Predictions: Who will win what in 2009...

As I sat down to write this piece, I quickly realized that it'd be near-on impossible not to be biased. When you're a fan of the South Dragons, Melbourne Victory and Geelong – all genuine contenders in '09 – it's hard to side against your own mob.

But nevertheless, I've had to accept reality and that has meant that I did not end up going with all three of my teams in this instance. Well, almost. Once you get to the A-League you'll know what I mean.

Anyways, here is my light-hearted assessment of what silverware will be going where in 2009...

Australian Open (mens): Rafael Nadal

Nadal has won both the French and Wimbledon titles and is on track to become the Australian champ. As for his opponent, it's hard to proclaim before we see the seeding, but my tip for surprise finalists (there's one every year) is Gael Monfils. The unheralded Frenchman is ready to explode.

Betfair is paying $130 for him to win it, you know, if you're into that sort of thing...

Australian Open (womens): Serena Williams

I'm saying this less-confidently than the men's winner. Actually, I'm only really putting my money on Serena because she's in my SuperTennis team.

A-League premiership: Adelaide United

They can have it. Even if some fans like the romance of the regular season, all the clubs really strive for is winning the championship.

Super Bowl: Tennessee Titans

Do I have any idea what I'm talking about when I say this? Not really. Heck, I'm a Detroit Lions fan – the team mocked the world over for finishing 0-16. But seriously, the Titans started the season well and currently sit atop ESPN's power rankings, so they're a good enough choice for me.

A-League championship: (Insert team here) beating Adelaide United

I won't be able to confidently say Victory until the next two matches are over with (they are against the only two teams above us, Queensland and Adelaide). But I've already decided the loser of the grand final, as United have clearly overtaken Port as Adelaide's chokers.

They can win a semi final, a preliminary final, even a Club World Cup play-in game, but a grand final? History says it, that's just beyond them.

NBL championship: South Dragons

After another thirty-something-point thrashing on Boxing Day, Brian Goorjian's Dragons are showing no signs of slowing down. Only problem is that elephant in the room, the Melbourne Tigers.

If those two teams meet in the GF, I can guarantee I'll do this.

Indian Premier League: Kolkata Knight Riders

Why, yes. Yes I did just pick the team with the coolest name.

The Ashes: see below

If Ricky Ponting is captain, it will be England. If he isn't it, will be Australia. Yes, it is as simple as that. Maybe it's time we gave this guy a crack at the captaincy.

NHL Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings

Again, I must plead bias. The Sharks are, admittedly, capable of stopping them. But I don't see it happening. As for their opponents, the Washington Capitals is my tip. Why? Alex Ovechkin, that's why.

NBA championship: LA Lakers

I'm no fan of big market teams. But it appears that the Lakers and Celtics are the two standouts yet again. So it pains me to say the Lakers will be able to reverse last year's result.

AFL premiership: Geelong

Ultimately, Geelong's half-arsed attempts at building a "dynasty" will be eclipsed by the much-younger Hawks. But until then, redemption is on the minds of Cats players. 2009 will be their year.

Richmond and Carlton will make the eight. Guaranteed.

NRL premiership: Who cares?

I'm hearing rumours Benji Marshall is going to defect to union. There goes my last excuse to watch the NRL. Well, okay, I still have a soft spot for Souths. But they aren't exactly going gangbusters on the field now, are they?

FIFA Club World Cup: Newcastle Jets

That was a joke, by the way. The Jets are screwed. They're not gonna get past the group stage of the Champions League the way their list is bleeding players right now. I just really needed a good excuse to get that off my chest.

That's pretty much the only reason I wrote any of this, actually.

Are organized flares a solution for the A-League?

Tomorrow night, millions of Aussies across capital cities and regional centres alike will gather to bear witness to organized fireworks displays.

And why wouldn’t they?

They look cool, the kids love ‘em and when properly organized, they are safe, too.

Last Saturday night, over 25,000 at Telstra Dome were treated to a pre-game flare stemming from the Blue and White Brigade, accompanying the message “welcome to hell.”

Now usually, the appearance of a flare at a football match brings about widespread condemnation. Especially in this country.

Yet peculiarly, that was not the case on Saturday night.

The SEN commentary team noted it was an intimidating way to start the game. Two years ago, they would’ve been the first to criticize the “minority” of supporters who don’t have the best interests of the game at heart.

Other Victory supporters at the game noted that the display looked impressive and sent a strong message of support, whilst at the same time trying to not condone the act.

Despite the FFA’s best efforts, flares still remain a part of crowd behaviour at A-League games. All three matches between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory (in both cities) this season have featured flares.

In addition to media outlets and supporters, it can be argued that even the FFA has cooled their stance on the issue. The supporters’ code of conduct is nowhere to be found on the A-League website these days. We’re also not hearing any public statements on the issue after matches.

So have the FFA – and indeed the wider community – accepted flares as a fact of life?

Have they become so prevalent that we’ve given up on condemning and eradicating them?

If that is indeed the case, then we’re all running a pretty big risk. They are dangerous. There is a significant public safety risk. And (now here’s one for the ever-sensitive FFA) they carry negative connotations.

Rather than letting the status quo evolve into something more dangerous, we should start to seek out new and different solutions.

Given the fight so far has been to no avail, perhaps the next attempt to combat flares should set about managing the problem, not continuing the frivolous dream of removing the problem altogether.

Which brings us back to the fireworks. Organized fireworks displays enable everyday Aussies to safely enjoy an otherwise-illegal activity.

So why can’t we do the same with flares?

If A-League clubs were to organize their own flares away from supporters, professionally and safely, as part of the pre-game activities, it would only serve to add to the atmosphere. Just as it did on Saturday night.

It would not interrupt the game itself. More importantly, it would not endanger fans or damage the stadium.

Such a plan would give flares a place at the football. Having that avenue for flares would help dent the motivation of flare-lighters who believe that all they are doing is adding colour to the game.

It appears that little precedent has been set in this area anywhere in the world. The closest a Google search brought to a similar plan is at the MLS' Chicago Fire, where the main supporter group is working with the club and stadium to produce a safe flare display.

There is, it must be said, a genuine chance that a “if we can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach may legitimize the act of lighting flares.

The plan also rests on the notion that most flare-lighters are merely trying to add colour to the game and do not have more sinister motivations.

But if the FFA were serious about minimizing the prevalence of flares that we see at the moment, an out-of-the-box solution may be worth a try.

Besides, just think how many more illegal fireworks would be lit tomorrow night if we had no organized displays.

Accountability not a stop for Spirit ghost train

All I can say is thank you Grantley Bernard!

As I woke up this morning (okay, maybe it was the afternoon already,) grabbed an Up&Go out of the fridge and sat down to read the sport section, I was pleased to see an article actually addressing the key concerns with the game’s direction right now.

The Herald Sun scribe nailed it almost perfectly, right down to the final paragraph: “The NBL needs to take a big dose of reform. All it is getting is a spoonful of adjustment.”

Bernard is critical of the size of the reform, saying not much will change, and that we’re merely on the same old path we’ve travelled before.

What was surprising, however, was that Bernard placed a lot of the blame on the review itself, when in fact the interim administration has been responsible for deviating from that review with too much consideration towards current stakeholders. Even when those stakeholders are themselves.

Remember, the review outlined “key appointments” were supposed to be made way back in November. Now it looks a certainty that we will welcome in a new year before we do a new management – if we ever will actually see new management at all.

And it is hard to mount a case against the fact they’ve overstayed their welcome.

The first big test for “the new Basketball Australia” was the West Sydney Razorbacks.

It didn’t have to be. They could’ve just sat back and left it as a club matter. But instead, they stuck their hand up and decided to be actively involved in the transition of the Razorbacks to a club encompassing all of Sydney – not just the west.

The plan was flawed from the outset, any Razorbacks or Sydney Kings fan could’ve told you that. Heck, any 16-year-old blogger from down in regional Victoria could’ve told you that.

Yet, on the official Sydney Spirit website, when the name change was announced, Basketball Australia's interim CEO Scott Derwin was quoted as saying “the NBL are supportive of the name change and we believe that it will provide the club the best possible opportunity to capture the full support of the Sydney marketplace.”

Not only did the interim administration support the creation of the Sydney Spirit, but they even unashamedly assumed a hands-on roll in the process.

That much was made abundantly clear in the famous Bendigo Spirit branding squabble. And it came as no surprise to see whose side Basketball Australia ended up taking on that issue.

Now, just five months later, the interim administration is throwing money at the Spirit (money that could be put towards far more useful things like, say, reforming the sport) to effectively clean up the mess it created.

You can’t deny the interim administration have blood on their hands.

Those at the Spirit – owner Greg Evans and CEO Steve Aquilina – certainly make for easy scapegoats. Aquilina even recently referred to the club as the “Sydney Spirit/West Sydney Razorbacks” on the club website – wearing a Razorbacks polo shirt, no less.

But there must also be accountability for those overseeing the transition from above. These are the people that gave approval (and endorsement) to the move. The people that believed the Spirit were “the best possible opportunity to capture the full support of the Sydney marketplace.”

It was the first real test for the interim administration and it was their first big disaster. Their track record is now tainted.

If they’ve failed so miserably at introducing one team in the space of an off-season, how the heck are they going to introduce an entire league (and its eight or so clubs, not to mention a coordinated marketing campaign and a salary cap that’s actually policed) in that exact same time-frame?

Perhaps the worst part of it is that no lessons have been learned.

If the example of the Victoria Titans didn’t make things clear enough, then the Sydney Spirit confirms it: mergers and so-called “olive branches” do not work.

Yet unbelievably, Scott Derwin is still pushing for it to happen all over again. It’s been reported on the Gold Coast that he wants the Blaze to reach out to the Brisbane market from next year onward.

The review at least provided the sport with some achievable goals to aspire to. The review certainly adhered to lessons of the past. The same cannot be said about the interim administration.

A few months back basketball was promised the A-League.

Now we’re getting the ANZ Championship. Before the Channel Ten deal.

The time is ticking to turn things around. Just don’t go making the mistake of getting your hopes up that things will change.

When mass change is in order, all Basketball Australia have supplied us with is a mere “spoonful of adjustment.”

The myth of a World Cup venue shortage

Kevin Rudd has given the FFA the money it needs to make a play for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but there are still those who doubt if we can even get close to hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.

There are the obvious drawbacks, most notably the notion that 2018 is destined for Europe. Or that China is lurking around the corner ready to dash our hopes.

However, as yet China isn’t pushing the envelope and whilst Europe is certainly of concern, it will take more than one continent to bring down the bid.

Another concern you hear raised a lot locally is that Australia does not have the stadiums to host the tournament.

FIFA reportedly requires between nine and twelve venues, although they’ve recently showed flexibility in this area by pressing the 2014 World Cup hosts, Brazil, to use between eight and ten. Another part of this requirement is that only one city may have two venues.

The other major sticking point is that a World Cup stadium must have a capacity of at least 40,000, with at least 60,000 needed for semi final and final venues.

As it stands, the FFA can barely bring itself to letting the Socceroos play in a city that doesn’t reside along the east coast.

But it must be said, the status quo in Perth and Adelaide is not going to last until 2018, with or without a World Cup. A successful bid will ensure these changes won’t be AFL-centric and stadiums of World Cup quality will be ready.

So with that in mind, and a quick stroll around the other major cities, the stadium glass begins to look half-full, not half-empty.

Going by order of capacity, the MCG tops the list. Although some may criticize the ground for its oval shape, it is worth remembering that at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, several rows of seating had to be removed to accommodate the running track.

At the final of the 2006 World Cup, Berlin’s stadium had a running track around it.

Next up is Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. It's proven itself as a world-class venue and will fit in well at a World Cup.

Following closely behind is Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. With a minor upgrade to nudge the capacity over 60,000, it would be perfect for a semi final.

To complement the Melbourne and Sydney venues, either one of the Sydney Football Stadium and an upgraded Melbourne “bubble” stadium would work nicely. (As a preference, however, bending FIFA’s rules so both can be used would be ideal.)

So to get to FIFA’s Brazil target of eight, it would take just one or two regional centres to jump on board. If nine is the preferred number, at most it would be three.

That’s not to say work doesn’t still need to be done. But you only have to look as far as the next two host nations of the event – South Africa and Brazil – to realize just how good we’ve got it.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa will feature five venues built completely from scratch, one with a major overhaul and four that have undergone renovation work.

No current venue in Brazil in its present state is ready for the 2014 edition of the tournament.

Alexandre Massura, a special project manager for the bid, told USA Today last year: “The last venue built was 50 years ago, and by 2014 we have to give the world 12 new facilities.”

Australia has four venues either ready to go or just in need of a minor face-lift. In that regard, we’re on par, if not slightly ahead, with South Africa.

Australia will in all likeliness only need two new venues, the rest will be upgrades of existing stadia. In that regard, we’re well ahead of both South Africa and Brazil.

And in terms of the number of stadiums over 40,000, we're easily comparable to one of our biggest rivals for 2018, Spain.

Governments at both a state and federal level have shown their support, and will no doubt be aware of what they’re getting themselves in to.

We’re no England. We're no USA.

But in the bigger scheme of things, we’re really not that far off.

Also published on The Roar.

The Variety Bucket: Time for a bit of head-wobble

Oh, Lordy. Just when you thought this blog had nothing to do with serious sport analysis, bam: Best Off Ground predicts Cousins to Richmond.

Wednesday of last week, right here, I said that Richmond was the perfect fit for drafting Ben Cousins. Just about every club in the league was singled out, but none seemed more appropriate than the Tigers.

Now it is on the front page of the papers. “Tigers eye Ben,” the Herald Sun read. The Tigers are actually looking to sign Ben!

For once, you actually did hear it here first.

Well it’s good to know the director of football operations at the Tigers loves a bit of Best Off Ground during his recruiting sessions. (Kidding!)

And it’s also good to know I can still hit the mark sometimes. (I stress the word sometimes.)

Anyways, my head-wobble session is now officially over, let’s take a look at some other things from the world wide web.

The Roar

I know I promised like no more head-wobble and stuff. But, err, here is a follow-up to Tuesday’s Julius Hodge article.

It’s also got a bit of a 36ers-Crocs game review and delves deeper into the Julius Hodge story.

So all in all, probably a much better read than the original. Forget I even mentioned the Tuesday one.

Just as an aside, I recommend to any hoops writer that they post some stuff on The Roar. We're a little outnumbered over there at the moment.

Scibz’ Spiel

We shouldn’t plagiarise the A-League, according to Scibz. The whole eight team thing is still a hot topic of discussion.

That said, the way things are, the new national league might be lucky to get eight bids anyway!

Oh, and one mental note to come out of it from this end: a national league without New South Wales is not a national league at all.

Write that down, interim administrators, I’m kinda on a roll here.

With Hodge, the 36ers are dangerous

The return of Julius Hodge to the Adelaide 36ers has given the team a genuine shot at making the playoffs. Not only that, his return has brought back quite a number of fans, too – over 5,000 came to see his homecoming.

And on Wednesday night, the Julius Hodge Experience lights up Adelaide (and, thanks to Fox Sports, the rest of the country also) once more in a juicy date with the in-form Townsville Crocodiles.

Last season, Hodge was an absolute revelation for the team. The 20th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and North Carolina State alumn arrived in the city of churches in December of last year, replacing underperforming import Mike Chappell.

After chasing a spot on an NBA roster in the off-season, he has crash landed back in Adelaide mid-season again, this time replacing underperforming import Mark Tyndale.

In his four games so far since returning, the 36ers appear a team born again.

In the pre-Hodge era, the 36ers were lingering in the bottom four with a disappointing 5-7 record. A swag of promising off-season moves did not deliver what the fans had hoped for.

There were some positives, such as the outstanding debut NBL season of Aussie centre Luke Schensher. But a playoff push seemed enormously unlikely.

Hodge burst on the scene in his first weekend back in the country. He dropped 26 points against the Sydney Spirit and backed it up just a night later with 27 against the South Dragons. His two standout performances earned him the NBL’s player of the week accolade.

The only downside was that the team couldn’t take a win out of either game.

Perhaps more critical, albeit less statistically appealing for Hodge as an individual, is what has happened since the American’s first weekend back down under.

The 36ers are actually back on the winners list.

They claimed the scalp of the surprisingly competitive Wollongong Hawks two weekends back. Then they backed it up with an eight-point win over the Melbourne “greatest-of-all-time-if-only-they-had-a-point-guard” Tigers on Saturday night.

Hodge appears to be the missing piece to the puzzle. He has led his team in assists in three of his four games to date. He has been solid defensively.

He provides the firepower that was missing with Mark Tyndale occupying an import slot.

The scary thing is we are yet to see the best of him. In January last year, he famously exploded for 39 points against the Cairns Taipans. It may only be a matter of time before he finds himself in the thirties once again.

Thanks to the arrival of Hodge, it now it seems as though the 36ers are making a genuine run for the playoffs. They sit just one position out of the top six and a win tomorrow night would put them on par with the next-best side, the Spirit.

Standing in their way is the fourth-placed Crocs, the side that last weekend toppled the New Zealand Breakers – who are currently sitting second on the ladder – in Auckland, an arduous task to say the least.

It is fair to say the Crocs themselves are looking good for a spot in the top six come season’s end.

However with the dominance of the Dragons and Breakers, the loaded rosters of the Tigers and Wildcats and the fairytale-in-waiting Spirit not too far behind, the playoff race is looking tight.

Both sides can’t afford to slip up from here and will be desperately seeking a win.

In the end, the Hodge factor seems too big to ignore. The 36ers are riding a wave of momentum and don't look like slowing down any time soon.

Expansion alone won't save A-League crowds

As the season rolls on, this year’s A-League is looking more and more like Baz Luhrmann’s “epic” Australia: a lot of hype and promotion, a lot of hope pinned on expensive local talent (hello John Aloisi) and more than anything, a poor reception at the box office.

Despite the fact highlight reels have been flooded with superb goals over the past few weeks, fans have been staying away in their droves. The weekend’s second-straight round without a crowd of over 10,000 officially marked the end of the honeymoon period.

No longer can the A-League pitch itself as the bright, young new kid on the block.

The drastic decline in support has revealed that the problem runs deeper than first expected. Those within the football family that expected expansion would turn things around must surely have to think again.

It was assumed that watching the same eight teams running around for going on four years had grown tired and that the influx of two new teams would provide a much-needed injection of variety to the competition.

But seriously, if variety was everything, we wouldn’t have seven clubs still sporting white playing strips every time they’re on the road.

And when fans are not pointing to expansion as the saviour, they are pointing to the global financial crisis as the reason for the decline.

This is despite the fact that, according to Roy Morgan research, consumer confidence began to plummet back in January and has levelled off since then.

Admittedly, things aren’t what they were a year ago.

But if a cutback in spending was truly a driving force behind football’s crowd woes, there would’ve been similar evidence of struggle in the winter codes.

Clearly, there wasn’t.

AFL crowd figures actually increased. The NRL escaped a tumultuous year off the field to see only a small drop in support.

Alas, it is fair to say there is more to it than just monotony and the economy.

Put simply, the A-League has had its day in the sun. Things haven’t been the same in Melbourne since the Victory tore season two to shreds. Things haven’t been the same in Sydney since “All Night Dwight” was bringing in the fans.

The momentum fuelling those glory days is the same sort of stuff that made the Reds take over Adelaide during the AFC Champions League.

Expansion will not address the issue of how to ensure A-League clubs are not just one-hit wonders. If anything, it will create two more one-hit wonders, exacerbating the problem down the track.

Of course, expansion also presents concern in the fact that a 10-team competition will require a 27-round season.

This works against the principle of bringing fans through the gates on two fronts.

Firstly because it is asking fans to rock up for an additional three home games. Membership numbers, which have only just found themselves solid foundation after a dreadful first season, will take a hit solely on this basis.

Secondly, we are likely to see mid-week games introduced to accommodate the extra rounds. Wednesday night games are hardly a big drawcard and have yet to prove themselves in this country outside of major events (such as State of Origin and the business end of the ACL).

Kudos must be given to the FFA for not underestimating the issue. They are currently conducting market research on the state of the competition.

Hopefully the research will help re-kindle that old spark the A-League once had.

After all, it’d be scary to think that a couple of extra teams only differentiated by the colour of their sleeves should have to shoulder all the burden.

Also published on The Roar.

The Variety Bucket: The best of, err, Best Off Ground...

So now that the blog is back in action, I thought I might test out a bit of a new concept: writing pieces light on hard-hitting sports opinion and heavy on, well, just about anything.

I'm not promising anything like JR's jockstrap write-up, that is clearly in a league of its own. But you will see a bit about the world of blogging, exciting news about my foray into the world of sports writing (here's one I prepared earlier) and maybe even a couple of odd stories I find lingering out there in the wide world of sport.

It'd also be nice to enter the world of linking some great stuff from other blogs, but we'll see how we go with this piece first.

I guess I'll start by joining the queue of bloggers praising Google Analytics. I've been on it since the start of July and it has been a revelation.

The tool helps you find out what sites are sending links your way, what country your hits are coming from and other bits of useless information you probably didn't need to know but it's cool to know anyway.

The stat I enjoy the most is all about which posts are being read and which ones aren't. So I figured I'd run through which ones you guys, the readers, have been reading.

Thanks in large part to the fantastic online hoops community, basketball dominates the top ten.

The South Dragons' import saga was a major discussion point earlier in the year (and some would argue it still is,) so it's no surprise to see my take on that issue rack up the most hits.

Coming in second is my initial digestion of the review, with some comparisons to football's Crawford Report. Back then I was screaming out "leadership!" at the top of my lungs. Nothing has changed.

The first AFL piece in the line-up has become synonomys with a Google search of "AFL expansion." (Or the second page of it at least!)

And it seems there were quite a few people sharing my frustration toward the AFL's grand final ticketing farce. Not that it mattered, I never ended up getting tickets to the big game.

As for football, well, the round ball game surprisingly doesn't feature in the top ten. But the highest ranked piece appears to be well ahead of its time.

The plight of the Phoenix (Wellington Phoenix, that is) has been big news in recent weeks, but here I was back in April (this blog's first piece) standing up for the Kiwi battlers. Now that they're a success story, everyone seems to be showing them some love.

So there you have it. Let me know your thoughts, even if that involves giving me a list of my worst posts, by dropping a comment or using the all-new "reactions" bar just below.

Clubs could do worse than drafting Cousins

Amidst all the deliberation going on at practically every AFL club over whether or not Ben Cousins would make a good pick up, one thing seems to have slipped off the radar: just how good a footballer he is.

He’s won a Brownlow. And a premiership. He was a vital part of West Coast’s success during his time at the club. There are few midfields in the league that would be disadvantaged by adding Cousins.

Some question his age. But, at 30, he still has a lot to offer. Players of Cousins’ quality have proven that they can keep up well in to their thirties. Look at recent retirees Robert Harvey (who ran out for his last game at age 37) and Shane Crawford (at 34.)

Some question his relationship with drugs. But there would be a level of hypocrisy in ignoring him for that reason, as there are several AFL players sitting on two strikes under the AFL’s recreational drugs policy. He bucked the trend by going public and is committed to moving on with his life.

(And, technically, Cousins never even sat on one strike. No AFL test found drugs in his system.)

Some question the public relations risk. But, now more than ever, Ben Cousins is his own entity. If he hits the news for the wrong reasons again, the media will hang Ben Cousins out to dry. Not the club. They won't be immune to the media, but Cousins will definitely take the spotlight.

Besides, you can be assured they’d be a bunch of positive news stories if he does come good. Which, remembering his age and ability, is a genuine possibility.

Yet most clubs still seem to baulk like signing him would be the worst move since Bold & the Beautiful to 6.00 weeknights. No club drafted him at the national draft last weekend. His only hope is this month's pre-season draft.

It makes no sense. Ben Cousins has much more talent to offer than a draft day reject lingering in the pre-season draft.

Sure, the kids have potential. In fact, the clubs with a genuine youth policy would be crazy to draft a 30-year-old.

But clubs on the verge of September action, such as Richmond, have few excuses. Clubs looking to replace a recent retiree in the midfield (which obviously included St Kilda, who sadly do not have a pick at the pre-season draft) would also need to think twice before giving him the flick.

Even legendary coach Kevin Sheedy, now employed at Richmond, has grilled the Tigers’ football operations manager Craig Cameron on the issue based on that exact line of thinking. In public, too.

Those in the room at the time say it was a heated discussion.

Of course no club can draft him without forking out extra resources to accommodate Cousins’ unique needs. But let’s face it, given he’ll only be on a draftee’s salary, it’d be like paying for a star outside of the salary cap.

Cousins has accepted the AFL’s tough testing regime and has come a long way during his time away from the game. He’s committed to returning to the sport he loves.

All that’s needed now is a home for this fallen superstar.

Essendon, Richmond, Brisbane, Port Adelaide, Carlton and Melbourne all have picks at the December 16 pre-season draft. Of those clubs, only the Bombers, Power and Demons can truly hide behind a focus on recruiting youth.

Brisbane has reneged on their once keen stance on Cousins. With a first year coach in Michael Voss, it is hard to blame them.

Carlton already has a reasonably stacked midfield. The romance of a reunion with Chris Judd would wear off quickly.

That leaves the Tigers.

Considering a finals appearance in 2009 is likely, the club would be perfectly justified in bringing in someone of Cousins’ experience. He could easily be the Stuart Dew to their Hawthorn.

Now is clearly the time for someone to take a punt at Punt Road.

Basketball's reform a poisoned chalice

Credit must be given to basketball administrators for recently voting unanimously to merge Basketball Australia and the NBL and adopt recommendations set out by a wide-ranging review. It's clearly a step in the right direction.

However since the document’s release back in September, the sport’s interim administration has been disturbingly contradicting many of the review’s recommendations.

And that's not all, they are also seriously undermining the next administration (although we’re still waiting to hear when there will actually be a next administration.)

In order to win approval for the reform from current NBL clubs, the interim administration declared that clubs competing in the NBL this season will be guaranteed a spot in the new national league, provided they meet the financial criteria.

By giving this guarantee, they have left the new administration with little flexibility.

For example, even if the new administration sees fit to stay out of football codes’ “expansion wars” (in markets like West Sydney and the Gold Coast,) the Gold Coast Blaze could still walk up with a pile of cash and they’ve automatically got a spot in the new league.

A similar predicament would exist if all current clubs want in and consortiums out to revive the Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets emerge. Would broadcasters want to handle a 12-team competition? Isn’t it widely accepted that having 12 teams is too many anyway? What limitations would that put on expansion down the track?

If either of these scenarios were to eventuate, the new administration could be forced into making a decision that is not in the best interests of the game. It would hardly be a good start to the so-called “reform.”

Not only that, the guarantee has also made it much harder to give the perception that this new national league is any different to the previous one. We may just end up seeing the exact same teams, give or take a Sydney-based side, of course.

The interim administration is also pursuing an offer from Fox Sports to telecast the new national league and national teams for five years, bringing a healthy $35 million into the game’s coffers. This is another example of the interim administration going into areas they shouldn’t.

It’s a lot of money, yes, but the deal will no doubt be exclusive. If the sport pushes ahead it runs the risk of being frozen away in the oblivion of Foxtel, away from the mainstream fans that have so famously deserted the game.

Even beyond the “mainstream,” there are plenty within the basketball community that do not feel a connection with the NBL. The review has stated this. A lot of these types are the people that are avid NBA fans and are all over college hoops, but have no time for their “local” team.

Interestingly, as of next year, the NBA and college hoops will be shown free to anyone with a set-top box or built-in tuner on One HD, Channel Ten’s new secondary channel. It’s scary to think that American hoops would take a more prominent position than the new national league, especially given how things are now.

On the five-year front, it is worth noting that the two competitions this new league is likely to be modelled on – the A-League and netball’s ANZ Championship – both started out with one-year broadcast deals before moving on to bigger and better things.

If One HD isn’t biting (and their severe lack of local content makes that seem unlikely) then it would be far better strategically to opt for a one-year deal.

Basketball, sooner rather than later, needs free-to-air. This is too big a call to be leaving in the hands of an interim administration.

According to the timeline set out by the review, “key appointments” were supposed to take place in November. It is December already and there’s still an interim board and there’s still an interim CEO in the form of Scott Derwin.

Leadership was critical to the reform of football, which poached John O’Neill from rugby union (and has since poached Ben Buckley from the AFL.) At board level, Frank Lowy has been running the show. A lot of basketball fans may envy Lowy for his money, but it is his brains that should be desired most.

Just where is basketball's leadership? Where is our John O'Neill?

And it seems key appointments are not the only area that has been running behind schedule. The release of the review was delayed. Voting on the review’s recommendations was delayed. Question marks surround whether or not bids coming out of Brisbane and Sydney can be prepared in time.

Running on such a tight schedule puts the sport in a dangerous position. If history is anything to go by, this is a frightening proposition. Remember that the Razorbacks becoming the Sydney Spirit was a decision made on an short time frame. Allowing Tim Johnston to own the Sydney Kings was a similarly rushed decision. What about the move to summer?

In an article in The Australian last month, Derwin pointed to “shifting the competition from a winter to a summer league” as a key reason for the league's demise.

Curiously, Derwin and the rest of the interim administration have not seen fit to rectify that. The new national league will stay in summer, even though the advent of twenty20 cricket and the A-League has made the summer market all that more competitive.

A move away from summer would allow for quite a few extra months off, alleviating the aforementioned time constraints and, heaven forbid, there might even be enough time to see this new administration brought in.

But of course that would sound an awful lot like those crazy “season off” rumours circulating not too long ago. “Season off” are the two words nobody wants to say because nobody wants to hear them.

Just like none of the clubs wanted to be told their spot in the new competition isn’t safe. It seems that nobody is prepared to get on anybody’s nerves.

In that same article in The Australian, Derwin touted the possibility that the new national league may not have a salary cap. The current NBL has both a salary cap and a points cap, although the salary cap is too hard to police and the points cap is similarly inadequate.

However to simply give up on it would mean the league's credibility would take a serious hit. The extra resources brought about by the reform were supposed lead to a policed salary cap. This is another contradiction of the review and, frankly, it's just plain lazy.

Nobody ever said reforming an entire sport was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to hurt – no pain, no gain. By cushioning the ride for stakeholders and taking the easy option where possible, the interim administration is limiting the sport's potential.

Now is the time to get serious about reform. Let’s bring in the guys that will be running the show a year from now today and stop beating around the bush. And let’s hope they know how to make a tough call.

Readers, I'm happy to inform you I'm back and will be continuing blogging. Also, just as a bit of an "experiment," this article has been published on The Roar too.