Aker calls for changeTriple premiership player Jason Akermanis has called on the AFL Coaches Association to block the appointments of inexperienced coaches.He says the romantic notion of an ex-club champion being reunited with their former club as coach is a recipe for disaster.The AFL Coaches Association should never allow anymore AFL players to come straight out of the game into coaching. Thats just crazy, Akermanis told ESPN.Not to be disrespectful to my great mate Michael Voss or Bucks (Nathan Buckley) and Leppa (Justin Leppitsch), but you need to take your time, go back to levels where there is average talent.Thats where you learn how to coach.Akermanis has come to the defence of Brisbane coach Leppitsch, whos facing mounting pressure following last weeks 138-point loss to Adelaide.It was the Lions ninth loss by 60 points or more in a season that has netted just two victories.He says sacking his former teammate will have little effect on reversing the clubs fortunes.You can put someone in with more experience but theyre going to more or less get the same outcome, Akermanis said.Getting rid of Leppa (Leppitch) is not going to be the answer. More importantly, theyve got to fix their recruiting and list management.If you replace anyone (at AFL level), the results are going to be the same. Its a sign of the times.The 2001 Brownlow Medallist, coach of Ovens and Murray club North Albury, says his hunger to coach at AFL level has dissipated.When Im 90 years old looking back, I dont see me being disappointed if I never make it (to AFL level), he said.To do what were doing here (North Albury) is such a great honour.At the moment Im going into my fourth year (as coach) and its been an unbelievable experience. Its been the best learning curve.The 39-year-old was overlooked for a development coach at Essendon last year.Climbing to new heightsAkermanis was always told to reach for the skies and now the AFL Hall of Fame member has taken it to another level with a soaring ambition to trek Mount Everest base camp.Akermanis plans to make the climb to the camp at 5300m in November with his wife, Megan.As long as you have a flexible metabolism and you can handle the loads, its not that hard, Akermanis said.We hope to take our daughters there when theyre older and stronger and show them the natural beauty and experience the challenging part of the trek. Theyll benefit from it for life.The 325-game champion is also aspiring to become a pro golfer.With a handicap of around four, Akermanis is refining his swing to qualify for the Japanese golf tour next year.The purpose is to always be the best you can be. If I dont make it, thats ok, he said.When youre competitive like me, its the worst game in the world to be an angry, competitive person.Its a big change from playing aggressive, combative football to turn to a calm, confident golfer.Crows destined for greatnessSuperstitious Adelaide fans believe the club is destined for premiership glory, should an eerie trend continue.The Crows could follow the path of modern era juggernauts Geelong and Hawthorn by winning the flag the year after losing its star player.The Cats defeated reigning champions Collingwood in 2011, without Brownlow medalist Gary Ablett who defected to the Gold Coast Suns at the end of 2010.The Hawks added two titles (2014 and 2015) when Lance Franklin headed to Sydney in 2013 under a record-breaking, multi-million dollar deal.This leaves the Crows in the box seat to claim its third flag in 26 years after losing its most damaging player -- ball-winning midfielder Patrick Dangerfield -- last year.The premiership pattern is already in effect, with the clubs dramatic ascension to third place.Dr Keis Ohtsuka, a psychology lecturer at Victoria University, says the Crows could realise its fate and achieve the ultimate.Its a real statistic, which can be really motivating. Its something that can help the Crows play better as a team, Dr Ohtsuka told ESPN.Even if it doesnt work, theres no harm in believing in a fairytale.If you ask the people in Adelaide, the passionate supporters, theyre more likely to believe this superstition.They will say its crucial to their success, given that its happened previously, and theyre more likely to believe it.However Dr Ohtsuka believes history doesnt always repeat itself.There are so many unknown factors in sport, he said.People get into trouble, particularly gamblers, when they believe in a random occurrences have some kind of pattern behind it, which may not happen again.Ruthless Ross losing battle to keep assistantsPeter Sumichs bombshell resignation as a Fremantle assistant coach isnt surprising to those who have worked under hardman Ross Lyon.ESPN has been told Lyon notoriously overworks -- and sometimes underappreciates -- his off-siders in a blinded pursuit to capture a premiership that has so far eluded him.Sumich, forever in the mix for senior coaching positions, is believed to have been drained by the demands of the ruthless Lyon.Last year, Dockers assistants Simon Lloyd and Brett Kirk returned to their home states.Its been reported that at least two current Dockers coaches wont have their contracts renewed in a second consecutive restructuring of the division.During Lyons reign at St Kilda, assistants Brian Royal, Andy Lovell and Stephen Silvagni resigned to take up offers at other clubs.Lyon has coached the Saints and Dockers to a combined four Grand Finals without success.Westpac Centre location wreaking havocCollingwoods move to the Westpac Centre on Olympic Boulevard a decade or so ago has resulted in one unhappy, unintended consequence.Because the venue is so centrally located, only a kilometre or two from the CBD, and because the Pies are the biggest and most newsworthy AFL club, the Westpac Centre is always a hive of media activity.Virtually every hour of every day, there are cameramen from Channels Seven and Nine at the ground, filming every training session and even informal goalkicking practice sessions.Reporters from Seven and Nine always attend the player and coach press conferences, but when theyre called away on other jobs, and happen to miss a training, they then pore over the tape which has been sent back to the office by the cameraman.If they can see that a player has left the track, theyll jump straight on the phone to Collingwood and ask one of the media team why such-and-such a player has gone into the rooms.Told theres nothing in it, the reporter will go back to scrolling through the rest of the vision. He might then call 10 or 15 minutes later -- having spotted something equally suspicious -- and make a similar request to the media department about another player who has fallen awkwardly or got up limping.There is virtually nothing the players do outdoors that is not filmed and dissected. So this is the small price the Pies pay for relocating to their wiz-bang, space-age headquarters by the Yarra.The rundown facilities, gym and grandstands at the Maggies original home, Victoria Park, might not have been in keeping with the modern, gleaming, wealthy image the club likes to project, but at least the players had a bit of privacy among the terraces in Collingwoods back blocks.Plugger finally opens upInterviews with the reclusive Tony Lockett are as rare as Yeti sightings, but former 3AW footy commentator and fishing guru Rex Hunt has succeeded where most have failed by getting the games champion goalkicker to agree to a lengthy chat.The interview with Plugger, which goes to air at 7.30am on Sunday on Melbourne radio station SEN, covers many aspects of his life, which is now mainly spent with his wife, Vicki, and four daughters at Bowral in the southern NSW highlands.Lockett, who turned 50 in March, kicked 1360 goals in 281 games with St Kilda then Sydney, breaking Gordon Coventrys 62-year record when he booted his 1300th goal in 1999.He retired in 2002, having won the Brownlow Medal, the Coleman Medal (four times), kicked more than 100 goals in a season on six occasions (an AFL record). Lockett is also a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.And just how reclusive and media-shy is he?In 2006, big Plugger famously drove down to Melbourne from his country New South Wales home to accept his Hall of Fame award -- then promptly made the return trip the same night to avoid any of the fanfare that came with his induction.And in April this year, at St Kildas Hall of Fame dinner, he decided to attend to pay tribute to his former teammate and the Saints newest official Legend, Robert Harvey.After giving a warm speech about Harvey, Lockett then -- instead of taking a seat in the auditorium with the punters and Saints faithful -- disappeared back to the green room which had been provided for him backstage.Thats where he stayed for a majority of the evening, safely tucked away from the masses, and welcoming a revolving door of former teammates including Stewart Loewe, Michael Roberts and Danny Frawley.Random stats of the week:?11: The number of straight wins Hawthorn have achieved when Ben Stratton hasnt played. Stratton injured his pectoral against Melbourne and will miss this weekends big game against North Melbourne but that wont cause as much heartburn at Hawthorn HQ as you might imagine. While the half-back is a key member of the Hawks defensive six, it appears his absence hasnt necessarily affected his teams chances in the past. Stratton has missed 11 games in the past five seasons, yet Hawthorn have managed to win all 11 of those matches by an average of 60 points.14: The equal-record number of marks former Hawk and Eagle Xavier Ellis took in Hawthorns 2008 premiership win. Ellis called it quits this week after being struck down by the latest in a series of soft-tissue injuries. He played 120 games over 11 seasons, but few were more impressive than his performance in the 2008 decider when he took 14 marks - a grand final record that he jointly owns with two ruckmen: John Barnes (Geel, 1995) and Essendon great Simon Madden (1985).555: Speaking of Hawks, Shaun Burgoyne just keeps motoring along and is almost certain to play on and add to his 314 games next year, according to club spies. But this weekend, he and his brother Peter (who played 240 matches for Port Adelaide) play their 555th game as brothers, moving into joint third place on the all-time list. The Maddens lead the way on 710 games (378 for Simon and 332 for Justin), ahead of the Nankervis boys on 578 (325 for Ian and 253 for Bruce), while the Burgoynes will now join the Cornes (255 for Chad and 300 for Kane) on 555. Custom Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. http://www.customjerseysbasketball.com/custom-new-orleans-pelicans-jerseys-627y.html . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Custom Miami Heat Jerseys . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. If you are a sucker for cricket, Tuesday afternoon at Trent Bridge was just the job. Records were thrown around like confetti, and of them all, perhaps the record-equalling figure of 59 boundaries in the England innings was the most spectacular. Of these, 16 were sixes, the most by an England team. When - more than ten years ago, it should be said - Sri Lanka made the 443 for 9 against Netherlands that England beat, the Sri Lankans hit 56 fours and a rather modest three sixes.The total of 444 is more believable than it at first sounds. Jos Buttler missed two balls of the final over, bowled by Hasan Ali, and Eoin Morgan missed one. One swipe by Buttler was so fierce that the stump-mic picked up the sound of the swoosh of air as the ball flew past him. At this point it seemed as if Buttler and his captain were looking to crush the Sri Lankan score rather than simply cruise past it. The first five swooshes of that over resulted in a single and a leg-bye before the last-ball smash over mid-off propelled England to record-breaking glory.There is no doubt that 500 is on the cards. It is just a question of when and where. Trent Bridge, you might say. On Tuesday the pitch was perfect for strokeplay; the boundaries no further than 74 yards from the striker and the weather almost mesmerically inviting. What of the opposition? The kindest thing one can say about Azhar Alis men is that they were down at heel.Without batting quite at his best, Alex Hales broke the England one-day record long held by Robin Smith. Hales is a popular fellow in Nottingham, so the appreciation reached a fever pitch. When he attacks the off side, through square cover and extra cover, there is an attractive fluency to his play. When he goes leg side, it becomes more agricultural. The surprise is that he hits so little straight down the ground. This is because of a small flaw in his technique that, if fixed, would help his batting in Test cricket. He very rarely plays from behind the ball, or even alongside and close to it. He backs eye before method and uses the remarkable power and sense of timing in his hands and arms to make sweet contact. But this is not a time to split hairs. He beat Smiths record by 41 balls and was out in the 37th over. Ye gods! He really might have made 250. Bravo. All Hale!Smiths innings was played in a losing cause against Australia in 1993. The Judge made an unbeaten 167 out of Englands 277, flaying a notable attack that consisted of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel, the two Waughs and Tim May. But not even the Judge can sit at the top table with Viv Richards, whose unbeaten 189 out of a total of 272 against England at Old Trafford in 1984 came in 170 balls with 21 fours and five sixes. West Indies were 166 for 9 when Michael Holding joined Richards at the wicket. They put on 106 - Holding made 12 of them, Richards the rest. Not for nothing was he called King Viv.Another to whom Smith must defer is Herschelle Gibbs, whose 175 at the Wanderers in 2006 made the greatest chase possible. Set 435 by Ricky Pontings Australians, South Africa won an incredible cricket match off the penultimate ball. Eight hundred and seventy-two runs were scored in the day, as against the 719 tallied at Trent Bridge. These, like the Sri Lankan total of 2006, were before the bats got bully big and everyones imagination ran wild.South Africa are responsible for the other two monstrous scores that England shifted down the list: 439 for 2 - again in Johannesburg, where the thin air helps the white ball fly - when AB de Villiers thrashed 149 from 44 balls against West Indies, hitting 16 sixes from his own bat, if you dont mind. (Not that de Villiers even made the highest score in the innings. That was Hashim Amla with 153!) And 438 for 4 against India in Mumbai - de Villiers again, with hundreds from Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock as well.Should we be surprised? Probably not. Over the 53-year history of one-day cricket, the game has become increasingly weighted in favour of batsmen.dddddddddddd The bats and boundaries are obvious pointers, along with improved training and greater physical strength. Field restrictions, bouncer restrictions, helmets, two new balls that rarely seem to swing but stay hard and clear, grassless pitches, hapless bowlers are among the other reasons that batting records will continue to be shattered. The modern player seems not to fear the loss of his wicket either, which is a wonderful mindset with which to construct an innings.The first really big one-day game was the 1963 Gillette Cup final at Lords. Batting first, Sussex made 168 to beat Worcestershire by 14 runs in the 65-over contest. In both the quarter-final and semi-final, Sussex scored 292 batting first - a massive score - and squeezed the life out of Yorkshire and Northamptonshire respectively. The tournament was reduced to 60 overs per side the next year but this did not deter Sussex, who won again, mainly because Ted Dexter was the first captain to work out that a combination of attacking batting, full-pitched bowling and defensive field settings was the formula for success.The first one-day international was between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 1971. When the first three days of the third Test were washed out, the Australian Cricket Board decided to abandon the match and replace it with a game played over 40 eight-ball overs. Englands 190 featured 82 from John Edrich in 119 balls; Australia won with time and wickets to spare, courtesy Ian Chappell, who made 60 in 103 balls, and little cameos from Doug Walters and Greg Chappell. None of the players foresaw the seismic shift that was to change cricket for all time. The 1975 World Cup in England gave them a clue. This was a true carnival of cricket, with a final that did justice to the first major global one-day event. Australia and West Indies were star-studded and fought long into the evening until the West Indian score of 291 prevailed over the 274 response. Clive Lloyds famous hundred came off 85 balls; Richards ran out Alan Turner and the two Chappells. These blokes could really play. In the 1979 World Cup final, Collis King butchered England for 86 runs in 66 balls. King was more like the players of today - outrageous and carefree. These fellows used something like balsa wood in comparison to the clubs that allow the modern player such license.By the time of the 1979 final, Kerry Packers breakaway World Series Cricket had set a marker for one-day cricket. The sanctioned Benson and Hedges World Series triangular tournaments that followed it, played over 55 overs per side, changed the face of the game forever. Batsmen attacked as a matter of course, realising that the short form offered a whole new world of adventure and opportunity.On Tuesday night Eoin Morgan made an interesting observation. He said the big change in his time in the game had been for the players to move from seeing one-day cricket as the short form of Test cricket, to instead embrace 50-over cricket as an extension of 20-over cricket. This, he said, had freed everyone up. No kidding. In the last two summers England have made six totals of 350 or more. They are now the most dangerous one-day outfit in the world.Jason Roy came within five runs of Smiths record earlier this summer. Joe Root has passed 50 in five consecutive one-day internationals and barely raised sweat. Buttler amazes with both the violence and flexibility of his ball-striking. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali did not even get to the wicket on Tuesday afternoon. Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett tied the first one-day game against Sri Lanka back in June, at Trent Bridge, with the brilliance of their lower-order batting.These are happy times for England. The future is bright and the future is limitless. ' ' '