Take 29 seconds to watch this video. Super stuff, as boy dunks himself through a basketball hoop and no, it wasn't deliberate. We laughed hard but we have to admit it would've been funnier if it was Cal McKinnon at an Oklahoma City Thunder game in an old-style Thunder singlet. What? You're saying that happened? Not all of it, but some of that actually happened? Seriously, this stuff couldn't be funnier if we had in fact made it up and don't worry, we have pictures. Can't wait for them to come through by email and if anyone sees our bothan spies, tell them to hurry up with the pics. Meanwhile, enjoy the video folks. Good times, good times.

Strange times at Thunder HQ yesterday as the Gateway Thunder experience auction finished on eBay, with $20 raised for the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Fund. But the question remains - who is the mystery bidder whose $20 effort claimed the prize? They are yet to come forward but we do know that Graeme Samuel reports that their allied bid was fair, the situation is better than now, and that a better bid is unlikely which makes perfect sense given the auction has closed. Bernard Hickey of www.interest.co.nz tells us the mystery bidder is a New Zealander known as GPG and is pictured above but to be frank and earnest or either of them, we have no idea what to believe any more. What we do know is that someone won the auction and we'd love to know who they are. If you're out there and reading this, flick us a guestbook or facebook or email message so we can arrange your prize, and watch as you donate $20 to a good cause, good cause. Only 6 days to SABASA tipoff, folks. Back soon.

As Cyclone Yasi sets itself to wreak havoc on Far North Queensland, the Melbourne Tigers have set themselves to wreak havoc on their club, yesterday sacking their coach, an import and with their best player set to walk away within days, they are in some serious strife. Established in 1931, they are Australia's oldest basketball club - eclipsing the second-ranked Gateway Thunder by 60 years - and have had only two coaches since 1970. Al Westover, who has been with the club for 20 years, bore the brunt of owner Seamus McPeake's rage and was sacked during a board meeting. Import Eric Devendorf was then also sacked but the killer blow is giant centre Luke Nevill, who is expected to depart for Russia within days. Long-standing fans are tearing their hair out and if interim coach Darryl McDonald had any hair, he probably would too because they are a nightmare just waiting to get worse. Was interesting to watch Andrew Gaze on TV last night and he seemed totally lost and bemused at what was happening. We don't have an answer for them either. When things go this bad, it's due to a multitude of decisions and sadly, they now have to dig themselves out of it. FWIW, we don't agree with mid-season changes - you sign a contract and you see it to completion for better or worse - but it at least makes for interesting viewing. Our thoughts? Andrew Gaze should coach. End of story.

Before we go though, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Far North Queensland. Stay safe and we await further news as the cyclone heads westward.

Super news as the LA Lakers lost another game today, this time to the rampaging San Antonio Spurs who sit atop the NBA with 40 wins and just 8 losses as the All Star Game approaches. A few games in arrears are the Boston Celtics with 11 losses, closely followed by the Miami Heat and our Chicago Bulls with 14 losses a piece. It doesn't need saying then that Crazy Ron Ron wants out, Phil is jawing at the bench, and Kobe hates his teammates again - just another year in LA. But across town, it's the Griff Show as Blake Griffin is named to the All Star Team with a host of others. For the record, the teams are as follows and no, the game won't be on OneHD but we'll bring you the best of the highlights regardless.

EAST
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Derrick Rose
Amare Stoudemire
Dwyane Wade
* * * * * * * * *
Ray Allen
Chris Bosh
Kevin Garnett
Al Horford
Joe Johnson
Paul Pierce
Rajon Rondo

WEST
Carmelo Anthony
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Durant
Yao Ming (won't play due to injury)
Chris Paul
* * * * * * * * *
Tim Duncan
Manu Ginobli
Blake Griffin
Kevin Love (in place of the injured Yao Ming)
Dirk Nowitzki
Terry Sleep
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams

Tough day at the office for the Thunder Academy today as forward Hope Smith experienced the highs and lows of professional basketball in the space of 12 hours. Firstly, she hustled her way to a 4 block, 6 steal performance that had the courtside photographer reaching for the zoom lens (see picture above) but later in the evening, the euphoria of a great defensive game came crashing to earth when she learned a valuable lesson that 3-year olds, scooters and 7-year old toes do not mix. Suffering a nasty toe injury (see picture below), she could miss the start of the Academy's 2011 season this coming Monday night and with gangrene a distinct possibility, amputation isn't totally out of the question. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Hope all the best and if the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree like we suspect, she'll be back on court on Monday, no worries at all. We can only hope (excuse the pun).

Big night tomorrow night as the SABASA tips off for the 2011 First Season but it's an equally big day tomorrow for the Thunder Academy, with three quarters of the current squad off to class tomorrow for bookwork as part of the Thunder's academic curriculum. Interesting times with twins Daniel and Jonty studying for the first time - exciting stuff! Meanwhile though, it's back to the real reason for today's post. That is, to list the games for tomorrow night's opening round to the SABASA and just as importantly, to have all the teams listed so when you type their names into Google, you get directed here and we rake in the sponsorship dollars. OK, maybe not but we can live in hope. The opening games for Monday 7 February 2011 are as follows, with a full game preview of the big Gateway Thunder v Arndale Allstars match tomorrow.

6.15pm Crt1 - U14 Juniors, Marion White Knights v Ingle Farm Giants
6.15pm Crt2 - U14 Juniors, ACH Wildcats v Arndale Academy
6.15pm Crt3 - U14 Juniors, Seaton Slammers v Seaton Sock Puppets

7.00pm Crt1 - B Women, ACH Ace Gals v ACH Lillipops
7.00pm Crt2 - C Men, Hallett Cove Flames v Marion Mavericks
7.00pm Crt3 - C Men, Arndale Action v ACHong

7.45pm Crt1 - A/B Men, Gateway Thunder v Arndale Allstars
7.45pm Crt2 - A/B Men, Marion Magnetics v ACH Flamingos
7.45pm Crt3 - B Women, Oakden Octopiettes v v Seaton Sparks

8.30pm Crt1 - B Women, Somerton Sunrise v Ingle Farm Gems
8.30pm Crt2 - A Women, ACH Suns v Happy Valley Lynx
8.30pm Crt3 - A/B Men, Somerton Storm v Seaton Spartans

9.15pm Crt1 - C Men, Seaton Ocean One Revolution v Arndale Avocados
9.15pm Crt2 - A/B Men, ACH White Flamingos v Westside Tropics
9.15pm Crt3 - C Men, Seaton Shooters v Ingle Farm Raiders

10.00pm Crt1 - A/B Men, ACH Woodcucks v Oakden Octopi
10.00pm Crt2 - A/B Men, Ingle Farm Rev Zig Zags v Marion Megaladons
10.00pm Crt3 - A Women, Seaton Sprockets v Arndale Angels

Bye - A/B Men, Tea Tree Gully Bulls
Bye - C Men, Ingle Farm Rev U-Boltz
Bye - B Women, Seaton Sapphires and Marion Magic

No wins, no draws, no losses, no points on the board - it's even stevens as the SABASA 2011 First Season tips off tonight and for the Gateway Thunder, they unveil the premiership flag for the first time in the blue, orange and white. Tonight's game on the aptly named Court One will be memorable for a lot of reasons, including Best & Fairest guard Cal McKinnon's first game in the new #12 jersey after seven months in the Rocky Mountain League, and Josh Gondolf's rumoured return to the Thunder after a summer of retirement, bewilderment and discontent. Our bothan spies tell us the Thunder will be back to their traditional eight-man lineup of the past few years as follows:

4 Josh Gondolf
6 Brad Smith
7 Nick Kyriazis
10 James Smith
11 Terry Sleep
12 Cal McKinnon
13 Brad Anderson
15 Michael Reu

So what do we make of tonight's game? Probably not a lot. It's four months until finals and that's plenty of time to shake off cobwebs and rust and after two months of not playing, we're expecting plenty of turnovers, missed shots and near heart attacks. Watch for a few things different defensively but aside from the distraction of bucketloads of perspiration expected with the Thunder in their 27-ply alpaca-fleece white uniforms, the focus should be firmly on the contest itself. Arndale are a fierce team and "bring it" every week and given they do that every week, this week should be no different to any other week. As long as the Thunder can get over the life-threatening drain of bodily fluids as they sweat themselves into extinction in Adelaide's summer heat, they should get the win in what will be an exciting start to the Thunder's 20th year in the SABASA. Our tip? Thunder by 7 points.

Tough opening night at the office for the Thunder yesterday as they went up against a tenacious Arndale team that was hell-bent on ruining Crazy Carl's return to the SABASA, but more on that later. The night began in warm balmy conditions on Court Dark with the Thunder in their hi-viz white uniforms (their alternate hi-viz orange vests are yet to arrive but we speak for the whole world when we say we can't wait for that one but admittedly we digress but at the same time we really can't wait to see them but we probably should move on but we've got so much to say about the hi-viz vests but back to the game) and with Cal McKinnon in his new #12 outfit. Rumours abound that he wanted #83 but was over-ruled by his traditional old-school can't move on from the past, get with the times, this isn't 1980 any more, stop watching re-runs of Airwolf, Baywatch, the A-Team and Magnum PI and admit that Seven Maaaaaaate isn't the greatest TV channel ever, uniform orderer. Interesting stuff. Back to the game though .....

The Thunder started rusty whilst Arndale was on fire. Not literally, because that would be bad but the big Western suburbs shopping centre was hitting shots all over the place and blocking the stuffing out of nearly every Thunder drive to the basket. An upset looked on the cards but as the Thunder looked to the bench, in came the green enthusiasmness and youthfuliciousness of Anderson, McKinnon and Sleep and slowly but surely, the Thunder recovered from a 12-point deficit to be only six down at half-time. They then went with a Jultopia Geelong 2010 line-up to start the second half - Messrs Kyriazis, McKinnon, Sleep, Smith and Smith - and the tempo picked up big time. Before you knew it, after just a few short mo's (moments that is, not moustaches - it's February FCOL), the Thunder were up and Arndale were time outing. Arndale bounced back and regained the lead but the damage was done and the Thunder's psyche was back in gear and when Crazy Carl refound his perimeter touch - understandable that he couldn't hit the water out of a boat early when he's been lifting concrete basketballs at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis for the past six months but yet again, we digress again - the Thunder were in high gear and with Bando thefting the ball from the Arndale guards in a late play that had everyone gasping for air more than the Thunder players in their 27-ply alpaca fleece uniforms (and folks, that's a lot!), it was game over. Gateway 54 d Arndale 45 in a game that says both teams should be there when the season finishes. Great game from both teams and we can't wait for the rest of the season. Good times, good times.

In a new series of polls, we ask the hard question of whoever is in the spotlight at the time and for now, it's Shane Warne. The Australian larrikin and former test cricketer is reportedly trysting it up with model Liz Hurley and the world's divided. In a quick strawpoll on the streets of Pasadena, we asked the question and the responses were deeply divided. 100% of male respondents said hero, whilst 100% of female respondents said villian. So what do you say? Hero or villian? You make the call.

Big news with the Gateway Baptist Church (north) and Gateway Community Church (south) holding preseason training sessions this coming Saturday 12 February 2011 at their respective venues. Players who can make themselves available for the solid workout, are asked to contact Thunder captain Brad Smith (north) or Thunder coach James Smith (south) to make arrangements. Please consider what time you can help out between 8am and 2pm at either venue at Queenstown (north) or Morphett Vale (south). Thanks in anticipation and here's hoping both events lift the fitness of the players because based on Monday's game, that can only be a good thing.

If you're like most of us and lived through the 1980s, you remember Airwolf, the show that proved all the world's problems could be solved by a helicopter with guns. Good times. But tragically for us 7-mate fans, we turned on 7-mate on Thursday and before you had time to say Stringfellow Hawke is the greatest pilot of all-time, you realised he's not on the show any more. Go on, watch it on 7-mate. What the?

The story goes that for Season 4, the entire cast was let go and replaced with a whole new bunch of characters. String disappeared after the first episode, Dominic Santini was killed in an explosion, there's no mention of Caitlin, Archangel is posted overseas, and Saint John Hawke (aka Sinjin) appears after allegedly working for Archangel behind the scenes all along. You really need to see this on 7-mate. Actually, you don't. Production moved to Canada, costs were slashed, a new "inside" model was built but the outside shots of Airwolf are all from the first three series.

So how does this whole tragedy end? How could they kill Airwolf like this? Oh, you haven't read anything yet. The Airwolf helicopter - a Bell 222A - was sold after the fourth series and ..... we can't believe this part ..... became an ambulance helicopter in Germany, where it crashed in a thunderstorm and was destroyed on 6 June 1992, killing all three crew members. Sorry folks, but with all due respect to their loved ones, this isn't about the crew members. You see ..... Airwolf died! Fortunately, Santini Air lived on, with the Santini Air copter used for sightseeing tours of Los Angeles.

So there you go, that's the story of what happened to Airwolf. But before we go, we've often wondered what happened to Jan-Michael Vincent, the star of Airwolf. Well, it ain't pretty. He went on to some roles in small movies but never really did much else. In the late 1990s, he was involved in two severe car crashes which he barely survived. As a result of a 1996 accident in which he broke three vertebrae in his neck, he permanently injured his vocal cords during surgery, leaving him with a permanently raspy voice. He was then also involved in another accident in 2008. He later admitted that whilst playing Stringfellow Hawke and as the highest paid actor on TV at the time, he suffered drug and alcohol problems and this ultimately brought him undone. Watch the below video and see how different he ended up. There's a lesson in this for all of us, I'm sure but for us, it seems awfully sad.



So what's this got to do with the Thunder? Admittedly, not a lot but we grew up on this stuff and if you clicked on 7-mate like we did the other day, you'd understand. To Dominic, Archangel and Stringfellow, thanks for the good times. They truly were good times.

Exciting times next Saturday as Thunder Academy forward Hope Smith and her Southern Tigers travel to St Clair to take on the might of the Woodville Warriors. Hope was at it again today, collecting 6 blocks, 2 steals, 4 fouls and an impressive game-leading and career high 5 Lebrons (aka chasedowns) as her team copped an almighty hiding from the much older double blue Sturts. Next week though, it's the black and gold up against the green train and it should be an absolute crackjermajetski. If you're free Saturday morning, pop on down to the St Clair Auditorium for the 9.30am clash - the Thunder Academy would love to see you there.

PS. A reader emailed us, asking why we don't list points. Answer? Because points are over-rated. To quote Charles Barkley, "Any knucklehead can score. It takes brains to rebound" ..... and block, steal, foul and chasedown and seeing it's our website, we're not listing points - not for the Academy anyway. Gotta teach these kids good habits before they turn into point and vote-hungry players like the Thunder players. Plenty of time for that later.

PPS. Go Warriors.

Let's be clear - we don't like the New York Knicks. They used to beat up our Bulls like common thugs and now ..... well, they beat up our Bulls like common thugs. But we like rookie Landry Fields. You see, this cat has a sense of humour and is producing some damn funny video clips on the world wired interweb. Enjoy the above one - 2½ minutes of carnival tomfoolery. Good times, good times. Go Bulls.

Farce. Joke. Debacle. We could go on and on ..... and we will. Thesaurus.com tell us we could also describe this as applesauce, bull, crap, craziness, flapdoodle, folly, foolishness, hot air, idiocy, illogicality, illogicalness, improbability, inanity, incongruity, insanity, irrationality, jazz, jive, ludicrousness, ridiculousness, senselessness, silliness, stupidity, unreasonableness ..... and on and on it goes. Welcome to Gateway v ACH Flamingos on this Valentines Day of 2011.

So where's the farce? Oh folks, it's everywhere. Firstly, the Flamingos infamous pink uniforms have been stolen by a former teammate now living interstate, meaning the Thunder will be in pastel white against the gun metal black of the Flamingos. Surely if there is ever an appropriate time to wear pink basketball uniforms (and that's a debate on its own but we'll cover that topic another time), it's tonight but no, they've been shamelessly stolen. Shame, ex-Flamingo, shame. The Thunder meanwhile will be without Jultopia veteran forward Terry Sleep, who is missing this week to celebrate Valentines Day with his fiancee. We'll say it again folks. He's missing this week to celebrate Valentines Day with his fiancee. Absurdity, broad comedy, buffoonery, burlesque, camp, caricature, comedy, high camp, horseplay, interlude, joke, low camp, mock, mockery, parody, play, pratfall comedy, ridiculousness, sham, skit, slapstick, travesty ..... frankly folks, it's just unblvbl. We tried to reach Sleep, pictured above at a dinner tonight (don't try and understand the space time continuum folks - it's very complicated), to confirm the story but he was unavailable for comment, apparently spending every waking moment with his beloved. Oh please ..... enough!

Back to the game and the remaining unromantics will line up for the Thunder against a mystery-filled Flamingos side who seem to have different players nearly every week, adding to the excitement of tonight's game. The Thunder looked good in patches and equally bad in others last week and tonight should be no different as they seek to shake off the rust of a long summer's layoff. Look for B&F guard Cal McKinnon to slot back into a starting role in his first game back on Court Light, and for the remainder of the players to look to find their groove as Jultopia approaches. Can't wait for the game, can definitely wait for Valentines Commercial Flapdoodle Don't Get Sucked In Gents Day. Our tip? Thunder by 7 points.

Big day at the home of the Halmanator today, as the three-time SACBA best & fairest guard celebrated his 32nd birthday. The Halmanator, who remains a strong chance of returning to Jultopia action this year if Coach James Smith has anything to do with it, reportedly spent the day hunting down Sarah Connor before dowsing himself in a 1000-degree fire and turning himself into liquid metal. Strange cat our Tom, strange cat. In more "did you know?" news, did you know the Halmanator has his own blog? Go on, click on the above picture to go to Google pics and click on the picture most likely related to the Halmanator. We'll give you a hint - he's holding a flower behind his back and yes, we also said a very loud "What the?" after clicking on it, not that there's anything wrong with that. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Tom all the best on his birthday and look forward to the SACBA season and the 2011 Jultopia Perth carnival with #6 back in uniform.

Nick Kyriazis can jump. Such a simple statement but until now, one that couldn't be found on Google. It took a lot for us to write it but for the privileged few who made the trip to Court Light this past Monday, it was a night to remember. The Flamingos came out hard in their jet black uniforms, contrasted beautifully against the snow white of the Thunder. They ran and pushed the Thunder as the Gateways fought their way to a 27-21 halftime lead that had everyone waiting for the second half. Everyone that is, except the Thunder. Instead of waiting, they planned and boom, crash, came out of the half like a shot out of a cannon. A 10-0 run in the opening four minutes was topped off by a Nick Kyriazis alley-oop that had everyone questioning guard Cal McKinnon's state of mind in throwing the pass to Kyriazis but when the Athens Assassin nailed the pass and the shot, the questioning turned to amazement. The undisputed "play of the game" - a strong candidate for the Top 10 Stories of the Year - saw ACH call a timeout but it was too late, the Thunder running away to a bizarre 71-40 win. We say bizarre because the Flamingos were brilliant in the first half but the younger, fitter Thunder perservered and ultimately got the W. The win moves the Thunder to 2-0 on the season and an equal share of first place.

PS. It'd be remiss of us not to acknowledge that Terry Sleep reneged on his Valentines Day date and played but ..... His Royal Romanticness Michael Reu missed in lieu of Terry, spending the evening at home with his wife rather than being at the Dome with his teammates. Yes, we agree. Ordinary. Very ordinary indeed.

It's official. Shane Warne is a hero. In our inaugural "hero or villian" poll, 100% of respondents voted "hero". That's 100% of random visitors out there in the public realm. 100%. Can't get higher than that, folks. 100%. For us, that settles it. Hero.

On to this week's poll and with a disaster recovery levy on the agenda and numerous projects either cancelled or postponed as a result of the cost of rebuilding Queensland after the floods, there's one project that remains untouched - the $43 billion National Broadband Network. It promises unblvbl internet speeds but at a cost: $43 billion. So we ask you - what do you say? Hero or villian? You make the call.

Why? Because we can. Actually, it's because he can. All 137 dunks from Blake Griffin's rookie season to date. Enjoy this 2 minute video. We sure did.

Ding dong, the King is dead. The reigning champion LA Lakers, who only a few weeks ago defeated the Cleveland Cadavers 112-57 amidst the Cavs' NBA-record 26-game losing streak, lost to Cleveland this week. Yes, the Cavs beat the Fakers. Unblvbl. 104-99 at the Q in Cleveland town and Drew Carey and his mates were jumping out of their skins as the cyberworld went crazy with rumours of LA trades. The Phakers are now 4th in the Western Conference and in real danger of falling further south. As reported a few weeks ago, Crazy Ron Ron is in a funk again and things are slowly going Kevin Duckworth pear-shaped. Watch them make a play for Anthony Carmelo Koala before this is all said and done but for us ..... it's all just a distraction from Derrick Rose's MVP efforts, including a career high 42 points on One HD today in a win over the league-leading San Antonio Brett Browns. Go Bulls. Good times, good times and on to the All-Star break.

Interesting times at the NBA All-Star dunk comp yesterday. Washington's Javale McGee was the champ where we sat, dunking two balls on two baskets, three balls on one basket ..... you had to see it to believe it ..... but for absolute theatre and with the fans voting there was never really any doubt how it was going to turn out, the Clips' Blake Griffin took home the gold. We're still looking for video from the competition but for now, all we could find was the above clip from behind the basket. We are worried about the competition though - seriously, the dunks were almost an afterthought. Guarantee this and remember you heard it here first - a foul-line dunk over a pit of fire. It's coming and it was our idea so we want a share of the takings. For now, from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder ..... Javale, you were robbed but to Blake, not bad, not bad. Good times, good times.

PS. Poor Charles. Kenny Smith is going to be unbearable over this. He "coached" Blake to the win, or so he says. We'll publish more video as we find it (such as the compilation below from ESPN). Enjoy.

We sent intrepid reporter Cal McKinnon to the US to capture all the tension, the drama, the atmosphere and the buzz of the NBA All-Star weekend. Shortly after landing though, we encountered radio silence - a bit like his alleged tour diaries of the past two years - but as quick as he boarded the plane for the US, he returned after having just one photograph taken, allegedly saying "What? You think I'd stay in LA for the NBA All-Star game and miss the Gateway v Seaton blockbuster on my court, the first game on my court for the season? Think again!" Interesting that Crazy Carl McKinnon would rate the SABASA above the NBA but then again, he's a crazy cat at the best of times and tonight, he's right. It's the team's first game on his court and it should be a blockbuster. Seaton are a good side and while their twice grand-finalist team of last year has largely been dismantled, several players have transferred to the new Seaton Ramblers outfit and they should be a formidable foe for the Thunder. For once, don't get there early because the game's at 10pm and it will make for a long night, but be sure to at least get there before tipoff so you don't miss any action. Our tip? Thunder by 6 points.

PS. Rumours abound that McKinnon will be charging the Thunder for the trip. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder ..... dream on, Carl. You were sent to capture all the tension, the drama, the atmosphere and the buzz of the NBA All-Star weekend. Dude, pretty hard to do that when you landed, took a photo, and reboarded the plane. Keep the receipts and don't bother trying. Unblvbl. Teenagers these days. Tsk tsk.

Tough night at the office tonight as a fired up Seaton Ramblers took on the Thunder in a midnight rumble on the Cal McKinnon Court and with rumours of a breakaway A Grade competition being formed from the current A/B Men format, it was always going to be interesting to watch this one. The Thunder entered the game without Allstar big man Terry Sleep, who missed the game to catch up on the Valentines Day festivities he skipped last week, whilst Seaton were at full strength. The Thunder started strong but couldn't buy a basket - often from just a few feet out - whilst Seaton found the magic formula of taking the game at the Thunder, relying on speed and strong outside shooting to lead for most of the first half, the half-time score 19-17 Thunder's way. The second half told a similar story until the Gateways went on a mini-run, breaking the lead out to 9 points and on this night, that was a significant margin. Brad Smith was dominant on the boards and break, Mick Reu was a rebounding beast, Josh Gondolf nailed a couple of critical triples, Cal McKinnon led the transition game as it picked up pace, Brad Anderson was his usual whirling dervish self as he wreaked havoc everywhere he went, James Smith was mostly steady with the occasional big play, and Nick Kyriazis inspired the troops with a super defensive stop down the stretch ..... but the fact remains that on this night, they were all ice cold and their shooting will have to improve if they're to defend the John Pilley Trophy. Final score was Gateway 43 d Seaton 35 and if the breakaway A Grade rumours are anything to go by, this is going to be a fun season. A tough season, but a fun season nonetheless.

Carmelo Anthony, pictured above with Captain Loyalty and some bloke paying homage to Movember, is now a New York Knick. Denver and New York completed the trade yesterday, with Denver giving up Carmelo, Chauncey Billups and change whilst New York give up ..... are you ready? ..... three starters, three reserves and three draft picks. Rumours abound that Isiah Thomas, recently re-added to the Knicks' payroll after years of disastrous team management, is pulling the strings again and we wouldn't be surprised because whilst Carmelo is a heckuva player, that's a steep price to pay. There's a few other angles to this too. One says that the Knicks have added Melo and in two years, will add Deron Williams, Chris Paul or Dwight Howard to complete their team but again, that's a big gamble to take and with the salary cap reducing under a new agreement, they may not be able to afford them. Another angle says Denver managed to get something - anything! - rather than losing the man with two first names like Phoenix lost Amare and Cleveland lost the man who took his talents to South Beach (where is South Beach, anyway?). And another angle says Denver robbed New York, partly because New Jersey drove the price up and up (the Nets offered this year's #2 pick, four other first-round picks and two starters) just to annoy New York - in a few years, you'll have the Nets in Brooklyn and then it'll be game on between the two franchises but alas, much like game on between the Lakers and Clippers. On a separate point, please stay Blake, and may the Clippers rule LA for a while if only because we've never really liked the Fakers but we digress. No matter how you look at the trade though, it's big and there's probably still a few to go as the trade deadline approaches. Interesting times, interesting times.

In unrelated news, Nick Kyriazis recently reported that his house is koala-free. That means two teams have ditched Carmelo Koala on the same day. Rumours that Nick ditched koala because he's the human koala and doesn't need additional fur are unfounded but hey, some people say Brendan Fevola did nothing wrong but that's a subject for another day - in fact, probably tomorrow.

Finally, we reflect on the tragic earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. We'll run a full story on this later in the week but with 65 confirmed dead and likely a whole lot more yet to be confirmed - and a city lying in ruins - we can only pray for the families affected. Tough times, tough times. May God grant them His peace and understanding at what is a truly tragic time for their families and country.

Go on Chad, do it. Do it, do it, do it, do it. Oh sorry, we forgot we were online. Folks, it's official. The NBN is a villian. In our "hero or villian" poll this week, 78% of respondents voted "villian". That's 78% of random visitors out there in the public realm, an overwhelming majority if we've ever seen it and consqeuently, we're calling for the government to shelve the idea. Much as we'd like faster internet and all, the tribe has spoken. The NBN is a villian.

On to this week's poll and with Brisbane Lion Brendan Fevola set to be sacked after a plethora (never has the word plethora been more appropriate) of off-field discretions, it begs the question. He was recently in rehab for a myriad of issues including depression, gambling addiction and some would say douchebagitis. However, he remains a prodigous football talent and it's pretty harsh to dismiss a bloke who clearly has issues he's trying to address. Or is he? Hasn't he had enough chances already? Ask the reporter who he allegedly assaulted on 2009 Brownlow night (the same night Carlton said enough was enough) whether he's a hero or villian. We would if we could but instead, we're throwing this to you. What do you say? Hero or villian? You make the call.

Are you attending Josh Gondolf's engagement party on Sunday? If yes and you haven't bought an engagement present yet, text Coach James Smith and he'll do the work for you. And no Josh, we're not telling you what this is all about. To the Thunder players - RSVP ASAP means répondez, s'il vous plaît as soon as possible, and no later than cob Friday!

The SABASA full season program has been released for the 2011a First Season with the combined A/B Grade Men competition changed into a breakaway A Grade Men competition as rumoured by our bothan spies earlier this week. The A Grade teams are: Gateway Thunder, Marion Magnetics, Arndale Allstars, ACH Flamingos, Marion Megaladons, Seaton Spartans and Somerton Storm. Promises to be a tough season and the breakaway single grade will be good for the long jeverdy of the competition as a whole. The Thunder's games have been uploaded to the website header with uniform colours noted.

A man was found dead in his apartment draped in spider webs and more than 200 spiders, several snakes, thousands of termites, and a gecko were feasting on his corpse. Mark Voegel, 30, was found dead in Dortmund, Germany. Authorities were alerted when concerned neighbours noticed a horrendous stench emanating from the apartment. His black widow, Bettina, is believed to have administered the deadly bite. Voegel's apartment has been described as both a "zoo" and a "jungle" by authorities. He never let people visit. A police spokesman said, according to the Sun: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa. Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth. There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles. Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.” Voegel also kept a pet boa constricter and several poisonous frogs. He was dead for somewhere between seven and fourteen days when his corpse was found, enough time for the creepy-crawlies to make a new home out of his apartment.
No real reason for this story but we have a moral and ethical responsibility to run a community-interest story from time to time and what better subject than warning people who keep spiders at their workplace or keep snakes in their bedroom or garage or breed lizards in their loungeroom that it's only a matter of time before these sleeping killers break free of their shackles and eat you alive. We should note that we find it particularly interesting that the Sydney Telegraph ran this story today when it actually happened four years ago in 2007 but let's not let facts get in the way of a story that has proven itself to have significant long jeverdy. So from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, if you're harbouring insects or animals that belong in a zoo ..... don't say you weren't warned.

PS. Rumours abound that at least two Thunder Academy players have been suspended indefinitely for breaking the Academy's strict Code of Conduct. More on that story later.

Big night tonight on Court Dusty (memo to all players - wear grippy shoes) as the Gateway Thunders enter their Round 4 contest against the Marion Megaladons amidst rumours of matchfixing and other tomfoolery, with our bothan spies telling us players from both sides were seen enjoying the festivities of the Thunder's inaugural Picnic in the Park yesterday at Burchell Reserve, St Peter's. On a side note, it's a shame those same bothan spies didn't use their powers for good instead of evil and perhaps tidy rather than dirty their bedroom at every opportunity but more on that later. Expect the Gateways to come out at full strength after struggling in the first half the last two weeks, and they'll be keen to put the slow starts behind them. The Megaladons meanwhile remain a mystery and at times last season, looked A Grade premiership material whilst at other times, capitulated like the Detroit Pistons this week (if you haven't kept pace with what's happening with the Detroits, they played a game just a few days ago with only six players after the other six players skipped practice to allegedly intentionally voice their protest and displeasure towards their coach - this isn't going to end well). With veterans like Phil Janssen, Andrew Brook and Ryan Sherlock, they remain loaded with veteran Athol Park and Jultopia talent and will push the Thunder. Look for Josh Gondolf to play a blinder now he can move around the court rather than stand in the one spot all the time (assuming he can work out the voice recognition on his GPS and can hear directions whilst running around), whilst father-to-be Nick Kyriazis has been in fine form lately and should continue to poll heavily in the Gateway B&F count. Our tip? Gateway by 12 points.

But before we go, more on the rumour that two Thunder Academy players have been suspended indefinitely for breaching the Academy's strict Code of Conduct. We asked Academy Head Coach James Smith for a comment but he said he refused to discuss Under-18 players but is willing to go on record saying that players who don't comply with team rules won't play, whilst he's excited that "premiership guard Josh Smith could be back in uniform which can only be good for the club, the competition and for the sale of continence aids". And no, we have no idea what he's talking about either.