For every winner there has to be a loser.
So whenever Australia celebrates the graduation of a locally-produced talent to a top overseas league there is also the lament that the athlete won't be showcasing their skills at home.
For our soccer and basketball - the two biggest participation sports on the planet - it has been a pleasant unpleasantry. While wonderful for the sport to have Australians starring abroad, their absence has had a detrimental effect on the codes at home.
It is tough for FFA and Basketball Australia to make the A-League and NBL more appealing when they know the competitions aren't the best going around. That task becomes more difficult when parts of the sporting marketplace perceive that even Australia's best aren't involved.
But over the past week the winds - probably more like a zephyr but movement at least - of change have blown through both competitions.
