Cricket: By far the most interesting, newsworthy and least painful (although not by much) set of breaking stories this week has involved off-field dramas of selection and injury, not the cataclysmic mess that was the cricket. The latest bizarre selection move on Australia's part is Western Australian off-spinner and general punny name cannon fodder Michael Beer being plucked from the deepest depths of obscurity for the 3rd test in Perth this week.
Rugby League: My beloved Parramatta Eels seem to be doing an unusual amount of publicity events recently, culminating in a Christmas visit to a local shopping centre. One doubts if more publicity is the best way to diffuse the speculation over Timana Tahu's future. But then it could be worse, they could have Timana's PR agents.
AFL: The amusing saga of all-round nice guy Gary Ablett and all-round vaguely suspicious character Mark Thompson continues unchecked. Recent revelations to fuel the fire were that former Geelong premiership coach Thompson was secretly in talks with Essendon well into the previous season, while simultaneously berating Ablett for considering his eventual defection to the Gold Coast Suns. Now it seems that Thompson also had the indignant hypocrisy to fall out with Ablett over his contemplation. Ablett revealed this week that the pair have barely spoken since April, angering club legend John "Sam" Newman.
"That is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard" Newman was quoted as saying. When Sam Newman is disgusted by something you know you have a problem.
Football: The A-League continues to take advantage of being the only substantial sporting league in the country over summer, with some compelling games this week. The Brisbane Roar have continued to show themselves as the real deal, scoring their first ever win in Sydney, 1-0 over Sydney FC. The result, a record-extending 16th straight game without defeat, leaves them an ominous seven points clear of Adelaide United, despite their comfortable 2-0 win over the North Queensland Fury. Gold Coast and Central Coast look solid in 3rd and 4th after a 2-0 win over the hapless travellers Wellington, and a 1-1 draw at Perth respectively. Meanwhile the Melbourne Victory pulled out one of their best performances of the year to win the local derby against the Heart 3-1.
Formula 1: Logic and reason has finally returned to the FIA's lawmakers, with the controversial team orders rule being repealed for 2011, an absurd 9 years after it came in. The rule was implemented in response to a pair of farcical staged finishes by Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello during their dominant 2002 season. Regardless of opinions on whether the fans deserve better, or should hack the fact that F1 is a steam sport fundamentally, what was always unanimous was dislike of the rule because of its arbitrariness. Teams have taken to merely using predefined codes or careful wording to disseminate the same message, resulting in a product equally as 'staged', but less honest. For 2011 team orders will return, distasteful maybe, but transparent definitely. Meanwhile Mark Webber has admitted to sustaining a broken shoulder in a mountain-bike accident before the championship-deciding last four races of 2010 (before which he led the title chase). I believe Webber if he claims that the injury did not play a role in denying him the championship, but can't help but think that after two major incidents in a row, Webber should not go near a bicycle of any form ever again.
V8 Supercars: James Courtney has wrapped up the 2010 V8 Supercar title as expected, but he tried his hardest to throw it away, with a 15th and a 14th place finish in the spectacular final weekend on the streets of Sydney Olympic Park. A violent rainstorm in Race 1 resulted in the astonishing happening of all three title contenders hitting the barriers at the same time in the same corner (Whincup and Winterbottom joining Courtney in the wall). Courtney alone of the three was able to salvage some points, scraping home 15th as Dale Wood took a hugely unexpected maiden win. Shane Van Gisbergen looked on track to make it two debut winners from two on Sunday but had the heartbreaking misfortune of running out of fuel on the final lap, handing victory to Holdsworth. Courtney recovered from a comically inexact pit stop to finish 14th and deny Jamie Whincup a hat-trick of titles.
Boxing: Wednesday December 8 saw a thoroughly arbitrary yet strangely interesting exhibition bout between two-time world champion Anthony Mundine and Foxtel reality show "The Contender" winner Garth Wood. Interesting is meant quite liberally however as the fight was of consistently atrocious quality. But it instantly took on a special meaning when Wood landed a flush blow to Mundine's chin in the 5th and left him on the canvas. Wood's KO win was one of the biggest upsets in Australian boxing history. Moreover it was a pleasant surprise and general inspirational source of hope to any decent person to see Mundine dealt the kind of come-uppance any passively interested Aussie boxing fan (any greater interest results in far too much exposure to Mundine's intolerable character) has been desperately waiting for.
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