Brendan Swale

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with the world that no longer exists. Wellington.

[Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @Noahpinion]

Glad to see people finally waking up to the power and importance of the staffer class.

They're young, they're extremely online, they're radicalized, they're unaccountable, they're invisible, and they're incredibly powerful.

[Prime Video Sport AUNZ @pvsportaunz]

Since 2016, only New Zealand have managed to win a series on English soil 😳🇳🇿

#cricket #NewZealand #ENGvNZ #cricketstats

[Kiwis Cricket fans 🇳🇿 @Kiwiscricketfan]

Test series win as a captain in England

Steve Smith - 0
Pat Cummins - 0
Virat Kohli - 0
MS Dhoni - 0
Jayawardene - 0
Sangakkara - 0
Du Plessis - 0
Gavaskar - 0
Tendulkar - 0
Ganguly - 0
Rohit Sharma - 0
Chanderpaul - 0
Chris Gayle - 0
Brian Lara - 0
Tom Latham - 2*

[HLTCO @HLTCO]

Rory is right, Elijah Just should be on his way to Lazio for 18 months of sporadic bench appearances punctuated by a winning goal in the Rome derby that sees him sent off for jumping in the crowd.

[That Art Guy @ArtGuyNZ]

NEW ZEALAND REMAIN UNBEATEN IN WORLD CUPS SINCE 1982

[Strange @Strange_xeets]

It's a shame that international cricket won't see these majestic straight drives anymore

Enjoy your retirement king ❤️

[Charted Daily @Charteddaily]

To put the scale of the sacrifice made by New Zealanders in the world wars into perspective, around 1 in 6 boys aged 15 in 1909 were dead within a decade, and 1 in 11 in 1934 didn't live to 25.
By comparison, for boys aged 15 in 2015 it was closer to 1 in 170.

[Brendan Swale @bpswalenz]

Interesting parallels with rugby in NZ.

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

Thoughts on Team Canada at World Juniors:

There's been a lot of discourse today about Canada's performance after bowing out to Czechia again. I've read a lot about roster construction, team toughness, how players were used during the tournament, and other things related to the team's inability to get the job done.

These things may have been an issue, but reality is the problem runs way deeper.

Here is the biggest thing that people aren't talking about:

Canada has WAY fewer youth boys playing hockey than it did a decade ago.

Looking at Hockey Canada registration and membership data, it's mind-boggling to see the numbers.

And the numbers in the biggest provinces (Ontario and Quebec) are especially egregious.

So why is this happening? Hockey is Canada's sport. It shouldn't be like this.

It's what we hear every day from families all over North America:

Costs are too high. It's professionalized at too young of an age. The stress of the youth hockey experience is too much for kids and families.

Community programs have been replaced by for-profit entities leading to higher costs and more pressure. Development has been replaced by super teams and rogue/outlaw leagues outside of Hockey Canada even before kids are 8 years old. At the older ages, hockey academies have become what families believe is the only way their kids will make it - shelling out INSANE amounts of money to send their kids to do so.

Ontario just got rid of residency rules which will only lead to less accountability and more club-hopping than there already was in the nation's craziest and biggest youth hockey market.

The reason why Canada was the hockey superpower for so long is because it was part of the fabric of the country. There was such a pride and passion for the game and what the game meant to the flag. There was such a sense of playing the game for something bigger than yourself.

Now rather than playing for the love of the game, hockey in Canada is like a job for many of these kids in the environment they're being put in. It's less about pride and passion and more about the path to making it. When in all honesty, it's the pride and passion for the game that is the biggest consistency in the kids that do end up making it.

If Canada wants to restore its hockey dominance, it better take a long look in the mirror at the grassroots and what is going on in youth hockey. If you have tens of thousands of fewer boys playing the game, you should probably look at that first. The bigger your pool of athletes, the more elite athletes you can develop.

"As many as possible, for as long as possible, in the best environment possible". That has to be the guiding principle.

There's a lot of great people in Canada doing incredible things for the game, but the system itself is fundamentally broken. If Hockey Canada is serious about getting back to the top, it has to start at the bottom.

[Brendan Swale @bpswalenz]

@Sportsfreakconz Still too early. Haven’t got over it.

[Cal Bears History @CalBearsHistory]

The New Zealand All Blacks performing the haka at California Field in Berkeley (now the site of Hearst Gymnasium) on October 25, 1913.

[Cal Bears History @CalBearsHistory]

On Oct. 25, 1913, the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, came to Berkeley on their North American tour to play @CalVarsityRugby. The Bears lost 31-3, but reveled in being the first team to score against the mighty All Blacks on the tour. From the Blue & Gold Yearbook:

[Brendan Swale @bpswalenz]

@Sportsfreakconz

[Cal Bears History @CalBearsHistory]

Posting this today for no particular reason.

[Brendan Swale @bpswalenz]

Looking at my Kiwisaver's annual report. Almost as many withdrawals for financial hardship (3,638), as for reaching retirement age (3,846). Pretty obvious, but it's tough out there.

[Brendan Swale @bpswalenz]

@AtoZ_Payton Hi. Greetings from New Zealand. I’m fascinated by Tom Kennedy. What keeps him going, always on the fringes? Does he make the practice squad at least again.

[USAFVet @BollingerTodd]

Love this movie, any other fans out there?

[Stephen Bishop @BishSongs]

Animal House was released 47 years ago today. I wrote and sang the theme song, along with another track in the film called ‘Dream Girl.’ And yes, I’m the guy on the stairs whose guitar gets smashed by John Belushi. I still have the guitar and it’s signed by the entire cast.

[West Ham United @WestHam]

Bringing experience to the back line 🧠

@CorpayFX✍️✅

[Bite-Sized Nostalgia @landofthe80s]

Do you?