Chasing the Chase

Of all the things that I love about motor sport, oval courses are not one of them. I just have never been quite able to get excited about high-performance V8 cars being driven, round and round and round and round and boringly around the a standard NASCAR track. Thus I hope to be forgiven by the oval faithful for not fully appreciating all the drama that a NASCAR season and especially the Chase can bring. Having said that, 2010 is easily the closest and most-barnstorming of them all probably, and maybe this fact has changed my mind.

Ok, what is it that so good about this year? One, Jimmy Johnson isn't winning by so massive a margin that the final race still actually matters. Two, the margin between the top three drivers is a mere 46 points. Three, Denny Hamlin, is actually the Chase leader, even if it is only by a scant 15 points; a fact Johnson took great pains to accentuate at a recent press-conference. So Sundays' final race should be an absolute cracker and I can't wait.

The pundits tell us that Hamlin will be series victor if he wins or is second, and anyone but Johnson wins. Johnson will take it if he wins and leads the most laps. Harvick could win it if he gets the victory, leads the most laps and Johnson finishes fifth or lower with Hamlin, eighth or worse. I have nothing at all against Jimmy Johnson, but I do generally vote for the underdog, especially one who hasn't won it before. The knowledge that Johnson has scored the last four titles, sorta makes me cheer on Hamlin, but really I just want a great race.

Netball's Finest Hour

There are many great sporting rivalries in sport: the Yankees and the Red Sox, Manchester United against Liverpool, the All Blacks versus the Springboks. Arm wrestles year after year, and nothing is more important in the universe. But there is one that is only spoken of locally but is as intense and competitive as anything I have ever witnessed, and that is the annual duel between the New Zealand Silver Ferns and the Australian Diamonds in netball.

The jewel in each teams' crown is either the world championship or the Commonwealth Games, both held every four years. This week, Australia's champion netball team slumped to a second consecutive loss in a Commonwealth Games final, a two-goal double overtime heartbreaker against New Zealand. Worse still, defeat came in the last event of India's Games against the arch enemy who inflicted that Melbourne 2006 loss on home turf.

Both sides were locked when the full time whistle sounded after an Australian fightback from seven goals down, and they remained locked after the first period of of extra time. Then New Zealand and Australia went goal for goal in double overtime for ten nerve-wracking minutes in search of the win. Finally the Diamonds cracked when Cath Cox's shot to win bounced off the rim, Silver Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia's attempt dropped in to give New Zealand a classic 66-64 win.

The great thing is, that this titanic struggle is the norm, not the exception. It is often only a mere couple of points that separate the two after each match, so well matched are they. One thing is for sure, a loss is like losing an arm or a leg, so fierce is the competition. Some of the best matches, in any sport, anywhere, at any time!