... but have a funny feeling England will win the Rugby World Cup.
The Wellington Phoenix win the A-League (seriously)
There is a lot of wishful thinking in New Zealand football, but this one has definite possibilities. The Phoenix midfield and attack is good enough to give the title a decent shake and they know how to score goals. The big question is this: if the Phoenix keep rising, will Sonny Bill Williams be tempted. Life to SBW is one long transfer window.
The New Zealand juniors don't let the side down
Winning the Fifa Under-20 World Cup hosting rights is a coup for New Zealand football, but that might be the easy part. The competition is so stiff that champions France have failed to qualify. Twenty-three teams are headed this way for the tournament in June. It will the sleeper hit of the year if New Zealand is competitive ... but that is the biggest if of the year.
Feathers fly in Auckland
Get the fancy dress ready ... darts is eyeing Auckland for a round of the PDC's world series in August. Can darts do what speedway couldn't and make the city a permanent international venue? Auckland might not have a world-class footy stadium, but does boast a couple of snazzy halls.
Good luck Silver Ferns and beware Malawi
Omens for the August World Cup aren't good - Australia were untouchable in 2014, world title history doesn't make encouraging reading, Irene van Dyk is gone, the form book stinks, and the tournament is in Sydney. If the Commonwealth Games is anything to go by, keeping Jamaica, England and Malawi at bay is the primary goal.
TV subs dive, dive, dive
New Zealand's sports subscription market is at the cutting edge, but this doesn't automatically translate to cost cutting. Sky has lost its stranglehold thanks to the innovative internet crowd Coliseum, who have nabbed football's English Premier League and are clipping the ticket for a lot of the world's best golf.
Whether this is a victory for the punters depends on the individual's TV habits. But costs aren't trending well for the typical channel surfing sports nut.
Someone beats shot put colossus Valerie Adams
A procession of victories is all very well, but a true rival would make the Adams story much more interesting.
Jacko fires up
This potential shot put battle is dormant - thumbs up here for a Jacko Gill revival to put Tom Walsh under the hammer, so to speak.
Sepp Blatter quits as the boss of world football
Fifa is beyond saving image-wise while the Swiss clot remains in charge. For every good move - such as taking the World Cup to Africa - there are giant corruption-linked leaps backwards. Blatter has been in charge since 1998 and it's time for him to go, although we would miss his funny take on life, like advising gay fans to refrain from sex at the World Cup in Qatar.
Rugby and cricket is on the button with its finger on the button
Considering spot fixing, this is the least of cricket's problems. But here goes. India need to adopt the Decision Review System, although the ICC might have a better chance of getting all the other countries to fall in line with India, who run the game via a "You scratch my back and I'll give you a lotto windfall" system.
Meanwhile, rugby referees should remember what their mum used to say and stop watching so much TV. Not to worry: the IRB is on to the problem of crowd reactions and big screen replays.
Lengthy testing of new protocols is expected to be introduced in five years' time.
The league phrase "Our great game" disappears into an abyss ...
... along with all the other PR guff and overly programmed football which has clogged up what used to be a great game.
The Kiwis take advantage of home advantage
Remember that bizarre - or is that bazaar - idea to play the 2015 Anzac Our Great Game (oops) test in Turkey. Sadly - especially for both Turkish league fans - this Gallipoli remembrance plan was scrapped presumably because sending Greg Bird there might start another war. It's time the Kiwis got off their chuffs and claimed the trophy for the second time in a mere 16 attempts.
Lydia Ko passes her exams
Golf superstardom is a gimme for Ko, so we don't need to wish her any luck on that score. She's going to win major titles, we all know that. So good luck, Lydia, with the psychology studies at Korea University.
Winston Reid plays in the Champions League ...
... and sorts out his future so we are no longer bombarded with stories linking the All Whites captain to every half decent club under the sun.
Tiger Woods wins a major
He won't, but it would give golf a major shot in the arm. Golf is meandering along apart from the Ryder Cup. That damn fire hydrant.
Deeper, darker
Someone discovers a black that is even blacker than the extra black All Black jersey unveiled to worldwide astonishment and acclaim in 2014. England, being England, will respond with a jersey that is whiter than white which means the All Blacks must fight back with an even deeper black. A nation's honour is at stake. Stay tuned.
Tennis bans grunting and shrieking
A perennial request that falls on deaf ears ... and they must be deaf if they can't hear the damage that selfish, unrepentant, screaming brats like Maria Sharapova have done. Tennis is gutless all right.
A new Auckland footy stadium
Fat chance though.
Ricardo Christie stays on board
The lack of a world surfing star is a strange hole in New Zealand sport. All that surf, all those rusty Peugeots, and what do we have to show for it? Christie will be part of the re-named World Surf League, and hopefully he can realise his dream of putting professional surfing closer to the centre of Kiwi sporting life.
Bruce Anstey takes a call
The Isle of Man genius should be a household name, but media-shy hardly adequately describes the Wellington motorcycle road racer - a return text message acknowledgement would rank as a major victory.
