I’M so late that the ticket seller at St Peter’s College in Jersey City offers to leave me in for free.

IT’S time to bury the memory of the 2011 villains. The Sepp Blatters and the Joe Paternos who use and abuse sport to massage their own medieval egos.

CHRISTMAS DAY is the jewel in the crown of the NBA season but this year it will bring with it a bigger gift than ever: basketball’s return from the brink.

HE lights dim and the audience is hushed. Former middleweight contender Bobby Cassidy is led to the front of the stage.