Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: International battle lines drawn up over mānuka honey, shocking case of neglect in prison revealed, and Jetstar to pull out of five regional routes. To lead us off today, a story which has been rumbling away for a while which has all kicked off this … Read more
An ESPN writer caused an uproar when he suggested America would be the best at rugby if they tried. Madeleine Chapman agrees. He may have been ambitious in his timeline, but ESPN writer Kevin Van Valkerburg was right on the money when he tweeted earlier this week that football players would dominate if they played … Read more
The mighty John Madden Football series turns 30 today – a huge achievement for any game series. Haimona Gray looks at how the series has matured and mutated over the past three decades. Picture 22 athletes at the top of their fields competing at a level they had to forgo the majority of childhood to … Read more
The Allegory of the Cave, and Madden: Haimona Gray muses on how the two are actually pretty similar, using his own (limited) experience with sport and his (not-so-limited) experience with sports video games. I have never dunked in real life. Plato probably didn’t either. What makes Plato and I different – besides location, era, and cleanliness … Read more
In 2014, Jarryd Hayne left the NRL to pursue his dreams of NFL stardom. Two years later, he’s retired from the NFL and trying to reinvent himself as a sevens player. He tells Scotty Stevenson it’s all part of God’s plan. The Uprising Resort is 45 minutes up the coast from Suva City. It is a laid … Read more
Rugby seemed way too boring for Kate Robertson. She found, in the NFL, a sport with appropriate level of pop cultural chaos. Here she explains how to enjoy Monday’s Superbowl like a real fan. The NFL, or “rugby for wussies”, as it’s more commonly known here in New Zealand, is reaching a fever pitch. Super … Read more
Once a New Zealand youth rugby star, Paul Lasike always harboured ambitions to play in the NFL. He is now closer than ever, running plays with the Chicago Bears practice squad. Ben Stanley looks at the kiwi kid who feels the door is open, and who wants desperately to walk right through it. Paul Lasike remembers the night he decided to give up … Read more
Things are heating up as the NFL season rushes past the halfway mark. Our NFL correspondent Tea Manuel looks at ten key match ups for the weekend and the ten players you need to watch. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS vs. WASHINGTON REDSKINS Here’s a little stat to start this weeks piece: if the Patriots beat Washington … Read more
Sports Stats Analyst and, ahem, Bucs fan Tea Manuel offers up all you need to know about our ten top match ups for week five of the Biggest Show in America. 1. Kansas City Chiefs v Chicago Bears This is a rare match-up indeed. In fact, the Chiefs have only played the Chicago Bears eleven times since 1973. The … Read more