In Jimmy he trusts . . .
There are two things that make me hesitant to completely condemn the appointment of Jimmy Cowan as the new Highlanders captain.
The first is my reasonable level of knowledge of how the coach, Glenn Moore, operates.
I've dealt with Moore for nearly 10 years, since he was a part-time coach with a professional attitude trying to get North Otago, a historically moribund rugby province, promoted into the old second division.
Moore had to whip an eclectic bunch of farmers, city boys and Pacific Islanders into a unit, and he had to develop a winning mentality in a team that had known only defeat for 30 years.
He doesn't suffer fools but he's also unswervingly loyal to those foot soldiers he respects and trusts.
Moore and his assistants know Cowan better than you or I do. They must believe Cowan is the best pick for the role.
Secondly, Cowan is one of only two genuine contenders for the captaincy in the whole squad, along with the fine young Southlander, Jamie Mackintosh.
Experienced players Keith Cameron and Alando Soakai cannot be assured of a start, All Black flanker Adam Thomson needs to get matters sorted elsewhere, and the likes of Tom Donnelly and Hayden Triggs do not really exude leadership potential.
It had to be a two-horse race between Cowan and Mackintosh.
. . . but I need some convincing
I'm still concerned about the appointment and the possibility it will backfire on the Highlanders.
Cowan is virtually devoid of captaincy experience and, while he offers plenty of commitment on the field, he's never come across as a leader of other men.
He's an abrasive, hot-headed halfback - not the recipe for a great captain.
But the most significant concern I have is that Cowan has a drinking problem. We are expected to believe he has turned a huge metaphorical corner in the last six months, and he certainly seems to have grown up. But drinking problems don't just go away. He's one dark bottle away from another incident.
I hope, for the Highlanders' sake, Cowan stays focused over the next five months.
Playing with a bent bat
That was an outstanding piece of spin from Otago and New Zealand Cricket over the sham of Brendon McCullum's temporary transfer to New South Wales.
How you can make the loss of Otago's star player for a crunch game, so he can play in another country's domestic festival, seem like a smart move is well beyond me.
It was great for the Volts because they could now give another player an opportunity, Otago Cricket blustered.
There was "upside" for New Zealand Cricket because McCullum would now play at the Champions League in India, Justin Vaughan wheezed as he counted his piles of rupees.
Has the world gone mad? While Otago faces a crucial game, Brendon McCullum is playing for the New South Wales RTA Speedblitz Blues in the final of the KFC twenty/20 Big Bash, and will be hired out again later in the year, to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
If you thought rugby had sold its soul to professionalism, sit back and watch cricket's seedy decline into a new world sports order run by billionaires in Mumbai.
Pumping up rugby to the max
So Martin Crowe, the great cricketer turned hyperbolic commentator, has been given the boot from Sky TV's cricket team - or has chosen to leave, depending whose story you believe - to head up the Rugby Channel.
The mind boggles at what Crowe can do to spice up channel 36, which is bogged down with Six Nations repeats and Ian Jones.
Perhaps he can invent a new type of rugby. Tries can be worth 10 if they are scored with one hand. There could be four posts. Have two options for a conversion - two points for a kick, four points if you take a scrum and then get over the line.
In his absence, hopefully the Sky cricket team will rediscover the ability to actually comment, not just regurgitate inane rubbish.
Their refusal to discuss and analyse Jesse Ryder the day he was dropped from the Black Caps for another booze indiscretion was a low point of the summer.
Let's get it on
Finally, we get to see New Zealand's best two fighters of the last 20 years meet in the boxing ring.
The news that David Tua and Shane Cameron will square off later this year will be welcomed by fans of the sweet science.
It's hardly Ali-Foreman, Dempsey-Tunney or Louis-Schmeling, but it's our own clash of the heavyweights that should settle years of niggling and jibes.
I expect Cameron to be just good enough to win, though Tua can still take a punch and could get lucky with one of his own.
Invaders to the north
North Otago was invaded by the Crusaders last week.
The occasion was the wedding of Ben Hurst, the former Crusaders and Highlanders halfback, and Jade Stanton at the Hurst family estate at Papakaio.
My spies (well, my mother) tell me there were plenty of famous faces in attendance, including All Black fullback Leon MacDonald.
