Sorry to bang on about North Otago for another week but you will just have to indulge me.
There are elements of the fantastic in the story of how a pipsqueak province transformed from perennial doormat into the minor champion of New Zealand's two premier sports, rugby and cricket.
You see, North Otago - or more precisely, Oamaru - was considered a bit of a downtrodden spot a decade or more ago, a place that provided travellers no compelling reason to stop, and a town that demanded you drive at 50kmh for an unreasonably long stretch.
It was less multicultural than Invercargill, and it had more bogans than Gore.
Getting a KFC was a big deal. Civic pride was limited to how we performed in Top Town, or the number of times we got mentioned on the news. They closed our port and they tried to close our hospital. We lost our only movie theatre, and our entertainment options consisted of a pie at the 24-hour Shell or parking up in the trees in the middle of town.
But how times have changed.
To be at picturesque Whitestone Contracting Stadium last Saturday, when North Otago claimed the Meads Cup by thumping Wanganui, was to be a part of a special celebration in the heartland.
Sport is not the only thing, of course, that has helped reinvent Oamaru and North Otago. Victorian celebrations, heritage buildings, irrigation, vineyards, penguins, a great movie complex, new pubs and restaurants, and the planned Alps to Ocean cycleway make a compelling package.
But to think of a North Otago rugby team that spent decades in the wilderness holding the Meads Cup, at the same time as the North Otago cricket team has the Hawke Cup for the first time, really is fairytale stuff.
• Matching the gold...
You know that thing people do when they compare sporting teams and ponder who would be selected if they were combined?
Just for fun, let's do that with the worst top-division team (Otago) and the best lower-division team (North Otago). Otago names first.
Fullback: Ben Smith v Billy Guyton. Guyton is a rising talent and a lovely runner of the ball. But this is an easy choice because Smith may be the best player in the Highlanders franchise. Edge: OTAGO.
Wing: Joe Hill and Fetu'u Vainikolo v Greg Zampach and Lemi Masoe. Two of these wingers can run, catch and score tries. The others are called Joe and Fetu'u. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
Centre: Paula Kinikinilau v Faaitu Tuamoheloa. Kinikinilau has only just made his debut and, for all we know, is the next Robbie Fruean. Tuamoheloa is a top performer right now. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
Second five: Josh Tatupu v Luke Herden. One of the close calls, but Herden makes more line breaks and gets bonus points for his leadership. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
First five: Chris Noakes v Ben Patston. Noakes has promised some but delivered little - and we have been waiting four years. Patston might be English but he is an exciting all-round player. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
• ...with the blue
Halfback: Sean Romans v Kilifi Fangupo. A no-contest. Fangupo is electric; "Sparky" Romans shorted out this year. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
No 8: Paul Grant v Tevita Fifita. One of these two reminds you what a good No 8 should do. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
Flanker: Alando Soakai and Brad Cameron v Ross Hay and Josh Collier. Four good grafters, but Soakai's class is the trump card. Edge: OTAGO.
Lock: Hayden Triggs and Hoani Matenga v Eric Duff and Dave Simpson. Matenga isn't really a lock and Triggs went missing. Plus Simpson helped win the Hawke Cup as well. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
Prop: Sam Hibbard and Halani Aulika v Palenapa Mafi and Ralph Darling. The Old Golds front row is under-rated but Aulika was one of the few bright spots of the Otago season. Edge: OTAGO.
Hooker: Pete Mirrielees v Stu Philpott. One got suspended for two weeks for a booze-related incident. One carried his daughter on his shoulders after the final game. Edge: NORTH OTAGO.
So there you go. My combined team would have 10 North Otago players and just five Otago players, which tells you either how high North Otago has risen, or how low Otago has fallen.
• Class in defeat
Kudos to the Wanganui team and administration for its good grace in defeat following the Meads Cup final.
The Otago Daily Times received an email from Wanganui rugby boss Dale Poole, which praised the "particularly special" hospitality his team received in Oamaru.
Poole made special mention of the North Star Hotel, the Brydone, Oamaru Heritage Radio and Colin Jackson's team at the North Otago Rugby Union.
"There were two significant victories in Oamaru - North Otago rugby, and Heartland Championship rugby," Poole said.
• Russian to the World Cup
All it will take is a quick name change and Paul Grantski, Sean Romanov and Pete Mirrieleev could be playing at the Rugby World Cup next year.
Russian coach Steve Diamond is seeking eligible New Zealand players for his squad next October.
"I would like an opportunity to somehow try and contact any reasonable standard New Zealand players who have former Soviet-Russian ancestry," Diamond said.
Former Kiwis rugby league player and England rugby back Henry Paul is Russia's backs and skills coach.
• Saints will march on
From the Deja Vu File comes the latest plea for financial help from a New Zealand basketball franchise ... you guessed it, the Wellington Saints.
It has become an almost comical annual ritual for the Saints to go public with a plea for support.
They were at it again this week, fighting back the tears as they warned they would pull out of the national league if they could not find a sponsor.
Yawn. Within weeks, the Saints will have a new backer and will once again buy up a swagload of talent to win, or at least contend for, a title.
You want real desperation? Try being a Nuggets fan, 1998-2010.
• Nationwide nursery
The top 25 players on the second-tier Nationwide Tour have been decided, and all will join golf's big guns on the PGA Tour next year.
It is always interesting to look at the list and see who competed in the New Zealand Open at The Hills.
Bobby Gates, who won the Open, made the cut at No 16, and was joined by Jamie Lovemark (No 1), who was third at the Open, Chris Kirk (2), Daniel Summerhays (5), Brendan Steele (6), Martin Piller (8), Kevin Chappell (9), Tag Ridings (10), Kevin Kisner (11), Keegan Bradley (14), DJ Brigman (18) and Justin Hicks (25).
• Book giveaway
The Last Word has two copies of an impressive surf life-saving book to give away.
You probably need to be a surfie type to appreciate Blue, White And Dynamite, which celebrates 100 years of Wellington's Lyall Bay club. But the book is well written, by prolific historian Gavin McLean, and impeccably produced.
To enter the draw for a copy, flick an email to the below address with your name and a daytime phone number by Monday 2pm.
