Educational hits and memories

There is no shortage of sport on at this time of year, and we seem to be learning new things all the time.

Serena Williams had a coffee to help her get through a Hopman Cup match, for example.

This is where Serena Williams is, clearly, a champion. It would take something a fair bit stronger than one coffee for some of us to struggle through a Hopman Cup encounter, and that's just as spectators.

Speaking of the world's number one international mixed invitational, one radio pundit noted that the Hopman Cup was a key preparation point for the Australian Open.

When you sit back and think about it, this is the kind of thing you can only say a fair way ahead of the Australian Open.

When it gets to the actual tournament, if anyone started talking about how crucial an individual's Hopman Cup campaign was to their chances, the only thing that would stop the chaps in the white coats coming out with butterfly nets is the lack of such facilities around the Melbourne Park precinct.

Turning to cricket, a change of radio venue occurred, from the ABC to 3AW, possibly incited by the inclination to take a short breather from Drew Morphett's "enthusiastic sports master of the 1950s" routine.

It was something of a shock, on tuning into the commercial station, to ran smack bang into the middle of Henry Blofeld – particularly, if you had somehow wrongly assumed that Henry Blofeld had passed away at least 15 years ago.

Happily he didn't, and is on hand to inform us that having lunch during a Test match with famous commentator John Arlott "was quite a formidable drinking occasion" and that when it came to researching wines, Arlott "did it with both hands, I can tell you".

Meanwhile on Nine, a couple of oddities – the Prime Minister on cricket, and a highlights package accompanied by the vintage musical curio Planet Caravan, circa 1970.

Almost certainly the only session this year to offer the unlikely pairing of Tony Abbott and Black Sabbath.