🏀 Bring On The Buckets and Buzzer Beaters

Time to party, it's Friday, 3 June

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Lucy Watkin are at the mic.

Today's listen time: 9.30 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺 What we're watching this weekend

🏀 Friday, 11.00am - NBA Finals Game One - Warriors v Celtics - Chase Centre, San Francisco - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Friday, 7.50pm - AFL - Bulldogs v Cats - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

🏐 Saturday, 5.00pm - Super Netball - Firebirds v Giants - Nissan Arena, Brisbane - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Saturday, 7.45pm - Super Rugby Pacific - Brumbies v Hurricanes - GIO Stadium, Canberra - 9Gem, Stan Sport

🥊 Sunday, 2.00pm - Lightweight Title Fight - Kambosos Jr v Haney - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne - Main Event

🏉 Sunday, 4.05pm - NRL - Raiders v Roosters - GIO Stadium, Canberra - Channel 9, Foxtel, Kayo

🎾 Sunday, 11.00pm - French Open - Men's Final - Philippe-Chatrier Court, Paris - 9Gem, Stan Sport

⛳ Monday, 3.00am - Women's Golf - US Open Final Round - Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

🏀 East meets west to be basketball's best 

Don’t be the person who schedules a work meeting on a Friday afternoon. They’re cruel at the best of times, but especially today.

Golden points: There will be some long lunches because the NBA Finals start today and this looks like it’s gonna be a classic.

• Welcome back to the big dance. The Warriors made 5 Finals in a row before injuries struck down their key players, but now they're back after a 2-season absence. This is their 6th trip in 8 seasons and they usually get the job done.

• They’ve got a stack of experience and can call on 2 of the greatest shooters of all time to help them out. That would be the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

• It’s been a slightly longer wait for Boston. It’s been 12 years since they made the Finals and none of their players have ever made it this far. Poor Al Horford has been in the league for 15 seasons but he's finally made it.

Key click: There are some wild stats heading into this one. Do yourself a favour and click here because you’re about to be schooled.

They said it: “Don't call me, watch it for free on the TV.” - The cheapest tickets are going for more than $1000, so Boston’s Jaylen Brown has some sound advice for the fans.

Watch it: Let’s hope for a deciding Game 7 later this month. But before then, just chuck it on ESPN or Kayo for tip-off in San Francisco at 11.00am (AEST).

🏉 Super Rugby finals are finally here

We’re only a few weeks away from the start of the international rugby season and there’s no better time than now for our state teams to make a... statement.

Golden points: There’s a brand new trophy on the line for this season’s Super Rugby Pacific champs, and there’s a 3/8 chance an Aussie team wins it when the finals start tonight.

• Surely there’s a better fraction than that. Nah, not really. There are 8 teams in the finals and that includes the Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies.

• History says it’s going to be tough for NSW. The Waratahs are 0/6 in finals matches played away from home. The bad news is they’re playing in NZ tomorrow.

• The Reds are also across the ditch where they’ll play the Crusaders. That’s yucky because no team has won more Super Rugby titles than them.

What are the chances… the Brumbies win? They finished 4th so they’re at home. That’s a big advantage and they’ve already beaten the Hurricanes in Canberra this season.

Watch it: Leave it on Stan Sport all weekend so you can watch all 4 sudden-death games.

🥊 Get ready for boxing's biggest bout 

There have been some big fights in Australia before, but none quite like this. Let’s get ready to rumble!

Golden points: It doesn’t matter where you live because you’d probably still be able to hear the trash-talking between George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney.

• To be fair, there’s a lot on the line on Sunday when these 2 fight for the 4 big lightweight belts.

• Kambosos has a lot going for him. He’s Aussie, is 20-0 in the ring and holds the WBO, WBA and IBF belts after he beat Teófimo López in the States last year.

• He’s fighting in Australia for the first time since 2017 against American Devin Haney. He’s younger, has a 27-0 record and is the WBC champ.

Key click: These 2 don’t like each other. Click here to get caught up on all the key details for Sunday’s fight at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.

Watch it: The actual card starts at about 9.00am (AEST) to suit American audiences. That means the big fight will start at about 2.00pm. You’re gonna need to order it on Main Event or just head to the pub if you can get a seat.

🎾 Gauff is living out her teenage dream 

Some teenagers spend their time playing video games. Others study hard. Plenty like to travel. And then there’s Coco Gauff. The 18yo who’s in the French Open final.

Golden points: The young American beat Martina Trevisan this morning to set up a showdown with Iga Świątek in tomorrow’s final.

• Clay isn't meant to be her favourite surface, but you wouldn’t know if you’ve watched Gauff play this week.

• She’s the youngest Grand Slam finalist since Maria Sharapova reached the Wimbledon decider in 2004, but she faces the toughest task in tennis.

• Świątek has now won 34 matches in a row and is just one win away from matching Venus Williams’ 21st century record.

What’s next: Get ready for another busy weekend. The final is on Saturday at 11.00pm (AEST). Before that, you can watch the men’s semis tonight on 9Gem and Stan Sport.

Watch it: Here's how Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final.

🏐 Players shattered by grand final decision 

The action is starting to heat up on the netball court, but off it, things are burning out of control.

Golden points: The players are furious with Netball Australia after they decided to sell the hosting rights to the Super Netball Grand Final just 2 weeks before the finals.

• Netball Australia said it all came down to money because they’d been hit hard by the pandemic. They also said that there would be prize money for the finalists.

• But the players union aren’t buying it. They say they weren’t consulted and have been left shattered by the decision because it means ladder positions are devalued.

• They want a culture change at the top. Here’s what they said in yesterday’s media release.

They said it: “Netball Australia tells us that we are the ‘game’s most important asset’ and a priority ‘partner’. And yet they treat us as the lowest priority.” - The players aren't happy.

What’s next: This year’s Grand Final will be in Perth on 3 July, even though the Melbourne Vixens look set to win the minor premiership.

👀 Quick singles

⛳ Aussie golfer Minjee Lee is off to a flying start at the US Open. She shot -4 in her opening round to sit just off the lead.

🏉 The AFL has apologised to Lance Franklin and the Swans after he was called a “coward” at the tribunal. Things got pretty fiery and a lot was said by both parties before Franklin was suspended for a game.

🏏 It was a great day to be a bowler in the first Test between England and NZ. A lazy 17 wickets fell on the opening day with just 248 runs scored.

🏀 If you need to borrow a couple of bucks, it might be worth asking LeBron James for a loan. The NBA superstar is the first active player to have a net worth of $1 billion. Oh, and that’s American dollars.

🏊‍♂️ Kyle Chalmers knows that swimming can come down to the finest margins. That’s why he’s using new technology that’s been designed to analyse every stroke he does in the pool to give him an advantage heading into the 2024 Olympics.

⚽ Ukraine is one step closer to a spot in this year’s FIFA World Cup. There were emotional scenes when they beat Scotland 3-1 yesterday to set up a winner-takes-all game against Wales.

🙃 Left of field...

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But a couple of old dogs just played a whole lot of tricks on their younger rivals.

Golden points: The Match is just a bit of fun with 4 blokes playing some golf for charity. Except, they aren’t just any 4 blokes. We’re talking NFL legends Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

• The golf is good but the smack talk is much better. Thankfully, the players are mic’d up and we can hear everything they say.

• There was plenty of trolling going on with classic images used on the golf balls, but in the end it was the veteran team of Rodgers and Brady that got the win.

Watch it: Here are the best moments from yesterday’s friendly round.

📽 The highlight reel

English cricketer Jonny Bairstow was a busy man in the field with 2 cracking catches. It might be easier with 2 hands.

📸 Photo finish

It's nice to see the Cowboys staying hydrated after they beat the Titans in the NRL last night.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Tom Wright and Jock Campbell are 2 tries behind Leicester Fainga'anuku as the leading try-scorer this season.