Time to consider fans and resurrect Boxing Day cricket

OPINION: Was anybody else disappointed not to see any cricket played in New Zealand on Boxing Day?

It's bad enough that the Boxing Day test match was taken away from Wellington and replaced by an under-attended one-day match in Auckland and finally a Twenty20 match, again in Auckland. But the fact there is nothing on anymore is a disgrace. Even domestic one-day matches or the start of the Twenty20 competition would've given fans something to enjoy.

* Hurricanes rugby coach Colin Cooper, soon to take over again at Taranaki, was quoted in the Taranaki Daily News after Manawatu Turbos Kurt Baker and Andre Taylor decided their loyalties lay with Taranaki next season. The Daily News said Cooper was eager to expand the number of players capable of doing the job. "We want to create depth and competition in the squad," he said. "Signings of this quality will certainly boost the back three, which is an area we have focused on developing." This is bound to result in bad blood between the two unions.

* Being a world-class triathlete must make you popular. After being told to have a look at a photo on Kris Gemmell's Facebook page sports reporter Daniel Richardson became Gemmell's 1295th Facebook friend. According to Facebook's official website the average user has 130 friends.

* The Boxing Day motorcycle meeting at Whanganui's Cemetery Circuit continues to be the premier bike meeting in the country with the 15,000 who turned up more than the entire crowd for the five-round national series. The two big screens, the improved viewing areas and the bridge over the track along with improved safety features for the riders have added to the event. Get rid of the super pole. The 30 minutes it took to run an event that few were interested in would be better spent keeping the meeting running to time. Quite a few of the crowd had headed home before the main race.

- © Fairfax NZ News