Richly deserved

Aussie Rules: Brisbane midfielder Daniel Rich expectedly and deservedly took out the rising star award earlier today. The level-headed Lion took out the award with a unanimous vote, followed by Adeliade's Andy Otten. Rich was a number seven draft pick, as was former rising stars Joel Selwood (the game's best midfielder, according to Nathan Buckley) and Fremantle's Rhys Palmer.

In other footy news, the 40-man All-Australian squad has been selected. Bizarrely, Brownlow Medal favourite Dane Swan has been selected in the forward line where he will have to compete with players who have much bigger goal tallies. A strange decision by the selectors one would think, given the Magpie's stellar season in the midfield. The full list of players can be found here.

What a blast

Racing: The start of spring heralds the start of the spring racing season. It began with the racehorse of the year awards, in which the major prize was taken out by sprinter Scenic Blast.

GOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLL!

Soccer: The EPL has already produced plenty of excitement just three weeks into the season. Manchester City’s bid to become a superpower is on the right track with star recruit Adebayor scoring the winning goal against Pompey to keep his side’s perfect record in tact.

Manchester United overcame old foes Arsenal 2-1, and look to have put that horror first game behind them. Time will tell if The Red Devils can make up for the departure of that genius prima donna who everyone loves to loathe.

Latest EPL scores: Portsmouth l Manchester City 0-1; Aston Villa d Fulham 2-0; Everton d Wigan 2-1; Tottenham Hotspur d Birmingham City 2-1; Stoke d Sunderland 1-0; Manchester United d Arsenal 2-1.

In Italy’s Serie A competition, Inter Milan destroyed AC Milan 4-0 in what was expected to be a blockbuster between two giants of the league.

See all four goals and dig the hyperactive commentary here (even if you don't speak spanish):

Soccer fans have certainly been vocal on the recent poor performances of the black and red. Here's one of many comments from the SBS website's soccer forum: "Milan is more of a retirement plan than a serious contender these days. I shoot my head when their fans actually got excited about ronaldinho and then later on in the season beckham for loan. Over the hill and out of touch, the way milan is heading. This is their just reward for focusing much more on the senior players and not giving the younger players a go."

Rain won't stop the parade

Cricket: Heavy rain denied Australia the chance to exact a hint of revenge on England in yesterday’s Twenty20 clash at Old Trafford. Cameron White was the star with a swashbuckling 55 runs off 36 balls. The Aussies reached 145 and had the Poms reeling at 2-4 but the downpour saved the home side from certain defeat.

Not that an Australian victory would justify any gloating. In The Age on Saturday, Richard Hinds wrote: “The English people don’t care about cricket. They only care about beating Australia. In England.” He should have added: “In the Ashes series, not any other gimmicky, crude form of the game.”

Twenty20 is brilliant entertainment, but a series win won’t be enough to serve England a frigid, vengeful dish. And anyway, those Motherland folk are good at insulating themselves from insults, getting in first with their effortless self-deprecation, while Aussies, with their unflagging confidence and premature swagger, fall hard when it all comes tumbling down.

I am not worried about the state of Australian cricket. Pardon the cliché, but the team is in a rebuilding stage after an unprecedented period of supremacy. It’s the end of a cycle of dominance that, let’s face it, usually turns a lot faster.

Lloyd ready to be heartbroken

Aussie Rules: The furore surrounding Essendon veteran Matthew Lloyd's hefty bump on Hawthon's Brad Sewell overshadowed what should have been the focus of the weekend - the formation of the top four.

The invective directed at Lloyd from Campbell Brown and Hawks coach Alistair Clarkson was out of line. Lloyd's bump was not malicious, but it was reckless, and deserves at least three weeks given the recent Buddy Franklin hearing.

His presence or lack thereof in this Friday's clash against Adelaide will make little difference though. The Bombers will be no match for the Crows.

The Bulldogs were scintillating against the Pies and the Cats will be anxious at having to meet the Dogs in what should be a ripper of a qualifying final on Sunday. I have doubts as to whether Geelong can rediscover the magic. I have more faith in St Kilda overcoming their recent bout of the wobblies and handing over them to the Pies.

Welcome!

Greetings all and welcome to my first blog post for The Straight Bat. I will attempt to provide brief, daily snapshots of the latest events, stories, debates and controversies in sport. Sometimes I will offer my personal opinion, which will be based on half-baked arguments, innuendo, and the sense that my hundreds of hours spent in front of the television watching sport somehow gives me more credence as a commentator than most people. Of course, I welcome contributions from readers. Enjoy!