State of Bore-igin?
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WEDNESDAY’S State of Origin game was underwhelming given the hype it was given in national media over the past week.
It was a pedestrian game and it goes to show a close score doesn’t necessarily mean a good game.
There’s less space, especially with the most talented and athletic players of the NRL on each side, and 10 metres seems to become eight or five at Origin level, but don’t we want points?
Josh Dugan’s chip for Josh Morris was scintillating, for NSW fans, but we need to see more of these efforts on both sides.
Maybe it’s just the venue … last year’s match there was a 6-4 score line so we’ll have to wait and see for game three.
Looking at the result, the Blues lacked leadership and if you were to pick an Australian captain from all 34 players in the game, the first four or five would be Queenslanders.
Malthouse gets flicked
LUCKY Mick Malthouse set the games record a few weeks back because his head coaching career is finished.
Carlton are right in trying something and the coach is usually first to go when a team is underperforming.
However, he can only work with the horses in his stable, and the Blues, who are the joke of commentators at the moment, are lacking the speed, toughness and endurance to compete.
When a head coach gets canned the players respond and sometimes shock their opponents.
The Sydney Swans are coming off a tense win against Hawthorn and as a Sydney fan it wouldn’t surprise me to see them be surprised by the Blues.
I wouldn’t tip a Carlton win because they can’t run out four quarters, but the smaller Sydney Cricket Ground should aid them in their pursuit.
Social media provided a few laughs and conspiracy theorists were quick to jump on Malthouse’s past connection with Collingwood and Eddie McGuire – Carlton’s biggest rivals – and that “Operation Malthouse” was over.
Haven’t we known all along?
FOURTEEN people from FIFA were indicted on charges that include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering schemes in relation to the 2010 South African World Cup bid.
You can hear the conspiracy theorists saying ‘we told you so’.
But does it surprise anyone?
Further charges could be laid after Swiss authorities collected electronic data and documents from FIFA’s Zurich headquarters relating to Russia’s 2018 bid and Qatar’s 2022 bid.
Yet, the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, has received no charges, for now.
How he can still be president baffles me as his words are hollow.
Will the arrests change anything?
Cut off the head of the snake and the body dies and although it’s pure speculation, it’s time rid FIFA of this head.
Blatter could be like the character Frank Costello from The Departed.
At the end of the film though – spoiler alert - it didn’t matter whether you were good or bad because everyone got cleaned out for new people to take their place on the dangerous streets of Boston.
Could a new soccer governing body take its place?
Finals time
GAME one of the NBA finals will begin this time next week.
It pits the hottest team of the league this season against the best player on the planet and his gritty band of brothers, including one tough Australian, Matthew Dellavedova.
Two generational players feature in this series.
LeBron James, a cross between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in Karl Malone’s body, and Stephen Curry, the best shooter ever.
James’ Cleveland Cavaliers have been gritty over the past three playoff series as their roster was hit by injuries to all-star’s Kevin Love (out for the season) and Kyrie Irving (missed two games against Atlanta and was limited against Chicago).
The Warriors have had a dream run, barring Curry’s head knock in game three against Houston, and have the depth and talent on both offence and defence to blitz the Cavs.
However, the Warriors have no finals experience and the saying ‘you’ve got to lose one before you win one’ has significant importance here.
James has been in the past five finals and will be the first player since the Boston Celtics’ 1960s dynasty to take the court in five in a row.
He’s won when he’s been written off - 2012 v Oklahoma City Thunder - and choked when heavily favoured – in 2011 against the Dallas Mavericks.
The intimidation factor of James is the Cavs’ biggest weapon and the Warriors will certainly not shy away.
But when the game slows down and there are fewer possessions, the intimidation factor could prove to be the difference.
The best part about it all is that the NBA will have a champion that hasn’t won since 1976, Golden State, or ever, Cleveland.
With the pending retirements of the last all stars drafted in the 1990s we might actually see new teams and their fan bases enjoy the sweet success of a championship.