Said Auckland Rugby chairman Gary Whetton of former CEO Peter Scutts, after it was made public he was facing dishonesty charges: "The simple answer is we weren't aware of anything and when we did become aware at a very late stage, he walked out the door at the same time."
Whetton told NBR: "When we became aware of it we said, 'There's no place for you here, you need to go'."
Fair enough, you'd think. If the charges are proven, Scutts' presence at the Blues would be an embarrassment. But let's see if Whetton applies the same sort of firm frankness the next time one of his star players finds himself up before the beak.
We suspect his tune may change a little.
Confessions of a video editor
A reporter here came across a quite possibly apocryphal story that, if true, puts the integrity of the video replay system in doubt. A video editor was bragging to his girlfriend, an old university pal of the reporter, that in a Warriors game of absolute importance (not this season) he deleted sure-fire evidence of a last-minute try that would have doomed the home team's season before the video ref had a chance to see it. The try was not awarded and the Warriors lived to fight another day.
Some people will claim this cannot happen, but it is worth remembering a couple of other dodgy incidents. Brendon McCullum, well on his way to an eventual and otherwise excellent test century against Australia at the Basin Reserve in 2010, was palpably lbw to Nathan Hauritz. But when Australia went to review, they were told the wind had affected the stability of the cameras so no conclusive evidence could be produced. Hmmm.
Even more shockingly, Tim Southee had Nathan Lyon plumb lbw at Hobart, seemingly sealing a rare and famous win for New Zealand. The umpire gave it out but the DRS somehow found it to be missing leg stump by a foot - all well and good, but it also showed the ball to be missing the pad it hit by a foot!
Bang for your buck
AC Milan in 2003 bought Brazilian midfield maestro Kaka for £8 million ($15.7 million) from Sao Paulo. In 2009 they sold him for £65 million to Real Madrid. This year they got him back free from Madrid. In anybody's language, that is a cracking piece of business.
What recession?
If English soccer was a window on the world's finances, then you'd have to say the global economic crisis was in the past.
Premier League clubs spent a record £630 million this off-season, and the £85 million Tottenham received from Real Madrid for Gareth Bale was a world record transfer fee.
The £630 million laid out by English top-flight clubs was a 29 per cent increase on the equivalent figure of £490 million in 2012, and £130 million more than the previous record set in 2008.
Big bucks, big mouth
Stoke City loan signing Marko Arnautovic could be a replacement for Mario Balotelli in the Premier League bad-boy stakes. The Austrian once told a police officer: "I earn so much I can buy your life."
True gritIn Nascar, they like to think of themselves as the motor-racers' motor racers. As if to prove their all-round manliness - with apologies to Danica Patrick - Martin Truex jnr broke his wrist at Bristol two weeks ago and had the cast made as he held a steering wheel in his hand so he could race the following week. The cast started melting in the cockpit and he still finished third at Atlanta.
That's tough.
In the hot seat
New Zealand's tilt at qualifying for next year's World Cup reaches its climax in November, and the first coach to lead the All Whites to the World Cup will be the subject of a roast next month. The tribute to John Adshead has been arranged by the fledgling Friends of Football organisation, and will be held at the Auckland Grammar Old Boys Pavilion on October 18. Money raised by the not-for-profit group will go into trust for worthy soccer-related causes and projects. One of the speakers who will be delivering light-hearted barbs at Adshead is his old World Cup captain Steve Sumner.
