Quickly on a busy morning

10:09 May 15, 2009 49

Ok it’s been a really stupidly busy week for me so here are my thoughts on recent sporting events:

Rugby League:

Inevitable loss to the Aussies, let's move on.

Chiefs v Hurricanes:

The best team won. Ah don't get all shirty. The Chiefs won, there was no reffing controversy, there were no citations, there was no tiny crowd.
This was the best Super 14 game this season between the two best New Zealand teams. Both teams playing at their peak ability and running and connecting with the fluidity that comes with the later rounds of the competition.
I would not be shocked to see both of these teams in the final, but given their respective histories I also wouldn't shocked to neither of them.

NBA Finals:

The Celtics may be the only team from Boston that I don't hate. And Big Baby pushing that kid in Orlando was actually pretty funny.
I like the Rockets. I like that Ron Artest pissed off Kobe Bryant. I like that the Rockets gave the Lakers a massive beat down without Yao Ming or Tracey McGrady. In short: Go Rockets!
LeBron looks like he wants to win really badly this year.

NHL Finals:

... um ... I ... well ... hey, at least it's actually on this year.

The Future of Super Rugby:

Super 15? Super 16? Super 134?
Really, who knows what we're going to get. The chances of it being bad are much higher than the chances of us getting something that we'll love.

The talk of conferences is interesting but would New Zealand ever consider dropping a team? We are a small market, especially compared with Japan, Australia and South Africa, so why do we get five teams? "We have the best players" might not cut it in the professional world.
A three conference set-up looks like an option (five teams per conference). I'd prefer four four-team conferences (geographically allocated).
Feel free to add your grand ideas.

Cricket:

So there is a wee tournament going on in South Africa at the moment (when did the Rainbow Nation become the place for large sports events?).
OMG! Jesse Ryder had a drink! That's almost news!

League Players:

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with rugby league players?
This case is so similar to the English Rugby team's case last year and I imagine the defensive discussion about it will be the same: why was she there? Why didn't she leave? etc.
I've not really thought about this one too much. But really in my mind the NRL has a good competition that they are fucking up by not coming down hard (REALLY FUCKING HARD) on the clubs and players when shit like this happens.

The All Whites:

Going to South Africa (why not, everyone else is) to play football but wearing black. You don't care about uniforms but really I can't believe how stupid this is.
First the name will have to be changed... I suppose we could be just "New Zealand"... crazy.
A lot of football teams play in white, but that's because it look cool! We shouldn't change our strip because once in every 100 years we might play England.

I always saw the All Whites being the opposite of the All Blacks. They were the less popular sport, they were the team that wasn't the best in the world etc. By also dressing black (and receiving a stupid nickname) they become less special.
Fuck Eric Young and his stupid fucking column in the SST (that I read while grabbing lunch for my 48 Hours team). "New Zealand always plays in black", yeah! Well, except for the years we played in navy and gold.

Super 14 final four

So who ya got?

49 responses to this post

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Tom Semmens, 10:37 May 15, 2009

Who is going to be the Super 14 semi-finalists? Does anyone actually care? I can't believe the "solution" is now the Super 15. Oh goodie -it’s going to be the Super 15!! *YAWN*
Can't the NZRU tell that this competition has reached its use by date and they seriously need to think up something else - or at very, very least, refresh and re-launch the competition? Personally, I don't even bother with the Virtual Super comp on the internet anymore let alone watch most of the games.
Declining crowds. Declining TV audience. Declining column inches. Declining interest.
How many more clues do they want?
Their season is a mess, their premier comp is stale, the rules stink, and nowhere is the dead hand of monopoly more evident than in Sky's lacklustre coverage. So the solution is to continue to ignore the Air New Zealand Cup (a mistake the Saffa's haven't made in regard to their Currie Cup) and add an extra team so we get another round of boring goodness.
If I have to watch boring rugby, I would prefer to be in the Air NZ Cup - at least then having a province I care about (that way the result is the most important thing, not the spectacle) playing on a sunny winter afternoon. Then I can go out and do something more entertaining in the evening.
The answer is three things: 1/ Drop two NZ teams and re-distribute the T.V. Money to the Provincial Competition. Surely if the NRL teaches us one thing, it is that a ferociously parochial, national competition is always going to generate more interest - and more forgiveness of local rule "interpretations" to allow the game to flow - than a meandering competition that even the players and commentators appear bored with half the time.
2/ Try and do something about the terrible coverage from Sky. I've said it before - their commentary teams are terrible entertainers compared to the NRL and AFL commentary packages, and it is absolutely killing interest in the game on TV here.
3/ DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE RULES!!!!
Rant over. :)

Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report
Simon Poole, 10:41 May 15, 2009

Final four? As now, but swapping Chiefs and Bulls (bonus point win to the Chiefs, who take first place by points differential as Bulls narrowly beat Sharks.)
Dream result: Chiefs smash Brumbies, Hurricanes ditto Reds. Crusaders do whatever. Sharks narrowly beat the Bulls. meaning no kiwi team has to do the run to South Africa.
Chiefs/Hurricanes rematch in Hamilton for the final, provided the Hurricanes can avenge the card-a-thon rematch in Wellington against the Bulls.
Willie Ripia re-lives his nightmare and misses a penalty kick on the final whistle to lose after a previously-flawless kicking display. Blame the bells.
Munters in Hamilton get drunk and go to the Outback.

Since Dec 2008 • 161 posts Report
Paul Rowe, 10:59 May 15, 2009

WRT to the All Whites - we the fans gave them that nickname in 1981, only we can take it away. Whether they play in black or white is irrelevant, they represent NZ, that's all that matters. They will be the All Whites no matter what colour the strip.
IIRC All Whites started the trend of nick-naming our minor sports teams - there were no Black Sticks, Silver Ferns, Tall Blacks etc only the Kiwis and the All Blacks had nicknames. (but I could be wrong)
As for the future of the Super Comp I'd like to see it better aligned with the national competitions - Top 4 say from each NPC/Currie Cup/Whatever Aus does/Invite anyone else in - small groups, home and away ties, then finals series. In other words - The Heineken Cup.
Top 4? hmmmm
Can't really go past the current Top 4, in that order.
Bullsto beat Sharks, Canes to beat Reds, Chiefs to pip the Brumbies, Crusaders to beat Blues. (in an ideal world the Sharks will beat the Bulls and knock both teams out of the semis, with the Brumbies sneaking in after beating the Chiefs, Chiefs get a bonus point and make semis)

Lake Roxburgh, Central Ot… • Since Nov 2006 • 574 posts Report
Blake Monkley, 11:01 May 15, 2009

After all that's gone on with league this week and some players still don't get it.

Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report
Danielle, 11:04 May 15, 2009

I like the Rockets. I like that Ron Artest pissed off Kobe Bryant. I like that the Rockets gave the Lakers a massive beat down without Yao Ming or Tracey McGrady. In short: Go Rockets!
Or, thinking about the last game here, not. Sigh. Come on, fightin' underdogs!
My husband, as is his wont at the end of every season, has grown a Playoffs Beard. It's meant to give the team luck, Samson-styles, or something. Usually it gets shaved off pretty quick-smart, but it's hanging around scruffily this year.

Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report
LegBreak, 11:05 May 15, 2009

Paul,
I thought the Tall Blacks name was in place before the All Whites? Except it hadn’t really taken off.
My favourite “stupid name” story was hockey. Spending $100k in coming up with a name for the women’s team to compliment the Men’s “Black Sticks”. And they arrived at ... “Black Sticks”.

Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report
giovanni tiso, 11:08 May 15, 2009

The NHL playoffs, for what it's worth, just wound up a series for the ages between Washington and Pittsburgh, Crosby v. Ovechkin. Washington went up 2-0, Pittsburgh won three consecutive games (two in overtime), then Washington won in overtime to force game seven, and Crosby took over the in decider and that was that. But boy.
Carolina and Boston, Detroit and Anaheim are also game 7 finishes, both on today.

Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report
Paul Rowe, 11:14 May 15, 2009

Leggie, I'm happily proved wrong on this....
It's not rational, but I don't like it when teams adopt an "official" nickname. I thought "Black Caps" was dreadful, but it seems to have been logical enough to stick.

Lake Roxburgh, Central Ot… • Since Nov 2006 • 574 posts Report
Simon Poole, 11:14 May 15, 2009

Oh, and horror result for the weekend?
Chiefs (5th) get slaughtered by the Brumbies(4th). Hurricanes win (2nd), Crusaders win with a bonus point (3rd).
Somehow, we have to put up with the smug Australians claiming the crown (damn you Brumbies) or the Bulls. (Rather than, of course, them putting up with the arrogant Kiwis claiming rugby superiority, despite an inability to win the world cup)
As for the Super 15: Fuck it. The Super 14 didn't work. The Super 12 barely worked. The playing window isn't big enough for a decent competition, the crowds don't care (Why should people in Manukau cheer for the Chiefs?) or aren't catered for, and our coverage is shit. I can see why the countries up north sneer at our pathetic local competitions.
We have an antipathy to decent governance. Seriously, SANZAR are hopeless when it comes to making a decision because no one wants to be seen as weakening their own personal fiefdom. I'm all for ditching a kiwi team, but would hate to pick which. (Personally I'd merge the South-Island teams and make the Chch based team play in the various venues. It's not like they can raise a crowd at AMI Stadium (Is that what it's called these days? Lancaster) worth a damn anyway. But by the same token, why do SA and Australia want an extra team each? Half the teams they do have are shit, and the new ones certainly won't be any better. We want a competition worth watching, not a big love-in where any average joe can pull on a jersey and make the grade.
Frankly, we're being sold short with an expanded competition that doesn't include any new markets. Unless something drastic happens to make viewing more compelling for NZers, the unions are going to continue to bleed money.

Since Dec 2008 • 161 posts Report
LegBreak, 11:20 May 15, 2009

No arguments from me on that one Paul.
I like the organic ones. All Blacks, Kiwis, Silver Ferns, All Whites etc.
But all the ones rammed down our throats over the last 20 years, make me determined to still refer to the team as New Zealand.
Especially the Black Caps.

Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report
Kyle Matthews, 11:23 May 15, 2009

Carolina and Boston, Detroit and Anaheim are also game 7 finishes, both on today.
Oh FFS.
What's the point of emailing me and not providing spoilers, and then putting them on here? Two people here following hockey and we can't coordinate?
(If you mention game 7 results before Sunday night, I'll have to fly up to Wellington and hurt you)

Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report
Kyle Matthews, 11:24 May 15, 2009

Especially the Black Caps.
This name only makes sense to me when they're wearing actual caps.
I feel like they should be renamed when they're batting and both batsmen are wearing helmets.

Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report
Shay Lambert, 11:43 May 15, 2009

what the fuck is wrong with rugby league players?
Other male team sports in this part of the world have problems too, but for sheer frequency and an undercurrent of casual misogyny, the leaguies are shocking. Greg Bird, Brett Stewart, Michael Crockett, the list goes on, and that's just in the last few months.
Mind you, the NFL takes player misconduct to a whole different level - one in five players charged with a crime. And that include various shades of manslaughter and double homicide - http://www.usatoday.com/sports/comment/jzcol47.htm

Auckland • Since May 2009 • 78 posts Report
Geoff Lealand, 11:45 May 15, 2009

< quote>Chiefs v Hurricanes:* The best team won</quote>

..and they will again, tonight.
Declining crowds.
Well, it didn't seem like that last Saturday night, packed into the Waikato Stadium. My beloved and I had to sit rows apart, as we could only get single tickets by mid-week. Tonight's game looks to be fully occupied too.

Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report
Shay Lambert, 11:57 May 15, 2009

Chiefs look to be timing the run nicely.
The most gratifying thing about it is the way their pack is performing. Journeymen like Clarke and May are playing out of their skins and they look to have uncovered some real talent in McGougan and de Malmanche (even if he does look like the bad guy from Tango & Cash).
I like Hika Elliot too, and not just because his name sounds like what he is.

Auckland • Since May 2009 • 78 posts Report
Tom Semmens, 11:59 May 15, 2009

Geoff L - the average crowds across the competition are well down. One (or even two) swallows a summer doth not make.
Simon P is right. Governance of the game here is the problem. The NZRU is a monolithic bureaucracy that is currently full of apparachiks who are simply not performing. The game is controlled in a top down manner by people who are out of touch and bereft of ideas.
Upon reflection, I think the only way to fix things is get more ideas into running the game. How about selling 25 year franchise leases for the provincial unions, with the top four teams from the Air NZ Cup playing in the Super competition. That way provinces will have to find someone (or find it themselves) with the money to sign up or they are not in. The cost the NZRU could charge would be set by the market and discounted by whatever rules they wish to put in place around All Black availability and that sort of thing.

Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report
giovanni tiso, 12:00 May 15, 2009

What's the point of emailing me and not providing spoilers, and then putting them on here? Two people here following hockey and we can't coordinate?
Sorry! In my defence, I never thought you'd be *that* far behind.

Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report
Simon Poole, 12:01 May 15, 2009

Geoff, what's the crowd average for Waikato Stadium this year, do you know?
Overall, numbers are dropping all around the country. The Chiefs will sell out for the Brumbies, and then their semi, but watch what happens at the start of the next season. First game good, second game average, third game worse.
Not enough people are interested in the competition, or the spectacle that it has to offer.

Since Dec 2008 • 161 posts Report
Stuart Coats, 12:45 May 15, 2009

How about a season like this: NZ, SA and Oz all run their NPC equivalent in what is now the Super 14 time (maybe starting a bit later....). Top 3 NZ, top 3 SA and top 2 Oz go into a knockout round, played home and away until the final which would be a one-off game at a venue that was decided earlier in the year. This would take 5 weeks, with international matches coming after that. This pushes the internationals later in the year probably, but wouldn't we rather see the All Blacks play in NZ when there's more chance of some sunshine? And wouldn't the European teams be more likely to send their stronger teams at the start of their season rather than at the end?
Each country has a salary cap for each team in its domestic comp. This is used for base salaries, with match fees being separate. Sanzar tops up the monies for each team in the finals tournament to pay for these match fees, meaning that the players would have to play if they wanted to earn the cash.

Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 192 posts Report
Kyle Matthews, 13:23 May 15, 2009

Sorry! In my defence, I never thought you'd be *that* far behind.
Ihug/vodafone has this broadband plan where you get 20GB at good speed, and then sometime after that (seems to kick in at about 25 - 30GB, must be when they figure out that you're really serious that month) they put you on dialup speeds. Takes a while to download a 900MB file at dialup speeds.
It's the only vodafone plan that you can't kick in an extra bit of money and double your limit.
And when a HD game with no overtime tops out at 2.1 GB, it doesn't take too long to get up to 20+GB.

Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report
Kyle Matthews, 13:28 May 15, 2009

The problem with some sort of 'top X teams from the domestic competition going on to some further competition' is that you instantly exclude a heap of your players, and at least half your country from any interest in it.
I mean, if Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury make the knockout, you've just shut out over 2 million potential audience members.
And why would Wellington contract players to the end of the season if they don't know at the beginning if there would be games for them. And if they did contract them, and there were no games, how would they pay them? And if they didn't contract them, won't they all bugger off to play northern hemisphere and we'll run a larger risk of losing them?
And Australia doesn't have a domestic rugby competition like the Air NZ Cup. There's nothing between club rugby and Super rugby is there?

Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report
Emma Hart, 13:33 May 15, 2009

It's not like they can raise a crowd at AMI Stadium (Is that what it's called these days? Lancaster) worth a damn anyway.
We're all too whacked out of our brains on P and cow-tipping to find the stadium (which no-one else will join me in calling Amy).
Well, okay. I know a bunch of guys who've all been season ticket holders at Amy/Jade/Lancaster for over a decade. And this year they all went 'screw it' and opted for sports bars instead. The increase in the ticket price was apparently so prohibitively phenomenal it even put them off. This is in a town where people traditionally turn up to rugby even when you can't see any of the players.
Something to do with paying for a new stand for some kind of World Cup thingy?

Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report
LegBreak, 13:44 May 15, 2009

@Emma,
And I’m guessing that only having one stand, and it faces south, isn’t that appealing at this time of year?
And Robbie’s not around any more...

Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report
Kyle Matthews, 13:44 May 15, 2009

Something to do with paying for a new stand for some kind of World Cup thingy?
Don't tell half of Dunedin that you're only paying for a new stand. They'll be pissed that you got off so cheaply.

Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report
Stuart Coats, 13:49 May 15, 2009

The problem with some sort of 'top X teams from the domestic competition going on to some further competition' is that you instantly exclude a heap of your players, and at least half your country from any interest in it.
I mean, if Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury make the knockout, you've just shut out over 2 million potential audience members.
So you're saying that no-one other than Man U and Barcelona fans are going to watch the Champions League final?
And why would Wellington contract players to the end of the season if they don't know at the beginning if there would be games for them.
Why do they contract players now, not knowing whether they will make the playoffs or not? Their players that they contracted would miss out on the same amount of rugby as they do now, more or less. And with this approach, maybe they could play some club rugby to help raise the standards there.
You're right that Oz doesn't have a domestic comp, but it could surely run one involving Queensland, NSW, Western and ACT, and add teams from Victoria and South Australia or perhaps on the central/gold coast under this scheme.

Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 192 posts Report