The New Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes, the character made popular by the genius writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has now been reinvigorated. Imagine the same eccentric character placed in modern day London and you have the clever crime thriller aptly titled “Sherlock”.

This show definitely does the character justice in how it portrays Sherlock’s obsession for detail. The finer details that no one with a normal mind is able to see.

Brilliant casting as well for not just Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) but his bland offsider, Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman). Even his landlord, Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) steals the odd scene.

Truly a brilliant show!!

It’s a shame though that they could only make three 2-hour episodes for the first season. Although even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle found it difficult to maintain the genius. The ending of the first season has me hanging out for season two.

No Ordinary Coach

“Quiet Strength”
by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

I assume that most in Australia would have heard of Tony Dungy. He is well worth knowing, especially for men interested in sports.

Tony Dungy was a professional athlete but is better known for his success as a coach in America’s National Football League (NFL) with Tampa Bay and Indianapolis.

He’s more than just a coach. In his book Tony celebrates his Christian faith, being a father to five children, a husband to one wife and his mentoring of his players, colleagues and friends. He created a culture that was rare in the NFL, one that a lot of people thought could not win the coveted Super bowl.

Tony was different. He enjoyed success but wasn’t driven by it in the same way others were. He promoted family time with players and coaches as a healthy balance between life and work. He encouraged all to get involved in community events as he accepted that a town’s sports team should be part of the community.

A novel idea that ultimately brought success with the Indianapolis Colts after almost making it all the way with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Proof that doing things differently can work.

I enjoyed this book as I grew up playing football, having to deal with a culture focused on boozing, shagging and swearing. I loved the game but the culture at times was especially hard to deal with. Tony Dungy shows that there is a different way, in fact a better way.

Mouth Or Marvel

“Open Season”
by Jason Akermanis with Gary Smart

Jason Akermanis is a sensational footballer that speaks his mind. He is as honest as they come, sometimes too honest. His tongue has proved indeed powerful and his words have come back to bite on multiple occasions. Whether it’s justified for him to have been sacked by two different clubs for his comments to the media is up for debate.

Seriously, I don’t think his sackings were justified. He did make mistakes and he openly admits that in this book. But at the end of the day he is a character that seems sorely lacking in a competition that seems to have become a sausage factory churning out the same homogenous product.

So now unbound by any contractual obligations to a football club, Akermanis is once again speaking his mind. Not for the last time I suspect. He opens up about his latest dramas with the Western Bulldogs regarding a particular newspaper column that ultimately ended his career. It gets quite personal but possibly not as much as the media hype suggested.

A worthy read for all footy fans.

Scoring Points

It is interesting and odd to hear our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, call for an end to the “political point scoring”. All this in spite of her election campaign being the dirtiest that I have ever witnessed. It was a campaign all about scoring political points.

It is usually the case that those commenting about political point scoring are in fact themselves trying to score political points. For Gillard it is to score points with those that have allowed her to form government by the skin of her teeth.

By her statement she has drawn a line in the sand and she will have to lead by example. The proof will be in the pudding when it comes time for another election in 12 months, I mean 3 years time.

What Really Matters

It was great to see a spirited Jim Stynes at the Brownlow Medal presentation. He spoke on matters football, life and cancer.

Interesting that it took his serious cancer for him to put his life in perspective. Now he openly claims that in the long run football doesn’t matter and he is now focused on being the best man he can be and making a positive difference to the world.

Football is good, but it has never been the be all and end all of life. It just takes time for some to get it.

Jim Stynes says he was taking too much for granted prior to his cancer diagnosis. Goes to show that we should all know what is most important while we still have our full health. For Jim that means relationships, with family, friends and teammates.

The playing of football is fleeting. Even the night’s winner, Chris Judd, reiterated these sentiments, so refreshing to come form a current player.