Don’t get Roy started on Max Verstappen…  We got caught up in the hype. Lengthers, Hoop Dreamers, eternal optimists naive enough to think that any sport would look magnificent if only it were played on a footy field - all of us. Marvel Stadium has set Basketball back a hundred years. Worse than that - it’s made Russell Crowe furious.  On the other hand, the geopolitical slyness is notable. It’s an Australian snub to China, whose preparations for the upcoming Basketball World Cup have included a suite of freshly built AFL stadiums. It’s Basketball Diplomacy. Australia 1, China 0. Reminder - don’t get Roy started on Max Verstappen… Speaking of Stadium problems, we can add Hollywood to the expanding list of parties aggrieved by Sydney’s new stadium build, which threatens to throw Tinseltown’s local production plans into disarray. Fox Studios are next door, and incessant noise pollution coupled with vibrations caused by relentless jackhammering will prevent Chris Hemsworth from doing his best work in the latest Thor film. Roy has a simple solution - anyone got a walkie talkie? Sigh. What about those Wallabies… uttered once again with that familiar mix of disappointment, disdain, and disenchantment. We hadn’t factored in the rain. Qantas can’t be happy, Alan Joyce ought to pick up the phone and rattle a few cages.  Oh - don’t get Roy started on Max Verstappen… Has Cameron Smith been brushed with the colour grub?  He referees the game better than those with the whistle. He wrestles like he’s Stone Cold Steve Austin. And now there’s the Wingnut. Hey, those ears aren’t going to pull themselves! What’s Peter Beattie said about Wingnutting? Nothing. Typical. Where’s Peter V’Landys when you need him?