Pies hot early - Cats and Umpires not

Collingwood certainly hit Geelong with Operation Shock and Awe on Friday night: the Pies were infinitely better on the night than the Cats, who were belted in every facet of the game that you could name. Collingwood's hunger for and attack on the ball, its fearsome whole-of-ground pressure, its rapid spread, its lightning-quick sharing of the ball, its manic running, were all at a level hardly ever seen before (although as an Essendon supporter, I saw plenty of portents in the way they dismantled Essendon twice this year.)

To repeat, Collinwood played awesomely good football on Friday night, as good as any team has played this year - and maybe ever. I am happy to admit it was that good.

But as a neutral, and somebody who holds no love for either team, I just want to make one complaint. Bear with me. No-one will remember this, but before a goal had been scored, Cameron Mooney should have won a free kick on the members' wing, diving on a ground ball a split-second before his Collingwood opponent. It's paid every time, but not then. Collingwood took it away for the opening goal.

Then, in the lead-up to Collingwood's second goal, Joel Corey was pulled back by the jumper, without the ball. Again, it's paid more often than not, but not then. Then, Sharrod Wellingham got the softest ‘incorrect spoil' free kick of 2010 to give the Pies their third goal - an interpretation that was immediately dishonoured on Geelong's next forward foray. (And what Nick Riewoldt and Barry Hall, given what they had to put up with on the following night, would have made of the largesse granted to Wellingham, I can't imagine.)

It's barely even worth making this point, it sounds churlish, but I felt that Geelong were very stiff to be three goals down. In the mood they were in, Collingwood needed no help at all in getting off to a flyer, yet they got it. Not that - to make myself very clear - it made any difference to one of the most comprehensive thrashings I've ever seen, from an outstandingly coached and prepared football team. I simply want finals - particularly when it's red-hot at the start - to be umpired better than that.

Domestic tyros take world stage

It's great to see South Australia and Victoria doing well at the Champions League T20 tournament in South Africa, a tournament that is providing a bit of an antidote to the England-Pakistan series, which should be called off and put through forensic investigation: the longer it goes on, the more the name of cricket gets dragged through the dirt.

Of course it would be naïve to think that the Champions League is immune to the same influences that have blighted the England-Pakistan series, but even the Indian derby last night of Bangalore v Mumbai seemed to be played in exactly the spirit one would hope for. South Australia and Victoria have had good tournaments so far, with Dan Christian, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger and Shaun Tait starring for the Redbacks and propelling them into the semi-finals, while Victoria has bounced back from a disappointing opening game, with David Hussey, Aaron Finch and John Hastings leading the charge. Victory tonight over Sri Lankan team Wayamba - which boasts über-batsman Mahela Jayawardene and Sri Lankan international spinners Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath - will go a long way toward pushing the Bushrangers into the semi-finals as well, although they need both to improve their net run rate (currently negative) and hope that other results go their way.

But it has been great to see some handy domestic cricketers getting the feel of a big international tournament. The Champions League is a welcome addition to an international calendar that is ludicrously crowded: there are plenty of series that could be discarded to find a permanent timeslot for this one.

Fancy a game of international football, anyone?

It hasn't been a great year for the national football team of Togo, Les Eperviers (the Sparrow Hawks). In January, the team's bus was attacked by terrorists in Angola in January in the lead-up to the African Cup of Nations: three people died in the attack, the traumatised team quit the tournament, and Togo was suspended from the next two FIFA tournaments.

Now it seems that the Sparrow Hawks have been the victim of impostors. In the strangest sport story of the week, reports emerged that the Togo football team that went to Bahrain earlier this month to play a friendly international, arranged to help Bahrain prepare for the West Asian Football Championships, which begin this week, was a fake. The match was played at the national stadium in Riffa on 7 September: Bahrain won 3-0, but its players said they were surprised by the poor quality of the Togolese team, which did not appear to be fit enough to play international football. They wore the national uniform, but the Togolese Football federation is now saying that it did not send a team to Bahrain at all.

Togo's Sport Minister Christophe Tchao told the Jeune Afrique magazine "nobody in Togo had ever been informed of such a game". Bahrain Football Association (BFA) said the friendly had been arranged under all the usual official procedures, and through an agent they had known for several years.

The BFA says it had received all the official documentation for the match, including the players' passports. But no-one knows who they were. Mr. Tchao says he will ask FIFA to investigate: FIFA says it has not yet received any official complaint and so has not launched its own investigation. Who were they? Could a bunch of football-loving Togolese mates have pulled off one of the great all-time scams, getting a free trip and the chance to wear their country's shirt on an international game?

Coach has interesting day

From the wonderful world of US college football, there was deserved reward for some audacious stuff from Michigan State at the weekend: the Spartans coach Mark Dantonio called a fake field goal attempt, trailing 31-28 with just seconds to go in the first overtime period against Notre Dame. With Notre Dame - and everybody else in the 78,411 crowd at Spartan Stadium - expecting Michigan State to go for the tying field goal, to send the game into a second overtime, the Spartans set up for the 46-yard goal attempt, but the player shaping to hold the ball for the kicker stood up and morphed into a quarterback, throwing a 29-yard touchdown catch to win the game. Watch the ABC replay of the play and the aftermath here.

and see something poignant: a delighted Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio describes the play to the ABC sideline reporter, wishes her good night and goes off to join his celebrating team. The ABC caller says, "it'll be a pretty good night for Mark Dantonio!" Unfortunately, the Michigan State coach suffered a heart attack later that night and while he is OK, he has stood down indefinitely from coaching.

Sharra's Sherrin Shock

Most Australian men would probably think that Maria Sharapova was a delightful young lady, although personally I would ask her to tone down the shriek - settle down, I mean on the tennis court. But new footage has emerged that makes Maria even more delightful: she is a closet Aussie. Take a look at BPL's Video of the Day and see what what her fitness coach, Australian Scott Byrnes, has incorporated into her training routine. Maria, you can do that with me any time.