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Fitzy's league Sledge

Messages
14,171
Gee, how to destroy a thread; let Stallion mention the CC Bears.

Mate, give it a rest, you're not going to convince anyone who visits this site let alone anyone who matters
Well I know I'm in the minority here but i would like to see a NRL club on the CC. A relocated one from Sydney, but which one is the dilemma, but if you held a gun to my head i would say the Roosters. OK i will get my coat and go and come back tomorrow
 
Messages
13,584
part I

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/op...r/news-story/e7eb9eb678989cb9dd85a5901ed994a6

An open letter to Peter FitzSimons, from ‘Peter FitzSimons’ aka The Mocker

  • The Australian
  • 4:16PM April 12, 2018
  • The Mocker
    f512e162bdcf62beed2d86368bc61675
It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There’s an old man sitting next to me
And he looks like a loudmouth has-been


He said son can you play me a memory
I’m not really sure how it goes
But’s it’s all about Pete, who was so swift-of-feet
When he wore a Wallaby’s clothes


Sing us a song you’re Bandana Man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a homily
From the man who can talk gigabytes.


Now Pete is a real life novelist
Who fortunately has a smart wife
Like most socialists lately
Pete loves the gravy
He’ll be riding on that train for life


And Pete waffles on with his politics
While the audience slowly gets stoned
Never heard one who’s so sanctimonious
I might take up drinking alone


It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And Bandana Man gives us a smile
‘Cause he thinks that it’s he we’ve been coming to see
Talk his usual predictable bile


It’s Pedro, the great bearded barnacle!
With the microphone and trademark sneer
As for us at the bar, well we run near and far
Screaming ‘Please, anywhere man but here!’


My apologies to Billy Joel. This parody of his perennial classic was unforgivable, and I have no excuse for it other than steeling myself to write about Peter FitzSimons, Fairfax columnist, author, and self-appointed moral conscience of the nation. There were only two things I could do to stay focused: use humour, or stick a fork in my eye. Given he frequently pops up in this column, you will understand why I chose the former.

“Which brings us to Israel Folau’s comment on what will happen to gays,” wrote FitzSimons last week on the subject of the Waratahs player and fellow Australian rugby international. ‘‘‘HELL,’’ he tweeted, ‘‘Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.’’’

“It’s hard to know where to start, is it not,” said FitzSimons. Not really. For starters, Folau’s inane comment was made on Instagram, not Twitter. “But whatever happens, you must reflect on the effect your words have most particularly on troubled teens — many of them, undoubtedly in your own community — struggling with their sexuality,” continued FitzSimons. “Do you know how those agonies must be compounded by a respected figure like yourself saying they deserve to burn for all eternity?”

This is sheer verballing. Folau never said gay people “deserved” such a fate. He was asked about the teachings of his deity, and he provided his interpretation. Criticise him for his crackpot theology by all means, but do not use it as excuse to vent your own prejudices by putting words in his mouth.

It is not the first time FitzSimons has bagged Folau for his Christian beliefs. “I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage,” tweeted Folau last year during the same sex marriage survey.


Pretty innocuous, right? Not for FitzSimons, who ridiculed Folau, and patronised him in an open letter, continually referring to his first name.

“Look, you believe all that religious stuff, which is your perfect right,” he wrote. “And you can live by that. But is it not a tad presumptuous as to try and push that on the rest of us?” As racing commentator Richard Freedman said the next day, it was a tad hypocritical for FitzSimons to do exactly that while criticising Folau.


FitzSimons, a strident atheist, would defend his gratuitous comments on the basis he has the right, as he says, to “blow raspberries” at religion. Indeed he does, but he is selective about which faith he bags. In 2016 he dedicated a column to NRL and Bulldogs player Will Hopoate, whose Mormon beliefs prevent him from playing or training on a Sunday. FitzSimons ridiculed Mormonism and Christianity in general, referring to Jesus Christ as “a cosmic Jewish zombie who is his own father”. Have you ever seen a FitzSimons column that sneered at a Muslim player for believing that a winged horse carried Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem?

How does one get through to one as obtuse as FitzSimons? Judging by the size of his ego, we can conclude the only person he would take notice of is himself. So here it is, an open letter to FitzSimons from himself:

Ask a Frenchman.

Ol’ Pierre punched some info into this poor (unts head so hard that he started wearing bandannas later on in life.
 

DIOGENES

Juniors
Messages
1,467
Well I know I'm in the minority here but i would like to see a NRL club on the CC. A relocated one from Sydney, but which one is the dilemma, but if you held a gun to my head i would say the Roosters. OK i will get my coat and go and come back tomorrow
OR you could go to the expansion thread
 

taipan

Referee
Messages
22,402
I missed a fair swag of Nein sports show on Sunday morning, in which handkerchief head featured. They had been discussing the $500m the Vic Govt was providing the AFL for infrastructure.Did Fitzhead protest about school or hospitals missing out? Would be interested to know.

Or does so called "waste"only apply to boofhead's backyard?
Fair crack ,this pretentious git is the best laxative ,one can receive without having to pay for it.
 

DIOGENES

Juniors
Messages
1,467
Don't bother - mainly a plug for his yearly Anzacary book. This year it's hagiography on Monash. Then there is an Anzac themed joke that I first heard in 1969.
 

LESStar58

Referee
Messages
25,496
part I

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/op...r/news-story/e7eb9eb678989cb9dd85a5901ed994a6

An open letter to Peter FitzSimons, from ‘Peter FitzSimons’ aka The Mocker

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There’s an old man sitting next to me
And he looks like a loudmouth has-been


He said son can you play me a memory
I’m not really sure how it goes
But’s it’s all about Pete, who was so swift-of-feet
When he wore a Wallaby’s clothes


Sing us a song you’re Bandana Man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a homily
From the man who can talk gigabytes.


Now Pete is a real life novelist
Who fortunately has a smart wife
Like most socialists lately
Pete loves the gravy
He’ll be riding on that train for life


And Pete waffles on with his politics
While the audience slowly gets stoned
Never heard one who’s so sanctimonious
I might take up drinking alone


It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And Bandana Man gives us a smile
‘Cause he thinks that it’s he we’ve been coming to see
Talk his usual predictable bile


It’s Pedro, the great bearded barnacle!
With the microphone and trademark sneer
As for us at the bar, well we run near and far
Screaming ‘Please, anywhere man but here!’


My apologies to Billy Joel. This parody of his perennial classic was unforgivable, and I have no excuse for it other than steeling myself to write about Peter FitzSimons, Fairfax columnist, author, and self-appointed moral conscience of the nation. There were only two things I could do to stay focused: use humour, or stick a fork in my eye. Given he frequently pops up in this column, you will understand why I chose the former.

“Which brings us to Israel Folau’s comment on what will happen to gays,” wrote FitzSimons last week on the subject of the Waratahs player and fellow Australian rugby international. ‘‘‘HELL,’’ he tweeted, ‘‘Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.’’’

“It’s hard to know where to start, is it not,” said FitzSimons. Not really. For starters, Folau’s inane comment was made on Instagram, not Twitter. “But whatever happens, you must reflect on the effect your words have most particularly on troubled teens — many of them, undoubtedly in your own community — struggling with their sexuality,” continued FitzSimons. “Do you know how those agonies must be compounded by a respected figure like yourself saying they deserve to burn for all eternity?”

This is sheer verballing. Folau never said gay people “deserved” such a fate. He was asked about the teachings of his deity, and he provided his interpretation. Criticise him for his crackpot theology by all means, but do not use it as excuse to vent your own prejudices by putting words in his mouth.

It is not the first time FitzSimons has bagged Folau for his Christian beliefs. “I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage,” tweeted Folau last year during the same sex marriage survey.


Pretty innocuous, right? Not for FitzSimons, who ridiculed Folau, and patronised him in an open letter, continually referring to his first name.

“Look, you believe all that religious stuff, which is your perfect right,” he wrote. “And you can live by that. But is it not a tad presumptuous as to try and push that on the rest of us?” As racing commentator Richard Freedman said the next day, it was a tad hypocritical for FitzSimons to do exactly that while criticising Folau.


FitzSimons, a strident atheist, would defend his gratuitous comments on the basis he has the right, as he says, to “blow raspberries” at religion. Indeed he does, but he is selective about which faith he bags. In 2016 he dedicated a column to NRL and Bulldogs player Will Hopoate, whose Mormon beliefs prevent him from playing or training on a Sunday. FitzSimons ridiculed Mormonism and Christianity in general, referring to Jesus Christ as “a cosmic Jewish zombie who is his own father”. Have you ever seen a FitzSimons column that sneered at a Muslim player for believing that a winged horse carried Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem?

How does one get through to one as obtuse as FitzSimons? Judging by the size of his ego, we can conclude the only person he would take notice of is himself. So here it is, an open letter to FitzSimons from himself:

Oh this is brilliant! Weird Al Yankovich should give it away cos he won't write anything this good!
 
Messages
11,355
Rugby League does a very good line in spats – there are invariably several on the go at any one time, and few are more interesting than the recent one between NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and Daily Telejournalist Buzz Rothfield. Highly annoyed by too many penalties during the first chunk of the season, Rothfield tweeted, “Rugby league is now a shit game''.

#NRLtalkthegameup.”

Ahem. May I reply in classic league parlance?

“Yeah ... nah.”

Yeah, I hear you, Todd, but nah, I’m not with you.

Advertisement
Rugby league delivers blues, lives off blues, loves blues, and moves from blue to blue like a hungry bee in a field of daffodils. They’re frequently ugly blues, often bitter, and usually compelling. But they’re real. They’re gritty. They’re fuelled by genuine strong, passionate opinions – and in a world too often filled with careful corporate blah-blah, the punters love them.

The fact that Rothfield provided that blue for those few days is no big deal. If he thinks rugby league has too many dull penalties, he should watch rugby union on a bad day. And at least in league the first instinct of the captain is to run the ball, not stop the whole thing cold while one bloke goes for goal.

But the mistake is to try and shut the negative opinions down. Rugby league filled with saccharine up-beat opinions would not be the game we recognise.

And it is, furthermore, not the job of journalists to provide up-beat spin. That would make them what we call in the trade, FWTs, Fans With Typewriters, not actual commentators. But of course it is not just Greenberg who rather misses the point on this. That view of some in sport that media people must be positive is widespread. Just this week, the Manly winger Aku Uate advised assembled journalists that they could make a good contribution to resolving the Cherry-Evans/Hastings stink: “Man, the main thing for me is that you guys can actually help us by being positive.”

Really, Aku?

Great. We will bear that in mind. Meantime, in breaking news, all is sweetness and light, down Brookvale way ...

Riveting stuff, yeah? And on the money?

Yeah ... nah.

Problems running deep at Brookvale
Which brings us again to that public train wreck otherwise known as the Manly Sea Eagles. After an early-season 54-0 drubbing of Parramatta, just five weeks later, last Sunday, they lost 46-10. What the hell can have happened to see such a turnaround? There are two obvious possibilities – Manly is a whole lot worse, or the Eels are a whole lot better. Listen, given that prior to that match the Eels had lost everything but the will to live, we can eliminate the latter possibility, yes?

Which brings us back to Manly, with the most obvious problem being the stink between their captain Daly Cherry-Evans and a journeyman player by the name of Jackson Hastings.


SEA EAGLES
Is Trent Barrett strong enough to coach Manly?
It then emerged that after visiting a strip club in Gladstone, Cherry-Evans had had some kind of physical altercation with Hastings and, as noted, insisted he be fined $10,000. And then it came out that a lot of the players actually liked Hastings, and supported him.

You get the drift. It is not the sort of thing you’ll ever get definitive answers on, but for a good team to go bad as quickly as they have, the answer will be somewhere in that mess. And as to a good player being banished because senior players can’t cop him, would it be unfair to note that the only other time that springs to mind of something like that occurring is the Queensland Origin side rejecting ... Daly Cherry-Evans?

As we say here in NZ, where I write, the plot thuckens.

Even insiders can't back stadium madness
TFF has been bemused in recent months by the occasional accusation that the whole #StadiumSplurge cluster-ruck is all TFF’s doing, and if I had just shut up about it, Sydney would get two brand spanking new stadiums and all would be right with the world – bar waiting times in hospital emergency wards, and the number of demountables in schools. Uh, no. In the first place, the angst over the original ludicrous plan to knock down and replace the SFS (Allianz) and Olympic stadiums was widespread and visceral. It still is.

Secondly, as revealed by the Herald’s Jacob Saulwick this week, even the people within the stadium industry recognised that the public would be on to the absurdity of it all from the first.

RELATED ARTICLE

STATE PARLIAMENT
Stadium policy to 'haunt' government until election: stadium boss
“Focusing on Allianz Stadium, what’s the business case and will crowds fill it?” the Chair of Venues NSW, responsible for the Olympic Stadium, Ms Christine McLoughlin wrote to her staff last December. “The $2.3 billion allocated by the NSW Government to rebuild two stadiums will haunt them until the next election.”

Yup. And rightly so.

Even more to the point, Arthur Stanley, the media manager of VenuesLive – which operates the Olympic Stadium for the government – wrote to Ms McLoughlin, after word spilled that they wanted to knock down and rebuild the SFS, too: “Unless the real plan is to cannibalise content at ANZ Stadium, there could literally be seats never sat on in a new 50,000-seat stadium at Moore Park.”

See? This is from people in the industry, talking the truth in unguarded moments! Did I mention this whole plan is not only ludicrous, but transparently ludicrous?

As to the ongoing absurd claims that the SFS is a danger to shipping, and must be pulled down immediately, the government can’t have it both ways. They can’t maintain that nonsense, and still allow 41,000 people to happily turn up on Anzac Day for the St George/Roosters clash. It either is, or it isn’t. And it very clearly, bloody well isn’t!

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/in-rugby-league-conflict-is-par-for-the-course-20180427-p4zc00.html
 

no name

Coach
Messages
19,096
Rugby League does a very good line in spats – there are invariably several on the go at any one time, and few are more interesting than the recent one between NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and Daily Telejournalist Buzz Rothfield. Highly annoyed by too many penalties during the first chunk of the season, Rothfield tweeted, “Rugby league is now a shit game''.

#NRLtalkthegameup.”

Ahem. May I reply in classic league parlance?

“Yeah ... nah.”

Yeah, I hear you, Todd, but nah, I’m not with you.

Advertisement
Rugby league delivers blues, lives off blues, loves blues, and moves from blue to blue like a hungry bee in a field of daffodils. They’re frequently ugly blues, often bitter, and usually compelling. But they’re real. They’re gritty. They’re fuelled by genuine strong, passionate opinions – and in a world too often filled with careful corporate blah-blah, the punters love them.

The fact that Rothfield provided that blue for those few days is no big deal. If he thinks rugby league has too many dull penalties, he should watch rugby union on a bad day. And at least in league the first instinct of the captain is to run the ball, not stop the whole thing cold while one bloke goes for goal.

But the mistake is to try and shut the negative opinions down. Rugby league filled with saccharine up-beat opinions would not be the game we recognise.

And it is, furthermore, not the job of journalists to provide up-beat spin. That would make them what we call in the trade, FWTs, Fans With Typewriters, not actual commentators. But of course it is not just Greenberg who rather misses the point on this. That view of some in sport that media people must be positive is widespread. Just this week, the Manly winger Aku Uate advised assembled journalists that they could make a good contribution to resolving the Cherry-Evans/Hastings stink: “Man, the main thing for me is that you guys can actually help us by being positive.”

Really, Aku?

Great. We will bear that in mind. Meantime, in breaking news, all is sweetness and light, down Brookvale way ...

Riveting stuff, yeah? And on the money?

Yeah ... nah.

Problems running deep at Brookvale
Which brings us again to that public train wreck otherwise known as the Manly Sea Eagles. After an early-season 54-0 drubbing of Parramatta, just five weeks later, last Sunday, they lost 46-10. What the hell can have happened to see such a turnaround? There are two obvious possibilities – Manly is a whole lot worse, or the Eels are a whole lot better. Listen, given that prior to that match the Eels had lost everything but the will to live, we can eliminate the latter possibility, yes?

Which brings us back to Manly, with the most obvious problem being the stink between their captain Daly Cherry-Evans and a journeyman player by the name of Jackson Hastings.


SEA EAGLES
Is Trent Barrett strong enough to coach Manly?
It then emerged that after visiting a strip club in Gladstone, Cherry-Evans had had some kind of physical altercation with Hastings and, as noted, insisted he be fined $10,000. And then it came out that a lot of the players actually liked Hastings, and supported him.

You get the drift. It is not the sort of thing you’ll ever get definitive answers on, but for a good team to go bad as quickly as they have, the answer will be somewhere in that mess. And as to a good player being banished because senior players can’t cop him, would it be unfair to note that the only other time that springs to mind of something like that occurring is the Queensland Origin side rejecting ... Daly Cherry-Evans?

As we say here in NZ, where I write, the plot thuckens.

Even insiders can't back stadium madness
TFF has been bemused in recent months by the occasional accusation that the whole #StadiumSplurge cluster-ruck is all TFF’s doing, and if I had just shut up about it, Sydney would get two brand spanking new stadiums and all would be right with the world – bar waiting times in hospital emergency wards, and the number of demountables in schools. Uh, no. In the first place, the angst over the original ludicrous plan to knock down and replace the SFS (Allianz) and Olympic stadiums was widespread and visceral. It still is.

Secondly, as revealed by the Herald’s Jacob Saulwick this week, even the people within the stadium industry recognised that the public would be on to the absurdity of it all from the first.

RELATED ARTICLE

STATE PARLIAMENT
Stadium policy to 'haunt' government until election: stadium boss
“Focusing on Allianz Stadium, what’s the business case and will crowds fill it?” the Chair of Venues NSW, responsible for the Olympic Stadium, Ms Christine McLoughlin wrote to her staff last December. “The $2.3 billion allocated by the NSW Government to rebuild two stadiums will haunt them until the next election.”

Yup. And rightly so.

Even more to the point, Arthur Stanley, the media manager of VenuesLive – which operates the Olympic Stadium for the government – wrote to Ms McLoughlin, after word spilled that they wanted to knock down and rebuild the SFS, too: “Unless the real plan is to cannibalise content at ANZ Stadium, there could literally be seats never sat on in a new 50,000-seat stadium at Moore Park.”

See? This is from people in the industry, talking the truth in unguarded moments! Did I mention this whole plan is not only ludicrous, but transparently ludicrous?

As to the ongoing absurd claims that the SFS is a danger to shipping, and must be pulled down immediately, the government can’t have it both ways. They can’t maintain that nonsense, and still allow 41,000 people to happily turn up on Anzac Day for the St George/Roosters clash. It either is, or it isn’t. And it very clearly, bloody well isn’t!

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/in-rugby-league-conflict-is-par-for-the-course-20180427-p4zc00.html
50% of the main article reference rugby league. 13% union.
Team of the week: three Union references, zero league references.
 

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