Sports

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The Spinoff Members

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Of course I wind down my window at the lights to profess my love to the strangers in the black De Tomaso Pantera. And of course they accommodate me with amused grins.

Confessions of an unlikely petrolhead

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Last week, Gymnastics New Zealand announced an overhaul of their competition attire rules. Now, let's make shorts the universal uniform.

Let everyone wear shorts for sports

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'I’d hate for somebody to come and watch a game I was playing and say to his kid: 'See that guy there, he used to be awesome'. That would grind my gears.'

Sam Whitelock hangs up his boots

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They're on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. But some believe they're on an uneven playing field in NZ's amateur club competition.

Tauranga City are top of the table. What’s stopping them from staying there?

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It's not the return of the Knights. Not quite.

Welcome to the Foleyverse: Name and kit unveiled for Auckland’s new A-League side

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The 'controversial' Hurricanes Poua haka didn't come out of nowhere. 

Women’s sport has always been political – it’s about time the CEOs embraced it

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The former White Ferns wicketkeeper always had plenty to say behind the stumps. Not much has changed now she's behind the microphone.

How Katey Martin became the new voice of summer

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It’s not often New Zealand produces a truly great cricketer. It's even rarer for their careers to overlap.

100 not out: Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and the end of summer

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'These days, yeah, you couldn’t call them anything like that...'

The Black what? How the New Zealand badminton team got sport’s worst nickname

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If you thought jigsaw puzzles were meant to be relaxing, think again.

Getting jiggy with it: Inside the wild world of competitive speed puzzling

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This Black Caps test series against a South African 'C team' might not be the walkover many expect – just look what happened at the Gabba last week.

Who are these cricketers and what have they done with the South African test side?

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A tribute to the cricket legend's nine off 19 balls in the 2024 T20 Black Clash.

The ballad of Brian Lara

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If no one runs on to the pitch with a jug of beer for the bowler to chug mid-over, is it really a celebrity cricket match?

Stupid fun celebrity cricket matches were better in the 90s

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Why 'Come on you Nix' is this year's 'Up the Wahs'.

It’s the perfect time to jump on the Wellington Phoenix bandwagon

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Exclusive: How Tutekawa Wyllie and his wife Margaret won their landmark battle and broke new ground for rugby-related head injury claims.

Inside the years-long fight to have a former All Black’s CTE recognised by ACC

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'Here we were in Taranaki, our home province, yet we were somehow lost in Toulon.'

The All Black, the ghost and the leaky bucket: Writing Carl Hayman’s memoir, Head On

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In 1995, Otago and All Blacks flanker Josh Kronfeld used his head – literally – to make a unique protest.

The Side Eye: Sticking your neck out

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You know you’ve been in the water too long when you start seeing giant potato people.

Here’s what happens to your body when you swim for 33 hours straight

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We uncover the mysterious origins of the phrase that's sweeping the nation.

Where did ‘Up the Wahs’ come from? A Spinoff investigation

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Players are sending a clear and obvious message: there’s too much cricket and not enough of it matters.

International cricket is withering on the vine – why do we still play so much of it?

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Imagine how much more productive the government could be without the hypnotic glow of all that screen time? 

Where else should phones be banned? The most unruly classroom of all – parliament

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Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. 

Is cooking with dog food instead of meat actually fine? I gave it a go

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He's fine but it feels like I'm losing a friend and it's making me bitter. How do I say 'enough is enough'? 

Help Me Hera: My friend’s boyfriend Steve is always, always, always around

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Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won't be enough to move the needle on interest rates. 

Unemployment up, business confidence down

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We thought we were starting a revolution of urban, modern, high amenity, socially connected housing. Here's what went wrong, and how the idea could still succeed.

My co-housing project failed, but I still think it’s a great idea

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Two decades ago this week, 15,000 people marched to parliament in a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga. 

A new generation of activism: Marking 20 years since the foreshore and seabed hīkoi

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The bookseller confessional delves into unusual requests, books not to read on a full stomach and more.

‘There is some properly foul content in this book’: What a bookseller reads

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The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is the real overreaction.

Polls are nothing if not a bit of political theatre 

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Cum chairs, stolen pay and shitting bans: Workers share their horror stories with us

Summer reissue: In 1995, Otago and All Blacks flanker Josh Kronfeld used his head – literally – to make a unique protest. 

 looks back at a memorable example of a New Zealander going against the grain.

The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series 

The Spinoff

SportsJanuary 6, 2024

The Side Eye: Sticking your neck out

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