Some Sporting Observations

8. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant will this week be awarded his first NBA Most Valuable Player award. It is recognition of Bryant’s brilliance at both ends of the court and his amazing ability to score. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA. He should not, however, be awarded the league MVP award. Bryant has been a star for well over a decade and has been the best player in the NBA in many of those seasons. He has never won an MVP award. The reason is simple. He is not the most valuable player in the league because he has shown that he alone cannot significantly change the fortunes of the Lakers. His demeanour, his need to score and his perceived selfishness count against him. Rather, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics should be awarded the MVP. The Celtics were a mess before Garnett arrived and transformed the team into title favourites. The award is for the most valuable player, not the best player. That is why Garnett should be crowned instead of Bryant.

7. Big Brown is the most impressive Kentucky Derby winner in a long time and will be a superstar of the highest order. His win the Derby was that impressive. From the outside gate and sitting wide for most of the race, Big Brown exploded around the final turn and absolutely decimated a field that contained some quality steeds. He beat the ill fated Eight Belles by 4 ¾ lengths with Denis of Cork, the third placegetter, finishing 8 ¼ lengths back. Big Brown looks a certainty for the Triple Crown if that win was anything to go by. He is a superstar and his brilliance will take him far.

6. The Kevin Moses trained No Wine No Song was full of courage in taking the Sydney Cup from Pentathon but the real story was with fourth placegetter County Tyrone. The old warrior and former Cup winner was courageous in his sixth Sydney Cup to plug on for fourth. It was a super effort from the nine-year-old who will now kick on to the Newcastle Cup. Seeing a horse his age continue to race competitively is a sight to behold.

5. The Fremantle Dockers are a team in total and utter disarray and nobody is safe at the club. In an embarrassing display, the Dockers butchered a big lead against a Melbourne Demons outfit that were favoured to not win a game all season. Coach Mark Harvey claims the Dockers are playing competitive football but all the evidence would suggest otherwise. The Dockers have won only once this season and sit equal last on the premiership ladder. Already a review of club operations has been launched. Mark Harvey will be very lucky to see out the season.

4. The AFL’s handling of the Sydney Swans extra-man scandal was disgraceful and proved that the organisation will never deduct premiership points from teams who field more than eighteen players. The Swans fielded nineteen players for thirty seconds at a time when the game was in the balance. Further, the extra player was involved in the play that led to the tying score. The AFL should have taken a hard line approach and stripped the Swans of two premiership points. The AFL, however, opted for the soft option and chose against imposing a significant deterrent against fielding extra players. This will come back to hurt the sport.

3. The South Sydney Rabbitohs have finally won a game and in doing so, may have stumbled upon the keys to victory. Souths were far more creative in attack against the Cowboys on Sunday and that must be attributed to the presence of both Isaac Luke and George Ndaira on the field at once. To date, they have both taken on the role of hooker. Luke was shifted to halfback on the weekend and the Bunnies were far more threatening in attack with Luke getting the ball wide and Ndaira threatening out of dummy half. The space allowed John Sutton to play his best game of the season. Throw Ben Rogers into the number six jersey and Souths may have an outfit that can score points and win games.

2. One player who should be looked at to fill a front row position for the New South Wales Origin side is North Queensland’s Ray Cashmere. Cashmere has been playing sensationally this season and looks the ideal player for the cauldron of Origin. He has already been rewarded with a spot for the City Origin team, where he performed admirably with limited game time, and with few standout contenders for the Origin front row, Cashmere may get his chance. His lumbering frame and stout work ethic make him an ideal contender. Hopefully selectors won’t forget about him or disregard him because the spotlight rarely shines on him.

1. The Cronulla Sharks are showing no respect to a man who has been the face of the club for the last six seasons. It has been widely reported in recent weeks that the Sharks are keen to end their relationship with star halfback Brett Kimmorley in order to free up funds and cap space to attract a marquee signing. That signing would likely be Jason Ryles or Trent Barrett. If the Sharks were not keen on Kimmorley, they should not have re-signed him to a two year deal last season. A player of his stature does not deserve such treatment and neither do the fans. With management behaving in such a manner, it is of little surprise that the Sharks have not won a premiership in over forty seasons.

Upper of the Week: The fantastically close finish to the English Premier League. Going into the final round of the season, Manchester United and Chelsea are tied on 84 premiership points. United will play Wigan this weekend while Chelsea will host Bolton. If both teams win, Manchester United will take the title due to a superior goal difference. This is the most exciting finish to a Premier League in many seasons and is reminiscent of that classic finale to the 1988-89 season when a Michael Thomas goal for Arsenal in the dying stages of the final game of the season clinched the title for the Gunners.

Downer of the Week: The loss of Darren Lockyer to injury. No player deserved to take his spot in the Centenary Test more than Lockyer, who has been an ornament to rugby league and Test Match football. It is a great shame that a knee injury will rob Lockyer of his position in such a momentous and historical occasion.