It’s been a long week, sports media consumers, but lucky for you, you’ve made it to one of the most important days of the week: briefing day!
Sports media really is the gift that keeps on giving. Whether it’s a former front rower saying that a former teammate is better than one of the best fullbacks in the world, or two middle-aged white men giving their opinion on what’s not good music, or an NFL coach admitting he’s a dumbass, there is just nothing better.
So if you’re ready to dive into some of these stories, get comfortable, and I will tell you all about them!
Okay, Boomer
This wasn’t on the original plan for today’s briefing, but I saw two identical pieces of content back-to-back and I just had to give my two cents worth on it.
This week, it came out that there will be no pre-game entertainment at the NRL Grand Final after talks with Aussie singer Tones and I fell through. Chris Barrett of the Sydney Morning Herald said sources said the NRL wanted the Aussie singer to perform Dance Monkey, her number one song, but she wasn’t prepared to do it.
Meanwhile, Myles Holbrook-Walk of the ABC reported that Tones and I’s management said she had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America. Instead of pre-game entertainment, the NRL has decided to use the money that was put aside and give it to junior rugby league.
No matter what the reason is, it is a bummer that there will be no one singing before the big game. But two older white men, Andrew Voss and Paul Kent, think that the NRL dodged a bullet by not getting Tones and I to perform.
Kent, a former News Corp journalist who is with The Fanatics now, reckons you have to be high on pingers (what us Aussies call ecstasy) to enjoy Dance Monkey. Since it was overplayed in 2019, I have never been on pingers while listening to and enjoying that song. What annoyed me the most about Kent’s comment, though, was him saying, ‘whatever her worldwide hit was.’ I’m not sure if he was trying to be funny, but you’d never disrespect a Rugby League player by not knowing something; how about getting something basic right?
Slightly annoyed by Kent’s take, I didn’t think much more of it, and as I mentioned, it certainly wasn’t going to get a run, until I saw Andrew Voss on his SEN show say this:
While Vossy was just as annoying as Kent, at least he had the decency to get the name of the song right.
Anyway, at least the money is going somewhere worthwhile.
Future of the Game
Popular NRL podcast The Bye Round, hosted by James Graham, is currently doing his top 99 greatest players of the NRL era, with one of the great halfbacks of the game, Peter Sterling.
It came out last week that James Graham had picked his former teammate Ben Barba over Roosters great Anthony Minichiello. Many people disagreed with that take, but Graham explained that he had only seen the back end of Minichiello’s career, while he had a front-row seat to Ben Barba’s.
That wasn’t the only hot take from the show, however. Graham named Hazam El Masri as his 99th player, while Sterling said he had him up higher, around the 50 mark. Sterling reasoned that El Masri was one of the greatest goalkickers he had ever seen, which is true; he was so reliable with the boot, he could win you the game.
But according to Graham, goal kicking is not ‘proper rugby league.’ I don’t know what Graham was on during that first episode, but I want some. The former front-rower turned podcaster believes a player can’t get extra credit for being a goal kicker. That’s horseshit, expecially when talking about El Masri, and how he could win a game for the Bulldogs.
Goal kicking has always been part of the game, and it should stay part of the game. We shouldn’t suddenly pretend it isn’t an important skill just because some people don’t think it should count when ranking players.
Overall, the podcast is quite a good listen, especially since we get to hear from Sterling once again. Give it a listen; you may not agree with where they put a player, but that means you can make your own list.
You Dumbass
The difference a week makes in sport is truly amazing. Last week, Sean McVay said that he hoped his side didn’t have to travel to Australia again after the LA Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers. This week, McVay finally admitted he had made a mistake.
The Rams played the New York Giants, and it was a return to form for the Super Bowl favourites as they ran the victors 28-6. The Giants had injury concerns during the match when quarterback Jaxson Dart injured his knee and will miss the rest of the season. Malik Nabers injured his shoulder.
After the game, McVay faced the media and had this to say:
The Rams’ 28-6 win over the Giants gave McVay the perfect opportunity to address the Australia controversy, and he did something I wasn’t expecting: he admitted that the travel plan was a dumb decision and took responsibility for it.
It certainly looks like the organisation is trying to do some damage control after LA Rams President Kevin Demoff said in an interview with the Sporting Tribune that the organisation remains committed to Australia. Demoff also said in the interview that McVay’s comments were a product of today’s ‘headline clickbait world,’ which is an odd conclusion, but it is good to know that the president has his coaches’ back.
And there you have it, sports media consumers: another week, another collection of absolute nonsense. Hope the rest of your week is as awesome as you are, dear reader.
Until next time, take care.
Merce.