Borat obviously took over the closed caption system at the Nine Network for last night’as “Footy Show” Grand Final special.
As reported in The Age, when Mike Brady got up to sing his famous football anthem, Up There Cazaly, hearing impaired people <insert joke here> saw this caption…
Goodbye Anthony Rocca – A wonderful servant, a leader, a warrior for the Collingwood Football Club. All the best, big fella.
“There is an international register of Magpie clubs.”
…so wrote John Harms in The Age, in this great piece: The Creature is back, this time in a global conspiracy.
Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest sportsmen of all time, is making a sensational return to Formula 1.
After the horrific accident at the Hungaroring, when a piece of debris (a suspension coil) struck Felipe Massa’s helmet at over 220kmh, Schumacher will step into the driver’s seat for the next race – the European Grand Prix in Valencia – and may well complete the season for lo Scuderia Ferrari.
The tifosi are going nuts – this is HUGE news. Forza Felipe, Forza Schumi, Forza Ferrari!
The media is filled with stories of Nathan Buckley’s return to Collingwood – as assistant coach under Mick Malthouse for the next two years (before presumably taking on the head role in 2012). I, for one, am rapt that the club has landed Bucks, but at this point, I’m a bit baffled as to how it will work.
The Club are covering the media conference live on their site (at 11:00am), using CoverItLive.com – the live chat software. Simultaneously, the Herald-Sun will be covering the media conference live on their site, using CoverItLive also…
From the club:
From the Herald-Sun:
If this isn’t a perfect example of how any company can be a media company, I don’t know what is. Any company can use this software to communicate directly with stakeholders. Politicians should be using live chat to speak to constituents. CFOs and CEOs should be using live chat for analysts “calls”, FMCG companies should be providing thought leadership by allowing public access to the makers of the product – getting direct feedback. There is almost no limit to the applications possible with live chat. Immediate, simple and FREE!
[UPDATE 10:59am: The Age has a live video stream of the event!]
CARNA PIES!
FOOTY: Sport in general, FUTURE: Digital Media, Marketing, Insights and Trends
Former Ballon D’Or winner and all round nice guy, Brazilian Kaká (real name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite) has made a €65m move from AC Milan to Real Madrid. It is the second biggest transfer in soccer history, just narrowly behind former Juventus star Zinédine Zidane’s move to Real Madrid in 2001 (€76m).
The obvious question – how the hell can Real Madrid afford to keep splurging on such expensive players? In recent years it has bought players such as Zizou, David Beckham, Fabio Cannavaro, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rudd van Nistelrooj – and either retired them, sold them for much less or lost them on a free transfer. Like most professional Australian sporting clubs, Real Madrid is owned by its members, so has no sugar daddy or major investor to sink funds into the organisation. The answer; it is a financial powerhouse.
Real has annual revenues of approximately €275m (the biggest earning club in the world), and earns annual profits of approximately €55m. Accounting firm BBDO reckons Real Madrid is the most valuable sporting brand in Europe, with a brand value of €1,063,000,000.
All that and they still haven’t won any silverware of note in years…!
The Economist has put together a lovely chart based on Deloitte’s analysis of European soccer / football, that looks at the sustainability of teams based on wages as a share of total revenues. Interesting stuff…
But it’s not all money and glamour in the world of European soccer. The formerly mighty English Premier League club, Newcastle United, is up for sale. In an absolutely cringe-worthy and embarrassing sign of desparation, the club has created an email address (admin@nufc.co.uk) so that interested parties can contact them and make a bid for the famous club. Drop ‘em a line and let us know how you go.
[UPDATE 11/06/09]: Real Madrid have now just bought Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (another Ballon D’Or winner) for a staggering €94m (£80m) – the player is yet to agree terms with Real, but surely it couldn’t be too hard – reports are saying he’ll be paid €400,000 per week – the same amount that Kaká is getting.
FOOTY: Sport in general, FREEDOM: Economics, Politics and Business, FUTURE: Digital Media, Marketing, Insights and Trends
Just putting my tips into footytips.com.au and I noticed they have got a cool little sponsorship with Hungry Jacks – tip 8 for the round and get a free Whopper. I reckon it rocks – a simple sponsorship done well.
Not that many of us need further incentives to tip 8, but the idea that I could pull a free Whopper with 8 / 8 for the weekend just adds that extra incentive.
CARNA PIES!
FOOTY: Sport in general, FUN: Music, Culture and Entertainment, FUTURE: Digital Media, Marketing, Insights and Trends
Miles of Sky
Advance Australia Fair:
my beer stubby
sweats
spring’s first day
Leon’s long shot
tunes the breeze
cloud drift Swan waddles through a gap in the crows
dazzling sun the forward line drips Medhurst
miles of sky Anthony picks a spot and hits it
glorious September day
a harmless looking kick
is a goal!
puffs of cloud come & go
the lead we give up
comes back
siren sounds
kids jump the fence and become
Dale Thomas
@confrantzeskos Twitter Feed
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