Strange what is deemed newsworthy these days; a bouquet of course to SunLive who gave fantastic coverage of the A1 Homes NZ Squash Open which took place at Bayfair last week.

All the professional players had a remarkable time and let's hope we can sustain the event for years to come. Obviously events of this stature require sponsorship, so it is really grating when local papers, NZ Herald and Bay of Plenty Times included, deliberately omit the sponsor's name.
It appears that unless you spend truck loads of money advertising in the paper they have an unwritten rule that the sponsors name doesn't feature. Heavens, tell me how on earth a minority sport is supposed to attract sponsors when this miserable attitude prevails?
Anyway my complaint to the Herald was responded to, by them publishing probably the worst photo of me ever (and there have been some shockers) playing Tauranga MP Simon Bridges in a friendly encounter to generate some publicity.
So the sports headlines from the weekend consisted of broad coverage of the brawl between Auckland Grammar and Kelston Boys High – even Valerie Vili, who was the first NZ woman to win back to back World Championships, barely warranted a mention.
The brawl on the rugby field on the weekend was a disgrace but the responses from both principals was probably worse; each one pointing the finger and one even going so far as to state that this sort of behaviour is prevalent in today's society. Well he's right there and if we continue to accept and allow thuggery on the field, what else would you expect off the field?
There is so much violence in all sectors of our community that I was interested to see my sons hardly raise an eyebrow when it was mentioned around the dinner table. Without wanting to bag rugby, there is a culture where a bit of ‘biffo' is commonly expected. There is always the reasoning that in the heat of the moment with all the expectation and pressure tempers are sure to rise and it is bound to happen.
Crikey, I have been in some tight moments but never felt the urge to king hit my opponent, and as hard as it is I endeavour to raise my sons to understand there is never any excuse for violence. So many double standards and our national game needs to tidy up its act. The ideal response from the schools concerned was to take immediate action and send out a message loud and clear that it was not acceptable behaviour and there would be significant consequences. But I have lost track of what the outcome will be and no-one will have the courage to take drastic action and a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket will suffice, because rugby is our national sport and the cornerstone of many New Zealander's lives. Sad but true! I don't imagine there was a fair play award that day.
On a more positive note, Te Puke High School Girls won the NZ Secondary Schools Squash Champs in the weekend. Tauranga Boys College got a credible sixth, their highest result ever against 45 schools, and the Te Puke Boys finished in the top eight so squash in the Bay is alive and well; and my son won the overall Fair Play Award.