Admittely it doesn’t take a lot to rile me. I bite. Hard.Dangle a little titbit of information in front of me and I’ll jump up and grab it with both hands on my way up to my soapbox.

It’s a lovely little character trait my co-workers, friends and family take great delight in abusing.

Take yesterday, for example. Our esteemed business reporter, Gordon Clark, who is the undisputed king of dry wit (it’s always those quiet ones you have to watch out for) casually walked up to me and pointed out a small article I had missed in our gossip pages.

Next to a lovely shot of San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker was the headline “Basketball comes first for Eva’s fiancé” and a small article where the Belgian-born point guard said he knew his life had been blessed, but he had his priorities straight. And basketball came first.

Which is great and all for the owners of the team who are paying him a gazillion dollars to run up and down a court bouncing a ball, but not so great for his pocket-sized fiancé, Eva Longoria, who is due to marry the great oaf in about a week. So there you go. I’ve bitten.

Seriously though, is this guy for real? He is about to make what is supposed to be a lifelong commitment to the woman he cherishes above all – as long as she understands she comes second to a basketball hoop.

It sounds as if being with one of the world’s sexiest women is still not enough for some men.

Sure he may be a superstar now, but will a big orange ball be enough to keep him warm at night?

And when he lands awkwardly and his knee decides to twist in the opposite direction to the rest of his leg – will his basketball be handing him ice compresses and rubbing his pains away?

Will his vows be along the lines of: “I, Anthony Parker, take you, Eva Longoria, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sporting injury and endorsements, for all of the months outside of the playoffs, as long as you understand that my game comes first”?

Careers, even those of the sporting variety, should never come at the expense of actual flesh-and-blood relationships. Relationships are hard enough. High-profile relationships are darn near impossible.

Sharing the love of your life with a game is something that some women (and men) have to accept because it comes as part of the package, but when the love of your life says a sport is more important than you, then you have serious issues.

Do you think Glenn McGrath needed a push to stand by Jane’s side when she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time?

Do you think he would have thought it was worth sacrificing time out on the pitch for moments with her when they weren’t sure she was going to make it?

And before you start shaking your heads, think about your own behaviour during footy season.

How often is your partner left to her own devices because “but honey the game is on!”

There’s always going to be another season. But how often do you find someone who actually wants to put up with you in that forever kind of way?