Bundesliga - Eröffnungswochenende!

The Bundesliga is the first of the three big European leagues to open this weekend - the English and Spanish leagues open the following weekend.

This season, the interest is fully on the domestic and European champions, Bayern Munich, now coached by former Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola.

For Guardiola's sake, Bayern's historic treble in 2012/13 was probably a bad thing for him - it just meant that the expectations for Guardiola are already at ridiculous levels.

After all, the only thing better than a treble is possibly being unbeaten for one whole season whilst winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League along with the add-ons from last season, i.e. World Club Cup and Supercup.

Being unbeaten in any league is an impossible task in itself - although Juventus did achieve it recently. Especially with the Bundesliga traditionally a very close and competitive league - until the recent domination of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Werder Bermen have also been champions in the last 10 years, with Schalke, Hamburg, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen all making credible pushes for the title.

Berlin once again has a football team in the top division

Indeed, Hertha Berlin, who could just missed out on the title in 2008/09 were relegated the season after, and after a second return to the 2.Bundesliga, are making their return to the Bundesliga this season.

It just shows you that without Bayern and Dortmund, the Bundesliga is a very competitive league. And this year, with an extra Champions League and more revenue than ever before, there is extra incentive for teams to raise their game and push for European football and more revenue for their clubs.

And for Kiwi fans, the Bundesliga will be of some interest - on Sommet Sports - with young Kiwi whizz, Marco Rojas set to make his debut for Werder Bremen at some stage in the season.

So what about Bayern and Dortmund?

Expect traditional Ruhr valley rivals, Dortmund and Schalke to be up there

Firstly, Dortmund, who have somehow managed to hold on to their manager and most of their top players despite reaching the European Cup Final at Wembley last season and all the speculation that a clearout of their team was nigh. While Mario Goetze might have buggered off to big rivals, Bayern, Jurgen Klopp along with top striker Robert Lewandowski and playmaker, Marco Reus are still there, as well as key players like Kevin Grosskeutz, Matt Hummels and Jakub Blaszcyskowski.

Expect Dortmund to be more motivated this season after finishing well behind Heyneckes' Bayern last season and to be Bayern's closest challengers.

Mario Goetze will have plenty of expectation on his shoulders

Finally, Bayern. Easily the best team in Germany on paper right now. Quite possibly the team to beat in Europe. The signing of Mario Goetze perhaps is a sign of what Guardiola wants to achieve at Bayern - I can see him in the same role that Andres Iniesta has at Barcelona, with Schweinsteiger possibly playing the Xavi role.

As it is, the European champions have always had a superb team. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery will continue to provide danger down the flanks and even if Mario Gomez has gone to Lazio, they still have Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Mueller.

So bring on the new Bundesliga season!

A repeat of this, this season?

My tips -
Champions - Bayern Munich. Guardiola would be disappointed not to win the league first up.
Runners up - Borussia Dortmund. Will run Bayern close but might not quite have enough to win the league.
Champions League spots - Schalke, Hamburg.
Relegation/Promotion playoff - FSV Mainz 05
Relegated - Eintracht Braunschweig, FC Augsburg

The others - Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Werder Bremen, VfB Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, FC Nurnberg, TSV Hoffenheim, Hannover, Hertha Berlin, SC Freiburg

Former German champions, Braunschweig, might find it hard in their first season back in the top flight in years

Player to Watch - Mario Goetze is an obvious choice given his big transfer from Dortmund to Munich but Marco Reus is my outside pick. Brought over after taking Borussia Moenchengladbach back into the Champions League, Reus now has to fill the role left by Goetze - and Man United's Shinji Kagawa before him - and become playmaker at Dortmund. Reus was a star out on the wings last season in the Champions League and given Klopp's success rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Reus joins that ever packed list of German playmakers which is still topped by Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil.

2013 ITM Cup - Preview

Most New Zealand rugby fans are rejoicing at this time. They're rejoicing that that monstrosity of professional rugby called Super Rugby is over for another year and also that the greatest provincial competition in world rugby is about to start.

Yes, the ITM Cup kicks off just about two weeks after the conclusion of Super Rugby and it's a time when provincial pride boils to the surface. None of this regional stuff - it's province against province and the quality of the rugby seems to be up there now.

This season sees Counties Manukau swap places with Hawkes Bay in the Premiership and mighty Canterbury keen to make it a record 6 titles in a row - a streak that hasn't been seen in this country since Auckland's domination in the late 80s and early 90s. Current Ranfurly Shield holders, Waikato will also be out fighting to keep the shield - with plenty of Super Rugby champion Chiefs players in the squad, they've got a really good chance of keeping the shield for the season and attempting to create their first dynasty since the late 90s.

Even with two clear divisions, there is still plenty of opportunity for provinces to take on each other even if they are in different divisions - courtesy of the draw, teams can choose who they want to face in the regular season.

Gone are the scheduled midweek rounds - although midweek footie still remains but as part of an actual round. The unions were very much against them as it forced them to have enlarged squads to cope with the short turnarounds.

So, bring it on. Yes we won't quite see the record crowds that we saw in the 80s but there should be quite a few die hard fans to watch New Zealand rugby right at its core.

Can Canterbury make it 6 in a row?

My tips -
Premiership champions - Auckland - Expect a change. Canterbury were wallopped 61-7 by Tasman of all teams in pre-season and while that result isn't necessarily something to scream about, the Red and Blacks' depth isn't quite there and they may be in the middle of a transition stage. On the other hand, with Blues spots up for grabs, Auckland's young rugby players may be determined to show they deserve a Super Rugby contract - especially with the likes of recent All Blacks Francis Sai'ili and Piri Weepu in the squad.

Relegated from Premiership - Bay of Plenty - survival in a 7-team league is always hard to achieve particularly against the big 4 city unions and rising Taranaki and Counties sides. I think BOP might very well just go down as I think Counties are on the up - they featured prominently in the recent Super Rugby final for the Chiefs and Umaga looks to have created a very competitive and talented team.

Championship champions - Otago - Tony Brown is one of New Zealand rugby's rising coaching talents and he took an Otago side that was close to not competing last season to promotion. Expect the Blue and Gold to push hard and ensure top flight provincial rugby is played at Forsyth Barr Stadium for at least one full season.

Premiership table (from 1st to 7th) - Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington, Waikato, Taranaki, Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty

Championship Table - Otago, Tasman, Southland, Hawkes Bay, Northland, Manawatu, North Harbour

Ranfurly Shield - Waikato face Northland, Otago, Auckland, Wellington and Taranaki at home in that order . Waikato to keep Shield.

England Retain the Ashes

This really pales in comparison to 2005, 2009 and 2010/11

In probably the most "boring" decider to the Ashes series, since England's revival to respectable test side in 2005, England have retained the Ashes with Manchester's weather this time playing the key role.

It is indisputable that England have been the better side in 2 of the 3 tests played so far and therefore deserve to keep the Ashes but it is a big shame for cricketing fans that Australia couldn't quite get the 7 wickets they needed to win the test and keep the Ashes alive for at least one more test.

Manchester - good for football and that's it.

In what has been a diabolical series for umpires and officialdom, more umpiring controversy arose with Kevin Pietersen given out by the television umpire despite no sign on hotspot and relying on sound. Perhaps this one wasn't quite as controversial as Usman Khawaja's exit as on pictures, it did look like KP nicked it to the keeper while Khawaja's was well past his bat. One wonders if the pressure of the series has gotten to the umpires, some of them are indeed the best in the world, but have looked very ponderous and out of control in this series.

Australia will look back at a missed opportunity and some bad luck at the most inopportune time - I think Michael Clarke did everything right in this test including when to declare, and there's just nothing you can do when the weather comes. What cost them the Ashes was losing the first two tests in such an ignominous fashion.

Oh well, since there are no water-sprinkler dances - ironic given the weather haha - this time, I'll just put them up here since our Ashes celebrations have been reduced to respectable applause. At least, the next Ashes is only a couple of months away in sunny Australia.

Alex Rodriguez Banned for 211 Games

In quite possibly the biggest scandal to hit the sport ever, Major League Baseball has just announced that the 13 players it has been investigating for alleged doping offences have been suspended with New York Yankees third baseman, Alex Rodriguez suspended for a whopping 211 games - effectively ruling him out for this season and next. The other 12 players who were given 50-game bans are:

Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers
Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres
Francisco Cervelli, New York Yankees
Antonio Bastardo, Philadelphia Phillies
Johnny Valdespin, New York Mets
Jesus Montero, Seattle Mariners
Fernando Martinez, New York Yankees
Cesar Puello, New York Mets
Sergio Escalona, Houston Astros
Fautino de los Santos, San Diego Padres
Jordan Norbert, free agent

In addition, former MVP and Milwaukee Brewer, Ryan Braun received a 65-game suspension - that has already started and he is out of baseball until next season.

The MLB has had its flings with drugs with some high profile names like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds all admitting drug use but this is the biggest mass announcement yet.

Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta - one of their stars as they made the World Series last year

The biggest names involved are obviously A-Rod, Nelson Cruz and Jhonny Peralta - all three have been key players for their respective teams and while A-Rod has been somewhat out of the picture due to a persistent knuckle ball injury sustained last season, the absence of Cruz and Peralta may impact their chances as we head towards the World Series.

Steven Gerrard Testimonial - Tribute to Stevie G

Steven Gerrard's testimonial was held on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Anfield. Fittingly, it was against Olympiakos, a side which Liverpool beat 3-1 on a memorable night in Europe in 2004 courtesy of one of the most memorable goals ever scored at the Kop End.

Liverpool won 2-0 but the result was secondary to the main purpose of the game - to honour quite possibly the greatest midfielder ever to play for the Reds. That purpose appeared to be met with one of the largest crowds for a testimonial match ever at Anfield.

So here's a look back at some of Stevie G's most memorable moments (excuse the pun).

First goal for club v Sheffield Wednesday -

First ever hat-trick v Everton - 

Here's another one for good measure - 

Now for some rattlers - 

And the best of them all?