Breakers bench player Leon Henry has the best excuse for dodging an interview - ever. His dog ate his phone, well, chewed it up enough that it no longer worked.
If Otago has mastered anything this season it is the art of the comeback.
Former Otago batsman Shaun Haig had not planned on retiring and taking up umpiring so soon.
Otago is through to the semifinals of the national championships on the back of a colossal 59-32 win against Bay of Plenty in Tauranga last night.
For experienced Otago batsman Aaron Redmond, being dropped last year had an upside.
Tall Black and Breakers bench player Leon Henry has re-signed with the Otago Nuggets.
Promising basketballer Luke Aston has had to do a lot of growing up in the last two years.
Otago wing defence Stacey Peeters was at the sharp end of a much-improved performance in the win against Canterbury in Dunedin last month. It was Otago's first win this season and has left the province with the slim possibility of slipping into the top four when the competition resumes in Tauranga tomorrow.
Steel chief executive David Bannister would not speculate on reports which suggest the franchise has offered Donna Wilkins more than $100,000 to return this season.
After years in the doldrums, Southern hockey has suddenly caught a breeze.
Otago softball stalwart Sandy Wallace has been keeping score for 18 years but will need more than an abacus for the 2013 world series in New Zealand in March.
Rugby, basketball, judo - you name it, at least one of the Nafatali clan is on the Otago team sheet.
Aspiring athlete Christina Ashton turned a perceived weakness into a strength to win the Mihi Aston trophy for artistic excellence at the New Zealand Competitive Aerobics Federation nationals in Wellington last weekend.
Otago Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge has signed a one-year deal and the rest of the roster is starting to fall into place.
The Otago Boxing Association has stood by a selection process which will result in three of the province's leading fighters competing for Manawatu at the nationals in Auckland next month.
Otago could certainly use the services of Silver Ferns shooter Jodi Brown should the team need to beat Bay of Plenty by a colossal 25 goals next week.
Otago stalwart and former New Zealand coach and player Warren Lees will coach the Otago Sparks this season.
Moves to bring top-level rugby league to Forsyth Barr Stadium appear poised to pay off, after Brisbane Broncos commercial operations manager Terry Reader reportedly visited Dunedin recently.
World-class all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate has signed to play for Otago in the HRV Cup this season.
Former New Zealand sevens star Karl Te Nana kind of wishes he was a little bit younger.
