King James

I’ve never been a big fan of attempting to compare different players from different eras. But the way LeBron James of the Miami Heat dominates his opponents has made me consider – is he the best basketballer in history?

It’s true that he did not have instant success in the NBA as he spent several largely unspectacular seasons as part of a largely unspectacular Cleveland Cavaliers team. But since he headed south to Miami and joined with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, he’s upped the ante and is arguably the best player in the world right now.

Which got me thinking – where would he be placed in the all-time rankings?

Picture Magic Johnson on the drive. Larry Bird sinking another unlikely three pointer. Wilt Chamberlain towering above all his contemporaries. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s incomparable and undefendable (is there such a word??) skyhook. Charles Barkley and Karl Malone bullying and intimidating their way to the basket. Jerry West plying his trade for the Lakers for 15 years in the 60’s and 70’s. Shaquille O’Neal at his peak being head and shoulders (literally) above all others. His Lakers team-mate Kobe Bryant, who runs games like a General commanding an army. Michael Jordan’s freakish ability to single-handedly take games away from opponents, often in the dying seconds of a playoff game. And as the saying goes, many, many more. The Clyde Drexlers. The Robert Parishes. The Patrick Ewings. The Tim Duncans. The list is almost inexhaustible. Not to mention the countless international players of note over the years too.

So I’ve made a few cuts from my dream team. I’ve automatically excluded players from the 60’s and 70’s (I’m allowed to – it’s my team) as I don’t believe the level of competition in that era was anywhere near the standard we’ve seen since the early to mid-80’s onwards. I’ve also excluded internationals such as the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon and the behemoth (7 ft 6 in) Yao Ming.

After all that I’ve tried to end up with a top six; Johnson, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, O’Neal, Bryant, Jordan and James. Ok, it’s a top eight – but how do you exclude anyone from that list?

From there I’ve tried to analyse weaknesses, and had to get very, very picky. O’Neal couldn’t score from the free-throw line to save his life, so he’s out. Larry Bird was a fantastic all-round player. He could shoot from inside and out, he could defend and he stayed at the top with the Celtics for a long time, which is no mean feat. But he was boring, so he’s gone.

But I could go no further in terms of culling these superstars, so I’m left with my starting five and one bench-warmer (not sure who that would be); Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Le Bron James. Therefore by default, I am saying that Le Bron is in my top half-dozen players of all-time.

But is he the greatest of all-time? The answer is; I don’t know. If he ends his career in the NBA having scored 38,000, 36,000 or 32,000 points like Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and Jordan respectively, then perhaps the answer will be yes. If he wins six NBA championships like Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan, then he could well be. If he ends up with over 10,000 assists to his name just like Magic Johnson, then he’ll be right up there.

I think my conclusion is that perhaps one day he will be remembered as the greatest. But certainly not yet. Still, he’s being mentioned in the same breath as those other greats of the game of basketball, and that’s a pretty good start.

What the…

…hell has happened to rugby? I know this is a vast generalisation but rugby is in danger of becoming boring. One series of incidents in the Super 15 game between the Chiefs and the Crusaders on Friday night summed it up for me.

In the first half a(nother) scrum was reset multiple times before eventually collapsing. Wyatt Crockett, who is surely the worst scrummager to have played at international level since, well, every single Wallaby prop ever, simply couldn't cope with the bulk and strength of the Chiefs’ Ben Tameifuna and ended up facing back towards his own locks. Referee Steve Walsh in his infinite wisdom somehow decided that the prop now facing backwards hadn't actually caused the collapse and penalised a disbelieving Tameifuna.

The problems highlighted by this situation are 1) complicated rules that result in long periods of inactivity (usually resets or penalties), and 2) the nature of the rules that so often result in horrendously poor refereeing interpretations (it was the Chiefs put-in to the scrum so why would they collapse?), especially in scrummaging situations.

An old friend of mine who used to play international and Super Rugby once told me that on some occasions he would know who had collapsed the scrum. But he said in most instances the front-rowers themselves don’t know why the scrummagers’ faces hit the turf. I’m no scientist; in fact I hated the subject at school. But even I know that when two opposing forces, each weighing 800-900kg, collide the resultant movement due to the collision will occasionally be downward.

Refs – just get the opposing players close to one another before the hit and let them get on with it. If you absolutely believe one player has deliberately collapsed the scrum (it’s usually the Australian prop by the way), then by all means give the pea in the whistle some exercise. But if there’s a hint of doubt in your mind, just reset the scrum and get the game going again. I’ve loved rugby since I was a wee fella. But the rulebook has become so lengthy and so complicated, and yet it leaves so much open to the referee’s interpretation. The result is a game that struggles for continuity and, once in a while, now struggles to hold my attention.

Progress?

We’re a fairly small nation in most ways, and that also stretches to our cricketing exploits. But the New Zealand cricket team has a proud history of punching above its weight and, but for a certain Inzamam Ul-Haq of Pakistan and an untimely injury to Martin Crowe, we would’ve probably won the one-day world cup in 1992.

NZC should have built upon that near-success. But instead we’ve endured years and years and years of underachievement and generally disappointing performances. There’ve been some fabulous times mixed in with that, and just a very few short years ago, our world rankings in all forms of the sport were very impressive and seemingly on the rise.

But a quick glimpse of the ICC rankings now makes one quietly fold up one’s replica Beige Brigade shirt and place it at the bottom of the pile in the short-sleeved, sports only shirts drawer. In the test rankings we’re second to last, comfortably out-performing that giant of the world game, Bangladesh. In the one-dayers and T-20 ranks, we’re way behind all the proper teams and only have Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands and Kenya below us. Thank god Afghanistan, Scotland and Canada haven’t played enough matches to be ranked…

Our rankings, and performances, had been slipping for a while, so last year in came new coach Mike Hesson. Have things improved? No. Why? Because we still can’t bat. Most, although certainly not all, of the batsmen have the technical expertise to perform. But nothing seems to have changed mentally. Last week’s second innings capitulation in the first test against England at Lords, when chasing a very achievable winning target, was embarrassing.

But what was more embarrassing were the shot selections at crucial moments. A flashy cover drive on the up at 21-3 (how about all that cricketing terminology in one sentence!). Getting caught on the boundary when the team were 40-odd for 4. Attempting a T20-style lofted straight drive (and missing the ball by several centimetres as the stumps are demolished) at 61-7.

What was even more embarrassing were Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum’s seemingly rehearsed responses to media after the test. They raved about the fantastic and positive way the batsmen had just played. It wasn’t fantastic; it was silly and irresponsible. Why not just see off the new ball, knuckle down and actually attempt to grind out a win? That’s what all the teams ranked above us would have done.

WooHoo-rriors

What a difference a week makes. Last week, I lamented a Warriors team that simply seemed to give up as they slumped to their worst-ever defeat. Also last week the Newcastle Knights destroyed the Canterbury Bulldogs. Warriors Coach Matt Elliott fronted the media on numerous occasions this week (and lost his cool with journalists a couple of times) and he promised issues were being dealt with.

This week the writing was seemingly on the wall as the Knights travelled to Mount Smart. Except somebody forgot to tell the Warriors they were supposed to lose. It wasn’t a flawless performance by any means, but man what an improvement from last week. A 28-12 win was absolutely deserved.

The best aspect of the win for me was their determination and will to win that was so obviously absent last week. Matt Elliott did a fantastic job turning the ship around in just a week. The Warriors need to ensure he sticks around for a while yet. Let’s hope there are more performances like that to come.

Cheers,

SG

Woe-rriors

Oh my God, that was painful viewing.

On Saturday night against the Penrith Panthers, the Warriors plumbed new depths as they capitulated to their largest-ever defeat. Surely this club has hit a new low. Watching this game became a strange experience where I didn’t want to watch and yet I could not look away.

I was stunned, as were many others, seeing the players laughing and smiling after the game. I would’ve been embarrassed by that performance, not amused. Did some of those younger players not care?

When the Warriors reached the 2011 NRL Grand Final their coach was Ivan Cleary who, of course, coached their opposition on Saturday. This was surely an example of Cleary knowing how to dismantle his former troops. But I don’t think the Warriors would have beaten anyone, perhaps with the exception of the equally terrible Wests Tigers.

When they reached that grand final two long years ago, supporters were rightly optimistic about the future. Cleary had been at the helm for several seasons, the team was humming and they came oh so close to their first premiership. But the one-and-a-bit train-wreck seasons since that time have been hard to watch.

First Cleary departed. Then along came Brian ‘Bluey’ McLennan in 2012. Strangely his master plan seemed to involve cutting back on fitness training. The results were almost immediate and continued through the season as, time and time again, the Warriors capitulated in the final 15 minutes as their lungs gave out. Well before the end of the 2012 season, McLennan had been relieved of his duties and fans could only look forward to the 2013 season.

In came Matthew Elliot; an experienced coach but perhaps not the superstar, along the lines of a Wayne Bennett or a Craig Bellamy, which had been promised by the owners. He came in and immediately identified the players’ fitness levels as a major concern. He’s addressed that and the result is a trim and fit-looking bunch of chaps. Yet the performance levels as a team have not improved one bit. So what is wrong at the Warriors this year? Here are my thoughts.

1.       Size

The pack is relatively small. Yes, I really believe that. These are some big boys – no doubt. But when they line up next to the Bulldogs or the Rabbitohs or one of several other teams, the Warriors don’t seem as physically daunting as once they were. Admittedly some of those teams’ forwards have bulked up in a suspiciously short period of time. But this season I believe the Warriors forwards have been out-muscled on a few occasions and that’s not something you would have ever heard of in years gone by.

2.       Captain Mannering

Simon is a good player and a man who gives his all for the team for the whole 80 minutes. But is he a good leader? I remember Steve Price in particular rallying the troops, leading from the front, getting in the referee’s ear and just generally being a vocal and noticeable figure on the field. Simon Mannering isn’t like that. I’m not saying he’s not a good leader because he’s a quieter character – far from it as I believe there are countless examples of introverts who are outstanding leaders. I just feel that he could do a lot more to inspire his teammates when the chips are down. Steve Price simply wouldn’t have allowed that performance to continue on Saturday.

3.       Recruitment

It’s a much-discussed problem this year; why would an Aussie league star swap the sun and sand of North Queensland for the factories and fumes of West Auckland? The answer is that generally they wouldn’t. But the quality of recruitment has been a little disappointing. Dane Nielsen may prove to be a good buy, although thanks to injuries, he is currently on a similar dollars-per-minutes-played rate as Brent Tate once was at the Warriors. But with all due respect, Todd Lowrie is a journeyman and Thomas Leuluai, while competent, is not going to single-handedly win many matches in the NRL. Other purchases in recent years, for example Steve Rapira, have also been major disappointments. While the focus on player development is important for a club that is so intrinsically linked to its community, this has to be balanced with quality purchases that capture the public’s imagination. In my view as a result there are now too many Warriors in key positions who are good but not great.

4.       Salary Cap

The NRL imposes a cap on the total salaries each club can pay players each season. This will rise to $A6.3m next year and will be $A7m by 2017. Although the club hierarchy never confirm one way or the other, rumour has it that the Warriors are currently well under the permitted player salary cap. This possibility is backed up by the club’s pursuit of English Superleague star Sam Tomkins, who they are apparently prepared to pay $1 million per season. I can’t help wondering if they’d be better to pay that amount to recruit a quality prop and a star five-eighth. But regardless of who they’re chasing, it is clear that there is certainly room under the cap this season.

5.       Manu Vatuvei

I’ve been a fan of the big fella for many years. But the last two seasons or so, it’s seemed to me that he’s lost the proverbial yard of pace. This season he looks fitter than I’ve ever seen him and he gives his all for 80 minutes every game. But for every try he scores, he concedes two through poor positioning and poor decision-making. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s been unnecessarily caught 15 metres infield while the opposition winger scores unopposed in the corner. Opposition teams target him knowing that if a centre runs at him on the angle he’ll be unable to resist the urge to rush infield. To be honest I just don’t think it’s good enough. He needs to still be involved with the Warriors. So how about transforming him into a wide-ranging forward? The Warriors use him as a battering ram anyway. I think it’s worth a try (or two).

To the Warriors decision-makers; open the cheque-book and increase the quality of the squad while you continue to develop those wonderfully-talented juniors. Your fans deserve it.

Vicki  Wilson

This week the former Australian netball great was appointed as Assistant Coach of a Silver Ferns. There were numerous Kiwi candidates who either missed out or were not approached. So is this a good thing for NZ netball? Hell yes!

We obviously hate admitting Aussies are better than us at anything. But they are better than us at netball – no question. Our teams in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship play above their weight to a degree and are competing really well with the Aussie girls. But those Aussies are more professional, tougher, faster and they certainly play to win – no medals for participating or ‘everyone’s a winner’ in Australia.

Those are of course vast generalisations, but overall it’s true. So for one of the meanest toughest Aussie players there’s ever been to agree to coach and develop our elite netballers is a massive coup. Her expertise as a former attacker perfectly complements Head Coach Waimarama Taumaunu, herself a former world class defender. Once Wilson adds some toughness and a few new skills to our Ferns, those Aussies had better watch out!

Golden Balls

Finally this week, just a quick mention of the retirement of one David Beckham. Love him or hate him, his impact on world football has been immense, as have the number and variety of hairstyles he’s sported through the years. It hasn’t all been plain sailing; from attracting the loathing of a nation after being sent off playing for England vs. Argentina in the 1998 World Cup to having his eyebrow opened up when an irate Sir Alex Ferguson once kicked a boot across the Manchester United dressing room. But everywhere he played he had an influence. He won championships in England, Spain, the United States and, as of this week, France. He is also one of only a handful of players to win more than 100 caps for England. 

This week former England footballer Chris Waddle said Beckham wouldn’t rate in the top 1,000 players of the past 40 years. I thought this was a bit of a ‘nothing’ statement as I don’t think it’s possible to compare athletes from different eras. George Nepia or Christian Cullen? W.G Grace or Viv Richards? Mike Tyson or Joe Frasier? Jason Pine or David Beckham?

The simple answer to these questions, possibly with the exception of the last one, is ‘who knows?’ I think Waddle was just trying to be controversial. Beckham was a fine player whose contribution will be missed. All I know is that without Beckham the world of football will be just a little bit less interesting and a little less stylish.

Till next time,

SG

The Crowd Goes Wild

Two crowd-related moments this week. One was heart-melting. One was concerning.

On Sunday morning, Wigan Athletic Football Club defeated Manchester City to win the English FA Cup in one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. Wigan’s team was assembled for about £30 million while Manchester City’s team cost around £300 million. So this was very much a case of an actual team beating a team of superstars.  Never mind that Wigan, barring a miracle, will probably be relegated from the Premier League this week. In this final they played well and deserved their win.

The scene that tugged at my heart-strings involved an older gentleman. He might’ve been 70; he might’ve been 80. But his age, his Wigan shirt, and indeed his presence at a Cup Final attested to the fact that he is likely a long-term Wigan fan. At the final whistle the camera focused on him. He hugged someone who was presumably a friend then threw his head back, thrust his hands skyward, and let forth with a cry that said ‘I’ve waited my whole life for this. Yeeeeesssssssss’. The viewer could only join the fan in his joy and feel happiness that what was probably a life-long dream for him had been fulfilled.

Contrasting that were my feelings on leaving the Warriors game at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.

My eight year-old son and I attended the game, at his request. We arrived at Wellington’s stadium at around 5pm, and thoroughly enjoyed the Warriors under-20 vs. Bulldogs under-20 game (those are some gigantic teenagers, in both teams, by the way) in front of a crowd that seemed pretty similar in size to an average Hurricanes crowd this season.

By the time the main spectacle kicked off, a fantastic crowd of over 30,000 had descended upon the stadium. The noise. The Mexican waves (remember those, Hurricanes fans?).  The exuberance.  The tries. The cheerleaders. The excitement. Stan Walker belting out a song while wearing his ($220!!) Warriors stadium jacket.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It wasn’t.

The drunks. The fools. The teens (some drunk, some not) who obviously thought this was the second leg of the Wellington Sevens. They were more concerned with throwing projectiles, yelling obscenities and consuming a lot of alcohol than watching what was a thoroughly entertaining game.

My son is a sports nut. He’s a very promising rugby player and hugged his Warriors replica ball like a teddy bear when he went to sleep on Saturday night as he loves that team. He loved being at the game and was astounded, as was I, by the size of Sam Kasiano and his enormous Bulldoggy mates.

But at halftime he asked if we could leave as he felt unsafe and intimidated. With 25 minutes remaining I relented and we commenced the long walk down the stadium concourse. He wasn’t unsafe, but that’s how he felt. As if to back up his view, as we left the stadium a young man pushed past us. He was too drunk to stand or speak and was being dragged along the ground by his mates as the Police closed in. Interestingly I noticed that perhaps 100 or so fellow spectators were accompanying us at our time of departure.

The Warriors/Bulldogs ‘fans’ that I encountered didn’t watch much of the game and probably didn’t care who won. The contrast between these young drunken fools and the older Wigan fan couldn’t have been more pronounced. The Octogenarian from Northern England would have died a happy man yesterday (I sincerely hope he didn’t). All I know is that the likelihood of my boy and I attending a Wigan Athletic home game (unlikely to say the least) is far greater than our ever attending another Warriors game (nil).

The Greatest?

As I’ve said before, I am a devout Liverpool fan. By default, I am therefore pre-programmed to not be particularly inclined to praise Manchester United. But I’m a person who is more than happy to acknowledge greatness, even if it is Liverpool’s arch-nemesis.

‘Great’ is a term that is over-used frequently. I heard a host on a local sports radio show recently describe Dean Kenny as a ‘former All Black halfback great’. Don’t know about that...

But Sir Alex Ferguson is a great - pure and simple. His run hasn’t been smooth. If his team had been knocked out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace in 1990, rumour has it he would have been fired. But a late, late equaliser in that game saw him carry on in the role and the rest, as they say, is history.

He has ruled the roost since 1986. In that time Liverpool has had seven managers while Chelsea has been through 15. He hasn’t always had the biggest chequebook in the league behind him, but 38 trophies in that time is testament to his abilities. 27 years in charge and 38 trophies is a record that is unlikely to ever be approached, let alone beaten, by another manager. So I say hats off to Sir Alex. And may his retirement spell the end of Man Utd’s dominance!

Don’t Blame It On The Boogie

Ever watched a replay of an international rugby test from the 1960’s? Those sheep-shearing, tanalised timber post-carrying hard buggers of yesteryear would crash over in the corner, spit out a couple of teeth, casually toss the ball to the kicker and jog back to the halfway line looking like their grandmother had just died. If they smiled, they’d be cautioned by the ref. A hug, nay even a smile, would result in a sending-off and an extra six jug sculls at the after-match.

Nothing at all changed in the 70’s, or the 80’s. No emotion or empathy was acceptable. Even Buck Shelford, having had a testicle skilfully removed by the boot of a Frenchman, was keenly encouraged to ‘get up and run it off’.

With the arrival of the enlightened 1990’s came the advent of the ‘smile’. It took a while to catch on, but a few players began to seem somewhat less than downright miserable when they dotted down.  No longer did rugby players automatically question the sexuality of all football goalscorers’ celebrations (although some of these are fairly bizarre it must be said). A hearty pat on the back upon winning a World Cup, or a firm handshake upon winning the National Provincial Championship was now acceptable, if not encouraged. No team cuddles while lying on the ground, but it was a start.

Former All Black great Jeff Wilson got the ball rolling in the mid 1990’s. Of his 44 test tries, at least 75% were celebrated with a classical combination of knees  and elbows bent to 90 degrees, fists pumping and face pointed skywards while the mouth exclaimed ‘yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh’ or similar exuberant demonstration of joy. Some of the old-school AB’s weren’t overly accepting of this new-fangled ‘emotion’ nonsense, but nonetheless it soon caught on.

Now, in the event of a five-pointer, rugby has the full gamut of players pointing at the TV cameras, an array of weird and wonderful high fives and more hugs than a Greek wedding.

 

But my favourites are the dancers. The movers and the groovers. This week, after ploughing through some weak tackles and dotting down in the corner for the Chiefs, Lelia Masaga wouldn’t have looked out of place starring in Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive or, for you younger readers, High School Musical or Glee. He got down, and he got funky. Julian Savea is another with all the moves, as are numerous other players in Super Rugby and the ITM Cup. There’s no serious point to this; I just like it.  I hope players continue to show that they enjoy the game; unlike those ‘supporters’ at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.

Till next time,

SG

The Commitments

One of the most talked about aspects of the past week or so in New Zealand sport has been the notion that certain established All Blacks, regardless of current form, will be picked for the upcoming tests against the French in June. I am, of course, talking about Israel Dagg. Crusaders Coach Todd Blackadder, whose honesty is so refreshing (no John Mitchell quotes come forth from the lips of Mr Blackadder), said Dagg’s form does not warrant a starting position. Simple.

Enter Mr S. Hansen (surely he is related in some way to Grizz Wyllie?) who intimated that he’s not worried, and that these players ‘will come right’. The implication is of course that these players will be picked come June, regardless of form between now and that point.

The step up from Super 15 to test match rugger is immense. Many times have we seen outstanding Super Rugby players make the step up, struggle and quietly disappear. So Messrs Hansen, Foster and McLean have to be sure the players they select are up to the task. And if there are no better players in those positions, then yes, there is a case to select the test incumbent. But if there are others who are performing to a higher standard, then I think they have to be given a chance. Ben Smith is outplaying Dagg and should be selected at fullback for the All Blacks. Simple.

I was interested to read a column on this subject by former All Black Jeff Wilson, who took a slightly different slant in that he questioned the players’ commitment to Super Rugby.  I think this is a little harsh as it implies lack of effort on the part of the players.

Bear with me as I go on a bit of a tangent here; I was never really a fan of former All Black Captain Reuben Thorne. Four things about his career stick in my mind.

1) A remarkable cover tackle he once made against Australia.

2) The Crusaders victory chant of ‘Reuben Thorne, Reuben Thorne Reuben Thooooooorrrrne’.

3) A question he was once asked by ‘That Guy’ in an interview on the programme Sports Café; “80 minutes is a long time. What do you do if you need to go poos?”

4) My most vivid memory of him was his response to yet more criticism of his play in which he said something along the lines of ‘I don’t play badly on purpose you know’.  After that interview I gained a lot of respect for Thorne, whose response really struck a chord with me.

And somewhere in there is my point. Israel Dagg isn’t playing badly on purpose. He didn’t decide to miss five tackles last week because he’s guaranteed a place in the All Blacks regardless. He didn’t drop the ball on several occasions because he thought ‘oh, who cares’. He’s in a slump. It happens. Just like Ma’a Nonu and, up until this weekend anyway, Aaron Smith. And he will (probably) come right.

But if someone else is playing better, he should not be automatically selected come June.

The Big Bash

Further to my comments last week, I’ve just watched the Central Pulse play the Melbourne Vixens in netball’s trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. In New Zealand we play a sport called netball. In that game players are not allowed to physically ‘contact’ the opposition in an aggressive manner. Nor are they allowed to stand in front of their opponent and frantically wave their arms in their opponent’s face.

The game they play in Australia? It’s called netball too but it’s just different. The Aussies come to NZ and moan about being constantly called for contact. Kiwi teams travel to Australia and collect bruises to go with their losses. The powers that be have to get together and establish just how games should be ruled. If they don’t, we’re in danger of netball evolving into two very different sports.

Aw C’mon Ref

I need to get this off my chest.

This weekend I experienced the ugly side of parental support in junior sport. I won’t name the club involved, or even the sport. As coach of the home team, I was asked by the opposing coach to referee the whole game. Even though these duties are generally shared, I agreed. Within five minutes of kick off I had been sworn at, ridiculed and abused by parents who were not willing to actually volunteer for any officiating duties themselves. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced this and unfortunately it won’t be the last.

To the opposing coach’s credit he reigned in the parents at halftime and I did not receive any further abuse in the second half. At the end of the game I was praised for my refereeing performance which made me wonder why I had therefore been criticised so vociferously in the first place. If parents of my team’s players behaved in such a manner I would ask them to either modify their behaviour or no longer attend games.

Mouthy parents – pull your heads in. You weren’t successful on the sports field yourself – just get over it rather than try to live vicariously through your children. You ruin the atmosphere of what are supposed to be fun occasions for kids. And you make coaches like me question whether we actually want to be involved anymore. 

A Question of Sport?

I’d like to finish up on a lighter note with some questions. Just to confirm, these are rhetorical. Please don’t scroll down further searching for the answers!

Is Richard Kahui, who has been the victim of a ludicrous number of injuries, the unluckiest player in NZ rugby?  

Is Rene Ranger actually Tana Umaga MkII?

Isn’t it a shame Jason Eaton shaved off that outstanding crop of facial hair he sported last season?

Should Liam Coltman (Highlanders reserve hooker) be promoted for sporting such an outstanding crop of facial hair?

Should Ross Taylor just move on?

Is the great Keven Mealamu done?

Are the LA Lakers done?

Regardless of whether he delivers an FA Cup win, is Manchester City Manager Roberto Mancini done?

Will Liverpool ever win the Barclays Premier League?

Will Manchester City ever make a profit for its owners?

Will rugby league ever sort out the debacle that is its international eligibility rules?

Will Tiger Woods ever return to the heights he once scaled (on a golf course)?

Will Irene van Dyk play netball for the Silver Ferns for the rest of her natural life?

Is Dave Rennie the All Blacks Coach-in-waiting?

How good has Piri Weepu’s return to form been this year?

How exactly did Aussie McLean become Assistant All Blacks Coach?

Have the Saints assembled one of the best basketball teams New Zealand has ever seen?

Was Sebastien Vettel right to ignore his team’s management when he was ordered to deliberately lose to his team-mate in a recent Formula 1 race?

Is darts actually a sport?

Should darts have a ‘premier league’?

If Major League Baseball holds a World Series, should all-comers be allowed to enter?

Why the heck is poker on ESPN?

OK, starting to ramble, so time to sign off…

Till next time,

SG