Put your Superman capes on, Its Grand Final time!!!!

AFL....On Friday afternoon, Mathew Stokes made me tear up. I was sitting at joy reading an article about how Stokesey carried a groin injury into last years Grand final. It explains why he played so badly, and on top of it, we lost. The guilt he felt from playing last year when he clearly shouldn't have was too much for him to bare, and so he reported his groin problem this year, knowing it would mean missing out on playing in the Grand final. He took a bullet for the team and did the right thing by everyone.


He wasn't the only one feeling the guilt at Geelong, cause the team was expected to win in 2008. All the players wanted to make sure they didn't lose another Grand Final if they made it. They felt so ashamed after losing they could barely face the supporters cause the knew they had let them down. They needed to win this year for redemption.




But it wasn't only the Cats and Stokes that felt fuilty from last years loss, many fans were left with their own individual issues. Personally I have been feeling guilty too. My Dad has been to only Geelong losing Grand finals, several of them, and in 2007 , the year we won, and he gave me his ticket. I thought maybe last year he would get to see a winning Grand final and I wouldn't feel so bad anymore, but it all went horribly wrong. For 2 years I have been carring the guilt of robbing someone of the best experience you can imagine. And on Saturday afternoon, not only could I not believe my eyes that Geelong won, but I have never been so relieved. My Dad saw the Cats win a GF and get their medals, rather than colapse in a crying heap. The only experience he had.

Bald guys rule! :.................................................................................... This is how you do it Crawf:

On the other side of the coin, the Saints had not won a Premiership in 43 years. No doubt the club and the players were feeling the pressure, the same pressure the cats felt in 07 of 44 years. Unfortunately some stiff competition didn't help. The game was ridiculously even, with both teams out performing eachother in patches. The Saints missed some opportunites early. Then the Cats seemed to run off with it before some disgraceful umpiring handed the Saints three quick goals. Two from a touched kick, and one from the Cats complaining about the touched kick. Instead of going up 2 goals at half time, the Cats went in 1 goal down. And one of those goals from Hawkins under was scrutiny for touching the post. The good and bad luck seemed to go both ways.

According to umpire Mc idiot, this is not over the shoulder:
Because he missed these high tackles earlier in the game, he couldn't call the high tackles for the rest of the game. They had to be consistent, and considering they started so badly, they were forced to then umpire consistenly badly for the rest of the afternoon. There were about 4 coat hangers each from St Kilda and Geelong unsighted.



The Saints kicked a few points, and seemed to get on top in the third quarter, the Premiership quarter. But the Cats decided to re-write the Premiership quarter, and turn it into the last. And it took about 20 minutes into the last to get going. Nobody seemed to be able to score and with the Saints in front it was looking to be on their side. After much fumbling and points kicked, the Cats finally broke through with a goal. My memory is still a bit hazy, but I know a man with an injured Hamstring helped turn the game on its ear. It looked to be another shocking fumble from the Cats when Scarlet said 'stuff this' and toe poked it into Juniors arms.

Then the Cats were off, and no turning back. There were some match saving marks and goals, and with a few minutes left, the Cats were up by a goal and we all couldn't stand the tension! with a minute to go the Saints went forward, but Harry stood tall. Then to seal the deal Rooke marked with seconds to go. While already celebrating the siren went and it was official. The Cats were back in town, and Cam Mooney had a hand in it with two great marks and goals.

First there was the hand of God with Gary Senior, now a final mark to Max Chooky Rooke becomes the hands of Jesus:

Normy in full flight: .............................................................. An orgy of victory:

Are you serious? we won?.....................................................................Are you sure we won?

Had to check the scoreboard to make sure it was real. Big red looks tanked, and the game has only just ended!:

On the other side of the park. Bomber said sometimes footy sucks, and this was how the cats looked last year: Worse than a broken arm, but reaction is the same.

Still can't believe this is this years photo, feel like I pulled out a newspaper from 07.

This is the new money shot, or the new Mooney shot. I think he's trying to say they won 2 Premy's, but that is the universal sign for up yours :-s:
The end result is this:

A Premiership and a hot chick, you beauty!:

The man, and the son of the man, who is now the man!...and the chick of the man:

Just had to include this. Borris? whats happ'nen...and they say we're not taking this one seriously pfffftt:

Wheres Wally?:

A new man enters 'the man' status. Harry Taylor keeps the Saints captain quiet and becomes an instant legend:

Among all the excitment we almost forgot about lil Juniors break through Brownlow win. We can now celebrate the medal, and yes Gaz you can too:

Maybe we forgot about his win, because it was over- shadowed by Fev. His career is in jeopardy after his Brownlow piss up. Most couldn't believe his behaviour, which was apparently worse than Judd'ys pressure point work.

We'll call this, the before picture...we're not allowed to show you the after picture:

and so it's over for another year, a bloody good year, and an awesome Grand Final. We will keep an eye out for the big trades and draft moves in the off season. The Cats have been put down all year, and so it is with great pleasure I say 'You F#$*ing beauty! Cats are PREMIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F1....Oh Lewis, you're back! ...McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the Singapore Grand Prix with Toyota's Timo Glock second and Renault's Fernando Alonso third. Now Brawn on the Podium or Red Bull. And WTF is Toyota doing on that podium??? scary how quikly things turn.

NRL....The Grand final is on!....more news to come!

Parramatta fullback Jarryd Hayne has been cleared to play against Melbourne Storm in next Sunday's NRL Grand Final after a knee to his opponents head.

Greatness awaits Melbourne Storm after a 40-10 demolition of Brisbane granted them passage to a fourth. Redemption is now firmly at the forefront of Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith's thoughts.

Cricket....SHOAIB Malik smashed a brisk century to set up Pakistan's 54-run victory over arch-rivals India in the Champions Trophy at Centurion on Saturday. More news again to come!

A brilliant all-round performance by Mitchell Johnson steered Australia to a successful start to its Champions Trophy defence.

Nathan Bracken's latest knee problem has captain Ricky Ponting worried about the fast bowler's future.

All that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.

Peace out*

.*Disclaimer: The Sports Lounge may contain 2/3 of your daily fibre intake. No this does not mean we will give you the shits. Warning this last paragraph may not be accurate. Conditions apply and portions of this blog have been edited for your discomfort. Spoken by Tan for the Sports Lounge Party Melbourne (say that last sentance really fast).All that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.

Finals Week 3: It really is a two horse race!

AFL...Mick Malthouse tried to rub the Cats the wrong way by heaping some pressure on them. Im not sure, but I think it backfired. The Cats recorded a 73 point smashing over the Pies on Saturday night, more popularly referred to as a ‘slaughtering’. It turned out to be a case of Cold pies on a hot tin roof after all that. We had to keep looking at the scoreboard to make sure it was right, and just think, the score line would’ve been even worse if the Pies let Pendle’s play on crutches!

The game began in a weird fashion. There were so many Seagulls on the Ground in the first quarter, players were kicking the ball to them by mistake.

Chappy confused *Why the hell did you kick it to the bird for???..Im over here!*:


We might have more sympathy for them if it wasn’t for one of their classy supporters harassing me before I’d even set foot outside my car. Wise man once say ‘the only thing better than beating Collingwood, is thrashing Collingwood in a Prelim, or a Grand final’, Wise Pies supporter once say ‘F&*K, F*&^k…do I know you? Does it matter?’

The pictures as usual tell the whole story anyway.

*Get outa my way peasant*:

Collingwoods number 9 celebrates without actually marking the ball:

The score blows out to 70 points...*Come here I need a hug, bad!*:

Careful Moondog, he knows the Mafia!:

Blow the siren already, even the Cats fans are bored.

In contrast the Saints won an epic battle with the Dogs on Friday night. Two teams, both Premiership starved for many years playing off for a spot in the Grand final. Some waiting for 50-60 years to win a premy, but only one could go through. And the game lived up to all expectations. I think you can tell who won. The winners are most likely the ones high fiving.

*Yay! Ouch!*:

*D'oh!...2 prelims in a row lost*:

The Saints prevailed with one man standing tall, and not just because he is tall. Nick Riewoldt kicked the sealer as Doggies fans hearts broke all around the stadium, and Saints fans felt what Cats fans went through in 2007, scraping in by a nose hair, and their best chance to win it in about 50 years.

The Money shot:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but to footy fans in general it was a feast. Hard tackling, hard running, seconds ticking, and everything on the line. The Dogs appeared to abandon their game plan and overrun in the first two quarters. We have become familiar with their 2nd and more importantly furious 4th quarter goal surges. But after running off their legs, they seemed to run out of steam by half time.

*Bugger off, I called it!*:

Cooney Greets Goddards groin... *Personal space dude*:

So now the two best teams face off in the Grand final, for the first time ever. And don’t ask us who’s going to win. And don’t ask us the meaning of life either, cause right now those 2 questions are about even. You can't be deceived by scorelines, this game could go either way, may the best team win!

Congrats also to the All Australian Team. Most selections appeared justified, with just a few missing out, and a few interesting ones making it in. The usual suspects were there though; Judd, Ablett, Chapman, and all the others with a full head of hair.

The Brownlow medal is this Monday during the show. We will update the count throughout the night. The fav's are still Ablett, Judd, Swan and Riewoldt. Text us in your brownlow pick or your smokey. It could be a surprise from the cats with Enright, or Boyd from the Bulldogs. Or just tell us who will poll best from your club. Again it looks like there is atill a connection between the skill and the bald gene.

NRL...Afl fans sure got a good look at Karmichael Hunt on the weekend, as he stared for the Broncos; the Gold Coasts first big investment. The Dragons out of the finals in straight sets and well and truly slayed. Brisbane now take on the mighty Storm.

The Eels win in style with a 46 point thrashing!...An Eels club blueprint has revealed the reasons behind their wins. The document apparently shows how Anderson has employed psychological weapons to lift his team for the finals; it reminds them why they started winning, and details the characteristics of the players who have impressed....Careful guys, a magician never reveals his secrets, especially before the Grand Final ;-).

Cricket: Tim Paine's maiden international century handed Australia a 111-run victory over England in the latest match at Trent Bridge.The Aussies are just one win away from claiming a 7-0 sweep of the One-Day International tournament after Paine scored 111 to steer Australia to 8-296 from 50 overs, and some trademark sharp fielding by Ricky Ponting helped restrict England to a total of 185 with nine overs to spare.

England paceman James Anderson says Australia's 6-0 lead in the one-day series flatters the tourists.....Well it'd still have to flatter a bit more than ZERO.

Australia's Cameron White lashed out during the fifth international one-day match against England at Trent Bridge:

Netball...The Australian Diamonds have sealed the best-of-five trans-Tasman series with a nail-biting one goal win over the Silver Ferns in Invercargill today.
Like so many other matches between the teams, the game went down to the wire, with the Diamonds holding strong in the final term to take the game 47 – 46. Diamonds’ goal defence Julie Corletto was named Player of the Match. After a slow start the Aussies are back on track.

Athletics...Speaking of the track, South Africa's sports ministry has called for the axing of the country's athletics chief for lying about gender tests made on runner Caster Semenya. The Chief
denyed he knew about the test results that declared Semenya a Hermaphrodyte. Either way just let her run. You can only work with what you've got. If she can't compete we will be forced to create a special Hermaphrodite Olympics. Of course then in the interest of equality we would have to create an Olympics for every specific type of human; i.e.‘the middle aged man with a pot belly Olympics’ (shouldn’t be hard to find contenders) and of course ‘the straight chicks that hold the cricket bat backwards Olympics’. It might become exhausting for the IOC, especially as cricket hasn’t even made it in yet. Sportists!...Just let her run!

all that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.

Peace out*

.*Disclaimer: The Sports Lounge may contain 2/3 of your daily fibre intake. No this does not mean we will give you the shits. Warning this last paragraph may not be accurate. Conditions apply and portions of this blog have been edited for your discomfort. Spoken by Tan for the Sports Lounge Party Melbourne (say that last sentance really fast).All that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.

AFL finals Week 2: The Agony the Ecstasy returns!

AFL....Serena williams came oh so close to knocking AFL from top spot this week, but we will have to cage her for a few more paragraphs before we let her loose. The only challenge to her was the Pies come from behind victory in the Semi's! Oh and Chris Judd teaching the media Ninja moves to get out of his eye gouging suspension...Oh and Jeff Kennett declaring he wants a woman to play for Hawthorn ASAP (you twit!)....Anyway the two Victorian teams knock the two Interstaters out of the finals! Melbourne Rules!....Sorry it had to be said, even if one of those teams was Collingwood :-s.

The Crows agony, the Pies ecstasy:


The game started as a one sided affair, with the Crows blowing the Pies out of the water in the first quarter. In the second the Pies stopped the Hemorrhaging and only 1 or two goals were scored each. After half time the Pies blew the Crows away in the third, Adelaide not scoring a single goal, and for the next 50 minutes! In the last quarter the lead changed about 5 times as fans were left hanging on the result, and Geelong fans wondered who would have the honour of playing them next week :-p, so confusing.

Fear of loss sets in.....*Hold me and tell me everything's going to be alright*:



Could this be one of the greatest come behind wins in semi's history?...Kurt tippet kicks a goal for the Crows with about 2 minutes to go putting the Crows back in front...hearts break, and early celebrations everywhere. A minute later, Anthony gets a free kick for the Pies and a shot at goal. A point would cause a draw, a goal would seal the win... can you fricken stand the tension!..Of course you can, you already know the result by now...

John Anthony kicks the winning goal, after doing nothing all day. hearts break again and celebrations, as it looks to be over for sure, mere seconds to go:

Siren........

But holy Jason Porplyyyyyzzia, the Crows nearly went through to a Prelim!..Never underestimate the power of Jason Porplyyyyzia.....Mick Malthouse can't believe his luck after a horror start. And the Pies get a crack at the Cats next week:

The Dogs are happy to be in another prelim, but the 51 point victory over the Lions didn't make for much of a spectacle, unless you're a Doggy's fan, then you're in football heaven with a semi final smashing. They didn't get out unscathed though, Ryan Griffin aka Mr Bean, kicked himself in the Calf and put himself on ice.

The Mincer is happy, and in all seriousness, the Dogs could make it into the Grand Final. They will have to get passed St Kilda first next week:

Tennis (US OPEN)...Ok it's time. Never has there been an outburst on the court like this since Marat Safin yelling at an Aus. Open Lines judge for a foot fault on a big point. One big difference though, he didn't threaten to suffocate the judge with a tennis ball like Serena.

On match point Serena was called for a foot fault, unleashing the devil in her. She had smashed her racket earlier but was taking it to a new level here. Serena walked over to the lines judge, pointed at her and among many words was heard to say;

'Im gonna take this ball and shove it down your f*&$#%g throat!'...

After the previous violation Serena lost a point and handed the unseeded Kim Clijsters the match. Even the biggest whiner of all John McEnroe was in shock. Princess Serena had taken it to a new level and revealed her true colours.

The threat....the poor lil' lines judge:

Aafter the Match, Serena prowling around like a caged lion as the lines judge seeks refuge by hiding behind officials.....

*Im not aggressive, WTF are you talking about!!!!!!!!...come here'n say that!*:

The lines judge tells officials that Serena threatened to kill her, which is kinda true, reckon a tennis ball in the ol' wind pipe'd do it ey?.....

*There, I won...that should shut the cow up*......:

*Oh wait, spoke too soon*...Clijsters shudders in fear as Serena approaches after the match.......*stay away from me you crazy bish*:

After the match Serena refused to appologise to the judge, even though the sound was all caught on camera. She came out with such brilliant quotes as 'other people have said way worse than that', and 'I used to have a real temper, iv'e gotten a lot better. I know you don't believe me, but I used to be worse'....We can only imagine dear, time for anger management, and a possible fine....and a possible suspension.

Clijsters is now through to the final with Wozniaki, and the mens semis are set with R-Fed v Jokovic, and Rapha V Del Potro.

Cricket.....The Aussies charge on winning the 3rd and 4th ODI's against the England. The 3rd game wasn't too challenging with Watson helping bowl the Poms out with 3/36. Cam White then scored a Centruy and Michael Clarke 52, leading the Aussies to Victory.

The 4th ODI was even more of a white wash with Brett Lee taking man of the match after bowling 5/49! Even Straus's 63 couldn't save the Poms that day. Clarke 62 and Ponting 48 helped as well. The Aussie are looking to win the series 7 nill, but punter said they would start with the fifth ODI first. Good idea, one slaying at a time ey ;-).

NRL....Oh the finals are on and Billy Slater scores a match winning four tries in the Storm's 40-12 win against Manly last night!

Little Billy flies:

The Eels upset the Dragons (25-12), bringing Manly's season to a sudden end, much to the delight of the Storm. The Eels caused a 50 point turn around from the dragons victory in the last round. With Manly out, the Storm can breathe a little more easily after they were thrashed by them in last years Grand Final.

all that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.

Peace out*

.*Disclaimer: The Sports Lounge may contain 2/3 of your daily fibre intake. No this does not mean we will give you the shits. Warning this last paragraph may not be accurate. Conditions apply and portions of this blog have been edited for your discomfort. Spoken by Tan for the Sports Lounge Party Melbourne (say that last sentance really fast).All that n more on the show that goes through more balls than Roger Federer.