Some thoughts . . .
1. Who wins the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, do you reckon?
2. Will ''our'' Serbians dedicate their victory to the people of Otago if they go all the way?
3. Given some of the timings, and the biblical flooding on one game day, you'd have to be delighted with a cumulative crowd of about 25,000 in Dunedin, right?
4. Will the last man standing at Team New Zealand turn out the lights?
5. Did you read the most recent in-depth feature on Lance Armstrong?
6. Do you think it is time to forgive the disgraced cyclist a little bit?
7. Bonecrusher. New Zealand sporting immortal?
... on sport
8. Is Matthew Devela ... Delladova ... that gritty Australian bloke at the Cleveland Cavaliers the most unlikely basketball star since Dillon Boucher?
9. If LeBron carries the Cavs to NBA glory, doesn't he firm his status as the greatest since Michael Jordan?
10. Paying $40 to watch Joseph Parker fight ... (frantically googles opponent's name) ... Yakup Saglam tonight?
11. Are you sad Tiger Woods has plunged to a ranking of No 181 in the world?
12. Or have you long been at peace with the fact the Tiger Era is over, and has been since he crashed into that fire hydrant?
13. Have you noticed Danny Lee has quietly been having a really good year on the PGA Tour?
14. Did England score 400 again overnight?
A little optimistic
We should have followed the lead of the North Koreans and reported that the Junior All Whites smashed Portugal on Thursday night.
Earlier in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, Hungary walloped North Korea 5-1.
But if you were watching the news in Pyongyang, you might have got a vastly different impression of the game.
It was reported that the brave little sons of Kim Jong-un had thumped the Hungarians 98-0. Glory for the fatherland!
Promises, promises
Have the goalposts (well, the stumps) moved in the case of the University Oval getting major internationals?The promise was fairly explicit at the time the Dunedin City Council was being asked to help fund permanent lights at the picturesque ground.
Dunedin was GUARANTEED to get eight years of tests and one-day internationals if the lights were installed, we were assured.
Now, just weeks after the council voted to help out, it seems apparent Dunedin is going to miss out on a test against Australia - yes, basically the most significant cricket fixture on the calendar - because of New Zealand Cricket's wish to play more revenue-earning ODIs.
We will still get some form of international cricket this summer - Sri Lanka is the other nation coming to these shores for tests - and there is no question the installation of lights will help safeguard the future of the University Oval.
BUT.
There is still something really disappointing about committing to the upgrade and then finding out an Australian test has (probably) been taken away.
It's also slightly confusing. Doesn't Otago basically run New Zealand Cricket these days?
Ambi-what?
There was a great story in American sport this week when Pat Venditte, of the Oakland Athletics, became the first man in a century to pitch both left-handed and right-handed in a Major League Baseball game.
But what made it even better was when the East Oregonian newspaper ran a story with this headline.-AMPHIBIOUS PITCHER MAKES DEBUT
The first quote
''I became afraid of what the future held, and at that point the thinking went awry. I made choices. They were the wrong choices and I say 'sorry' for them. I've had six years in jail and until recently I would still look around and think `Wow, you're in jail'. That was not part of the plan. I never saw that coming.''
- Former English cricketer Chris Lewis is released from prison after serving six years for cocaine smuggling.
The second quote
''Because America. Because, you know - AMERICA. Sample theory: the US is as terrified by how powerful soccer has become as it once was by Jimi Hendrix's rise, which is why it has to kill it. As it did Jimi.''
- Guardian writer Marina Hyde looks at some of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Fifa corruption scandal.
Triumph
Serena Williams marched to her 20th grand slam title at the French Open. Just a phenomenon.
Disaster
Great to see some of the young Steel players come on this season, and brilliant news that Jhaniele Fowler-Reid is staying in the South.
But, yes, the system that allowed the Steel to make the playoffs with just three wins is an absolute nonsense, and it is bewildering it is being retained.
