2011 NFL Season - Half-Time Report (List Style)

WHO'S HOT -

1. Green Bay Packers - Dominant and clinical. Easily the best team in the NFL at the moment with the only unbeaten record left (7-0). Surely a shoe-in for the Super Bowl and could potentially be a record breaker this season.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers - With Big Ben back, the Steelers are back to the good old self after a slow start losing to the Ravens. Best team in the AFC.

3. San Francisco 49ers - John Harbaugh has turned around this underperforming team and made them the leading team in the usually weak NFC West (6-1) at this stage. 2nd seed in NFC playoffs a realistic target.








WHO'S NEARLY THERE -

1. New Orleans Saints - would have been hot but for that defeat to the then-winless St Louis Rams. Still one of the teams to beat in the NFC with Drew Brees on form as usual.

2. New England Patriots - Tom Brady is still casting his magic in the offence - his scoring is helping to shield the deficiencies what is a slowly improving defence.

3. Houston Texans - best chance for the Texans to finally end their playoff duck with the Colts out of the picture. They've put away their divisional rivals so far which will help. Shame star defensive player, Mario Williams is out for the season.











WHO'S SURPRISINGLY HOT -

1. Buffalo Bills - suddenly the Patriots and Jets have someone else to worry about in their division. The Bills have become a team that dares to dream with a highly underrated quarterback in Harvard graduate, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It'll be interesting to see if the Bills have enough in the tank to make that final push for an unexpected playoff birth.

2. Detroit Lions - prior to their game against the 49ers the unimaginable had become a real possibility. The Lions, a team who had been last for the last few seasons, were actually looking at an unbeaten season. Still a well-balanced team with quarterback, Matt Stafford throwing to Megatron Calvin Johnson, running back Jahvid Best and tight-end Brendon Pettigrew, and future hall of famer, Ndamukong Suh. Given how the 'other' NFC East and South teams are taking each other out, the Lions still have a chance of making their first playoff appearance in years.

3. San Francisco 49ers - see description above.

WHO'S NOT HOT -

1. Indianapolis Colts - we all know about Peyton Manning's much talked about absence. Confidence has clearly been rocked to the very core. Curtis Painter may have formed a very good partnership with Pierre Garcon but that partnership is only a glimmer in a season that is not consistent with the Colts' form in the last decade. If Manning is forced to retire, the Colts might as well throw the season to get Stanford QB, Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL draft.

2. Miami Dolphins - they have been competitive in the 1st half but it's the 2nd half which has cost them a win this season. They may have Reggie Bush, Brandon Lloyd and Cameron Wake but the rest of the team is average. They definitely could use a quarterback of decent quality like Andrew Luck next season.

3. Seattle Seahawks - another one needing Andrew Luck, amongst other things. The Seahawks were involved in the worst NFL game ever- a 6-3 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. They may have Russell Okung still but last season's surprise playoff contenders are nowhere near repeating that feat.








PLAYER OF THE SEASON SO FAR -
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers - set for season MVP surely. With a Super Bowl ring on one finger, Aaron Rodgers has gone to another level - to the point that Packers fans are asking "Brett who?" Rodgers is undoubtedly the best quarterback in the NFL at the moment and given his age, it is staggering to think what he could still achieve yet.

ROOKIE TO WATCH -
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers - a rookie quarterback hasn't been this electric since Michael Vick made his debut for the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers should probably just keep losing to get the cream of the defensive players in the draft and help build the foundations for what could be an awesome team led by Newton in the future.  




GAME OF THE SEASON SO FAR -
Lions 34-30 Cowboys. The Lions had no right to victory in this game. They were 24 points down in the palace Jerry Jones built for his beloved Cowboys. Then, Tony Romo threw away 3 interceptions in the 2nd half to get the Lions back into the game. Megatron scored the winning touchdown for the Lions in the last minute of the game. Detroit was dreaming.

2 Minutes - 31 October 2011

Tonight, Arsenal, NFL, baseball and a bit of touch!

Tonight on 2 Minutes

Tonight on 2 Minutes -

• Who's hot and who's not at the halfway season of the NFL 
• A salute to the new world champions of baseball, the St Louis Cardinals (and debate that tag)
• A quick look at the upcoming Total Touch season

Are Arsenal Back?

What a Saturday of Premier League football. No goalless draws and plenty of goals scored - 26 in total with 2 games to play. These sort of weekends do occur in the Premier League every now and then and make the Premier League's marketing department proudly proclaim the league as the most exciting league in the world.



Firstly, undoubtedly the game of the round and a candidate for game of the season - and boy have we been blessed after last weekend's amazing Manchester derby..

Questions should be asked about Villa-Boas' Chelsea side in defence this season and if results don't improve, he could risk an early exit like Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2008.

Here are the highlights to the other games:














So the results mean that Man City and Man United still dominate the top of the table but Chelsea have lost ground to the leaders with that defeat while Arsenal move up to 7th behind Liverpool and Tottenham. Newly promoted Norwich and Swansea solidify their places in the top 10.  

Elsewhere in Europe,

Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to romp away in La Liga. Barcelona continue to thrash teams at home like there's no tomorrow with Mallorca the latest team at the wrong end of a 5-star thumping, while Real Madrid came away from a tough encounter with Real Sociedad at the San Anoeta with all 3 points.

Bayern Munich are also romping away in the Bundesliga taking advantage of Borussia Dortmund's slip-up at Stuttgart. Schalke take over second spot with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim.

AC Milan have closed the gap to leaders Juventus at the top of Serie A to 2 points after beating Roma 3-2 in Rome. Inter remain in deep trouble following their latest loss to Juventus.

Football. Love it.

Future of Formula 1

F1 is certainly a sport absolutely riding a high. Never has the sport been popular universally and so in demand. Once predominantly a European based sport, F1 is probably the world's first truly global sport - yes it is a sport, have you seen how fit Michael Schumacher is?

Governments worldwide are fighting tooth and nail to host a grand prix knowing the kudos and glamour of bringing the world's richest circus to their countries. This is certainly evident in Asia. Japan started Asia's interest in grand prix racing in 1986 but it was when Malaysia got its first grand prix 12 years ago that F1 really started to begin moving through Asia's fast developing countries. Bahrain and China soon followed, then came Singapore and Abu Dhabi - hosts to undoubtedly the most spectacular grand prix on the calendar at the moment - Korea and now India.

It is safe to say that F1 is pretty much split into its traditional European season (May - September) and two Asia/Pacific seasons.

Next year, F1 will make another attempt at the world's largest automotive market, the United States, this time on a brand new purpose built course in Austin, Texas. I was surprised when Indianapolis disappeared from the grand prix calendar as I thought the event had actually done quite well despite the debacle of the 2005 race when all the Michelin runners had pulled out - American sports lovers are a cruel bunch and will take no nonsense.

In fact, the USA will get two grand prix from 2013 when a street race in New Jersey - with Manhattan in the background apparently - also joins the calendar. As they say, you wait for a bus for so long, then two show up.

This means the F1 calendar will almost certainly burst past 20 races per season and a much longer season - this F1 season will conclude in late November, it's latest finish in a while. There will come a time when the teams will have to force the FIA to place a quota of races per season given the cost of travel, staff fatigue, etc.

Perhaps F1 could follow golf's example and we could see certain regions take turns to host grand prix each year. It won't be popular with some countries although it may mean bigger crowds when those countries host races - some places like Shanghai, Bahrain and Sepang struggle to fill their grandstands to capacity at the moment.

A more realistic option is cutting the grand prix weekends to two days. This would probably be a boost to the poorer teams as less running will be required and there'll be less tyres, fuel, etc. used. It would prove a nightmare for debutant racers though.

Watch this space.. And surely there'll be a Russian Grand Prix, French Grand Prix - Monaco doesn't really count and a South Africa Grand Prix to make F1 a truly global sport.

On that note, just saw qualifying for the Indian Grand Prix tomorrow. Looks a pretty good circuit with some medium-to-fast corners. Hope it's a good race. Motorsport definitely needs a pick-me-up right now after it's worst run in years.

St Louis Cardinals are World Champions!

The game as of the end of the 7th inning, the Cards lead the Rangers 6-2. In fact, they extended their lead in the 7th inning with a walk-in run to Molina. The Rangers have had their chances but have squandered many of them early on.

The Texas Rangers look set to gain an unwanted title of losing 2 consecutive World Series in a row - they lost to the Giants last year.








8th inning - Well that just raced by. The Cards didn't seem interested in scoring runs and Theriot and Pujols were quickly dismissed. The Cards will now look for those 3 outs to clinch their 11th World Championship title. 6-2 to the Cards.

9th inning - THE ST LOUIS CARDINALS ARE 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS. Just like that.

Final score - TEX 2 STL 6. Cardinals win the series 4-3. You have to say that the real decider was in game 6 when the Cards just hung on and then walked off with the spoils and send the game to a do-or-die decider. The Rangers who dominated much of that game looked shell-shocked and never recovered. The Cardinals deserved champions, St Louis is again home to a champion baseball team.

Well done. Man of the Series should be Ryan Freese who really bailed out the Cardinals when they needed it and hit the winner in Game 6.

Rugby League Four Nations - Australia v New Zealand

Well into the 2nd half now and the Kiwis are starting their comeback into this game after being down 16-0 at halftime in their opening Four Nations game in Warrington - that's near Liverpool.

Jason Nightingale has been superb on the right wing, scoring a try and helping create another to his fellow winger Fai Fai Loa.

However, the Kangaroos as professional and classy as ever, hitting back with 2 tries of their own in the 2nd half to make it 26-12.

The Kiwis will be happy with that after their shocking performance in Newcastle. They play Wales next in a game they should really win at Wembley Stadium and then take on England in what looks like to be a virtual semifinal.

World Series Game 6 - Best Baseball Game Ever?

Busch Stadium, St Louis - the arena for tonight's big game.

After being delayed by poor weather on Thursday, game 6 is on tonight in St Louis. Cardinals' Jaime Garcia will open the pitching.

Courtesy of undoubtedly the best sports app on the iPhone - mlb At Bat, I'm able to listen to radio coverage of the game.

I will endeavour to post live updates throughout the afternoon.

1st inning - What a start to this game. Both pitchers, Garcia and Lewis look nervous and runs have been scored. Texas took the 1st run but the Cards replied with 2. Berkman hit his first World Series home run. 2-1 to the Cards.

2nd inning - If there's one thing to complain about this World Series, it's been the pitching under pressure from both sides: woeful. Garcia pitched a great top 2nd only to give away 1 run to the Rangers. 2-2.

4th inning - After a scoreless 3rd inning which saw the scorers catch a breather, the Rangers and Cards score a run each in an error-strewn 4th inning by both fielding sides - although the Cards are the guilty ones with 2 errs. It may be thrilling but the fielding has been a bit disappointing for a World Series. 3-3.

5th inning - Texas score but not as much as they really should be - they have dominated the Cards' erroneous pitching but they're not taking their chances and may rue not matching their batting dominance on the scoreboard. 4-3.

6th inning - Looks like the Cards are having the same problems the Rangers are having - getting all their bases loaded but unable to score big time. Cards level the game but really it should have been more. This could be the World Series of missed opportunities. 4-4.

7th inning - Finally the Rangers have broken their shackels and scored 3 home runs with Beltre, Holland and grand slam hero Cruz getting them. The game paused in the middle of the inning while America continues to sow its very patriotic soul with a rendition of the national anthem. Hey, the economy might down the toilet but they can still claim to be the greatest country in the world. The Rangers looking ominous now. 7-4 to the Rangers.

8th inning - The Cards score a home run but are unable to capitalise on having their bases loaded to get back into the game. Huge blow to the Texans. 7-5 to the Rangers.

Top 9th inning -  Cards have stopped the Rangers scoring rout at the top of the 9th. It comes down to the bottom of the 9th- Cards need 2 runs to take the game to extra innings..

Bottom 9th inning - they do it! 7-7 and heading into extra inning!

Top 10th inning - Has Hamilton hit the most important home run in Rangers history? First base loaded, Hamilton lashes out. Cards have to do it all over again. 9-7 to Texas.

Bottom 10th inning - The Cards do do it again. This game is down to its 9th life. 9-9.

Bottom 11th inning - CARDS WIN!! Walk off win. Freese gets the home run that sends this series into a sudden death 7th!!

Final/11 - TEX 9 STL 10. An absolutely incredible game which the Rangers and Ron Washington will be kicking themselves about after they had plenty of chances to win and clinch their first World Series. Now the momentum is with the Cardinals. They say those who win game 6 to force the decider have gone on to win game 7 and the World Series.

Une lettre d'excuses à la française.

Salutations au personnes beaux de France,

Je voudrais sincèrement désolés pour la rédaction de votre équipe de rugby avant la Coupe du Monde de Rugby finale dimanche dernier. Je tiens également à m'excuser pour appeler votre équipe les pires jamais de comparaître à une Coupe du Monde de Rugby. Ce n'est clairement pas le cas et je rétracte ce que j'ai dit dans le passé.

 

La France est le plus beau pays du monde. Il a la plus grande des villes, des trains comme le TGV, voitures comme Citroën et Peugeot, les femmes et les équipes sportives - plus bien de l'époque. Nicolas Sarkozy est l'homme le plus grand leader n'a jamais créé et son épouse, Carla est très chaud. Avec cela, je tiens également à adresser mes félicitations à Monsieur et Madame Sarkozy sur leur dernière arrivée.

Comme récompense, je vais devoir acheter mon déjeuner une fois par semaine à partir de maintenant de cette belle sur la boulangerie au coin des rues Featherston et Johnston appelé Petite Bordeaux. Ils font des pâtisseries vraiment délicieux et ficelles.

Viva la France. Et aller aux Français - les personnes les plus impressionnants au monde.

Cordialement


M. David Lim
Allez les Bleus und noir!

A Cheerleader Who Could Actually Make Me Follow a Team

Whilst I am a New England Patriots fan through-and-through, there is one cheerleader who could almost single-handedly force me to follow a team just for her. Shame Casey Baldwin is doing her dance moves for the Philadelphia Eagles then.

Click here for her profile including 2011 profile video.












Shots from her auditions to the squad for year 2.

The Joys of Midweek Football 1

If you were a football fan, you would have been nirvana during the last two mornings.

There were key Spanish and Italian league games with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona stretching their lead over the rest in Spain, while Napoli closed the gap to Juventus in Italy.



In England, there were 8 Carling Cup ties. Manchester United travelled to lower league side, Aldershot Town and won quite comfortably (3-0)..


So did Manchester City at Wolves, a side which definitely played like a lower league side in a 5-1 thumping.


Thursday morning saw some cracking ties. Liverpool finally won at Stoke City,


Chelsea needed extra-time to beat Everton,

But the pick of the ties was Blackburn hosting Newcastle.


Blackburn were set for a 2-0 win as the match closed that the Telegraph erroneously produced the final match report on its website even though the game was still very much on! I wish I had the screenshot.

So we await the Carling Cup draw in the next few days and I'm pleased that Liverpool are still very much in the hunt for Kenny Dalglish's first trophy since his return to management, and a guaranteed ticket to Europe.

Summer is (Almost) Here

The rugby season is over meaning that summer is (almost) here and it'll soon be time for a bit of willow and leather ball.

Of course due to the way international cricket is nowadays as well as the wonders of television, the Black Caps are very much in action on the small screen - a screen smaller than usual too given that Zimbabwe broadcasters can't really afford HD cameras.

The Black Caps took out the Twenty20 series 2-0 and then, the one day series 2-1 - the 1 against coming this morning in Bulawayo after the Zimbabweans chased down 329 to win.

This has been very much the battle of the minnows of world cricket - contrast that to the England v India series taking place at the same time.

New Zealand have expectedly been the better side when the result matters. But Zimbabwe have been unexpectedly better than we thought - certainly a far cry from the side the New Zealanders took on on their last  tour in 2005.

Brendan Taylor is good enough to make top international sides and he's been quite inspirational with the bat. Without him, Zimbabwe would have struggled to get to 200 in the first two games - and therein lies another surprise, Zimbabwe putting competitive scores albeit on flat, batting friendly wickets. That confidence flowed onto the rest of the team during their record win, especially Malcolm Waller who scored an unbeaten 99 with some assistance from Ross Taylor.

It is in the bowling where Zimbabwe are clearly second rate and will struggle in the long run away from home. But Zimbabwe won't quite be the easy beats that people originally made them out to be.

The Black Caps play one sole test starting next Tuesday on November 1 in Bulawayo - hopefully, potential opener, BJ Watling will be able to get some batting practice after his attempt to do so in the last one dayer spectacularly backfired; run out without facing a ball.

After that, the Black Caps have a quick break before going across the Tasman to play the Australians in two tests in Brisbane (Dec 1-5) and Hobart (Dec 9-13). The focus is on domestic Twenty20 cricket thereafter until mid-January when the Zimbabweans return for 1 test, 3 one dayers and 2 Twenty20s.

The real action domestically finally takes off in February when South Africa tour New Zealand for the first time in 8 years - 3 Twenty20s, 3 one dayers and 3 tests.


So Ross Taylor's first season as Black Caps captain is underway. A new era once again beckons as the old brigade is slowly phased out by John Wright. Can the likes of Rob Nicol and Doug Bracewell solidify their spots in the XI as the likes of Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram enter the autumn of their careers?

Whatever the case, it's good to see the Blackcaps back playing for the first time in a long while!    

Back in the Big US of A

In my previous blog, I mentioned that it was quite possible that two world champions in two different sports would be crowned within 48 hours. The Texas Rangers and St Louis Cardinals have ruled that possibility out now - thankfully, as it means the World Series' lifespan for 2011 will be over a week with games 6 and 7 to be played on Thursday and Friday afternoons NZ time.

Thanks to some up and down form, huge hitting and questionable bullpens, it is still hard to pick who will win this series. There is plenty resting on game 6 in St Louis on Thursday - one more Rangers' win and they would be world champions for the first time in their history but they have to do it at the Cardinals' home where they have been mostly imperious in the playoffs, and one where they can back themselves to level the series and take the World Series to game 7.

Colby Lewis will open the pitching for the Rangers having only allowed 1 run in his last game while Jaime Garcia has been magnificent at Busch Stadium and pitched seven shutout innings in Game 2.

With no NFL, NBA or college sport really to interfere, America's focus on their Wednesday night viewing should be on Busch Stadium as the most riveting World Series reaches its climax.

Staying on baseball, the New York Yankees' Curtis Granderson is looking to bring America's national sport to... Eden Park, Auckland.

Yes the same stadium which witnessed New Zealand's greatest moment of glory in a while yet is being lined up as a potential venue for the MLB. Surely it would be in the pre-season in March given that the MLB is played during what would be New Zealand's wet winter months.

Interesting move - you would have thought that Westpac Stadium would make a better fit for a promotional MLB game with its genuine oval shape. After all, Eden Park is already an awkward sport for that other game with ball and bat.

But if it does happen, I'd be keen to watch. And Eden Park would have done it all: union, cricket, league, football...

Update on the NBA lockout:
Still no resolution in sight with a further 2 weeks of games cancelled. The stars are coming up with their own invitational tournaments to fill the time. It looks like the 2011-12 NBA season will be a stillbirth unless something can be done as soon as possible.

So here's some NBA archive footage to keep you entertained while the men sort it out.

Shots from the All Blacks World Cup Parade in Wellington

My Moments of the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Well Sky's beloved TV show about rugby, Reunion, has finished for the year after a memorable Rugby World Cup. So it's apt I give my wrap on it before we put the Rugby World Cup in the cabinet of history.

Try of the tournament: Amorosino's winning try against Scotland. Argentina needed a moment of brilliance trailing 12-6 in the rain in Wellington. And they got it from their super-sub who ran along the touchline, broke 5 Scottish tackles to score the try that would go a long way to getting Argentina into the quarterfinals. It was the only try of the game, probably the only time Argentina looked like scoring a try. But boy did it matter.

Pool match of the tournament: Tonga 19-14 France. An upset for the ages - and one I would have gone to had I not gone down with a 24-hour stomach bug that Saturday! Tonga finally played with the passion their fans showed and totally dominated a listless and disunited French side. A popular

Minnow of the tournament: Canada. For a nation that is still very much stuck in the amateur days and embraces amateurism like a lover, the Canucks played like seasoned professionals. Kieran Crowley did wonders in creating a team with a strong forward pack and some not too bad backs. Adam Kleeburger was one of those players everyone loved to embrace. They did do themselves very proud and were just unlucky not to take 3rd in their group behind the All Blacks and French.

Minnow's player of the tournament: Mamuka Gorgodze. More than held his own against more illustrious players in his position. Undoubtedly the best rugby player Georgia has ever produced. Got a deserved try against Romania in Palmerston North.

Match of the tournament: The Final. What else? It was painful to watch for New Zealanders but was magnificent for the neutrals and the 2nd half was epic. It was a true contest apt for the most competitive Rugby World Cup yet.    

Surprise of the tournament: Wales. Drawn into the pool of death against South Africa and two Pacific Island nations they've lost to in the past, the Welsh got through their pool with relative ease and as it turned out, got the theoretically easier path to the semifinals by finishing 2nd. They should have made the Final but for Sam Warburton's red card.

My team of the tournament: 
1.Tony Woodcock, New Zealand
2.Keven Mealamu, New Zealand
3.Owen Franks, New Zealand
4.James Horwill, Australia
5.Brad Thorn, New Zealand
6.Thierry Dusautoir, France
7.David Pocock, Australia
8.Imanol Harinodoquy, France
9.Mike Phillips, Wales
10.Tusi Pisi, Samoa
11.Vincent Clerc, France
12.Jamie Roberts, Wales
13.Aurelien Rougerie, France
14.George North, Wales
15.Israel Dagg, New Zealand

My player of the tournament: 
Thierry Dusautoir won IRB Player of the Year deservedly and I had tipped him to do it ahead of Nonu, Weepu & Kaino prior to the awards ceremony on Monday night. He singlehandedly hauled a disjointed, listless French team into the Final and nearly repeated his Cardiff heroics four years ago to the horror of New Zealanders. A gentleman too which sadly I can't say the same for his colleagues.


Finally, the ad of the tournament (probably of the year, now):

So here's to a Rugby World Cup that finally, for once, resulted in the right outcome. Victory for New Zealand.

The last word goes to a hero who went from zero on Sunday night: