It has been announced tonight that Newcastle Knights backrower, Alex McKinnon has been diagnosed as a quadraplegic.
McKinnon who suffered a horror tackle last Sunday against the Melbourne Storm needed to be put in an induced coma to undergo major neck surgery. However, it appears that Alex McKinnon may have suffered permanent and total loss of use of his upper and lower limbs.
This is indeed a sad day for rugby league and a young man - but not the end of his life.
Quadraplegics world wide have done some amazing things particularly in athletics. But it will be a massive life-changing challenge for him and his family.
It may only be the end of March but there's never too early a time to name an All Blacks squad of 23.
After 7 rounds of Super Rugby, would you say that this would be your All Blacks squad right now based on form?
I'm going to pick a few bolters in Alapati Leiua who I reckon deserves a call up to an international side, along with the Highlanders' impressive loosehead prop, Kane Hames who has done well being thrust into the front row in the absence of Jamie Mackintosh and Tony Woodcock in the deep south.
1.Ben Franks
2.Dane Coles
3.Owen Franks
4.Sam Whitelock
5.Brodie Retallick
6.Liam Messam
7.Richie McCaw (captain)
8.Kieran Read
9.Aaron Smith
10.Aaron Cruden
11.Julian Savea
12.Ma'a Nonu
13.Conrad Smith
14.Charles Piutau
15.Ben Smith
It looks like the question now for Fulham is not if but when.
32 games played, Fulham's record stands at won 7, drew 3, lost 22, with a goal difference of negative 42 and sitting on 24 points, 5 points from 17th and safety.
At this stage of the the season, 5 points is a lot of ground to cover even in this most competitive of Premier League seasons and would require Fulham to win all their last 6 games at least - and hope the clubs above them lose all their games.
It is a real shame as the Cottagers have now become a part and parcel of the Premier League since their promotion as champions of the old First Division back in 2001 under the guidance of Kevin Keegan.
During their 12 seasons in the Premier League, the Cottagers have generally stayed above the danger zone although they came close to relegation in the 2007/08 season - an Andy Johnson goal at Portsmouth sealed their survival on the final day at the expense of Birmingham City and Reading.
Indeed, at times, Fulham have outperformed themselves despite their small ground and relative size compared to many other Premier League sides with their most memorable period coming between 2008 and 2010 when under the guidance of current England manager, Roy Hodgson and the goals of Bobby Zamora, they qualified for the UEFA Cup and then reached the Final where they lost to Diego Forlan's Atletico Madrid - no shame losing to the eventual World Cup player of the tournament later that summer.
Their derby with local rivals Chelsea - and QPR briefly - had become one of the London derbies to watch - albeit of a more placid nature compared to the north London derby.
Fulham along with its celebrity fans like Hugh Grant, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe - and celebrity ex-owner, Mohammed el-Fayed who sold the club in 2012 to the current owners - and intimate ground by the River Thames will definitely be missed - the next time Craven Cottage will be in the national limelight will be in that annual boat race when Oxford races Cambridge down the Thames.
However, it is part and parcel of the harsh reality of football and the Premier League that you've really got to be a big name club like Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton or Tottenham to be guaranteed top flight status each season and unless you have something really special behind you like a sugar daddy, or the next Lionel Messi, you're pretty much risking spending time away from the bright lights of the Premier League.
Unfortunately, Fulham's good time looks set to end and the Cottagers are set for life in the Championship - although keeping some key players could mean their return could be soon. But as the likes of Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn, Bolton, Southampton, Norwich, Leicester City, Leeds, West Ham, QPR, Blackpool etc. all found out, the Championship is not as easy as it seems for the ex-Premier League sides - especially now with many Championship clubs featuring as much quality as some of the bottom Premier League sides.
We'll miss you Fulham but hopefully you won't be gone for too long!
The picture that is Super Rugby 2014 just got a little bit clearer after 7 rounds.
The Sharks appear to be the best team in South Africa at the moment although they have got the tour of Australia and New Zealand to come. With Jake White, they appear to be building a team that could very well finally win the title - can the perennial bridesmaids and losing finalists of Super Rugby finally nail the big one this year? It is a long season ahead but the confidence is definitely building nicely right now in the Shark Tank.
Chiefs and Bulls played the game of the weekend
On the other hand, the Bulls had their tails just about clipped by the reigning champions, Chiefs who will regard the 34-all draw at Loftus Versfeld almost as good a result as a win there. Led by the inspired Aaron Cruden, the Chiefs definitely exorcised their past demons when they were thrashed by 60 odd points here in the 2009 Super Rugby Final and could have easily stolen the game. Alas, just as the Bulls looked to have got this one in the bag, the Chiefs came back and grab 3 points from this game and stop the Bulls' case of the Sharks.
Nevertheless, it looks like the Sharks and the Bulls who will be leading the way in South Africa even if the Lions have had quite an impressive start in their return season to Super Rugby.
On the other hand, the picture is much murkier in the Antipodes. Indeed, this could be amongst the most competitive years in both Australian and New Zealand conferences with all 5 sides very much stuck amongst the mix at this stage of the competition.
Indeed, the Rebels and Hurricanes who seemed like a lost cause earlier this season, had huge wins over more fancied opponents, the Brumbies and Crusaders respectively to reignite their seasons. Both wins were highly impressive given that both sides had to come from behind twice - the Rebels from a long way behind and having had a try disallowed.
Incredibly, it is the Blues who are 2nd in the New Zealand conference despite 3 defeats in the season already - something John Kirwan would take any day. The Blues were clinical as they beat the Highlanders 30-12 to exact revenge for their opening season defeat.
The Waratahs remain 2nd to the Brumbies despite both sides losing on the weekend but it is oh so close with the Reds, Force and Rebels not so far behind - just as it is in New Zealand with the Crusaders now bottom of the New Zealand conference.
The Crusaders? Well what can you say. There are lots of signs for Crusaders fans to be worried out this early in the season already - they are badly missing the creative outlet of Dan Carter and just cannot seem to be score enough tries - only the Stormers have scored less points this season. They may have their All Blacks in the forwards but there seems to be a lack of x-factor in the backs with Izzy Dagg not firing so far at the back - Ryan Crotty has looked pretty good so far but being a centre with not much room and having to do it all on your own is hard work.
Some worrying signs for Todd Blackadder who is facing a 5th season without a Super Rugby title - his job will be on the line if the Crusaders fail to improve let alone make the playoffs as their fans expect them to.
So here is a look back at all the Super Rugby action from Round 7!
It took over a decade to achieve it, but the mighty Vodafone New Zealand Warriors have finally won a game in the capital.
And what a way to end this hoodoo - and this writer's hoodoo which saw the writer finally got a chance to see the Warriors win at the ground for the first time in 5 attempts - as the Warriors made absolute mince meat of the Wests Tigers in windy Wellington.
It was hard to believe that the Wests Tigers actually led 12-0 earlier in the game to silence the 22,000 odd crowd at Westpac Stadium. Alas, the Warriors finally found space out on the right hand side through Glen Fisiiahi and Konrad Hurrell and found themselves in front 14-12 at half time thanks to a comedy of errors at the back.
Indeed, if this was to a lesson on how not to defend at the back, the video of this game would be selling like hot cakes as both Warriors and Tigers were guilty of not treating the bouncing ball in the in-goal with respect and many of the tries on the night were the result of some shocking defensive choices in the red zone.
Nevertheless, the Warriors more than made up for that with some electric play from Konrad Hurrell to put their Wellington hoodoo in style.
42-18 it finished and it was a game that the Wellington crowd will never forget. Here are the highlights in case you missed them!
Blackcaps captain, Brendon McCullum, has called the Dutch his type of cricketers, saying that he admires their never die trying traits which almost saw them upset world number one South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 the other night.
Indeed, he is not the only admirer of the Oranje who have been quite entertaining at this year's ICC World Twenty20 - making up for the disappointment of failing to qualify for next year's Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and losing their associate status as a result to the likes of Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite that setback in the 50 over game, Dutch cricket is enjoying a bit of a blue period on the back of their Twenty20 success. Their team, as ever is made out of Australian, South African and New Zealand born cricketers of Dutch heritage who are unable to make their own national sides, e.g. Tom Cooper who plays for South Australia and Logan van Beek who plays for Canterbury.
Logan van Beek (left) celebrating with Blackcaps Peter Fulton and Dean Brownlie
Expect Dutch cricket to continue along this vein although the game is definitely growing back in the Netherlands with more locally bred cricketers now representing their country.
The Netherlands, along with Ireland and Scotland are probably the countries in Europe leading the ICC's big wave of spreading the game globally, with the Dutch being the best cricketing nation based on the European continent proper, streets ahead of the rest where cricket is very much a minority sport played by expats.
Amstelveen near Amsterdam - home of Dutch cricket
Amsterdam - the next home of test cricket - wouldn't that be sweet?
The Netherlands' proximity to the United Kingdom, its access to its descendants in the Southern Hemisphere and the country's knack of being different as well as good at any sport, definitely puts them at an advantage and the ICC should consider the Dutch and their form in the Twenty20 version of the game as the key to triggering cricket in the rest of Europe.
Could the Netherlands be to cricket what Kenya is to rugby sevens? It's quite possible and the foundations are very much there.
It would be great to see the Dutch bring their flair and beautiful orange-clad fans to the game of cricket!
The Hurricanes have beaten the Crusaders 29-26 in a cracking Friday night game in Christchurch.
A scintillating first half saw the Hurricanes lead the Crusaders 17-3 before a sterling comeback saw the Crusaders lead 18-17 at half-time.
The second half was less open but not less dramatic with the Hurricanes taking the lead early on before the Crusaders kicked their way to a 26-24 lead.
Then up stepped Alapati Leiua - the Hurricanes back who has been in hot form this season - ran around the outside and stepped two players before scoring the winner.
If it weren't for Beauden Barrett not having his kicking boots on tonight, the Hurricanes' win would have been a bit more comfortable.
As it was, it was a sweet win for Mark Hammett back in his hometown and up against the team he featured so prominently during those years when the Crusaders were the number 1 team in Super Rugby.
This result certainly casts a bit of doubt over the Crusaders' Super Rugby credentials and really evens out the New Zealand conference which looks a bit of a dogfight at the moment.
Crusaders v Hurricanes games in recent times has witnessed some rivalry between the two - think Neemia Tialata on Richie McCaw in 2006, the fogged-out Final, etc. - and this game was probably one of the top 3 games ever played between these two sides.
It is usually the Crusaders who come up on top of the team from the Capital particularly in Christchurch. However, the Canes were definitely on par with their rivals and thanks to some magic from their backs, and finally got one on their Southern rivals.
UEFA has announced a new international football competition to start in 2018.
The new Nations League has been conceived to replace meaningless international friendlies and provide more competitive action between nations at their level.
The Nations League will see the 54 UEFA nations divided into four divisions - think Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. Those divisions will be further divided into 4 smaller pools of 3-4 teams who will play each other between September and November 2018 with the winners of each pool going on to play in the "Finals" series in June 2019.
The competition will be tied with the regular UEFA qualifiers for EURO 2020. However, the best four teams in each division who have not qualified for the tournament will get the chance to play off for the last four spots at EURO 2020.
In a way, this is a great move for international football as it will see the likes of Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy and England playing each other in competitive football on a more frequent basis rather than in meaningless friendlies which somewhat dampen the occasion of the game.
Latvia would play more competitive football with its fellow Baltic neighbours
It will also mean that the likes of San Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar and Andorra will get to play more competitive football at a level that suits them and possibly finally improve.
Football has sort of taken a leaf out of rugby which sees competitive test matches in between Rugby World Cup years through the Six Nations and Rugby Championship and Northern/Southern Hemisphere tours.
While clubs may cry about having their players play more competitive football, it does also mean that they don't have to worry about the so-called meaningless friendly matches in midweek, while giving the national FAs a bit more clout.
The Blues have announced today that All Blacks halfback, Piri Weepu has a hole in his heart - a possible cause of the recent mini-stroke that Weepu experienced that has ruled him out of rugby for at least 4 weeks.
Weepu will definitely require heart surgery to fix the hole, meaning his time away from rugby will be much longer than initially thought - and his career itself could be in doubt.
It is the third cardiac-related setback to afflict a rugby player in the last two months - Robbie Freuan and Buxton Popoali'i the other two - although there is absolutely no way to control and avoid such incidences from occurring as most of these are often genetic related rather than diet related.
Anyway, spare a thought and prayer for Piri and his family and hope his treatment works out well and he's back on the rugby field soon!
Yes, it's my stag do tomorrow and I think we may be going to the Warriors game in Wellington on Saturday evening.
I am quite a passionate Warriors fan and the Warriors are probably up there with Liverpool and the New England Patriots as one of the club teams I follow most fervently.
There was a time when Italy's Serie A was considered by all as the best football league in the world.
Back then, the Premier League was only a couple of seasons old and Scotland could still make World Cups and European Championships on a consistent basis.
However, the Serie A has definitely fallen on hard times - this has been acknowledged by the fact that only 3 Serie A sides at best qualify for the Champions League nowadays; this the result of the Serie A now being considered the 4th best league by UEFA and Italian clubs' poor performances in Europe since Jose Mourinho guided Inter to European Cup glory in Madrid in 2010.
The Milan derby is still considered one of the great games of world football
European performances aside, it is still a pretty decent league to follow and clubs like AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus, Torino, Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and Sampdoria, etc. definitely have their fans from around the world who have been brought up on their success in the 1980s and 1990s.
But it is quite clear that Serie A definitely needs to be reformed to get back into the top 3 leagues in Europe - and the world.
The Serie A has the goods and potential to be number 1 again but just like the English clubs did in the early 1990s, they need to move away from the traditional ways and get back to out of box thinking to get them back there.
Big and empty - Italy's stadia need a bit of a rethink
1. New stadia - Italy's stadia were last revamped in 1990 and little has been done to keep them fresh and up to date with the demands of football fans today - a reason why Juventus are streaking ahead of the rest with their swanky new stadium. Many Serie A clubs play at multi-purpose stadia meaning fans are far away from the pitch (which is deliberately done on purpose considering the issues that Italian football has with gangs and hooligans) - in terms of atmosphere, they certainly rate far lower than English and German stadia. It is time for Italy's fabled football grounds to be redeveloped - but it will require an incentive to do so, i.e. hosting a World Cup or Euros.
2. Broadcasting deals - the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga have blossomed thanks to big money broadcasting deals and while Serie A does have a substantially healthy broadcasting deal, it pales in comparison to the Premier League. Could the Serie A be remarketed as a compliment to the EPL which really is effectively still mainly played on Saturday afternoons? It requires a bit of out-of-box thinking from Italian football to get a multi-billion dollar TV deal but that seems to be lacking right now.
Roman Abramovich could probably afford Chelsea - and a Serie A club
3. Attracting investors - Apart from Inter, the billionaires from the Middle and Far East are not really interested in investing in Serie A clubs - perhaps put off by the mafia and the corruption in Italy. While most traditional football fans have been against the likes of Roman Abramovich and the Sheikhs taking over clubs and turning league football into fantasy football, the success of Chelsea, Man City, PSG and AS Monaco has definitely boosted their profile immeasurably and will pay dividends eventually. Perhaps, the Serie A needs a big sugar daddy during Italy's economic downturn to put a real game changer in the works.
It has just been announced that Piri Weepu will miss Super Rugby for at least four weeks following a minor stroke.
The All Blacks halfback has been complaining of headaches over the last couple of weeks which were thought to be related to concussion.
More tests will be undertaken by New Zealand Rugby and Blues medical staff to determine Piri's playing future.
The occurrence of a mini stroke is more common than you might expect or know, and people generally carry on with their lives. However, given Piri's profession and his age, caution and care should be exercised to ensure that Piri doesn't put his own life at risk unnecessarily.
A nice prayer and thought for Weepu and his family would be good now!
Fans at AAMI Stadium looked on in horror as Newcastle Knights second-rower, Alex McKinnon lay on the pitch almost lifeless with his neck badly damaged after he appeared to be speared to the ground, head first.
As it transpired, the injury was as bad as the tackle with McKinnon put in an induced coma and requiring major neck surgery - the 22 year old's rugby league playing days are definitely over. McKinnon was very lucky that his spinal cord was not damaged or severed - he would be a paraplegic as a result.
Storm players, Jordan McLean, Jesse and Kenny Bromwich are set to appear before an NRL judiciary hearing for their involvement in the tackle of McKinnon - the calls are growing for lengthy bans to send a message that such tackles will not be tolerated.
In my opinion, the NRL could have sent the message much earlier before such tackles happened, i.e. punishing offenders who commit spear tackles with 6 month bans worthy of the offence. Now, the NRL has to make an example of this and hand out punishments to the offenders while a player has to contemplate life outside football.
Hopefully, rugby union is watching and will realise that it needs to make a big step forward and impose hefty penalties on spear tacklers - already deemed a straight red card as we saw with Ma'a Nonu and Sam Warburton, however there needs to be a ban attached to it of a significant length of time (6 months at least).
Otherwise, we risk seeing young men paralysed as a result or even death on the field.
Why is it that sport has to wait for something bad to happen before they act?
There has been much hoohah about new Warriors signing, Sam Tomkins. Tomkins came to New Zealand with huge plaudits from the UK Super League and after a promising Nines and pre-season, Tomkins was credited as being the missing piece in the Warriors' Grand Final puzzle.
However, so far, Sam Tomkins has been rather disappointing in the 3 games that he has played for the Warriors, found wanting at the back and under the high ball, while he has been pummelled every time he has the ball and hasn't been able to show his very best talent.
The calls are growing for a return of Kevin Locke to the fullback position, a player that the Warriors are familiar with and who is very solid at the back.
Locke, who had been subject to interest from the Bulldogs following the arrival of Tomkins, could also solve the Warriors' defensive problems around the wings, with his pace missed at the back.
Tomkins or Locke? Who should be Warriors fullback - you decide!
As it was, 25 March 2014 will be remembered as the day Bayern Munich clinched their record 24th Bundesliga title - and aptly, it was done in record time, title wrapped up with 7 games to spare and 6 days before the end of March.
In what is set to be a record-breaking season for the Bavarian powerhouse - they could become the first side ever to win the treble of league, cup and Champions League in 2 consecutive seasons - it was quite fitting that they were to finish the business in the city that epitomises everything German right now.
Berlin may be a relative football backwater with its most successful club, Hertha, only just returning to the top flight at the start of the season, and a dearth of titles compared to the old West Germany, but Berlin is still essentially the capital city of Germany, and certainly capital city of the new Germany which is still 24 years old at heart - just like its footballers then.
The Olympiastadion in Berlin was a fitting place for Bayern Munich to be crowned champions of Germany having witnessed many memorable sporting moments for the country in its 80 year history, and as Hitler's Nazi Germany tried to at the 1936 Olympics, Bayern Munich dominated proceedings racing to a 2-0 lead early in the first half.
The result finished 3-1 to Bayern which was really all enough for Pep Guardiola's men who can now look forward to facing a weakened Manchester United for a place in the semifinals - another 5 games to a place in the Final in Lisbon and confirmation as the best ever club side in history.
As I've mentioned in previous blog articles, that title is pretty much Bayern's to lose and it is frightening to think that this is only season 1 of the Guardiola revolution in Bavaria. Robert Lewandowski of course is set to join the club in the summer from title rivals, Borussia Dortmund.
Has Bayern's success dulled German football which had been enjoying quite a competitive era with the likes of Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg, VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund all winning the title in the last 10 seasons? Perhaps, especially when you consider that it seems that no other club in Germany has the financial power of the Bavarians - although question marks must linger over the transparency of the club's finances what with president Uli Hoeness charged with corruption and sentenced to jail in the last month or so.
Mind you, everyone hates a winner who wins all the time and Bayern Munich have always had that tag in this country where equality is now prized deeply. Bayern's FC Hollywood reputation may have its own fans but in the likes of the Ruhr Valley and the industrial north, a Bayern loss remains a day of celebration.
But for now, Bayern deserve all the plaudits they can get for a title win well deserved.
The Warriors are back in Middle Earth this weekend, looking for their first ever win in the Capital in 4 attempts.
Confidence will be boosted after a hard fought win in Townsville - their first there in 12 years. However, they face the Wests Tigers who have surprised many with their tough competitive streak this season - this despite missing Benji Marshall.
Wainuoimata Lions Rugby League club
Wellington is sort of a forgotten hotbed of rugby league in New Zealand - tucked away behind the East Harbour Ranges is probably one of New Zealand league's great strongholds, Wainuoiumata. Former All Black Piri Weepu was bred through the rugby league club along with current sports commentator, Ken Laban.
Indeed, Wellington has been mentioned as a possible candidate for a new expansion franchise in the next 2 years as the NRL looks to boost its profile in New Zealand where the NRL has never had it better.
So if you're a Warriors fan based in the centre of the country, try and make it to Wellington to follow your team!
Here are some highlights from past Warriors games in Wellington!
It's time for another Manchester derby with Manchester United hosting Manchester City this time - this game was meant to be played late last month but was postponed due to Manchester City's participation in the Capital One Cup Final that weekend.
Manchester City have 3 games to make up in order to get back in front of the Premier League race but do face a tough road ahead with trips to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to come.
And United appear to have found a little bit of form - that performance against Olympiakos just days after their 3-0 hiding at home to Liverpool appears to have triggered a bit of a United revival although it has to be said, that West Ham United aren't quite in the same class as Manchester City.
However, home form has been a big big problem for David Moyes' men and City only have to look back just over 2 years ago for that 6-1 performance at Old Trafford to know that they are capable of beating and humiliating their much-maligned rivals on enemy territory - not forgetting that they beat United 4-1 earlier in the season at home. And of course, they did win at Old Trafford 2-1 last season.
As a fan with Liverpool connections, it is a bit difficult to pick who I would rather win - probably United in this case as that would definitely put a brake on City's title chase and boost Liverpool's title chase. However, a United win with Everton losing at Newcastle would boost their hopes of playing in Europe even if it is the relative poverty of the Europa League - Manchester City's League Cup win and them being well in the top 4 means 6th place will probably mean European football next season.
Aguero celebrates another City goal as they thrashed United 4-1 earlier in the season
I think City will win again given their recent record at Old Trafford and over Manchester United in the league. They have a far superior squad to United but I don't think it will be a thrashing like the game in the earlier in the season.
2-1 to City.
Here's a look back at the earlier Manchester derby and other great Manchester derbies at Old Trafford!
It may only be late March but the race for the All Blacks fullback position is very much on between two of its incumbents.
The word out on the street at the moment is that Ben Smith would be the first choice fullback if he remained fit and maintained the current form he is in.
It is probably not surprising given that Israel Dagg's form hasn't been exactly convincing so far to start off with this season - his kicking game appears to be off the radar at the moment and he has been found wanting at the back by the Chiefs and Blues.
On the other hand, Ben Smith, now captain of the Highlanders, has carried on where he left off, back in his preferred position of fullback where he has the liberty of the field to express his skills and playmaking abilities, instead of the centre position where he featured for the All Blacks towards the end of last season.
Ben Smith in this form come June definitely should be All Blacks fullback with a battle royale for the two wing positions between the equally on-song Julian Savea, Frank Halai and Charles Piutau, as well as sleeping pill buddies Cory Jane and Israel Dagg. Conrad Smith will be back at centre and with Ryan Crotty and Francis Sai'ili also available for selection, it means Ben Smith should be back at fullback where he is most effective.
It is awesome that the All Blacks have this much depth at the back and bodes well just over a year out from World Cup year. Ben Smith and Israel Dagg are quality players and it's a shame that the ABs can't play both at the same time. However, given how long the rugby season is nowadays, it is good that the AB coaches can rotate between both.
In doing so, Ben Smith is emulating a fellow Southern man, Jeff Wilson's footsteps.
40 goals were scored this weekend in the Premier League - 30 of them on Saturday with no one sharing the points. There were some hidings, in particular by Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. However, there were plenty of high scoring thrillers and good comebacks, i.e. Tottenham's comeback from 2-0 down against Southampton at home, and of course Liverpool having to come from behind twice against Cardiff City to win 6-3.
There was also high drama - besides Sigurdsson's last minute winner for Tottenham, there was Papiss Cisse's very late winner for Newcastle against Crystal Palace.
And there were a few stunning goals - Wayne Rooney's effort from the halfway line will be forever remembered but there were some cracking goals, including one from Alex Tettey for Norwich against Sunderland.
It wasn't just the Premier League where the excitement was. Indeed, it was a big weekend in La Liga with El Clasico on Sunday - and what a game that was.
It was a game that Barcelona had to win to keep their title hopes alive, and a game Real Madrid wanted to win to stay very much in control of La Liga.
In the end, it was the visitors who got the result they badly needed with Messi's second hat-trick in two league games sealing a 4-3 win for Barcelona at the Bernabeu in a game that should be the game of the season in La Liga and possibly the best El Clasico seen in 20 years.
Looking at all the other big 5 leagues of England, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, there appear to have been no goalless draws. Yes there were score draws in those leagues, but no 0-0s. Mind you Real Sociedad and Almeria could ruin it on Monday night.
If you were a football fan, you were truly blessed this weekend. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, because these weekends don't come by very often!
Chelsea's game against Arsenal on Saturday afternoon heralded warm spring sunshine and Arsene Wenger's 1000th game.
Alas, Wenger's milestone game will not be remembered as fondly as he would have liked or as much as this blog's 1000th post.
Not only was his Arsenal side hammered 6-0 by the home side, really mentally putting them out of the title race, they had a man sent off early in the 1st half.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled Fernando Torres' shot on the line, stopping it from becoming Chelsea's goal - automatic red card regardless of the intent.
However, unbelievably Andre Marriner sent off Arsenal's left back, Kieran Gibbs, mistakenly thinking he was the man who handled the ball on the line.
Ok granted, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs perhaps do look alike but that's like saying all Indians and Chinese and white people look alike.
In this day of age of modern technology, numbered jerseys and assistant referees, it is quite unbelievable how such a rookie error could be made - and unbelievable how the referees were unable not to call back Kieran Gibbs and send Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off.
Credit to Marriner, he did admit his mistake after the game although he will probably be sidelined for some time yet due to his high profile mistake.
The Blackcaps opened their ICC World Twenty20 campaign in Chittagong last night with a win over England on the Duckworth Lewis system.
The Blackcaps just about got to the 5 overs required for a result to be declared and were just ahead when the thunderstorm and monsoon rain ended proceedings for the night.
However, there was one piece of magic that probably helped the Blackcaps to victory - Corey Anderson continues to enhance his reputation as a star to watch in the game with this stunning catch!
This weekend saw the end for the unbeaten sides in Super Rugby with the Chiefs and Sharks succumbing to the Force and Bulls away from home - the Chiefs' defeat to the Force was a bit of a surprise even if it should have been somewhat expected given the Perth side's start to the season and current form.
Despite the Chiefs' defeat to the Force, it was a pretty good weekend for the Kiwi sides with the Highlanders and Blues winning to get their seasons back on track - the Highlanders look like surprise contenders this early in the season as usual although it is really questionable if they can sustain a challenge for the playoffs for the whole season.
Nevertheless, 2 wins from 4 is a much better return than last season's already and given the promise shown by the backs and loosies this season, rugby fans from the Deep South have much to look forward to.
As for Hurricanes fans, it appears to be more of the same - penalties costing them dearly and stymying the magic produced by the likes of Beauden Barrett and Julian and Ardie Savea which would have won them games had they not been so ill-disciplined at the breakdowns. Beauden Barrett in particular is showing the form that Ben Smith showed last season for the Highlanders but could very well find his magic wasted by such a talented yet mercurial side.
Mind you, the same could really be said about the Blues although some credit should be given to them for showing plenty of energy in their game against the Cheetahs from start to finish, considering that they had only just got back to New Zealand from South Africa only a few days before. First five remains a big question mark even if Simon Hickey has shown some promise - it seems John Kirwan still hasn't settled on his first-choice first five although it is clear that Chris Noakes doesn't deserve that spot.
Elsewhere, the Waratahs continued their renaissance on the back of Israel Folau's record breaking season - he's halfway to breaking the try-scoring record for the season - thrashing the Rebels on Friday night. The Australian conference looks pretty interesting and competitive this season with the Reds and Brumbies as usual in the mix, joined by the surprising Force.
The Force are not the most talented of sides, lacking the stars of the other Super Rugby teams - unless you consider the Honeybadger as a star just by his witty quotes and one-liners - but the one thing they definitely have on their side is industry and team spirit and that has really gotten them home against more fancied sides particularly at their fortress nib Stadium.
Anyway, here is a recap of all the action from the weekend - before PRIME shows it at 4:30pm!
