The Chiefs have finally been toppled off the top spot, only to be replaced by another New Zealand team in Scotty Stevenson’s latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Crusaders Rd 9: 40-14 v Brumbies Last week: 3 (up 2) Have you noticed how much fun the Crusaders are having? Me too. And that’s why they … Read more
New Zealand teams once again dominate the podium in Scotty Stevenson’s latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 8. BYE Last week: 1 (N/C) The rugby world has a massive crush on the Chiefs and who am I to argue with the Power of Love? You can’t argue with the Power of Love, and … Read more
Alex Chapman took the opportunity to look at the last year of New Zealand cricket, bookended by two brutal defeats. What if we’d bowled first? What if Brendon McCullum hadn’t been bowled early? What if simply being nice and the spirit of the game were enough to carry a team to a world title? What … Read more
Should you watch the Warriors’ try to capture the all-time NBA wins record, or see Kobe wheeze out the last breaths of his storied NBA career? Andrew Mulligan makes the call. There are two history-making NBA games on today. Both have historical significance and both are completely different. On ESPN2, the Golden State Warriors have … Read more
The Chiefs still top the rankings after a close call against the Blues, but the Hurricanes are breathing down their necks following a niggly win over the Jaguares in Wellington. Scotty Stevenson sorts it all out in the KFC Super Rugby Power Rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 7: 29-23 v Blues Last week: 1 (N/C) Yes, … Read more
The Golden State Warriors are gunning for the all-time NBA wins record, but they’ve already sewn up the title for best facial hair ever. Joseph Harper gazes upon the squad and decides ‘who warri-ore it best’. The Golden State Warriors have a chance to make history as the winningest basketball team of all time. Watching Warriors games … Read more
Tuesday night’s episode of The Crowd Goes Wild featured what is perhaps the greatest interview scoop New Zealand television has ever seen. Madeleine Chapman brings you the hot take. Sadly, no one at The Crowd Goes Wild was even involved. Not Mark, Andrew, Hayley, Chris, James, Makere – not even Huw. Instead, a French reporter … Read more
The Blackcaps win over Australia in the recent ICC World T20 tournament had nothing to do with masterful innings construction and well-executed bowling plans – according to Greg Bruce’s dad it was all just a fluke. My dad came into the ICC World T20 hot. The morning after the match against Australia, he turned up at … Read more
Scotty Stevenson pays tribute to the dominant Chiefs and delivers a stinging rebuke to a sledger in the latest KFC Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 6: 48-23 v Brumbies Last week: 1 (N/C) As the Chiefs tore the Brumbies a new one in Canberra on Saturday night, I received the following message: “Lucky you changed … Read more
In the beginning there was darkness. Then professional sports said: let there be garish uniforms, nonsensical team names and frightening, hallucinatory mascots. Calum Henderson looks at the real heroes of the NRL. Almost every professional sports team in the world has one now, but few leagues have embraced the humble mascot as enthusiastically and wholeheartedly … Read more
Madeleine Chapman attends the Chinese Easter Tournament every year and firmly believes it is the greatest sporting event on the calendar. Growing up, I would spend my Easter weekends hunting for and eating too many chocolate eggs. For the past six years I have spent my Easter weekends playing sport with and against hundreds of Chinese people. … Read more
New Zealand teams claim the gold, silver, bronze, and fourth place medals in Scotty Stevenson’s latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 5: 53-10 v Force Last week: 4 (up 3) For most of the first half against the Force, the Chiefs chased the ball like it owed them money, but when they finally settled into … Read more
Why can’t we get rugby or league jerseys with numbers on the back, wonders Jamie Wall. All across the sports world, it’s pretty much common practice to make individual player number jerseys available for rabid fans to buy. So why do the two main footy codes in the Southern Hemisphere refuse to do it? It’s … Read more
Auckland has been awash with praise for the proposed waterfront stadium. Hayden Eastmond-Mein swims against the tide, and argues it’s a really awful idea. Sport has a unique ability to defy reason and distort logic in New Zealand. It’s a proud tradition. We’ve used sport to turn a blind eye to the worst of human behaviour. … Read more
Spinoff editorial intern Madeleine Chapman accidentally inspired Mark Reason to write a terrible column about women’s cricket. She responds to his backward views. Three nights ago I wrote a story highlighting the double standards between the men’s and women’s Twenty20 World Cups, happening simultaneously in India right now. My stance was simple: if men and women are going to play in … Read more
The Spinoff was attacked by a crosstown media rival. In response, The Spinoff Editorial Board convened for an extraordinary crisis meeting to produce a ruling on the aggressor, Mark Reason. On Monday, The Spinoff published a story headlined ‘Men in business class, women in economy: A tale of two T20 World Cups’. Mark Reason, a man employed by Fairfax Media … Read more
The Black Caps have rolled India and squeezed Australia, but now it’s time to take on Pakistan – a team that almost always find a way to break our hearts. Few things make Kiwi cricket fans tremble more than squaring off with Pakistan in the midst of a world tournament. Just mention 1992 (the Inzamam … Read more
As the Black Caps make a winning start to the T20 World Cup, Julia Hollingsworth remembers the time she lost big in a meeting with Dan Vettori. A year ago, I met cricketing legend and part-time heartthrob Daniel Vettori. It was the height of Cricket World Cup fever. The weather was unseasonably hot, and everyone was suddenly a … Read more
The first week of the World T20 has come and gone and the Black Caps have already beaten two of the pre-tournament favourites: India and Australia. Alex Chapman assesses the captaincy of Kane Williamson and the bold selections behind the success. And he sounds a warning ahead of Pakistan, too. When Simon Doull suggested a … Read more
Madeleine Chapman takes a look at the differences between how the men’s and women’s teams are treated at the T20 World Cups taking place in India. The Twenty20 World Cup is underway in India and, as we all know, the Black Caps are in fine form, eerily similar to their fine form at the World Cup … Read more
The Brumbies finally lose top spot after their first defeat of the season, and somehow get replaced by a team they beat 52-10. Scotty Stevenson power ranks round four of the Super Rugby season. 1. Hurricanes Rd 4: 41-6 v Force Last week: 4 (up 3) There is an irony here that the team to replace … Read more
Trouble overwhelming? Panic setting in? James Dann offers a few reasons to stop despairing over the Warriors’ terrible start. After a third successive loss, and on the brink of setting a record for their most consecutive losses, many Warriors fans might be thinking this could be another season to forget. But James Dann’s original 1995 … Read more
This weekend 3 Kiwi fighters will step into the ring during this weekend’s UFC Fight Night. Don Rowe, who has money on our boys, loads up the PS4 and EA’s brand new UFC 2 to project what chances he has of winning big. Our gaming coverage comes right to your sweet little hands thanks to Bigpipe, … Read more
Scotty Stevenson welcomes Mark Stafford, radio host and sports commentator, to the Spinoff podcast bunker. This week Scotty gets heated up about the place of the TMO in refereeing decisions; Nehe Milner-Skudder’s exit from the competition; the Chief’s “killer” schedule and the continually woeful story of the Reds. Listen to the whole thing right now, or save … Read more
Ahead of Mark Hunt’s fight against Frank Mir this weekend, the TAB is finally taking bets on the UFC. What happened, what does it mean, and. most importantly, who should you bet on? Don Rowe reports. In 2010 I sat five metres from a bulging and aged chicken-wire fence on the ground level of Lumpinee … Read more
The Southern Kings have staggered from crisis to crisis for years, failing to pay their players last Super Rugby season, and struggling to field a team this year. Kings beat writer Michael Green talks to Don Rowe about covering South Africa’s most turbulent franchise. Southern Kings fans have seen enough chaos in the last few years to last … Read more
Big wins for the Highlanders and Chiefs, heartbreaking losses for the Blues and Sunwolves, and the Brumbies juggernaut just keeps on rolling. Scotty Stevenson assesses all the movers and shakers after round 3 of Super Rugby. 1. The Brumbies Rd 2: 31-14 v Force Last week: 1 (N/C) David Pocock played for ten minutes of … Read more
The NRL ought to use players like Packer and Greg Bird as ‘What Not To Do’ mentors to help young players avoid making the same mistakes they did, writes Ben Stanley. The Russell Packer redemption song reached its crescendo in Melbourne on Monday. It was sung in hushed tones, really. There he was: just another … Read more
Is there a more depressing NRL team to support than the Warriors? A man who failed 6th form maths has developed a simple formula to find out. The New Zealand Warriors’ season was barely 20 minutes old when an all-too-familiar anguish began to ripple through their fanbase. Trailing Wests Tigers 16-0 in a game they … Read more