The following is an extract from the article The Amateur: Australian Rules Football, Yet Another Metaphor For Life by Spencer Hall in series where he tries various sports for the first time.  For his first taste of Aussie rules he joined Westside Bombers in the Atlanta metro footy league.  The article appeared on the SB Nation website.  The full article can be found here.  

 Everyone adjourns for beer. I turn in my jersey. I touch my knees, both still functioning. Ears: intact, and still sitting firmly attached to my head. The violence promised by reels of AFL Youtube maim-montage never materialized. Oh, one player was firmly decleated on a boundary kick, sure, with our best defender running through him like an enraged PCP-smoking hobo through a wet cardboard box. It looked magnificent and sounded even better,  the rush of air flying out of the poor victim's lungs followed by the audible thud of him hitting the grass.

In 2010 the Ontario Australian Football League in Canada (OAFL), with the help of the Hamilton Wildcats, put together a rag tag team of mixed Australian and Canadian players to send down to Boston, USA, to compete in a tournament with the Boston Demons and the Washington/Baltimore Eagles.

In 2011, the side founded and organised by Wildcats Club President Timmy "Bulldog" Wilson, will be taking this trip to the next level, taking a full-blown OAFL representative side to Chicago on the May 24 holiday weekend to compete against the "Best of the Midwest".

Outside of the international scene, this will likely be some of the best footy seen not only seen in North America, but possibly the world. The OAFL boasts one of the most organised leagues outside of the home country of Footy, Australia, and also has some of the best non Australian players kicking around as seen in a recent Northwind article on www.oafl.ca.

The Midwest also features some of the best players from around the US so the tone will be set for some cracker footy!

Part 2 of the interview from SEN radio in Melbourne below.

Former Geelong captain and now NFL punter with the Arizona Cardinals recently spoke to SEN radio about life in the US, visiting home and the NFL lockout that could potentially see the next NFL season not go ahead.  He also goes indepth into the NFL player benefits post retirement and how that may relate to AFL players making similar claims to the AFL in their own negotiations of their own pay packages.  The part 1 of the audio of the interview can be heard below.

The video below showcases Alberta footy in Calgary, Canada leading into their 2011 season. For more info go to www.albertafooty.com

During her current visit to the US, the Australian Prime Minister presented the US President Barack Obama with a Sherrin footy. And while footy followers would have liked to have seen her in traditional Australian touring outfit, her Bulldogs footy jumper, they would have been glad to see the official Whitehouse photographer captured their kick to kick and handball session. Obama later joked that a statue of Abraham Lincoln was almost destroyed in the session as the two awaited a motorcade to be organised for a joint roadtrip.

Who knows what we could see on future tours, perhaps Australia's "Big Red" PM having kick to kick at the Kremlin, drop punts with the Pontiff or Torpedoes at the Taj Mahal? The real influence of the Australian prime minister may be seen though if Mr Obama has four posts installed at either end of his Oval office. And playing away from home shouldn't she really be wearing white shorts?

Shae's interview on SEN this morning can be heard at http://www.sen.com.au/audioplayer/Audio/Collingwood-USA-recruit-Shae-McNamara/1888

Shae McNamara debuted successfully for the Collingwood Football Club on Friday night in the NAB Cup Qualifying Final at Etihad stadium. His stats - eight disposals, five marks, four ruck hit-outs and one goal (which can be seen on the Youtube video clip below) was a solid debut in the preseason competition for the big American who started well but tired and cramped as the game wore on.

Shae should be appearing on Melbourne radio stations MMM (7:30am) and SEN (8:20am) tomorrow morning (Monday) Melbourne time.

The US and Canada have been playing each other in Aussie rules internationals almost yearly since 1999, with the US mostly holding sway. This Friday night in the NAB Cup qualifying final, two men from opposite sides of the border look likely to ruck against each other. Canadian Mike Pyke and American Shae McNamara have never played for their country, or for that matter played Aussie rules in their own countries. They are converts from rugby union and basketball that promoted themselves to Sydney and Collingwood as potential converts.

Nevertheless all those involved in the USAFL and AFL Canada will be very keenly following to see if the clash eventuates and how each performs. Pyke has become an established member of the Swans as a mobile ruckman after two years in Sydney. McNamara had a solid VFL season in 2010, his first season in the game. He now takes a step up to the Collingwood senior side for this NAB Cup match in which he will be hoping to demonstrate that he belongs at the higher level and set himself up for more AFL appearances in 2011.

With the beginning of the 2011 season fast approaching, the Portland Power Australian Football Club is pleased to announce that the team has been renamed the Portland Steelheads Australian Football Club.

The Steelheads name was chosen after an exhaustive search process. Club members submitted and voted on over 100 suggestions for the new identity before choosing the Steelheads name. The image of a steelhead swimming upstream and leaping across rapids is an iconic one in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest.