The Winery Weekend Playlist

Three of our favourite tunes this week to kick off the weekend's festivities / relaxation (select one or both!)

This Melbourne gang are getting a bit of Triple J love at the moment, we're hanging out for the new album from Buchanan , due soon...

Love the quirky alt-rock from Brendan Benson, and his new album, What Kind of World , is no exception, great beats...

And an old favourite here in MH-land, it's great to see Something For Kate back on the bandwagon...

MH GOLD: Hot Pants and a Hot Chance

DATELINE: LONDON 2012.
DAY 5:



We're into the midst of the fun now, boys and girls. Whilst London 2012 hasn't so far been the cascade of Gold Medals tipped by some prior to the Games, we've seen some spectactular efforts from Aussies that have just dipped out (take a bow Emily Seebohm and Bronte Barratt) and Day 4 even saw Kynan Maley pick up a very creditable 6th in that traditional Aussie event, the white-water canoeing slalom.

The great thing about our modest total so far, is we can take great solace in the fact we are streets ahead on the medal tally than the Poms. Nothing like a little skiting over the fact whilst the chips are down. Though beware, when asked today if he thought Great Britain could exceed Australia's total in the London 2012 medal tally, London part-mayor-part-bear Boris Johnson left us all in no doubt with a very emphatic... "Yes, I think we can." Fighting words indeed...




And to further up the rivalry, we in the wide brown land were all thoroughly relieved to know our CSIRO scientists hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel, with the news that we too have the technology to match the Brits in the Great War of the Hot Pants. Sir Chris Hoy was quoted as saying, "The zips mean you can take them off..." revealing some amazing leaps forward in sporting apparel technology. I mean, ZIPS! WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT?! Thank fully the CSIRO have assured us that our Aussie trackstars will also be able to remove their hot pants when required.

So it moves us on to tonight's medal prospects. I think we'll be battling it out with the Poms once again tonight as we head down to Dorney Lake for the rowing. Our lanky ladies, Kate Hornsey and Sarah Tait will take it up to the British lassies Heather Stanning and Helen Glover whilst daylight will limp in third. Sure to be a cracking encounter. Also out on the water will be the big boys in the Men's Eights. Yep, this final will be a wide open affair, with our lads standing a pretty good chance against some out-of-form Yanks, the Poms and the Germans and Canadians. A ripper spectacle...

Out on the roads it'll be the "Yellow Wiggle" this time resplendent in blue. Bradley Wiggins looks a safe odds-on favourite for the 44km Road Time Trial. Cadel has decided to have a spell, which just leaves us with Wiggo's Sky team-mate Michael Rogers to have a dip for the wide brown. Expect GB's first gold here tonight...




Back poolside, its time for the MISSILE to fire, or whatever other lamo pun you want to attach to tonight's 100m Freestyle final. James Magnussen actually looks in pretty good form, and it'd be great to see him rip out a stonking time in what is set to be a thumping final, with the smooth Brazilian Cesar Cielo and 2nd-fastest qualifier Nathan Adrian snapping at (hopefully) his heels. Another BIG chance in the pool tonight are our Beijing Golden Girls in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay. With Steph Rice sitting this race out this year, it'll be up to compatriots Schlanger (great name), Campbell , Palmer and Barratt to bring home the gold.

WHAT TO DRINK:

On name alone, we're going to crack a NEVER MIND THE ANABOLICS IPA tonight. A newie from those wacky Aberwegians up there at Brewdog, it should be ideal for gazing at those pumped-up swimming bodies.


Cheers!

Johnno and Mitch

UN called in to find weapons of mass destruction

You win some & you lose some! A mixed bag on day 2.

Usain Bolt getting rolled on the track will be as bigger loss as was the defeat of the Aussie mens 4 x 100m relay team last night in the pool. The sub-editors are having a field day with this one, and poor old James Magnussen is coping the heat big time. There's lots of Missiles misfiring & Missile bombs out etc...
Don't take it too hard James. At least you'll still have your abs! Grrrrrr!

The Australians may not be quite as dominant in the pool as what we've been used. The rest of the world has caught up to us!

It wasn't all bad news. Alicia Coutts grabbed a bronze in the 100m butterfly final, & it took a world record by a South African (we didn't know they could swim) to beat him, but Aussie Christian Sprenger pulled one out of the suitcase of courage to grab silver in the mens 100 m breaststroke.

There's quite a few Aussies in the finals tonight so there is still plenty of hope for more success in the drink. Emily Seebohm in the 100 breaststroke, Hayden Stoeckel in 100m backstroke, Leisel Jones 100m breastroke, plus more... Stay tuned....

In other results, the Boomers were bounced by Brazil, Bernard Tomic was bundled out by little known Kei Nishikori of Japan at Wimbeldon, and we got done in the beach volley ball. How many sandy beaches do they have in Germany?

The Aussie Rowers continue to do well with 4 crews all making it thru to finals today.

And for all you shuttlecock fanciers out there, Australian women's pair Leanne Choo & Renuga Veeran are playing Korea for a spot in the Quarter finals. Go girls!

Unfortunately the Australian women gymnasts missed out on the teams final after coming tenth in qualifying. It seems so cruel that a tiny little slip up on a dismount can effectively mean 4 years of hard work ruined! The gymnasts are unreal! I couldn't even walk across a beam without falling off!

Here at MH Gold HQ, what we do love most about the Olympics is the sports you don't get to see every week such as the badminton, the diving, gymnastics and the equestrian. What's the chances of the equestrian events ever getting shown on Aussie TV outside of the Olympics?

And what ever you do, don't get us started on synchronised swimming! We love it! Only 1 week to go!

Looking ahead, the Opals take on France in the women's Basketball, the Kookaburras line up against Sth Africa in the men's hockey, and and we have Australians participating in Archery, Badminton, Beach VolleyBall, Boxing, women's weightlifting, table tennis, sailing and just about every other sport scheduled, including the tennis where Little Lleyton lines up against Sergiy Stakhovsky, so a massif COME ON!!!!!! for Hewitt.

Something to sip on whilst you digest all of the above in front of the box or beside the wireless:

As a tribute to Honduras who sent the reigning world champs Spain back home last night (& to give us strength & internal warmth as we huddle on the couch on a freezing Ballarat night) we are slurping big spoonfuls of Guaro, a strong sugar cane rum.

Our favorite is Tatascan. It makes us big & strong like a cowboy & at about $4 for a half bottle you can drink it all day every day.

Good luck to the green & gold & go you top little Aussies!

-Johnno & Mitch.

MH Gold Blog: Wake Up!!!

Ever had one of those mornings?Alarm goes off, it's the weekend, hit the snooze button for a few more zeds...Then you realize it's the Olympics and you're the Aussie shooting chance!Yep, we've all been there (!), and that's what happened to our 10m Air Rifle sharpshooter Alethea Sedgman yesterday morning as she narrowly dodged missing the team bus, when she figured that a weekend sleep-in might beat actually competing at the Olympics! 

Alethea needs to get one of these:

She made the event in a nick of time after being woken by flatmate Lauryn Mark, and went on to narrowly miss making the final. Bit of a nightmare scenario, and one that I know in my nightmares usually involves forgetting to wear pants, which for Alethea might have been the final insult.By the way, if there's an accident at the Air Rifle shootout, do they call the Air Ambulance?

The rest of the day saw the much-awaited men's cycling road race go to former doping cheat Alexander Vinokurov whilst fancied Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara forgot how to go around a corner, and local favourite Mark Cavendish had a moan about Aussie tactics rather than win as expected...


And, sadly, poor old Steph Rice dipped out on a medal in the super-quick 400m IM, whilst in the 4x100m relay our girls snagged Australia's first gold! Whoo Hoo!

So, to today...

Another big day in the pool with Liesel Jones keen to put the "too fat" critics in their place with a medal in the 100m breaststroke.
The 4x100m freestyle relay is another massive chance for an Aussie gold
too, led by our 'Missile' Magnussen, who has the fastest 100m time this year.

Elsewhere tonight we'll see our Boomers take on the smooth Brazilians on the basketball court, see the women take to the cycling road race course in a wide-open field (won't even try to tip this one) and a bit of wild water as the slalom canoeing gets underway.

So strap on in, because we're in the midst of it all now.

We're recommending pouring yourself a whisky tonight, say a nice highland malt, whilst we watch the hapless Scotsman, Andy Murray, re-try for a win at Wimbledon as he opens his London 2012 campaign.

MH Gold - The low brow low down. 28th July

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Welcome back to MH Gold - the low brow low down on who's hot, who's not and who's on the gear at London 2012.

This morning's Opening Ceremony was very impressive - but we do wish the Brits would stop wheeling Sir Paul out for absolutely everything. Yes the Beatles were great. But its time to move on. Please?! And any way, we think Sir Paul is starting to look a little creepy - is it just me or is he starting to look more & more like Michael Jackson?

Tonight the gloves come off & we get stuck into it.

Today's schedule has a little something for everyone.

If you didn't get enough of the boys on bikes over the last month, well today they are at it again in the mens road race. Tonight we can cheer on all the Aussie contenders who are all flying the same flag this time around. Cadel needs a bit of Vicks VapoRub as he says he's had a bit of congestion on the chest. This will be a fascinating battle with much different tacktics required vs a 3 week grand tour.
What a team - Gossy, Evans, Gerrans, Rogers & O'Grady! With this sort of experience, the Aussies should be in with a real chance. Go Fellas!

In the pool, the heat is on Stephanie Rice to live up to her Beijing reputation and put some of her troubled past behind her. One can only hope that she has been banned from getting her hands on any form of mobile device that is capable of sending a photo or broadcasting her thoughts to the world. We like her new free-style stroke though.

Also in the pool we have the women's 4 x 100m -> go Libby Trickett & crew!

On the hallowed turf of Lord's we have some Archery. Whaaaaat!?

Other events where we are in with a show tonight include the rowing (Mens Quad Sculls) and our four legged competitors in the Equestrian events.

And if too much sport is never enough, get on the Womens Weightlifting! Tonight it's the pocket rockets - 48 kg women lifting 120 kgs - unbelievable!

What to drink: When the Rice is hot at our place we like nothing more than a refreshing frothy. Get on the Tsingtao train. It's a saturday night after all, so drink it by the bag full!

Cheers,

-Johnno & Mitch.

MH Gold - Let the Games Begin "Release the Pigeons!"

Welcome to Day 1 - the warm up lap for MH Gold - the official On the Tasting Bench Olympic Games Blog.

We are coming to you live from the couch with, the tv guide, the remote, and a glass of some exotic booze all with in arms reach. We are all juiced up & ready to go!

Fresh from our our comprehensive Tour de France  blog coverage we have donned the metaphoric flippers & crossed the channel to bring you our games highlights, culinary recommendations, & unpredictable predictions on all things Lympics.

Expect the expected for the opening ceremony, or as we like to call it - how to blow $50 Million in 3 hours. Beefeaters, corgi's, fireworks, some 007 action, foul weather and thousands of crooked smiles. At MH Gold HQ we are hoping that they take a leaf out of the South Korean book of opening ceremonies & release / roast a thousand pigeons into the Lympic flame for a bit of welcome to London-style hospitality.

All eyes will be on the team fashions - we will show you the highlights tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some atrocities to challenge the above!

Congratulations to Lauren Jackson one top Aussie who deserves to be flying the flag for Oz. To represent one's country at 4 Lympics is an incredible achievement. Lauren truly is a great ambassador for her sport & the our country.

Apparently the games have already began with a few games of soccer having been won & lost. Highlight thus far: Japan beating Spain 0-1(Men's Soccer)

We would like this blog to be as interactive as possible, so please feel free to add your comments, highlights, and recommendations along the way. This will be a very special journey. We'd like you to share it with us. So if you see anything remotely interesting in regards to the Lympics, especially any fantastic royal family moments, gaffs or slip ups, we'd like to share it with the world.

What we are drinking:  Apart from some ever improving fizz down south, the English are not really well known for their wine. Beer on the other hand they do know! We like the look of this Spitfire Kentish Ale. They have some decent ad campaigns too!

This is just the warm up lap, so settle in folks and let the games begin.

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook for more ramblings and other news & views.

Cheers & go Aussie go!

-Johnno & Mitch.

Mitchell Harris Gold: The Games Blog.

Righto, fans. It's that time again. Here in the Mitchell Harris lounge room, we've barely cleared the bleary eyes after Le Tour , and already it's time to fire up the telly for another couple of weeks of late-night sport, matched with a few wines and other nightcaps.

Tomorrow, we crack out the glitter, get our interpretative dance routines down-pat, and pop on a blazer to wander into our metaphorical stadium in alphabetical order to light the flame on our daily squiz at the comings and goings of the Games fortnight.

We'll grab a glass and have a look at what to expect in the day ahead, and what's just gone down in the previous 24 hours. Once again, there'll be some drink matches to help you while away the evenings....

So tune in, and join in the fun of the next two weeks with our irreverent and boozy take on the hardcore sport of London 2012. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (Don't worry, no racy Stephanie Rice type bikini shots of ourselves!) and Facebook (Don't worry, no Nick D'Arcy-type shots...) to keep up with things too!

Cheers,

Johnno & Mitch