#in season 1 on the golf n stuff date which i loved

[keyh0use]

also the rest of the pogues reaction n toppers

okay wait so I actually wrote out a whole big thing for the Sarah one (and I had intended to put the pogues reactions there too) and it just won't let me finish it. or post it as is, which is super annoying so I'll give the rundown here Sarah definitely knew something was up with Rafe as soon he started sorta kinda dating Barry, she just didn't know what. Her and Wheezie teamed up to try and sneak a peek at his phone or weasel information out of Kelce and Topper but came out empty-handed. After ending her relationship with Topper and joining the pogues, her relationship with Rafe grew tense and they stopped hanging out at all, every interaction ending in argument. She came across him and Barry by a stroke of luck, I would think like while at a bookstore she tagged along with Pope to and catches Rafe carrying around a stack of books for the guy he's trailing after. Sarah watches them from behind a bookshelf and Rafe is laughing at something the man leaned over to whisper and they're bumping shoulders like they've been friends forever. Rafe pays for the books <3 (its a tiny little store, they probably cost like $2 altogether but it makes Barry giddy and turn away to smile) Sarah is left feeling so confused because since when did Rafe have a friend on the cut? Since when did Rafe make new friends at all? They even seemed more buddy-buddy than he is with Topper. After bringing up her weird discovery with the pogues they come to a collective agreement that there's no way Rafe isn't scheming to hurt them or something So they make a plan to hunt down Rafe and stalk him, ending up at a pub where he sits across from the stranger Sarah saw him with at the library. From where the group is hiding it looks like Rafe is blushing, unable to hold eye contact with the man leaning over the table and grinning at him. Then JJ is like wait, seriously, guys? I thought you said Rafe was hanging out with some strange man? That's just Barry. And when he gets a bunch of confused looks in response, he says in disbelief, you know, Rafe's boyfriend? Local drug dealer? Anybody? No? Once the protesting dies down, JJ tells them about how Barry made this new rule that clients weren't allowed coming over after 7 and how his father was pissed and complained about it all the time. And then one day his dad drove over there right at the cutoff to beg and from the truck JJ could see the two cuddled up by a bonfire. Rafe was in Barry's lap and they definitely kissed and the dealer looked beyond annoyed at the interruption but he ran in and got the stuff anyway just to get rid of Maybank Sr. Personally, JJ didn't care and he wasn't all that surprised either. Customer falling for their dealer? Classic. They're all staring through the window then, watching Barry take Rafe's hand as he sips beer. Kiara makes a joke about being sick to her stomach, that dating a drug dealer is low even for someone like Rafe. That the two together are going to tear up the whole damn island and cause havoc. That someone (Sarah) should step in and say something Pope definitely disagrees. He's been on Rafe's shit-list for a long time and he'd love for the kook to be too busy hanging off Barry's arm rather than swinging a golf club at innocent people. John B. doesn't think Rafe deserves to be happy. I mean, a few of them don't but he agrees that they should just leave the two alone to destroy each other. And makes a statement that hopefully being busy with someone else will keep the focus off them Sarah is really upset. There's no way after the events of the show (even season 1) Rafe is too possessive of this one thing that gets to be only his. Of course Sarah doesn't know that. She just knows her big brother who has never been on a date or taken anyone to midsummers is suddenly in a serious relationship and JJ knew before her.

Rafe and Sarah used to gossip and cover for each other and now he's been spending who knows how long down on the cut messing around with someone who makes his addictions worse. And Sarah didn't know.

She definitely cries about the downfall of their once close relationship and isn't sure if it's mendable.

[robbyykeene]

I also just think it does such a disservice to Miguel as a character. And I feel like this fandom especially needs to recognize that Johnny and Miguel are the center of this show and honestly the most interesting part (in my opinion lol but that’s cause I relate to Miguel as a person of color way more than the other catchers on this show) BUT that doesn’t mean that their storylines need to always be linked together. Johnny can learn to heal and not put that on Miguel (or his mother) to do that for him, and he can repair his relationship with Robby while not sacrificing his relationship with Miguel and Carmen. And there’s so many interesting things the writers could explore with Miguel - he’s this kid who’s mother sacrificed so much to raise him, he’s a low income brown kid going to a school with predominantly wealthy white people. I want more about Miguel’s journey being explored and not using him as a prop to better serve Johnny’s growth. Like Robby and Miguel have so much in common too - wouldn’t it be interesting to explore that and how their rivalry could actually end the cycle of harm that Kreese has inflicted on Daniel and Johnny (and by the extension the entire valley as he keeps amassing all these child soldiers). I really do love this show and like so many of the characters but I keep feeling like there’s so many missed opportunities. As a poor kid of color who was bussed to a rich school, you can’t tell me that kids like Robby, Miguel, and Tory wouldn’t have had more to connect on together than these rich kids lol. And it would be so interesting to see that play out instead of the same misscommunications of Robby or Miguel walking in on something without all the details.

.

#i once again have nothing constructive to ass because this is so so so on point #so im just going to ramble in the tags and YES about exploring the part of Miguel who’s an immigrant and all those unique difficulties #i moved to the US in high school from the middle east so its not exactly the same thing. #but immigrating is hard. having to learn to speak english is hard. having to constantly code switch is hard #getting used to the differences in culture is hard!! #and i know miguel probably moved to the US when he was born or very very young. but growing up in a family that is culturally different from #everyone around you and experiencing rscism and xenophobia #these are all such complex things to navigate through as a kid. and they have such a great opportunity to showcase that with miguel #like i was that kid who went to a rich person school but was the odd one out. and you really really feel it. and they kind of showed that #in season 1 on the golf n stuff date which i loved #but theres so much more to talk about. #and like. i dont want them to turn miguel into the token brown kid obviously. I actually really like how the show incorporates his culture #and doesn’t shy away from him being latino while simultaneously letting him being a fully developed character #with personality and nuance and complexity while still being latino and not just completely erasing that aspect of him #i think they actually do so so so kuch better than so many other shows in that regard #but yeah sometimes i just feel like there are other avenues that could be explored. like him and robby and tory ultimately having way more #in common than any other characters. and hopefully theyll explore that later on??? #none of this is coherent but thats why its in the tags so!

[radiant-reid]

Ooh where do you think each season Spencer would take you on valentines or how would he celebrate valentines with you? If you don’t mind doing, of course heh

love this concept and I'm super happy about how it came out, i hope you all enjoy it 🤍

CW: mention of prison and tobias hankel

season 1

obviously, the cutest little baby who's so shy about asking you out

and then even more nervous about whether you'll like what he planned

so, under Morgan's guidance, he goes with the safe option, taking you out to dinner

although it's the safe option, it's anything but boring

he goes for the whole nine yards, showing up with flowers in a suit

totally stammers out how pretty you look

super awkward until you remind him that it's just you and you already get along well

and he's just the sweetest the whole time

season 2

post revelations (a week after, according to the release date)

So he's in an incredibly bad place

and he tells you that he doesn't want to date because he can't do that to you

before his kidnapping, he had been secretly trying to plan a really fun date which you knew from the gossip from Penelope who got it from Morgan

despite what he explicitly tells you, you go to his place and bring food, not willing to let him push you away

and you sit with him that night, talking about the future to give him some home

it doesn't make it better overnight, but you make sure he knows you'll always be there

then the next day you bring him gladiolus flowers which represent hope and strength

season 3

has been thinking about it since the year prior trying to think of the right place to take you

even if you assure him you don't need any big gesture

he takes you to a space observatory/planetarium with a big telescope

he brings flowers, of course, snacks, blankets

it's super fun because there's no one else there but the two of you

you get to listen to him ramble about the stars until the sun comes up, literally

and then you sit there talking about the future

season 4

somehow you're able to convince him to go mini-golfing

actually, it's because he brags about how easy it is to hit a golf ball

it's just math, I've got a degree in math so i'm going to be good at this Y/n

and, comically, he's really not good at it

which he blames on the clubs and the fact he doesn't know the weight of them to be able to do appropriate physics equations

however, the other half of the date you go go-carting

and he wins, by a lot

which is so shocking because he doesn't drive

and you were so sure you were going to win that you jokingly bet you'd get him whatever he wanted for dinner

so you end up at the new donut shop in town

and he beams the whole time with his little gold trophy next to him

season 5

finally this year he's willing to do something low-key because he's still struggling with his knee injury and neither of you wants to push anything too hard

and you've been wanting to do something casual for a while

so you cook for him

his favorite dish with dessert, of course

and you sit on the couch all evening watching romcoms

and he lets insists on you braiding his hair

but he still gets you flowers

season 6

this one's fun because there's a new place by your apartment that is an escape room

and what could be funnier than trying to get a profiler to solve a fictional murder ?

nothing

he solves all the clues super quickly but insists the son killed the dad and not the daughter

because he profiles as a classic narcissistic sociopath ! how could it be anyone else ?

and then he insists on taking you out to dinner where he gives you gifts

season 7

Rage room lmao

kind of out-of-character but it happens just after (not really but let me have this please) Emily comes back and he's mad and hurt

so you go smash some stuff and throw some axes

it's actually really fun and it cheers him up lots

then you convince him to get some greasy fast food and finally he gets a good night of sleep

season 8

it starts out as a joking idea with Morgan but it ends up being what you plan

going to a baseball game !!

because of his winning home run a few months prior which you still tease him about

and you buy matching caps

as your gift to spencer, you give him a baseball mitt which he finds amusing because he got you the same thing

then Morgan makes you both train with him to be on the FBI team for the next year

season 9

the whole team just wrapped a case when the police detective in charge reminds you it's valentines day when you all completely forgot

but you're in dc anyway so the whole team goes out to a murder mystery things for dinner where each member of the team gets a character to play

which Penelope is magically able to get you into

again, like doing an escape room with Spencer, a murder mystery with the team is difficult

everyone is profiling each other to find out who murdered the fictional victim

someone makes the mistake of putting Spencer and Alex on the same team and they linguistically analyze every clue for anything that could give them a subconscious hint about who the murderer is

as stoic as ever, Hotch wins and Beth assures everyone that she would have accused him if she knew

then you and spencer go to get ice cream to finish the night

season 10

you love to get him involved in things out of his comfort zone activities

so you decide a hot air balloon right is the way to go

that's how you discover Spencer Reid is afraid of heights

if we fall from here, we'd reach terminal velocity before we hit the ground and don't laugh, humans are born with two fears and one of them is falling

to make it up to him you take him out to breakfast when he stops shaking

but he eventually agrees that it was kind of fun to see the city, even if 1.1 people die in hot air balloon accidents a year

season 11

the original plan was to go on a dinner date, but after Cat, it seemed uncomfortable

luckily there's a fair in town

so you go on the Ferris wheel and get the history run down from Spencer

then you get all the typical fair food, corn dogs, cotton candy, funnel cake, candy apples

Spencer's convinced he's going to be able to win all the fair games

unlike mini-golfing, he does the physics

and boom !

you get a massive elephant toy

similar to all the teenage girls with their high school jock boyfriends

season 12

pre-prison

it's your first time babysitting Hank

Derek and savannah really need a night off from being parents or a night to make another baby without interruption

spencer is so excited to get to babysit his godson with you

during the day, you go to the zoo

then you have some perfectly cooked chicken nuggets for dinner

and all stay up late watching cars 2, (just because that's my favorite)

even though it's not super romantic, seeing Spencer with Hank is always the sweetest

and it ends doing some adult activities that Morgan would approve of, but not be thrilled about on his couch

season 13

post-prison

dinner date like the first time

even though you live together, he shows up with flowers like he's trying to get you to fall in love with him all over again

which really isn't necessary because you're already so deeply in love with him that nothing could change that

but it's so sweet

he plays the whole part of a traditional first date without the nerves

wooing you with his jokes, and showering you in compliments a little more than usual

and he buys you a very expensive necklace to apologize for the stress of the last year

season 14

finally, since he's got mandated time off, you're able to convince him to go away

after yearsssss

and it's Paris

a weekend trip that turns into two weeks while you travel to the south of France and then into Spain with your Spanish-speaking boyfriend

it's days of hanging out, late dinners, sight-seeing, museums, reading

and you have never seen him so relaxed

while you're on the trip, you plan you're next one because it's so enjoyable

season 15

it's a tough year for your relationship with JJ's confession messing with your brain and there's not been a plan for weeks

but Spencer asks you out like actually asks you to come on a date with him

of course, you agree, ready to let things get back on track finally

he packs an entire picnic and you go to the park you had your first kiss

it's a huge declaration of his love and commitment, a promise that he still cares so much

but you didn't need words because you've always been so in love with him and you always will be

then it starts to rain because hello, spring and you know he's still really in love with you because he doesn't hesitate to give you his suit jacket so you're at least a little bit drier while you run to the car

but you're already both pretty much drenched so you have a sickeningly sweet, cliche kiss in the pouring rain

and spent the rest of the night on the floor by the fire

#spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid hc #spencer reid headcanon #criminal minds headcanons #criminal minds hc #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds family

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

I know it's been said before buy I just have to say I know the whole demetri and yasmine plot was just so that all the gay undertones of the rivalry and obsession and tension between Demtri and hawk could be easily overlooked

Lololol Anon you’re not even WRONG

Once they yeeted Moon out of the picture the writers were like “Oh shit, better No Homo it again!!!”

I guess in the writer’s (very feeble) defense, they DID set it up kinda, by having Demetri be like “Wow!!! I’d love to have Yasmine spit in my face!!!” and then very atrociously trying to hit on her at the beach party. But I thought his sorta-crush on her was just supposed to be like...comic relief??? Like “haha look at this nerdy guy being hot for this sexy popular chick he’ll never, ever get, isn’t it good memes???” I mean, him coming on to her at the party and just FAILING at every level was so incredibly funny BECAUSE of how much someone like her was just...never going to go for a dude like that in a million years. Like I thought that was the whole joke??? And Cobra Kai seems a bit more realism-leaning than some teen shows in how the teenagers actually act, so I figured from that angle it was gonna be the trope of “nerdy guy into hot popular bitchy girl” set up...but then, Reality Ensues, and she’s not only not remotely interested, but mildly to moderately disgusted at the idea. And that’s the comedy of it.

So yeah, after Season 1, I thought we were done with that whole arc, and it was literally just like...a joke “love” subplot to balance out the more serious relationship difficulties Miguel was having at the time. But now...Yasmine’s back, I guess??? And she apparently did a full 180 and is sorta nice now and went through a bunch of Character Development offscreen, none of which we got to see? So I GUESS her and Demetri were hinted to eventually become a thing, just like...very, very poorly. And in “hints” I assumed we were in no way meant to take seriously at all.

But yeah, the Yasmine/Demetri thing DOES seem kinda thrown in last-minute, given how finished that arc felt back in s1. And we only ever really get to see Yasmine when she’s interacting with Demetri, so it really feels like she was only brought back to be his love interest, which like...VERY weird flex, Cobra Kai writers, but okay :/

It IS incredibly sus how much time and energy Hawk and Demetri devote to their rivalry in particular, rather than like...idk, moving on with their lives??? Just ignoring each other and doing their own things, now that they are officially no longer bros and are in different friend circles, etc etc? Like they go OUT OF THEIR WAY to fuck with each other when they could just like...chill and move on. Like Demetri, a socially-awkward dude with limited people skills, works up the balls to get onstage and roast Hawk in front of an entire partyful of peers. Hawk SEARCHES THROUGH AN ENTIRE SCHOOL to hunt down Demetri at the school fight. Hawk goes up to Demetri on the first damn day back at school just to GLARE at him ominously (which I also just realized is RIGHT after some freshman girls give Demetri moony looks as they pass--jealous much???) Later on, Hawk coulda ignored Demetri and finished eating lunch with his Cool New Friends, but instead he goes out of his damn way to bust Demetri’s project and then come over and roast him about it. Demetri then eagerly goes over and reciprocates said roasting and spends that entire fucking soccer game tryna screw with Hawk in particular. They fricken almost IMMEDIATELY go for each other in the Golf N Stuff fight, IIRC. Really, they devote more time and energy to each other and their Rivalry™️ than either does to like...any other character? Like are Eli’s thoughts 90% “what’s the next thing I can do to fuck with Demetri?” Are Demetri’s thoughts 90% “what’s the next thing I can do to fuck with Eli?” Because like...I just don’t think obsessing over another man that much, even in a negative context...is very straight XD

There’s also the fact that their arcs are WAY more intertwined with each other’s than ANY girl either of them dates or interacts with. I mean ffs, Moon dumped Hawk BECAUSE of how he treated Demetri--even Hawk’s supposed Straight Romantic Subplot™️ ties directly back into Demetri! And the only reason Demetri joins Miyagi-Do at ALL and doesn’t just like...fade into the background in Season 2 is to show HAWK SPECIFICALLY that he can “fight back.” And later we have DEMETRI being the one to make Hawk realize he’s gone too far with Cobra Kai (i.e. his guilt after breaking Demetri’s arm) and ultimately being the catalyst that makes Hawk SWITCH SIDES! I honestly think every major point of development for both characters directly involves the other in some way--you could even argue Eli initially becomes “Hawk” in part because Demetri quits Cobra Kai, and isn’t around to stick up for him anymore--so he has to find another way to protect himself from bullying. Even their sense of “dojo rivalry” is mostly just about each other--Hawk’s animosity toward Miyagi-Do lowkey seems to stem almost entirely from Demetri in particular joining it and “betraying” him, while Demetri’s animosity toward Cobra Kai basically entirely comes from Cobra Kai taking Eli away from him. I literally like...cannot think of a single thing in either of their developments that doesn’t tie into the other in a major way. 

Like to put it plainly, Moon and Yasmine feel like a single step in each of the boys’ character journeys--a single turning point to spur them in a certain direction. But Demetri and Hawk just...ARE each other’s character journeys. They’re not a step for the other to discover something about themself or get pushed in a certain direction--they just ARE the entire arc for each other, if that makes any sense. Like you could argue BOTH Demetri and Eli/Hawk’s arcs like 90% center on how to navigate their relationship when Eli gains confidence and their interests diverge and they no longer need each other the way they used to. Like??? Name ONE aspect of either of their arcs that doesn’t tie directly into their undying gay love friendship in some way??? It’s INCREDIBLY integral to both their stories and is just...SO much more compelling to watch than either of them making out with hot girls at parties or in the hallway. And them repairing their relationship and/or evolving it as needed, realizing that they love each other too much to let one another go, even if they’re both somewhat different after everything??? And realizing it’s a romantic kinda undying love they’re feeling, because really, what good reason is there for it NOT to be??? We HAVE enough male characters in media already with strictly platonic/brotherly friendships, why not just let two male characters with a compelling story, a strong prior friendship, and REALLY good romantic chemistry just like...be gay??? It feels natural, it’s a good ending to their arc, it feels narratively satisfying in a “Finally having the ‘will they or won’t they’ couple get together” kinda way...why not do it??? It makes ALL the damn sense and would be incredibly thematically interesting and SATISFYING, but y’all writers are COWARDS DAMMIT

Just gonna make that crack ship from Season 1 canon so we can prove that Demetri isn’t gay, no sir??? No Homo my guy??? We can only have one (1) LGBT character per television show, or the “traditional values” viewers will come for us???

Pre Season 3 I honest to god was hoping that part of Demetri’s arc, if he ran into Yasmine again, would be him realizing that he could honestly do better than someone that bitchy and vile, and having enough self-respect to just...lose interest in someone who’s going to push him around, act like he’s beneath her, and talk smack about his friends the second she thinks they’re “lame.” Maybe it isn’t too late though, and we’ll see this in Season 4? Here’s to hoping, because I am going to THROW HANDS if this fricken pairing is ENDGAME endgame. Like...what even do these people have in common, besides getting wedgies??? Do they even have like...any of the same interests??? At all??? How are they going to build a lasting relationship off of...both having gotten a wedgie? And being mean to people sometimes, I guess?

Like, sure. Let them date for a bit--they’re horny teens, they’re prone to jumping into relationships for not exactly the most deep and meaningful reasons. Physical attraction, teenage horniness, and raging hormones are no joke. So sure, I can see them having a fling solely because they both think the other’s hot. But you wanna tell me they’d LAST??? No SIR, I must inform you I Do Not Buy it.

(Tfw you meant to do a short ask making memes about what a crackship Demetri/Yasmine was in Season 1 and you ended up having WAY too much to say about All The Things and now it’s 3 am and you’re typing like a madman. I probably cycled back across the same 5 points like 5 times each because it’s late and I’m not thinking straight, I apologize.)

#hawk x demetri #demetri x eli #binary boyfriends #hawkmeat #demetri x hawk #eli x demetri #elimetri #demetri cobra kai #eli moskowitz #hawk #yasmine cobra kai #moon cobra kai #cobra kai #cobra kai season 1 #cobra kai season 2 #cobra kai season 3 #my askbox

[funnythingshere0-blog]

Slater case proves NRL justice is indeed blind – and just plain stupid

New Post has been published on https://funnythingshere.xyz/slater-case-proves-nrl-justice-is-indeed-blind-and-just-plain-stupid/

Slater case proves NRL justice is indeed blind – and just plain stupid

Handshake deal

The ESPN Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell put out an interesting tweet this week noting that Thursday was the 20th anniversary of the day that the St Louis Cardinals baseball slugger Mark McGwire – powered by steroids as it later turned out – broke the single season home-run record by belting his 70th.

The ball bounced out of one fan’s hands, bounced out of another’s and was finally caught by a 17-year old fan, Phil Ozersky, who at the time was earning chump change stacking shelves.

The Cardinals asked him for the ball and offered in return a signed bat, ball and jersey. But Ozersky wanted one more thing. Yup, he told the Cardinals he wanted to meet McGwire, shake his hand.

McGwire was too much of a big shot, busy hitting more big shots over fences, and said no. So three months later, Ozersky sold the ball for $US3.05 million, bought a house for his handicapped father, gave six-figure sums to charity, married his high-school sweetheart and went on to live happily ever after – while still driving now the car he had back then.

Ain’t sport grand?

Teaming up

Now you can call me an old “romantic” if you like, but I don’t care. See, by definition, every day that passes, big-time sports gets more “modern”, which usually means more technical, more driven by statistics, and more littered with incomprehensible jargon like “corrugated iron” and “marmalade jam”.

It means that, when you come across stories of big-time teams prospering because of embracing the old-time values, it is heart-warming. A prime case in point is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL side, who’ve come from nowhere to open their account this season by beating two of the top-ranked teams in the league, including last year’s Superbowl winners, the Philadelphia Eagles.

United: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston looks for a receiver.

Photo: AP

Part of it is credited to coach Dirk Koetter doing something different in the off-season.

As reported in The New York Times:  “He broke his team into groups of eight, mixing coaches with players, and had the groups hold meetings during which people took turns talking about their backgrounds or upbringing. The goal was team unity.”

Yes, I know. Players actually getting to know each other, and care about each other, beyond football!

“You play with guys but you don’t know personal details of their lives,” tight end Cameron Brate said. “It was really eye-opening. A football team is built on communication and trust and truly being able to understand where someone is coming from and being able to open up to them. It created new pathways of communication and enhanced our trust in each other.”

Everything is so old it’s new again. Next thing you know, you’ll get players truly caring about the jerseys they play for, and speaking about the clubs they’ve played for, for over a decade, in the first person, not the third person, as in: “They’ve been a great club, and really good to me.”

Just Google it

As I have said many times before, if they were holding a group 1 horse race – whatever that is – around my house, I would pull the curtains shut and call the police. I just don’t care. Still, occasionally stories arise from the racing world that pique the interest, and a case in point comes from reader Paul Foster this week. He advises that all owners of new racehorses get to name their steed, often by seeking inspiration from their parents’ names.

“So this fella has a horse by Benfica out of Loose ‘n’ Lovely. He called it Andiamo Fica, which is Italian for Let’s Go C—.”

For this effort, he’s just been disqualified from owning horses for 18 months.

My thoughts . . .

1. It’s great to get one over the authorities.

2. Don’t Racing NSW have Google?

Knock it off

TFF had a rant mid-week on the ludicrousness of SCG Trust Chair Tony Shepherd following Alan Jones’ lead by asserting that if the Sydney Football Stadium is knocked down, we risk a Hillsborough disaster – where 96 lives were lost – in Sydney.

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My central point was this: “If you do insist that the SFS actually risks being a Hillsborough, how on earth did you or the government let last Saturday night’s final go ahead? You dinkum thought there was a risk of 100 people dying, and somehow – ignoring your duty of care, to preserve the safety of spectators – the match was allowed to proceed?”

Precisely what happened that terrible day at Hillsborough thirty years ago remains a deeply sensitive topic but, as several readers pointed out, it’s a whole lot more complex than just assigning blame to the design of the stadium itself. Just two weeks ago, the man who was in control of police operations that day, former South Yorkshire Police chief superintendent David Duckenfield pleaded not guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence. The date for his trial is set for January. We will let their legal system get on with it.

What They Said

Mick Malthouse at a Ballarat sports lunch on Thursday, on women’s football: “I don’t like it . . . I don’t say you shouldn’t play it, I say I don’t like it . . . I don’t like the women’s game the way it is. I would rather see them with a smaller ball, I would rather see it without any tackling, I would rather see it without any heavy bumping.”

AFLW player Moana Hope on Malthouse’s comments: “He said that AFL was a man’s game and not a woman’s game and he’s said that on stage in front of 50 kids who had just played a boys and girls game of football. I left after that. I was so disgusted and drove back to Melbourne. He can have an opinion but then there’s just degrading and disrespectful comments. We’re in 2018, not in 1942 . . . I will never be in the same room as him again.”

Drought over: Tiger Woods celebrates with caddie Joe LaCava after the Tour Championship golf tournament and the FedEx Cup final at Eastlake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo: EPA

Tiger Woods on his 80th tour win: “I was having a hard time not crying on the last hole. I just can’t believe I pulled this off. It hasn’t been so easy the last couple of years. It’s hard to believe I was able to do it again . . . [lightly sobs]”

Cooper Cronk on whether he’ll be 100% for this weekend’s grand final: “Obviously there’s a point where you can’t get things right in a certain amount of time . . . at some stage God or science will say no, but until then I’ll do everything I possibly can.”

Shane Watson on the support for Steve Smith: “To be able to see so many people come along to a grade game is incredible. We see the crowds that come along to a Sheffield Shield game or a JLT Cup as well, it’s nothing compared to this. It’s very impressive.”

New Zealand great Brendon McCullum tweets his view that David Warner celebrated a grade century a bit too much: “Geez Davey! This celebration is the equivalent of Sir Ed Hillary giving it large climbing his front steps, post Everest! Hahaha.”

Over the top: Dave Warner was in a particularly devastating mood against St George during his knock of 155 not out.

Photo: AAP

Richmond young gun Jack Higgins on winning goal of the year: “Firstly, my heart is at about a thousand minutes per second, so if I screw it up, don’t hate on me.”

Wallaby Ned Hanigan with a fine mixed metaphor: “We can’t be sitting there kicking stones and letting it just get worse, we’ve got to grab it by the balls and try and turn it around.”

Melbourne Storm’s Will Chambers knows how the media rolls: “It’s pretty easy to be a keyboard warrior, people don’t really say stuff to your face. It’s easy to print it in a newspaper, but they won’t come and say it to you. But everyone wants a story, it’s pretty funny don’t you think? I’m from a small town in the Northern Territory. You don’t get much media up there, it’s pretty cruisy, it’s not the Sydney press.”

Michael Cheika aware of how quickly things can change: “They wanted to cut Nathan Buckley’s head off last year didn’t they, and he’s in a grand final this week. That’s the way it goes.”

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick after their elimination: “It was an un-Richmond-like performance.”

Jose Mourinho can’t explain why Manchester United players can’t fire up: “I can’t explain the difference of attitude because I never had a difference of attitude. For me it is difficult to explain that.”

Team of the Week

Magpies/Eagles, Roosters/Storm. Play in this weekend’s grand finals.

Tiger Woods. After his extraordinary finish to the season – including his first victory in five years – his world ranking has soared to 13, a nice improvement from where he finished in 2017, at 1193.

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Central Coast Heart. This regional elite team just won the Netball NSW Premier League grand final last night, a big achievement for the only non-metropolitan team in the Premier League competition.

Tom Mitchell. As TFF predicted, winner of the 2018 Brownlow medal.

Nathan Buckley. One of the most storied figures in Australian sport is about to add the one thing his glittering career  has lacked – a premiership. After his Collingwood side finished 13th last year, they are today in the grand final against the Eagles.

Eddie McGuire. There is a very good reason they don’t call him “Eddie the Eagle”.  The Collingwood president is a Magpie to the marrow of his bones, and his decision not to sack Buckley last year now looks a like a master-stroke.

Mozzie Legends. Beat the young pups of the Weigall Wanderers in the Cook and Philip Park indoor soccer grand final. The significance is that the Mozzies have played in every single season held since this ex-Olympic venue was handed over to the public in 2001 – meaning that the team, who now has an average age of 45, have compensated their loss of speed with an injection of guile and determination.

Peter FitzSimons is a Herald journalist, columnist and author, based in Sydney. He is also a former Wallabies player.

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/slater-case-proves-nrl-justice-is-indeed-blind-and-just-plain-stupid-20180928-p506nm.html