One of my mates used to get free tickets to TV Ringside (my second date with Ms DJC was an evening at TV Ringside - she was definitely a keeper!). Bouts between Tony Mundine and Kahu Mahunga were classic contests; Mundine was a clever boxer with a KO punch. Mahunga could absorb punishment and, if he hit you, you stayed hit.
I met Tony at a NAIDOC ball (I met Lynda Stoner that same night) and what I remember most is how soft his handshake was. Well, that’s not entirely true; I remember how humble he was and how willing he was to share his story with a white fella that he didn’t know from a bar of soap.
Sadly, Tony’s achievements in the boxing ring, and as an advocate for his people, are overshadowed by some of the foolish comments by his son, Anthony.
Not really that big on my playlist but Dolly Parton was an absolute star of country music as well as a decent actor, canny businesswoman and compassionate philanthropist.
In her own words, “I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb - and I'm not blonde either.”
John Hammond passed away on Saturday at 83 years of age.
John was a prolific Blues guitarist and singer and one of my favourite musicians. I discovered him quite late when he came on Derek Guille's program on ABC radio. He struck me as a humble man with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Blues and Blues musicians. His father, also John Hammond, was a talent scout and record producer and John jnr grew up in the company of many of the Blues greats.
George Thorogood's tribute to John probably sums him up perfectly:
"For more than 50 years, John Hammond Jr. was an icon, a professional role model and, most importantly, a friend. While we mourn his passing, we celebrate what the man and his music meant to us, and to so many.”
My favourite John Hammond album is Wicked Grin, his 28th studio album and a compilation of Tom Waits tracks.
No polls, no votes, just name the 23 players you think will run out against the Fluffy Ducks.
While team structure is important, you don’t have to name players in positions but keep team balance in mind.
You can have 8 defenders, 8 forwards and 7 midfielders, or any other combination of 23 players. Apart from Harry O’Farrell, assume that everyone on the list is available. White and E Hollands aren’t on the list.
The Collingwood Football Club has today received a list assistance package following approval from the AFL Commission.
The assistance package includes:
Two additional list spots for the 2026 AFLW season and one additional list spot for the 2027 AFLW season, to be funded by the Club. Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly welcomed the assistance and thanked the AFL Commission for its consideration of the Club’s submission.
“As a Club, we have worked closely with the AFL to develop an assistance package to progress our AFLW program and we appreciate the AFL’s engagement and support throughout this process,” Kelly said.
“Across our organisation, we have – and will continue to – invest significantly in our AFLW football program. With full-time coaches, high-performance and development staff in place, we remain absolutely committed to driving a winning culture and fostering growth and development to get better.”
A foundation club that ran its AFLW program into the ground through inept management gets a leg up
Gold Coast and GWS got assistance packages too but I think that's more acceptable.
Widely credited with popularising reggae, Jimmy was also a multi-instrumentalist and ska, rocksteady and soul musician.
Notable tracks include “The Harder They Come”, “Many Rivers to Cross”, and “You Can Get It If You Really Want”.
Jimmy was also an accomplished actor and, while it’s probably one of his lesser roles, my favourite Jimmy Cliff movie is the 1985 “Water” with Michael Caine and Billy Connolly.
Police minister interview was very stern in condemning the Far left wing throwing glass shad missiles at police while the far right protesters were congratulated on following the rules. Hmmm arent the right wing aligned with being the violent ones?
The police minister sounded fed up and at breaking point putting up with these twits.
Goverments that refuse to accept any accountability and dont have the brains to do something productive to arrest the slide have turned our once great state into a debt ridden lawless violent crap hole.
The Aussies had a good, if nail-biting 90-89 win over China in the FIBA Asia Cup final, giving us a three-peat.
I’m not sure whether China could have fielded a stronger team but our squad was all up and comers and they certainly rose to the challenge, particularly after China blew out to a double digit lead.
Sydney Kings forward Jaylin Galloway won MVP for the tournament.
After reading about Ms MBB's parking app scam and then Thry's post, I thought that it might be useful to share what we know about what the scummers are up to.
I received this email this morning:
Quote
From: ATO sent you a new message ...
You have EFT refund for income Tax for the Period of Jun 23 To Jun 24
HELLO,
NOTICE OF TAX RETURN ATO: You are Due a repayment of income Tax for the year 2023/2024 please complete your info:
Most folk would realise immediately that the email isn't from the ATO but some will be sucked in by the lure of a refund, won't read the email carefully, and will click on the link.
The murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad has come to an end and the tyrant has flown to exile in Russia. The question is whether what follows Assad will be better or worse.
Of course, the Americans and Israelis took the opportunity to bomb the crepe out of ISIS and munitions plants.
It is a huge setback for Putin with Russia losing its foothold and influence in the Middle East.
It is also another blow to the reputation of the Russian military. In the absence of instructions from Moscow, the various units chose to do nothing and all bases are now cut off. Showing initiative isn’t a thing in the Russian armed forces.
Expatriate Syrians here are overjoyed but I suspect that there will be a lot of hardship and unrest to come.
