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PLUS: A wealthy Week That Was and a world cup Weekend That Will Be
It’s the high-octane world of professional sport that is meant to provide fast-moving drama but I’m afraid you’re not going to find anything in this newsletter quite as volatile as British politics.
I mean, I know you don’t come here for this sort of thing, but it’s remarkable how Liz Truss managed both the shortest premiership in UK history, 44 days, and yet served two monarchs.
Sport can’t topple this story, which might even involve an improbable Boris Johnson comeback, but with a plethora of world cups both ongoing and imminent, it can try.
The biggest sports story of the week, to these eyes at least, is the pushback against sportswashing.
The term ‘player power’ is often used as a pejorative, and has been recently in regards to the end of Danny Hay’s reign as All Whites coach, the remnants of which is well covered here on Sportsfreak (I’m also told there are more mundane reasons for the irreconcilable differences between himself and NZ Football aside from his “autocratic” style).
If you want any meaningful change in sport, however, forget about it coming from administrators whose dual purpose is to a) make money and b) preserve the administration.
Players are far more cognisant of the fact their time in the spotlight is fleeting and that their ability to effect positive change is limited. They’re more willing these days to speak on social and environmental issues and it is ironic that many of the same people who wish players would stick to their lanes are the same who once bemoaned them for being boring and one-dimensional.
Increasing player awareness - call it “wokeness” if you insist - doesn’t come without downsides. If you look closely at many of the major backers of professional sport - alcohol, fast food, insurance, energy, finance, telecommunications and apparel companies - it’s pretty easy to find something to be offended by. Still, if it makes major sporting organisations and events think more carefully about brand association, it’s surely a good thing in the long run.
Both the Australian netball and cricket teams have pushed back, for different reasons, against their energy and mining sponsors, while Fifa is under pressure to compensate migrant workers’ families for human rights abuses ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
Just across the border from Qatar, Saudi Arabia has become the biggest and most controversial backer of Big Sport, with huge pots of oil money being poured into football, golf and motorsport to name a few.
The Guardian says there’s a reckoning ahead for sports bosses as athlete voices grow louder over sportswashing sponsors.
Thank goodness there is no potential for controversy over the suite of sponsors for New Zealand’s flagship team. Can’t imagine any companies more squeaky clean than Altrad and Ineos.
What’s that you say…?
THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Plunket Shield, my favourite domestic sports competition by both the length of the straight and the turn for home, started this week and Otago beat defending champions Auckland at Kennards Hire Community Oval née Eden Park Outer Oval. I’ve spent way too long on The BYC cruelly mocking Otago’s lack of recent success and might have even once suggested they be removed from the Plunket Shield and replaced by a New Zealand under-21 side, but good on them.
Good on New Zealand Cricket, too, for providing this guide to team names.
For posterity, the day I call my beloved Central Districts, or CD, the Central Stags, will be the same day I scale K2 wearing jandals.
It has been a tough day for football icons, with Cristiano Ronaldo dropped by Manchester United after one tantrum too many, and Steven Gerrard sacked as manager of Aston Villa after a woeful start to this Premier League campaign, lowlighted by this morning 0-3 loss to Fulham.
During a mighty playing career that saw him almost single-handedly haul a laughably poor Liverpool team to a Champions League title in 2005, score the most astonishing goal in a seemingly lost FA Cup final a year later and literally slip when on the cusp of a long-awaited league title, Gerrard was a player you could never take your eyes off.
Even he would admit, however, that in terms of pure skill, cup- and title-winning and relentless drive for perfection, he sits on a strata lower than Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger-turned-striker would be in most pundits’ list of the top 10 greatest of all time, but he really can be a bit of a dick and even his explanation on this Insta post for refusing to come on as a substitute against Spurs rang hollow.
I like this story about Renwick Tennis Club because it not only demonstrates what can be done with a bit of community can-do, but also brings back (warm and very fuzzy) memories of a night out.
The gist of the news story is:
Four years ago, Renwick Tennis Club had 10 members, a ramshackle clubhouse and three neglected courts with weeds coming up through the cracks.
Today, the club boasts hundreds of active members, newly refurbished clubrooms, four pristine, azure-blue tennis courts that wouldn’t look or feel out of place at the Rod Laver Arena, and a Club of the Year award.
Unfortunately, this is the sort of story that is fast disappearing from mainstream media with the continued hollowing out of regional reporting (although it should be noted that the Marlborough Express is funded through the Public Interest Journalism Fund and won’t be subject to further cuts).
The gist of my memories of Renwick, December 2018, are that six middle-aged likely lads, part of a crew staying at a nearby winery for a few days for a 40th, decided to get out of our partners’ collective hair one evening and went to town for a beer.
The locals at the Cork & Keg, the Renwick Arms and, finally, the Woodbourne Tavern, seemed fascinated by these mainly Auckland-based blow-ins and lavished us with hospitality and karaoke.
It might be an exaggeration to say that going through the photos the next morning was like a scene from The Hangover, but it was still illuminating.
Billionaire sports owners have a code apparently. Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay broke it by stating the bleeding obvious that his Washington Commanders counterpart Dan Snyder was a stain not just on the NFL but on humanity.
If you want to know why Snyder is so reviled, scroll through this story which recounts his slew of controversies, most notably that a congressional report identified that he had fostered a toxic workplace. Even in pure sporting terms, he’s taken a once mighty franchise and turned it into an annual laughing stock.
Speaking of billionaire owners, Forbes has released their annual list of sport’s richest owners and in some respects it puts Silver Lake’s $200 million investment in New Zealand Rugby into perspective. There are obscene amounts of moolah floating around US sport and while the owners don’t spend all their wealth on their teams - and some fanbases would argue they don’t spend nearly enough - they’re unlikely to face a Wasps and Worcester-like plummet into bankruptcy either.
Top 10 (all US $):
Steve Ballmer, $83 billion - Los Angeles Clippers, NBA (wealth source: Microsoft);
Rob Walton, $56.7b - Denver Broncos, NFL (Walmart);
David Tepper, $18.5b - Carolina Panthers, NFL; Charlotte FC, MLS (hedge funds);
Robert Pera, $17.6b - Memphis Grizzlies, NBA (Wireless Networking Gear);
Steve Cohen, $17.5b - New York Mets, MLB (hedge funds);
Dan Gilbert, $17.3b - Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA (Quicken Loans);
Jerry Jones, $16b - Dallas Cowboys, NFL (Cowboys);
Stanley Kroenke, $12.9b - Los Angeles Rams, NFL; Arsenal, EPL; Denver Nuggets, NBA; Colorado Avalanche, NHL; Colorado Rapids, MLS (real estate & sports);
Stephen Ross, $11.6b - Miami Dolphins, NFL (real estate);
Shahid Khan, $11.2b - Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL; Fulham, EPL (Flex-N-Gate).
Interesting to note that Jones is the only owner whose primary wealth source now is the team he owns, though Kroenke’s sports holdings revenue is expected to surpass the value of his real estate holdings. Kroenke is also the owner feeling best about life, with his Rams the defending Super Bowl winners and the Avalanche the Stanley Cup holders.
The highest-placed billionaire with no involvement in either the US financial or sporting landscape is Fiorentina (Italian football) owner and telecommunications billionaire Rocco Commisso, who comes in at 13th with $7.7b.
Back to the real world…
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
It’s basically a no-frills World Cup weekend of watching (a quick reminder: the below list is not exhaustive and covers only what I intend to watch, not the sporting calendar in its entirety).
The Black Ferns play their final pool match in Whangarei. With qualification guaranteed, TVNZ have taken the time to crystal ball likely quarter-final opponents. If they’re right and the Ferns end up playing the loser of the Wallaroos or Wales clash in the quarters, the system needs an overhaul.
NZ v Scotland, Whangarei, tomorrow 4.45pm, Spark Sport
Unfortunately for the Rugby League World Cup, there are some games where you have to get creative to convince people to watch. The Kiwis v Jamaica, 2-48 losers to Ireland in their first match, is one of them.
It’s Scott Sorensen’s debut though, so tune in to watch the fifth member of that great league clan - after Bill, Dave, Dane and Kurt - make his mark. It is not a great slate of weekend matches to be brutally francis, but better games await in midweek.
NZ v Jamaica, Hull, Sunday 7.30am, Spark Sport
There is something masochistic about watching New Zealand play Australia at cricket in Australia. It doesn’t matter how well they’re going against every other team - and for the past year it hasn’t been that well - you know the sight of Pat Cummins et al will provoke a collective bed-wetting. Still, you have to watch and try, somehow, to find pleasure in the pain.
Australia v NZ, Sydney, tomorrow 8pm, Sky Sport 3
I’m in a weird situation now that whenever I watch the Silver Ferns play, they lose; whenever I don’t, they win. I’m pretty sure one doesn’t cause the other but the mind can play tricks and convince you that the mere act of flicking the TV on sends ju-ju of the wrong kind down the pipe and straight into the team huddle.
Australia v NZ, Gold Coast, Sunday 9.30pm, Sky Sport 1
I’ll watch the first part of this at least but really, it’s like picking between Darth Vader and Hans Gruber.
Canterbury v Wellington, NPC final, Christchurch, tomorrow 7.05pm, Sky Sport 1
Another good piece Dylan. I was going to challenge the woke question but I’ll leave it for another day seeing as you didn’t rub my nose in the Captain Kane issue…!
Moving on to a tangent in this latest piece, but one I’ve seen close up - Otago cricket…let’s see. If there is a case study in mediocrity it’s the Volts over the last 30 years, save a 2-3 year bright spot when Baz brought everything he could to bear. The hub of Otago cricket is Dunedin - no worse than most of England but nevertheless a terrible cricket climate, and without the strong cricket culture to overcome it. The wickets are poor, the administrative culture dominated by cronyism, nepotism and petty politics and the system incapable of producing quality players. Most of the Volts team now and in living memory are cast offs from other provinces or imports (mostly South Africans) and although the association must know they’re not much shakes they’re obliged to take them anyway, as the best on offer.
Failure becomes cultural also, with the few good players not taking responsibility - a la Hamish Rutherford. It is a basket case and really only maintains a skerrick of credibility because of player transfers and imports - the internal system is broken and has been for a long, long time. Not that you’d know from reading the ODT, it’s such a small scene down there that the local cricket journos are more fixture on being mates with the players than laying out an intelligent critique of short term let alone long term mediocrity.