The Toy Department

Sport, sport and then some more. It's what I do.

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Is 'versing' a real word?

Jordan Lewis thinks so.

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The Coen brothers need to try that little bit harder

They have quashed talk of a Big Lebowski sequel. Boo.

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This was my field of dreams when I was a kid. An indoor sports stadium. Who would have thought of such a thing. VFL Park was what counted for hi-tech back in the day.

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I can't believe it has taken NFL coaches so long to do this. AFL coaches have been toting iPads in their huddles for several years.

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Can't bring myself to hate Collingwood like so many others. I love it when the Hawks beat them, of course, but I just think they're a classy and well run club that treats their supporters well. They did a good job today and they have come a long way in 20 years.

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The lily-livered Glen Eira Council

So I took to the old stamping ground today, the Australian Jewish News to criticise the spineless Glen Eira council for not supporting the AJAX Footy Club bid to play at Princes Park.

Here is the text…

The City of Glen Eira deserves whatever criticism comes its way for not granting the senior AJAX Football Club the opportunity to play its home games at Princes Park. For the first time in many years there was a vacancy for a Saturday football tenant on the main oval and it chose to snub a club that has 72 per cent of its players and members living in the municipality. The folly of the decision was on display last Saturday week when nearly 1000 people attended the game the AJAX seniors played there, as the ‘away’ team against Old Haileybury, the club that was granted the tenancy at Princes Park despite claiming to have been happily ensconced at its long-time home at the McKinnon Oval for many years prior. AJAX supporters outnumbered those of Old Haileybury on the day by a factor of about 10 to one and they represented a large cross section of our community – men and women, young and old and significantly, many Orthodox people who relished the opportunity to support the community football club while still keeping Shabbat. The Glen Eira councilors who meekly stood by and let this happen have failed on two fronts. Firstly, there was no public expression of interest process for the winter vacancy at Princes Park, meaning the merits of the AJAX bid could not be compared to that of Old Haileybury or others. Secondly, what is puzzling is that the decision was made by council officials, with Glen Eira mayor Cr Jamie Hyams explaining that the councilors have no say in which clubs receive allocations to use sporting facilities. Several councilors attended the successful community day the senior club staged at Princes Park last September and offered their unqualified support for the AJAX seniors to move to Princes Park, which would have led to the senior and junior clubs sharing the same facility for the first time in a quarter of a century. So what happened in the meantime? If they truly believed AJAX belonged at Princes Park, where was the instruction to the council managers this was in the best interests of the City of Glen Eira and therefore, to make it happen? Going forward, will they legislate to change the nature of the allocations process so that the councilors have the final say? Until now, only in the fictitious Yes Minister, are the elected officials so lily-livered and the bureaucrats so powerful. Hopefully it wasn’t a case of the councilors who came to the football last year telling everyone what they wanted to hear, with a view to the council elections held only a few weeks later.

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One of my jobs this year has been to work with the 18 AFL coaches to help them write an exclusive column - about coaching - for the AFL website. They've all been solid, but this one from Ross Lyon on the art of tagging, might be the best so far.

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Lefty, pinko journos

The man who would become my father-in-law wasn't happy when Mandi first told him she was dating a man who wrote for The Age.

He told her I was probably a "communist".

This article would confirm his worst fears.

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Campbell Brown: Part Two

Second part of my chat with Campbell Brown where he discusses his football mortality.

This might be his last year, and Sunday will be his last go around against his former club. Should be fun.

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Phil Jackson

One of the most fascinating people in sport is Phil Jackson. From all accounts, this New York Times profile is excellent.

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Great piece from Charlie Happell on BackPageLead today.

We always talk about Eddie McGuire’s conflicts back in the day, but how about Tim Watson with the Bombers. He also tips in Dennis Cometti, but I’m not so sure about that one.

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Highlight of the week so far was the great Nicky Winmar talking to AFL staff about his life. Such an inspiration.

Imagine what would have happened had he not raised the jumper at Vic Park that day 20 years ago. Would the march towards cracking down on racism in footy taken years longer to get started?

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Big day today. Buddy in person, then Browny on the phone.

Another piece coming up tomorrow. Should be online by 8am or so.

He was in good form. Should be fun at the MCG on Sunday.