High quality analysis of last week's Super 14 rugby games, our picks for the coming weekend, some Cricket World cup talk, musings on the NRL Rugby League competition, a quick look at the slowest swimmer at the World Swimming Champs, why Stuff.co.nz is crap, and some other stuff...
Download Episode 2007/10.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Stuff knows all
Or, more accurately, Stuff knows stuff all, as they seem to be just making up random figures for their stories now (or again, as previous experience has shown).
This one, for example, discusses the naming of the new Wellington A-League football franchise and its owner Terry Serepisos...
Google, as far as I know, doesn't really give that sort of specific info out except via vague trends and zeitgeist reports, so I'm at a loss as to how Stuff could be so confident with their number.
This one, for example, discusses the naming of the new Wellington A-League football franchise and its owner Terry Serepisos...
Serepisos, whose name had been googled 13,300 times during the past week, admits he's still coming to terms with the enormity of the task, but said the support he had received was "overwhelming".13,300 times? How would anyone know how many times they'd been googled over a given time period?
Google, as far as I know, doesn't really give that sort of specific info out except via vague trends and zeitgeist reports, so I'm at a loss as to how Stuff could be so confident with their number.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Why Stuff.co.nz is crap
To further the new segment of our podcast (which you'll hear soon) we bring you "why Stuff.co.nz is crap". This will be us posting (and podcasting) the terrible sports-reporting being done by "New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news". Feel free to send us anything you find and we'll put it up.
Today's Stuff-crapiness comes from Dom who was reading about the World Swimming Champs in Melbourne.
My God, less than 55 seconds to swim 200 metres. Was he actually in the water when he set that record?
Today's Stuff-crapiness comes from Dom who was reading about the World Swimming Champs in Melbourne.
Champion United States swimmer Michael Phelps already has one giant hand on the gold medal after cruising through the second semi in 1min 55.13sec, more than a minute outside his own world record set last year.
My God, less than 55 seconds to swim 200 metres. Was he actually in the water when he set that record?
Monday, March 26, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 09
Pipping the post just hours before the kick-off of this week's Super 14 matches, the Dropkicks share their thoughtful and insightful analysis on not only the Super 14, but the Six Nations, Formula One, the Cricket World Cup, US College Basketball, and pick their athlete and dick of the week...
Download Episode 2007/09.
Download Episode 2007/09.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Deadly Big Cats
This is a bit late but here is a comparrison of potentially dangerous mascots. (Listen to the last Dropkicks podcast for an explanation)
1st. Indiana Pacers' mascot "Boomer"
2nd. Otago Rugby Union's mascot "Shaq"
1st. Indiana Pacers' mascot "Boomer"
2nd. Otago Rugby Union's mascot "Shaq"
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 08
Returned from their voyages to alternate realties, the Dropkicks return with more stunning insights into the Super 14, the Six Nations, and any other sport issues that take their fancy.
Download Episode 2007/08.
Download Episode 2007/08.
Roger Federer, being awesome
You've got to wonder if he actually practices this sort of shot, or if it's all just perfect, spur-of-the-moment brilliace.
Andy Roddick's reaction is great, too.
[cheers to sport review nz]
Andy Roddick's reaction is great, too.
[cheers to sport review nz]
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Making Golf Decent
Too frickin' right!
Much like suggestions the Dropkicks have made in the past, here is how Golf should be played.
Hat Tip to Ana at Spare Room
Much like suggestions the Dropkicks have made in the past, here is how Golf should be played.
Hat Tip to Ana at Spare Room
msn.co.nz sports news - still crap.
Today from from the homepage of msn.co.nz comes this bit of sports news...
Australian duo Alicia Molik and Samantha Stosur have been knocked out in straight sets in the third round of the Pacific Life Open in America.Much as it's nearly a national duty to delight in Australian sporting defeats, do we really care that much about an Australian female doubles pair going out of some tournament in the States?
Virtual Super 14 - Week 6 results
Well, despite some odd predictions being made as a result of their visit to an alternative future during last week's podcast, the Dropkicks actually had a pretty good week with the Virtual Rugby, picking up a respectable 31 points, leaping up 13490 places in the process, and are now in contention to overhaul the bottom-placed individual Dropkick, Sideline Mike. The collective score wasn't quite as spectacular as noizy's 39 points, which saw him return to the top 3, where Wrongun and Dropkick Hadyn remain 1st and 2nd, respectively. The Mallet? A relative shocker this week, plummeting him down just over 25000 places...
| Ranking | Player Name | Last Week | Total Points | Team Supported | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4345 | Wrongun | 34 | 166 | Hurricanes | 5186 |
| 8753 | Rockstar (Hadyn) | 34 | 160 | Chiefs | 9492 |
| 15041 | noizyboy | 39 | 155 | Crusaders | 28060 |
| 22860 | russb | 34 | 151 | Blues | 18478 |
| 33782 | BlindHamish | 34 | 146 | Brumbies | 23462 |
| 36562 | the hood | 26 | 145 | Blues | -1625 |
| 52680 | Big Hairy | 23 | 139 | Highlanders | -9579 |
| 60008 | The Mallet (Dom) | 18 | 137 | Hurricanes | -25071 |
| 81878 | figruck | 20 | 130 | Chiefs | -19240 |
| 84977 | Banks15 | 33 | 129 | Blues | 23368 |
| 90907 | bclotty | 23 | 127 | Chiefs | -6416 |
| 90907 | Halburger | 24 | 127 | Highlanders | -3545 |
| 92978 | Motorcycle (Mike) | 26 | 126 | Hurricanes | 3150 |
| 114571 | Dropkicks | 31 | 117 | Hurricanes | 13490 |
| 114571 | Vinny G | 15 | 117 | Hurricanes | -24725 |
| 122799 | gabbyyue | 31 | 112 | Blues | 11547 |
| 126990 | BigRedCube | 28 | 109 | Blues | 7356 |
| 135397 | The Mut Bag | 20 | 100 | Hurricanes | 217 |
Friday, March 09, 2007
The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 07
The Dropkicks discuss week 6 of the Super 14, some Six Nations (record try-scoring!), Roger Federer's defeat to a 14 year old Russian, Cricket World Cup (hat-tricks galore!), Tiger Wood's death, and Michael Schumacher's surprise return to Formula 1.
Download Episode 2007/07.
Download Episode 2007/07.
All Blacks in action...sort of
The Chiefs’ three conditioning All Blacks are included in the Chiefs Wider Training Group team to take on the Blues Wider Training Group team in Auckland next week.
Sitiveni Sivivatu, Byron Kelleher and Mils Muliaina will take part in their first rugby match of the year when they join fellow Chiefs Wider Training Group, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Counties players for the fixture to be held on Tuesday 13 March.
The 80 minute match will kick off at 1.00pm at UNITEC, Carrington Rd in Auckland. The Blues’ conditioning All Blacks will also be playing in this fixture.
The Chiefs Wider Training Group team will be coached by Kevin Putt, with Paul Hodder as team manager.
The Chiefs Wider Training Group squad is:
Forwards: Sekope Kepu (Wider Training Group), Vern Kamo (Wider Training Group), Ted Tauroa (Waikato), Mark Burman (Waikato), Andrew van der Heidjen (Wider Training Group), Warren Smith (Bay of Plenty), James Maher (Counties Manukau), Steven Setephano (Wider Training Group), John Paeranga (Wider Training Group), Matt Wallis (Bay of Plenty), Romana Graham (Waikato), Aaron Rameka (Bay of Plenty), Jono Armstrong (Waikato).
Backs: Byron Kelleher (Chiefs), Sitiveni Sivivatu (Chiefs), Cory Aporo (Wider Training Group), Malu Sa’u (Counties Manukau), Mils Muliaina (Chiefs), David Bason (Wider Training Group), Mike Delaney (Wider Training Group), Roimata Hansell-Pune (Waikato), Jared Payne (Waikato).
Sitiveni Sivivatu, Byron Kelleher and Mils Muliaina will take part in their first rugby match of the year when they join fellow Chiefs Wider Training Group, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Counties players for the fixture to be held on Tuesday 13 March.
The 80 minute match will kick off at 1.00pm at UNITEC, Carrington Rd in Auckland. The Blues’ conditioning All Blacks will also be playing in this fixture.
The Chiefs Wider Training Group team will be coached by Kevin Putt, with Paul Hodder as team manager.
The Chiefs Wider Training Group squad is:
Forwards: Sekope Kepu (Wider Training Group), Vern Kamo (Wider Training Group), Ted Tauroa (Waikato), Mark Burman (Waikato), Andrew van der Heidjen (Wider Training Group), Warren Smith (Bay of Plenty), James Maher (Counties Manukau), Steven Setephano (Wider Training Group), John Paeranga (Wider Training Group), Matt Wallis (Bay of Plenty), Romana Graham (Waikato), Aaron Rameka (Bay of Plenty), Jono Armstrong (Waikato).
Backs: Byron Kelleher (Chiefs), Sitiveni Sivivatu (Chiefs), Cory Aporo (Wider Training Group), Malu Sa’u (Counties Manukau), Mils Muliaina (Chiefs), David Bason (Wider Training Group), Mike Delaney (Wider Training Group), Roimata Hansell-Pune (Waikato), Jared Payne (Waikato).
Thursday, March 08, 2007
msn.co.nz sports. crap.
So, what sports news do we have on the msn.co.nz homepage as of the time of writing this...?
Anyone want to let MSN know that NZ isn't part of Australia?
- Di Venuto fires early
[AUSTRALIAN CRICKET]
A whirlwind unbeaten half-century to Michael Di Venuto has guided Tasmania to 2-130 at lunch on the opening day of the top-of-the-table Pura Cup clash against NSW at Bellerive Oval. - Tigers rue turnovers
[AUSTRALIAN BASKETBALL]
Tiger coach Al Westover has promised to work on eliminating turnovers and improving his side's shooting percentage in the 48 hours before Friday's must-win game. - Appleby leads charge
[AUSTRALIAN GOLFER]
Nine players will be looking to become the second Australian to win on the PGA Tour this season in this week's PODS Championship, headed by world No.23 Stuart Appleby. - Hewitt set for Fed clash
[AUSTRALIAN TENNIS PLAYER]
A resurgent Lleyton Hewitt has a potential fourth-round clash with world No.1 Roger Federer at the Pacific Life Open, the first tournament in the ATP's Master Series.
Anyone want to let MSN know that NZ isn't part of Australia?
Monday, March 05, 2007
Super 14 - Plays of the Week, Round 4 (video highlights)
Yes, we realise round 5 has just passed us by, but we're relying on the goodness of YouTube users (and, in particular, user jombijombi), so there's a little lag between action and posting...
Virtual Super 14 - Week 5 results
Whaaa? Two draws? The Canes get thumped, at Palmy, by the Stormers? Crusaders throw away a lead after the full-time hooter has gone? What is the world coming to?
Thankfully, the round of bizarre results meant just about everyone had a shocker, with Dom's relatively measly 21 points being good enough to catapault him up 32200 places on the ladder, and even a score of 16 seeing positive movement up the competition. Not that the Dropkicks got 16, we got 5, even after picking a draw for this round, just in the wrong game.
Thankfully, the round of bizarre results meant just about everyone had a shocker, with Dom's relatively measly 21 points being good enough to catapault him up 32200 places on the ladder, and even a score of 16 seeing positive movement up the competition. Not that the Dropkicks got 16, we got 5, even after picking a draw for this round, just in the wrong game.
| Ranking | Player Name | Last Week | Total Points | Team Supported | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9531 | Wrongun | 13 | 132 | Hurricanes | 299 |
| 18245 | Rockstar (Hadyn) | 16 | 126 | Chiefs | 8174 |
| 34937 | the hood | 8 | 119 | Blues | -10665 |
| 34937 | The Mallet (Dom) | 21 | 119 | Hurricanes | 32200 |
| 41338 | russb | 8 | 117 | Blues | -11126 |
| 43101 | Big Hairy | 8 | 116 | Highlanders | -11550 |
| 43101 | noizyboy | 5 | 116 | Crusaders | -18829 |
| 57244 | BlindHamish | 16 | 112 | Brumbies | 17526 |
| 62638 | figruck | 8 | 110 | Chiefs | -11252 |
| 84491 | bclotty | 24 | 104 | Chiefs | 37885 |
| 87362 | Halburger | 5 | 103 | Highlanders | -20225 |
| 89846 | Vinny G | 5 | 102 | Hurricanes | -20564 |
| 96128 | Motorcycle (Mike) | 8 | 100 | Hurricanes | -8519 |
| 108345 | Banks15 | 16 | 96 | Blues | 14031 |
| 128061 | Dropkicks | 5 | 86 | Hurricanes | -8511 |
| 134346 | gabbyyue | 24 | 81 | Blues | 11110 |
| 134346 | BigRedCube | 5 | 81 | Blues | -5252 |
| 135614 | The Mut Bag | 16 | 80 | Hurricanes | 6726 |
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 06
Actually managing to post the episode to the blog before this week's round of matches? Priceless.
Noizyboy, Sideline Mike and Tall Timber Tibby make do without The Mallet and Mouth of the South this week. In the surprisingly noisy environs of the Wellington Library cafe, the lads discuss the latest round of the Super 14, the Six Nations, and the Vatican World Cup of Soccer - The Clericus Cup.
Download Episode 2007/06.
Noizyboy, Sideline Mike and Tall Timber Tibby make do without The Mallet and Mouth of the South this week. In the surprisingly noisy environs of the Wellington Library cafe, the lads discuss the latest round of the Super 14, the Six Nations, and the Vatican World Cup of Soccer - The Clericus Cup.
Download Episode 2007/06.
Chappell–Hadlee Trophy 2006–07: Game 3, video highlights
The last five overs of the second-best run-chase in ODI Cricket history, with the Black Caps managing to overhaul Austrlia's mammoth first innings score of 346 with 3 balls and one wicket to spare. Awesome...
Full scorecard here...
Full scorecard here...
British v foreign footballers
Another good story from PopBitch, of all places (the previous Quote of the Week story was also sourced from there.) This tells the story of Ian Walker and Espen Baardsen, Tottenham Hotspur's goalies a decade back...
Walker in those days said his greatest ambition was "to be marooned on a desert island with an endless supply of lager, women and Sky TV." Sadly, Ian recently checked into Tony Adams' Sporting Chance Clinic suffering from depression, after a spell in Las Vegas. He visited on a property investment trip but instead met and shacked up with an exotic dancer, without telling his wife and children.
While at Spurs, American-born Norwegian Baardsen took an Open University degree in social sciences and economics. He retired aged 25, saying he had lost his passion for the game and spent a year travelling the world. Baardsen now works for London based asset management firm Eclectica as an analyst, after training at a Hedge Fund. He says his preferred reading is Milton Friedman and Immanuel Kant.
Quote of the day...
From Chelsea's Wayne Bridge (nicknamed 'Trigger', apparently, after the dim-witted character from TV show Only Fools and Horses). After winning the Carling Cup knockout competition, Wayne was reported to have said...
I don't care what happened during the game, we got the three points and that's all that counts.Nice one, Wayne.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 05
Playing a bit of catch-up football this week - finally posting last week's show on the same day this week's show is being edited.
But you've already heard it, haven't you, because you subscribe to the podcast feed? No? Click here for details on how to get the podcast sent to your iTunes, RSS Feeder, or Web Browser automatically, and stop relying on our sporadic blog posting for your latest podcast kicks...
Anyway, Episode 05 features the first Dropkicks competitive eating challenge, Super 14 review and picks, some Nascar, bare-handed vodka-fuelled shark catching, Chappell-Hadlee ODI Cricket series, and lots of tweeting birds...
Download Episode 2007/05.
But you've already heard it, haven't you, because you subscribe to the podcast feed? No? Click here for details on how to get the podcast sent to your iTunes, RSS Feeder, or Web Browser automatically, and stop relying on our sporadic blog posting for your latest podcast kicks...
Anyway, Episode 05 features the first Dropkicks competitive eating challenge, Super 14 review and picks, some Nascar, bare-handed vodka-fuelled shark catching, Chappell-Hadlee ODI Cricket series, and lots of tweeting birds...
Download Episode 2007/05.
Virtual Super 14 - Week 4 results
Not a bad round of picks from the Dropkicks for week 4 of the competition, with maximum points from 4 of the 6 games played. Problem was, of course, that just about everyone playing the game had similar weeks (except Dom, who had a shocker), so not much movement on the mates leaderboard: Wrongun still leads the way, the Hood pushes past the Dropkicks lads into second, and Noizy switches places with Hadyn to become the top individual Dropkick. The Dropkicks themselves? Somewhere down the bottom there...
| Ranking | Player Name | Last Week | Total Points | Team Supported | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9830 | Wrongun | 29 | 119 | Hurricanes | -2133 |
| 24272 | the hood | 40 | 111 | Blues | 35614 |
| 24272 | noizyboy | 29 | 111 | Crusaders | -2648 |
| 26419 | Rockstar (Hadyn) | 26 | 110 | Chiefs | -9776 |
| 30212 | russb | 29 | 109 | Blues | -1737 |
| 31551 | Big Hairy | 37 | 108 | Highlanders | 28335 |
| 51386 | figruck | 24 | 102 | Chiefs | -16927 |
| 67137 | Halburger | 40 | 98 | Highlanders | 45569 |
| 67137 | The Mallet (Dom) | 16 | 98 | Hurricanes | -45513 |
| 69282 | Vinny G | 37 | 97 | Hurricanes | 36535 |
| 74770 | BlindHamish | 32 | 96 | Brumbies | 17947 |
| 87609 | Motorcycle (Mike) | 32 | 92 | Hurricanes | 18208 |
| 119550 | Dropkicks | 32 | 81 | Hurricanes | 13913 |
| 122376 | Banks15 | 18 | 80 | Blues | -22356 |
| 122376 | bclotty | 21 | 80 | Chiefs | -11359 |
| 129094 | BigRedCube | 26 | 76 | Blues | 2570 |
| 142340 | The Mut Bag | 40 | 64 | Hurricanes | 8995 |
| 145456 | gabbyyue | 23 | 57 | Blues | 3550 |
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