What more can I possibly say about sports cakes? I need to resign myself to the fact that no matter how many I make, there will always be thousands more of them looming in my future. I know I should rejoice whenever I get a new sports assignment. What greater challenge is there than to put a new spin on such a careworn theme? My creative muscles are forced to stretch and stretch some more to keep the subject fresh and exciting. Would the customer object if I repeated an earlier design? I’m guessing not in the slightest. But I would care. And you, dear reader, I know would howl in disappointment.

And so here I was, faced again with the ubiquitous NFL, MLB, and NHL (football, baseball and hockey leagues for the British among you). They’ve actually begun featuring prominently in my nightmares; I’ve had to start wearing shin guards to bed. This time around the recipient was a big New York Jets, Mets and Rangers fan. (Didn’t you really want him to like the Nets – just for symmetry purposes, if nothing else?) So at least I could play around with three sports and not have to immerse myself entirely in just one. And thankfully that meant that hockey could take a back seat. Because I ask you, is there anything less aesthetically pleasing than a hockey puck?

The most fun element was the big foam finger on a stick. I have no idea if the foam finger is a symbol that effortlessly crosses the boundaries between different sports and frankly I couldn’t be bothered to even check. I’m pretty certain that at at least one of these sporting events you can buy one and that was good enough for me. I did have fun drawing baseball stitching all around the cake and the board. There was something pleasingly mesmerizing about it. But you know it’s a sad time when drawing endless little red Vs is a highlight of your day.