KEY POINTS:
As Australia began dismantling clueless England during the Ashes series, the visiting supporters clung to the vain hope that, surely, their team could not be as awful as they appeared.
One English scribe, crossing fingers that somehow the little urn would be retained, memorably insisted: "It's not over
until the fat boy spins." He did, it is, thanks for coming and Happy New Year.
When Australia's cricketers put their spades down in Sydney next week, they will have handed out only the second five-zip burial in Ashes history, all 130 years of it.
A case can be made that Australia is the world's best sports nation. Most things they take seriously in the field of sporting endeavour they do pretty well, or at least pretty enthusiastically. Things they don't do well, they tend to ignore and move on to something where they do succeed.
Allowing for England's abject poverty of character, talent and planning, the Ashes demonstrated Australia's cricketing gifts in technicolour.
Just when you thought England might be pulling themselves out of a hole - ie, all out 159, but with the Aussies on the run at 84 for five this week - along came someone, in this case the bloke with world cricket's worst haircut since Hamish Marshall went all Afro in that Twenty20 bash at Eden Park a couple of seasons ago, to cook England's turkey.
Put your shirt on Australia stitching England up in the final test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where they'll bid farewell to Shane Warne and, at least in tests, Glenn McGrath. And after Warne's stage-managed departure from his home patch in Melbourne this week, expect McGrath to grab a hat-trick in each innings, pedal out on a unicycle with juggling pins and hit the winning runs (although, come to think of it, that suggests it'll be close at the finish).
As fair a sporting land as Australia is, it is conceivable that this time in 12 months, New Zealand could have stuck on its sports mantelpiece four of the bigger prizes on offer.
So what are the chances of winning cricket's World Cup, yachting's Auld Mug, the Rugby World Cup and netball's world championships? In order, at this moment, average, good, exceedingly good and 50-50.
And if all four were won, how would that leave New Zealand on the world sports scale of achievers? Pound for pound somewhere near the top. Will it happen? Highly unlikely.
For starters, anyone who watched New Zealand's bowlers serve up a tasty selection of pies to Sanath Jayasuriya and Upal Tharanga in Napier this week will figure the Black Caps are a long way off being competitive in the Caribbean in April.
Console yourself with the thought that Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori and add the two next best, has a better look than Michael Mason, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie and Andre Adams.
Jayasuriya remains a wonderful striker of the ball and the old warrior's eyes are still sharp. He headed to the pavilion a seriously porky chap after scoffing an hour's worth of mince, steak and kidney and potato top.
The America's Cup - and yes, it really was only 3 years ago that Alinghi and its cold-eyed leader, Ernesto Bertarelli, came and mugged Team New Zealand - is back and Grant Dalton's mob appear in good shape for a decent crack in Valencia.
The All Blacks have done everything right. They've established a 15m lead at the bell lap. And yet, we've been here before, if not with the same degree of dominance.
And as for the Silver Ferns, they have the easiest task of the four. With all due respect to Jamaica and England, their challenge is to be at their absolute best once, against Australia, and they'll be doing it on their home patch, which helps.
But the year starts outdoors in Auckland on Monday with the ASB Classic then the Heineken Open, tennis' big fortnight. The depth of the fields are the best ever attracted to Auckland.
Four women in the top 20, including a Grand Slam winner of two years ago, and plenty of chances for the squeal-o-meter to crank up.
Two men in the world top 10 roll up the following week, in No 7 Tommy Robredo and No 9 Mario Ancic. Their names may not resonate like Federer or Roddick but they are class acts and their numbers speak for themselves. Enjoy.
