Bewerbungen » North Carolina in 20

Stephen Gough, one of Australias most respected sports administrators, announced last week he would leave his job as MCC chief executive in early 2017, after 17 years in the job.The ever-popular Gough has seen it all while running the historic sports ground: AFL Grand Finals, NRL state-of-origin matches, Bledisloe Cup Tests, Commonwealth Games, Boxing Day Tests and World Cup cricket finals. Hes also closing in on 500 AFL matches watched.In light of all that, ESPN asked Gough to nominate his highlights, lowlights and most memorable moments from the past 17 years. Here, in spite of an obvious Carlton bias, are his answers to ESPNs questionnaire:Q: Most memorable MCG footy moment?After Carlton premierships, the 1999 Preliminary Final between Carlton and Essendon.Q: Most memorable non-footy moment?- Shane Warnes 700th wicket in 2006, and Australia winning that Ashes Test in three days with over 240,000 in attendance.- Commonwealth Games 2006 - Tsunami Cricket Match in January 2005 when over $15 million was raised.Q: Best AFL match ever seen at the MCG?(a) 1984 2nd Semi Final between Hawthorn and Essendon(b) The West Coast Eagles and Sydney grand finals in 2005, 2006.Q: Best player ever seen?Leaving aside Carltons Bruce Doull - Gary Ablett Snr.Q: Best AFL team seen?Leaving aside Carltons of 1979, 81 and 82 which, except for 1980, could have equalled Collingwood Football Clubs four in a row - Id say Brisbane of 2001/02/03.Q: Recent AFL rule change you most like?Restriction on interchange rotations - good to see star players being kept on the ground with different tactics being used by coaches.Q: Whats your proudest moment as CEO?Many come to mind, but being part of the Club (and Ground) for such a great period of activity, on and off the MCG.Q: Can you tell us a little-known fact about the ground that might surprise people?Approximately 120 metres of fence on the Southern Stand is the oldest remaining piece of infrastructure (1884) followed now by the light towers (1985).Q: Can the ground really hold 100,000?Yes. 100,024 seats plus standing room.Q: Whats the most interesting exhibit in the museum of sport?A peculiar one I like is the model of the revolving grandstand that was able to have it facing the cricket ground, then in winter swinging to face the outside to watch the early football matches from 1877 until its demise through fire in 1884. The Baer Collection (provided by the late Tony Baer) is some of our most delicate, curious and valuable pieces. Not to be missed.Q: How many AFL games have you watched in the past 17 years?I estimate it to be closing in on 500.Q: Most forgettable moment as CEO?Easy. The fiasco at the Members for the 2007 Preliminary Final between Collingwood and Geelong. We got our estimations and visitor tickets allocations wrong and locked out many people. A very traumatic night for all concerned, except the AFL who were delighted with a crowd of 98,000.Q: What else didnt we quite get right?We all (cricket and MCC personnel) didnt expect a crowd of 80,000+ for last seasons Big Bash League match (between Stars and Renegades) - hence massive delays with queues to buy a ticket and then to enter the G.Q: Recent AFL rule change you like least?- Countdown clock on scoreboard- Teams warming up on the ground well before the game starts. Understand the logic of this, however we lose that hugely anticipated moment when the teams enter the ground, especially on Grand Final Day.PATIENCE OF JOBE RUNNING OUTFormer Essendon captain Jobe Watson, currently working in New York as a barista while he serves out his WADA-enforced ban, is still rated only a 50-50 chance of returning to the club next year.We hear that Essendon executives recently returned from a trip to New York where they sounded out Watson about his plans for 2017.But the response they got was not exactly what they wanted to hear: Watson was enjoying life in the Big Apple - where he works at the Hole in the Wall café on West 38th and 5th Avenue - and wasnt sure whether he was ready to commit again to the demands of AFL football.Watson turns 32 next February.He and 33 other Essendon players were suspended until November 2016 when WADA in January successfully appealed against the AFL Tribunals not-guilty finding.This has imperilled Watsons 2012 Brownlow Medal, which was won while the supplements program was in full swing under Stephen Dank.If the clubs last-ditch appeal against the doping suspensions fails, and we wont have a ruling on that until later in the year, the AFL Commission will then have the unenviable task of deciding whether Watson keeps the medal.If they do indeed strip Watson of the award, we imagine the Bomber great might decide that New Yorks coffee scene is a more palatable place to be than Melbourne.MAJAKS SHARK TALESThis weekends AFL Multicultural Round has inadvertently helped reveal one of the leagues great unsolved mysteries.North Melbournes Sudanese excitement machine, Majak Daw, was photographed this week holding one of the special Multicultural Round match balls which have the word WELCOME printed on them in six different languages.But one eagle-eyed fan noticed something funny about the picture. What, he wanted to know, had happened to the top of Daws ring finger - it seemed to have disappeared.And a look at other action photos of the athletic big man revealed the same thing: the ruckman has 9.5 digits.A North Melbourne spokesman went in pursuit of the full story but came back empty-handed. After some digging, I believe the origin remains secret. He tells people a shark bit it off, said our man.BOUND BY PREMIERSHIP GLORYWest Coasts premiership-winning heroes are as a close as ever 10 years on from their one-point triumph over Sydney, contrary to reports of a fractious rift.Every member from the successful 2006 side - except champion Ben Cousins who is battling drug issues - reunited at a formal event in Perth ahead of last weeks clash Essendon at Domain Stadium.The celebrations spilt across three days, with players, coaches and staff reminiscing on the clubs third flag.Decorated ruckman Dean Cox, now an assistant coach at the Eagles, was quick to wrap up the post-match review on Friday night to catch up on the revelry.Some club officials believe it was fitting the match against the Bombers, now led by the Eagles 2006 premiership coach John Worsfold, coincided with the Grand Final celebrations.Some club officials squarely blame Essendon forward Scott Lucas for the Eagles failure to establish a dynasty, akin to Geelong and Hawthorn.In the final round of the 2007 season, the Bombers trailed the Eagles by 44 points at the last change.Lucas, clearly intent on honouring captain James Hird and legendary coach Kevin Sheedy in their last match at the club, piled on seven goals in a final-quarter blitz to get the Bombers within a goal.The Eagles eventually prevailed by eight points, but squandered a chance to gain much-needed percentage points.As a result, the Eagles slipped to third and were forced into a qualifying final against Port Adelaide away from their Subiaco fortress.They lost in a nail-biter by three points.The title defence ended the following week in a semi-final against Collingwood in extra time, without stars Chris Judd and Cousins, both out injured.Its a strongly-held belief that had a rampaging Lucas not got on a roll, the Eagles would have played - and beaten - Port in a home final, which would have granted the ailing team a much-needed week off ahead of a Perth preliminary.PAY DAY A MILE AWAYThe long-running pay stoush between the AFL and the AFLPA is at an impasse.The union representing more than 800 players is fighting to have a greater percentage of the leagues revenue, following its record-breaking $2.5 billion, six-year broadcast deal. (And more money could yet flow into the bulging pockets of the AFL, who are deep in negotiations over the renewal of the radio rights deal.)But ESPN understands the pay talks have come to a halt, with the parties failing to meet in almost two months.The players currently receive about 22 per cent of the industry revenue - four per cent less than the amount Cricket Australia pays its players.But as the indigenous code becomes more Americanised, a push for a much higher figure could be on the cards. Sportsmen from privately-owned US sports teams, for example, earn up to half of the monies generated from their code.For the first time in the AFLs history, the players are threatening to strike if an agreement cant be reached.A ROUGH DRAFT Club recruiters fear the AFL has been unable to find an appropriate venue for this years draft in Sydney.The AFL traditionally informs clubs where the November draft will take place well in advance of the event.But this year they are yet to alert teams as to where in the Harbour City it will take place.This has concerned representatives from a few clubs that the AFL might be scrambling to find a place to announce the names of the next batch of future stars.The AFL has persisted with touring the draft around the nation, despite almost half of the junior talent emerging from Victoria.The draft, first introduced in 1986, has predominantly been held in Melbourne.It ventured outside of Victoria in 1997 when it was hosted in Adelaide.In 2010, it headed north to the Gold Coast, the first year the Suns participated in the draft.Sydney previously hosted the event in 2011, a year ahead of GWS inaugural season.Last year, the Adelaide Convention Centre held the event. Wholesale Yeezy Shop . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Yeezy China . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. https://www.yeezychina.us/ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Fake Yeezy Online . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Fake Yeezy China . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. HOUSTON -- Louisville coach Bobby Petrino was blunt.We blew it, he said.Duke Catalon scored three touchdowns and Houston hurried and harassed Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson all night to propel the Cougars to a stunning 36-10 victory over the Cardinals on Thursday night that dashed the third-ranked teams playoff hopes.Louisville (9-2) entered the game ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings, but was outdone by a Houston team that saw its own playoff hopes foiled by two losses to unranked teams after a 5-0 start.We lost, Jackson said. Cant do nothing about it.The Cardinals were unhappy they werent ranked higher in this weeks CFP rankings after losses by several top teams last week, and some players thought they let that angst affect their play on Thursday.I think we let that get to us too much. I think we paid too much attention to the rankings instead of playing our game, safety Dee Smith said. We were just trying to do too much.Things went wrong quickly for the mistake-prone Cardinals when they fumbled the opening kickoff to Houston (9-2). Greg Ward threw his first touchdown pass on the next play to make it 7-0. Brandon Radcliff lost a fumble later in the first and Houston added a field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 10-0.Jackson threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, but it didnt come until the second half.Houston then scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second quarter to push the lead to 31-0 at halftime. Catalon caught a touchdown pass, ran for another score and Houston got the third score in that span on a 50-yard pass by receiver Linell Bonner after a lateral.We were banged up. We were beat up. We were tired. We were exhausted in the month of October, Houston coach Tom Herman said. Thats not an excuse. Thats reality. And our guys fought through it and they fought through that adversity and they never wavered ... and when you get the band back together and you get everybody healthy and everybody fresh and everybody doing their job ... we can play with anybody in the country. And we proved that again tonight.The Cougars were in Jacksons face constantly, sacking him a season-high 11 times and keeping him from hurting them with his feet. He ran for a season-low 33 yards after piling up 338 yards rushing combined in the last two games.After Jackson was sacked for the 10th time he threw up his hands and two of his lineman looked to be yelling at each other about who was to blame for his latest takedown.But the Cougars werent done getting after him just yet. On the nexxt possession he threw the ball away while under heavy pressure from Tyus Bowser and was flagged for intentional grounding, giving the Cougars a safety.ddddddddddddPetrino said he saw frustration build in Jackson as the sacks piled up.Oh yeah, there was frustration there, he said. There was frustration on the protection and frustration on himself -- missing a few throws. Thats one of the things on the sideline there definitely was frustration and it grew.Ward threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cougars to the victory that left Cougar fans storming the field to celebrate.---=THE TAKEAWAY=LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals may not have made the playoff even if they didnt lose on Thursday night, but the opportunity was theirs for the taking. Now they only have themselves to blame for being on the outside looking in.HOUSTON: The Cougars looked like the team that knocked off then-No. 3 Oklahoma in their opener instead of the underperforming one that lost at Navy and SMU to fall out of the top 25 weeks ago. The victory, which was their fourth straight over a top-10 team, will go a long way toward put a positive spin on what had turned into a disappointing season.---=KEY NUMBERS=The Cardinals set a season-high with 15 penalties, punted a season-high six times by halftime and the 11 sacks they allowed were more than double their previous season-high. Its the fewest points theyve scored since a loss at North Carolina in 2011.---=HEISMAN HOPES=Jackson entered the game as such an overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman that the loss shouldnt put that big of a dent in his chances. However Jackson insists that he isnt concerned about that.Im not even focused on that, he said. Im focused on winning.---=POLL IMPLICATIONS=LOUISVILLE: This loss will send the Cardinals tumbling down in the poll and in the playoff rankings. Theyll likely drop out of the top-10 but could stay in depending on how the teams above them fare this weekend.HOUSTON: The Cougars are likely to re-enter the poll after being unranked since the week after their loss to SMU on Oct. 22. They had the most points of any team not ranked last week so it wouldnt be surprising for them to move up to No. 20 or so after the big win.---=UP NEXT=LOUISVILLE : The Cardinals wrap up the regular season with a rivalry game against Kentucky next Saturday.HOUSTON : The Cougars travel to Memphis on Friday for their regular-season finale. ' ' '