Its funny how every club who goes down that is considered a big club, even in the Championship (aka Charlton and co.), are called the "new Leeds". Poor ol' Leeds. Another season in League 1. I think you're right. I think, oddly, West Brom have the best chance of going back up. They're used to life in the Championship and are well adapted for the league already. Newcastle are in tatters and you'll lose your best players (Downing, Tuncay etc) but you've got a decent up-and-coming academy which produces some good players. I think you'll compete, but will maybe have to settle for the play-offs, which is a lottery.

Mm. We need a winger and he seems alright. I'm not sure how he'd cope in our side. I suppose there's only one way to find out but I'm hoping we get Silva instead and another striker.

Yeah, our games were always pretty dire. You usually beat us 1-0 so I rarely hold any hope for our fixtures. Won't be sad to see the back of you. Will miss Newcastle though ... 6 points isn't guaranteed anymore.

I'm sorry but Downing is absolutely shit. Unfortunately for Middlesbrough, he's slightly more than Championship material so will probably go to a team outside the top 4, unless Benitez signs him.

Downing won't be worth the money Middlesbrough ask, just like Barry isn't worth the money Villa wanted. English players cost too much ... Shame really, since it seems we're probably going for Glen Johnson this year. Really hope we get David Silva from Valencia.

NBA playoffs are still blowing me away. how bout the finishes!?

Two in a row, go Toronto go. I hope they sweep the Red Sox. It seems like Rios is playing a bit better lately. Mind you, the Red Sox are the lesser of two evils, its the Yankees that Toronto, and everyone else, must be concerned about. And unfortunately, Toronto has NEVER played well vs New York. They've had some periods vs Boston where they've succeeded, but New York ALWAYS seems to own them. Except Halladay. He's like the ultimate Yankee-killer. Well, he has the 2nd best record all-time vs the Yankees (Babe Ruth, oddly enough, is #1 (when he was a pitcher)).

2 in a row is great. For a little while they were playing as if Buck Martinez was still managing the team.
Hard to believe this week is the first time the Yanks have sat alone at the top of the AL East since '06. That just blew my mind.

You joking? Buck Martinez was a terrible manager. '92-93 baby!!!

In all seriousness, I'm not expecting Toronto to win the division, but I do want them to be as competitive as possible and make peoples' lives miserable. And hey, if they make a play-off spot, right on.

If they are going to be competitive for the next several years, I hope they shell out the bucks to land Halladay longterm, and get a few killer hired guns. Eventually guys like Rolen are going to expire. And I'm still not convinced that guys like Wells have it, longterm. At least, I wouldn't build a team around the guy. Toronto CAN add 50 million to their payroll (annually), so eventually, they should at least do SOMETHING in the free agent market.

Re-signing Halladay would be a good idea but they shouldn't shell out too much cash for too many years as giving long-term deals to pitchers in their 30's who have had a history of shoulder problems is a risky prospect.

Crap, after next year, I'd resign Halladay to a 3 year, 100 million deal. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball...

Toronto is getting him at an absolute BARGAIN at the moment. Hell, worthless assclowns like Barry Zito are getting paid more.

If Toronto feel they can GENUINELY compete over the next 5 years, I'd lock him up at any cost, by any means necessary. Even if its a 30-40 mil/year deal (not too horrible considering how much MEDIOCRE pitchers go these days).

No way. Not if they can't build around him or build a roster that is primed to compete for division for a couple of seasons. As good as he is and at the bargain they have him at, they should be just happy and let him ride out the current contract until the latest possible time. He's doing awesome and it's funny you should mention Barry Zito because I see Roy going that same route if they overpay him. I see a couple miles being taken off his fastball in the next season or two especially if they overuse him.

The thing is, guys like Zito only had ONE good year, Halladay had MANY good years. He's clearly one of the best pitchers in baseball and he spent his career pitching in BY FAR the hardest division in MLB. (personally he should've won the Cy Young Last year by that virtue alone) He's the type of pitcher I'd sign at any cost, by any means necessary. He's easily one of the top 3 going at the moment (other 2 being Sabathia and Santana). If he pitched in the extremely weak NL, he'd be 25-5 with an ERA under 2.

No wonder why guys like Peavy are too scared to get traded to the AL.

So Orlando won, good news. Just hoping they can beat the Lakers (I'm being optimistic, but truthfully, I know the situation is bleak). Damn you, Los Angeles.

I'm picking the resilient Magic to take the series in 6. They have a great defense and they'll pressure Kobe to do too much.

And as for the Cavs, well maybe next year. They don't have any depth and were stymied. Lebron couldn't get any rest on the bench at all. They need a center. Rumor has it that they will lure Yao Ming next season.

Ten on the trot to Geelong, destroying Essendon at Docklands today, but at a price with Mooney on report AGAIN (FFS!!) and Harley and Rooke possibly out through injury next week - just the thing we need for a double date in Perth the next two weeks (seriously, who the hell thought that up?)

fuckin lame. an ad in my gmail just ruined the result of the game for me. i was gonna watch it tomorrw. fuck thats lame.

I find it hilarious that they've not dropped a game all year, yet still can't get to the top of the ladder. The AFL is a two-horse race so far, with 14 also-rans, despite a few other teams playing good footy.

I wish the AFL had more damn exposure here.

What do you think of Ben Cousins and his bird-flipping incident? That guy's got some real issues.

Ben Cousins: I'm not sure if it was live, if it was then he's fucked. If it wasn't live then obviously the media don't take to being insulted.

As for NBA, its going to be a great series it has that same feeling about it as it did last year doesn't it? I mean everyone expects LA to win (key word expect) but the East is rising again? I hope so!

cant stand the lakers - i hate evrything about em. go ORL!!!!!!

O.k. I hate to brag but I totally called the Magic in the finals like right when the playoffs started. Can they beat the Lakers? I really hope so, but I'm not too optimistic about it. Here's hoping it's a quality series!

They can and they will. In 6.

Any Chiefs fans here? The way the Bulls crushed you on Saturday was embarrassing. I mean, losing 61-17 in a final... wow.

fuck yeah - ive been following MAGIC all season. Dwight Howard; hell of an athlete.

i'd love to see them go all the way and win their first franchise title. they havent been to the finals since 96/97 remember those days anyone? Shaq/Penny. anyway, i'd love to see LAL get their smug smiles wiped off their faces - and all those rich celebrety fans get dissapointed.

Young infielders Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill are doing rather well. But I read that the Blue Jays were actually players in trying to sign Rafael Furcal this past offseason. That's too bad they didn't land him because he is a phenomenal player.

glad to see my Wings being up 2-0

I'm also glad to see Zetterberg spank Malkin at the end of game 2

cant wait for the NBA finals on saturday! MAGIC

So Ben Ikin is no longer a commentator for the NRL because A Current Affair decided to air a story about his father's business, which I didn't watch. Not only that, but now Strathfield can't be the Bulldogs' major sponsor, because that's deemed a "genuine competitor" to the games' overall sponsor, Telstra.

Now, what the fuck was channel 9 thinking, airing a "scandalous" story about a fellow commentator? Was he just going to laugh it off? Terrible, terrible decision. As for Telstra, they need to wake up to themselves - nobody gives a fuck if Strathfield is a rival company. Besides, Telstra is the biggest telecommunication company in the fucking country; it's not going to go broke from this deal. The NRL had to protect Telstra's interests, so the Bulldogs lose out on a huge sponsorship deal because David Gallop likes to suck Telstra off.

Seriously, the NRL is a farce this year. An absolute farce. Not only these, but the two referee system is not working (yet - it will get better in the future). Games are being decided by incorrect decisions, Paul Gallen has been smashed by racism comments, and the whole image of the game is sliding downhill.

I need to watch more AFL, I think.

(sorry for the angry post, but I just need to let it out )

Queensland - Four in a row.

And fucking hell, Phil Gould has to be the most annoying commentator ever.

Gah, damnit, I was hoping NSW would win (I've gotten over my anti-NSWisms in sport and have defected, though it's mostly because I support the Sharks anyway. ).

It's amazing and unheard of that it's so blatantly going to be a two-horse race. I think Saints and Geelong fans can be buying their GF tickets now, touch wood

Couldn't care less about the bird-flipping thing. This namby-pamby political correctness of the game has gone way too far, especially since he said it was aimed at his camera-man mate as a joke, it wasn't even supposed to be aired. I don't take it as an insult, I think he was just a larrikin having a muck about.

I think there even should be MORE bird-flipping, like from players at abusive crowds. That'd rule

The NRL has become a disgrace this year, no question, but AFL is boring. The two codes need to cut a deal where the AFL inherits some of rugby league's "biff" but the NRL cleans up its act just a bit.

I thought that was unfair too by Telstra and the NRL, even though I fucking hate the Bulldogs with all my heart and soul, every club should still have the fundamental right to be sponsored by whoever they goddamn well like.

I hope the Dogs go bankrupt and fold from this (massively unlikely though) as it'll show what happens to clubs, screwing the NRL out of an 8-game-a-week TV deal... and there'll be no more Bulldogs

Ugh, you're not kidding about AFL-PC. It's stupid, "he's a role model." Well get over it, you're kids have done much worse and will continue to do so regardless of Cousins. The pathetic media in this country is to blame in my eyes.

It started with all the ridiculous rule changes. But to some extent the media is to blame, waiting outside players houses digging for dirt. If you dig for dirt, well you'll get it. How about doing a report on the freakishly awesome skills of Gary Ablett, Lance Franklin or Nick Riewoldt instead of the same tired old "Durr, Ben Cousins made a teh boo-boo "?

Good news doesn't sell.

As for the rule changes, well, the AFL executives are idiots. The whole thing is ludicrous, 10 years on and the tackle will be banned at this rate.

True, but it doesn't make it any more morally right. I agree about the role model thing - it just comes down to shit parenting because they can't be fucked, why would you want your kids looking up to a former ice user anyway? I've used this phrase before in this very thread and I'll use it again; sensationalist bullshit to give the ferals a good shock and a whinge.

We need a governing body like FIFA for football to stop any stipid rule changes (even though we're the only country in the world to play it at a professional level )

The Telstra thing sounds totally gay, I hadn't heard about that.

I don't get the Ben Ikin thing though...what happened? They air a story about his father's business which had what implications for him? Did he quit...what occurred?

ACA apparently went and harassed his father, who owns a shop in Queensland. Staggering that they'd be so stupid as to do it to a relative of one of their best-known sports personalities.

Yeah that's low as hell but fuck...its ACA we're talking about here, its to be expected I guess. They'd fabricate material on and hound their own grandmothers for a "good" story.

So what happened? Ikin decide to quit or?

I assume so, on account of him "Storming out":

http://www.smh.com.au/leaguehq/articles ... 97608.html

My signature made it onto fan made poster for Wanderlei Silva!

Josama - War Wand

I'm as happy as a pig in shit.

The English cricket team lost the opening match of the twenty20 cricket world cup to THE NETHERLANDS

That is embarrassing