SportsViews

This weekend saw London’s Wembley Stadium, the hallowed turf of English soccer, play host to an NFL match between the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers.

With the globalization of sport, particularly through television and aided significantly through expats developing sports in their host countries, events such as the baseball World Series, the Superbowl, FA Cup final and even the Australian Football and Australian Rugby league finals all draw huge audiences - and don’t the advertisers love it.

Australian football has toyed with demonstrations matches in the UK, US and throughout Europe. Soccer has developed a system of ‘friendlies’ between clubs and national teams and clubs from the NFL have paid fleeting international visits to promote the game. The day had to arrive when regular season matches would be taken abroad in an effort to promote the sport.

The English Football Association has raised the issue on several occasions but been silenced by the howls from fans and clubs. In Australia, they have played with this idea but never taken it seriously. On Sunday, 83,226 fans were thankful for the NFL’s decision to make a return visit. Last seasons effort was disappointing in a number of areas. This year’s was a raging success.

With two different sets of results to assess, where to from here? Does the NFL continue to showcase the sport internationally, or do they keep a home competition - at home?

Provide the fans with quality competition involving two quality teams and you will always have a popular turnout. It’s great for the game internationally, however, the real assessment has to be on whether or not it harms the home competition. For now, I think it’s here to stay. Do you think the NFL in Wembley is here to stay?

There is a curios link between Gaelic football played in Ireland, Australian football and American football. Australia and Ireland have created a new game called ‘International Rules‘ that combines the best of their codes into one game. Every year or two they play off against one another.

This has led to an interchange of players as Gaelic football players from Ireland are attracted (by big contracts) to move to Australia and play professional football. Gaelic football is very much still an amateur sport. The players play out their contracts, sometimes renewing or moving to another club, before returning home to once again play their home version of the game. The skills they pick up in Australia are in great demand back home.

Australian football and American football. Australian football is fast paced game that required supreme fitness, particularly in the legs. As footballers get older their ability to run the length of the field reduces so they look elsewhere. What do they find? It appears the punting ability of Australian football players is carefully looked at by many of the US football clubs for their special teams. There are a half dozen former Australian football players contracted to various US football clubs.

What will be curios is whether or not we will see the day when a Gaelic football player from Ireland takes up Australian football before finishing his career in the US playing American football. That would make then a true intercode professional athlete.

Concussion is one of the more serious injuries that can befall a sportsperson. They carry so many hidden problems that often don’t become apparent unless an MRI is done, or they receive another head knock.

There are two footballers returning to the game this weekend after having bad head knocks in last weekends games. It becomes a worry when you don’t know what to expect. I am sure there are some coaches who play on these injuries. I can just imagine a coach telling his players, ‘he got a head knock last week so he will be vulnerable, hit him hard and drive him into the ground’. The problem is, that could result in quite serious injuries.

The whole issue of head injuries raises the question, ’should players have an enforced week off after suffering a head injury?’ Or at the very least have a brain scan. For some players you may actually find a brain.

New York Jets player Eric Smith has suffered two concussions in three weeks. That should be a cause for concern to start with. The brain can only take so much before permanent damage is done.

What are your thoughts? Should players that suffer concussion have an enforced rest period before going back onto the field? SportsViews.com is one place where you can freely voice your opinions on any sporting related topic and it’s totally free to join and participate.

The 49ers changed coach last week but it had little effect on the team losing again over the weekend. Mind you, they lost to the Giants who have a 5-1 record and they only lost by 12 points.

Will a new coach change their their fortunes? Who can say. Their coach is certainly a man that has been there and done that as a player. He also has a reputation for being a good motivator.

Teams that do change coaches often notice a sudden resurgence and start winning again. Can the 49ers do it? There is no reason why not. They have the playing strength. They have the skills. They just seem to lack some cohesion, confidence and commitment; all attributes that a new coach can instill in his players; given time.

With any sport, confidence plays a major factor and can change quickly given a change in circumstances. Commitment is also affected by the environment. A new coach can turn these around. This week will be a great week to test their new environment. They play a team who has a similar record to them this season, the Seahawks with a 1-5 record. Wish the new coach luck wont you.

New England gave the Broncos a real lesson in football thrashing them 41-7 in Monday night football. So how did the tipsters get it so wrong? One aspect is probably not looking at the stat. The Patriots seem to like Monday night football have a sound win record.

The match was over by half time and when you start to talk stats there is one that stands out - 5 turnovers to nil. Mind you, those 5 turnovers didn’t have a huge impact in possession. The Patriots had the ball for 34 minutes, the Broncos for 26 minutes. It is what the Patriots did with the ball that counted. 404 yards to 275 is not going to give you field position to do much.

In the first quarter field position enable the Patriots to jump out to a 6-0 lead with two field goals. From their, a pair of TD’s in each of the second and third terms and it was all over. A consolation TD in the last was all the Broncos could manage. They may have pulled off 6 sacks on Cassel, but with 75% completion and 3 TDs, zero turnovers or intercepts and Morris rushing 138 for a TD, simple sacks would never be enough. It’s what you do with the ball that counts.

As one writer said on SportsViews - Patriots 41, Broncos 7: Wow … That Was Ugly

Football clubs must remit a portion of a suspended player’s salary to the league. This is capped at between $200,000 and $500,000 per suspension.

This policy raises two questions. First, is it too onerous on football clubs. They already pay big salaries to their stars so paying extra could cause financial problems. If a club suspends a player and with-holds their salary during the suspension period then that suspended salary could be used to pay the fine.

Proponents of the current system claim the payer has been punished by the club and the fine is designed to hurt the club to ensure they maintain strict control of the players.

The second question is whether or not clubs will ‘overlook’ certain transgressions as a way to circumvent the paying of fines.

Either way, the paying of fines when you suspend a player must be of concern to all. What are your thoughts? Should the league levy fines in this manner and should the players salary be used to pay the fines? I would be interested to hear what you have to say on the topic.

When it comes to any sport, stats can reveal a lot about where a team is heading. For example, did you know the Patriots have suffered their first October loss since 2005, or that they have won their past 4 Monday night games?

The 49ers have lost seven consecutive October games. The Titans have won eight consecutive regular-season games, the longest current streak in the NFL. The Dolphins have run 23 direct-snap plays this season.

Of course, just like the Patriots October record, stats don’t guarantee anything. In fact, I am firmly of the view that nothing lasts for ever. If a team is having a run, it will break at some stage. Even a run of losses are going to be interrupted somewhere along the track and to me, that is where stats are interesting. Take this Monday night. The Patriots take on the Broncos in New England. The Broncos are looking for their 400th franchise win. The question then is, will the Patriots go 5 straight on Monday nights, or will the broncos get their 400th franchise win? You tell me?

It’s starting to look like a Phillies v Rays World Series following the latest games. The Phillies have gone out to 3-1 lead requiring one more win to finish off the Dodgers.

The Rays are not quite there, but they are knocking on the door at 2-1. The Rays demolished the Red Sox 9-1 in game three winning in a style that will surely demoralize their opposition. I am sure their fans are shaking their head and wondering where to next.

This is one game the Rays were not supposed to win. Coming into the game at 1-1, it’s normally the home team that has the advantage for these three games forcing the visitors to work hard in the hope they can take one game back and force the deciders on their turf. The Rays forgot to read that script and simply blew the Red Sox out of the parl

The Phillies on the other hand had to struggle to a 7-5 victory. However, it is the most important victory of the season. Being down 1-3 means the Dodgers have to win 3 out of 3 to take the series. The Phillies need one win, either on the road or at home, I wont matter where.

The Phillies versus the Rays - who would have thought that possible?

The various American football leagues dominate today’s bets and as usual, there are a few interesting bets looking to be made.

• Start with the NCAA Football: the game between Hawaii Warriors and Boise St. Broncos. on October 17. Who will win?
• NFL bets are headed by the San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills. October 19. Chargers or Bills?
• The love em or hate em Dallas Cowboys travel to St. Louis Rams. October 19. Can the Cowboys win on the road?
• Who is the form team here? The New Orleans Saints or Carolina Panthers. October 19. Make your selection?
• Back to the NCAA. Who is going to prove to be strongest? Miami (OH) at Bowling Green. October 18.

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It seems that we reach a certain stage in a season and suddenly their coach’s heads rolling around everywhere. Clemson from the ACC league have ‘come to a mutual agreement’ that has seen head coach Tommy Bowden leave the team. Was he pushed or did he walk? The consensus is that he offered his head and it was duly accepted.

Clemson have ignored two experienced coaches and turned to wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney. Swinney has earned a reputation as a top-notch recruiter and was chosen over defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, who was head coach at Wyoming and associate head coach Brad Scott, who was head coach at South Carolina.

Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips asked to meet with the head coach, however he insists that at no stage was he going to ask for his resignation. The offer from Bowden came as a surprise and he will be sorry to see him go. However, the team may well benefit from a fresh perspective.

Heading into a tough game against Georgia Tech, this team needs all the help it can get. Football teams seem to have a habit of bouncing back and winning when a new coach takes over. It is an interesting psychology issue that is certainly well worth discussing. If you have any thoughts on the matter then feel free to share them at SportsViews when you can air your view on any sporting related issue.