Blues avoid a Maroon sweep

Last night's baseball All-Star game wasn't the only high-profile meeting of sports stars.
NEW SOUTH WALES prevented a series sweep by QUEENSLAND tonight, winning the third and final STATE OF ORIGIN rugby league match, 28-16 at Suncorp Stadium in Milton, Queensland.
The State of Origin is an annual three-game all-star series in AUSTRALIA. Players are selected to play for the state in which they played their first senior rugby league football. New South Wales players wear sky blue jerseys and are known as "the Blues." Members of the maroon-clad Queensland team are called "the Maroons."
Tonight's series finale was apparently a violent affair -- even by the standards of AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE.
The visiting Blues benefited from the first "eight-point try" in Origin history. An eight-point try occurs when a penalty kick is awarded for foul play against the scorer of a try (the rugby equivalent of a touchdown).
Unfortunately, the Blues suffered a late disgrace when Trent Waterhouse was sent off one minute from the end after punching Queensland's Steve Price -- who was taken off the field by medical staff. Waterhouse became the first New South Wales player to be given his marching orders in an Origin match.
Despite tonight's loss, Queensland have won four straight series. Baseball fans could think of the Maroons as the American League in this respect.