KEY POINTS:
A curious week at the America's Cup. One syndicate seem to be enjoying themselves, are taking developments in their stride and have been oozing positive vibes. And they're not the defenders.
Psychologists would doubtless have a view on this, but yesterday's grumpy carry-on after the appeal hearing over
whether Alinghi had broken a mainsail rule produced another note to put in the thickening file headed What's Eating Alinghi?
Yesterday's events add weight to theories that Alinghi are twitchy going into the critical three-race weekend. The appeal went their way, for heaven's sake. This has been a quiet cup regatta, largely free of the acrimony and legal shenanigans of past regattas.
But this week we've had former Team New Zealand sailor Dean Phipps impersonating Mr Sourpuss after Alinghi had lost the delayed race three.
"Just toss a coin and we should have stayed ashore, I guess," he said, adding playing tiddlywinks would have been as worthwhile.
Alinghi boss, the lizard-like Ernesto Bertarelli, not content with moaning about Team New Zealand fans being too noisy, reckoned they might as well head to Las Vegas given the conditions that day.
"I didn't come to the America's Cup to do this sort of racing," he moaned, bottom lip in full pout. So much for contending with what nature throws at you.
Throw in Brad Butterworth's expletive-laden tirade at spectator boats - and isn't he looking smug and well fed these days - and now the tetchy reaction from managing director Grant Simmer at having to go to an appeal hearing on a day off and they're adding up to a miserable bunch.
The odds still scream an Alinghi win, but this series has not turned into the comfortable stroll they might have been anticipating. And there's the problem. They've had four years to set up a regatta to their liking.
They are like a heavyweight favourite whose been sat on his backside in the first round and risen thinking "that's not part of the script".
As Team New Zealand mastman Matthew Mason put it: "This is their venue." Alinghi chose the playing field. Maybe they've forgotten New Zealanders' well-deserved reputation for rolling their sleeves up, not griping and just getting on with the job. What's not in dispute is Team New Zealand must win at least one of the weekend's races to stay in the game. For all sorts of reasons you hope they do.
* It's been a big week for the Brits.
Midsummer washed away in the floods, the arrival of a new Prime Minister whose interests include Raith Rovers (for those unfamiliar with the lower depths of Scottish soccer, they reside in league division two, alongside Brechin City, Forfar Athletic and Cowdenbeath) and the return of the Spice Girls.
A couple of them even looked pretty normal, too.
But for the sporty types, it was Wimbledon and world No 17 Tatiana Golovin's red knickers which sent newspapers' pulses racing.
They can be a funny lot, the English.
The All England Club are proud and ferocious enforcers of their "predominantly white" dress code.
Golovin - blond, Moscow born, Miami-based, French by nationality but picture Swedish - wore bright-red knickers in her two singles matches this week. This got certain other knickers into a twist.
Golovin vowed to wear red until she lost. She has, and official temperatures have returned to normal. But she'll get a place on the shortlist of women to have raised a starchy eyebrow at Wimbledon.
