A few random thoughts

Juan Martin del Potro: Just might prove to be a bigger and more brutal version of Rafael Nadal, who himself was a bigger and better version of Lleyton Hewitt.

Kim Clijsters: Perhaps the story of the sporting year. Might well go on to to carve out a better tennis career as a mother than anyone else in history.

Roger Federer: Who would've believed that he would lose from a set up and serving at 5-4, 30-0 in the second! Has said he will play on until at least 2012. Five more Grand Slams out of 12 will take his tally to 20. Well within his grasp!

Melanie Oudin: Saw a bit of her during the European summer and there's no doubt that she's the future of American tennis.

UEFA: No surprise that they backed down over the Eduardo video evidence case. What a bunch of duds!

Emmanuel Adebayor: Deserved his three-match ban for his stomp on van Persie but could see nothing wrong with his 90-yard sprint before celebrating in front of the Arsenal faithful. Football fans can get too precious at times. If they're willing to mete out verbal abuse, they ought to be big enough to absorb some retaliatory celebration without whingeing and whining and moaning about it.

Michael Owen: Might well have produced the Macheda moment of the season last Sunday.

EPL: Looks like it'll be between Chelsea and United. I'm backing the relative youth of the champions to be the decisive factor over 38 games.

La Liga: Barca or Real? I'll go for the stability of the champions to prevail.

Serie A: Can't see an ageing Milan making a credible challenge. Inter to beat Juve to the post.

Bundesliga: Probably the most exciting league in Europe - on paper, not in terms of the quality of football - with any from four or five capable of succeeding Wolfsburg.

Gary Ablett Jr: Deserved to finally win the Brownlow.

The Brownlow: Isn't it time to take the votes away from the umpires and let an independent panel of former players do the adjudication over the 22 home-and-away rounds? Surely then we wouldn't have the ridiculous situation of Nick Riewoldt, far and away St Kilda's best and most influential player this season, polling as badly as he did! I've never understood how umpires, who should be concentrating on their job, could determine the best players in any game.

Renault: A mate suggested today that their faux pas could well have been the most unsportsmanlike conduct in the history of sport. Can't argue with that, given the potential risk to lives as a result of the 'planned' accident.

Major League Baseball: October is around the corner. The Yankees have the best record during the regular season. Given that my SF Giants are unlikely to make the play-offs, I'll be donning my ABY (Anyone But Yankees) hat and cheering on any team that plays NYY. Go Red Sox! Go Tigers/Twins! Go Angels! Go Dodgers! Go Phillies! Go Cardinals! Go Rockies!

The Eduardo Case: Precedent or Poppycock?

As with most football-related topics, there are differing views on the pros and cons of UEFA's decision to impose a two-match ban on Arsenal striker Eduardo for his dive against Celtic.

Most impartial observers are glad that long-overdue retrospective action has finally been taken. Yet, cynics amongst them have quite rightly questioned whether this is just a one-off gesture.

On the other hand, it's not impossible to empathise with Arsene Wenger's anger at the decision. Already, he has - quite rightly! - questioned why other not dissimilar acts that go against the spirit of the game have since gone unpunished.

I found that a moment's reflection on the matter turned into a somewhat longer period of befuddlement. What could have precipitated this bureaucratic bolt from the blue? Did some faceless administrator at UEFA decide to act on little more than a whim? Did anyone in the corridors of power think through the consequences? Isn't this, after all, the same organisation whose president, Michel Platini, has, on several occasions, championed the capability of referees and their assistants ahead of technological aids? Wasn't it only a few days ago that he was talking about having two additional assistants to keep a close 'manual' eye on penalty area incidents at either end? Furthermore, hasn't FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter spoken regularly against the use of video technology, advocating instead that the referee's 'manual' eyesight is more than adequate?

Where do we go from here?

To my mind, there's only one course of action open to UEFA and FIFA. They have to sanction the use of retrospective action against divers and, well, for want of a better better word, cheaters in general.

The Eduardo incident has to become a valid precedent.

Otherwise, most - nay, all - impartial observers might switch back to supporting Arsenal's gripe against the bumbling bureaucrats and the Eduardo case will be seen as yet another another sorry episode in the long line of gaffes that UEFA and FIFA are so good at.

AFL Finals Preview

St Kilda: Had a couple of wobbles in August but am expecting them to be the force that Hawthorn were at this time last year.
Geelong: Like the Bombers of 1999-2001, might go down in history as winning only one flag over a dominant era.
Western Bulldogs: Running into prime form at the right time and may provide the Saints with their biggest test on the last Saturday in September.
Collingwood: Confess to underestimating them all year but still don't think they're good enough. Saints might teach them a footballing lesson on Sunday.
Adelaide: Only side outside Top 4 with any sort of chance. I pick them to beat the Pies next week after yesterday's thrashing of the Bombers.
Brisbane: Injuries might wreck their chances of beating the Blues.
Carlton: Might get lucky with the Lions' injuries but can't see them winning in Week 2.
Essendon: Injuries and suspensions didn't help but doubt that would've mattered in the end against rampant Crows.

Grand Final Prediction: Saints to beat Bulldogs in thriller.