http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/finn-bradshaw/ Finn Bradshaw is News Limited’s deputy network sports editor. He is a lifelong Cats fan who is still pinching himself that he doesn’t have to use the phrase “long suffering” before the word “Geelong”. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ufc-delivers-an-uppercut-to-boring-old-boxing/ Is the UFC brutal or brilliant? Or both? Finn Bradshaw attended his first UFC event on Saturday. This is his account of the experience. FIRST up, I have to admit I’m not the most knowledgeable fighting fan, whatever the discipline. But when you get the offer of front row seats to the UFC, well, it’s worth a trip from Melbourne to Sydney. Here’s a running diary of the cultural experience that occurred at Allphones Arena on Saturday. 10.30am: Traffic was a nightmare from the airport, so I’m running late. This event is beamed live into the USA, so it starts at the ridiculously early time of 9.30am but it appears I’m about the last person to arrive. The only people not in their seats are the Ed Hardy-clad fans crammed into the smoking cages outside the stadium. Clearly the early bouts haven’t got the fans’ full attention. 10.45am: Making our way through the crowd, some stereotypes are upheld, others demolished. The dress code is what I’d expected: lots of hoodies, tight T-shirts covered in scrawled writing and A LOT of UFC merch. But more women than I expected. Still probably only 10 per cent of the audience, but enough to make it not a total sausage fest. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Finn Bradshaw) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ufc-delivers-an-uppercut-to-boring-old-boxing/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ufc-delivers-an-uppercut-to-boring-old-boxing/#item7919 Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:45:18 +0000 Finn Bradshaw | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-the-afl-image-trumps-consistency-steven-baker-st-kilda/ As Ben Cousins said this week, it’s a strange position to be in when you feel sympathy for Steven Baker. When the AFL handed down its War and Peace sized list of charges against Baker this week, you could only feel the little tagger had been made a scapegoat. There’s no doubt the AFL was correct within the letter of the law when it charged Baker with various counts of striking and “interfering with an injured player”, only it’s a letter that the league had previously ignored. Like the umlaut in Joachim Low’s name. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Finn Bradshaw) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-the-afl-image-trumps-consistency-steven-baker-st-kilda/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-the-afl-image-trumps-consistency-steven-baker-st-kilda/#item3458 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:35:34 +0000 Finn Bradshaw | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nervous-wait-for-world-cup-in-the-rainbow-republic/ “Please tell everyone South Africa’s not as dangerous as they think.” That’s how most of my conversations have started over the past 10 days as I travelled around the country that will host next month’s World Cup. It’s just 16 years since Nelson Mandela’s election as president signalled the end of the apartheid era, and like a teenager going to her deb ball, South Africa is nervous about being the centre of attention. Worried that the roads won’t be ready. Worried that the national team, known to all as Bfana Bfana, won’t perform well. But most of all, worried that the country’s reputation for violence will be the ever-lasting memory of this World Cup. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Finn Bradshaw) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nervous-wait-for-world-cup-in-the-rainbow-republic/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nervous-wait-for-world-cup-in-the-rainbow-republic/#item3113 Wed, 19 May 2010 19:50:03 +0000 Finn Bradshaw | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/malthouse-and-cousins-a-tale-of-two-confused-clubs/ The AFL and its clubs have had no shortage of moral minefields to tip-toe through this year. From nude photos to boozy cruises to rape charges to senior coaches abusing opposition players to drug trafficking charges, the league has run the gamut of off-field issues. Or, as I like to think of it, they’re a Christmas Day scuffle away from earning their Charlie Sheen Badge. Two incidents have dominated the airways over the past five days: The tete-a-tete between Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse and St Kilda’s Steven Milne  and Richmond’s late-night hotel ruckus . feeback@thepunch.com.au (Finn Bradshaw) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/malthouse-and-cousins-a-tale-of-two-confused-clubs/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/malthouse-and-cousins-a-tale-of-two-confused-clubs/#item2832 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:27:43 +0000 Finn Bradshaw | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/old-man-kevin-sheedy-would-be-a-disaster-for-sydney/ Appointing Kevin Sheedy as coach of the AFL’s new Western Sydney team is a terrible idea. For one simple reason: The game has left the once-great coach behind. It’s the equivalent of making Bill Collins the face of iTunes. feeback@thepunch.com.au (Finn Bradshaw) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/old-man-kevin-sheedy-would-be-a-disaster-for-sydney/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/old-man-kevin-sheedy-would-be-a-disaster-for-sydney/#item1685 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:11:59 +0000 Finn Bradshaw | Author bios | The Punch