What’s the Buzz: Saint, Sinner and Shoosh

A HEATED confrontation between a journalist and NRL coach threatened to get physical, NRL rookie reduced to tears by a senior teammate and the integrity unit’s handling of Jack Wighton.

Canberra Raiders player Jack Wighton. Picture Kym Smith

A HEATED face-to-face confrontation between a journalist and NRL coach threatened to get physical and which NRL rookie has been reduced to tears by the constant criticism of a senior teammate.

All that and more in this week’s Saint, Sinner and Shoosh:

SAINTS

THE gold medals were all fantastic but it was the wonderful sportsmanship of the Australian Commonwealth Games team on the Gold Coast that has done our country proud. Especially the 10,000m girls, Eloise Wellings, Madeline Hills and Celia Sullohern who finished unplaced but waited on the track to shake hands and acknowledge the last placegetter.

SINNER

WE’RE all for misbehaving NRL players having their day in court but the serious assault charges against Canberra fullback Jack Wighton are surely enough for the integrity unit to at least make some attempt to view CCTV footage of the alleged incident and act accordingly.

MORE WHAT’S THE BUZZ: NRL to block Matt Lodge contract upgrade

Jack Wighton leaving the ACT Magistrates Court in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

SHOOSH

WHICH NRL coach had a heated face-to-face confrontation with a veteran journalist last week that at one stage even threatened to get physical. They settled their differences the next day with a chat in the coach’s office.

SHOOSH II

WHICH NRL rookie has been reduced to tears in recent weeks by the constant criticism from a senior teammate who should know better.

SHOOSH III

RUSSELL Crowe must be out of town celebrating last week’s divorce because he wasn’t sighted at the Rabbitohs-Roosters derby on Thursday night.

SHOOSH IV

WHY was Origin ref Matt Cecchin demoted to the Parramatta-Canberra game when he is clearly the best whistleblower in the NRL.

SPOTTED

BOXER Anthony Mundine has got himself a personal chauffeur after losing his licence until July. His mate from Moree — Troy Mullins-Adams — is now staying in Sydney to drive Choc around town. Lending his car to family members and a change of address led to the loss of his licence in January.

Anthony Mundine has a personal chauffeur after he lost his licence. Picture: Nigel Wright

SPOTTED II

TITANS chief executive Graham Annesley and executive chairman Dennis Watt on a train from Sydney Airport to Parramatta yesterday where the team was in camp for the Penrith game to save the cost of a taxi.

SPOTTED III

NEW NRL commissioner Amanda Laing as a guest of Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys to watch mighty mare Winx at Royal Randwick yesterday.

SPOTTED IV

ST George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust enjoying the comfort of business class on his Virgin Airlines flight to Coolangatta on Tuesday morning.

VICS SHOW US UP YET AGAIN

THE Victorians have again shown up NSW when it comes to stadium infrastructure.

Last week, a $500 million investment was announced without fuss and made lots of sense, including the AFL grand final staying at the MCG until 2057.

Contrast that to the continuing shambles in NSW where Allianz Stadium will be monstrously overdeveloped to 45,000 for teams that average 15,000 fans at a cost of $750 million.

To rub salt into the wounds, the Berejiklian Government has conceded it will also have to pay millions of dollars in compensation to the Sydney Roosters, NSW Waratahs and Sydney FC for dislocation costs.

SIMMONS-MANIA ADDS UP TO VIEWERS

NEWCASTLE-raised Ben Simmons is helping drive an incredible surge in basketball interest in Australia.

NBA ratings on ESPN are up an incredible 30 per cent on the back of Simmons’ success and are set to rise further if he can steer his young Philadelphia 76ers team deep into the playoffs.

The 76ers, who start their playoff run against Miami this morning, are by far ESPN’s highest-rated team on TV. And how about this stat — Simmons’ player page on ESPN.com is ranked No. 1 for visits out of all players, surpassing LeBron James by 65 per cent. Simmons is one of a record seven Aussies suiting up in the playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons is driving a surge in basketball interest in Australia.

OLD FIRM BACK

ANDREW Demetriou and Ben Buckley spent years together running the AFL. Now the Old Firm is back together advising Basketball Australia on the mega-TV rights deal for the Boomers-US games in Melbourne next year. We hear that the deal will be bundled with the rights to the NBL, another big step for the resurgence of the game.

JT WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS

JOHNATHAN Thurston’s tell-all book is almost finished and we’re hearing it will be one of the most amazing sporting biographies of all, not that colleague and author James Phelps is giving much away.

And despite the Cowboys’ sluggish start to the season, Thurston has convinced publishers not to print until the week after the grand final so his last chapter can include a fairytale finish.

Publisher Harper Collins is launching its pre-sales this week.

Thurston will release a tell-all book.

CRICKET TO PLAY INTO NRL HANDS

THE NRL is expected to be an unlikely winner from the new cricket deal with Fox Sports.

Once the rugby league season ends, viewers often drop their Fox Sports subscriptions because of the lack of major events during the summer months.

But Fox Sports executives believe many will now keep their subscriptions to watch one-day and Big Bash matches.

It means there will be a bigger pool of viewers already subscribed to Fox Sports for the start of the season. NRL ratings are up this year despite the impact of the Commonwealth Games last weekend.

Originally published as What’s the Buzz: Saint, Sinner and Shoosh