On the Net

EPL

This week the biggest news, for me anyway, was Sky Television relinquishing the rights to broadcast English Premier League football. I use the word relinquish because I do question how badly Sky actually wanted to retain the rights. If they’d viewed EPL as an essential ‘keeper’, although nobody seems to be divulging how much the winning bid for the rights actually was, I would’ve thought they could have come up with the cash.

I even wondered whether they could’ve thought a little outside the square and taken a punt by starting a football channel. I think a lot of Sky subscribers would have understood if Sky had said ‘Look, this year we paid x% more for these rights than we did last year. To make this financially viable, we’ll be broadcasting all EPL games on a Football Channel that you’ll have to pay $9 a month for’. But they didn’t, and the result is that us footie fans will have to watch these games on that new-fangled interweb thingy.

I’m a realist, and I always knew the day would come when expensive events or sports would cease to be broadcast via ‘mainstream’ channels. But when the no-more-EPL-on-Sky bombshell was dropped upon us my reaction was the same as when, many years ago, TVNZ announced it could no longer compete with the cash of Sky and that as a result top level rugby would no longer be free-to air.

On both occasions I swiftly worked my way through an array of emotions. Disbelief was followed by anger, then resignation then defiance. Back in the day I swore that no way would I be paying for the right to watch our national sport. I lasted about three weeks from memory before I greeted the Sky-dish installer at my front door with a hearty handshake and a gentle yet firm reminder that the big match was just four hours away. I quickly forgot that I’d sold out and I still have Sky today – actually I now have two decoders.

And I think the 2013 version of that story will end up exactly the same way. My first reaction was that I would not, ever, pay to watch games online. It’s only been a few days since the news broke but I’m already 80% sure that I will sign up to PremierLeaguePass.com. But I have questions. Some I have researched and discovered the answers to while some remain unanswered. The main queries pulsing through my mind were;

1.       How many gigabytes of data will I go through?

Answer: apparently a game uses up about 1 GB. If I watched 10 games a month, this would fit comfortably within my existing data plan which is capped at 30 GB.

2.       How can I change from a 59 inch plasma to a 13 inch laptop screen?

Answer: I won’t have to. Buy an ‘Apple TV’ for about $150 (I think), hook it up to my big screen, and easily link my computer to my TV.

3.       But how can I possibly afford this?

Answer: $149 per annum is the mooted price. I can handle that.

4.       Do I really need this?

Answer: Yes. Yes I do.

5.       What will the picture quality be like?

This is the biggest question mark for me and I don’t know the answer.  From August 1, apparently we can log on and have a look-see. God I hope it’s something close to HD.

So in conclusion if the answer to question five is ‘something close to HD’, it is highly likely I will again sell out and move with the times. I’ll report on my experiences when trying out  PremierLeaguePass.com on August 1.

Aussies Mauled

After losing to the Brumbies in their last game, the British and Irish and Samoan and Tongan and New Zealand Lions played the first test against the Wallabies this weekend. It wasn’t a game I was overly excited about but I did watch most of it. Israel Folau looked phenomenal on the wing for Australia and I hope for the sake of the All Blacks that he goes back to league at the end of the season. Both teams looked good in patches and in big George North, the Lions and Wales have a superstar in the making. In the end the result came down to three serious-looking injuries to Wallabies and Kurtley Beale folding under pressure and missing some pretty straightforward kicks at goal that would’ve won the game for the Aussies. Dare I say it, Quade Cooper probably would’ve slotted those…

Turning Up the Heat

I’ve been wrong on many, many occasions about many, many different things. But just seven days ago I predicted that the Miami Heat would win the NBA Finals Series in seven games. And yes, I was correct. Never mind that I was five seconds away from being wrong; in game six the Heat were five points down with 25 seconds left. LeBron James slotted an unlikely three-pointer to close the gap to two. Then with just five seconds left, with defenders  all over him, Ray Allen produced a remarkable three-pointer to produce an unlikely victory and take the game to a decider. Come game seven and LeBron was on fire as the Heat pulled away to win their second consecutive NBA title. If he can win three or four more titles he’s certainly going to increase the number and intensity of ‘who’s the greatest player ever?’ debates. 

Trois-Zero

Let’s be honest; that was a shabby performance from the AB’s on Saturday night. There were numerous dropped balls, many of which occurred when the ball-carrier was under little or no pressure from the French. There wasn’t a lot of continuity or fluidity in the play and the result was a match that was at times quite difficult to watch. But the sign of a good team is that they can grind out wins when not playing well. More player analysis required.

Wyatt Crockett/Tony Woodcock

These two essentially went halves in the 80 minutes. Crockett was ok once again, but I thought things just looked more solid and assured when Woodcock trundled on. I’d still like to see Afeaki have a run in the number one jersey

Andrew Hore

I thought Hore had a solid if unspectacular night. He’s a warhorse these days and knows all the tricks of the trade. I actually think he’ll make it to the next world cup, but whether he’ll be first or second choice by then is less clear.

Owen Franks

I enjoyed his efforts around the field as he threw around his hefty frame with little regard for his own safety. The scrums were average at best, but I don’t necessarily blame Franks for all of that. See section entitled ‘Luke Romano’.

Luke Romano

When Sir Bradley Thorn was gracing the test arena, it was widely known and equally widely acknowledged that his scrummaging ability was second to none. The All Blacks haven’t even come close replacing him in that regard. On Saturday I saw numerous scrums that highlighted that something on Romano’s side of the scrum was not going well. Maybe Franks was having trouble with his opposite but I think a lot of the time Franks wasn’t getting sufficient support from his mate in the second row. That needs to be addressed at training. Having said that, Romano is a workhorse and does a lot of great work around the paddock.

Sam Whitelock

Jeez, he’s good. He’s always in support, he’s dynamic around the field and magnificent in the air, both at kick-offs and in the lineouts. He’s 24 and has 40 caps – unbelievable. Five kilos of bulk, Sam, and you’ll be the best lock in the world by far, although you probably already are.

Sam Cane

He did his job and that’s about all I can really say about Cane. And the same for Matt Todd. I really hope Ardie Savea is part of the All Black scene by 2015 as backup to Richie.

Victor Vito

I’m such a big fan of Victor. And on Saturday he was such a big disappointment. His performance was very un-Vito-like. He was inaccurate, made mistakes and his running game wasn’t particularly prominent. It was a performance that wouldn’t have caused too much concern to Liam Messam. As an added concern for Vito, Luatua came on and looked like he’s been playing test rugby for years.

Kieran Read

This was probably one of his worst tests. His usual accuracy and devastating running was replaced by errors as he struggled to get into the game at times. But we all know that he’ll be back and will be as good as ever

Piri Weepu/Tawera Kerr-Barlow

Weepu looked flat and that was how he played. His delivery was not as crisp as it usually is and that was partly to blame for the backline struggling so much. When he was strangely substituted in the 42^nd minute (why not just swap them at halftime??), Kerr-Barlow came on and offered more energy. But at times his decision-making was terrible and he was also largely unable to spark the backline. I wonder if TJ Perenara might be given a run at the end of the year.

Dan Carter

He looked a bit rusty from the start but came right as the game progressed. Very specifically, his punting is a concern at times. He mixes superb creative kicks with the occasional shocker that is easily charged down. But he is quality, probably our best ever in the number 10 jersey, and will still be number one number ten in 2015.

Ma’a Nonu

He’s playing well enough, but unfortunately I don’t think he’s the dominant player of two to three years ago. But as long as SBW isn’t around, he’s the best option for the number 12 jersey.

Conrad Smith

Gosh, he’s a good player. His body contorts and bends at unnatural angles, he’s so much faster than he appears to be and he tackles like a man twice his size. He’ll go down as one of the best centres we’ve ever had and is key to our chances of retaining the world cup.

Rene Ranger

Man what a shame he’s leaving our shores shortly. There are few players who can cover centre and both wings as well as he can. I’d like to see Piutau tried as a winger. I think he could be as good as Folau eventually.

Ben Smith

He made a couple of uncharacteristic errors, but scored a courageous try and was excellent again. He’s a champ

Israel Dagg

His tactical kicking was at times sublime and he’s a courageous player. But there’s something not quite clicking this (and last) season. During the Rugby Championship I’d like to see Ben Smith have a go in the number 15 jersey at some stage and perhaps give Piutau a run there too.

So that’s my rundown of Saturday’s test. Not the greatest performance, but they just completed a series whitewash over a French team that was at times dangerous-looking so it certainly wasn’t all bad.

Finally just a quick mention of French captain Thierry Dusatoir. This was almost certainly his last appearance in New Zealand. He is a great (and I don’t use that term lightly) player, a fine leader and a great ambassador for the game. Here’s hoping he goes out with a World Cup runner’s-up medal in 2015.

Till next time,

SG