RACE FOR THE PREMIERSHIP IS ON!

1. Manchester United : Played 31 – Points 69
2. Chelsea: Played 31 – Points 68
3. Arsenal : Played 31 – Points 67
4. Tottenham Hotspur: Played 30 – Points 55
5. Manchester City: Played 30 – Points 53
6. Liverpool: Played 31 – Points 51
7. Aston Villa: Played 30 – Points 51

The Premiership race in the English Premier League is well underway and every game from now on counts and will decide who takes out the title and which 4 teams will make up the top 4, therefore booking themselves a spot in next seasons European Champions League.

As you can see above Man United are sitting on top of the table with only 7 games to be played in the season. Chelsea are a point behind and Arsenal are 2 points behind, meaning that there is only 2 points separating the top 3 and with a winning giving your team a vital 3 points then neither one of those 3 teams can afford! If they do lose and one or two of the other teams win then they will leap frog you on the table and finishing on top of the premier league may well and truly be over.

That isn’t the only race going on at the top of the table there is also another race between 4th spot and 7th spot and this is to decide who will finish in 4th spot, clenching the last spot to qualify for the European Champions League.

Only 4 points separates 4 teams so you have to win all the games left and if you don’t you have to pray that the teams around you lose and at the least get a draw only giving them 1 point which may still keep you in the race for that vital 4th place and a ticket in EuropeanChampions League.

My tips on who will finish 1st is Manchester United.

My other tip as on who will take out 4th spot is, Tottenham Hotspur

WEEKEND OF NON-STOP SPORT!

Hey guys usually I talk to you about the big stories in which have arose throughout the world of Professional Sport but this time I thought I would enlighten you on my weekend of non-stop sport.

It all started on Friday night when I debuted for my new soccer club (Dural Logs) in a trail game against Pennant Hills soccer club. The match was played out at Pennant Hills Park at 7:30pm.

YES we got to play under lights, a few of the boys were looking forward to this one because playing at night sort of creates a buzz and it’s different to what we usually play. Our opposition was and other all age side and we played 25 minute quarters.

I wasn’t too sure as to what position I was going to play due to it being a new team and I have only been involved at training where we don’t play specific positions. I was extremely happy when I got told I was to start in my favoured position which is Left Midfield. I didn’t play too bad, a few of my touches were a bit off but that’s understandable with it being the first game I’ve played since August last year.

It was a very even game at half time with both sides having as many chances as the other. I got told I was to change positions and play in Centre Midfield, (which I have never played) I don’t really know how to play this position but went all right. We scored in this quarter (3rd quarter) it was a great goal by one of our best players! The score was 1 nil our way.

At the end of the 3rd quarter I asked if I could come off due to starting to get a couple of blisters underneath my feet, the game got a bit more physical in the last quarter and a few great saves by our new and naturally gifted keeper kept us in it and the game finished with us winning 1 nil.

Man was I a bit sore and tired and to think I had to back it up the next day with work in the morning and straight off to a cricket semi final.

On Friday morning I had received a phone call asking me to play up a couple of grades and play 3rd grade due to them being short and our team not playing because unfortunately we didn’t make the semi finals. I jumped at the chance because I was leading the wicket taking for the club and the bloke behind me played in the team I was going to play for and I wanted to extend my lead and take out the titled and also because I LOVE my Cricket!

The semi final is played over Saturday and Sunday. We (West Ryde Rovers) were playing the team who finished 1st (North Ryde RSL) in the regular season. They won the toss and sent us into bat and we only scored 127 runs. We then went into bowl, I got to open and bowled 9 overs straight without a rest. All of the bowlers were bowling nice and tight and we also got the best batter out for 0. The day finished and we had them 5 for 97. So they needed another 30 runs to win and we needed 5 wickets.

Sunday came along and most of us were pretty tight from the day before especially us bowlers. We needed quick wickets and we got one in the 4th over and we were back in the game. We were bowling really tight and fielding really well and not letting them get any runs. But unfortunately for us we were unable to take anymore wickets and they gradually got the runs they needed to win the match and send them into the grand final.

I’m sitting here and I’m pretty tired and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sore especially my legs with running on them Friday night, Saturday and following it all up again on Sunday.

TIME FOR KICK OFF!

2010 NRL PREMIERSHIP - WINNERS
Team Margin
PARRAMATTA EELS - $6.50
BULLDOGS - $7.00
MELBOURNE STORM - $7.50
ST GEORGE-ILLAWARRA - $8.00
GOLD COAST TITANS - $11.00
SOUTH SYDNEY - $12.00
WESTS TIGERS - $12.00
MANLY SEA EAGLES - $14.00
PENRITH PANTHERS - $17.00
NORTH QLD COWBOYS - $21.00
BRISBANE BRONCOS - $23.00
NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS - $31.00
SYDNEY ROOSTERS - $31.00
CANBERRA RAIDERS - $41.00
CRONULLA SHARKS - $41.00
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS - $41.00

It is Friday the 12 of March and the NRL season officially kicks off tonight with a blockbuster match between the Parramatta Eeels and St George-Illwarra Dragons. The Dragons have been itching to play the Eels since the Eels knocked them out in the early round of the finals last season, paving Parramatta’s road to making the 2009 Grandfinal. This match is to be played at Parramatta Stadium in front of a full house. Tonight’s other game will see Brisbane Broncos hosting North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium.

This year’s season is set to be as big as last season if not bigger. This season will be another close one with the premiership race bound to once again come down to the final rounds of the season in order to determine which teams will make up the top 8 and fight it out to make the 2010 Grandfinal.

I have included the betting odds courtesy of Centre bet to give you an insight of who are the favorites to take out the comp also resulting in giving you an insight of the teams who are most likely to make up the top 8.

I’m a very nervous person right now, being a Parramatta fan and looking at the odds I’m not too keen on my team being odds on favorites to take out the title this season. Yes they did have a marvelous end to the 2009 season except for the result in the Grandfinal where they narrowly got defeated by Melbourne Storm, but I don’t think they are going to be able to lift off from where they left off last season. And look at their trial games form they got thumped in all 3 of their trial games.

You have to go on form and the in form team is once again Melbourne Storm they are coming off winning last season’s Granfinal (2nd Grandfinal win in the last 4 seasons) and winning the World Club Challenge on the 28th Feburary for the 2nd time in the club’s history. They showed that last season even though they were missing some of their big stars from previous season they still had the goods to take out the Grandfinal and I think they can do it again this season.

I was also surprised to see the Brisbane Broncos paying $23. The Broncos are the competitions season professionals who are always a feature of the top 8. This year they will be fielding a younger side than usual with a fair few players from their Under 20s team and reserve team making their debut. These un-heard of players are sure to make a big impact on the game just as Ben Te’o and Jharal Yow Yeh did last season.

The Rabbitohs are going to be a team to look out for and they should feature in the top 8 and I think the West Tigers should also make the 8 if they play more consistently this season. Also watch out for the Broncos and the Cowboys

Bring on the 2010 NRL SEASON and GO PARRA!

CLARKE LEAVES TEAM FOR LARA

Vice Captain Michael Clarke has quit Australia's cricket tour of New Zealand and returned to Sydney following the fallout of the nude photo scandal involving his fiancée Lara Bingle.

Clarke boarded a plane from New Zealand last night arriving in Sydney this morning. The same morning that his team was due to play New Zealand in their 3rd ODI.

Clarke’s manager has confirmed to The Punch website that the Australian cricket team’s vice-captain left the New Zealand tour to support Bingle, who has been distraught over recent publicity around a nude photo of her appearing in a magazine.

I’m pretty sure that Lara is big enough and old enough to take care of her own little problems, she is 22 yrs old going on 23 later this year and I’m also sure that she has family around her for support and her new agent Max Markson.

This isn’t the only time Lara has interrupted Clarke’s cricket with her personal life, 2 other incidents of late which come to hand are those such has when the couple had a dispute in Australia’s change room at the SCG in the full view of the public and also last year Clarke wanted the team song to be sung early so that he could quickly get home to his precious fiancée.

This is the man who is supposed to be Australia’s next Captain and I’m starting to think if he is the right man for the job if his personal life keeps interfering with cricket. I’m a strong believer that you sort your personal matters out in your own spare time and don’t let it interfere with your work.

I would love to see if this same situation which has a very coincidental publicity stunt stink to it (occurring a week after Lara signed with new celebrity agent Max Markson) had occurred whilst the Ashes were on whether that was here in Australia or over in England. Would Clarke desert his team then and would the Coach Tim Nielsen and Captain Ricky Ponting let him go back home to help sort out nothing that he can even sort out firsthand…..

Clarke you should put your head down and front foot forward and get back to the blistering form you are in!

$ 1 MILLION NOW NOT ENOUGH FOR SONNY BILL

I was reading the other day about the Sonny Bill Williams Compensation saga and Phil's opion on the story and it agve me some insight on the matter.

The bulldogs yesterday came out and said that they want compensation payments if any other club in the NRL wants to sign Sonny Bill Williams who is under an NRL contract until 2013.

This figure was $1 million. The reason this has come about is because the New Zealand Warriors have shown an interest in the former international.

Sonny Bill Williams is off Contract with his French Rugby side Toulon in June and does not yet have a team to play for. A few others have been thrown around the table but it seems like no team wants him.

Sonny Bill’s dream is to play for the All Blacks but for him to do that he will have to play Super 14’s Rugby and preferably for a New Zealand team but none as of yet have given him an offer.

Today Todd Greenberg the Bulldogs CEO revised his payout figure, saying his club wanted $2.5 million to let Williams off his contract at Belmore in order to play elsewhere in the NRL. The reason for this was that he believes they should receive $1 million for each season.

I personally don’t think that he is worth that much. Yeah he is a great player and I understand where the figure comes from because Sonny Bill is still on a contract and why should the Bulldogs be out of pocket.

Sonny Bill should just stay with Rugby which was the reason why he worked out on the Bulldogs, the NRL and the loyal fans who loved him. He should just work hard at getting that All Blacks cap!

Lackluster crowds at the cricket

As you may have noticed the crowds at the latest ODI matches against the West Indies and Pakistan have diminished dramatically compared to previous seasons.
Is it the lack of competition shown by the touring sides which is causing the crowds to stay at home…

Or is it the fact that channel 9 shows the full game in the host city even though the match isn’t sold out! In Years gone by if the match wasn’t sold out then channel 9 would only show the 1st 50 overs so that if you wanted to watch the rest of the match then you would have to go out to the ground in order to see the conclusion of the game. This was the same with test matches and the domestic matches, they (channel 9) only used to show the test up until lunch or tea and that was it, meaning that people were more inclined to go out to the ground to watch the match!

Or is it that the 50 over version of the game is dying out and all that the public want to go and watch is the " Rock Star" version of cricket known as Twenty20.

I believe that the reason is a bit of a mix of the above, but i do strongly beleive that the first step in order to try and get more bums on seats at these cricket matches would have to start with Channel 9 going back to their old requirement of telecasting the cricket match in the host city (as mentioned above)