🏉 It's Draft Day

Flip the calendar, it's Wednesday, 1 June

🔊 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

⚾ 9.00am - MLB - Yankees v Angels - Yankee Stadium, New York City - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 11.00am - WNBA - Aces v Sun - Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ 4.00am (Thu) - Football Friendly - Australia v Jordan - Al Wakrah Sports Complex, Doha - Channel 10

All times are in AEST

🏉 Draftees could be the finished product

Tonight could be the start of something special with AFL aspirants hoping to get picked up in the mid-season draft.

Golden points: This is an opportunity for clubs to fix up their rosters heading into the back end of the season as they look to replace injured players or guys who have retired.

• This concept isn’t new, even though it feels like it. It actually started back in 1990 and lasted a few years before it was scrapped. But AFL CEO Gillion McLachlan brought it back in 2019.

• That was a memorable one because Richmond picked up Marlion Pickett. He debuted in the Grand Final that year and has won 2 comps.

• The order is based on the ladder. So basically flip it over and that’s who gets to pick first. The West Coast Eagles are tipped to get Jai Culley.

They said it: “I think he’ll fit anywhere that he goes. He’s a pretty laid-back boy.” - Nick Cox coaches Culley at the Dandenong Stingrays and reckons he’s made for the AFL.

Key clicks: Here’s a look at some of the best players on offer and this is a breakdown of what every club needs heading into the finals.

Watch it: You can catch the draft on afl.com.au from 6.30pm (AEST). But before then, check out Pickett's dream debut in the 2019 GF.

⚽ Setback won't derail the Socceroos 

Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup was never going to be easy. It’s now a lot harder after Tom Rogic withdrew from the squad.

Golden points: He’s pulled out of all the games this month because of personal reasons. This is a huge blow for the Socceroos.

• Rogic is one of our best midfielders and he’s had a terrific season for Celtic. They won the Scottish League and he scored the goal of the year.

• Socceroos coach Graham Arnold says he won’t replace Rogic and that he trusts the squad he’s got.

• Those guys will have to step up for next week’s must-win qualifier against the UAE. If the Socceroos lose, they’re out. If they win, they play Peru for a spot in the Qatar World Cup.

Watch it: We’ll have you sorted ahead of next week’s crucial clash. But before that, the Socceroos play Jordan in a friendly tomorrow at 4.00am (AEST). That game is on Channel 10.

🎾 Top seeds spat out at the French Open 

It hasn’t been a happy 24 hours for the top seeds at the French Open.

Golden points: The tournament has said au revoir to big names like Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz, but the biggest star right now is through.

• Things looked a bit iffy for world #1 Iga Świątek when she dropped the first set to China’s Qinwen Zheng. But a little bit of Dua Lipa helped her out and she sang her way to her 32nd win in a row.

• There will be no encore performance for Medvedev after he went down in straight sets to veteran Marin Cilic.

• The big upset was this morning. Sure, Alexander Zverev is the higher seed. But big things were expected of Carlos Alcaraz after he won a few events leading into the French Open.

What’s next: There’s a good chance you’ll be watching the end of the match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as you read this. We’ll dive into that result tomorrow.

Watch it: He may have lost, but Alcaraz is gonna be a star.

🏉 Ref ready to make history 

Hollie Davidson is about to break some of rugby’s barriers by making sure male players don’t break rugby’s rules.

Golden points: Davidson is used to the big stage as both a player and a ref. But in a few weeks, she’ll make history as the first woman to officiate a men’s Six Nations team in a Test.

• Don’t stress if you don’t know who the Six Nations teams are. They’re France, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. They play each year in the, you guessed it, Six Nations.

• Davidson will be the ref for the match between Italy and Portugal, but the story doesn’t end there.

• She’ll lead an all-female crew, something that’s never been done in a men’s Test.

What’s next: That game is in Portugal on 25 June. Davidson is also part of the officiating team for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

🏀 New Opal shines bright on debut

Japan’s experience proved too much for the Opals last night, but some young basketballers showed they are ready for the World Cup later this year.

The score: Japan defeated Australia 69-67.

Golden points: After winning game one in Sydney, the Opals ended up losing the series 2-1 to last year’s Tokyo Olympics silver medallists.

• This series was a great opportunity for some youngsters to get some valuable game time with a lot of established stars unable to make the trip Down Under.

• One player to watch is Anneli Maley. She was named WNBL Most Valuable Player last season.

• She’s been spending some time with Chicago in the WNBA and only arrived home on Saturday. She scored 11 points and had 7 rebounds off the bench.

What’s next: The Aussies have a couple of practice games in the US in July, and then it’s all about the World Cup which starts on 22 September in Sydney.

👀 Quick singles

🏉 The NRL has locked in its officiating crew for next week’s State of Origin series opener. Ashley Klein will be the head ref with Grant Atkins to call the shots from the Bunker.

⚽ It’s not just the Socceroos trying to qualify for the World Cup. Scotland hosts Ukraine tomorrow, with the winner to play Wales for one of the last remaining spots in the Qatar tournament.

🏉 The Sydney Sevens tournament is back on the calendar next year for the first time since 2020. It’s perfect timing because the Aussie women are champs and the men are 2nd with one event to go.

🥊 Devin Haney says he’s worried about the scoring ahead of his fight against Aussie George Kambosos Jr on Sunday. The American challenger reckons local judges will be influenced by the big crowd and might score the fight unfairly. 

🏉 The Cats could get 2 crucial players back for Friday’s mega AFL clash against the Bulldogs. Ruckman Rhys Stanley and small forward Gary Rohan have both trained this week and will have fitness tests this morning.

⚽ The big matches keep coming for football fans. The UEFA Nations League kicks off tomorrow, and it’s basically like a mini European Championship with 55 countries split up into 4 leagues where they play for promotion and relegation.

🙃 Left of field...

We all saw how powerful Thanos was with the Infinity Stones. Okay, that was in a movie. Back to the real world, and we now know how strong Tom Stoltman is when he gets his hands on the Atlas Stones.

Golden points: It’s pretty cool being the best in the world at something. Just ask Stoltman who was crowned World’s Strongest Man for the 2nd year in a row.

• He’s a unit. We’re talking really big. He’s 203cm tall, weighs 180kg and can move 160kg balls like they’re marbles.

• The big Scot was trailing for most of the final in Sacramento but powered home in the Atlas Stones events when he had to move extremely heavy balls onto high platforms.

• He’s just the 10th person to win the event twice and the first to go back to back since American Brian Shaw won in 2015-16.

Watch it: We might move up to the 2.5kg dumbbells after watching this.

📽 The highlight reel

We've checked, and thievery is still illegal in the USA. Looks like Eli White is above the law because he got away with robbery with this absurd catch in the MLB.

📸 Photo finish

Boomers legend and proud Torres Strait Islander Patty Mills shared pics of his time in the Torres Strait which celebrated 30 years since the creation of the Torres Strait Island flag and the historic Mabo decision.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

France lifted the trophy after they won all 5 of their games.