Some Sporting Observations

8. It does not matter what kind of form Peter Lonard is in, when he comes back for Australia’s summer of golf, he always lifts and seemingly nearly always wins. Peter Lonard was at his dominant best in winning the Australian PGA Championship, winning the event for the third time. He loves the Coolum course and he loves this time of year.

7. Ernie Els staged one of the great capitulations in golfing history when blowing a two shot lead on the last hole of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. The three-time major winner was a near certainty going into the final hole but he managed to find the water twice and ended up shooting a triple-bogey eight to finish in a tie for second. Els is still a class act but this loss could have long-term ramifications for him. Mentally, this could be crushing. It would take a game man to bet Els anytime in the near future.

6. The Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton welterweight battle in Las Vegas yesterday was one of the great fights of the decade and was one of the finest advertisements professional boxing has had for a very long time. Mayweather, undefeated and generally regarded as the finest pound-for-pound pugilist in the game. Ricky Hatton, undefeated and the hero of a nation. The build-up was intense and the MGM Grand buzzed and surprisingly, the crowd was not with the home town Mayweather but with the international visitor Hatton. The arena chanted for Hatton and booed the entire American national anthem. When the bell rang, Hatton came out swinging. Mayweather withstood the aggression and then countered with his own heavy hitting, hammering the Hitman with some powerful shots. In the tenth, it was all over. Hatton took some big shots and couldn’t get up. Mayweather’s status as the best was confirmed, Hatton’s reputation as a warrior heightened in defeat. This is how big time boxing should be.

5. Promoters thinking a Willie Mason-Wayne Carey fight would draw in excess of a million dollars are delusional. It is tough to fathom who could be interested in a match-up that means absolutely nothing and has no quality whatsoever. The fundamental drawing power of a boxing match is to make people care. Who could possibly be interested in seeing a retired AFL star against a rugby league player who has never had issue with him. If Mason insists on boxing, they should match him with a boxer. The possibility of Mason getting hit into line by a professional would certainly attract some interest. Regardless, a Willie Mason fight undermines the many great boxers in this country and the legitimacy of the sport here.

4. Miss Andretti turned in a shocker in Hong Kong, running one of the worst races of her career to finish well down the track in the Hong Kong Sprint. Racing for the first time in the clockwise direction, Miss Andretti was never comfortable, getting on the wrong leg. Combined with being forced further forward than usual, Miss Andretti dropped out while local superstar Sacred Kingdom recorded another win. Miss Andretti will fight back when she returns home but it must always be remembered how important the direction of a racetrack can be.

3. The NRL has made a move in the right direction by reducing the number of interchanges a team is allowed in a match from twelve to ten. The move was entirely necessary and while it does not go far enough, it is a start. The game has gotten so fast over the last decade and has heavily favoured the big men who get to have a breather or two during a game and then target the smaller men when they return. These smaller men suffer because they have to constantly suffer at the hands of rested big men. This rule change will create a more even playing field and the NRL should be applauded.

2. Australia’s next rugby coach will be Robbie Deans. The successful Canterbury Crusaders coach had hoped to be put in charge of the All Blacks but in a massive upset, he missed out on the job when Graham Henry was reappointed to the position. Deans has since applied for the Wallabies position and those in charge at the ARU could not be happier, having chased Deans since before the World Cup finished. The job was expected to be fought out between David Nucifora and Alan Jones but with the announcement delayed for months, Deans will now get the job. The delay was caused by the Wallabies waiting to see who New Zealand appointed.

1. Michael Clarke has been given another charmed run by Australian cricket selectors, this time being handed the Australian 20/20 captaincy in the absence of Ricky Ponting. Clarke has leap-frogged Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey in the pecking order for the captaincy with selectors making a clear statement that they see Clarke as Australia’s next long-term captain. While Clarke does have long-term claims to the captaincy, he should not have been thrown in yet. He is too young and too inexperienced. Selectors should have recommended he skipper the Blues rather than throw him into the cauldron of international captaincy straight away.

Upper of the Week: The Socceroos finally have a coach. In somewhat of a surprise, Dutchman Pim Verbeek was handed the challenge of guiding Australia to the next World Cup. Verbeek is a risk but so was Guus Hiddink.

Downer of the Week: Derryn Hinch’s racially motivated attack on AFL boss Andrew Demetriou. Those kind of attacks are unwarranted and completely classless.

© 2007 Punting Ace.com