It’s very quiet, what with everyone travelling to Dallas & not wanting to tip hands ahead of Thursday night.

NFL News:

• The John Lynch standard: don’t hit women. As opposed to the “see if they’re cops first” maxim followed by his teammate Warren Sapp.
  • Trying not to interfere in the case, he said that “if Reuben did hit this young lady, he won’t be a part of this organization going forward”.
  • Foster is currently not participating in team activities while he is dealing with legal matters.

• It’s official – “Gronkowski” is out of the Kentucky Derby.
  • It’s a “slight infection” – likely the horse equivalent of an Upper Body Injury – but he might be cleared in time for the Preakness.
    • As opposed to whatever infections Gronk picked up in Cabo over Spring Break.
  • Someone tell Wes Welker, so he doesn’t show up & start yelling at the wrong horse.

• Being the most senseless and fit man for the job. Peter King had an opening to his MMQB this week that absolutely boggled the mind:
  • My advice to all of those professional and fan forecasters of the 2018 NFL draft in the hours leading up to the first round on Thursday: Be careful with the absolute statements. Three of the first four picks are controlled by two men (Cleveland GM John Dorsey at one and four, GM Dave Gettleman of the Giants at two) who could work for the CIA.
    • I wouldn’t entrust either of those two with the mayonnaise recipe from the Culinary Institute of America, let alone actual secrets.
  • FYI, the CIA’s actual mayonnaise recipe is here, and the video tutorial is here. It looks tasty, but it’s easier to just buy some Hellman’s.
    • For an examination of the 2016 Atlanta Falcons compared to various forms of mayonnaise, check out here, here, and here.

• On the Falcons front, people are a’twitter over Julio Jones deleting all Falcons photos from his social media accounts.
  • He says it’s to “fresh start the season” and that he doesn’t want to be “defined by” his social media.
  • Every report on this says the Falcons won’t panic or think it’s a contract dispute until mandatory mini-camp in June.

Given that there’s not much going on today & tonight, I thought I’d selfishly indulge my personal interests

World War I Centenary:

April 24-25, 1918 – The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux

If this vaguely rings a bell for you, you’re not wrong. This town & battle were briefly mentioned during my last foray into this topic back on March 26th, when I talked about the Doullens Agreement & its precedent for World War Two.

Occurring weeks after the end of the German’s Operation Michael, the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux was more accurately a German counter-offensive, trying to reclaim the initiative of the Western Front. Prior to the actual attack, the Germans mounted an aerial offensive involving strafing troops & releasing mustard gas, while the British launched artillery assaults on perceived German troop mustering points. It was during one of these assaults that the German “Red Baron” was shot down over Australian lines, north of Villers-Bretonneux at Corbie, and all the ANZAC sites I read take great pride in noting that all their available evidence points to an Australian machine gunner doing the deed.

[The Canadian in me will point out that credit for shooting down von Richthofen has also been attributed to Canadian RAF pilot Roy Brown. (pictured right) It’s also acknowledged that the dogfight the two men fought brought them within range of Australian guns on the ground. There have been some allegations that the air force has covered up the Australian effort because Royal Flying Corp brass, being the snobbish aristocrats that they were, couldn’t bear the fact that the greatest flying ace of the 1914-18 conflict was brought to heel by ground troops, and colonials at that. Ultimately, military historians argue there are valid claims on both sides for the kill to be claimed but, without compelling evidence, the kill stands in the record books for Brown.]

On April 24th, the Germans attacked the town in attempts to re-establish their earlier momentum & advance towards Amiens. They attacked the British forces with thirteen tanks, a first for the German army, and were swiftly able to capture the town.

Word was passed to the British commanders, and orders were made for an immediate counter-offensive, to be led by two brigades of Australian forces. However, the generals in charge of those brigades, Brigadier-General William Glasgow and Brigadier-General Harold ‘Pompey’ Elliott, stood up to the British commanders, referring to their plan as a suicide mission, because the British had expended their artillery & would be sending the Australians in defenceless against reinforced German batteries.

The Australians proposed their counter-attack for nighttime, at 10:00 PM, with the British attacking from the west and the Australians from the north and south. Key to this plan was the decision to not announce their assault with a preliminary artillery barrage, to provide cover for advancing troops. It was felt that the element of surprise would be more effective.

The Australian brigades enveloped Villers-Bretonneux and attempted to join forces to the east of the town. They were unable to join up in the dark and many Germans managed to escape. After dawn, the gap was gradually closed and Australians entered the town from the east and British from the north and west. Villers-Bretonneux was cleared of enemy troops on 25 April 1918, the third anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli.

This action marked the effective end of the German offensive that had began so successfully with Operation Michael more than a month earlier.

The Villers-Bretonneux cemetery contains 779 Australians, 47 of whom are unidentified. The cemetery also contains 1,089 British, 267 Canadians, 4 South Africans and 2 New Zealanders. It was the final campaign in France for the ANZAC forces.

The primary school in Villers-Bretonneux carries a famous message painted on the roof of a playground shelter in English in tribute to those who fought to liberate their town, ‘Do not forget Australia’.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • no games.
  • The next round’s schedule won’t be released until Boston – Toronto is concluded.
    • Ratings, baby!
• NBA:
  • Bucks at Celtics – 7:00PM | NBA TV / TSN (Game 5; series tied 2-2)
  • Heat at 76ers – 8:00PM | TNT / TSN (Game 5; 76ers lead 3-1)
  • Spurs at Warriors – 10:30PM | TNT / TSN (Game 5; Warriors lead 3-1)
• MLB:
  • no national US broadcasts
  • Red Sox at Blue Jays – 7:00PM | Sportsnet
• WWE:
  • Smackdown Live! from Louisville – 8:00PM | USA / Sportsnet360

Two days until the draft. CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT?