• Sorry, the hardest word
There has been some interesting discussion this week on the topic of whether the New Zealand Rugby Union should apologise to Maori players left behind on South African tours because of the home country's apartheid regime.
The theory is that the NZRU should say sorry for meekly falling into line with the racist Springboks between 1928 and 1960 in order to maintain healthy rugby relations.
It's a fair argument but I wonder if there is that much to be gained from the present union trying to make amends for the sins of previous unions.
Weighing one generation down with guilt over the behaviour of those from three or four generations back has always seemed a waste of time to me.
There are a quarter of a million children living in poverty in New Zealand, and our rate of child abuse is a national shame - those are reasons to be feeling guilty.
Still, if the NZRU is to get to the point where it feels the need to apologise to Maori, it should also consider saying sorry for.-
1 - Not forcing the Welsh to award the Bob Deans try retrospectively.
2 - Failing to appoint Vic Cavanagh coach for the 1949 tour.
3 - Colin Meads ending Ken Catchpole's career.
4 - The 1981 Springbok tour.
5 - Not winning the World Cup since 1987.
6 - Allowing adidas to tinker with the sacred uniform.
7 - Ruining the NPC.
8 - Appointing John Mitchell.
9 - The 2003 World Cup hosting debacle.
10 - All of the dramas over the haka in recent years.
• Carter: hit or miss?
I watched last week's Hurricanes-Crusaders game at my parents' house near Oamaru and made two predictions near the end, both of which came true.
The first was with five minutes to go, with the Hurricanes leading.
"The Crusaders will score."
And they did, adding a phantom try to their earlier illegal try.
Now, anyone who has watched the Crusaders over the past decade knows they are masters at winning close games, so that prediction was hardly wild. But it's what I said next that really made me look good.
"Carter's going to miss this kick."
My folks scoffed at my bold assertion but were silenced when Crusaders first five and designated saviour of New Zealand rugby Dan Carter pushed the conversion wide, leaving the game a draw.
Carter's a heck of a player but I wonder if we haven't got just a little bit carried away in our acclamation of him as the finest No 10 of all time.
To me, there's an element of the flat-track bully about him. He's at his most sublime in dominant All Black performances, and he hasn't delivered enough under pressure to warrant being ranked alongside the truly great players.
• Stay, Adam, stay
It was scary enough last year when Jamie Mackintosh and Jimmy Cowan were linked with moves away from the Highlanders, but it is chilling to contemplate losing Adam Thomson to the Crusaders.
The big blond loose forward is the finest Otago player of his generation, blessed with a rare talent that MUST not be lost to the evil empire.
Otago is thin enough on genuine gamebreakers. It has to do everything in its power to keep Thomson here.
• Play ball
It was a rare treat to watch part of the opening game of the Major League Baseball season on Easter Monday.
By chance, the game was between my team, the Boston Red Sox, and the (hated) New York Yankees. At Boston's historic Fenway Park, no less.
My interest in baseball grew from reading Stephen King books in my youth. The horror master is a huge baseball and Red Sox fan, and I followed suit.
I still don't get some of the intricacies of baseball, especially the endless statistics, but I love the rich history of the game and the passion of its fans.
• You, sir, are disqualified
Young Spanish golfer Borja Etchart seems to have a knack for getting disqualified.
The 21-year-old was tossed from the Andalucia Open recently after being accused of re-spotting his ball incorrectly.
"I was told he had replaced his ball a centimetre, maybe even only half a centimetre, forward on two short putts," the tournament director said.
Etchart, in tears, said he was disappointed a playing partner had dobbed him in after Etchart had signed his scorecard.
Etchart was disqualified in a pre-tour event last year for - wait for it - having an incorrect golf trolley.
"His dad bought him a new trolley for pre-qualifying and it had a temperature gauge on it," the director said.
"It is a strange rule but it is not allowed. Borja had no idea the gauge was on his trolley. He was seven shots better than the qualifying mark, too, with just a round to go."
• My man Mitch
Happy 33rd (or is it 34th?) birthday to Reece Mitchell, a former football-playing, trumpet-tooting, Mortal Kombat-playing Waitakian turned IT-consulting, Fifa-playing new father.
I haven't had a lot of genuinely close friends in my life but Reece has been among the best, and his parents, Billy and Irene, were like my second family in high school. Have a great day, brother.
• South African needed
The Otago Daily Times is planning intensive coverage before and during the World Cup in June, when our All Whites make just their second appearance at the world's greatest sporting event.
As part of the build-up, we're looking for a former South African living in Otago to offer their thoughts on what hosting the World Cup means to the Republic.
If you are or know someone who can string a few sentences together, loves football and can hum Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, please get in touch with me.
