⛳ The Barty Party Don't Stop

Another one down, it's Wednesday, 20 April

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Martin Gabor and Lucy Watkin are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 10 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching 

🏀 9.30am - NBA Playoffs - Heat v Hawks - FTX Arena, Miami - Foxtel, Kayo

⚾ 12.00pm - MLB - Dodgers v Braves - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ 7.05pm - A-League Men - Wanderers v Jets - CommBank Stadium, Sydney - Paramount+

All times are in AEST

⛳ Barty swings into action 

Well that didn’t take long. Less than a month since she retired from tennis, Ash Barty has announced a switch to golf. But it might not be permanent.

Golden points: The Barty Party is off to the States where she’ll play in a golf event called the Icon Series.

• The 25yo won’t be the only athlete involved. She’s on the Rest of the World team that has players like footballer Harry Kane and boxer Canelo Alvarez. Team USA has Olympic legend Michael Phelps and some NFL stars.

• The 2-day event starts on June 30 in New Jersey and will be shown here in Australia. 

What are the chances… she’s any good at golf? Very high. She reportedly plays off a handicap of 4, which means she’s not far off the pros. Barty has also won golf tournaments before and her partner just so happens to be a golfer. She’ll be fine.

They said it: “I hope through my participation in the series that we can encourage more women and girls to participate in golf around the world.” - Barty really is a legend.

🏏 Former cricketer Campbell is in a coma 

Cricketers from around the world are supporting Ryan Campbell after he was placed in an induced coma while in London.

Golden points: The former Aussie wicketkeeper was at the playground with his children when he suffered a heart attack.

• The 50yo was taken to hospital and has since been placed in an induced coma. 

• Campbell played 2 one-dayers for Australia in 2002 and has coached the Netherlands cricket team since 2017.

• There was another health scare for an Aussie player yesterday when Mitch Marsh was taken to hospital after he tested positive for COVID while in India.

They said it: “The Delhi Capitals medical team is closely monitoring Marsh's condition.” - His Indian Premier League is looking after him.

Watch it: Before it became cool, Campbell was one of the first, maybe the first, batter to do the scoop shot. Check it out below. 

⚽ Back to the drawing board for Sydney FC

Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Sydney FC in the A-League Men this season, but they’re off to a pretty solid start in the Asian Champions League.

The score: Sydney FC 1 drew with Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1.

Golden points: This is a lot like the European version where the best teams in the continent compete. 

• The Aussie club trailed 1-0 at half-time but equalised when super-sub Trent Buhagiar scored with his first touch.

• The result means Sydney is on 2 points from 2 games, which has them 3rd in Group H.

• The good times keep rolling for Melbourne City. They are leading the A-League Men ladder and they’re also first in Group G following a 3-0 win over United City. 

What’s next: Sydney FC is staying in its COVID bubble in Vietnam for the rest of the group stage. They play Yokohama F. Marinos twice in three days, with the first game on Saturday at 12.00am (AEST). They’ll then return home next month for their final 2 A-League games.

🏉 There's dissension in the ranks

Players are confused, fans aren’t sure what’s going on and former players hate it. But the AFL says the crackdown on umpire abuse is here to stay.

Golden points: There were some pretty epic games over the weekend, but a lot of the focus has been on 50-metre penalties for players who show dissent towards umpires.

• There were 369 free kicks called in Round 5. The AFL says 6 of those were for dissent and another 6 were missed.

• The definition of dissent has confused a lot of people, but simply putting your arms out in despair is enough to be penalised.

• But the AFL won't change because they reckon they’re about 6000 umpires short at the grassroots level. Abuse is the 8th most common reason for umpires quitting.

They said it: “I think it’s disgrace, the game is in bad shape if umpires are interpreting players quizzically putting their hands out from quizzical decisions.” - Campbell Brown is another former player who disagrees with the rule. 

Watch it: AFL Football boss Brad Scott explains why incidents like the one below can't happen. 

🥊 Boxing bonanza boasts a heavyweight line-up

Aussie boxing fans are in for a triple treat next month with 3 massive fights taking place in Newcastle on the same night.

Golden points: We’re talking about 3 of the biggest names in Australian boxing. There’s a former NRL player, an Olympic medallist and a young gun with a famous last name.

• Paul Gallen says his career could be over if he loses to Kris Terzievski. But if he wins, he gets the Australasian heavyweight title. That’s worth fighting for. 

• Harry Garside won bronze in Tokyo and backed it up last month with a win over Manuer Matet. He’ll now defend his lightweight title.

• Nikita Tszyu is 1-0 and ready to make a name for himself in a town that calls itself ‘Tszyucastle’.

What’s next: We’ve got to wait until 11 May for the big fight night at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

👀 Quick singles

🎱 Aussie Neil Robertson is off to a flying start at the snooker World Championship. He beat Ashley Hugill 10-5 in the first round thanks to 3-straight century breaks. 

⚽ Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola won’t answer questions linking his club to Norwegian striker Erling Haaland. The deal is reportedly worth $884,000 a week if he’s granted a release by Borussia Dortmund. 

🏉 NRL superstar Latrell Mitchell has had an operation on his right knee, but it’s not a big concern for the Rabbitohs. He was already out because of a hamstring injury on his other leg, and the operation won’t add any time to his recovery. 

🥊 Tonight’s fight between Michael Zerafa and Issac Hardman should be pretty spicy after punches were thrown at the weigh-in. The middleweight bout is important because the winner will fight for the IBF belt.

🚴‍♀️ Cycling legend Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed he was groomed as a child. The former Tour de France winner says he was abused when he was a teenager and that it's affected him his whole life. 

🏉 Lachie Hunter will be unavailable for selection while he takes some time away from the AFL to work through some personal issues. The Western Bulldogs midfielder has taken some time away from the sport and we don’t know when he’ll be back. 

🏎 F1 driver Charles Leclerc has had his very expensive watch stolen from him right off his wrist. Leclerc was robbed in a crowd in Italy on Monday night. The watch is worth AU$430,000. 

🙃 Left of field…

In the eternal battle between chicken salad and pizza, there can only be one winner. Unfortunately, if you’re a professional athlete, it’s not the cheesy one you were hoping for.

Golden points: De’Veon Smith was supposed to be an important player for the Pittsburgh Maulers in the United States Football League. Not anymore.

• The USFL showed it’s just as tough as the NFL, and Smith found out the hard way. He was cut by his team for asking for pizza instead of salad.

• But according to his coach, that crossed the line. And to make it worse, the world got to see it in the United By Football documentary that follows the league. 

Watch it: Here’s exactly how it went down in the documentary. We’re not sure if Smith ever got that pizza.

📽 The highlight reel

Jos Buttler hit his 2nd century of the Indian Premier League season, but he wasn't named player of the game in yesterday's match. That went to Yuzvendra Chahal who took 5 wickets, including a hat-trick. 

📸 Photo finish

In this morning's English Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City in Anfield, Liverpool fans sang You'll Never Walk Alone at the 7-minute mark as a tribute to Man U's Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently lost his son at childbirth. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

The Western Sydney Wanderers beat Al Hilal 1-0 in 2014.