Out of the shadows

He'll soon be appearing on the big screen in The Cup and Bait but for now, actor Martin Sacks is content to channel his inner Humphrey Bogart in a classic tuxedo, pinstriped suits, trenchcoat and fedoras. No gun required.

Punter already appears to have lessened the load

Giving up the captaincy was the no-brainer. If Ricky Ponting was not tapped on the shoulder - and he insisted he was not - then he could not help but see the writing on the wall.

Ripe for the pickling

The ever-versatile green tomato gives a different hue and flavour to many dishes, from salads to chips, writes Gail Thomas.

Gutsy Uni break the drought

WITH captain James Storer leading the way, University of Wollongong produced an enormous effort to win their first Illawarra Carlton League game when they downed Collegians 20-18 at University Oval yesterday.

Let's keep the prix

Before you know it, the grand prix debate starts again: it costs too much, it's too noisy, no one wants it . . .

New season dawns and few surprises

AH, FOOTY, it��s great to have you back. Last season was such a foregone conclusion ��� all the experts had given the cup to the Pies by Christmas, there wasn��t much surprise with the umps giving Judd his third Brownlow either. What do you mean it��s still 2011? It��s round one? Collingwood hasn��t won it again? I can��t believe it! Fev, rule changes and the St Kilda scandals have scrambled my space-time continuum ��� this pre-season seemed to go for at least two years.

Emerging from the darkness

Family tragedy has tested the inner strength of hard man Sekope Kepu, writes Jamie Pandaram.

THE QUESTION

THE QUESTION

Cummings happy cup takes precedence

BART Cummings said yesterday he was pleased that his task on Saturday was to attempt a 14th Australian Cup win and not a ninth Newmarket Handicap victory.

NAB CUP RESULTS

THE QUARTER-FINALS

The Fitz Files

FORMER NFL player Darren Bennett on the possibility of Brendan Fevola playing in the NFL: "He's struggled with the pressures of the AFL. The NFL is 10, 20 times the pressure. He couldn't handle it in the AFL, how's he going to handle it in the NFL?"

BEATING THE ODDS

LATE BLOOMER: Lone Command can continue his winning run in today's Tony And Manera Lahood Handicap at Rosehill. The six-year-old has put together a consistent record, and the two kilogram claim for crack apprentice Josh Adams is yet another positive, for Lone Command will carry only 53kg.

Clubs wary the pups of March can be Dogs of September

DOES anyone actually want to win the pre-season NAB Cup?

Forget the Tour, Down Under riders jostle for Aussie Cup

DOHA: It might not have Union Cycliste International recognition, but for the Australia's top professional road cyclists it should settle a few bets and award friendly bragging rights after the season.

LOST IN THE DESERT

The Socceroos�� bid for a fi rst major trophy ended in heartbreak with Tadanari Lee��s extra-time thunderbolt for Japan in the Asian Cup fi nal.

THE POLL

Will Australia win the Asian Cup final?

Bookmaker almost court out as Waterhouse colt doubles up

IN HIS 40 years as a bookmaker, Michael Eskander maintains that his most vexing problem came in 1995.

BRIEFS

Togo to fight ban

Why we pulled Arnold off plane to Angola

FFA made a last-minute decision to cancel assistant coach Graham Arnold��s trip to the African Cup of Nations, where the Togo team came under attack from terrorists. Brad Walter - Page 38

KITCHEN COMPANION

I BOUGHT this stainless steel cherry/olive pitter from Wheel & Barrow Homewares for $12.95. You place the cherry in the cup, close the tongs and the prong pushes the pit out of the cherry. I��ve always loved cherries �� their sweet taste and fragrance and using them as a decorative object in a beautiful bowl. Fresh cherries remind me of summer and Christmas and of childhood, when I��d wear them as earrings in the playground. Apart from being too difficult to grow in your backyard, their only drawback is the pit, the spitting of which is not so genteel. My two-year-old son, Mac, loves cherries too but I don��t like the idea of him choking on the pits. So on my mum��s advice, I recently bought my cherry pitter and now Mac and I share cherries together, devouring them with gusto!