The Worst Seven Game Winning Streak Ever...

After hearing doubtful suggestions around the traps that the St. George Dragons (formerly the St. George-Illawarra Dragons) can make the top four and ludicrous ones that they can win the premiership, I have felt it necessary to quash these foolish thoughts. For starters, the current squad appears hopelessly less talented than the 2005 squad. It must stand to reason then that if the 2005 squad were unable to even make the grand final then the 2008 Dragons are longshots. Yes they have won seven games on the trot but first, let's examine the opposition in that streak.

Win #1: Against a Storm outfit missing nine players and their coach on Origin duties, the Dragons lit up ANZ stadium in a six tries to two, 36-12 romp over the defending premiers. Well five of the defending premiers anyway...

Win #2: Although a very credible performance in winning 20-18 at Brookvale, I would suggest that this was the worst game of football between two sides in the top eight this season. With 13 handling errors apiece and a combined 86 missed tackles, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a battle of the cellar-dwellers.

Win #3: The Rabbitohs had won only once this season (against fellow wooden spoon contenders, the Cowboys) going into this match and were chopping and changing halves on a weekly basis leaving them without cohesion and good decision-making. Dean Widders was at five eighth for this one if you can believe that. Souths had no luck either in this match with the time-keeper sounding for half-time a minute early (when Souths had a full set inside the Dragons 20) and the Dragons also scoring off a charge-down. 26-12, not very convincing stuff.

Win #4: The Dragons showed their eagerness to beat up on teams missing multiple Origin players by defeating the "Baby Broncos" 28-10. They still managed to miss 38 tackles against a makeshift team who you would hardly say were dangerous in attack.

Win #5: After negotiating the bye, the Red V's were shown a thing or two about courage by the Panthers. Penrith were still right in this game until the end despite suffering multiple injuries throughout the match and finishing with only one player on the bench. The Dragons eked a 13-12 win in a match they should have won comfortably at home.

Win #6: Definitely one of the more impressive efforts in this streak, an away win against the Gold Coast. It must be noted however, that Scott Prince was out through injury. Nevertheless, a hard place to win a football game , Scott Prince or no. Dragons sneak home again 26-22.

Win #7: St.George downed the Knights on the road 24-16. The Knights are far from a formidable outfit though, despite decent early season form and currently lie in 11th place.

So there you have it. A pretty unremarkable seven game winning streak, all things considered. And perhaps I should have waited a week to write about the most unimpressive eight game winning streak ever instead. The Dragons are at home to the Raiders. Should win by 2-6 points and firm another couple of points in premiership markets...seriously, get on people!

Wimbledon Final Preview

For the third time in three years Rafael Nadal will try to take the Wimbledon crown off Roger Federer. Should be a cracking contest, let's suggest some supplements for the punters...

BEER:

Stella Artois. The beer of choice for the Championships. Elegant, yet understated. Or something like that...doesn't seem either elegant or understated after half a carton though...

SNACKS:

Going with Arnott's Crimpy Chicken Shapes to be dunked into Copperpot's French Onion Dip. This may well be followed with some Bulla Creamy Classics Mint Choc Chip ice-cream around the time of the third set. And, depending on the level of messiness/number of sets, there is always a chance of a cab run through the 24 hour Macca's drive-thru...

EXCUSE TO GET OUT OF WORK MONDAY MORNING:

Fortunately for me I have my brother's bucks party this weekend so that's as easy an excuse as you can get. No-one expects you to be fully recovered from such an occasion by the following Monday. Alternatively you could try what a guy from my work does when he's trying to cover his ass; he speaks a mixture of Chinese and English, "Chinglish" if you will. It makes no sense whatsoever and aims to try and confound the bosses with bullshit. If you are smart, you haven't mentioned to your boss that you're a tennis fan and have possibly even dropped a few of "Oh, is Wimbledon on? I don't really get into tennis much," during the last fortnight. Thus you are able to take a seemingly legitimate sickie.

Nadal leads the head to head 11-6. As I said before, Federer has won their two matches on grass at the last two Wimbledon finals. In the 2006 final, Federer won in four sets. 2007 was much tougher, a five setter as Nadal showed marked improvement on the grass. I see even greater improvement in his grasscourt wares this year and his depth of shot and ability to find the lines will bother Federer once again. It will be interesting to see how Federer starts the match given his thrashing at the hands of Nadal in the French Open final just weeks ago.

I'm tipping Nadal to win but am certainly not writing off Federer. Federer will need a positive start if he's going to win a sixth straight title. Ultimately I think the tide is turning at the top of the world rankings in men's tennis but we'll know more on that after tonight. Enjoy what could be a classic.

WHAB Wimbledon Final Preview

WHAB will preview the final Sunday afternoon AEST so pop back in then for all the form, stats, recommended beer choice and suggested creative excuses to be late/skip work on Monday should it go to five sets.

Beijing Preview: Baseball

Think baseball at the Olympics, and you may think you will be seeing another sport (like basketball) where you see a star-studded Team U.S.A. having their way with almost all comers. Given, however that the Olympic baseball tournament coincides with the Major League baseball "stretch run" and you see a different looking Team U.S.A. and unsurprisingly a much more level playing field.

Team U.S.A. will basically be a cobbled together group of the best players not on a Major League team's top 25 players. Joining them will be the top players from the college ranks. For an NRL equivalent, think about Australia entering the Rugby League World Cup without being able to choose any first grade players, plus the best reserve graders from the other teams.

Team U.S.A. will still be all kinds of good. Led by San Diego State college phenom (widely tipped to go first in next years rookie draft) Stephen Strasburg, and Mike Minor U.S.A. will pitch very, very well.

The Australian tilt... well it's not happening. a silver medal in the last Olympics wasn't enough to let Australia avoid the qualification campaign. The qualification campaign which somehow found a direct qualification spot for THE DUTCH! A country whose most famous baseball export is Win Remmerswaal.

I only hate two things; people who are intolerant of other people's cultures; and the Dutch!

Anyway, you can write off the Dutch, along with hosts China, Chinese Taipei and I will happily write off Korea as well. Some would dispute this, however Korea has been lagging behind their neighbours - Japan - in terms of churning out quality players for some time, and it is pretty hard to see the Chan Ho Park led Koreans battling out for more than a minor role. They will have a lot of depth - with very few players ineligible for selection but will find the top few too classy.

So who does that leave???? Favourites Cuba, Team U.S.A., Canada and Japan.

Cuba have been spurred on by words of encouragement from both Fidel Castro and later Raul Castro: "You all know what the Cuban people expect from you". Exactly what these enigmatic words mean is up for debate. Are the Cuban people hoping that they win? Or have the Cubans been watching a lot of Disney films, and simply hope that the Cuban team has fun and learns some kind of life lesson? Quack.

Cuba are used to tasting success at the Olympics, winners in 1992, 1996 and 2004 and silver medalists in 2000. Bookies have been cautious, sticking them at $1.80. You never know much about the players you will see - the Cuban national team is based at home. The success in the majors of occasional defections from Cuba, such as 2008 defector Alexei Ramirez underline their threat here. Though it can hardly be called defecting anymore.. And after signing a $4.5 M contract with the White Sox it doesn't seem likely that he floated over to Florida on a fridge door.

At $50, Canada could easily find themselves battling out for the gold. With one of the best pitching prospects in the game, Phillippe Aumont leading their staff, anything could happen here. And if anything could get the Captain interested in baseball, it is his beloved Canadians!

You fart loving, fart lovers.

And then comes my pick for the title, Japan. Winners of the inaugural world baseball classic - that's the real pinnacle of international baseball - the one where MAJOR Leaguers play. Japan has lost two of its Major League stars in Ichiro! and Matsuzaka, however the feudal system in Japanese baseball where clubs basically own players until they die means that only a few Japanese players are playing in the Major Leagues and the losses of Matsuzaka and Ichiro! can be adequately covered. Matsuzaka, the find of the World Baseball Classic should be ably covered by Yu Darvish - whom the Japanese hype machine touts as being BETTER than Matsuzaka. Japan at $4.50, yes please.

.

Even without Australia in the mix, Baseball fans should be entertained to some extent. Though even a rabid fan such as myself would be more likely to watch his Brewers on mlb.tv rather than catch the 5 minute highlight package of Cuba v the Netherlands, in all honesty, there is little more enjoyable than watching the Americans not win Olympic gold in the game where American teams battle out for the WORLD SERIES. Whether it is by their hated Communist neighbour, their hockey mad brothers across the border or by the Japanese. It's all GOOD!

My money is on the Japanese, but my heart says:

IT'S ABOOT TIME!

And in the red corner...Ben Cross!

Ben Cross was one of NSW's best in the two State of Origin matches he played this year. The only down side to his game, according to WHAB "foighting" expert Russell Crowe, is "foighting".

"He's a good player but 'e can't foight!" exclaimed Crowe after the match. "I'm gonna take him 'round the world with me good mate Tugger 'n show 'im 'ow to foight!".

Cross was quoted as saying he would "rather sit through a week's worth of Master and Commander bloopers and out-takes than accompany that lunatic anywhere".

Tommy Raudonikis also suggested Cross needed to work on his technique. "He was just throwing punches at thin air. Then I think 'e was punchin' his own team-mate. I can see the kid's got heart but when the "cattledog" call comes out he's got no idea!".

The most damning report came from Canberra's Michael Weyman, considered to be the NRL's best biffer. "He's a top player and a top bloke but he'd get knocked out by a rabid chihuahua on that form!".

My final Origin thought till next year.

On hearing the unbelievable news that Thurston was "man of the series", apart from being speechless, I have taken the drastic step of naming WHAB's own Man Of The Series...Petero Civoniceva. If you think I'm off the mark, I suggest you find a tape of all three matches and watch them start to finish. If on the back of one run, beating a prop with a dummy, you could possibly entertain Thurston being "man of the series" then I suggest you are mentally retarded. Goodnight Australia.

State of Origin wrap

WHAB would like to congratulate QLD on winning the Origin series. At this juncture we will not mention referees, touch judges, selectors, hopeless players etc. There's no need to go into details, at the end of the day it was a tight series and simply, the aerial abilities of Inglis and Folau proved the difference in what was a very close Game III. We will just congratulate QLD on a job well done and hope NSW can come up with something in their two games at Suncorp next year.

Final thoughts for Origin III

I can't understand why you would contemplate starting Gidley instead of Stewart. Gidley was chosen as an alleged utility... and now our utility is Stewart? Whatever. I would definitely start Cross and bring Mason on after 15 mins or so. NSW should use Monaghan's magic hands and aerial ability to their advantage and play him on Tate. In Origin I, Quinn scored off a bomb and Tate was caught embarrassingly out of position. The kicking game is there with the Roosters halves...use it! And if Tate somehow emulates his Origin II fluke then I'll be the first to tip my hat to him. Leave Inglis to the defensively sound Cooper.

Hard to find any reason why QLD will change their starting line-up from Game II. Hunt will probably start again and be inspirational (?). Most fans realise that the forwards hold the key in any League match. The Blues pack went AWOL in the second match but bear in mind that the QLD pack was missing in action in the first. It seems the opposition packs in the first two games couldn't lift with the hostile crowds yelling out nasty things at them.

Enjoy the game people, may the best team win and may the referee be largely unnoticed. I'm off to the TAB to unload on NSW to win, Monaghan to score first try, and Pearce and Anasta for MOM...

This is just awesome...

Christian News site One News Now is so homophobic that they have installed a filter to change all instances of the word Gay to Homosexual!


As always with the Christian Right, hilarity ensues.

State of Origin game III preview thread.

Well with State of Origin III kickoff just around the corner, now looks like a good time to preview what should be a great match.

NSW have rung the changes to the back line in particular. Injuries to Bird and Wallace have opened the door for the Roosters duo of Anasta and Pearce. Jarryd Hayne makes his return from injury and the injury to Mark Gasnier has opened the door for Joel Monaghan, a player who most believed should have been given a shot to fill Hayne's wing spot in game two.

In the forwards the return of Ben Cross is the only real change to game two's much maligned forward pack.

On the Queensland side, no change has been made to the team that decimated the Blues at Suncorp in game II 30-0.

Much talk is made of the Queensland side and its all international back line. However, running down the team sheets, much of their edge appears to be in the forwards. With the steadiest front row in the game: Price and Civoniceva, Queensland seem to have a real edge in this department. NSW countering with the often missing Willie Mason and Brett White - about whom the Professors jury is definitely out after game II. Until this morning,I had yet to read anything sensible out of the mouth/pen of Gorden Tallis, however his comments regarding the ability of Mason to go missing for extended periods when his side is in trouble is a valid point. Contrasting this to workhorses Civoniceva and Price and you see the problem that NSW could face if down early.

The back row is a decided advantage for NSW with Fitzgibbon, Hoffman, Laffranchi and Gallen and the potentially explosive play of Tupou.

Queensland may have one of the best paper combinations of halves seen at this level, and a trio of explosive men outside them in Slater, Inglis and Folau, however the combinations may not work at this level if Queensland are unable to establish the forward momentum that game II offered. NSW look steady in the backs with a pair of fine defensive centres and a potential future superstar in Pearce.

One area where NSW seem to have dropped the ball at the selection table is with automatic selection Kurt Gidley. In game I, Ben Hornby provided spark and utility value that was discarded with the return of Gidley. Gidley plays because he can cover myriad positions - 1,6,7 and 9. Hornby on the other hand plays 1,6,7, and 9 and can ably fill in in the centres. This is debatable, but the Professor would argue that Hornby plays ALL of these positions with more vigour than Gidley.

Tomorrow night marks the end of the Origin road for Danny Buderus. It is hoped that the often missing superstar Mason plays with a little more vigour based on that fact. I thought that Buderus had gone on for a season too long at this level but I was mistaken. Next year, I hope that one of the games most underrated players - Michael Ennis - gets his shot at Origin. Though it is almost certain that the selectors will pick the mercurial Robbie Farah.

This game could go either way. If Queensland win, I predict a cricket score, but if NSW win it will have to be a grind. The heart suggests $40 on NSW by 1-12 @ 3.55 and $5 each on Magic Monners to score first and last @$13 and @$14.

Enjoy the game!