What's Not To Love About A Sporting Rivalry

Since I became a sports fanatic all those years ago I've come across many sporting rivalries and the stories in which they produce. I've also been involved in plenty myself. The passion and excitement in which a game between two rival associations is not witnessed anywhere else in the world, unless your a carny fighting for turf at the Easter Show.

I have grown up as a Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs fan who went to High School at Marist College Kogarah. I was a Doggies fan at a school in the heart of the St George area. During my high school years I was certainly outnumbered. There were a bunch of us that flew the Blue and White flag and we did it well. The Dogs had a lot of success against the Dragons in those years which helped us get through our time at Kogarah. It was a good feeling walking through the school gates when the Dogs had a big win against the Dragons and not so good when we got rolled. Rivalries bring out so much tension and fun at the same time. The banter that goes on before and after the match is brilliant but when the match is on, friendships are put on hold.

The Dogs went through a real rough patch over the last four years against the Dragons and we have copped it. Watching the Dragons finally win a premiership was a sickening feeling, something I hope I'll never have to do again. I think I'm still listening to my mother gloat about it. The one thing that you can't say to a rival fan after a loss is that it doesn't matter. I know it matters, it's mattered the last 4 years and it burns inside until you get that revenge back!

Over every sport there are 100's of rivalries and it makes it all that more exciting. When the draw comes out at the start of the season you scan through and look out for the games in which you need to take work off for, or tell the Mrs you will be out for the night with the boys.

It starts at an early age. When I played basketball for NSW Metro at the National Titles I was subject to my first real rivalry. I heard many stories about Victoria Metro and how much it means to beat them. They were like the Manly Sea Eagles of the NRL, no-one liked them and everyone wanted to smash them. Why was that you may ask? They were the cream of the crop, Victoria was the basketball state and produced the best basketballers in our nation. I'll never forget we played them in the final of the Under 18's Nationals. They had Brad Robbins and Tom Burns, we had Steve Markovic. However we had the whole crowd on our side. There may have been 1500-2000 people there and every single one of them, apart from family and friends of the Victorians, were cheering for the NSW boys. We even had the VIC Country boys on our side. They beat us in the end. It's a rivalry that has existed for many years and continues to do so.

I was also involved in the Sydney Kings v West Sydney Razorbacks rivalry. A sold out Grand Final series showed how much this rivalry put basketball back on the map in NSW for those couple of years. The papers were filled with banter where journalists had a field day eating up Brian Goorjian's passion and Geordie McLeod's strategical prowess. It was a cinderella story for the NBL as the series went to 5 games and 10000 people filled the Sydney Entertainment Centre for Game 5. How it ended will also be remembered forever. Ebi Ere taking the game over in the final quarter after we looked dead and buried. How much it meant to beat them and keep the reigns in the Harbour region was reflected in the celebrations. Walking out to 1000's of people getting blind and celebrating was something I'll never forget.



These are some of my favourite rivalries, I'll let you tell me some of yours!

NO IRVING, NO BOOMERS MEDAL??

The SportsShmuck is back! I haven't been able to post in a while and I'm sorry to anyone who enjoyed reading my posts. I will now make an effort to keep this blog up to date with the latest happenings and issues in sport. Don't forget to post your comments down the bottom. I will reply as soon as I get the chance.



The Boomers have been dealt a blow before their Olympic campaign takes full flight with the announcement Kyrie Irving, rookie sensation in the NBA, has decided to keep his talents in the USA. Irving has been by far the best rookie in the NBA this season only being overshadowed by the LIN nonsense. I personally didn't think he would do that well in the league only having played a handful of College games for Duke. I totally got that wrong! He is a superstar.

The problem is he is sitting behind 4/5 of the best point guards in the world. Standing in the way of Irving's Dreamteam aspirations are Chris Paul(CP3), Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams(D-Will). Some of the PG's mentioned above will be at their prime basketball age when 2016 comes around. I struggle to see them giving their spot up to some young kid. If he thinks he will make the 2016 team he has rocks in his head! I know he is tight with Coach K, but what is to say he will be locked into the 2016 gig. If they don't win the Olympics in London I struggle to see him at the next one. Europe is slowly catching up to the Americans and we continue to see this in the amount of Europeans not only in the NBA, but doing very well.

If Irving was smart he would have played for Australia and been guaranteed a spot in every Olympics for the rest of his career. The Boomers would have been a force to be reckoned with at the London Olympics with many of the players on the roster having played at previous Olympics or World Championships. If Bogut is fit for the games, the Boomers will be a force even without Irving. I think we will definitely come out of the group phase but we desperately need to miss the Spanish or the USA when we cross over. A one off semi final could be the chance to put Australian basketball on the map.

I can tell you one thing, Irving will be cursing he didn't come and play for the Boomers in years to come. There must be people out there giving the kid false hope. I'm sure however he is keeping an eye on D-Wills 57 points, Rondo's monster triple-double, Rose's MVP numbers, Westbrook leading the Thunder to one of the best records and CP3's dominance in the clutch for the Clippers.  By 2020 or 2024 he may have a whole new class to compete with and Coach K may not be around. I think this is a huge risk knowing he may have had three Olympics under his belt with the Boomers before he gets a chance of one with the Dreamteam.

Enough of Irving as I believe Brett Brown, Boomers coach, has plenty of talent at his disposal and will have to make some big decisions at training camp. Here is the 12 men who I think could put Australian basketball on the map for good:

Adam Gibson
Patty Mills
David Barlow
Matty Nielsen
Aleks Maric
Joe Ingles
Mark Worthington
Andrew Bogut
David Andersen
Brad Newley
Nathan Jawai
Matthew Dellavedova

Questionables:
Stephen Markovic
Peter Crawford
AJ Ogilvy
Damian Martin

I may have missed some players but this looks like my strongest roster. Let me know if you think I've missed anyone. I'm looking forward to the camps and seeing the boys fight for their positions. I have my fingers crossed Bogut will be ready to go and lead the boys to a medal. Bogut has not yet impressed at the international level and I think it could be his time to shine.

MING YAO...A GREAT???

Since the news of Ming Yao's retirement plans there has been much talk of him being one of the games greats. I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I think one of the main reasons for this nonsense is to keep the Chinese fans involved in the game and keep the NBA big in China.

If we consider Ming as a NBA great we are placing him with the likes of Ewing, Olajuwon, Kareem and Shaq. That's just to name a few who plays in his position. I'm sorry but he just didn't showcase enough to be in this company. Don't get me wrong, for somebody his size he had incredible touch and a good sense for the game. He was an 8 Time NBA All Star but never once made the NBA First Team in his career. The only reason he made most of those NBA All Star Teams was because of his country men and women voting by the 100s of 1000s. I think one or two of those years he hadn't even played a game and he was the highest voted center. What sort of joke is that?

His stats over his first few seasons were good. Rookie season he averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds. His second year 17 points and 9 rebounds and the Rockets got knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers in the first round where he averaged 15 and 7. From 2005 to 2011 Ming suffered injury after injury and the Rockets never got passed the 2nd Round of the playoffs.

Many people may disagree with what I am saying, that's fine. But I am just sick of people placing him within the wrong group of people. I think if Ming was healthy throughout his NBA career things may have been different. The problem is...he wasn't. I think the NBA is being blatantly obvious to keep their ties with China under a strong grip by making Ming an NBA great.

BABY BOOMERS

WHY AREN'T OUR BEST ON THE FLOOR?

This week the Boomers have been preparing for the YouYi (friendly) games which are to be played in Perth and Singapore against China. Brett Brown has made his way back from America to put his team through their paces in preparation for the Olympic game qualifiers. 

You wouldn't think playing for your country was that important though seeing there is only 3 players from the 2010 World Championship group playing. I would understand totally if there were other commitments going on, but there isn't. All the European competitions are finished up along with the NBA (which may not even go ahead in 2011/12) and still our big guns are no where to be seen. I mean Andrew Bogut, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills all seem to be in the country over this weekend, why don't they have a run? Give the fans something to be excited about! 

Where is Brad Newley, Aleks Maric, Steve Markovic, David Andersen and Matt Nielsen? Why is Nathan Jawai not at the camp? Khazzouh gets his first chance to play for Australia and decides not to be available. I know if I was in his position I'd be jumping at the opportunity to play for my country. It seems to becoming less and less important in Australian basketball. I know in all our other major sports in this country, athletes would die to compete for the green and gold. 

I've got nothing against the guys in camp at the moment (some of them I call friends) but that group is not upto international standard. We haven't done well in an international tournament in many many years. Why when we have all the pieces are we not making it compulsary to be available when there are camps or tournaments. We can't just let our elite athletes stroll in whenever they feel free too. It shouldn't work like that but it sure is at the moment. I don't know who is letting it but it's got to change and do so quickly, otherwise another first round knockout is on the cards at the Olympics.

I'm glad the game is being held in Perth, they love their hoops over there. I'm pretty much guaranteeing that if it was in Sydney there would be nobody there. There is no marketing material on that team, no names people can associate with. It doesn't mean they're no good it's just that basketball isn't as big as some of our countries other sports. That is why these events are key in bringing people to the games and showing the country we have some world wide elite athletes. 

I don't know New Zealands team but if we don't bring a good team to the Oceania Qualifications we may not even make the Olympics!

SYDNEY KINGS ROSTER NEEDS BOOSTING

 SPEND SOME CASH TURNER!

I've been looking at the NBL website every couple of days for the last two weeks now hoping to see a couple of big name signings for the Sydney Kings. Again I'm disappointed in the inability to snap up big names when they are on the market.

The Melbourne Tigers went on the hunt straight away picking up Daniel Dillon, Ayinde Ubaka and Ron Dorsey. They've picked themselves three quality players who helped Cairns get to a game three of a finals series last season. Perth have signed Damian Martin, K-Lisch, Cameron Tovey, Jesse Wagstaff and Brad Robbins.

The Sydney Kings have signed Khazzouh, Graeme Dann, Luke Martin, Luke Cooper and Aaron Bruce. I'd say we need three of them (in bold). Why on earth after last years shenanigans would you sign three point guards? We need a import point guard! I'm positive that's what all the fans were hoping for this season. If I were Bob Turner I would be throwing all my money at Gary Ervin and Adam Ballinger. The Kings would be a force next year if they could get those two. We would have two of the premier big man in the competition and the MVP. You could then build around them with the likes of Dann, Martin, Knight and another import as Ballinger is an aussie.

If Turner stopped being a tight-arse the Kings would enjoy some success. I have nothing against Cooper and Bruce but the roster isn't big enough for three point guards.

My Kings team for next season:

Khazzouh/Pero Vasiljevic (if unsigned)/Greg Vanderjagt
Ballinger/Knight
Import/Dann
Magden/??? (Weigh or Hill would have been great off the bench but got snapped up by other clubs!)
Ervin/Martin

These are my thoughts on next seasons Kings team. What are yours?

Wild Series Across The Tasman

The NBL has one finalist confirmed in what was one of the wildest playoffs series to date. The Breakers will go into the NBL Finals for the first time in franchise history. Their fightback, after dropping the first game at home whilst losing Mika Vukona, will go down in Breakers folklore. 

After being wiped off their home court in the first game of the series, I thought the Breakers were toast heading into game 2 in Perth. The Jungle being one of the toughest places to play to date, especially in a finals series. I didn't get to catch the game but when I checked the box score and saw that Vukona played I couldn't believe it. Without Vukona the Breakers struggle mightily, they find it very hard to stay on the defensive glass and don't have the energy and hustle he brings when on the floor. A huge game from Penney saw the visitors scrape home and send this series to a decider. 

It's extremely tough to win in New Zealand, let alone twice in the space of two weeks. I'm sorry but NZ were never losing this game. Bevo even fired them up saying "they didn't lose to the Breakers they lost to Penney". I love ya work Bevo but don't know if firing up the rest of the team away from home was a good idea. The Breakers started slowly but found their defensive gear I hadn't seen in many weeks. They put the clamps on and made life very difficult for the Wildcats to get any clean looks. You know the Breakers mean business when Penney actually tries to play some sort of defense. The Breakers were too good in the end blowing the Wildcats off the floor by 16. They are set to meet a much different opponent in either Townsville or Cairns. 

The one thing I didn't understand about this series was that there simply was no defense. NZ dictated the play throughout the series. Even though they lost game one the style of the game was exactly how they liked it, they just couldn't make their shots whereas Perth did. I think Bevo is a great coach and a great bloke but I don't understand his tactics for the rest of the series. Perth have always been a team who knuckles down on the defensive end and plays to their tempo which sometimes is ugly but very effective. I'm sorry but I did not see that once this series. It's a shame as I believe they would be the ones in the finals if they played to their liking. I thought the game in Perth was going to be a low scoring grind except it's another score fest, just how the Breakers like it. The same thing happened in game three. It's just not good enough. I think Perth do have the scoring power to compete but the Breakers have way more. The Wildcats have a way better defensive team and could have easily locked up the Breakers if they played their style of basketball. 

We shall now see how if the Breakers can dictate the tempo against two teams who haven't put up a big score in either of their two playoff games.

WHO REALLY WANTS TO WIN THIS COMPETITION??

 WHO WANTS NUMBER ONE??

The NBL is only six rounds away from finishing up their regular season. There are some serious questions to be asked about who really wants to win this competition!

Everyone is expecting the Kiwis to romp away with the trophy for the first time in the franchises history. I'm not convinced just yet. The way they have been playing over the last few weeks at home suggests a team may be able to spring an upset. Their victories over Melbourne (who won't make the four) and Perth (who are still coming to terms with their loss of inspirational captain Shawn Redhage), just weren't of championship quality. I'm waiting for them to start blowing teams out of the water but it's just not happening. They are the favourites and will definitely have home court advantage in the finals but I just don't see any value in backing them. 

Who do you back then? I mean Perth are struggling without Redhage and unless Matt Knight comes back they will just creep into the finals.

Cairns are no chance because they can't play away from home. Their losses to both Sydney and Melbourne were disgraceful. These losses have cost them a home final. This road trip was key for them and they blew it. Credit must go to Sydney who played hard enough to grind out a victory against a top four team. They should be proud of their efforts over the last month or so. Big shout out to Graeme Dann who is having a career best season and I couldn't be happier for him! 

Townsville at the moment are the only real challenger. They have only dropped one home game this year, meaning in any finals series they are going to take it to a decider.  The trouble again with Townsville is their away record is 3-7. It's just not good enough. A confident booster they can take with them is that they tend to keep their games close! In a game three of a finals series anything can happen and if they are close who knows New Zealand may crumble!

Wollongong have absolutely fallen apart!! I know they had injuries but their ability to lose by 30 points against Townsville and Melbourne with full strength teams have to say something about their ticker! Gordie must be spewing. I think their finals hopes are gone!

The GC are my dark horse. Their run home is tough. They play NZ twice and they have a horror road trip to Perth and Melbourne. If they can beat New Zealand once, I think they will be the fourth team in the finals. If they make the finals they could really give it a shot. If Wortho didn't go down for the season, I'd say it would be a NZ v GC final.