The Sports Thread

This weekend sucked! The Aussie cricketers batting like shit & managed to lost the Fourth Test to the Poms while the Pistons lost to the lowly-ranked Utah Jazz as well. You get those weekends as a sports fan but the Pistons have the chance to redeem themselves against the LA Clippers this afternoon so I'm hoping for a better performance.

The Pistons fucking lost again yesterday which has really pissed me off. It seems like the other teams have discovered that if they can get Cade Cunningham into foul trouble early then they'll have a much stronger chance of beating us which is certainly the case & I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to figure it out. Kawaii Leonard had 55 points, equaling the Clippers' record points tally. Fucking killed us!! Here's hoping the Sydney Kings can thrash the last-placed Brisbane Bullets in this afternoon's NBL match to brighten my spirits.

The bloody Pistons have now lost three of their last four which is pissing me right off. Hopefully the Sydney Kings can continue our winning run tonight against the ladder-topping Adelaide 36ers.

And Usman Khawaja has announced that he is retiring from international cricket after the Fifth Test in Sydney next week. He's been a wonderful representative for the game but it is time for a changing of the guard. I just wish he didn't have a big whinge about his recent treatment at the hands of the media during his press conference announcement. It wasn't a great look in my opinion.

I'm having another bad little period for sport after my Sydney Kings lost to the Adelaide 36ers last night. It was a brilliant match though & showed that these two teams are likely to meet at the conclusion of the season to decide the ultimate champion.

Just watched great wins by Detroit Pistons over the Phoenix Suns & Sydney Kings over the Brisbane Bullets from yesterday with both teams looking really good chances at premierships this season which was a great way to kick off my weekend. Was also privileged to watch Dave Warner & Steve Smith hit supreme centuries in the Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixes BBL T20 match last night. Smith's was off just 40 balls with nine sixes!!

A tough-fought win for my Detroit Pistons over Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors this morning sees us maintaining our five-win lead over second place at the top of the Eastern Conference. We're looking really good to win the Eastern Conference this year actually & might even give the big-name Western Conference teams a shake for the championship too. Yew!

I'm now looking forward to tonight's second Australia vs Pakistan T20 cricket match & tomorrow's Sydney Kings vs Cairns Taipans NBL basketball match with the Kings in red-hot form & now up to second place on the ladder. I was pretty pissed with the Aussies losing game one against Pakistan a couple of days ago while chasing a total that looked pretty gettable to me so my expectations are high for a swift form reversal.

Another shitful effort by the Aussie T20 team overnight, this time being completely thrashed by Pakistan's spinners. I don't think the pitch was any sort of minefield because the Pakistani batsmen looked completely at home against our trio of spinners while our batsmen were totally at sea & made it look much more difficult than it was. It's time to get Steve Smith into the team in my opinion.

The fact that the Aussies have performed very poorly in the T20 World Cup has been more than made up for by the fact that my Detroit Pistons are now the number 1 ranked NBA team & the Sydney Kings have taken out the minor premiership in the NBL. Fucking loving my basketball right now, especially Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham who is absolutely sensational.

I'm seriously pissed off that the Detroit Pistons' superstar point guard has received a collapsed lung during a collision with another player during a match-up with the lowly ranked Washington Wizards a few days ago, seeing him having to sit out for an undefined recovery period just fourteen matches out from the play-offs. Thankfully we've got a pretty reasonable run to the finals & have already won our first two matches without Cade Cunningham but I'm pretty concerned about him missing the start of the playoffs & also about the potential for the Pistons to be overtaken for the number one spot in the Eastern Conference by the Boston Celtics who have recently been buoyed by the return of their own star player Jayson Tatum. Fingers crossed that Cade makes a swift recovery & it doesn't impact the team's chances too much because they deserve a good crack at the championship this year.

A huge "Fuck Yeah!" to the Sydney Kings who absolutely annihilated the Adelaide 36ers in game one of the five-match NBL playoff finals series last night. The victory was so emphatic that I can't see the 36ers being able to recover to be honest. Pumped about this today actually!

And finally, a big thumbs down to my Manly-Warringah Sea-Eagles after an abysmal showing against a struggling, injury-ridden Newcastle Knights side last weekend. Manly are now under extreme pressure after starting the season 0-2 with both matches having been at home. I'm afraid I don't hold much hope for a finals appearance this season.

I'm having another mixed weekend of sport. Manly lost the NRL to Sydney City Roosters 33-16 to leave us with no wins after round four. Our coach has subsequently been sacked & they've replaced him with a former player that has exactly three matches of assistant coaching experience. It's not looking good at all at this point.

The basketball has been great though with my Detroit Pistons knocking off the New Orleans Pelicans & the Minnesota Timberwolves without our best player & the Sydney Kings spanking the Adelaide 36ers in game three of the playoff finals to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Yew! One win from championship glory boys!

I'm really proud of my Detroit Pistons today after they took the reigning champions & current western conference leaders to overtime without five of our top six players yesterday. Unfortunately, the current MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simply too good in the end with 47 points but it came down to the last shot which would have surprised a lot of people. Thankfully, the Boston Celtics lost to the Atlanta Hawks so we've maintained our four match eastern conference lead with seven matches remaining in the regular season. Today's Toronto Raptors match-up will be tough on the back end of a back-to-back though.

The Sydney Kings will be playing game four of the NBL finals against the Adelaide 36ers in Adelaide tonight, taking in a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series so we have a chance to take out the title. Go boys!

What a difference a few days makes. My NRL team Manly came out & thumped the Dolphins 52-18 last night after having lost all three games of the season (all at home) & having our coach sacked a few days ago.  Unfortunately, the Sydney Kings lost game four of the best-of-five NBL finals series against Adelaide 36ers 92-91 so it's going to a game five decider tomorrow. Detroit Pistons have continued on their merry way & are 6-2 since our best player Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung. With six matches to go in the NBA regular season, the Pistons are still four matches ahead of the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference so we're almost there as far as top place playoff seeding goes. We play the Minnesota Timberwolves today in a match that we should win.

Fuck yeah! The Pistons just won game seven of their first-round play-off series with the Orlando Magic to win 4-3 after being down 1-3 a few days ago. The game six victory was one for the ages after coming back from a 24-point deficit just after halftime. We now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals which starts in a couple of days. We've struggled with them a bit throughout the year so it'll be a serious challenge.

Also, props to my Manly Sea-Eagles for taking the competition-leading Penrith Panthers right down to the wire last night in an 18-16 loss that ended our four-match winning streak since Kieran Foran took over the coaching duties.

I can't believe my Pistons gave up a fifteen point lead to concede by four points in overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday. That leaves us at 2-3 in the best of seven series with game six now in Cleveland after losing three straight. It's not looking good.

So, my rugby league team the Manly-Warringah Sea-Eagles have enjoyed a strong resurgence following the replacement of our coach & are now sitting in third position in a field of seventeen which is certainly promising at this point of the season. I've been pretty disgusted by the performance of the Australian ODI cricket team in Pakistan & Bangladesh so far, having lost four of our five matches. It's about time we reverted to selecting our best team for every match instead of resting most of our best players for Test cricket. The NBA finals series is currently underway & is my main sporting focus with the New York Knicks currently just one win away from the championship at 3-1 over the San Antonio Spurs. Game five is tomorrow & could be the last NBA match of the season although I'm hoping that the Spurs will string it out a bit longer. And finally, who here will be watching the FIFA World Cup? I'm planning on checking out the Soccoroos first match against Turkey tomorrow in the hope of an upset.

And finally, who here will be watching the FIFA World Cup? I'm planning on checking out the Soccoroos first match against Turkey tomorrow in the hope of an upset.

Yeah, I have watched the Mexico and Canada games live and the South Korea game highlights, so I'm pretty much up with it so far. Half the games are on at like 2 am here in the UK though, so I won't be watching those live. It has been OK so far, but there is still too much throwing themselves on the floor at the slightest touch from an opponent which is one of the things that really riles me up about the modern game. The rule changes to cut down on time wasting are pretty good though and seem to be working so far.

And finally, who here will be watching the FIFA World Cup? I'm planning on checking out the Soccoroos first match against Turkey tomorrow in the hope of an upset.

Yeah, I have watched the Mexico and Canada games live and the South Korea game highlights, so I'm pretty much up with it so far. Half the games are on at like 2 am here in the UK though, so I won't be watching those live. It has been OK so far, but there is still too much throwing themselves on the floor at the slightest touch from an opponent which is one of the things that really riles me up about the modern game. The rule changes to cut down on time wasting are pretty good though and seem to be working so far.

Yeah the late starts are a killer for me. All Scotland games are late. Still thinking about staying up for the game tonight.

Games have been OK so far. The Mexico one was a bit slow paced. I like all the time wasting Rules they have brought in. Although, I see a few teams are getting around the gk one by doing a short pass to the keeper and then let them waste a few seconds with the ball. Would be great if a forward really pressed the gk and make them think twice about that tactic.

Hoping for a win tonight, but you know it's Scotland and they have a tendency to fuck up the easier games. Surely not this time though, still with Morocco and Brazil it's still going to be a timough group to get out of.

I watched the Qatar vs Switzerland match this morning & was pleased with the 1-1 outcome. The diving is getting way out of control though with every second tackle resulting in what appeared on the surface to be career-ending injuries. Now taking in the Brazil vs Morrocco match which has been really exciting so far.

Great header for the Qatar equaliser. 2 draws in that group to open, leaves it wide open.

Great first half in the Brazil Morocco game most exciting half so far, could well keep me awake for the Scotland game later.

I was going to go to bed at halftime, but this Morocco v Brazil game is so good that I am gonna have to stay up for.the second half. Really impressed by Morocco - great teamwork, pressing high with a good tempo in possession and quick passing combined with excellent off the ball movement. You can never count Brazil out with such brilliant individual skill, though.

Congratulations to the New York Knicks on taking out the 2025/26 NBA championship with a 4-1 win over the San Antonio Spurs who strangely led every one of the five matches by double figures yet managed to allow the Knicks to sneak back through the back door during the second halves of each match, due mainly to playoff inexperience. The Spurs will have their day in the near future but that shouldn't take away from the magnificent effort put in by the Knicks' entire team & management who have picked up their first title in 53 years.

And what a great win by the Australian Socceroos over Turkey yesterday. Our two goals were both magic & have captured the nation's attention.

That was a great result for Australia. Goalkeeper was on fire in that game.

Scotland managed the win against Haiti, although it wasn't without nail-biting nerves, we all remember Peru and Iran in 78 and Costa Rica in 1990. Probably go down to goal difference again to see if we go through, hopefully this time. I can't see us taking Morocco - they pass the ball and move too fast for the Scotland midfield. Maybe we have a better chance against the slower Brazil midfield. Although we'd still have to take care of Raphina and Vini Jr (at least out full backs are quicker than our central defence). We'll see.

Well definitely some interesting results yesterday in the World Cup. Cape Verde getting a draw against Spain obviously the big one. I hep coach an Under 13s football team in my home town, and I will most certainly be asking the defenders to have a look at how Cape Verde organised themselves, moved across depending on where the attack was coming from and closed all the space through the centre of the pitch. Was very impressive and not that easy to do to keep so focussed throughout the 90 minutes. I see Spain's captain Rodri is complaining again (like he did when Scotland got a result against Spain) moaning that Cape Verde didn't attack enough. I mean what to you want them to do open up and just let you win..

The Belgium Egypt game was exciting enough, but I don't see Belgium being a threat in this WC. I see Tunisia sacked their manager after the first game loss to Sweden, which is a bit ridiculous to be honest. But that's football as they say.

Rodri should be more concerned about his team's inability to create any real chances against a resolute defence. I thought Belgium were disappointing and Egypt looked the more dangerous side. New Zealand and Iran both had defences you could drive a bus through and are unlikely to cause the other two in the group many problems I should think.

These tossers throwing themselves on the ground whenever an opponent breathes on them should be made to watch film of Georgie Best, ankle deep in mud, being hacked at by Norman Hunter or "Chopper" Harris and refusing to go down or Pele having the entire Argentinian team trying to break his leg every time he got the ball.