It’s quite the Sports Benches weekend as if you get to virtually unwind the vineyards of Sonoma, CA where NASCAR continues with the same dominant road course ringer.
We then quickly shift into an indoor arena to finish off the 2026 ANZ Premiership Netball Season in Auckland, with the Commonwealth Games not too far away from Glasgow, Scotland.
Speaking of The Games, the renowned 2012 Summer Olympics centrepiece at London Stadium whose long-term future is still up for debate 14 years on & why? Stay tuned.
Without further ado, Sports Benches is the place to be for your weekly posts whether if it’s the week’s sports news or General Hospital.
You don’t wanna miss how Lulu & Dante rescued their son Rocco off Britt somewhere in the British Virgin Islands while Willow’s under intense spotlight for the wrong reasons & also a new look Anna Devane but still trapped by Cullum & Sidwell.
NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway, Toyota/Save Mart 350
SVG has been there and done that dominating road courses before including Sonoma once again in the No.97 Chevy Camaro with Trackhouse.
He doesn’t have to win all three stages as long as he’s got a good strategy and race pace, no wonder he can have a successful NASCAR Cup career from an overseas lens including on ovals of any kind.
Oh so close from Chase Briscoe as good to have him back on the podium behind SVG in the No.19 Toyota Camry for Gibbs.
His race plan was also good, just too similar to SVG though.
He also tried to go all out attack lately towards the end on used tires even through lapped traffic off his good long-run setup but still, not a bad road course afternoon.
Plus, Ryan Blaney finished 6th as the best Blue Oval Fords for Team Penske whose good start was interrupted by some cooling issues unfortunately. Sometimes you need have a Plan B in case things start to gets worse & still can finish Top 10.
ANZ Premiership Netball Grand Final, Northern Mystics v Southern Steel
Northern Mystics successfully re-claimed the ANZ Premiership Grand Final trophy for Season 2026 over Southern Steel, 56-46.
Never mind the revolving door of towering stall goal keeps & defensive threes, Mystics just couldn’t stop firing all cylinders led by their experienced duo: Phoenix Karaka (GK) & Michaela Sokolich-Beatson (GD/WD).
Phoenix had her best games since returning from maternity leave last year while Michaela offers a mix of defensive skillset flexibility & leadership — despite no recent Silver Ferns appearances.
With Filda Vui, her consistent goal attack output at ANZP level sends a timely reminder to returning Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua.
She hasn’t been used much so far but now’s the time if not later this year, with Sky Sport NZ back onboard for all Silver Ferns Tests once again including the Constellation Cup.
Finally, Serina Daunakamakama had a great Southern Steel year stepping up into the WA role more often. She’s done the hard yards with stats off her quick timing towards shooters. But at the end of the day, Steel simply not up to their game especially when going safety first didn’t help much.
My take on London Olympic Stadium’s long-term future
Amid West Ham’s expected change of ownership following their relegation to the EFL Championship last month, if Daniel Kretinsky wishes to turn into a proper football place? that’s fine.
However, I still believe the London 2012 legacy shouldn’t disappear entirely.
Just leave some space for rare elite-level athletics events, even if it takes millions to install one & then uninstall.
The bare minimum should be this with expenses required elsewhere by UK Athletics & its legacy stakeholders:
- future World Championships
- Commonwealth Games
- even another Summer Olympics.
Because stadium examples like Wanda Metropolitano, Wembley Stadium, Hampden Park & Nou Mestalla (under construction) demonstrate how football-first venues can still have adaptable lower-tier infrastructure for multi-use events where required.
A multi-purpose stadium so closely connected with Team GB’s medal-laden Athletics history, I hope there’s still room for a compromise both football first & rare elite-level athletics.
That way, London Stadium can finally live up to its full potential whether if you want to win an Olympic Games gold medal or be the next Declan Rice.
