I’m really excited for the action of the Soccer World Cup, which will be held in Germany, to begin. Since 1997, when Australia lost to Iran, I have been promising myself that I would buy the Socceroos jersey, and now I finally have one! Niketown in Portland (the headquarters for Nike worldwide) had all of the jerseys for the the countries that made the World Cup - all except for the Australian one. It was an outrage - I was FURIOUS! So after placing a special order, my jersey arrived earlier this week.

Australia’s first match will be against Japan on June 12. The Aussies haven’t made it to the World Cup since it was last held in Germany in 1974, due to having a fairly average team in the late 70s and 80s. However, in recent years, the qualifying process for Australia has been ridiculous. Thankfully, in the future Australia will be a part of the Asian Football Confederation and have a chance at a guaranteed spot in the World Cup.

In the upcoming World Cup, Australia has been drawn in a group with the world’s best soccer team, Brazil, along with Croatia and Japan. All these teams are ranked higher than Australia, but patriotic sentiments aside, I really believe that Australia can make it out of the group stage and into the round of 16. I think the Aussies have a great chance of winning games against both Japan and Croatia, and I hope they can scape by with a draw or an unlikely win against Brazil. With Viduka, Kewell, Emerton, and Schwarzer leading the way and weighing the fact that Australia has had victories over France and England in the past few years, I don’t believe expectations of the Socceroos making it out of the first round are far-fetched.

Australian coach Guus Hiddink (who just signed a contract to coach Russia following the World Cup) has a great history at the World Cup, taking his native Netherlands and South Korea to the semi-finals in 1998 and 2002 respectively. I’m sure there will be people who will be surprised when Australia makes it past the first round - I won’t be one of them.

I just read a funny article on news.com.au which can be found here. I guess asking nicely doesn’t work, so you have to hit the TV execs where it hurts. At least it is less controversial than “can’t bowl, can’t throw.”

In my previous Cricket article, I replied to a comment that if Australia could bowl Bangladesh out without conceding another 50 runs, the Aussies would be in good shape. The Aussie bowlers provided exactly what we needed and picked up the remaining wickets for only an additional 24 runs, with Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne picking up the remaining wickets.

This left the Aussies chasing 307 runs for victory. Normally this would be a pretty high target, especially in the 4th overall innings of a test match, but against Bangladesh it should be reachable. The Aussies got off to a pretty good start, and at stumps (click on the stumps link for a list of terminology used) they are in pretty good shape, with Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist at the crease.

The Aussies need another 95 runs to win a match that, following a horrible first innings, I thought they were going to be embarrassed in. Even if the Aussies walk away from this match with a victory, I believe the match will be remembered for the inspired Cricket that was played by a Bangladesh team that many thought would be slaughtered by the Aussies.

I have been a fan of the A.C.T. Brumbies since they formed in 1996 for the Super 12 (now Super 14) provincial rugby competition. Thanks to the wonders of the internet and the help of some of my friends in Australia, friends in the U.S., and Mrs. BBQ, I was able to watch my first game of Rugby Union in over two years: the Brumbies versus the Cheetahs from South Africa.

The Brumbies won the match 53-20, moving into third place on the competition ladder. I noticed that the Brumbies still play the same style of attacking rugby that they have played since entering the competition. George Gregan and Stephen Larkham looked just as good during the match as they did when they led Australia to a win in the 1999 World Cup, and in 2001 and 2004, when the Brumbies won the Super 12 competition. Over the last few years, I have been reading in the news that Gregan is past his prime and should no longer be in the Wallabies squad, but from what I saw, he still deserves his spot. His playmaking skills haven’t gone, and his combination with Larkham couldn’t be reproduced by any other halfback Australia has to offer.

This was also the first time that I had seen Matt Giteau play, and he lived up to the hype that I had heard. Some of his attacking play was fantastic, and the cover tackle he made when it looked like a Cheetahs player was going to score had me cheering like I haven’t done in ages.

What happened to annoying refs? I thought Steve Walsh did a really good job officiating the game - he was very clear to the players and warned them before penalising them. What happened to the likes of Andre Watson and Tappe Henning who both officiate poorly and think they are bigger than the game?

Why were there so many empty seats at the game? I was expecting Canberra Stadium to be packed. Also, I think it was nice of the Brumbies to grant a make-a-wish dream for a special young man - that’s the only reason I can think that Adam Ashley-Cooper would be on that team. His attempted grounding of the ball was one of the worst blunders when scoring a try that I have seen.

What is up with this? The worst cricket playing country in the world and they absolutely made the best cricket team in the world look worse than the team I played on in the under 14’s league. Two of their players scored more than 50 and another scored his first ever 100. All this against a bowling attack that is going to be the future of Australian Cricket. Australia needs to find a consistent strike bowler to eventually replace Glenn McGrath - at the moment they have no-one that is anywhere near as consistent as he is. If this is what life after McGrath is going to be like, Australia could be heading into a period that resembles what it was like after Australia lost Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, and Rod Marsh in the early 80’s (on a side-note - what a glorious period for Aussie moustaches!).

I haven’t seen the manner in which the Australian batsman were dismissed, but I highly doubt it was anything to do with quality bowling. Were they playing rash shots or were they just outclassed by the bowling??

Australia needs to put some runs on the board if they want to have any hope of salvaging this match. If they lose to Bangladesh, it will go down as one of the worst defeats in the history of Australian sport - even more embarrasing than losing the Ashes to England last year.

That statement from Tiger Woods shortly after completing his final round at the Masters on Sunday sums up why he was unsuccessful in defending his title from last year. His putting was awful all week; he three-putted six times, which is the worst he has ever done at the Masters. On the back 9 Sunday, he had two relatively easy eagle putts and was unsuccessful on both attempts. His driving and iron play was spectacular, and if he had putted to his normal standards, he would have walked away from Augusta with his fifth green jacket.

On the flip side of that, Phil Mickelson played solid golf. His unconventional choice to use two drivers, one for a draw and one for a fade. This choice paid off for him as his play off the tees was phenomonal and one of the reason his play was so solid. Phil definitely has his game in great shape. He has won the last two majors and has won three of the last nine majors after starting zero for forty-two in his career.

He now has to be considered the second best golfer in the world behind Tiger Woods, and their rivalry is great to watch. I’m hoping that sometime soon they are in the final pairing on a Sunday in a major championship. The atmosphere and the crowds would be incredible, and neither player would give an inch. It would have to be the equivalent of an Ali vs Frazier fight, just on a golf course.

2005

2006

AUSSIE UPDATE

T16 - Geoff Ogilvy +1, T16 - Rod Pampling +1, T19 - Nick O’Hern +2, T19 - Stuart Appleby +2 (almost close with my top placed Aussie prediction), T22 - Robert Allenby +3, T22 - Mark Hensby +3, T27 - Adam Scott +4

By now I think it’s been established that I’m a big fan of sport. What I don’t understand is this: ESPN and Fox Sports are sports channels, so why do they show Poker, Ten Pin Bowling, and Hunting?? I can’t find a game of Rugby Union, Rugby League, or Cricket over in the U.S., but they have this stuff blocking the airwaves. I’m a big fan of poker - I love playing it and watching it, but it IS NOT a sport and should not be shown on either ESPN or Fox Sports. Ten Pin Bowling is a game that either big fat dudes play, something you enjoy with your your mates while having a beer, or a place you take your kids for a birthday party - it is not a sport, never has been a sport, and never will be a sport.

Is the sun in your eyes? Idiot.

There has to be a market in the U.S. for other international sports, especially with today’s electronic media where the world is significantly smaller and society can get almost anything they want off the internet. I believe that if ESPN or Fox Sports were to make room in their scheduling, even late at night, people would watch it.

I know when I turn on these sports channels I would love to see sport. So please, stop with the non-sports crap and put on some Rugby for me!

Last night we got some free courtside tickets to the Trail Blazers - Rockets game. I must admit that I wanted to go because I thought it would be a good opportunity to witness first hand just how bad the team is, and although some players didn’t let me down, there is reason to be somewhat excited for what the future has in store for the team.

After watching the team scrape home for a 76-75 victory, I’m going to go on record and say that the team needs Sebastian Telfair starting. Watching the game last night, it was visible to me that the team flows better when he is on the floor - the kid can flat out make plays, and I think that if he wasn’t playing last night, the Blazers would have been beaten. Of course by keeping Telfair, it means that either Jarret Jack or Steve Blake will have to be traded. Bye bye Steve Blake.

There were two other things I liked last night: Victor Khryapa and Joel Pryzbilla. The team somehow needs to keep Pryzbilla here. They can’t afford to lose him, especially given Theo Ratliff’s history with injuries. Khryapa just flat-out hustles, and that is what this team needs - players that will give 100% effort no matter the score and no matter what is going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Martell Webster was kept out of the team last night. Mrs. BBQ and I were both looking forward to watching him play, especially after his recent run of excellent games.

Randolph takes another jumper

What I didn’t like last night was Darius Miles and Zach Randolph. Darius is done. It’s obvious from the effort he displayed last night that he wants out of Portland. He shot 1 of 7 in 24 minutes and that one shot he made was a dunk. Zach Randolph was awful. Does he even know how to give up the ball to his teammates? I counted at least 6 times that he held the ball for at least 5 seconds before putting up an unsuccessful long-range jump shot. Please Zach, give the ball up to your teammates so they can create something for you or someone else. Taking long-range jump shots with a defender in your face isn’t good basketball, as your 6 of 19 shooting illustrates. Learn to pass the ball and make your teammates better.

Darius is happy he gets a shot without defenders around him

The Masters starts tomorrow in Augusta, Georgia. I would dearly love to say that an Australian has a chance of winning, but it doesn’t seem likely. As it stands, no Australian has ever won the Masters with Greg Norman finishing second three times. In 1986, he lost out to a red-hot Jack Nicklaus; in 1987, Larry Mize chipped in from an almost impossible location; and in 1996, with a 6 shot lead heading in to the final round, he self-destructed with one of the biggest chokes in professional sports and lost to Nick Faldo.

Adam Scott has the best game of any of the Australians in the field, but he has never performed well at the Masters and I don’t expect this year to be any different. Robert Allenby generally has good opening rounds here, but I don’t expect him to be in contention once the weekend rounds are underway. If I had to pick any of the Australians to have a good showing at the Masters, it would be Stuart Appleby. He has a nice game and has already won once on tour this year.

It’s hard to look past Tiger Woods, though. He’ll want to win this one for his father, Earl, who is ailing from the effects of cancer. I don’t expect anyone to come close to Tiger this weekend, and I’m picking him to repeat last years victory and collect his fifth green jacket.

Last night’s NCAA title game was pretty much a non-event with Florida blowing UCLA out and winning by 16 points. What REALLY bothered me with the game were the actions of a player (I believe to be Corey Brewer) in the final 7 seconds of the game. With a UCLA player guarding him with little effort, Brewer decided it would be a great time to show off his dancing skills.

I can understand celebrating once the game is over, but to do that while your opponents are still on the floor was absolutely one of the most digusting and disrespectful things I have seen in sport in a long time. Personally, I think that if I had been a UCLA player, I would have done my best George Teague on Terrell Owens impersonation. I’m really surprised that nothing has been said about this, and I hope that at the very least the coach had some words with him after the game.