Golden Fox

I think you missed them buying back the Filbert Street land and demolishing the student flats and building a new 50,000 seater stadium on the site with a lot of architectural cues taken from the past incluing a double decker South Stand with a kop underneath right across from the away supporters - with planning passed and actually breaking ground in the year...

Tend to only watch snooker when Selby's on... Thursday night Last 16, Friday night, Quarters, Saturday night Semis, and watched the whole final today. I've watched more snooker this week than in the last couple of years put together! He deserved to win after some of those breaks and shots in the afternoon session, but tide seemed to change with Judd arguing with the ref, and Selby not enforcing it as everyone was getting restless, and the snooker was so tough to get out of, but buzzing to see him get over the line!!!

They played that song shortly before kick-off at Hillborough in '97 at the Coca Cola Cup final. Still struggle to listen to that song and not have my mind go back to that night!

What do you know... that very same Jason Shivers has just interviewed for the vacant head coach role... https://3downnation.com/2025/11/24/toronto-argonauts-interview-jason-shivers-for-head-coach-job-sources/... You might get your wish, with every bloody headline being about Jason and the Argonauts...

And if there are empty seats, the club can run events such as free tickets for school kids, or some cheaper games. You get fans hooked by getting them to games when they are young. There is a whole generation of kids that are being priced out and the club doesn't have the vision to look beyond maximising short term profits.

Thanks for the QEW rivalry throughout the season @spacemunky and @Jattdogg! - and for the updates on the Elks @EastAnglianFox who turned their season around & came close to sneaking in. Thoroughly enjoyed following the sport this year - I do think its a better game than the NFL, (and a bit more brutal given the injuries) and it really shines through everyone being in it for the love of the sport rather than for the money. I had the Grey Cup pre-game on in the background on Sunday (worth listening to the interviews with Stuart Johnson and our ex Governer of the Bank of England...) but it kicked off well after my bedtime, so just finished watching it tonight. Playoffs as a whole were fun, with some intense finishes. I reckon Montreal probably the strongest team in the league when Davis-Alexander plays, but fair play to the Riders who had the best regular season record, and for doing it when it mattered - at the end of the W. Final, and for a spell in the middle of the Final, and I was happy for them. After the miserable season, its all gone wrong in Argo-land with Dinwiddie walking out on them to go to Ottawa, and (between the lines) calling out what a cheapskate organisation MLSE runs. Saying how he will have less to do in Ottawa even bing a head coach & GM due to all the day to day admin he had to do in Toronto, and how much better the training facilities and offices were in Ottawa and that they didn't come forward with a new contract offer. Given Toronto are giving up 3 home games in '26 for World Cup clashes to play away (while BC able to flip to other venues in the province), its a really depressing mood and feels like I've missed the boat on seeing the Argos in the Grey Cup any time soon.

As embarrassing as this looks, the Susan Whelan departure doesn't look to have been planned, and the club didn't have any succession planning in place, so maybe there is a proper recruitment process going on. In the meantime, Top put someone he trusted in to oversee things, and report back, but without making any big changes, and didn't feel the need to make an announcement. Now, as part of the admission that communication has been poor, he has reaslised this interim appointment should have been announced, so has corrected that error. May be blue tinted glasses thinking this and expecting an appointment of an actual CEO shortly, but it is possible we are all a bit too quick to criticise without understanding the bigger picture.

Congratulations to the Ticats through gritted teeth from an Argos fan. That Labour Day classic was fun, but you gave us a proper lesson in the other 2 games, and are deserved East champions.

Just Beat L.A.

It all started going wrong for the Bills after this...

I've been following the sport pletty closely since 2007 (until the last couple of years...) and have seen enough teams go through peaks and troughs. e.g. Blackhawks from awful to winning cups to awful again, but can't imagine following the lifeless Buffalo. Other than a couple of 1st round exits in 2010/11, they haven't even sniffed the playoffs. Just purgatoy. The Sharks mistake was once their window was closing, they tried to "rebuild on the fly" and traded for Erik Karlsson and tried to build around him, which although was clearly failing, Wilson continued to double down and try and complete. But Hasso Plattner, the owner is not stupid, so learnt from that and made the call to pull the plug completely and go through the pain of some really terrible seasons to get the high draft picks. I do think they have a very good core, and will be competing again within a couple of years, but there is just a bit of impatiance in wanting it to be this year. Genuinely think there is about zero chance of the NHL going back to either of those markets. They simply aren't big enough. There doesn't look to be anything in that tweet other than acknowledging they don't even have the basics in place at the moment and just wishing they did. The most depressing thing is that the Avalanche are taking a page out of the Hurricane's book and cashing in on the team they took away and destroyed the brand of by now bringing it back and pretending to hounour it while it just clearly being a money grab. https://uni-watch.com/2025/10/06/colorado-avalanche-tease-quebec-nordiques-throwback-uniforms/#google_vignette

I'm already fed up with this season. After the great Sharks teams with Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, Boyle, Burns etc. flamed out with just 1 losing Stanley Cup appearance to show for it, and Doug Wilson being replaced as GM by Mike Grier, they have gone full rebuild and have gone through the tanking years to get some high picks (Macklin Celebrini - no 1 overall, William Eklund, Will Smith, Michael Misa, they have started looking to compete again & signed some sensible veterans this off-season (Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy), so there is a bit of excitement in Sharks-land for the first time in years (even if pre-season betting still has them as the 2nd worst team in the league...). And in game 1, home against a divsion opponent, they had a lead at the end with Vegas in desparation mode pulling their GK - only to miss an empty netter, concede late and lose in OT. In game 2, home against a division opponent, they had multiple 2 goal leads, then a lead at the end with Anaheim in desparation mode pulling their GK and they concede late and lose in OT. Its only 2 games, but having gone winless, seeing that optimism deflate, and it starting to get in the guy's heads that they can't win tight games, its feeling like a long season already, and that excitement seems a long time ago...

Can I switch my allegience of which Toronto team I support? This team actually looks like they win some games!

Is there a more odious team out there than the Kansas City Chiefs? Watching the highlights from last night, and pretty much every TD celebration was next level smugness and showboating with smirks and childishly rubbing it into the Jags & their fans. Not just Mahommes, but all of them. They seem to have no humility - and this is a month removed from them wearing T-shirts protesting that Rashee Rice was suspended for 6 games - obviously its perfectly acceptable to race a Lamborghini on a highway causing a 6 car pile up, leaving several people injured and fleeing the scene if you play for the Chiefs. And it just goes without saying that they have no intention of asking their fans to stop the Tomahawk chop or changing their logo from a racial stereotype. Just great to see Mahommes virtually in tears after his 99 yard pick-six, and some karma at the end as the Jags pull it off.

Yesterday felt like a lame animal needing to be put out of its misery. Playing yesterday with our 3rd string QB and keeping on giving the ball back to Hamilton felt the humane way to end the fans' suffering. For the best, I think.

Talking of the big sporting events, the Category A "crown jewels" of sports that legally have to be free to air in the UK are: FIFA World Cup (all mens and womens matches) UEFA European Championship (all mens and womens matches) FA Cup Final Grand National Epsom Derby Rugby league Challenge Cup final Rugby union World Cup final Wimbledon Olympic Games & Paralympic Games At least they have 1 of the 5 from the list as free...

1) World Cup Final - biggest stage of the biggest sport in the world. Still a scarcity value as evey 4 years 2) Superbowl - biggest annual sporting event 3) Ashes - scarred from too many lost causes down under & fatigue can set in over 25 days of it 4) Ryder Cup - Can't be asked with golf generally, and the hyberbole around it out of all proportion 5) Tour De France - I'm sure they have all just found other ways to cheat, and it goes on and on for about a month

I read about them in The Athletic, and amid them getting roundly mocked, there were a few commenters who defended them saying there were a lot of people who were fans of both Football and Soccer (mainly US commenters!) - but as a fan of both sports, there is no way I would wear that 49ers abomination just because it was a football shirt! Although having said that, I think the Bears one is a stroke of genious, and the other 2 that jumped out as being a bit clever were the Bills and Lions - I confess to actually quite liking these 3... (Yes, I'd rather write about this than the Niners losing at home to the Jags, and with another 3 (Purdy, Jennings and Pearsall) now ruled out at the Rams on Thursday night, thinking about a crushing divisional defeat incoming)

My first real experiences of promotions and relegations were in the Brian Little days, when we were so close year after year, and then finally reached the promised land, which just showed us how far off the pace we were. My first season in the kop, and singing "We're so s**t" was a pretty scarring introduction to top flight football. So I did always have in my head that thought that there was a lot to be said for staying down, being near the top of the league and winning games, compared to going up and getting tonked every week and coming back down. But I remember having this conversation with my family in 2013/14 under Pearson, where we'd had some seasons near the playoffs, but we'd been so far removed from the Premier League, that we wouldn't stand a chance, and might be better off staying down. 2 years later, we were Premier League Champions, and not only did it show what a silly, small minded view it was, but I thought it had closed the argument completely and we'd never hear this thought again!

God, what a miserable lot on here. Watched the game in a vacuum, and impressions were that we are getting an identity, play some good stuff at times, aren't afraid to attack or shoot, have some really good wingers and we create a lot of half chances. If those balls fell in the box a little more, or we could shoot from the edge of the area, we'd could have scored a lot of goals and be purring about the sheer volume of chances. But most importantly, we fight. That was a game under the lights with a bit of needle - we weren't getting much help from the ref, but we stuck at it. Think of the complaints last year about the lack of fight, and I can't see many on here acknowledging it is back. Yes, we leave ourselves open a bit at the back, and have some confidence issues in front of goal, and it gets tougher to play from behind, but we are playing a different style from last time we were down, and you'd have thought from all the negative comments 2 years ago, this is what people wanted! But my view is that it was a tough game: away at one of the better teams in the division: we gave away a poor goal, but kept going despite no luck and got a point, and I'm reasonably satisfied about where we are heading this season considering its Faes and Winks' second starts, James early days, Corranza having a crash course in what the division is about, Ramsey to come back in: we've lost 1 in 7 and are 3rd in the league. But come on here, and its a slate of how crap some players are, how crap the manager is, how crap the ref was and how crap the league is. This its a race to the bottom sometimes of who can slag off who first.

Massive news coming out of the CFL today: https://3downnation.com/2025/09/22/cfl-modifies-rouge-and-clock-for-2026-shortens-field-and-moves-uprights-for-2027/ - shortening the field from 110 yards to 100 (like the NFL). - moving the goalposts to the back of the endzone (like the NFL). - changing the play clock to more like the NFL. - stopping the rouge point (which isn't in the NFL) - unless the returner takes a knee in the Endzone. - making sure the 2 benches are on opposite sides (same rule as in the NFL). - not introduced yet, but not ruled out a move from 3 downs to 4 downs in time (dare I say it... like the NFL) Not that I'm accusing them of trying to be more like the NFL (or crediting Luke Wilson for winning when he has egregiously used his position to keep chirping away about how the CFL needs to be more like the NFL). I loved so many of these things that were just so different and really made the game jump out as something different when watching it. Having just discovered this strange sport, I'll be forever reminiscing about those 2 years of watching it when all these rules were in place. I think, when it comes down to it, none of these will really fundamentally change the way the game is played, or take away much of the enjoyment, but I'm really not sure any were necessary or will help with what they want to do with marketing the game (apart from the posts which are dangerous where they are). I also wonder if they are looking at trying to expand the footprint of the game again, as the 150 yard field wouldn't fit in many stadiums, while a 130 yard field is only 10 more than an NFL or College field. Just feels like a sad day. The CFL is never going to compete with the NFL, but I'd think it will struggle more trying to be a pale imitation than playing up to what makes it unique.

Really gutting week for my Argos as well. Already having played the whole season with backup QB (Nick Arbuckle), he went down at the end of the Elks game last week, so had to roll out the 3rd string QB: Jarret Doege, and it was the about the most helpless I've ever felt watching a game... After an early drive and a 3-0 lead, in the period from 9 minutes in to 9 minutes to go - so in basically 42 minutes of football, the Argos offence managed 40 net yards. Talk about going down with a whimper. And yet, somehow, thanks to a stunning performance from the defence, only found themselves 18-9 down, and very nearly came all the way back to pull off another miracle. But wasn't to be, and playoffs now look a long shot, whether its QB1, 2 or 3 in next week.

I know this isn't the betting thread, but my 4 picks in the early games were Commanders, Packers, Eagles & Buccaneers - and 3 of them with blocked field goals in the last 2 minutes! One my way and 2 against. Watching the 49ers is going to be quite relaxing after that!

Very cognisant... A week on and the Mets have not only continued to stumble, they haven't won a game since and have now lost 10 in a row. But they somehow still hold that last wildcard spot with a real jam behind them: Giants have flattered to deceive (and about to lose to the Dodgers again), but still 1 game back and plenty of teams just behind them. Feels a bit like this chase!

I'm 10 for 10 so far this season... and either learning my lesson and avoiding the teams that mess me up, or just being very lucky, seeing as I had money on the Bengals and the Cowboys today!