Patty Signs Contract, Stosur Crowned In Osaka, Beach Ball Controversy and Have Your Say

HATS OFF

Firstly, what a great weekend of sport for any Australian sports fan! To start with though, Patrick Mills, Australian Basketball of the Year has signed a contract with NBA franchise the Portland Trailblazers! This is great news for not only Patty and his family but for Australian basketball as a whole. Could this be the news that may give basketball in our country a kick in the backside? I certainly hope so! This year Australia will showcase their talent in the worlds biggest basketball competition through:

• David Anderson playing with the Houston Rockets
• Andrew Bogut playing with the Milwaukee Bucks
• Patrick Mills playing with the Portland Trailblazers

If Australian basketball wants to be exposed they must try and telecast the NBA games in which these guys are playing in. Give the youth of Australian basketball something to strive for! I can guarantee you though, THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN! Even though I'm glad he signed a contract, I still feel as if he entered the NBA a year or two too early! I just hope he doesn't sit the bench every game and not get a chance to shine. However this is reality and lets hope that he continues to train hard and eventually get a chance.
PHOTO: http://nohornets.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/r171300_643833.jpg


Kudos must also be given to Aussie tennis superstar, Samantha Stosur. Sam has been playing extremely well this year! All of her training and hard work has finally payed off when she won her first WTA title at the HP Open in Osaka on Sunday. She beat Francesca Schiavone 7-5 6-1. I really hope Sam takes this sort of confidence into the off season before coming back and playing in Australia. In sport, especially tennis, confidence is a major factor in the outcome of a match. In some of her earlier matches this year if she had the confidence in herself she would have won. Lets hope this title for Sam is just the beginning of something special!
PHOTO: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200705/r146800_516715.jpg



One last 'Hats Off' has to go to the Liverpool fan which threw a beach ball onto the field only for the soccer ball to ricochet off it and into the goal! It's funny in the fact that it was Liverpool's goalie whom was fooled. The Liverpool players were furious as well as the coaching staff. Really there is no one to blame apart from your own fans! As the English Premier League draws to a close for the week, just a heads up to all the Chelsea fans, YES you did lose to Aston Villa, it wasn't a dream! Great job lads for getting the job done.
ASTON VILLA 2 CHELSEA 1.
PHOTO: http://bestchildrenparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ball.jpg



HAVE YOUR SAY

Karmichael Hunt will be the first player to play three codes of sport. Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos, AFL for the new Gold Coast club and now Rugby Union for French club Biarritz. Reportedly, the rugby union contract is for six months and is worth $300000! Is this crazy? I guess not since everyone these days talks about sport like it's a business! There is something bugging me about this situation though. If I hadn't played AFL for a long time and was about to get paid one million dollars a season doing so, would I be going to play Rugby Union for six months? I don't think so and I'm sure AFL bosses aren't to happy about the situation either. I'd be on the training paddock honing my skills so I could show everyone I'm worth the money and not just doing it for a publicity stunt! I guess that's where Hunt and myself are different. What does everyone else think? HAVE YOUR SAY!
PHOTO: http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/09/28/darrenlockyer_narrowweb__300x431,0.jpg