⚽ Finals Feast For Football Fans

Cheers to the weekend, it's Friday, 27 May

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

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

Today's listen time: 10 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺 What we're watching this weekend

🏀 Friday, 7.30pm - Women's Basketball Friendly - Australia v Japan - Quaycentre, Sydney - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Friday, 7.50pm - AFL - Swans v Tigers - SCG, Sydney - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 Saturday, 12.00am - IPL Playoffs - Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Saturday, 7.45pm - Super Rugby Pacific - Waratahs v Blues - Leichhardt Oval, Sydney - 9Gem, Stan Sport

⚽ Saturday, 7.45pm - A-League Men's Grand Final - Melbourne City v Western United - AAMI Park, Melbourne - Channel 10, Paramount+

⚽ Sunday, 5.00am - UEFA Champions League Final - Liverpool v Real Madrid - Stade de France, Paris - 9Gem, Stan Sport

🏐 Sunday, 4.00pm - Super Netball - Giants v Thunderbirds - Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney - Foxtel, Kayo

🏁 Sunday, 11.00pm - Formula One - Monaco Grand Prix - Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

⚽ Football fans get ready for a finals feast 

Christmas in July has come early for football fans with a huge week of games getting even bigger this weekend.

Golden points: It looks like we’re pulling an all-nighter because the A-League Men’s Grand Final flows almost perfectly into the UEFA Champions League decider.

• Manchester City started the week with a bang. Now it’s Melbourne City’s turn to make history. If they win, they’ll become the first A-League team to win the minor premiership and grand final in back-to-back seasons.

• Whoa, slow down. They need to beat Western United who are in their first final. That’s something City haven’t done at all this season.

Key click: Here’s a detailed preview of Saturday’s big game.

What are the chances… Liverpool finishes with 3 big titles? They missed out on the EPL, but they can finish the season off in style if they win Europe's biggest club comp. Problem is, Real Madrid are really good and they’ve won the Champions League a record 13 times.

Watch it: Start brewing the coffee because there won’t be much sleep. The A-League Men’s game is on 7.45pm (AEST) on Saturday. You can watch it on Channel 10 and Paramount+. The Champions League final is on at 5.00am on Sunday in Paris. That’s on 9Gem and Stan Sport.

🏉 Payne-less run comes to an end for the Broncos 

The Brisbane Broncos are riding high on a 5-game winning streak. But that momentum has hit a bit of a hurdle with their best player asking for an immediate release.

Golden points: Payne Haas is one of the best forwards in the world and he thinks he should be on $1 million a season. That’s a lot more than he’s on now.

• And the issue he has is that the deal is for another 2 years, which is why he asked for a release on Wednesday. The Broncos said no. 

• Haas has a new manager and they’ve been trying to sort out a new deal. There are reports Brisbane offered him a contract that would’ve made him the highest-paid forward in the NRL.

• The 22yo has played plenty of rep footy and clubs like the Roosters and Dolphins are reportedly interested if he does leave Brisbane.

What’s next: The State of Origin teams get picked on Sunday. That’s bad timing for Haas because NSW coach Brad Fittler isn’t a fan of picking players who have off-field distractions. Haas says he will play in tonight's game against the Titans.

Watch it: Haas has been bulldozing opponents since high school.

🏉 Super scenarios for rugby's final round

Time flies when you’re having fun, and a strong 2022 could get even better for the Waratahs if results go their way this weekend.

Golden points: Things move quickly in sport and we’re already into the final round of the Super Rugby Pacific season. That means top-8 spots are on the line.

• The NSW Waratahs have already locked in a spot in the finals but they could finish as high as 4th and get a home final if a couple of teams lose and they beat the Blues.

• Luckily for them, the Blues have decided to rest almost all of their stars because they’ve wrapped up top spot.

• It’s a big weekend for the Queensland Reds. They’re looking to win in Christchurch for the first time since 1999. If they lose then they’ll play the Crusaders again next week.

Key click: Here's the ladder and the full draw for Round 14.

Watch it: You can catch every game on Stan Sport. The match between the Waratahs and Blues is also on 9Gem and kicks off at 7.45pm (AEST) on Saturday.

🏁 Expectations high on Ricciardo this weekend

Monte Carlo has defeated many people on and off the track. But Aussie F1 star Daniel Ricciardo is hoping for a change of fortune in Monaco this weekend.

Golden points: Things haven’t gone to plan for him since he joined McLaren in 2021. He’s won just one race and has managed one top-10 finish this year.

• McLaren boss Zak Brown isn’t too happy and says Ricciardo hasn’t met the team’s expectations since he joined.

• The Aussie driver still has a year to run but there are reports the team is looking at American Colton Herta, who will race in the Indy 500 on Monday morning.

They said it: “I'm bouncing back from a difficult race and looking forward to getting stuck into the Monaco weekend.” - Ricciardo finished 12th in Spain.

Watch it: Tune in to Foxtel and Kayo from 11.00pm (AEST) on Sunday to watch the Monaco GP. Maybe Ricciardo can repeat his 2018 effort and win again.

🚴‍♂️ Technicality saves the day for Aussie cyclist

Aussie cyclist Jai Hindley is 3 seconds off the Giro d’Italia lead with 3 stages to go. But it could have been a very different story.

Golden points: There were a few very nervous moments overnight when his bike suffered a punctured tyre close to the finish.

• It meant he dropped out of the main pack and finished more than a minute behind race leader Richard Carapaz.

• That would have meant his race was over if it had happened earlier. But if riders have a mechanical - that’s cycling speak for a punctured tyre - in the final 3 mins, then they get the same time as the group they were riding with.

They said it: “We were quite stressed in the last 30km. Everything worked out, the mechanical was a pity but it shouldn’t be a problem.” - Even Hindley’s teammate Lennard Kämna was a bit worried.

What’s next: There are another 2 brutal stages in the mountains before the final time trial stage on Sunday. You can watch it all on SBS and SBS Demand as Hindley looks to improve on his 2nd-place finish in 2020.

👀 Quick singles

🎾 It’s been another day of upsets at the French Open with 8th seed Karolína Plíšková and former champ Simona Halep eliminated. But there were no such problems for world #1 Iga Świątek who has now won 30 matches in a row. 

⚽ Fiona Worts won the Julie Dolan Medal as the best A-League Women’s player last night. Melbourne Victory’s Jake Brimmer was awarded the Johnny Warren Medal.

🏏 Former Australian cricket coach Justin Langer spilled the beans about his departure from the role earlier this year. Fair to say he’s not happy and blamed it on internal politics within Cricket Australia.

🏉 Brooke Walker has got a very busy few months coming up. The AFLW star is set to play for the Parramatta Eels in the NRLW but will go straight back to Carlton and only miss a couple of games at the start of the new season.

🏑 The Hockeyroos have locked in their squad for this year’s World Cup. There are 10 players who will make their World Cup debuts at the event in Spain and the Netherlands which starts in July.

🏀 Australia will begin its preparations for the home World Cup when they play Japan in three basketball friendlies starting tonight in Sydney. This will be a good test against last year’s Olympic silver medallists.

⛳️ NFL legend Tom Brady happened to hit a hole in one right as a drone flew over and filmed it. Real or fake? We'll let you be the judge.

🙃 Left of field...

Sometimes, it’s best to leave things to the professionals. Just ask Grant Denyer.

Golden points: Journos are told to do whatever they can for the story, but copping a barrage of punches from a boxing champ might be pushing it.

• Denyer was filming a segment with George Kambosos Jr. ahead of his title fight with Devin Haney next week.

• He thought a sparring session would be a good idea, so he asked Kambosos to punch him like he would in a real fight. Instant regret.

• Denyer was hit so hard that he couldn’t say his safe word. That led to a cracked rib and some cartilage damage, while the toasted sandwich he had for lunch came straight back up.

Watch it: Here's a promo of that story which will be on Channel 7 on Sunday night.

📽 The highlight reel

Jose Mourinho really is 'the special one' after the Roma manager won his 5th major European title with a 1-0 win over Feyenoord in the UEFA Europa Conference League yesterday.

📸 Photo finish

It's been a long week for our new PM. He's a proud Souths supporter but here he is in a classic Newtown Jets jersey.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the 2018/19 final.