⚽ You Gotta Pity Gritty City

Adios April, it's Monday, 2 May

🔊 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

⚾ 9.00am - MLB - Mets v Phillies - Citi Field, New York City - Foxtel, Kayo

🏐 5.00pm - NZ Netball Premiership - Mystics v Magic - Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 7.30pm - NBL Playoffs - United v JackJumpers - John Cain Arena, Melbourne - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

⚽ Former foe comes back to haunt City

Put the champagne on ice because things didn’t quite go to plan for Aussie football fans last night.

Golden points: Melbourne City missed out on a spot in the Asian Champions League knockout stage in the most brutal way possible.

• They needed Vissel Kobe (Japan) to beat Kitchee (Hong Kong), but a goal in stoppage time meant the game finished in a draw.

• Adding salt to the wound, the equalising goal was scored by one of City's old foes, former Melbourne Victory striker Raul Baena.

• Talk about unlucky. City didn’t lose a game in the group stage but just missed out on being one of the top 3 runners-up. Sydney FC didn’t win any of their 6 games.

• There was another chance for some Aussie celebrations last night in Scotland. But coach Ange Postecoglou has to wait another week after Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw by Rangers.

What are the chances… Celtic wins their 52nd Scottish title? Things are looking pretty good. They’re up by 6 points with 3 games to go and they have a huge advantage in goal difference.

⚽ Ancelotti gets 5-star rating

We’re not sure if Carlo Ancelotti is any good at tennis, but the Real Madrid coach is now a grand slam winner.

Golden points: A 4-0 win over Espanyol helped Real Madrid win their 35th Spanish title. It was a huge deal for their coach.

• The result means Ancelotti has now won a title in Europe’s 5 big leagues. No other coach has done that.

• That includes wins with AC Milan in Italy, Chelsea in England, PSG in France and Bayern Munich in Germany.

Watch it: Here’s how the players honoured the super coach after the game.

🏉 Bulldogs respond to child sex abuse report

Officials from the Western Bulldogs say they’re shocked at a report that details historic child sex abuse at the AFL club in the 1980s.

Golden points: In an ABC report over the weekend, Adam Kneale revealed how he and other children were victims of abuse at the club’s former home ground.

• Kneale said the grooming started when he was 11yo and continued for 7 years.

• Several children were offered money and tickets to games by a former staffer named Graeme Hobbs who then sexually assaulted them.

• The abuse didn’t just take place at the ground. The victims were assaulted by other men who were part of a paedophile ring. Hobbs spent 3 years in jail and died in 2009.

• We found out last night that female Aussie Rules umpires have quit because of sexual harassment by players and colleagues.

They said it: “What Adam was subjected to as a child - and the impact it has subsequently had on the remainder of his life - is heartbreaking and distressing.” - Western Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains.

🏉 Tahs finally conquer the Kiwis

It’s taken a while, but the NSW Waratahs are in full bloom. Just ask the Crusaders who were on the wrong end of the upset of the season.

The score: Waratahs 24 defeated Crusaders 21.

Golden points: The Waratahs were given practically no hope against the Super Rugby Pacific giants. But form went out the window as they held on for a thrilling win on Saturday night.

• This was their first win against a team from NZ since 2019.

• Not a bad effort by the Tahs considering they didn’t win a single game last season.

• It was another solid weekend for the Aussie teams. The Reds and Force suffered narrow losses, but the Rebels and the second-placed Brumbies both won.

They said it: “Let's do this fast boys, I've got a lot of beer to drink.” - Waratahs coach Darren Coleman wasn’t too worried about the press conference.

🥊 The Skye is the limit for Aussie boxer

There’s a new name on the horizon in Aussie boxing, and her talent can take her sky-high.

Golden points: Skye Nicolson now has a professional boxing record of 3-0 after she beat American Shanecqua Paisley Davis via a unanimous decision.

• We already knew she was good because she made it to the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Games last year.

• The result was great, but she also made a bit of history. Nicolson is the first Aussie woman to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

• MSG has hosted some massive fights over the years, but experts are calling the bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano one of the best ever.

Watch it: Taylor is now 21-0 in the ring after the first women’s fight to headline a boxing card at MSG. Check out the highlights from her brutal win.

🏀 MVP helps NBL royalty advance 

The comebacks kings are into the NBL Grand Final. Now all they have to do is wait to see if they get home-court advantage for the 5-game series.

Golden points: Jaylen Adams showed why he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player yesterday with 30 points to help the Kings come from behind to beat the Hawks 99-87.

• It looked like we were off to a decider when the Hawks jumped out to a 10-point lead at half-time. That’s because no team had ever overturned a double-digit HT deficit in a playoff game in the 40-minute era.

• But the Kings rallied at home and won the second half by 22 points. They now have a chance to win their first title since 2005.

• They’ll play the winner of tonight’s game between Melbourne United and the Tasmania JackJumpers.

What's next: The equation is simple for these teams: win and you’re in. The series is level after the JackJumpers won game 2, but the series now returns to Melbourne. You can watch game 3 on Foxtel or on Kayo Freebies from 7.30pm (AEST).

📊 Off the charts

We're halfway through the 2022 Super Netball season. Here's how things stand through 7 rounds.

👀 Quick singles

🏍 Fabio Quartararo has moved 8 points clear in the MotoGP standings. But he had to settle for 2nd in the Spanish Grand Prix behind Francesco Bagnaia. Aussie Jack Miller finished 5th to pick up 11 points.

🏀 The Milwaukee Bucks are 1-0 up against the Boston Celtics in their NBA conference semi-final showdown. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with a triple-double in this morning's match.

🎾 Tennis legend Boris Becker will spend the next 2-and-a-half years in jail. He was found guilty of 4 charges after he hid about $4.5 million in assets and loans to avoid having to pay back his debts.

🎱 Ronnie O’Sullivan has jumped out to an early lead in the Snooker World Championship final against Judd Trump. But the match got heated late in the final session when ‘the Rocket’ got into a verbal battle with the referee.

🏁 Shane van Gisbergen is 164 points clear of his nearest rival after winning yesterday’s final race in Perth. The defending V8 Supercars champion has now won 8 races this year.

🏉 The Newcastle Knights have fallen to last on the NRL ladder. They were unbeaten after the opening 2 rounds but haven’t won since following a 50-2 loss at home to the Storm.

🎾 Tennis champion Rafael Nadal isn't a fan of Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament. He's called it "very unfair" and that it's not their fault what's happening with the war in Ukraine.

⚽️ There's no stopping Sam Kerr. The Matildas captain was named the English football's women's player of the year on the weekend for another brilliant season with Chelsea.

🙃 Left of field…

If you’ve ever seen one of those movie awards ceremonies in the States then you’ve probably heard the music play when someone speaks for too long. Well, it happens in sport as well.

Golden points: The NFL draft goes for days, so the players and fans like things to move along quickly. But nobody told Ed Marinaro.

• The former Minnesota Vikings running back was on stage to announce his old team’s 2nd-round pick.

• But instead of getting to the point, he decided to tell stories from the good old days.

• Who knows how long he would have spoken for. In the end, a producer went up and told him to hurry up. Politely, of course.

Watch it: Marinaro knows a thing or 2 about timing and scripts because he became an actor after football. Here’s a scene he wishes could be deleted.

📽 The highlight reel

The Brisbane Lions are up to 2nd on the AFL ladder after their big win in Sydney. And it included a slice of history as Darcy Fort became the first player to start his career with 12 goals without kicking a behind.

📸 Photo finish

A lot of people will be looking up to Australia's latest NFL player Daniel Faalele. He was taken with the 110th pick by the Baltimore Ravens.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Bernard Foley kicked a very late penalty goal to snatch a 33-32 win in 2014.