TURNING THE KEY
38)Ian Cole reports from Perth in Western Australia on Aussie rules season. I see no mention of Reading’s cheerful start in the championship.
Has he gone over to the convicts’ side?
Amid some World crisis going on, a place called “Straya” and a game called Aussie Rules carried on regardless in what appeared to be the last sporting spectacle to stop and then start up again around the globe. Even the Americans decided to tune in and marvel at some big fellas chasing an egg around without full body armour for protection: utter madness.
Some of the better quotes I heard as follows:
“I love this Aussie Rules, about 6 punts a minute right now”
“Love the finger pistol signal the umpires show when they score”
“Think American football meets quidditch”
“I have no idea what is going on, but it’s the most entertained I’ve been in days”
The season and game lengths were reduced to assist with fitting in every game by October (before the annual attack of the flies occurs and ruins everything!). There was also the issue of where the grand final would be played with Victoria going back into lockdown. Much lobbying (and bungs…allegedly) from state governments resulted in the Gabba in Queensland getting the gig.
After 17 rounds and elimination finals we were down to 2 teams, a classic match-up between Richmond and Geelong. Also a match-up between the retiring legend that is Gary Ablett junior (some of you might remember his father, an even bigger legend in the 80’s for all sorts of reasons) and Dustin Martin, the not so new kid on the block now chasing his third Norm Smith medal (Grand Final man of the match, or is that most tattooed man of the match)
Those of you choosing VICTORIA as the winning state already had this sewn up even before the first bounce down. The final turned out to be a bit of a slog, with hard tackling and injuries galore resulting in 2 players rendered unconscious, 2 pitch invaders feeling the force of the stewards. Inevitably though the winning experience of Richmond shone through. Dustin Martin, the Grand Final machine, sealed it with an unbelievable shimmy and snap goal over his shoulder to give the Tigers their third premiership in 4 years. Dustin became the first player to claim 3 Norm Smith medals with this flash of genius. Perhaps he celebrated with a new tattoo.
Hooroo for now from your correspondent in the goldfish bowl that is Western Australia.
5) ENGLAND won the Six Nations rugby.I am still baffled by the possible permutations on the final day.
We may have worked it by the next report due 1st December which will be the giant end of term breakdown(literally).
40)Neil Dewhurst flew off to Texas just before lockdown. His express mission; turning Texas into a blue state for Biden. He failed narrowly but is really in the swing of Lone Star life and the baseball World Series.
The song “the stars at night are big & bright, deep in the heart of Texas” was appropriate as the big names of the LA Dodgers faced off against the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series beneath the darkening skies in Arlington, the 2020 neutral ‘bubble’ venue & home of the Texas Rangers.
The Fall Series saw the two best teams from the regular season, albeit a truncated one of 60 games in place of the usual 162, compete in front of real fans, not the cut-outs that I had got grown to love seeing in the stands for the regular season. These flesh and blood fans ultimately saw the LA Dodgers, located in a small city WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, triumph. The Dodgers joined basketball’s LA Lakers in bringing silverware back to the West Coast in 2020. After both Championship Series went the distance to 7 games, the World Series almost matched it going 6 games deep with the LA Dodgers winning it 4-2.
The Dodgers took two of the first three games before the series swung from the sublime to the ridiculous in the last three games. From the bottom of the 4th inning in game 4, each team scored in the their next four visits to the plate with the lead swinging back & forth like each batters attempts to hit the highlight reel home run, of which there were 4 in that period. It was captivating to watch & only topped by the end at the bottom of the 9th inning. With 2 out & 2 on & behind 7-6, Tampa Bay Rays hopes were pinned on Brett Phillips who hadn’t had a hit in a month. He quickly went behind in the count with 2 strikes before a line drive to centre field. At this point the Dodgers inexplicably fell apart. Firstly a fielding error cost them a tying run. This error was compounded when a missed catch at home plate allowed the second & winning run to be scored; not before the runner stumbled & fell just yards short. It was a comedy of errors but fascinating to watch unfold all the same & definitely worth tracking down on BBC Sport (other websites are available).
To the ridiculous then; in game 6 the LA Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was found to have tested positive for COVID-19.Justin was removed from the game & placed in isolation. That was until the Dodgers victory. Then Justin chose to disregard the safety protocols & enter the field to celebrate in close quarters with his teammates, much done without a protective mask. An MLB investigation awaits but it has somewhat overshadowed the Dodgers first World Series victory since 1988.
For this US correspondent, next up is the little matter of the US Presidential Election followed swiftly the following week by The Masters at Augusta. The way things are going it may be that in the battle for all things colourful we may know the identity of the Green Jacket winner well before the race for the White House is declared!!!
Leave a Reply