Sports discussion

[Flintlock]

Well, England have made some changes too, including at scrum-half, which was a bit of a surprise. I think Eddie Jones might be trying to get a look at more of his players before the tough matches against Wales and Ireland (and maybe France, that match is looking very unpredictable at the moment). I think "we" will beat Italy but it won't be a thrashing this year.

My other predictions are that Wales will beat Scotland and that Ireland will beat France. Nothing surprising there, I guess, but I think France have the best chance of proving me wrong. With such a new team and coach, you never know when they're going to click.

I'll try to watch all three games this weekend.

 

[Mayo Master]

Impressions on today's 6 nations games

Spoiler: France vs Ireland 10-9 (3-9)

Weee! Well of course I'm happy.
As I was mentioning before the game, it was vital for the French to be able to contend the Irish physicality and their forward game, and they stood up to the challenge. In the first half, the Irish remained very faithful to their very traditional game plan, based on territorial advantage. They did nothing outstanding, but remained patient and waited for penalty opportunities. Ireland secured a 9-3 lead at half time, which was representative of their domination in terms of territory and possession, although they didn't seem so much above the French.
To be honest, I was pretty annoyed by Pyper's refereeing in the first part of the game, namely on the scrums (French were penalized for collapsing while the Irish front row kept pushing sideways) and on the rucks, but eventually (especially after the replacement of the French first row) that changed in the last half hour of the game. Once it was obvious that the Irish scrum was yielding, the French side really took the upper hand, and finally had a very long sequence in the Irish 22. France eventually managed to materialize this superiority on the scoreboard with a try from Medard which allowed France to take the lead (10-9). Ireland had clearly lost the momentum, and couldn't even physically keep up (I wonder if they had consumed too much energy in last weeks' game vs Wales). France could even have had one last penalty to score but they just kicked the ball out to call the final whistle.
All in all, it's been quite a while I haven't been this satisfied after a game of the French team We're on a good way to get our best result in the 6 nations in 5 years

Spoiler: Wales vs Scotland 27 -23 (10-13)

A very spectacular game, very entertaining, with both teams very eager to make move with a lot of pace. Unfortunately for the Scots, the very first try of the game scored by Davies for the Welsh (great run, though) shouldn't have been allowed (he was offside), while the referee validated the try after calling the TMO (WTF!?). Scotland quickly replied with a magnificent try following a great move with lots of phases, dynamic back play, some sneaky breakthroughs by Laidlaw and a good vision of Russell who kicked the ball for Seymour to finish.
Scotland managed to make a very good first half and even got the lead, but the momentum changed rapidly in the second half. I think it can be symbolized by an early Scottish move where they gained a lot of territory over many phases, then dropped the ball. James picked it up for Wales and gained more than 80 metres on the run (only stopped by a desperate tackle from Taylor), and that seemed to be the turning point of the game. The Welsh kept at it, the Scots began to make many handling errors, missed tackles, and their setpieces began to fall apart. The Welsh then scored 2 tries by Roberts and North (who easily ran past the whole Scottish defense!) which gave them the win. Scotland tried a desperate comeback, and scored a great try by Taylor, but it was too little too late.

 

[Flintlock]

Weee! Well of course I'm happy.

I'm happy for you, I left you a message in the shoutbox after the game but I guess you missed it. I said you had a chance.

eventually (especially after the replacement of the French first row) that changed in the last half hour of the game. Once it was obvious that the Irish scrum was yielding, the French side really took the upper hand, and finally had a very long sequence in the Irish 22.

I have to say, I was a bit puzzled at why France would change their entire front row less than five minutes into the second half, but it did the trick. (I think Chat went off again by the time the try was scored, though.) Still, scrums have become so boring in modern international rugby - how many collapses, resets and penalties did France go through before scoring that try? - that I wish the IRB would do something about it.

France could even have had one last penalty to score but they just kicked the ball out to call the final whistle.

I was wondering why they did this. It would have been a long kick, and Ireland would have restarted the game, but that restart would probably have gone into French hands. I know they wanted to make sure of the win but last year's championship came down to points difference and with every match looking so close this year, it could be important again.

We're on a good way to get our best result in the 6 nations in 5 years

Yeah - second behind England!

Unfortunately for the Scots, the very first try of the game scored by Davies for the Welsh (great run, though) shouldn't have been allowed (he was offside), while the referee validated the try after calling the TMO (WTF!?).

I had to pop out to the shop between matches and I actually missed the try - I arrived just as the conversion was going over. Obviously I saw it on the replay, and my understanding was that the on-field referee had asked the TMO to check for a knock-on, not for offside. I don't know if the TMO was allowed to check for offside after that - I'm sure it's in the rules somewhere but I don't know off the top of my head. That could be why the try was allowed to stand. It's a shame, though, because it changed the outcome of the match.

I think it can be symbolized by an early Scottish move where they gained a lot of territory over many phases, then dropped the ball.

Scotland's match in a nutshell (aside from two great tries, of course).

A really enjoyable game. Bring on tomorrow!

 

[Mayo Master]

So, you gave Italy a thrashing, eh? From what I've read, it was a very close game for 50 minutes, and then you opened the floodgates. That's quite a common scenario in your games vs Italy, isn't it?

 

[Flintlock]

Apparently so. England's management were actually quite openly talking about how Scotland tire after 60 minutes, and it seems the same is true for Italy. I was impressed with England's replacements, particularly Danny Care, Mario Itoje and Paul Hill.

As I've said, points could be crucial - I don't expect England to go through their last three matches unbeaten, though I sure hope they do - so it was good to get a big win.

Shame there aren't any matches next weekend!

 

[Ghost X]

Adam Voges recently broke Donald Bradman's batting average record in cricket. For those not familiar, Bradman is considered by many analysts to be the greatest sports person ever . The legend of legends, etc. For example, if you look at how much better Michael Jordan was compared to the average basketball professional, Bradman was many times better than the average cricketing professional, and so on, if you pick the best of any sporting category. So yeah, given this feat, I'm surprised this news hasn't got more coverage.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

196-173 as a Final score?! Seriously?!

That's why I don't watch the NBA All Star Game. It is evident to me that they don't even bother to play defense in that game. Perhaps the NBA should take a page from Baseball's book, because you know what's up for grabs in the MLB All Star Game? Home Field Advantage in the World Series. Perhaps Home Court Advantage in the NBA Finals should be incentive to actually play the All Star Game to win.

 

[Flintlock]

Adam Voges recently broke Donald Bradman's batting average record in cricket. For those not familiar, Bradman is considered by many analysts to be the greatest sports person ever . The legend of legends, etc. For example, if you look at how much better Michael Jordan was compared to the average basketball professional, Bradman was many times better than the average cricketing professional, and so on, if you pick the best of any sporting category. So yeah, given this feat, I'm surprised this news hasn't got more coverage.

I've seen it covered on a few websites. Perhaps it's not getting even more attention because Voges' average was only ahead of Bradman's while he was not out in his latest Test innings - after being dismissed, it fell to 97.46, which is still amazing, but below Bradman's 99.94. Also, Bradman achieved his average over 80 innings, while Voges has only played in 19.

I can't resist pointing out that Voges has an average of just 28.71 against England.

 

[Ghost X]

Well, you've pointed out all the reasons why no one really gives a shit yet .

 

[Flintlock]

196-173 as a Final score?! Seriously?!

That's why I don't watch the NBA All Star Game. It is evident to me that they don't even bother to play defense in that game. Perhaps the NBA should take a page from Baseball's book, because you know what's up for grabs in the MLB All Star Game? Home Field Advantage in the World Series. Perhaps Home Court Advantage in the NBA Finals should be incentive to actually play the All Star Game to win.

I haven't gotten around to watching the actual All-Star match yet (I'll probably just catch some highlights), but I watched the 3-point and dunk contest, and man, did Aaron Gordon get robbed or what?

 

[Mayo Master]

Hey Flint, how do you feel about the upcoming 6 nations games? Unfortunately, Wales-France isn't broadcasted at my place, and I'm not sure I could stream it while being at work (unless I got a big lunch break excuse) :S
In any case, I'm looking forward to the games. Wales should come on top even if I'm hoping otherwise, for the new French team it's going to be another real test of their capabilities. Italy-Scotland seems more like the game which would decide of the Wooden Spoon, I think Scotland should win but I believe it should be pretty close. Then, you guys have a big game vs Ireland. I think you have the odds slightly in your favor, but your games vs Ireland are always a tough contest, and if I'm not mistaken Ireland has proven many times that they have what it takes to win at Twickenham.

 

[Flintlock]

I was actually going to write about the 6N in my previous post, but I have a visitor over, and I got, uh, distracted.

I can't disagree with your picks: I expect Wales, Scotland and England to win. The matches should be interesting though.

England have lost lock Joe Launchbury through injury, which isn't actually terrible news, because it means we'll get a better look at Maro Itoje, who made his debut against Italy and looked very impressive.

Why are the games on Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday? I don't get it and I don't like it. I'm not actually going to be able to watch the England game because I have other plans for Saturday evening.

 

[Flintlock]

It's hard to say if France are a good or a bad side at the moment because they play such strange rugby. They probably deserved more than one try against Wales (which came through forward play, ironically enough) but they also made a lot of questionable decisions and errors. I thought Trinh-Duc played well when he came on, though, and maybe he'll play more from now on. Haven't seen him for a while!

 

[Mayo Master]

Hey Flint! I couldn't watch the game, didn't even manage to get a stream at work between experiments, I was only following "live comments" on a sports website. What about you?
From what I gathered, it could have been a lot closer. Plisson in particular seemed to have had a bad day, offering a try to North and squandering opportunities. And I think we should have taken the 3 points at the first penalty given around the 50th minute, instead of camping in the Welsh 22 for 10 minutes and showing up empty handed in the end. At this level if you can't capitalize on your opportunities, you're pretty much done for.
Regarding Trinh-Duc, in the past years there has been much debate about selecting him or not: on the one hand he is talented but on the other hand he wasn't enough of a team-player and wasn't decisive enough. He is definitely in the plans of our new coach, however he had been injured for a while which is why he didn't get to play at all in the first two games. Given how Plisson botched his game and how Trinh-Duc played, I agree that we're likely seeing him starting the last two games of the tournament.

 

[Flintlock]

I watched the whole thing. Plisson did have a pretty awful game but giving away the try wasn't totally his fault, it was pretty unlucky.

Edit: thoughts on today's games.

Scotland did well against Italy. Italy had their chances, including a couple of yellow cards for Scotland, but made too many handling errors. Laidlaw's kicking was superb as well, so they were punished for every penalty they gave away.

England vs. Ireland was an interesting one. England were totally dominant in the first half but only took a 6-3 lead into the break. Ireland played a lot better afterwards - and like Italy, had a one-man advantage for quite some time because of yellow cards - but couldn't score more than one try. England scored two. Once again, Danny Care was a key player for England after coming off the bench. He just moves the ball so much faster than Ben Youngs at the breakdown. He was one of the players to visit the sin bin, but he'd already helped set up two tries by then. I'd like to see him start matches, but perhaps Eddie Jones thinks he's more effective when the opposition defence is already tired. As long as England keep winning, I can't complain.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

Though not yet official, sources expect Peyton Manning to announce his retirement by the end of the week. If he chooses to continue his career, Manning has one year left on his contract, pending the results of a physical. If he retires as expected, he will be eligible for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Regardless of when he retires, he is expected to be inducted in his first year of eligibility due to his vast accomplishments. Manning was the 1st overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and is an NFL record 5 time NFL MVP, 2 time Super Bowl Champion, the MVP of Super Bowl XLI, and is the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, and career wins. His backup, Brock Osweiler, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year, and the free agency signing period begins March 9th.

The retirement of a star player immediately after winning a championship is a rare occurrence in sports. Notable cases include Mel Renfro, Ted Hendricks, John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Jerome Bettis, Michael Strahan, and Ray Lewis. Notable cases in the NBA include many of the several Boston Celtics stars of the 1960s (most notably Bill Russell, who only failed to win a championship twice in his career) and San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

It's official now. Peyton Manning has retired from football after an 18 year career.

Where the Broncos go from here at Quarterback is up in the air. The Broncos have offered Manning's backup, Brock Osweiler, a 3 year contract worth $45 million, and ideally, the Broncos would like to have Osweiler at quarterback going forward, but as mentioned before, Osweiler is an unrestricted free agent, and there is already speculation that he could sign with the Houston Texans.

 

[Mayo Master]

Sharapova got caught for doping at the Aussie Open. She had been using a drug called "meldonium" for years, and it went on the list of prohibited substances only in the beginning of this year. IMO, even though she seemed to take responsibility, her reasons for taking the drug in the first place seem pretty lousy.
Apparently the drug is produced in the Baltic area, and sold in the Baltic countries and Russia. It seems like a very large number of athletes from these countries have been using the substance.

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

Shit is already getting real in the NFL Offseason.

LB Kiko Alonso, CB Byron Maxwell, and RB DeMarco Murray, all of whom were acquired by the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason, are being traded.

 

[Flintlock]

Six Nations again this weekend!

Ireland vs. Italy: It's been a tough tournament for Ireland but I still expect them to beat Italy at home. I'll watch the game but I'm not expecting it to be a great one.

England vs. Wales: I think it will be close. On paper, England should win. They were in a strong position for three quarters of their 2015 World Cup match at the same ground, and basically threw it away at the end with some poor decision-making and substitutions. Those elements have been better under Eddie Jones, but their discipline is still a bit shaky and Wales should have the psychological advantage. It could go either way, but if I had to make a prediction, I'd be pessimistic and say Wales will take it.

Scotland vs. France: This is the Sunday match. I thought I'd be bold and predict a win for Scotland, but it looks like the bookmakers agree with me, so it's not really that bold. Scotland have played well without winning (except against Italy), while France have been erratic and could score four tries or none at all. It should be an interesting game.

It's worth noting that England will win the championship if they beat Wales and France lose to Scotland. England are the only team who can win it this weekend. Italy will "win" the wooden spoon (i.e. come last) if they lose to Ireland and France lose to Scotland.

Over to you, Mayo.

 

[Mayo Master]

Thanks for your summary, flint How much are you hoping for a Grand Slam?

I think Ireland should make it without problem - not expecting a great game either, I would think Ireland will be focused on applying their basic game plan without much flourish.
England vs Wales... there's certainly going to be some revenge in the air, after what happened in the world cup! I too would see England win this one but you never know. I wonder how much aggressiveness the teams will show, and how much of that aggressiveness will be properly channeled. It's going to be very physically intense.
As for Scotland vs France... besides that France is playing, I'm very interested in this game because both teams want to play with lots of pace and movement in the back line, which could be spectacular - I wonder how the teams will keep disciplined defensively, which may be the decisive factor. I'd bet on France, but mostly because I know I'm biased

 

[Flintlock]

I'd love for England to win the Six Nations, but if they do, I don't really mind about the Grand Slam. This is the first year under a new coach and they haven't been dominant, just "good enough", so it would feel a bit strange to win a Grand Slam.

In case you didn't notice, I predicted a Wales win over England. Your post seemed to suggest otherwise.

 

[Mayo Master]

I'd love for England to win the Six Nations, but if they do, I don't really mind about the Grand Slam. This is the first year under a new coach and they haven't been dominant, just "good enough", so it would feel a bit strange to win a Grand Slam.

In case you didn't notice, I predicted a Wales win over England. Your post seemed to suggest otherwise.

My bad, I think I derped a little on this one
Well then, if you don't mind not getting a Grand Slam, does that mean you wouldn't mind losing the final game vs France?

Anyway, I only saw the second half of England vs Wales... it seemed a strange game. From what I gathered it looked like a one-way game in the first half for England, with the trend continuing into the early stages of the second half: England very solid in defence, and devastating in the breakdowns, whereas Wales was poor in providing support and made a huge number of missed tackles. 25-7 with 10 minutes to play seemed a fair reflection of what had been going on. And then, the final 10 minutes were a bit crazy, with the Welsh finally finding the right pace in their game while England's defence was falling apart. The Welsh scored 2 tries and England really felt a relief when the final whistle was blown.
As a side note: really pissed off at the TMO when (around the 70th minute) a TMO looked at a "potential foul play" in a ruck where a Welsh merely brushed the nose of an English player. First, the ref reversed the penalty even though the footage was completely inconclusive (so why didn't they maintain the initial call?) and second, if the TMO intrudes himself on refereeing for calls like that, we'll be spending 3 hours per game watching inconclusive footage. IMO a textbook example of what NOT to do with TMO-refereeing.

Didn't see at all the Irish game, apparently Ireland had a cracking game, scoring 9 tries vs Italy, which wasn't like we expected. Was it Ireland being particularly strong or Italy particularly weak?

 

[Flintlock]

I'm going to give the default cop-out answer of "a bit of both". Ireland's offence was fantastic, and they scored the try of the tournament by far, all the way from their own 22 with half a dozen offloads. Italy had their chances too but were just nowhere near as incisive. They seemed to knock the ball forward every time they were in a good position. And they gave one or two tries away completely needlessly, including the first of the game, within ten minutes.

I was biting my nails by the end of the England-Wales game. Or certainly was exciting but I could lived happily without the excitement as well. As for the TMO, I understand where you're coming from, but rugby is really sensitive about eye-gouging, so I understand why that happened. It didn't look like a deliberate gouging attempt to me but apparently being reckless is enough to get a penalty against you.

That incident aside, I thought both refs had pretty good games today. The Ireland-Italy game in particular wasn't plagued by endless scrum resets, which is probably why they had time to score 11 tries between them.

How about this: I won't mind England losing to France if France losses to Scotland tomorrow.

 

[Mayo Master]

Sounds like I got to watch some of the Irish tries then!

As for England vs Wales, I think what surprised me the most was that England seemed in complete control of the game for 70 minutes, and all of a sudden they completely lost it. That was really weird, and I really understand why there was much nail-biting
As for the TMO: the thing is, to me, whatever happened looked completely accidental. The Welsh guy was biding in the ruck, and was not looking at where the English's face might be. To me, if the footage doesn't even show conclusively that anything bad happen on something accidental, you move on. For example, there was that one game where I was in a ruck, and an opponent who had to roll away accidentally put his boot in my face. Completely accidental. Went to the sideline, got a couple of stitches on my chin, and moved on. Thoughts of foul play didn't even cross my mind.

As for France winning vs England if we lose vs Scotland, I think that's a good trade. Beating England has always been more enjoyable for us French