I might get some good Bonkai in my tail for this, but "Purple Dragon" pupil Gary Hunt needs to breathe some serious fire under a few people if he is not to eventually fall into the category of just another smooth-talking, old-talking Sports Minister.

By the way, Bonkai is the practical application of the Kata, the regimented, pre-arranged style of fighting that is the basis for most forms of martial arts. And as a longtime disciple of Professor Don Jacob, a man he described as a "father and mentor" in Laura Dowrich-Phillips' interview in the Adrenalin Express sports magazine last Thursday, Hunt must know that settling for all the usual politically-correct and generally inane stupid talk goes against the grain of the lifestyle he professes to follow.

So when he says that the contractors have promised that the Brian Lara Stadium (can it be assumed that this is also in reference to the High-Performance Centre?) will be completed this year, Hunt has to be aware, unless he was disoriented by a kick to the head at the time of the interview, that a comment of that nature carries absolutely no credibility whatsoever on the evidence of the spiralling costs, delays and excuse-making-to say nothing of the blatant incompetence-associated with a project that has become a national embarrassment.

Whether or not it has shamed us as well on the regional and international stage, especially after all the grandiose unfulfilled promises in relation to last year's Cricket World Cup, shouldn't really be of any consequence. In the same way that we are obsessed with measuring ourselves, most times unflatteringly, with the so-called First World, it can be argued that if the new Wembley Stadium in London could be a year late and more than 100 per cent over the original budget, what is the big deal about us missing the mark so comfortably on a succession of completion dates and cost estimates?

But then, as a little boy now learning the art form, Hunt wouldn't have been so far off target in delivering one of those lunging punches without some swift remonstration from his sensei. So it is not unreasonable to expect greater accuracy and reliability from the new man at the helm. Could you imagine the reaction from an old-school teacher (you know, the barbaric bad old days variety before the arrival of enlightenment from up North) to being told that a specific assignment, already weeks late, would be completed sometime during the term?

At least you would have the choice of calpet, tamarind whip or 18-inch ruler.

However, we are now in a more progressive era where Vision 2020 and keeping up with the Bushes and the Browns are more relevant than dealing with our own issues, so punitive action for unrealiability is frowned upon, whether in the classroom or at a Cabinet meeting, especially as there's so much money floating around to re-invent every blunder as a new design or improved concept.

Thankfully, though, no amount of articulate drivel from an assortment of communications specialists and underlings can cover up for shortcomings on the field of play against opponents who are better prepared, fitter and more regularly exposed to a higher level of competition.

Unlike the shameless lackeys at UDECOTT, who remain as arrogantly dismissive of their own ineptitude as ever before (how well I remember one of them being interviewed by Andre Baptiste on i95.5 FM and remaining steadfastly insistent that the Stadium would be ready in time for the World Cup, even after it had been taken off the list of warm-up venues for missing a succession of deadlines), performance beats old talk every time in actual sporting competition.

Would a fully-equipped and functional High-Performance Centre have made any difference to Trinidad and Tobago's performances at the Olympic men's hockey qualifying tournament in New Zealand earlier this month? Yes, we got some good licks out there in Auckland, and I understand there was some heavy-duty bacchanal in the lead-up to the squad's departure Down Under (isn't there always?). But for all that, we still managed to defeat the United States, who have considerably greater resources and funding, in the final game to at least avoid finishing at the bottom of the six-team competition.

In the face of the rising tide of criticism at the continuously inflating cost of the Brian Lara Stadium, every defender and supporter of the project has attempted to put greater emphasis on the more holistic vision of the High-Performance Centre rather than just the narrower perspective of an international cricket ground that we were all told would have been completed more than 12 months ago.

So, seeing that it is being trumpeted as a must-have to take our development as a sporting nation to the next level, are we supposed to consider a completion date of "this year" as acceptable?

There is no reason to doubt Hunt's sincerity and apparent good intentions for sport in this country. Unlike many of the other political newcomers around him, he chose to stay generally quiet for the first three months, no doubt seeking to become familiar with the new challenges facing him.

Yet, if after all that contemplation and assessment, breaking his silence includes parroting the lines of his immediate predecessor on one of the most contentious issues on the local sporting landscape, then the new Sports Minister needs to immediately evaluate whether the dragon is being tamed into a pussycat by political expediency.