These Cats are running out of lives

The excitement surrounding the return of football for 2011 overshadowed a very significant development in Melbourne’s AFL circles.

Last Thursday, Richmond unveiled the Fighting Tiger Fund. It is a scheme aimed at reducing a debt coach Damien Hardwick said had “crippled” the foundation club.

According to the Tigers they need $6 million and they require it by yesterday. They want $4.5 million to reduce debts and raise another $1.5 million to invest in the future of the club.

By way of investment, Hardwick suggested the cash could be used to pay players more or entice other club’s stars to Punt Road.

Richmond chief executive Brendan Gale painted a bleak picture concerning the club’s lack of cash.

“The brutal fact is, that right now, our debt position means we are unlikely to deliver the critical resources required to win premierships,” Gale said

Haven’t we heard all of this before from Tigerland? Indeed, the cash call has come more than once over the past 25 years. And the club has only got itself to blame. But it could also be the greatest obstacle in fixing the situation.

Social media becomes athletes' weapon

Socks, mouthguard, protector, shirt, towel and hat.

Now, the mobile phone has to be in the modern athlete’s kit bag.

The first batch of items is needed to play on the pitch, grass, court or oval. And the phone is crucial to playing a whole new ball game in post-match time.

Social media is the new plaything in world sport. But sportspeople aren’t just using Twitter and Facebook to send nice messages to friends. They’ve become a virtual world soapbox on which athletes are making a stand.

The past few days have highlighted the influence of Twitter and how athletes are using it to make a point to the world or push their own brand – or both. It has become a weapon for athletes because they don’t have to go through a middle man to get their point across – just type in 140 characters, point the phone and shoot.

Take Melbourne Tigers NBL player Corey “Homicide” Williams. Last week he and officials from the Perth Wildcats conducted a slanging match through Twitter.

Williams defaced a picture of a Wildcats player at Challenge Stadium following a practice session. Normally, such an issue would have been dealt with through the proper channels – or at least that would have been the sportspeak that clubs love to use when they make public a complaint without having to actually declare their rage.

Not this time.