FOOTBALL'S a funny old game. How many times have we heard that?

But in Bermuda it sometimes seems to be funnier than anywhere else.

Bermuda Hogges - a franchise formed to promote the game on the Island and offer new opportunities for the players - begin their second campaign in the USL D2 tomorrow night in Charlotte.

Less than 24 hours later, Bermuda Football Association stage one of the biggest games of the season, the FA Cup final at the National Sports Centre.

Not surprisingly two of the best teams in the Premier Division, league champions PHC and Dandy Town, take centre stage.

And it's no surprise that many of their players are also members of the Hogges.

Thus, there's a conflict - a conflict which means neither the players nor the sport in general can benefit.

Six players alongside with Kyle Lightbourne, who happens to be coach of PHC and co-owner and coach of the Hogges, have had to make a choice.

On this occasion, Hogges have lost out - another co-owner Shaun Goater stressing that his players were free to play in the cup final, despite the fact that they're being paid to play for the Hogges.

All of them, as well as coach Lightbourne, who saw his side thrashed 7-3 by North Village in last Sunday's Friendship Trophy final and no doubt wants to see the Zebras end their season on a high, have chosen to stay here.

But was such a conflict really necessary?

Bermuda Football Association will argue that their cup final date was set long before the Hogges schedule was announced.

And try as they did, the Hogges had no luck in changing the date of their season opener.

However, it's unthinkable that the two parties couldn't have found some room for compromise.

As PHC and Hogges defender Kevin Richards pointed out earlier this week, there was one stage in the season when his club side went almost three weeks without a game.

Now all of a sudden, the players who are no doubt desperate to play in the biggest game of the local season, have been forced to make a decision which could impact on their whole career.

By withdrawing from the Hogges squad, their place will be taken by less experienced players who, if they impress in Charlotte, could deny those who take part in the FA Cup final a chance of playing in future Hogges games.

It's a ridiculous situation from which - as is so often pointed out in an Island like Bermuda that supports a small pool of quality players - only the game itself can suffer.

Goater, Lightbourne and Paul Scope worked hard to take football to another level, and while their debut season might have brought its fair share of disappointment, generally they've achieved that objective.

But the goals of the BFA and the Hogges can only be achieved if they work together.

This week that clearly hasn't happened.

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CALL it cynical, but has anyone else noticed that the date set aside for Bermuda's newest public holiday, National Heroes Day, is also the date for the Grand Slam of Golf's pro-am - October 13?

It's that same day that Bermuda's amateur golfers, for a hefty fee, get a chance to play alongside some of the game's biggest stars - hopefully, among them, Tiger Woods.

Masters winner last weekend, Trevor Immelman, has already booked his spot.

No doubt Premier Ewart Brown, a keen golfer, who played in last year's Grand Slam pro-am, would relish the chance of playing again this year, especially if Woods makes the trip.

And with the rest of Bermuda enjoying a day off, many of them making their way up to Mid Ocean Club to watch the action, the Brown/Woods combination would no doubt be the centre of attention.

What any of us would give to play with the man considered the sport's best-ever player.

But the timing of the new holiday and the Slam - publicity stunt or pure coincidence?

I wonder . . .

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PETER BROMBY'S hopes of qualifying for a fifth Olympic Games disappeared with the gusty winds which decimated much of the fleet competing at the Star Worlds in Florida this week.

The bad luck that has dogged much of his career was evident again as broken equipment and a black flag left his plan to sail in Beijing this summer in tatters.

A superb ambassador for Bermuda for the past 20 years or more, tasting victory in a number of prestigious international regattas, competing in four Olympics, and coming heartbreakingly close to a medal in Sydney in 2000 when he finished fourth, he's now decided to call it quits.

But he'll no doubt continue to think what might have been had he been given the same financial help afforded to other sports on the Island, let alone his Olympic rivals who have had the luxury of sailing full-time.

Bromby was forced to sell Christmas trees to support his passion and banged on the doors of local companies, cap in hand, looking for assistance.

He was grateful to those who responded.

But ultimately it wasn't enough to realise his dream - to become only the second Bermudian, after boxer Clarence Hill, to take home an Olympic medal.

- ADRIAN ROBSON