Seven truths you need to know

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1: The pretty one has spoken. I'm absolutely staggered that an enlightened man like Adam Parore can utter such absolute nonsense as saying Jesse Ryder is too fat. Parore claims he can pick a professional player just by looking at him. What would he have made of Muggsy Bogues? Let me put Bogues into perspective - my lovely wife Jennifer is just a smidgen taller than a smurf at 165cm; with that in mind Parore would have looked at the 160cm Muggsy and immediately dismissed his chances of being an NBA player let alone a star. Bogues had a stellar 14-year NBA career. And besides Ryder's fat problem is easily solved - just get hold of Shane Warne's mum to get him some of her diet pills.

2: Don't judge a body by its appearance. It seems the "stupid gene" knows no bounds, with Netball NZ deciding that Vilimania Davu is also too fat. Oh, OK the netball girls put it a bit more politely by saying she wasn't fit enough to play. Or in other words Davu should sign up for fat fighters rather than the Mystics. Fitness is not always the determining factor in a player's effectiveness - the great New York Knicks centre Willis Reed was so banged up in the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers he couldn't play in the deciding game. Only he did make a dramatic appearance, hobbling onto the court and playing a mere two minutes, but his effect on his team- mates and the New York crowd carried the Knicks to victory. Davu is a legend and legends find ways to win, besides haven't the smarties at netball headquarters ever heard of playing your way into shape - which is what many veteran athletes do.

3: It's not the impossible dream. The Breakers front office is blowing all its trumpets as the club, after five years, finally made the play-offs. Putting it all in perspective, the Singapore Slingers and the South Melbourne Dragons both made the play-offs in their initial season as has the Gold Coast Blaze this season. And what's more there are only 13 teams and eight qualify for crying out loud. Coach Andrej Lemanis' three-year coaching record to date is something that you won't find on the club's website: 36 wins and 56 losses. Not exactly the stuff of legend.

4: Where in the hell is Cape Verde? The Tall Blacks will meet Cape Verde in Athens in July in their quest to get to the Bejing Olympics. In case you don't have your atlas handy the republic is an archipelago of 10 islands located off the west coast of Africa. New Zealand is ranked 13th in the world and Cape Verde is ranked 56th after capturing the bronze medal in the African basketball championships, but if the Cape Verdeans can convince their power forward Ryan Gomes to don his national colours for a short period instead of his usual Boston Celtic green, look out.

5: Sleep saving tip. Don't bother staying up for Howard Dobson's Sports Night on TV3 which usually hits the airwaves around 11pm - the once razor-sharp, bone-hard show has gone all soft and limp.

6: Don't believe all you hear. I can report from first-hand experience that the local sports news you hear on the radio is not up-to-date. Last week I was watching the unbelievable closing minutes of the Super Bowl on my computer with the radio on in the background. The New York Giants after marching 83 yards to score a touchdown, led 17-14 with 35 seconds left in the game. I'm jumping up in the air for joy because I had $25 bucks at $4.60 on the Giants. Just then the sports news came on the radio and a female reader who probably couldn't care less about American football confidently told us the New England Patriots had just scored the go-ahead touchdown giving them the lead 14-10. I'm screaming at the radio: "Yeah, two minutes ago dumbo!" Two minutes in sports is a lifetime. Talk about being behind the play - where's the pride, the passion, the urgency to bring the public the latest news, breaking news . . . don't they have computers at radio stations or televisions?

7: There's two sides to every tirade. One of America's greatest coaches has retired - university basketball coach Bobby Knight, with 902 victories, has won more games than anyone else. Knight's passion for the game made John McEnroe's tennis tantums look mild. The news will concentrate on his verbal tirades, his chair throwing, his head-butting and all the rest, but they'll conveniently ignore the fact that when the graduation rate for basketball players in most major universities is appallingly low with some not even reaching 50%, coach Knight, in 42 seasons, saw 96% of his players graduate. Bobby was also good for a quick retort - one year I was covering one of his lectures for a basketball magazine and when he finished a young reporter rushed up to get a quick interview. Knight declined saying he was too tired to which the reporter dropped his lower lip and expressed his great disappointment. Bobby patted him on his shoulder and quipped: "That makes us even son because the media always disappoints me too."