Hayden Meikle's Last Word.
Japanese imports
That was some sort of welcome-back performance by Highlanders playmaker Mike Delany against the Blues.
From the moment he popped that no-look inside pass to Hosea Gear, you could see the former All Black still possessed those touches of sheer class that separate players at the top level.
Delany once shaped as the likely long-term back-up to Dan Carter in the All Black first five position.
But he elected to head to Japan early, and he was not one of the four No 10s seen in a black jersey at the World Cup.
Delany forms part of both a rebuttal and an illustration of hypocrisy.
The rebuttal is to those who argue the All Blacks must not pick players from overseas, because they "go backwards" in weaker competitions like the Japanese league.
Because, you know, Delany and Tamati Ellison - both of whom joined the Highlanders straight from Japan - don't look up to scratch at all.
There is also a fascinating hypocrisy at play here.
The Highlanders, one of five franchises from which the All Blacks are picked, are free to contract Delany, Ellison, James Haskell and now Hale T-Pole directly from Japan. Ellison is home to stay, but the other three are heading back overseas.
The All Blacks themselves maintain a rigid policy of NOT selecting players from overseas.
They will only pick from New Zealand domestic rugby, yet allow their own franchises to haul in players from overseas. Weird, no?
A spartan approach
It might be a case of too little, too late but The Last Word can report the Otago rugby team will not be over-stretching its budget this season.
Otago players will stay in school hostels in a trip to the North Island during the national championship.
Playing Hawkes Bay (Napier) and then Manawatu (Palmerston North) just three days apart, the side will first be staying at Napier Boys' High School and then at Palmerston North Boys' High School.
New Razorbacks manager Grant Hubbard says it will save on costs and be good for team morale.
If only the Otago union could wind the clock back 10 years and take that sort of approach to all its dealings.
Breakers fever
Hoop-tastic. What a phenomenal effort by the Breakers, not just this season but to win back-to-back titles in the tough Australian basketball league.
I have vivid memories of interviewing foundation coach Jeff Green nearly a decade ago, and pondering how long it would take the New Zealand team to become a successful part of the competition.
There were some difficult years but a combination of good ownership, good management, good recruiting and good coaching has led to this remarkable success.
It raises a familiar question: what will this latest victory do for the sport of basketball?Well, everyone is talking about the Breakers, which is a good start. But sustaining that is the key. Ask the All Whites.
It's great the Breakers are coming to Dunedin later this year. Getting around the country and consistent success on the court are two obvious paths to lifting basketball's status.
I also suspect the sport will get a massive boost in the next year or two when rising star Steven Adams gets into the NBA.
Now we just need to get the New Zealand league some regular television coverage again and we're in business.
Football drama . . .
There are still some blinkered rugby-heads in my office who don't get football, and this offends me grievously.
You don't like drama? Scandal? Funny songs? History and tradition?
Complaining about the dark arts of big business? High art and pure poetry? Ye gods.
Look at how the Premier League and Champions League are coming to a close this season.
In England, we've seen Manchester City dominate (finally turning those truly sickening sums of money into success), then falter (top bloke, that Carlos Tevez), then come again; Manchester United throw away a commanding lead with a loss to Wigan and a dramatic draw with Everton; Spurs have a classic season of two halves; Newcastle perform miles above expectations; and tragi-comic Liverpool perform ... strangely.
Then came two bizarrely magnificent semifinals in Europe, with 10-man Chelsea holding out Barcelona, and Bayern Munich pipping Real Madrid on penalties, to set up a most unexpected final.
... and dastardly deeds
Sadly, of course, there is also no sport like football to bring the worst out of people.
Where hooliganism and racism and Arsenal's boring tactics were once the biggest blights on the game, now it is simulation (diving, outright cheating) and the despicable treatment of referees by gobby-mouthed players.
My own Luis Suarez does himself no favours with his theatrics, and Didier Drogba and Ashley Young both hit the ground at the mere thought of a tackle.
But you would go to a lot of football games before you saw another case of diving as appalling as Besart Berisha's effort in the A-League final.
Berisha, the Brisbane striker, wriggled into the Perth box in the dying seconds, swiped at the ball, missed, and fell over.
Even worse, Berisha immediately leaped to his feet and demanded a penalty. Then he celebrated when the referee pointed to the spot. Then he converted from the spot and lost the plot, celebrating in over-the-top style despite (surely) knowing he had cheated.
It made me sick. Football needs to stamp out this rubbish.
No song required
After the seventh cliche, I decided the new song to accompany the New Zealand Olympic team just wasn't for me.
Sam RB has a pleasant voice and appears to play an adequate guitar.
But the tune is very slow. And "sweat, blood and tears"? "You followed your dreams"? "On top of the world"? "Your journey so far"? "Your carry our hopes?" "When times get tough"?Ugh.
Anyway, was there really a desperate need for the New Zealand team to have its own ditty? Did Jack Lovelock or Peter Snell need a busker's tune to propel them to glory?Seems to me the only song our Olympians need is that one they play when the flag gets raised.
Birthday of the week
John White would have been 75 today.
Bit of a boring name, but nothing boring about his story.
White was a Scottish footballer, a midfielder nicknamed "The Ghost" who starred for Spurs in the early 1960s.
Tragically, White died aged 27.
He was struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree at a golf course, leaving behind a 22-year-old widow and two young children.
