Ruggers

Ignacio Corleto

Jono Jenkins

Martin Landajo

Matty Carrington

Clement Daguin

Saturday Sport: Aussie Rules, NFL, Rugby, the Vuelta

Ah, the NFL.  Professional Football.  The National Football League returns this weekend.  From now until early February, 2018, it will be almost possible to eat and sleep nonstop Football, at the pro, university, and even high school levels.  Pro Football has already returned, in fact, with Thursday night's contest, a shocker,  between the Kansas City Chiefs, who triumphed victorious over reigning champs the Patriots of New England. It was no surprise that fans at Foxborough, Massachusetts, at the Patriots home stadium, rightly booed Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner.  Goodell should realize by now that commissioners have to make unpopular decisions, but shouldn't always make them for the profit motives, so his vanity was probably touched. 

The real action was on the field, where  Rookie running back Kareem Hunt upstaged Tom Brady as the Kansas City Chiefs launched the new National Football League season with a stunning 42-27.    Hunt recovered from a fumble on his first possession to make three touchdowns during the game.  Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns to puncture the festive atmosphere as the Super Bowl champion Patriots raised their championship banner in the traditional season kick off at Gillette Stadium. Friday's game, scheduled for Tampa Bay, was postponed due to Hurricane Irma.  With the traditional pause Saturday, for College gameday, we will comment on tomorrow's games, tomorrow. 

Shaving on race day is considered by many pro cyclists to be unlucky.  Some prefer only to shave on days when they will not be racing, or haven't already.  So, pictures of the winners of stages for the Tour de France, the Vuelta a Espana or the Giro d'Italia often picture them with whiskers, or at least a five o'clock shadow. 

Racing has been a close shave all during the current Vuelta  a Espana, with a surprise each race day, escapes, and some shakeups in the GC.  Although African Chris Froome and his British SKY team are dominating, impelled as they are by boatloads of cash, and hopefully nothing else performance enhancing, riders such as Italians Vicenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru, as well as Spaniard Alberto Contador, who is riding his last race before retirement, have made the race very challenging and interesting. 

Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) came out on top in a pulsating stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday. He has been on the attack throughout this Vuelta, and won at the finish in a tightly-fought sprint. De Gendt and his group had broken free in the opening minutes of the race.  De Gendt managed to stave off these challenges from his breakaway throughout the race, and, unshaven, busted through to win Lotto-Soudal’s fourth stage win of this year’s Vuelta.  In the overall competition Chris Froome (Team Sky) retained his lead over Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) in second place. Alberto Contador (Trek Segafredo) attacked with great gusto, but was reeled in, ultimately, by the Team Sky. 

With two stages to go until the finale on Sunday, Today's critical stage finish on the fabled Angrilu mountaintop climb become much more important.  Has Froome tired or not?  Saturday's stage will tell!

  

In International Rugby, South Africa head into Saturday's match against Australia in first place in the Rugby Championship standings but without a win in Australia since 2013.  The Springboks are 2-0 after consecutive wins over Argentina. Australia have lost both matches to New Zealand, including a 35-29 defeat two weeks ago after leading 29-28 with four minutes left and after opening up a 17-0 lead in the first half.  South Africa coach Allister Coetzee couldn't resist taking a subtle poke at the Wallabies over that close loss in Dunedin, New Zealand.  "To not to have won that one, I don't know how it slipped away in the last three minutes when you get so close to winning a Test," Coetzee said. "They put themselves in a position to win it; you should win it." Despite Australia's recent weakness, it should be an exciting match.    The winless Wallabies host the Springboks tonight in Perth. 

This Saturday, though, rugby must certainly be almost an afterthought in Perth, as this is the opening weekend of the Aussie Rules Football Season playoffs.  The top 8 teams from the "ladder" are playing each other this weekend, seeking spots in the Grand Finale game, which will be held in a matter of weeks.  The Adelaide Crows have already beat the GWS Giants in action Thursday night, a "home game" at the Adelaide Oval,  and last night the Geelong Cats lost to the Richmond Tigers in an exciting game at Melbourne Cricket Grounds.  The Tigers had not won any game in the playoffs since 2001, and had not won a game in the first week since the early 1980s.

Today's action include two games.  The Sydney Swans will take on the  Essendon Bombers at the Sydney Cricket Grounds.  The Swans are clearly dominant, and have only lost twice in the last 16 matches.  No Bombers team has beat a Swans selection since 2011.  In the final game of the weekend, the Port Adelaide Power will take on the West Coast Eagles at the Adelaide Oval.  Although Port Adelaide won the last meeting between the teams, during the regular season,   the Adelaide Oval holds no fear for the Eagles ahead of Saturday night's elimination final against the Power. The Eagles have won five of their six games at the venue, including a victory over the Power in round seven this year. However, the Power turned the tables on the Eagles in Perth in round 17. The Power won three straight to end the season, while the Eagles squeezed Melbourne out of the top eight on percentage courtesy of their amazing win over minor premier Adelaide on the last day of the season. The Eagles will be looking to make the most of their unexpected opportunity.