The pursuit of greatness, a sporting trifecta ...

Many readers of this here blog - me included - believe Melbourne is the sporting capital of Australia, if not the world. But after spending a week here in South Florida, I have conclusive evidence that Miami could lay claim to such an important title. More renowned for its humidity and hurricanes, the place has recently been a whirlwind of sporting activity. Billed as a smorgasbord of sport, Murf Man and yours truly have spent the last three days watching the world's best exponents of golf, tennis and basketball strut their stuff.

Top left? That's the dynamic duo after watching Roger Federer at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne on Saturday. Towering American teenager Sam Querrey provided Federer with some tough opposition at times, but the real foe was Florida's fickle weather. Yet the lengthy rain delays of more than two hours just delayed the inevitable for Querrey who lost the second-round match in straight sets.

But Federer wasn't the only numero uno in town. Top right? That's us again at Doral Country Club And Spa on Sunday, the final day of the World Golf Championships - CA Championship. Like many of the throng, we were chasing the tail of a tiger named Woods. While eight Australians battled the blustery conditions - the fast-finishing Robert Allenby and Geoff Ogilvy tied that spitting Spaniard, Sergio Garcia, for third place - all interest was on Woods. I've been to many sporting events in my time, but being just a metre away from the closest thing to God with a golf club was amazing. The weather, too, was awesome. I have few pictures to show of this event, as cameras and mobile phones were banned. I avoided checking mine in upon entry but wasn't game enough to take any shots until the very end. After all, no-one wants an angry Tiger.

I was just thankful about seeing two athletes in their prime, both on the same weekend. Woods, 31, has won 12 major championships, and Federer has 10 grand slam titles at 25. With the entree and main course already served, the little matter of dessert involved the larger-than-life Shaquille O'Neal and his Miami Heat, who hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Aged 35 and regularly battling injury, the self-proclaimed ''Big Aristotle'' may no longer be spoken in same breath as Woods or Federer, but in this city he is, literally, huge. On a multi-storey poster bearing his likeness to promote his company, The O'Neal Group, he says he is glad he met Miami. After leading them to their first championship last year it's hard to find anyone around here who disagrees.

Shaq Diesel and the Heat rolled their way to an easy victory. Afterwards, it was the Murf Man's watchful eyes who spotted the Hawks' centre from Uruguay, Esteban Batista. Needless to say, it was a coup for The Life And Times Of JB to briefly meet the big fellow. He's not good enough to earn a spot on my fantasy basketball roster, so in order to honour this cult figure, pictured right, I renamed my team Esteban Batista Rulz. That's because, quite frankly, he does.