.

News Courtesy: Google AFP

Saints Choke on Eels

A few weeks ago it was alleged that the St George Dragons were already printing up premiership t-shirts. If so, that could be a huge waste after the Dragons lost their first final to the Eels. NRL betting was thrown on its head as the massive outsiders upset the whole apple cart.

What it did was give Melbourne a week off as well as a home preliminary final. If Melbourne’s weekend wasn’t good enough, it only got better when the Eels victory, in the process eliminated the Sea Eagles.

The Dragons now head to Brisbane to take on the Broncos. Here you have Wayne Bennett taking on his old club in a game filled with storylines. The winner of this match will have to go down and take on the Storm. Both sides have played the Storm in a Grand Final and know how much of a threat they are.

The other game this weekend sees Parramatta play the Gold Coast Titans. The Titans finished third and lost last week to the Broncos. The winner of this match plays the Bulldogs for a spot in the Grand Final.

Was it the complete lack of expectations which helped the Eels? In recent years they have struggled with favouritism and maybe being complete outsiders helped them against the Dragons. The lack of distractions would have been good for them.

In other NRL news, South Sydney coach Jason Taylor fights for his job after his Mad Monday meltdown. He slapped one of his players who didn’t react too kindly to it. Elsewhere there isn’t much news.

Over in Manly, they weren’t celebrating like they were last year and were another NRL side to be eliminated when not actually playing. It is a difficult feeling to deal with seeing as its totally out of your control but that is how the system works. Interestingly, the NRL and AFL used different Final 8 systems and then swapped to the other one, the exact same year.

The one the AFL currently use is deemed to be fairer as the top four have more control over their own destiny. Had Melbourne lost to the Sea Eagles it would have been them who was eliminated and crazily it would have been the Sea Eagles not only not eliminated but having the week off.

Many people find this exciting while others don’t think it is fair. What do you think?

When David Wiseman isn't wondering who will win the NRL Grand Final, he is wondering who will win the Melbourne Cup.

Darren Sutherland Found Dead in London

Darren Sutherland, the Irish Olympic boxer was found dead at his London home yesterday.

The 27-year-old middleweight, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing, was discovered hanged in his apartment by his manager Frank Maloney. The Metropolitan Police are not treating his death as suspicious.

"It is an absolute tragedy," McGuigan, a former world champion, said. "I would describe Darren as a phenomenal talent. I believe he would have become a world champion in the professional ranks one day."

Sutherland had won the first four fights of his professional career and Terry Edwards, the former Great Britain head coach, said that boxing has lost one of its best prospects.

News Courtesy: www.timesonline.co.uk