The All Sport Breakfast

What a blackeye for Grant Dalton. Peter Burling's move to Luna Rossa says so much about their relationship, or the strained nature of it at least. It was a shock when Peter elected to walk away from negotiations with Team NZ, a bigger shock that he’s now tied his colours to the mast of Luna Rossa’s AC75. His exact role is not yet known, to us anyway, and should the protocol stop him from climbing on board, I really don’t think that matters. His ability to point his dinghy in the right direction is plainly off the scale, that in itself would be a kidney punch to TNZ, but it’s what he brings off the briny deep that will have the rest of the fleet a little freaked out. The amount of intellectual property Pete has stuffed in his noggin I’d say is unmatched across the America's Cup. His mana alone in the sailing world casts an enormous shadow over any regatta, his presence within the Italian set up will lift their performance just knowing he’s there. I’m surprised in that, as a new parent, I figured he would continue to maintain full engagement in Sail GP, a competition he has full skin in, and be dad the rest of the time. He says he’s looking forward to the family lifestyle in Italy, so obviously the demands of Luna Rossa are nowhere near as oppressive as life in a corrugated iron shed with Grant. He’s going to be able to breathe, to live, to be his own man. Dum vivimus vivamus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy New Year! 2026 promises so much, what it delivers though is unknown. That is the glory of sport. Most of us won’t get to attend the Winter Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, Formula One, the All Blacks tour of South Africa, the men's and women’s T20 World Cup, major golf, Grand Slam tennis, the list is endless. We probably won’t get to one or any of these events in person, but we will engage through the magic of TV. Sport really is the only true reality television out there. Live, unedited. The chaos of human competition, the unhinged passion, the random hand of injurious fate, weather, all within the rigid structure of the rule of the game - even in that space sits the ever-present frailty of human refereeing intervention. No-one knows with certainty what will unfold over the next 12 months, but we do know as fans that we will ride the full gamut of emotion. We will experience despair, fervour, grief, unbridled joy, shock, horror, tears, screams of delight, relief....the works. And amongst this I’ll be here on the wireless reporting on it all, interviewing the key athletes, administrators, coaches and of course talking to you, the fan, on Sportstalk. This year is my 25th year in this seat, I’m so grateful and pumped to still be here. My enthusiasm is the same as it was when I started way back when, I’m looking forward to another year of the wonderment of sport and what it brings. Embrace the unknown ahead, because that’s where the magic is. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Herald reporter Ben Francis spoke to Hamish McKay from the World Darts Championship in London to give updates on the most promising players, and the rise in popularity darts is experiencing. "The amount of people that are starting to play darts now is amazing. Darts, if you look at some of the numbers at Sky Sports, and this is in the UK for example, it's the 2nd most-watched sport behind the Premier League football," he said. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Firebirds all-rounder Logan van Beek joined Hamish McKay to chat about being 11 wickets away from becoming the all-time Super Smash wicket taker ahead of today's 4:25pm game between Wellington and Central Districts. The record is currently held by ex-Cricket player Andrew Ellis who retired from his 18-year career in 2020. "I'll be giving him a message if I do overtake him because he was, he was my, you know, my mentor back in the Canterbury days," van Beek said. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been an exciting match of test cricket so far at the Bay Oval between the Black Caps and the West Indies. After going into bat first the Black Caps put a mammoth score on the table of 575/8 before declaring spare headed by a 323 opening run partnership between Devon Conway and Tom Latham that nearly lasted the entire first day. Conway top scored with 227, followed by Latham with 137 and finally Rachin Ravindra put on an unbeaten 72 to keep the score board pressure rolling. After being put into bat to end the second day the West Indies fought back with a good batting performance ending on 110/0 heading into day three later today. Mark Richardson is a former Black Cap and broadcaster with TVNZ commentating the game and he joined D'Arcy to look ahead to the days play. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.