CANBERRA Cavalry fever is sweeping the nation with the official Jack Murphy Fan Club showing it's Princeton-trained head at Baseball Park in Perth. Murphy is signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and is out here to work on his game. The catcher's power and cannon-like arm have become crucial cogs in the Cavalry's rise up the ABL ladder. If only we could work out who the real Jack Murphy was …

WAS Canberra United paying tribute to former England cricket captain Tony Greig when it pulled out the wet-bulb thermometer on Saturday? United used the special thermometer - which gives a reading of the temperature, humidity, wind chill and infrared radiation - to determine their game against Western Sydney should get moved from 3pm to 7pm. It brings back memories of the mystical ''player's comfort'' reading Greigy used to have on his legendary weather wall back in the 1980s. No one knows how a player's comfort was calculated and Greig probably took the formula to his grave when he died of a heart attack a week ago.

ORICA GreenEDGE cyclist Michael ''Bling'' Matthews can't wait to get back to Slovakia, where his girlfriend lives, to pick up his brand new Porsche Cayenne GTS complete with Bling number plates. Then he's off on a road trip to his new home in Monaco. Maybe all those hours on a bike are worth it after all.

RAIDERS prop Brett White will welcome in this year in the best way possible, with his wife Cassie expecting the couple's third child later this month. White will have a baby son or daughter to go with his boys Jack and Colt when he returns to the field for the start of the NRL season. The former NSW and Kangaroos enforcer is on track for round one after his recovery from a knee reconstruction after playing just five games last year.

NBA star Kobe Bryant is no longer a holdout. He's on Twitter. With five words - ''The antisocial has become social'' - the Los Angeles Lakers guard sent the first tweet from his account on Friday. More than 250,000 people followed his verified account, kobebryant, within four hours. Bryant tiptoed into the Twitterverse last week when he briefly took over Nike basketball's account, when he sent out things such as a photo of him hanging out with his daughter, an ice bath that he was dreading and even a suit he was wearing to a particular game. Miami Heat star LeBron James has 6.8 million followers, the most of any NBA player.

WHILE a shoulder injury means pitcher Hayden Beard won't play for the Canberra Cavalry this summer, waiting for a US visa means he's not lost to Summernats. Beard has been going to the burn-out fest for the past 15 years and has shown his trusty Mazda 1000 ute - complete with RX7 engine - at the Nats for the past five. Of course, ''Mad Dog'' does the odd burnout there, having caught the bug as a teenager. ''One of my mates, when I was 14, he had a rotary,'' Beard told Locker Room. ''He said to come for a ride and it was an animal [of a car]. Ever since then I've always wanted one.'' Beard said his blue beast was for sale and anyone interested could get in touch with him through Locker Room. Email sport@canberratimes.com.au.

THE Canberra Capitals are going through one of the toughest trots in the club's proud WNBL history, but in a positive move they'll still find time to pass on lessons to the next generation of ACT basketballers. The Capitals will hold a holiday camp for boys and girls aged 9-15 at the Belconnen Basketball Stadium from January 22. Participants receive a camp singlet, a basketball and a water bottle. For more information, go to act.basketball.net.au.