Aussie sport bucket list

I have always been a big fan of lists and I read with interest the other day when Sports Illustrated's (www.si.com) top online writers listed the sporting events they'd love to tick off before the eventually, well, tick off.

So I got to thinking, what sporting events would i like to see before my days are up. It wasn't easy. Or actually it was easy to think of things, lots of things.

The trick was narrowing it down to just five. I did cheat a little though - I have divided my lists into Australian and international (the overseas list will come next week).

So here goes in no particular order - check out mine and please let me know yours in the comments section:

AFL GRAND FINAL - no one in this country or at least no where in this country does sport quite like Melbourne and this, along with the Melbourne Cup is one of their two biggest events. Would be great to see two local teams involved in the big day at the G too.

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH - I am not that big a fan of getting all stoked and that sort of cool stuff that hangs around one of these events but I think this would be something special. Easter at Bells always throws up some great surfing.

STAWELL GIFT - If I was at Bells I'd have to duck up the road to Stawell for the gift that occurs every year around the same time. I hear the carnival atmosphere is outstanding.

RUGBY LEAGUE STATE OF ORIGIN GAME THREE - This one would be a cracker but it would have to be a tied series with the final game in Brisbane. With a solid brawl and a Blues victory for good measure!

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS MEN'S FINAL - Federer v Nadal, epic 5 setter in Australia. Enough said.

I found it hard to leave out my local club rugby derby between Manly and Warringah and the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne but hey, maybe i'll find the time for them too!

I think that's it.....for now! I reserve the right to make changes!! Let's hear your list.

If you don't play take it off!

There are few things i like more in life than going to the footy with my mates and having a few beers.

I also like to cheer loudly for my team, yell at the ref to 'get 'em onside' and heap abuse on the opposition. I am even prepared to clap the other mob if they do something really cool.

And i like other people to do the same. If you've paid the freight to get in you should be allowed to support your team as enthusiastically as possible.

But i will not, under any circumstances, condone the wearing of a football jersey by an adult male. Unless you are about to come off the interchange bench (which you're not), take the jersey off. You look like a douche bag!!!

You've all seen the guy I'm talking about. You know, the dude with his Wallaby jersey tucked into his jeans under his RM Williams jacket or the Bulldogs fan with the jersey over his adidas hoodie.

Jerseys are for players. And kids. If you are over 16 you should be over the jersey. That's it, period.

There is only one thing worse and that's the tight-arse who is still wearing the jersey of the guy who left your club two years before. If he has left, or retired, he doesn't play in the team anymore!

Buy the polo, a stubbie holder or even one of those gay things that you stick on the back window of your car but do not wear the jersey.

You don't see motor racing fans wearing one of those fireproof jumpsuits to a race or a surfing fan rocking up to the Billabong Pro in a wetsuit so why would you wear a jersey to a football match.

And don't get me started on blokes that lob to an AFL match with a sleeveless vest on!!!

Time for swimsuit companies to take lead

While the swimsuit fiasco that has ruined swimming history rages on and jockeying takes place within the FINA ranks for political clout in the fallout, there is one stakeholder that can take immediate steps to bring meaningful change.

Swimsuit manufacturers are not to blame for this debacle but they weren't innocent bystanders either and they now have the ability to begin the repair job.

Last week the FINA Congress (all the swimming nations) voted overwhelmingly to return to non-permeable, textile only suits by January 1, 2010.

It was also proposed that suits for men would be from waist to knee only and for women, shoulder to knee with an open back. While this decision was done hurriedly and without the proper consultation it is at least a step in the right direction.

Now the goons on the FINA Bureau have decided that the swimsuit manufacturers need until April or May to make enough suits for the swimming world under the new rules and specifications. Bollocks!

With less than a month's notice these companies were able to prepare enough "bubble" suits to rocket propel every swimmer at the World Championships so why on earth over the next five months wouldn't they be able to revert back to silhouettes they have used in the past and material similar or the same as they used pre-February 2008 ?

Granted the new suits will not cost as much as those produced in the last 16 months and yes that will effect profit margins but the future of swimming is on the line here.

I challenge all swimsuit manufacturers to stand up and say "we will ensure we have the 2010 version of approved suits ready on January 1". In the end they will profit anyway - swimming nude is still out of the question.

Who will be the first to truly show they care as much about the sport and those that participate, in the pool and out (their clients and future clients), and take the lead that FINA so horribly lost.

Deans has reinvigorated club rugby

Robbie Deans has done plenty already for Australian Rugby Union and its followers in the short time he has been on this side of the ditch.

He has refreshed the style of play and the shape of the Wallabies backline, he has helped our guys to a couple of great Test victories and given us all hope that Australia can again contend for the Webb Ellis Trophy.

One other thing he has done that might not quite get the same public recognition as a win over the Springboks or AB's is his decision to allow members of his Wallaby squad to play club rugby on weekends off.

For rugby fans and the game's youngest followers, the next generations of Wallabies, it is a treat and a half to be able to pay the nominal entry fee that is charged at Sydney or Brisbane club gates and stand on the fence within a Stephen Moore throw in of your favourite player.

The players love it too. You can see them relax and enjoy the opportunity to run around with old mates, while giving back to the grass roots level of the game they love. Those team mates lucky enough to play with these guys benefit too, learning more in one game than they might in a month of Saturdays.

I don't have any figures by I am sure the gate would be up at least 30% every time this happens and a team gets the injection of a Wallaby or two into their first grade team.

So next time the Wallabies have a break, whether it's later this year or next, get on down to your local ground and cheer on your team, or any team. It'll cost you about a quarter of the ticket to a Test and you can almost touch the action. All courtesy of R Deans.

Don't forget the man in the bubble

Out of all the sports I love, and there are many, swimming sits at the top of the tree.

So it is with infinite sadness I view this year's FINA World Swimming Championships that begin (or at least the pool component does) in Rome this Sunday.

It has been well documented that FINA's bludgeoning of their own sport by allowing the use of swimsuits, that can be seen as nothing short of a hydrodynamic 'bubble', means this meet will border on farce.

Records and history will be demolished like never before. Ranking rising missiles whose body shapes are fortunate enough to be aided more than their rivals by these formerly unthinkable speed suits will come from everywhere. Athletes will be beaten purely by those with better rubber technology.

No manufacturer is innocent in this debacle but the water spout of blame must rest squarely on the pampered shoulders of those at the head of the FINA decision making table. Shame, FINA, shame!

But I ask for a moment that you to take a step back and consider the athletes inside the floatation devices.

They are the innocent victims of this whole situation that has raged on for a few years now and has come to an ugly head this July. Those and their coaches, families, fans and friends. Shame, FINA, shame!

From Michael Phelps to Eric the Eel - every swimmer will be affected one way or another. The meet will be written off by the media and just about everyone else as the fiasco it is and that is somewhat unfair on the athletes.

Granted, what was once a world record, a top ten all-time swim or a PB is in nigh all cases now no longer relevant but these athletes have still trained and prepared to be at their best for this eight-day period. They will still stand on the blocks and give their all for themselves and their countries, knowing a world title is on the line. The times they swim will mean jack, the effort they put in will not.

Think of those whose dreams will be shattered and those who will achieve something previously unthinkable. And hope too that the latter achievers know in their heart of hearts how they improved so much so quickly.

Think of the athlete fortunate enough to be paid by a manufacturer (and again, while not the cause of this mess, no manufacturer is free of all guilt here) as an ambassador who is forced to make a decision on which suit to wear based on a fear of having no chance of winning because they believe loyalty, a contract and no doubt the associated sponsorship dollars means something. While these athletes may have benefited more than others in the past, none deserve to be put in this position by the boffins running their sport.

Think of those whose achievements will forever be looked upon, a little unfairly, in a category not that far from those that used induced performance enhancers.

Shame, FINA, shame!

Vick has served his time

Former NFL quarterback stud Michael Vick this week finished his 23-month jail sentence for bankrolling an horrific and illegal dog fighting operation.

Vick has indicated his desire to play top level football again but he is currently under an indefinite suspension handed down before his custodial sentencing by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

His release from prison (and home detention) means Vick is now free to settle back into society and with that process should come the right to re-renter the workforce which for him would mean coming back to the NFL.

In a nutshell, Vick has served his time for this abhorrent crime and deserves a second chance. Goodell should reinstate the ex-Atlanta Falcons and Va-Tech star poste-haste and give each of the 32 clubs in the NFL the opportunity to decide if they wish to employ someone with Vick's character.

Personally if I was the GM of one of these multi-million dollar franchises I would be very hesitant to have Vick on my books (even though he was my favourite player for many years) because I believe he is too high a risk to run foul of the law again. Just my opinion. But I think each of the 32 clubs, and Vick himself, deserve the right to make that decision independently of the NFL.

If nobody picks him up, fine. But at least give him the chance. He's done his time.

Hooray for HorHay

Everywhere we look in sport we see hundreds, even thousands of athletes frivolously labelled 'a champion' or 'a legend' or 'one of the greats'.

Whether it's at an international standard or the grass roots level, commentators, team mates, parents and just about everyone else with an opinion has at some stage dedicated the above terms to a favourite player, a loved one or even a rival.

In truth, when emotion is minimised, more often than not those titles are used far too liberally.

Sometimes, however, they are warranted and one such player any of those three terms applies to is George Smith.

George, Jorge or Horhay as he is known throughout world rugby will this week play his 100th Test when the Wallabies clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland.

He is the first breakaway to do so and now sits 10th on the all-time list for most Tests played internationally behind another famous Australian George - Gregan, who currently leads the pack with 139 matches.

At the ripe old age of 29 (it was his birthday earlier this week) and with Smith signed to the ARU for another two years, that record may not be safe!

And speaking of records - in the 99 Tests Smith has played in his career so far he has started 85, the Wallabies have won 62 and you can almost guarantee that the flying flanker from Manly was one of Australia's best players each and every time. Probably better in the 36 losses and one draw too.

You see Smith is a man who gives his all every time he takes the field. A no-nonsense backrower with the sublime skills of a mid field player. The sort of guy other teams game plan for but can rarely stop. A shy bloke by nature who's become a leader now too, Smith is someone for all to look up to.

Quite simply, anyone who plays 100 rugby Tests can be at times termed a 'a champion' or 'a legend' or 'one of the greats'.

George Smith is all three, all the time.