8. The NBA has got the finals match-up it so desperately craved. A day after the Los Angeles Lakers sealed their series with the San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics downed Detroit Pistons in game six to renew one of basketball’s most storied rivalries. From the days of Russell against Wilt through to Magic against Bird, the Celtics and the Lakers have had a rivalry of fierceness, excellence and historical import. This time around we have Kobe against Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. It is a fascinating match-up and is sure to play itself out in a classic series. After some lackluster finals clashes in recent years, the NBA was in desperate need of such a marquee finals series. This may be the series that reinvigorates the NBA.

7. One of the great characters of modern baseball, Manny Ramirez, became only the 24th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs with a cracking shot over right centre at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. Ramirez, loved and loathed for his colourful personality that is often simply referred to as “Manny being Manny”, has joined one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs. If the Red Sox are to go back-to-back, Manny will play a major part.

6. Stuart MacGill’s retirement from Test cricket has been tainted with the same controversy that has chased him throughout much of his career. MacGill announced his retirement overnight, midway through the Second Test, where MacGill turned up late on the second day after sleeping in. MacGill puts his surprise retirement down to poor form and the loss of the magic required to get out world class batsmen. MacGill’s Test career, for all its controversy and in spite of its stop-start nature, should be regarded as successful. MacGill has taken 207 wickets at 28.28 in an era where Shane Warne, the greatest leg spinner to ever play the game, was not only Australia’s first choice tweaker but was a popular hero who was beloved in a way MacGill never was. MacGill rarely let Australia down and showed remarkable mental strength to take over 200 Test wickets when he was rarely considered the first choice turner. MacGill was a character and Australia face uncertain times with nobody of MacGill’s class currently in the Australia’s spin bowling ranks. The calls for Shane Warne’s return will only get louder now.

5. The Sydney Swans turned in one of the performances of the season in destroying a Richmond outfit that had been more than competent in recent weeks by 82 points.  Despite the Tigers having the better of possession in the early stages, the Tigers could not score a point until the Swans had put on over six goals. The Swans forward line was effective, the midfield worked hard and sharp and the backline was stout and always in control. If the Swans maintain that kind of form, they will be right in the mix come late September.

4. The Waratahs scored two tries to the Crusaders' one yet a more disciplined approach and a game built on field position saw the Crusaders come out victors in the Super 14 final. New South Wales showed some creative flair but the gameplan formulated by Robbie Deans ground the Waratahs into the ground and the most successful team in Super Rugby history had another title. Though the boot of Dan Carter technically got the Crusaders home, it was the hard work of a strong forward pack led by Richie McGaw and the smart scrumbase play of Andy Ellis that were the real foundations of victory. Had the Waratahs had a more stable preparation- the axing of Ewen McKenzie and the failure to find a replacement surely acted as a distraction for the Waratahs- they may have been able to beat the Crusaders. They did not and the rest is written in history.

3. The season of the Canterbury Bulldogs well and truly ended over the weekend with a 46-0 decimation at the hands of the Melbourne Storm. The Bulldogs are battered, bruised, playing awful football and are distracted by off-field drama. Nothing is going right out Belmore way. Eleven regular first graders were missing on Saturday night and it came as no surprise that the Bulldogs were beaten with such ease. Among those on the sidelines were Sonny Bill Williams, Luke Patten, Willie Tonga and Jarrad Hickey. The Bulldogs now sit fourteenth on the ladder with only four wins. 2008 is done for them. They have recruited well for 2009 with Ben Hannant, Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris and Michael Ennis all set to join the Dogs. It is time to start looking ahead to next year.

2. NRL Clubs need to make the most of the proposed crisis summit or face an even more uncertain future. This is particularly true for Sydney clubs, many of whom are on the verge of extinction due to the increased taxation and clampdown on smoking in licensed clubs as well as a failure to generate alternate revenue streams. Clubs need to prepare for the summit and work together if they wish to survive and if they wish the game to prosper. On the agenda will be the protection of the game from AFL, expansion and relocation, creating new revenue streams, sports betting and the player drain. The game needs to go national and it needs to become less reliant on poker machine revenue. It’s that simple. Hopefully the powers-that-be develop a plan to take the game into the next decade.

1. Both Justin Hodges and Jarryd Hayne will miss Origin II after both were involved in unsavoury throwing incidents in the Friday night clash between the Brisbane Broncos and the Parramatta Eels. Hodges picked up Eels hooker Mark Riddell and dumped him on his head well off the ball and will almost certainly be given a long spell. Hayne was the fourth man into a tackle and picked up Tonie Carroll between the legs and speared him into the ground. Both incidents were at the very least reckless and with Origin II only ten days away, both Hodges and Hayne have little chance of playing. They will be rubbed out and deservedly so.

Upper of the Week: The fine return of Harry Kewell. Kewell has spent much of his recent career injured and has been maligned in many quarters, including his former club Liverpool, who released the star Australian scorer. He showed he still has the class that took him to the top with the winner against Iraq in Australia’s World Cup qualifier. Kewell will play an integral role in Australia’s World Cup campaign.

Downer of the Week: The downfall of the National Basketball League. Australia’s premier basketball competition is on the brink of collapse with the controversy surrounding the Sydney Kings and the Brisbane Bullets leading to suggestions the NBL may not play next season. Two of the NBL’s most storied franchises, the Kings and the Bullets are in severe financial trouble with players at Sydney still not paid and the Bullets having only two players on their roster. The NBL would lose whatever credibility it had left if the Kings and Bullets were not a part of an NBL season. Things are looking dire for basketball in this country.

© 2008 Punting Ace.com