🏉 70 Is Plenty For the Storm

Welcome back, it's Tuesday, 26 April

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic.

Today's listen time: 10 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺 What we're watching

🏀 9.00am - NBA Playoffs - Nets v Celtics - Barclays Centre, New York City - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 12.00am (Wed) - Indian Premier League - Bangalore v Rajasthan - Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ 5.00am (Wed) - UEFA Champions League - Manchester City v Real Madrid - Etihad Stadium, Manchester - Stan Sport

All times are in AEST

🏉 Perfect Storm wipes out the Warriors 

The Warriors found out the hard way that rugby league is an 80-minute sport as records tumbled in the NRL yesterday.

Golden points: The Storm led 16-10 at half-time but scored 10 second-half tries to win 70-10.

• The score matches what they did against St George Illawarra in 2000. Warriors coach Nathan Brown captained the Dragons that night 22 years ago.

• In the earlier game on Anzac Day, the Dragons overcame a heap of injuries to beat the Roosters 14-12 at the SCG.

They said it: “You would have got two years in jail at Magic Round last year for that.” - Dragons coach Anthony Griffin was less than impressed when Daniel Tupou was allowed to stay on the field following a high tackle on Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa.

Watch it: Look away Warriors fans, here are the highlights from last night’s game. This could take a while.

🏉 Bombers boo as Ginnivan goes bang 

Jack Ginnivan was booed by Bombers fans but he silenced his critics to help Collingwood beat Essendon on Anzac Day.

Golden points: Remember the name because this teenager is going places. He booted 5 goals as the Magpies held on by 11 points.

• Essendon midfielder Darcy Parish had a huge game yesterday. He had 30 disposals in the first half, which was the most in a half since 2000.

• Sydney came from 32-0 down to beat the Hawks in the earlier game in Launceston.

• There were huge concerns when Paddy McCartin failed a concussion test given his issues in the past, but the Swans say he’s doing okay.

Watch it: Check out all of Ginnivan's goals as well as his clash with the crowd.

🏆 No glory for golden Aussies

Aussie athletes will have to wait another year for a sport's Oscar after they missed out at this year's Laureus Sports Awards.

Golden points: Think of this like the Academy Awards for athletes, although there was no red carpet this year with the ceremony held virtually because of COVID.

• Aussie stars Ash Barty and Emma McKeon were shortlisted for Sportswoman of the Year, but that went to Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah.

• Swimmer Ariarne Titmus was up for Breakout Sportsperson of the Year but that went to young tennis player Emma Raducanu for winning the US Open as a qualifier.

• F1 world champ Max Verstappen was named Sportsman of the Year.

Key click: Here are all the winners, including NFL legend Tom Brady, who won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

🏀 Sport's super streak is over 

They say records are meant to be broken, and they (whoever they are) are absolutely right. But good luck to the teams trying to break one of the longest streaks in world sport.

Golden points: After 35-straight playoff appearances, the Perth Wildcats have missed out on a spot in the NBL post-season.

• Fair to say this was a brutal turn of events. They were beaten 102-100 in overtime by South East Melbourne in the final game of the regular season to finish 5th.

• The streak is over but it doesn’t tarnish their incredible record that included 10 NBL championships.

• Perth’s loss means the Tasmania JackJumpers finish 4th and are into the playoffs in their first season in the NBL. Now that’s a story.

What’s next: Party time is over for the JackJumpers. Their semi-final is against Melbourne United, who are looking to defend their title. In the other series, the Sydney Kings play Illawarra in a semi-final for the first time. It all starts on Thursday.

🏉 Super win for new team on the block

There’s been a lot of talk about expansion in the women’s footy codes this year, and the Fijiana Drua showed that growing the game can be a super thing.

Golden points: The Drua are just the 2nd team to win the Super W title after they beat 4-time champs the Waratahs 32-26 on Saturday.

• This was the perfect finish for a team that hadn’t lost a game in the regular season.

• But this wasn’t as easy as their other games. The Waratahs were up by 4 with 11 minutes to go but the Drua scored 2 late tries to end NSW’s streak.

• There was a fair bit going on in Melbourne with every Super Rugby team in town for the first Super Round. The NZ teams dominated but the ACT Brumbies had an important win over the Highlanders to stay 2nd on the ladder.

Watch it: Check out the emotion after the game from the Drua.

🏀 Ben's back is a big talking point

Today was supposed to be the day we saw Ben Simmons back on the basketball court. Instead, his back has him back in the headlines and people aren’t happy.

Golden points: The Aussie NBA star hasn’t played a game all season, but his team the Brooklyn Nets said he would play in game 4 of their playoffs series against Boston.

• That would’ve been a massive inclusion for the Nets because they’re 3-0 down in the series, and no team has come back from that deficit to win in the NBA playoffs.

• But the excitement surrounding his return turned to anger when Simmons was ruled out yesterday with back soreness.

• It means the 25yo, who got traded from the 76ers, won’t have played a game all season if the Nets get eliminated today.

They said it: “This is one of the most pathetic situations I have ever seen in my life.” - ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith didn’t hold back.

What’s next: Simmons will be a spectator when the Nets host the Celtics in a must-win game from 9.00am (AEST) on Foxtel and Kayo.

👀 Quick singles

⚽ Sydney FC is in last place in their Asian Champions League group following a 3-0 loss overnight. It means they need to win their remaining 2 games and hope other results go their way if they want to advance to the next round.

🏏 It looks like a move to England is off the table for Justin Langer. The former Aussie cricket coach had been linked to England’s top job, but a report says that’s not going to happen.

🎾 Iga Świątek is loving life as the new women’s world #1 tennis player. She beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the Stuttgart Open for her 4th title in a row.

🏁 Max Verstappen is right back in the F1 title race after he won his 2nd race of the season. The win at Imola means he closes the gap on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after 4 races.

🎾 Tennis has a new teen sensation with Carlos Alcaraz the youngest man since Rafael Nadal in 2005 to move into the top 10. The 18yo is ranked #9 after he won the Barcelona Open.

⚽ Manchester City remains one point clear on top of the English Premier League table ahead of tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League semi against Real Madrid. The race for the title is going down to the wire after Liverpool beat Everton.

🙃 Left of field…

If this is the last we’ve seen of heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, then at least he can say he went out on a high. But not quite a soprano.

Golden points: The man they call the ‘Gypsy King’ kept his WBC heavyweight title after he knocked out Dillian Whyte with a vicious punch in the 6th round of their fight.

• It means Fury remains unbeaten in the ring, with 32 wins and one draw from 33 fights.

• He said that he’d retire after this fight, but we’ll have to wait and see. There are already reports he could join WWE for a bit of pro wrestling.

• It wouldn’t have been a Fury fight without a celebratory song afterwards. He didn’t disappoint with a rendition of Don McLean’s American Pie.

Watch it: The man with devilish hands has the voice of an angel.

📽 The highlight reel

Snooker players hate even the slightest distraction, so you can imagine how Yan Bingtao and Mark Selby must've felt when a pigeon dropped by during their match at the World Championship.

📸 Photo finish

It was good to see a couple of former Melbourne Storm teammates catch up at their old stomping ground over the weekend. It turns out Nelson Asofa-Solomona is a big Suliasi Vunivalu fan, even though he now plays rugby union.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Cathy Freeman won it back in 2001.