Louisa Wall: We're spoilt for entertaining choices

I attended the inaugural rodeo in Helensville last weekend and what an occasion it was.

Cowboys and cowgirls have been riding rodeo in New Zealand for over 100 years and the goal of the annual circuit is to accumulate enough competition points to qualify for the national finals in April every year.

I was impressed with the quality of the cowboys and cowgirls, and two to stand out were Maxine Te Moananui, winning the barrel race in 15.18s, and Rodney Ruxton, taking the bareback with a score of 78.

If you haven't been to a rodeo before, I recommend it. Visit www.rodeonz.co.nz for a timetable of future events and venues.

Entertainment has also been the subject of much debate this week, particularly in relation to the cricket and tennis. Unquestionably, Jeff Wilson's comeback for the Black Caps has been a huge success. Given this new commitment, he'll have to surrender the Martin Johnson testimonial rugby game but I am sure Jonah Lomu, on the comeback trail himself, will understand.

The first match against the World XI saw a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Stephen Fleming. He was in the zone and the ball must have looked like a basketball.

The World team looked rusty but by game two, with the injection of Aussie cast-offs Andy Bichel and Matthew Elliott, were a totally new prospect. Game three was a washout, but nonetheless the public was treated to an exciting pair of matches and we won.

And what an absolute perfect mega sports star Shane Warne has been. Within cricket the man is a legend.

I've not always loved him. The personal and the public personas have been portrayed by the media in an extremely dim light at times but fans of the game continue to wait in anticipation of his next move.

Warne was one of the first to endorse cricket initiatives to support the tsunami appeal and he has used his influence for public benefit.

When he arrived in Christchurch, the Cantabs gave him a welcome reserved for All Blacks or Crusaders. Good on them for that.

It seems that Lleyton Hewitt has taken over from Warne as the Australian sportsman to polarise a nation. His exploits this week at the Australian Open have left some Australians oddly uncomfortable.

There is no doubting his exceptional talent, but maybe how you win does make a difference after all.

It seems the self-obsessed fanatic should really have played a contact sport. His psychology seems to be to control the environment physically and verbally. It seems a recipe for his success on the court but this has obviously not endeared him to some of the tennis-loving public.

Mike Gibson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said watching Hewitt play in the Australian Open can be like watching someone make a fool of a bloke, while a crowd of boofheads eggs him on. And it seems that his fan base, the younger Australians where respect is taken and not given, see his behaviour as the norm.

Have we such a winner in New Zealand sport? I don't think so and I'm sure we don't want one either. But we'll have Warney back any day.

So, all things considered, isn't it wonderful as a sports fan to have such sporting choice? It's all equally good entertainment to me.

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand netball and rugby representative