State of Origin

There's a rather large - okay huge - Australian sporting event on tonight:

Described as "sport's greatest rivalry", the State of Origin series is one of Australia's and the region's premier sporting events, attracting a huge television audience and usually selling out the stadiums in which the games are played. Despite the existence of international tournaments and State of Origin being a domestic competition, it is frequently cited as being the highest-level of rugby league played anywhere in the world.

That might contain just a wee bit of Wikipedia bias. In any case, I'll be watching with the neighbor across the hall, Andrew - on his brand new 46-inch, HD, 3-D, death-ray capable flatscreen TV - and his folks and some friends, so this will be a significant Austrlian learning experience for me. I'll definitely be filing a report on it tomorrow. If I remember anything...

Seve Ballesteros, 1957-2011

A sad post about the passing of a true sportsman over at my other place.

Elvis Costello Plays for Canucks Fans

Too good. Elvis Freaking Costello played "Pump it Up" with a local Vancouver band at the rink where the Canucks are playing tonight. (Elvis' wife, Diana Krall, is from Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, where, incidently, I played a folk festival in the early 1990s.) Check it out:



Since my Sabres are gone - Go Canucks!

"ROONEYYYY!"

Good god in heaven just listen to the sound of this first. Close your eyes and listen to the first seven seconds. Listen to the announcer shout the name, and go speechless, and listen to what they mean when they say a crowd "explodes." This is a moment that explains why there is such a thing as "sport."

Oh damn, they've taken the video down. You can see it here.

Update: Let's see how long this one lasts:

A few hours. Oh well.

I Should Have Bet on the Packers

Here's a photo of a beer cap from an Australian Carlton Draught beer I opened for the Super Bowl this morning in Sydney:

Here's what Christine found on its underside:

D'oh!