⚽ Magical Madrid's Great Escape

5 reasons to smile, it's Thursday, 5 May

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

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

Today's listen time: 9.30 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺 What we're watching

🏀 9.30am - NBA Playoffs - Heat v 76ers - FTX Arena, Miami - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ 7.05pm - A-League Men - Wanderers v Phoenix - CommBank Stadium, Sydney - Paramount+

🏉 7.50pm - NRL - Rabbitohs v Broncos - Accor Stadium, Sydney - Channel 9, Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

⚽ Magical Madrid pull off great escape

The UEFA Champions League has seen some epic encounters over the years. But the tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City might take the cake. And it's still going in extra-time.

The score: Real Madrid 2 lead Manchester City 1 (5-5 on aggregate).

Golden points: The UCL final looked like it would be an all-English affair after Man City scored first against Real Madrid this morning. But 2 goals in as many minutes turned the match on its head.

• The first leg was a seven-goal thriller but this was more of a tactical chess match with so much on the line. That was until all hell broke loose.

• A couple of subs in the 2nd half worked out well for the visitors. They combined to set up Riyad Mahrez for the first goal of the game. It was a beauty.

• But that woke up Madrid, who hit back with 2 goals from Rodrygo in the 90th and 91st minutes to force the game into extra-time.

• The winner will play Liverpool in the final after the Reds survived a bit of a scare to beat Villareal 3-2 yesterday. It’s Liverpool’s 3rd UCL final in 5 years. City has never won it.

What are the odds… Liverpool complete the quadruple? They were literally 3000-1 at the start of the season, but they’ve been slashed. No English team has ever done it, but the Reds have every chance. They already won the Carabao Cup, they’re in the FA Cup and Champions League finals and they’re one point behind Man City in the EPL.

What’s next: We’ve got to wait a while for the final. But stay patient, because it’ll be worth it in Paris on 29 May.

Watch it: Here's the goal that sent the game beyond 90 minutes.

🏄‍♂️ Surf's up for Aussie legends 

It’s time to get behind a couple of new names in surfing as some Aussie legends deal with being cut under the sport’s brutal new rules.

Golden points: Get around Jack Robinson. The local hope upset American John John Florence to become the first Aussie man to win the Margaret River Pro in 33 years.

• That was his 2nd win on tour. But this was something new for Isabella Nichols.

• She thought she was dreaming but she was definitely awake because she surfed brilliantly to claim her first title to move into 4th spot.

• And boy was it an important one. She had to win in WA or she would have been cut from the tour at the midway point of the season like fellow Aussies Sally Fitzgibbons and Owen Wright.

What are the chances… Wright returns next year? He says he’s weighing up his future. It’s a tough new system that sees the top half of the competition make the cut while the rest are relegated to the Challenger Series. It also means Fitzgibbon’s run of 108-straight events is over.

🏉 Teenage rookie ready for Friday night lights

The Dockers have been hit for 6 by COVID, but things haven’t completely gone amiss.

Golden points: Fremantle will be without at least 6 players for their game against North Melbourne, but that means young gun Jye Amiss gets to make his AFL debut.

• This kid comes with plenty of hype. The 18yo is 196cm, was picked 8th in the draft and has kicked 8 goals in his past 2 games in the WAFL.

• It’s a timely boost for the time coming 3rd because Griffin Logue, Lloyd Meek and Michael Frederick joined 3 other players in health and safety protocols.

• Coach Justin Longmuir reckons the outbreak happened after their win in Geelong last week and that could see them change how they do things for away games.

What’s next: There should be a big game at Optus Stadium. The Dockers are flying and this is their first Friday night game since 2016.

Watch it: Here’s the moment Amiss found out he was going to make his AFL debut. Scenes.

🏉 It's that time of the week!

Don't Forget Your Tips! is a weekly podcast for footy fans who are keen to get an edge in their footy tipping comp. DFYT! will give you some facts, figures and maybe even a few omens that'll help you out with your AFL and NRL footy tips every week of the footy seasons. Episodes are around 12-minutes long and drop 6am every Thursday. Listen on Apple, Spotify and your favourite podcast app. Enjoy!

🏀 New Hawks coach was waiting in the wings  

We’re getting pretty pumped for the NBL Grand Final series that starts tomorrow, but there is a fair bit going on around the league to keep us busy.

Golden points: The Illawarra Hawks have a new coach after veteran Brian Goorjian decided to call it quits with a year to go on his contract.

• The 68yo has done just about everything in the sport. He started back in 1988 and has coached more than 800 NBL games. He’s not going anywhere. He’s staying on as a special advisor and is still the Boomers coach.

• The Hawks have wasted no time in replacing him. They’ve promoted long-time assistant Jacob Jackomas to be their new head coach.

• The Perth Wildcats had their epic playoffs streak snapped this year, but they’ll still be hard to beat because they’ve re-signed 3-time MVP Bryce Cotton for 3 years.

What’s next: Game one of the finals is on tomorrow night. We’ll have a big preview in tomorrow's episode.

🏉 Good cop takes on Titanic role

Here’s an early tip for the next NRLW season - the Gold Coast Titans will be the most disciplined team in the comp.

Golden points: There’ll be hell to pay if they’re not because their new coach is all about following the rules.

• Former Jillaroos legend Karyn Murphy is the new Director of Female Rugby League on the Gold Coast. That means she’ll also be their coach.

• You don’t want to mess with her. She spent 25 years in the police force and was the senior investigator for the NRL’s Integrity Unit.

• But let’s focus on her footy career. She played 27 games for Australia and 20 for Queensland.

What’s next: We don’t know the exact dates, but there are whispers the new season could start in August. I would be cool to see the Titans win it because the player of the game in the grand final gets the Karyn Murphy Medal.

👀 Quick singles

⚽ The jersey Diego Maradona won during the ‘Hand of God’ match at the 1986 FIA World Cup has sold for $12.4 million. That makes it the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.

🏉 Forget Perth, Adelaide or a 2nd team from NZ. Papua New Guinea wants to be the NRL’s 18th club and they think they can be ready to go by 2025.

🎾 Rafael Nadal has sent out an ominous warning to his rivals with a comfortable win in his return from a rib injury. The Spaniard beat Miomir Kecmanović in straight sets at the Madrid Open in his first match since March.

⛳ Lee Westwood is the latest golfer to ask for a release from the PGA Tour to play in the first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London. He says it’s too hard to turn down a pay rise given the massive money on offer.

🏀 The Brisbane Bullets could be the NBL’s next glamour club after some rich and famous people bought into the team. Swansea City co-owner Jake Silverstein has added to his English football portfolio, while NBA star Khris Middleton also has a stake in the club.

⛳ Gary Player is one of golf’s greatest players, but his son has been banned from attending the Masters. That’s because he tried to promote a range of golf balls at last year’s event, and Wayne’s actions didn’t go down too well.

🏉 NFL fans in Germany better excited because Tom Brady is coming to town next season. The NFL released its schedule for international games, and that includes a match between Brady’s Buccaneers and the Seahawks in Munich.

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🙃 Left of field…

If you’re going to work in the media these days then you’ve gotta dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge your way past all kinds of dodgy info.

Golden points: A clever social media post fooled plenty of journos when they were scrambling for info on NFL player DeAndre Hopkins after he was suspended for 6 games for using banned drugs.

• There’s an important lesson here, and that’s to always check your sources.

• One guy on Twitter said that Hopkins tested positive for 3 types of anabolic steroids and a low-grade beaver tranquiliser. Huge if true.

• It wasn’t. It’s actually a line from Dodgeball when Bernice failed a random ADAA drug test and cost Troop 417 a spot in the dodgeball tournament in Vegas.

Watch it: You’ll be that person on the train laughing hysterically when you watch the classic scene. Damn you, Bernice!

📽 The highlight reel

Evgeni Malkin will never have to pay for anything in Pittsburgh ever again after he scored the winner in triple overtime to hand the Penguins a 1-0 lead in their NHL playoffs series against the Rangers.

📸 Photo finish

Here's what the athletes will be competing for at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It's starting to feel real because it starts on 28 July.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore were crowned champions last year.