68 - AFL RD 19 preview

Post no. 68 here:
The AFL season 2011 is approaching the finals with only 6 more rounds to go, here is RD 19.

North Melbourne vs Carlton
Carlton in fantastic form, and North just came off a lost. Carlton should be too good for and win by over 30


Bulldogs vs West Coast
A close match-up with West Coast having to travel, but they should have enough skill to claim the win


Geelong vs Melbourne
Geelong haven't played that well in the last month, but they are the 2nd best side of the competition and should dominate this game

Gold Coast vs St. Kilda
The 1st year side Gold Coast will be no match for the form-regaining side St. Kilda


Fremantle vs Hawthorn
A big game for both sides, Fremantle want to seal their place in the top 8, and Hawthorn in the top 4. Hawthorn should get over the line...just.


Collingwood vs Essendon
A huge game (crowd wise) but Collingwood will defeat Essendon pretty comfortably.


Adelaide vs Port Adelaide
The Adelaide show down, but both teams are terrible. Adelaide should win...


Joke of the Day:
Q. What is a dog's favorite colour?
A. Grrrrrrrreen

67 - Lewis Hamilton wins German Grand Prix

Post no. 67 here:
Lewis Hamilton claims his 2nd win of the season in Germany to hold off Fernandon Alonso and Mark Webber. The 26-year-old Englishman, started from second position, took the lead straight away and never looked back to win a well-judged race supported by excellent skills and strategy. 


Hamilton had to fight the whole race, and sometimes his lead was within 3 seconds, but he held on to claim a thrilling victory by only 3.9 seconds ahead of Alonso. 

Lewis Hamilton on podium 

"Whooooah!" screamed a delighted Hamilton, after winning for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix in April. "Yes that is more like it! This is great. Thank you guys, you guys, that was amazing.


Overall Standings:
1. S. Vettel 216 points
2. M. Webber 139
3. L. Hamilton 134


Vettel still has a comfortable lead in the overall standings, and should claim another world championship.


Joke of the Day:
A neutron goes into a bar and asks the bartender, "How much for a beer?"
The bartender replies, "For you, no charge."

66 - Cadel Evans will win Tour de France

Post no. 66 here:
The Tour de France still has 1 more stage to go, but tradition means there will be no attacking the yellow jersey on the last stage into Paris.

Cadel started the time trial 57 secs behind Andy Shleck, and Evans blew the race apart finishing 2nd and beating Andy Shleck by over 2 minutes and claiming his 1st Tour win and the 1st for Australia. Evans finished second in the time trial, just seven seconds behind German Tony Martin with three-time champion Alberto Contador third.

Cadel Evans claims yellow, and the Tour de France

After coming 2nd twice, Cadel went one step further and is a massive sporting moment for him and Australia. "I've had some bad moments in the last 10 years (but) that just makes the good moments even better."


Overall Standings:
1. C. Evans
2. A. Shleck (+ 1.34 mins)
3. F. Shleck (+ 2.30 mins)


Joke of the Day:
"Doctor, I get heartburn every time I eat cake"
"Next time, take off the candles"

65 - Tour de France stage 19 recap

Post no. 65 here:
The last stage in the Alps, and the 3rd last stage of the 2011 Tour de France. The 19th stage was a 109.5 km stage to the famous mountain Alpe d'Huez.

It was a stage for the general classification contenders with there being 3 mountains that they must overcome. Alberto Contador attacked within 10km from the start and led the whole way until the end where he was overtaken by stage winner Pierre Rolland.

Andy Shleck from Luxemburg is leading the Tour de France

Cadel Evans overcame a mechanical error and at times over a 1 minute deficit, to stay in touch with both the Schleck brothers and with the time trial to come Cadel is looking at winning his first Tour de France and become the first Australian to win.


"Time trial. Start as fast as possible, finish as fast as possible and hope it is fast enough," Evans said. Evans must overcome a 57 second gap to take the leader's yellow jersey and win the Tour. There are only two more stages to come and tomorrow will be the most important of the whole tour. 


Overall Standings:
1. A. Schleck
2. F. Schleck (+ 53 secs)
3. C. Evans (+57 secs)


Joke of the Day:
Q. What do you get from a pampered cow?
A. Spoiled milk...

64 - Tour de France stage 17 recap

Post no. 64 here:
The Tour heads into the Alps with the next couple of stages being the most likely decider for the tour. 


Cadel Evans has boosted further his strong claims for an historic Tour de France victory, edging closer to the overall lead in stage 17. Evans gained 27 seconds on Thomas Voeckler, who retained the yellow jersey after the stage won by Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Cadel Evans from Australia is looking to win his 1st Tour de France

Boasson Hagen won the 179km stage through the Alps, from Gap to the Italian town of Pinerolo after pushing forward in a break away group. 

"I've got a good advantage over Alberto now, but Alberto has shown in years gone by what he can do when he's really at his top." said Evans

Tomorrow will be the most important stage of the tour, said two time runner-up Andy Shleck. There are only two more stages in the Alps, and the contenders must attack to try and lead the general classification and win the overall Tour de France.

Overall Standings:

1. T. Voeckler 

2. C. Evans (+1.18 mins)

3. F. Schleck (+1.22 mins)

Joke of the Day:

Q. What did one strawberry say to another?
A. Look at the jam you got us into!

63 - Tour de France stage 16 recap

Post no. 63 here:
The Tour de France is into its last week of racing, and only the Alps and a time-trial to come stage 16 was one of the easier stages before the finish.

Australia's Cadel Evans has moved up a place to be second overall after the 16th stage of the Tour de France.Evans finished the stage 11th, 4min 23sec behind winner Norwegian Thor Hushovd to gain time on Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who retained the race leader's yellow jersey.

World Champion Thor Hushovd wins another stage

World champion Hushovd led a three-man breakaway to win his 2nd stage of the Tour, and continue his blistering form. Contador was also another winner this stage, he looked much better in the saddle and is looking to be back to his great form after early crashes hurt his knees. 

"The important thing is that I felt strong, I had good feelings in my legs. There are three days in the mountains, so we have to try and capitalize" said the Spaniard.

Overall Standings:

1. T. Voeckler 

2. C. Evans (+1.45 mins)

3. F. Schleck (+1.49 mins

 Joke of the Day:

Q: What do you call cheese thats not yours?

A: Nacho cheese!

62 - Tour de France stage 14 and 15 recap

Post no. 62 here:
Stages 14 and 15 of the Tour de France

Stage 14:
Frenchman Thomas Voeckler stubbornly held on to the Tour de France yellow jersey as Australian Cadel Evans survived a number of attacks from Andy and Frank Schleck. Reigning champion Alberto Contador also survived another onslaught in the mountains despite having a sore knee, the Spanish champion falling under constant attack on the 15.8 km climb to Plateau de Beille.


Belgian Jelle Vanendert took the victory after breaking away from the group with 7km's to go, and never looked back to claim his 1st ever Tour de France win, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd win a stage like this," said Vanendert.

Mark Cavendish after winning stage 15

Stage 15:
Mark Cavendish has continued his domination of the Tour de France sprint stages, claiming his fourth win of the race to take his career tally to an unrivalled 19 on stage 15. "I don't think there's been one of my 19 wins that I've done alone, and that just shows the commitment those guys have towards me and I'm incredibly lucky for that," said Cavendish.


Joke of the Day:
Q. What do computers eat when they get hungry?
A. Chips...

61 - Tour de France stage 12 and 13

Post no. 61 here:
The Tour de France is past the half way mark, with stages 12 and 13.

Stage 12:
The first stage in the Pyrenees and it is the 1st stage for the contenders to attack. Last year's champion Alberto Contador lost more time to his key yellow jersey rivals on Thursday as Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez claimed his maiden win in the Tour de France. 


The 211 km stage forced several big names to lost time and drop out of contention. The biggest loser was Contador who lost over 10 seconds to the nearest rivals, and mentally fell behind. 

Thor Hushovd wins stage 13

Stage 13:
Norwegian Thor Hushovd has continued his dream Tour de France with victory in the 13th stage from Pau to Lourdes. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, retained the race leader's yellow jersey after arriving with the main peloton and all the favourites seven and a half minutes later.


This was Hushovd's 9th career stage win, and "It's the most beautiful stage I've won on the Tour de France, for sure."


Joke of the Day:
Girl: Did you like that cake, Mrs Jones?
Mrs Jones: Yes, very much. 
Girl: Thats funny. My mom said you didnt have any taste.

60 - AFL Rd 17 tipping and preview

Post no. 60 here:
AFL Rd 17 tipping and preview:

Adelaide vs Essendon
Close match-up, Essendon with two wins on the trot against a weak Adelaide side. Adelaide at home might be able to take the win, but I expect Essendon to win in a close one.


Richmond vs Gold Coast
Richmond should be able to beat Gold Coast pretty easily and win by over 50 points.


Carlton vs Collingwood
The match-up of the week but Collingwood will have too much class for the injury hit Carlton.

St. Kilda vs West Coast
Another close match, West Coast is in great form but having to travel should make the Saints be able win in a close one.


Melbourne vs Port Adelaide
Melbourne at home, against a terrible Port Adelaide side. A big win for Melbourne coming up.


Sydney vs Fremantle 
Sydney is a great team at home, and should be able to defeat Fremantle pretty easily.


Brisbane vs Geelong
Geelong have lost two matches in a row, and they should be able to defeat Brisbane and get back on track.


North Melbourne vs Bulldogs
A huge match for both sides, both need a win to stay in contention for finals. I expect Bulldogs to win though.


Joke of the Day:
Q. What do you call a fake noodle?
A. An impasta

59 - Tour de France stage 11

Post no. 59 here:
Mark Cavendish wins his 3rd stage of the 2011 Tour, and his 18th career stage win.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, of Europcar, retained the yellow jersey after the 167.5km stage from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur, which ended in a group sprint after an early breakaway was caught 4km from the finish. Cavendish claimed the Green sprinter's jersey, which tallies points over the whole Tour for the most dominant sprinter. 

Mark Cavendish in a sprint finish

"It's incredible to have the green jersey, it's the most beautiful jersey in the world, I have to thank my team-mates for the work they did today, even the guys who are in the top ten overall gave it one hundred percent and that shows what a great team we are." said Cavendish


This was the last sprint stage for a while, with the race heading into the mountains where the real race will begin for the yellow jersey. 


Joke of the Day:
Q. How do chickens manage to lay so many eggs?
A. They sit eggsaminations!

58 - Tour de France stage 10

Post no. 58 here:
The Tour continues with stage 10 and it was another crash marred stage.

Stage 10 was a 158km ride from Aurillac to Carmaux, and it was another dangerous stage for riders. Andy and Frank Schleck are the latest 2011 contenders to be involved in a crash in this year's tour.

The 'Peloton' 

"We had about 10 minutes into the race and found ourselves with five guys on the ground," veteran Leopard rider Jens Voigt said. "We were changing bikes and fighting to get back to the peloton. All the guys involved are OK." 


Andre Greipel finished 1st at the end of the stage, taking the sprint from Mark Cavendish in a tight finish. 


Overall Standings:
1. T. Voeckler
2. L. Sanches (+1.49 mins)
3. C. Evans (+2.26 mins)


Joke of the Day:


A blonde keeps walking down her drive to her mail box.
She keeps doing this until her neighbour asks her why she is doing that.
The blonde replies "My computer keeps telling me that I've got mail."

57 - Tour de France stage 9 and Sunday Special

Post no. 57 here:
Tour de France continues with stage 9, and it was another controversial and crash marred stage.

During the race, the break-away group was in a crash, caused by a television crew driving next to the riders. It caused two riders from that group to crash and get severely injured. It was a stage, where the contenders had to stay out of trouble and most of them did. Contador did not, he was involved in his 4th crash of this year's tour and lost more time to the leaders.

Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez won the stage, and Thomas Voeckler claimed the leader's yellow jersery but with under two weeks remaining there is still much to do in this race.

Overall Standings:
1. T. Voeckler
2. L. Sanches (+1.49 mins)
3. C. Evans (+2.26 mins)

Sunday Special (the accident of stage 9)

Joke of the Day:
Q. Why don't aliens eat clowns.
A. Because they taste funny.

56 - Tour de France stage 6,7 and 8

Post no. 56 here:
The Tour de France continues with stages 6,7 and 8.

Stage 6:

The stage was a 226.5km ride from Dinan to Lisieux in Normandy.

Edvald Boasson Hagen has edged Australian Matt Goss to claim his and Team Sky's maiden Tour de France victory in the sixth stage. Boasson Hagen's fellow Norwegian Thor Hushovd finished third to retain the race leader's yellow jersey, with Cadel Evans still second on the general classification, trailing by one second.

It was another dangerous stage for riders, with Alberto Contador going down again, and Britain’s Bradley Wiggins was forced to retire from the race. 

Stage 7:

Another flat stage for the riders, with sprinters most likely to take out the 218km stage. 

Mark Cavendish claimed his 2nd stage win this tour, with another dominating sprint finish. "You guys are the best," an emotional Cavendish shouted at the finish to his teammates. He added: "I didn't have to do anything. They delivered to the last 150 metres to go today and I just had to finish it off." 

It was an easy stage for race contenders with everyone keeping their noses clean.

Thor Hushovd in leader's yellow jersey

Stage 8:

The hardest stage of the tour so far, with several mountains the riders had to climb. 

Alberto Rui Costa hung on during a tense finish to claim his maiden Tour de France victory on the eighth stage held over 189km from Aiguirande to Super-Besse. Norwegian Thor Hushovd upset predictions to retain the race lead on the first day of climbing in the Massif Central as an expected skirmish between the real yellow jersey favourites failed to spark.

Cadel Evans from Australia had another great race, finishing 3^rd and maintains his 2^nd place in the overall lead. 

Overall Standing:

1. T. Hushovd

2. C. Evans (+1 sec)

3. F. Schleck (+4 sec)

Joke of the Day:

Q. What do cats like for breakfast?
A. Mice crispies...

55 - AFL Rd 16 tipping

Post no. 55 here:
AFL is up to round 16 already and here are my tips for this round.

West Coast vs Geelong
The match of the round, Geelong coming off it's first loss of the season last week against West Coast at home should make it very interesting. Geelong in a close one.


Hawthorn vs Brisbane
Hawthorn want to rebound off a tough lost last week, and should be too good for the struggling Brisbane.


Gold Coast vs Sydney
Hard match to tip, Gold Coast at home against a hot/cold Sydney. I expect Sydney to win though

Essendon vs Richmond
Big match for both sides, both teams pressing for finals but Essendon will have too much skill for Richmond


Collingwood vs North Melbourne
Collingwood will be far too good for North, and should win by a huge margin


Port Adelaide vs St. Kilda
Port have been terrible this year, and the Saints are starting to regain some form. Expect St. Kilda to win big


Bulldogs vs Carlton
Bulldogs starting to play better, but Carlton will be too good for them and should win by 20 points

Joke of the Day:
Q. What did the water say to the boat?
A. Nothing, it just waved...

54 - Tour de France stage 5

Post no. 54 here:

Stage 5 of the Tour de France was the 164.5 kilometre ride from Carhaix to Cap Frehel, which saw several race contenders’ crash and hit the tarmac. 

Britain's Mark Cavendish felt he had silenced the "ignoramuses" after claiming his 16th career win on the crash-marred fifth stage of the Tour de France. Cavendish, who claimed 15 stage wins over the previous three Tours, came into this year’s race knowing there would be only a handful of chances to win, and after blowing a chance on stage 2 it would feel even better for Cavendish.

Last year’s winner Alberto Contador, who also crashed on the first stage when he lost over a minute to key rivals, is hoping things improve after a disappointing start to the Tour. "It was a very tense stage with a lot of crashes," Contador said.

Mark Cavendish after the stage win

Overall Standing:

1. T. Hushovd

2. C. Evans (+1 sec)

3. F. Schleck (+4 sec)

Some of you may wonder, how can the leader only be leading by 1 second...this is because the rules stipulate that all the riders in the race's main pack cross the line at the same time as the first rider. But if a split forms and the gap is larger than one second, the next group gets the time of the first rider of that group.

Joke of the Day:

Q. How do cow's subtract?

A. With a cow-culator 

53 - Tour de France stage 4

Post no. 53 here:
Tour de France stage 4 the 172.5 km ride from Lorient to Mur-de-Bretagne. 


Two time runner-up Cadel Evans from Australia from team BMC, held off a late charge from last years winner Alberto Contador to claim a prestigious victory on stage 4. Cadel Evans fought off some late bike trouble and was forced to swap bikes and had to race hard to get back into the peloton.

Contador (left) and Evans (right) at the end of stage 4

"It's a big surprise, I still quite can't believe it it myself," said Evans. Evans managed to hold off Contador, by a few centimeters to claim his first win of the year. Evans after the win claimed the king of the mountain polka-dot jersey.

Overall Standing:
1. T. Hushovd
2. C. Evans (+1 sec)
3. F. Schleck (+4 sec)


Joke of the Day:

Q. What insect can never been understood?
A. A mumble-bee

52 - Tour de France update

Post no. 52 here: (Technorati claim token 5HMGG9EFCWWF)
The Tour de France started a couple days ago, with there being 3 stages in the 21 day race. This is the most important race of the year for cyclists, and is the most historic race ever.

Stage 1:
Stage 1 was a controversial race with defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain was involved in a mass pile-up 9km from the finish, the Spaniard trailing home in 82nd place 1min 20sec behind Philippe Gilbert as the Belgian lived up to pre-race predictions. Australian Cadel Evans came in 2nd postion only 3 seconds behind race leader. 


Stage 2:
Stage 2 was a team time trial and a big stage for race contenders. World cycling champion Thor Hushovd assumed the Tour de France yellow jersey from Philippe Gilbert after Garmin-Cervelo won the stage two team time-trial. Hushovd's Garmin team, one of the favourites for the 23km team time-trial, set a winning time of 24min 48sec to beat the BMC team of Australia's Cadel Evans into second place by four seconds. Cadel is now in 3rd position only 1 second behind 1st and 2nd. 

Australian Cadel Evans of team BMC

Stage 3:
Stage 3 was a sprinters paradise with it mostly being a flat race, with World champion Thor Hushovd kept possession of the race leader's yellow jersey as Garmin celebrated their second win on the trot after the team time trial as Tyler Farrar wins a sprint finish. 


Joke of the Day:
Q. What do you call a one-eyed dinosaur?
A. A doyouthinkhesaurus..

51 - Wimbledon Men's Winner

Post no. 51 here:
The 2011 Wimbledon is over with the Men's Singles finishing yesterday, with the match-up we have been waiting for between Rafael Nadal (1) and Novak Djokavic (2). Djokavic has been in the form of his life having only lose once this year and after Wimbledon he will claim the world number 1 ranking.

Nadal was looking to win his 3rd Wimbledon title, and this was Djokavic's first Wimbledon title. People expected this to be a close match, but they were wrong. Djokavic won the first set 6-4 and took that form into the next set where he steam rolled Nadal to win 6-1.

Nadal and Djokavic 

Nadal didn't want to lose in straight sets and fought back to take the 3rd set 6-1, and things were starting to look up for him. Djokavic wanted the title more than Nadal and finished him off in the 4th set winning 6-3 and claiming his 1st Wimbledon title and his 2nd Grand Slam of the year.

Djokavic will look to the US Open to make it 3 from 4 this year, to cap off a wonderful year.

Joke of the Day:
Q. What are the wettest animals in the world?

A. Reindeer 

50 - Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Winner and Sunday Special

Post no. 50 here:
The Ladies' Singles are over with the final being played yesterday, with Maria Sharapova (5) vs Petra Kvitova (8). Sharapova has been in this position 3 times before and won all 3 finals, this was Kvitova's first Grand Slam  final at the age of 21 and people expected her to fall under the pressure.

Kvitova played a near faultless match, except for losing her opening serve and was clearly better than Sharapova. Kvitova's big hitting was no match for Sharapova and all she could do was shriek in anger. Kvitova won the opening set 6-3 and this was mainly due to Sharapova's inability to hold her serve.

Kivtova with her trophy

The 2nd set was closer, with the score 6-4 to Kvitova but it always looked like Kvitova would claim her 1st Grand Slam win and the payout of 1.1million pounds.

Sunday Special:
Lebron James....

Joke of the Day:
Q. What do you call just married spiders?
A. Newly-webs.