🎾 Kyrgios Is The Boss

Thanks for saying hi, it's Tuesday, 5 July

🔊 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 - Braves v Cardinals - Truist Park, Atlanta - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 9.00am - WNBA - Sparks v Mercury - Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles - Foxtel, Kayo

🎾 8.00pm - Wimbledon Day 9 - All England Club, London - Channel 9, Stan Sport

All times are in AEST

🎾 Kyrgios train stays on the tracks 

There ain’t no party like a Kyrgios party because a Kyrgios party don’t stop.

Golden points: Sleep is overrated when it means you get to watch Nick Kyrgios. Nothing is ever boring, and it helps that he keeps on winning.

• The big-hitting Aussie is through to the quarters at Wimbledon for the first time since 2014. He won in 5 sets overnight, and was on his best behaviour, but won’t play good friend Alex de Minaur in the next round after he lost in a thriller.

• Not everyone likes Kyrgios’ antics. Stefanos Tsitsipas hated it in their 3rd round meeting while Aussie legend Pat Cash has also been critical. 

• But you can’t criticise what Ajla Tomljanović is doing. She’s through to the final 8 for the 2nd year in a row where she’ll play Elena Rybakina. 

They said it: “Today was crazy.” - But Ajla, it was definitely worth it.

Watch it: The action continues tonight on 9Gem and Stan Sport, but we’ve got to wait until tomorrow to see if the Aussies can march on to the semis.

🏉 McLean finally gets his chance 

You know things start to feel real when the State of Origin teams drop for the decider.

Golden points: There are no real surprises in either team but there are a couple of big changes for the game in Brisbane.

• New coach Billy Slater has not pressed the panic button. He’s basically kept the same team from the one that got smashed in Perth. But veteran Felise Kaufusi is out due to family reasons which means Tom Gilbert gets to debut off the bench.

• The Blues have also made a change, but this one is because of injury. Prop Payne Haas is out so 30yo Jordan McLean will make his NSW debut. That makes him the 5th-oldest Blue to debut.

• It looked like Jack Wighton might sneak onto the bench, but he’s 18th man for the decider. 

They said it: “If he’s our 18th it means there are 17 blokes playing pretty good to be in front of him so that’s comforting.” - Brad Fittler explains the Wighton decision.

What’s next: There are just 8 days to go until the decider at Suncorp Stadium. Bring it on.

🏉 AFLW draw locked in for biggest season yet

More clubs, more matches, more footy! What more could you ask for? 

Golden points: The draw dropped yesterday and the new season starts with a bang with traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood kicking things off.

• New teams Essendon and Hawthorn play each other in the first round, while the Swans start their journey at North Sydney Oval.

• The season is a bit shorter than you might think. There are 18 teams now but the comp still only goes for 10 rounds.

• Players want more matches and the league wants to get there one day, but they’re taking it one step at a time. 

Key click: Here’s the draw in all its glory so you can start planning ahead. 

Watch it: Let’s get in the mood with a recap of what went down in the Grand Final earlier this year.

🏉 Moore good news for the Pies and Demons 

There were plenty of nervous fans refreshing social media feeds yesterday for the latest injury news on their favourite AFL players.

Golden points: Demons fans were partying hard and the Magpies were cheering, but it wasn’t the best day to be a Richmond supporter.

• Dustin Martin won’t make the trip to the Gold Coast this weekend. He’s got a hamstring injury and will miss at least one game. That’s a big blow.

• Collingwood’s Darcy Moore won’t play for about a month because he’s got bone bruising on his left knee. That sounds bad, but it could’ve been much worse with fears he’d be out for the year.

• And how well are the Demons going! The defending champs should get skipper Max Gawn back from an ankle injury for the big game against Geelong on Thursday.

They said it: “He's our captain, he's our leader and he's a really important player to us.” - That’s well summed up by coach Simon Goodwin. 

🚴‍♂️ Wout there it is, but now he wants more

You’d think leading the Tour de France after 3 stages would be pretty cool. But some people are never satisfied.

Golden points: Wout Van Aert is the man to catch at the moment. He’s got both the yellow jersey and the green sprint jersey. But he’s still not happy.

• And you can kinda see why. He’s had a chance to win all 3 stages but has finished 2nd every time.

• He’s 7 seconds clear at the top but 2-time defending champ Tadej Pogačar is only 14 seconds behind.

• The race has left Denmark and is about to enter France and the epic mountain stages. That’s where it gets brutal. 

What’s next: Stage 4 of the big race starts tonight at 9.30pm (AEST) and you can stream it on SBS Demand to see how the Aussies go.

👀 Quick singles

🏏 England are on the cusp of a record run chase in their Test against India. The hosts were set 378 and need another 119 runs with 7 wickets in hand on the final day. 

🏉 There are reports GWS are trying to sign Alastair Clarkson to be their new coach. The Giants met with the former Hawks boss who is the most sought after coach in the AFL. 

⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo could be lining up against Manchester United next season. The Portuguese star asked for a release from the Red Devils and says he would move to Chelsea if they offered him a deal. 

🏉 The NRL All Stars game will have a new home in 2023. The men’s and women’s matches will leave Australia for the first time to be played in Rotorua in New Zealand. 

🏉 The Wallabies will honour NAIDOC week when they play England in the 2nd Test on Saturday. They’ll wear a special First Nations jersey and sing the national anthem in the Yugambeh language. 

🏑 Australia will move into top spot in Pool D if they can beat Belgium tomorrow morning. The Aussies were too good for Japan in their first match at the Hockey Women’s World Cup. 

🙃 Left of field...

You might get really tempted to do something crazy after this, but please, don’t have hot dogs for breakfast. Okay, just one.

Golden points: The Americans love to eat hot dogs and buns really quickly on 4 July. It’s become a bit of a tradition. But now an Aussie has joined the party.

• James Webb became the first Australian to compete in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, and he didn’t disappoint.

• He put away 41 hot dogs and buns to finish 3rd, but he was no match for eating machine Joey Chestnut.

• He consumed 63 hot dogs to win his 15th title and put a protestor in a chokehold at one point. Miki Sudo won the women’s event with 40 frankfurts. 

Watch it: This is athletic perfection.

📽 The highlight reel

Ditch the hot dogs for some Special K. Here's how Nick Kyrgios advanced to the final 8 at Wimbledon. 

📸 Photo finish

It's been a big couple of days for West Coast Fever superstar Jhaniele Fowler. She starred in the Fever's Super Netball Grand Final win on Sunday and last night she won the Stacey Marinkovich Medal as the Fever's MVP for 2022.  

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

It doesn't happen often. The last time was back in 2005.