As we farewell the moustached month of Movember - with Wayne Kemp sending us this late entry for "Man of Movember" - we look forward to tonight's preliminary final action with the smell of bate on our breath. With the game times shifting to the unfamiliar 6.30-7.30-8.30 routine, the night opens with Hope Smith and the Marion Magnetics up against the rampaging ACH Redbacks. The Magnetics took the points in their last matchup but the Redbacks will be a tough opponent tonight. Be there early to get a good seat as our best juniors go head to head.



The night then concludes at 8.30pm with the long-awaited preliminary final showdown between the Arndale Allstars and Marion Magnetics. Both teams are fairly evenly matched and we're going out on a limb here and predicting a draw, such is their evenness. Yes, we know they'll play overtime if the game is drawn, but that will be drawn too. And the second overtime, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth and so on. They're that even. In the end, we can see them flipping a coin to decide the winner, with both teams giving up on basketball at around 4am. Meanwhile, the Thunder lay in wait, freshly shaven and ready to take on the winner of the coin toss in next week's grand final.

In a game for the ages, Centro Arndale went head-to-head with Westfield Marion last night and as predicted, it was close. Bowland started the game strong for Marion with a series of early strikes, but the clinicity of Terry White's Chemists and long-distance calls from the Fone Zone quickly saw Arndale back in the contest. From there, Arndale maintained a lead of six points or so until 10 minutes remained, when Marion tied the game up thanks to a sexy series of plays from Marion's Bras n Things. With the score even with 7 minutes left, the game settled into a back and forward matchup between Arndale's Red Rooster and Marion's KFC and with 40 seconds to go, Arndale held the tenderest of leads by 2 points and a serve of small fries. It was then that Essential Man stood up, showing balls of steel to hit an off-balance triple to give Marion the lead. They went into a Man-to-Man defence and whittled away cheap fouls to go from a team count of 2 to 6, killing the clock down to 11 seconds. And as Arndale's Xtreme Sports made a bold crosscourt pass, Marion Locksmiths stole the ball for an open layup and the game, 45-42. The win sees the Reading Cinemas wondering what might've been, whilst Greater Union Megaplex go on to the big dance next week.

PS. Try that for size, Google Ads. If you won't give us spider monkeys from Guam, then at least give us local Christmas shopping links!

We've now been visited by 35000 Thunder Fans (in 18 countries), which is the same number of blocks used by "Eric" to build the Lego desk in the photo above. Made entirely from Lego, it includes almost all the pieces from 32 blue tubs, almost 300 small baseplates (8x16 studs), and 63 blue plate packs from LEGO Shop-at-Home. A few other pieces were also bought from private collectors (226 tiles so the drawers could slide, etc) but hey, who's counting?. The desk weighs about 60kg. Wow. We wonder what Eric does for a living 'cause he clearly has too much time on his hands but regardless, we're impressed. From Kent "Toast" French, Sapphron the spider monkey from Guam, Westfield Marion and Centro Arndale, everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we say well done and Eric, if you're reading this, send us some pictures or videos, suggest a few stories, or pass on rumour/innuendo about your latest Lego creation. You can do this and more by sending us an email to somertonthunder@optusnet.com.au or visiting our guestbook. Thanks for visiting our site!

Sorry folks but there'll be no updates for the next few days as we take time-out to prepare for the grand final. We'll be back with more stories on the weekend but for now, why not register your vote for "Man of the Movember" while you're waiting? See you again in a few days.

Take 5 minutes out of your schedule and watch this video of ex-NBA star Wayman Tisdale. He recently had his right leg amputated due to cancer and the video covers this, his recovery, and how he made it through it all. And if that isn't enough for ya, go and visit his site - www.waymantisdale.com - and groove to the tunes of one funky dude. A special guy leading a special life with a special message for us all.

"Grateful" chorus from his 2008 Rebound CD

Lord I'm grateful for all you've done for me
And I can't payback all the things that you've given me
I'll keep fighting and let the whole world know
That I'm grateful, so very grateful, and to my praise it will show


PS. If anyone's looking for Christmas presents, why not get that special someone a Wayman Tisdale CD? Visit his website for a sample.

We did it! Having set a $500 goal for Movember, Thunder fans worldwide united to smash the target to smithereens and set a new benchmark of $1000, with a Nick Kyriazis' donation pushing the Mo Bros over the four-figure mark, the total now $1026.95. Congratulations to the Thunder players who partook in Movember and a big thank you to everyone who donated money to such a good cause. See you again next year.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Movember coin, our online poll came up trumps for centre Michael Reu, the final results as follows:

Michael Reu - 73 votes
Josh Gondolf - 67 votes
James Smith - 52 votes
Nick Kyriazis - 25 votes
Terry Sleep - 19 votes
Brad Smith - 5 votes

From everyone at Movember, leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we congratulate Mike on being voted as the best mo and look forward to next year's efforts when we're sure each player will come up with a new and improved follicular display after this year's debut performances.

Is it too early to declare Derrick Rose the Rookie of the Year? In what is fast becoming a regular update, we bring you another Derrick Rose video. Actually, what the heck. Let's make it two. Two videos, both from the same game. Wow. This cat can play. Go Bulls.

From the same folk that brought you our SACBA game previews this year, we present our official Dectopia SABASA Grand Final preview. Marion return to the SABASA grand final for the first time since the all-Seacombe Gardens showdown back in 1999b, whilst Somerton is no stranger to the big dance, having won the last two titles. The above picture is of the Thunder's semi-final team, looking resplendid in Movember.

NB: All-time statistics listed below are to the conclusion of the 2008a season and include active players only (ie playing in the grand final). 2008b single-season statistics are unavailable so similarly, we've used the previous 2008a season as the best guide to current form.

LAST FIVE GAMES HEAD-TO-HEAD
24/11/2008: Somerton 52 d Marion 43 (semi-final)
10/11/2008: Somerton 63 d Marion 36
22/9/2008: Somerton 48 d Marion 37
4/8/2008: Somerton 53 d Marion 44
12/5/2008: Somerton 52 d Marion 26

ALL-TIME SOMERTON SABASA STATS LEADERS
Games: B.Smith 354, J.Smith 331, N.Kyriazis 275, Gondolf 267, Sleep 118
Triples: Gondolf 286, McKinnon 198, N.Kyriazis 164, B.Smith 76, J.Smith 75
Free throws: J.Smith 606, B.Smith 339, N.Kyriazis 152, Gondolf 103, McKinnon 98
Free throw %: J.Smith 67%, McKinnon 65%, Gondolf 55%, N.Kyriazis 52%, T.Kyriazis 52%
Fouls: B.Smith 603, N.Kyriazis 508, J.Smith 487, Gondolf 271, T.Kyriazis 198
Points: J.Smith 4438, B.Smith 3085, Gondolf 1561, N.Kyriazis 1515, McKinnon 1264
B&F votes: J.Smith 436, B.Smith 264, Sleep 164, McKinnon 93, N.Kyriazis 83

ALL-TIME MARION SABASA STATS LEADERS
Games: Janssen 120, Ellis 23, Schmidt 23, Jack 19, Fisher 13
Triples: Janssen 77, Schmidt 36, Ellis 23, Jack 6, Fisher 3
Free throws: Janssen 120, Jack 16, Ellis 11, Gaskin 11, Fisher 9
Free throw %: Janssen 52%, Ellis 50%, Schmidt 42%, Jack 39%, Fisher 35%
Fouls: Janssen 223, Jack 30, Ellis 29, Fisher 26, Schmidt 16
Points: Janssen 974, Schmidt 244, Ellis 190, Jack 136, Fisher 96
B&F votes: Janssen 53, Schmidt 33, Jack 12, Fisher 8, Gaskin 7

2008a SINGLE-SEASON SOMERTON SABASA STATS LEADERS
Games: T.Kyriazis 15, J.Smith 15, Gondolf 14, B.Smith 14, N.Kyriazis 13
Triples: Gondolf 25, McKinnon 18, Sleep 6, J.Smith 3, Anderson 1
Free throws: J.Smith 26, B.Smith 13, McKinnon 4, T.Kyriazis 3, Gondolf 2
Free throw %: Gondolf 67%, J.Smith 62%, McKinnon 50%, T.Kyriazis 43%, B.Smith 43%
Fouls: T.Kyriazis 30, J.Smith 17, B.Smith 16, Anderson 15, N.Kyriazis 14
Points: J.Smith 209, McKinnon 112, Sleep 108, Gondolf 93, B.Smith 93
B&F votes: J.Smith 27, Sleep 12, B.Smith 9, McKinnon 8, Gondolf 3

2008a SINGLE-SEASON MARION SABASA STATS LEADERS
Games: Ellis 14, Schmidt 14, Fisher 13, Jack 13, Janssen 12
Triples: Schmidt 21, Ellis 13, Janssen 9, Fisher 3, Jack 3
Free throws: Janssen 16, Jack 11, Fisher 9, Ellis 8, Schmidt 6
Free throw %: Schmidt 67%, Ellis 57%, Janssen 53%, Jack 37%, Fisher 35%
Fouls: Janssen 33, Fisher 26, Jack 23, Ellis 21, Schmidt 10
Points: Schmidt 155, Ellis 117, Janssen 106, Fisher 96, Jack 94
B&F votes: Schmidt 22, Fisher 8, Jack 5, Janssen 3, Ellis 2

OUR PREDICTION
Whilst our friends at LOBOSEF betting agency say the Thunder are clear favourites to take home the shield, we here at leaguelineup.com suggest a little caution before you put your hard-earned on Somerton to win. The gold and black gave the black and gold a hard time in the semi-final and whilst they surrender height to the seasoned veterans, they make up for it with speed, guile and hustle. In a recent contest, they had the lead out to 20-6 before the Thunder seemingly woke up and turned the game around. That ability to turn the game around is why we think the Thunder will ultimately prevail, but they wouldn't want to give up too much of a lead early on. Look for a classic matchup between Schmidt and McKinnon in the backcourt, whilst Jack/Janssen/Gaskin versus Smith/Smith/Sleep up front should be a crackerjackmajetski, and the shootout between Ellis and Gondolf is worth the price of admission itself. Fortunately for the Thunder, grand finals are rarely won on the first attempt, and their match-hardened finals experience should see them get over the line 52-44 in a contest worthy of the John Pilley Trophy. Get to the Distinctive Homes Dome centre court early for the 9pm match, with the season's presentations immediately after the game.

With the score tied 17-all at half time, and the Thunder leading 27-24 with 13 minutes remaining, last night's grand final looked set for a close finish but someone forgot to tell the black and gold. They ran all over the gold and black in the final quarter to take home the gold 48-29, punctuated by this late triple from Thunder skipper Bradley Smith. Presentations followed after the game, where Thunder bookends Terry Sleep and James Smith won the association's runner-up & best fairest awards respectively. More news and photos to come shortly.

We don't know if Julius Hodge drinks poison or not but regardless, this is a super video of him working out after the 36ers' win over the Melbourne Tigers. We assume poison refers to alcohol but who knows? Certainly paints this guy in a different light. Super basketball player? Yes. Switched on dude who knows what he wants? Yes. Someone who works hard to achieve in life? Yes. Outstanding recruit? No doubt.

With the NBL experiencing arguably its finest ever season on the court, the constant off-court nonsense is fast getting tiring. News continues to centre on the NewBL to tip-off next year but there's growing doubt that we'll ever get to 2009, with teams falling like nine-pins. First the Sydney Kings, then the Brisbane Bullets, then the Sydney Spirit, and now the Cairns Taipans. The Taipans fell into administration yesterday, with the club officially bust and not overly interested in next year's competition. Similar to the Spirit, there's doubt over whether they'll play again (the Spirit players took a 50% pay cut to play out the season). We've had enough. NBL, you are officially on notice.

PS. If anyone has any spare cash, we're thinking of buying a NBL franchise, calling it the Somerton Thunder, and asking players to play for the love of the game. Games would be on Monday nights, played at the Distinctive Homes Dome, with admission costing $1 - except for children and concession card holders, who would be free. How does that sound? It'd certainly work better than the rubbish they're dishing out now.

Game photos of the 2008b SABASA grand final have been uploaded to the game photos page, available via the button at the top of our website, or click on the official 2008b premiership team poster above. Congratulations to both teams on what was a very entertaining game.

It was smiles all around last Monday as Thunder bookends Terry Sleep and James Smith celebrated the SABASA Best & Fairest double, last claimed by the Happy Valley Jets in 2006a via Paul Hocking and Michael Curtis. The Jultopia veterans spent the night telling stories about SABASA and Jultopia seasons past and how long they have left, opinion varying between 1 and 30 seasons. For leaguelineup.com's sake, we hope it's at least 20, so they give future bookends Daniel and Jonty Smith time to grow a tad taller. From Kent "Toast" French, Michael Curtis, Paul Hocking and everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, congrats to Tezza and Jim on a super 2008b SABASA season.

With talk of last week's grand final still on everyone's lips, one question remains unanswered. Where was Michael Reu? We contacted Coach James Smith today and despite rumours to the contrary, he reassured us everything is OK with the veteran big man.

"Mike's fine. He had a volleyball commitment and was unable to avoid the schedule clash. Team rules require some form of punishment and this will be determined by the leadership group at January's preseason training session, but that's a discussion for another day. We knew he would be missing but these things happen. Fortunately, we were able to overcome his absence and Mike was the first guy to ring us after the game to offer his congratulations. Everything's fine, Mike will be back again for his 20th season in the Thunder strip in 2009a and we're all looking forward to Baby Reu arriving sometime soon - but we're waiting for another online poll to officially sanction that one."

Online poll? Nice try James, but not yet. Our online poll won't be dictated to by any coach. Meanwhile, you can vote for our inaugural "Man of Movember" at the current poll, with Brad Smith's "Ugly Dave Gray" impersonation taking an early lead.

In a crushing blow to the Thunder's title defence in 2009a, point guard Cal McKinnon has walked out on the club, choosing to take his game to ..... go on, think of a super place to spend six months ..... Ireland (yeah, wasn't our first choice either!). Heavily recruited over the past few months, the pressure of leading the Thunder became too much for the teenager, and he's opted to make the move while he's still young.

"The pressure of leading the Thunder became too much for me and I've opted to make the move while I'm still young," he allegedly said.



Hey, who are we to question his decision? We found the website for Basketball Ireland and after seeing ..... need to word this carefully as to not alienate 50% of the population ..... the quality of their tracksuits, we think he might be right. In fact, we're thinking of paying Cal a visit sometime to see what he's up to. You can of course, read all about Cal's Gaelic Adventure here at leaguelineup.com, with Cal promising to send regular updates and pictures as he travels around Ireland, trying to find out where to get one of these super tracksuits. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Cal all the best and look forward to regular stories about his travels.

PS. Click on the above picture to visit the Basketball Ireland website. And to think you didn't believe us about the tracksuit. Tsk tsk.

We've seen it, but we don't believe it. NBL highlights! Check out the above video of Adelaide's destruction of the rampaging Townsville Crocodiles, who came into the game on a 5-game winning streak. Mark our words - this 36ers' team is championship quality. Enjoy!

Editor's Note: Yes, we know the video isn't here any more. Funny it was only available for a week but nonetheless, it was a good week. In fact, it felt like the good old days when the NBL mattered but alas, it's gone. Memo to NBL HQ: get the game on free-to-air TV or it's a dead duck.

We've never really been a big fan of this guy, but Carmelo Anthony's scoring outburst in the third quarter last week against Minnesota had to been to be believed. 33 points, tying an NBA record for points in the third quarter. Unblvbl stuff but we still prefer D-Rose.

Meanwhile on the other side of the NBA coin, the Phoenix Suns sent Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson. We're not sure exactly what this means, but it's certainly very exciting for the Bell, Diaw and Richardson families and their teammates.

Finally, the Cairns Taipans will play out the season but without their imports. It's a bit hard to follow exactly why, but it sounds like the NBL agreed to rescue the team (with the routine 50% pay cut similar to the Sydney Spirit) but there wasn't the option for the imports to continue playing. Both Larry Abney and David Thomas are expected to play elsewhere, with the South Dragons cutting Cortez Groves overnight and seemingly making a strong play for Thomas, an ex-Melbourne Tiger. Bring on 2009 'cause the NBL season is fast becoming one big mess.

Rather than use our own words for this one, we hand the mike over to 5AA commentator David Wildy, who wrote this piece for Independent Weekly. To Ken Cunningham, South Australian sports guru, we say thank you for many wonderful memories and all the b-b-b-b-b-best in retirement. If you've been living on the moon and haven't heard, KG retired on Friday 12 December after what seems like an eternity on radio.

"We have all heard the sayings – "nothing lasts for ever … all good things must come to an end … no one is indispensable". But I was still shocked by the announcement that good mate Ken Cunningham would be replaced on the FIVEaa sports show at the end of this year. Like most people, I thought KG would go on in 2009 before bowing out in his 70th year, but the fairytale finish will not eventuate.

Hasn't the issue been the talk of the town? It seems everyone has an opinion on the decision, with an overwhelming majority feeling the Adelaide radio legend was harshly treated and should have been allowed to go out on his terms. Radio, like most vocations, can be a cut-throat industry. I have seen many "personalities" come and go, yet I always believed KG was untouchable and would stay on air until he was carried out in a coffin. Believe me, the FIVEaa management people would not have made their decision lightly because the respect they have for Ken is enormous and he still is the station's most popular personality.

However, managers are realists and it was glaringly obvious that with the number of ageing announcers at the station, changes had to be made and an injection of youth was necessary. They wanted KG to go out at the top of his game rather than see him stumble, and they made the decision to take him off the Monday-to-Friday drive-time program (4pm-7pm) but keep him on in other areas, including the Saturday 10am-1pm program and coverage of AFL matches. When all the emotion subsides, that decision may well prove to be the correct one, with the sports show continuing to thrive.

It's going to seem strange not hearing KG's passionate views and strong opinions on the nightly sports show, and his unbridled enthusiasm on anything South Australian, but life will go on and Cornesy and his new sidekick will no doubt bring something new to the table. I congratulate Kenneth George Cunningham on what has been a magnificent career (even though it's not over) and have no doubt he has been SA's biggest sports media star in the modern era. The name KG is synonymous with Adelaide and it seems as though every sports fan feels some sort of connection. Whether they loved him or hated him, they always listened to his program, and his ability to frustrate, infuriate or strike an affinity with the audience was legendary.

I have always marvelled how he could make what was a seemingly minor issue turn into World War III and extract opinions from every man and his dog. On air, I have never seen or heard him have a bad day, nor have I met anyone who has enjoyed his work as much as KG has enjoyed his work. I feel lucky and privileged to have worked with KG for 18 years. To sit alongside him and call over 700 games of league football has been a wonderful highlight. In that time I have learnt so much and will always be grateful for the amazing support given to me. I don't think KG has ever realised how talented he is, and, next to Barrie Robran, he is the most modest man I have ever met.

I'm sure AFL Hall of Fame induction awaits because of his outstanding media contribution to football and many more sporting accolades will deservedly come his way. Sadly, nobody can go on forever, but, even when the microphone is turned off for the last time, the legend of KG Cunningham will go on.

KG, I have loved every minute of my on-air association with you and am extremely proud to have you as a friend. One chapter may well be closing but I look forward to the good times ahead and to sharing a glass or two of your finest wines. Congratulations to KG and Cornesy on the amazing success of the FIVEaa sports show. It will certainly be interesting to see and hear what the new version has to offer."

In the latest sign that the much anticipated Light Stadium will soon find its way into the heart of Adelaide, the $100M redevelopment of AAMI Stadium has been indefinitely postponed, with the State Government using the excuse of the economic downturn to hide what everyone else can see as easily as the nose on their face - we need a new stadium in the city. C'mon folks, it couldn't be more obvious or easier. If you don't believe us, click on the above picture to visit the Light Stadium website. Super stuff and yes, we know who we're voting for at the next election. Putting aside any political views or personal thoughts about a government that avoids compulsory tendering processes to use contractors with personal links to key government ministers at $247.50 an hour (click here to read the full story - our blood was boiling by the end of the first paragraph), if the 2010 South Australian Government election comes down to a vote for a stadium or a hospital (when we already have one), we're voting stadium. And yes, we'll have an online poll on this one sometime in the near future. It's too important an issue for the State Government not to know the views of Kent "Toast" French, leaguelineup.com readers and 35000+ Thunder Fans out there in cyberspace.

We're off for a week, enjoying the best life has to offer after a long year behind the keyboard. Stay safe and we'll be back soon.

We're back from holidays and with 2008 coming to a close and the Movember funds drying up, it's time to say farewell to Movember for another year. We raised a total of $1126.95 to support prostate cancer research and beyondblue, with individual players raising the following. Click on the Movember fundraising quest banner above to view full details, with the banner now removed from our website for another year.

Michael Reu $540
James Smith $236.95
Brad Smith $150
Josh Gondolf $110
Nick Kyriazis $90



Congratulations also to Brad Smith, who despite polling dreadfully in the poll for who had the best mo, rebounded beautifully to claim the 2008 Man of Movember (click on his picture for the full results). Bradley, pictured above, polled 14 votes to win narrowly from Wayne Kemp.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, Nathan Jawai has been cleared by doctors to play for the Toronto Raptors. Stay tuned for more news. FYI, the Milwaukee Bucks' Andrew Bogut is averaging 11.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game for the season. Not bad but not what you'd be expecting from a #1 draft pick. Then again, if he played for a team that had some resemblance of knowing what they were doing .....

In further proof that maybe Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was right when he said binge drinking is a bad idea, Port Adelaide unveiled their 2009 clash guernsey last week. Steven Salopek was on the guernsey design planning team during one of their alleged late night drinking sessions.

"At our first meeting everyone agreed the best option for an alternate guernsey is white, and unlike other clubs wearing white, it is actually one of our colours, so we felt it was definitely time to make the most of that. We then went about getting the design right, and to be honest, I think it’s awesome. I am sure a lot of our younger supporters will be right into, including me if I still count as young! We’ve worn a few alternate guernseys since I joined the club and this one is completely different to the rest and is definitely my favourite. I’m not just saying that because I helped design it either! The all-teal back is very striking too, I can’t wait to see how that looks out on the field, with the white shorts and socks. The players are genuinely excited to wear it. Travis Boak loves it and said he’d wear it off the field too, so next time you see someone strutting around in it on the streets of Adelaide with a No.10 on their back, you know who it’ll be!"

So many things to comment on. Firstly, Mr Salopek, if you see someone strutting around on the streets of Adelaide with a No.10 on their back, it'd be an ardent Thunder Fan showing their support for 300-game Hall of Famer James Smith, not Travis Boak. Secondly, we agree that we can't wait to see how it looks out on the field too - but probably not with the same optimism that you have. And thirdly, surely enough teams have seen Fremantle's white jumpers to know they look terrible. Still, if it's meant to be a clash jumper, then they've succeeded. For what it's worth, whilst we're not a huge fan of white, the design looks good and is a little edgy. We give it an 8 out of 10. Bring on 2009.



Meanwhile on the other side of the pitch, the Aussies were stunned yesterday by South Africa, who scored 4/414 in the second-highest successful run chase in cricket history. Our opinion on this? Mitchell Johnson looked great, Brett Lee looked OK, Jason Krejza looked OK, but that's about it. You have to take 20 wickets to win a test match and when you're playing the #2 team in the world (arguably #1 after that effort), you need the best bowlers and in our expert basketball opinion, it's time to unleash the Wild Thing. Sure, he broke down last year mentally and is physically fragile at the minute but as long as he has two arms and two legs, he's playing in our books. Be brave Ricky, and pick him. Just 20 overs an innings from Shaun Tait will scare the living crud out of the Springboks. Only 5 sleeps to the Boxing Day Test.

The SANFL yesterday confirmed that despite the SA government postponing their $100 million gift to redevelop AAMI Stadium, they're still pressing ahead with plans to make it look like the picture above. It sure looks fancy et al, but it's still not in the city and for 100% of our readers to date (we don't make this up - check the results for our online poll), it doesn't come close to what they want. Bulldose the place and build a new city stadium instead. What would you do? Register your vote in our online poll and we'll send the final results on to the SANFL.

Meanwhile, the federal government are pushing ahead with their internet censorship (aka filtering) plans, and are looking to extend this to peer-to-peer file transfers. Whilst we admit we don't know much of the detail, we're mildly curious as to their intentions and where this will end up. Rather than give our thoughts on the subject, we turn to bloggers and the general public for their views, which included these.

Moses Guthrie, Adelaide: "Let it be said though that on this issue alone, those b*stards can kiss goodbye to ever getting my vote if they ban peer-to-peer file transfers. It serves no purpose at all and for those of us that download TV over the web ..... not happy, Aunty Jan."

Richard Young, Harbin: "Those of you who are likening Senator Conroy's actions to those of China should leave your armchairs and visit for yourselves. The censorship in China is much less than that proposed by Conroy."

Wayne, Adelaide. "Has Robert Mugabe given lectures on population control to this government? Deny us access to information contrary to the government's "acceptable content policy" and we will be denied access to anything counter-productive to their own agendas. Yes, I use U-torrent, I download European sitcoms not repeatedly thrashed on media in Au. I read news from other countries, specifically their reporting on our own events. It is worthy of note the things they see that we do not. Stories not politically biased on protests or protocols engineered by "backwater" politicians. Freedom of speech/press is sadly being ripped away from us every time we awaken to a new day. If the fed spent as much time/money targeting the pedophiles creating/downloading kiddyporn, the world would be a better place for all of us. Unimpressed with this proposal."

And we agree with all the above comments but it should be said, we haven't seen the detail and as usual, the devil will be in the detail. We agree with anything that restricts some of the abhorrent child abuse and other material on the web but in the end, if you want to Google "Somerton Thunder" or anything else that tickles your fancy, who are we to say no? As long as more people visit our Google Ads, it has to be a good thing. Sorry Senator Conroy, but trying to restrict/censor the web won't work, 'cause the hackers/nerds are always three steps ahead.



Meanwhile on the other side of the oval, the Aussie cricket selectors have responded savagely to their loss by dropping a guy that took 8 wickets in an innings in India, and keeping a pace bowler that looks, at best, pedestrian. C'mon Australia, show some ..... best not use the word we want to use or it might fail the new government filter ..... courage and pick someone with a bit of dash. If not Shaun Tait, then perhaps Bollinger from New South Wales. Looks like more of the same ol', same ol' for a while. And as for Krejza, he's hard done by in our books. If we were selecting the team? If Warney said no to 7 figures, we'd be offering the same carrot to one of these old timers. Veterans are where it's at.

PS. Yet another post about everything but basketball. Our evolution from a basketball site to a general commentary on all things life is almost complete and before you know it, you'll just be visiting another of those useless web blogs. If you want to keep the site going, send us some stories please, or it will be more of the same dribble and Google Ads for another month until the new season starts. Good times, good times.

We're always happy to talk politics here at leaguelineup.com - anything to pass the time in the basketball off-season - but the topic of Christmas and Jesus' place in it all is one topic we're particularly interested in, and we had to laugh at the political football being kicked around today. Take the quotes from the country's three most senior politicians today about the meaning of Christmas.

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister (ALP): "It is a time of reunion for families that have been separated for reasons of work, study and travel. And it is a very special time for kids, whose experiences of Christmas are among the happiest memories they carry throughout their lives. Certainly, it has been for me." While Christmas was significant for Christians, Mr Rudd said, it was an important time for "Australians of every faith and every belief" to get together.

Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader (Liberal) joined Mr Rudd in calling on Australians to remember soldiers serving overseas. "They're not with their families at Christmas time like most of us are. They're serving Australia, wearing our uniform, under our flag, doing us proud." Mr Turnbull recorded his internet message at a Salvation Army centre in Sydney, after helping to pack Christmas hampers for the disadvantaged.

Warren Truss, Party Leader (Nationals) had a message in contrast to the secular sentiment of Kevin Rudd in saying taking Christ out of Christmas was at odds with the true meaning of Christmas. "Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ whose love brought salvation and the message of peace and goodwill to all," Mr Truss said.

You can have your thoughts, you can have your opinions but for us, we're with Warren on this one, and we couldn't have said it better.

Yeah, we know we ran this video last year and the year before. There's a reason for that. It's message is simple and true. It's about the cross.

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It wouldn't be Christmas without a Dancing Elf video and lo and behold, out of nowhere, this video arrives in our email inbox today. The Thunder veterans - aka Brad Smith, Nick Kyriazis, James Smith, Josh Gondolf and Michael Reu - apparently filmed a disco video for the Thunder's "younger" players (in games, not years). Not to be undone, the so-called youngsters sent their own country version right back but alas, we haven't seen it yet. If any of the players have it, send it to the usual place. Meanwhile, Merry Disco Christmas from the Thunder veterans.

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Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas. Yesterday, we gave you the Thunder veterans' Disco Christmas and thanks to an unnamed player, today we present you with the reply from the so-called Thunder youngsters. Forgive us for using the word so-called, but we're struggling with the whole concept of Theo being a youngster ..... but we digress. The Thunder youngsters - Terry Sleep, Brad Anderson, Theo Kyriazis, Cal McKinnon and Michael Hill - have produced a country version so with no further adieu, it's a Merry Country Christmas from the Thunder youngsters.

PS. Michael Hill played for the Thunder this season? Yeah, we had to check too, but he laced them up in the 2008a First Season in a superb first-up effort against the Happy Valley Jets, surviving a knife in the head to lead the Thunder to a stellar victory. Read all about it here.

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Not to be outdone by their Monday counterparts, the Thunder's Saturday guys - Kerwin Penn, Stephen Rudd, Tom Halman, Andrew Zajer and Paul Mitchell - sent us a Charleston-style Christmas video earlier today. Shot completely in black and white to coincide with the Charleston era, it's worth a look and is absomurfly positively 100% guaranteed to be the last Christmas video we post because whilst funny, we sense a "jump the shark" moment coming soon. So with no further adieu, it's a Merry Charleston Christmas from the Thunder Saturday guys.

Nearly everyone outside Melbourne said prior to the season, that their experiment of putting the best five players on the court together - regardless of position and ability and skillset and anyone even resembling a point guard - would ultimately fail. The Tigers disagreed, with several Melbournites claiming they were the Greatest Of All Time. Well, they say hindsight is 20-20 and they're right. With Sam Mackinnon pushed into premature retirement due to an ongoing blood clot issue (that's life threatening by the way, so we won't make any jokes about it), they cut their losses on the weekend and also cut their best player - power forward Rod Grizzard (pictured above) - recalling forward Dave Thomas (recently released by the NBL from Cairns as part of their liquidation fiasco) and signing point guard Luke Kendall from Perth (who was a victim of the Sydney Kings' liquidation fiasco and has been substituting for centre Paul Rogers at the Perth Wildcats over the last few weeks but don't think about that too much or you'll get a headache). We feel for Grizzard 'cause he's a heckuva player but that's professional sport for you. However, we had to laugh at The Advertiser's Boti Nagy this morning, when he noted Grizzard didn't know until after Saturday's game against Adelaide - but when Melbourne had flown Dave Thomas back into town beforehand, they should've had him stay somewhere else other than the same motel Adelaide were at! Adelaide, by the way, were awesome and look potential champs but there's still a long way to go.

PS. Former Adelaide 36er Brett Wheeler isn't well - really not well. Apparently in liver failure, he's in urgent need of an organ donor or will die within two years. We don't know the full story but for what it's worth, our prayers and thoughts are with Brett and his family. A terrible story.

Holy smoke, Batman! Yes, it's totally unrelated to the Thunder and basketball etc, but we just couldn't resist showing this picture. We turn to The Advertiser for the story, though we admit we may have edited their article just slightly but hey, that's showbiz.

"A spectacular fire caused by a suspected engine fault has destroyed a bus at Seaview Downs. Two passengers and the driver escaped uninjured after the bus ignited about 3.15pm at Davenport Tce. Thick black smoke spread across surrounding suburbs before 20 firefighters brought the blaze under control. The fire is thought to have started after an engine fault ignited a tyre. The $600,000 bus was completely destroyed by the fire which started in the centre of the bus. At the height of the fire, smoke could be seen from CBD buildings. Ex-SABASA star and bus driver Kingsley Novell - "he's taking everyone to school" - was unavailable for comment and denied having any involvement. SABASA Life Member and fellow bus driver Barry Smith said it definitely wasn't him either, so the driver's identity remains a mystery."

On 31 December 2007, we published "The Top 10 stories you missed in 2007" and back by popular demand, we're going to do it again for 2008 but until we do, for nostalgia's sake, here's a quick look back at 2007. Follow your nose in our "past stories" - ref 2007-12 - for the full version.

10. Hope Smith's basketball career begins
9. Overseas tour diaries launched
8. The flurry of weddings and father-son/daughter selections continues
7. Recruiting staff strike gold with a bevvy of first-rate draft picks - and the prodigal son returns
6. Thunder return to SACBA, make finals in bizarre circumstances and ultimately finish 4th
5. South Australia win 6th national title in 7 years, defeating WA 57-49 in Gawler, South Australia
4. Under-14 Hoops Training Clinic
3. The year of the injury curse
2. Too old, too slow, too good - Thunder win 23rd title, defeating Happy Valley 46-33 in 2007b Grand Final
1. "The Comeback"