🏉 The Dog Days Are Over

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🔊 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

⚽ 7.05pm - A-League Men's Semi-Final - Western United v Melbourne Victory - AAMI Park, Melbourne - 10 Bold, Paramount+

🏐 8.00pm - Super Netball - Fever v Vixens - RAC Arena, Perth - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 12.00am (Wed) - IPL - Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

🏉 Barrett says bye to the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are looking for a new NRL coach after Trent Barrett quit 10 rounds into the season.

Golden points: There were whispers of this on Sunday, and whispers can quickly turn into a whole lot more in rugby league.

• It’s been a tough stint at Canterbury for Barrett. The team has won 5 out of 34 games with him in charge, and they’ve got the worst attack in the league.

• That was an area they were supposed to improve on this year with players like Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr joining the club.

• But they’re last on the ladder, and that led to the Canterbury board organising a Monday meeting. That meeting never happened because Barrett quit on Sunday night.

They said it: “When a coach feels like he needs to resign, we all feel like we’ve failed.” - Canterbury’s general manager of football, Phil Gould, says the blame lies with everyone.

What are the chances… the Bulldogs hire an experienced coach? Massive. Premiership-winners Paul Green and Shane Flanagan are reportedly the leading candidates. Shane’s son Kyle is the club’s halfback. Untested coach Cameron Ciraldo is another option given his success as an assistant at the Panthers.

What’s next: The Bulldogs play the Wests Tigers on Friday night. We’re still waiting to hear who the interim coach will be. It looks like assistant coach David Furner or NSW Cup coach Mick Potter will be in charge.

🏀 Mavericks fly straight past the Suns 

Move over Tom Cruise. Luka Dončić is the new top gun and his Mavericks are one step closer to the NBA finals.

The score: Mavericks defeated Suns 123-90 (won the series 4-3).

Golden points: This didn’t go to plan for Phoenix. They thought they would win the league after last year’s loss in the finals. After all, they had the best record in the regular season and they were up 2-0 in this series.

• But Luka is really good at basketball. He had 27 points at half-time yesterday. The Suns, as a team, scored 27 in the first half. That’s when the boos started.

• It didn’t get better from there. The Mavericks led by 46 points at one stage but settled for the 4th-biggest game 7 win.

• It wasn’t as dramatic in Boston, but the Celtics did eliminate the defending champs. Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo did everything he could. He’s the 1st player to score 200 points, have 100 rebounds and 50 assists in a series.

What’s next: You can almost taste the Finals. In the east, Boston plays Miami with game one tomorrow. Out west, Dallas faces Golden State. The winners play in the big one.

Watch it: Let's go back to Luka's first half.

🚴‍♂️ Hindley has a handle on gruelling tour

Dust off the lycra because it’s cycling season and there’s an Aussie challenging for one of Europe’s biggest events.

Golden points: Jai Hindley is right in the mix to win this year’s Giro d’Italia after a big win in stage 9 on Sunday.

• That has him in 5th spot, 20 seconds behind overall leader Juan Pedro López Pérez. But the Spaniard isn’t really a climber and the race is about to hit the mountains.

• There are still 12 stages to go and Hindley is only 8 seconds behind the other top contenders who are expected to do well in the mountains.

• No Aussie has ever won the Giro, but Hindley has come close. He finished 2nd in 2020 but missed last year’s race because of injury and illness.

What’s next: The riders have had a well-deserved rest day, but they’re back on the road tonight. Stage 10 is a 196km ride from Pescara to Jesi, and you can watch it on SBS from 11.00pm (AEST).

🏉 Law and Order gets an AFL spinoff

It’s Tuesday, and that can only mean one thing. We’re having tacos for dinner. Wait, that’s not it.

Golden points: It’s going to be a long night at the AFL tribunal with the Tigers and Swans set to challenge a couple of suspensions this evening.

• Richmond’s Marlion Pickett faces a one-game ban for a bump on Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore. In better news for the club, forward Tom Lynch avoided a ban for a raised elbow in the same game.

• We could save time with a 2 for 1 case because Sydney’s James Rowbottom has been charged with the same thing as Pickett.

• There were a couple more bans to come out of West Coast's game against Melbourne. Demons defender Kade Chandler was offered a 2-match ban for a dangerous tackle, while Liam Ryan faces a week out for a high bump.

What’s next: You can expect decisions to come through this evening. If Pickett is cleared, he’ll be able to play in the Dreamtime at the ‘G game against Essendon. That’s important because he helped his partner design Richmond’s indigenous jersey.

⚾ Pirates leave Cincinnati red-faced

We’ve all read about pirates plundering stuff from their victims. It turns out their baseball team is just as good at thievery.

Golden points: The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t record a hit in yesterday’s Major League Baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds. Not one. Nada. Zilch. But they won 1-0.

• Seems impossible, right? Not quite, but it almost never happens. In fact, this is just the 6th time since 1901 that a team has recorded no hits and gone on to win.

• You’ve got to feel for Cincinnati’s pitchers, especially Hunter Greene who threw a season-high 118 pitches in the loss.

• So how did the Pirates win? Well, 3 guys were walked in the 8th inning and then another batter hit a groundball which allowed Rodolfo Castro to score.

What’s next: It’s hard to come back from a loss like that. It’s a good thing the Reds have a day off before their next game against the Guardians. They need to turn it around because they’ve got the worst record in the league (9-26).

Watch it: This reaction kinda sums up how the Reds are feeling.

👀 Quick singles

⚽ Arsenal's chances of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League have taken a big hit. They lost 2-0 to Newcastle in the English Premier League this morning and remain 2 points behind Tottenham who are 4th.

🏉 We should know all the details for the next AFLW season in the next couple of days. That’s according to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, who says the expanded 18-team comp will definitely start in August.

🏏 You’ve got to feel for Sri Lanka batter Angelo Mathews. He looked set to score a double-century against Bangladesh yesterday, but instead became the 12th man to get out on 199.

⛳️ It seems Greg Norman wasn't the first choice to be the top dog of the Saudi-backed rebel golf tour. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus says he turned down $100m to be face of the rebel tour.

⚽ Jake Daniels is the first professional player since 1990 to openly come out as gay in English football. The Blackpool forward joins Aussie Josh Cavallo as the only openly gay current professional footballers in the world.

🏉 The Parramatta Eels are looking for a new assistant coach. That’s because David Kidwell is off to join Argentina’s rugby union team.

⛳ Tiger Woods has sent an ominous warning to his rivals ahead of this week’s US PGA Championship. The 15-time golf major winner says his right knee is getting stronger as he looks to build on last month’s shock return at the Masters.

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🙃 Left of field...

Steph Curry has spent years schooling opponents on the basketball court. Now, after a 13-year wait, he can call himself a college graduate. Now that’s someone you’d love to have in a group assignment.

Golden points: You can’t really blame Curry for the long wait. He's been busy setting NBA records for the past decade. But he had time for one last semester, and now he’s got a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in sociology.

• There were a few disappointed people at Davidson College because he wasn’t there for the graduation ceremony. He was a bit busy helping the Warriors eliminate the Grizzlies from the playoffs.

• Curry was there from 2006-09 and is the school’s leader in points, free throws, steals and 3-pointers.

• Davidson will now likely retire the No.30 jersey he wore because they only do that for people who have graduated.

📽 The highlight reel

The NBA isn't the only sport in playoff mode. Ice hockey fans have been treated to a stack of game sevens, and it didn't get any better than yesterday when the New York Rangers scored in overtime to eliminate the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

📸 Photo finish

The AFL launched Sir Doug Nicholls Round across the country yesterday. Check out some of the designs that you'll see the players wear over the next 2 weeks.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Full marks if you said pink.