The Weekender 03/05/2009

Welcome to this week!

Sport

The Super 14 is starting to get down to the business end, and unlike most previous years the Crusaders haven't ended up near the top! The Hurricanes kept their top place position for the second week in a row after beating the Blues 45-27, the Highlanders pushed the Sharks but ultimately lost 23-15, the Chiefs ended their tour of South Africa on a high with a 28-14 win over the Stormers. The Western Force chance of making the finals was dealt a blow with a 32-29 loss to the Bulls, the Crusaders beat the Lions 20-32, the Waratahs beat the Cheetahs 10-18, and the Brumbies thrashed the Reds 13-52.
With only two weeks to go the finals places are still undecided and the table is currently as follows: Hurricanes 39, Chiefs/Bulls 37, Sharks 35, Waratahs/Crusaders/Brumbies 32, Blues 31, Force 30, Highlanders 23, Stormers/Lions 19, Reds 18, Cheetahs 11. Places 5 to 9 are separated by two points!

In cycling, Kiwi Catherine Cheatley finished second in stage two of the Tour of Gila in New Mexico this week, and she came third overall.

NZ hasn't done so well in this season of the A1GP and is currently in seventh on the table, and with the Mexico round being cancelled, that means there is only one round left at Brands Hatch.

The Waikato/BOP Magic had a last second win against the Canterbury Tactix 48-50 in the ANZ championship.

The Warriors had their third close game in three weeks but this was the second that didn't turn out quite right. They were beaten 12-11 by the St George-Illawarra Dragons. The current NRL table after eight games is: Bulldogs/Dragons/Broncos/Titans 12, Knights 10, Storm 9, Rabbitohs/Panthers/Wests Tigers 8, Warriors 7, Cowboys/Roosters/Eels 6, Sea Eagles/Raiders 4, Sharks 2.

Brendon Hartley was granted his FIA superlicence this week which means he can drive in Formula One, and he has been named as the Red Bull team reserve driver, so now he just needs a chance!

David Smail has climbed to No 84 in the world golf rankings as he cements his place as NZ's number one golfer.

NZ News

NZ has been one of the places with confirmed swine flu cases & this week we had our fourth case confirmed. It all seems to have been due to timing with quite a number of suspected cases being from people returning from holiday in Mexico. There are a large number of people in isolation but after the bird flu scare a couple of years ago, it would seem we are well prepared with treatment & there is no cause for alarm - unless the media wants to unnecessarily sensationalise it for ratings reasons.

A Tokoroa shop owner was in the back when a couple of armed men came in and started threatening his family. He tacked them, grabbed the gun and shot at the men to scare them off. One of the men was injured and the police quickly tracked the men down. But there had been some talk from the police that the shop owner would be charged, but sense has prevailed and he will not be facing any charges. There has been calls for the self defence laws to be clarified.

Michael Cullen left parliament this week, he has been an MP since 1981 and finance minister for the last eight years (although I'm not sure that is something to be proud of!).

The Numbers Game

15: calls from the public to police after duck shooting season started for another year
80: % increase in sales of NZ music albums last year during the ninth annual New Zealand Music Month (May)
109: th birthday for Ruby Billings - who loves the sweeter things in life, like Pavlova!
153.9: c/L for 91 at BP, Shell, & Caltex after a 5c drop
470: jobs on the line with Lane Walker Rudkin (a clothing maker) going into receivership
900: paua found with 5 people caught by fishery officers on Wellington beach
5,000: $ fine for a man who had 275 paua in his freezers
50,000: $ worth of bonus bonds found stuffed in an old stool purchased second hand - they were given back to the owner
500,000: school days lost each year to asthma
15m: $ upgrade announced by the government for Christchurch's AMI stadium ahead of the Rugby World Cup
201m: $ Mt Roskill motorway will soon be opened - it's a 4.5km extension from Hillsborough to Owairaka - Auckland's western ring road
440m: $ wind farm was plugged into the national grid this week, it is a Meridian project on the hills of Makara
473m: $ power upgrade for Auckland is going ahead after the Electricity Commission reversed an earlier decision

Finance NZ Dollar

GBP 0.3812 (-0.0020)
EUR 0.4286 (-0.0061)
USD 0.5690 (+0.0017)
AUD 0.7782 (-0.0065)

The Weekender NZer of the week

Tex Morton
BOUNDARY RIDER
Tex Morton lived a life of breath-taking achievement, attaining mastery, fortune and international fame as a recording star, stage artist, circus entrepreneur, Hollywood screen actor and world authority in hypnotherapy. He was a first original antipodean voice. Tex is a legend from the edge.
http://www.nzedge.co.nz/heroes/morton.html

Joke of the Weekender

Deck Praise
I was working in the sun all day, putting finishing touches on the new deck outside my house. My sister pulled into the driveway, greeted me, and looked over my work.
"Wow," she gushed, "you're an expert."
Feeling complimented and satisfied, but...trying not to seem egotistical, I responded... "Once you get going, it's pretty easy!"
She looked puzzled and wondering if I'd misunderstood her I asked, "What did you just say?"
She replied, "I said, your neck's burnt!"

Weekender Photos

Check out my photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/dunwich42

Darren Harrison: darren@harrison.gen.nz
The Weekender: mailed weekly (Sunday nightish)
Website: www.dunwich.co.nz/weekender/
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