🏉 Munster Magic

Keep going, it's Thursday, 9 June

🔊 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 

🏀 11.00am - NBA Finals Game 3 - Celtics v Warriors - TD Garden, Boston - Foxtel, Kayo 

⚾ 1.00pm - MLB - Padres v Mets - Petco Park, San Diego - Foxtel, Kayo 

🏉 7.20pm - AFL - Tigers v Power - MCG, Melbourne - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

🏉 NSW fans feel the blues 

Advantage, Queensland. The Maroons are one win away from getting their hands on the State of Origin shield. 

The score: Queensland defeated NSW 16-10.

Golden points: The Blues better get ready for a big challenge after they lost at home. The team that wins game one goes on to win the series 75% of the time.

• It looked like business as usual for NSW when Jack Wighton opened the scoring.

• But it was one-way traffic after that as the Maroons scored the next 3 tries. They had players go down injured but Cameron Munster was unstoppable on his way to the MOTM award.

• There was a glimmer of hope for the Blues when Cam Murray scored late, but they fell a metre short when Isaah Yeo was tackled as the siren sounded.

They said it: “It’s a big challenge.” - Blues coach Brad Fittler knows how hard it is to win the series from here. You have to go back to 1994 for the last time NSW lost the opener at home but won the series. 

What’s next: Expect plenty of selection debate over the next week or so. There were a couple of fines, but no one was suspended last night. Xavier Coates and Kotoni Staggs are the big injury concerns. Game 2 is in Perth on 26 June.

Watch it: Queenslanders will enjoy the highlights. Just don’t gloat too much.

🏏 Quicks on target as Aussies wrap up series 

It wasn’t as easy as Tuesday’s win, but the Aussies have wrapped up their T20 series in Sri Lanka.

The score: Australia 7/126 defeated Sri Lanka 9/124 with 13 balls to spare.

Golden points: The win in game one couldn’t have been any more emphatic. But last night’s match was much tighter and came down to some clutch batting at the end.

• Veteran Matthew Wade was cool as a cucumber in the middle. He hit an unbeaten 26 after the Aussies had slumped to 7-99.

• Luckily they weren’t chasing too many runs thanks to some career-best figures from a couple of the quicks.

• With Mitch Starc out injured, Kane Richardson (4-30) and Jhye Richardson (3-26) did the damage to restrict Sri Lanaka’s batters.

What’s next: The 3rd game is on Saturday night before the one-day series starts on Tuesday.

Watch it: Here are all the highlights from last night's match. 

🏉 Injury added to insult for Demons duo 

The news keeps getting worse for the Demons after last week’s scuffle between 2 stars at a Melbourne restaurant.

Golden points: We already knew that Steven May had been suspended for a game by the club for fighting teammate Jake Melksham on Sunday night. It turns out Melksham will also miss Monday’s match against Collingwood.

• Melksham had surgery to clean up an infection in his hand that was caused by the fight.

• He and May have both been punished by the club. They copped it from the leadership group who want them to do community service.

• There might be more to come. Staff from the restaurant they were at say the pair broke a reception desk and called the apology “weak”. 

They said it: "Violence is not the answer. Violence is never the answer." - Demons skipper Max Gawn says he’s embarrassed by what happened. 

⛳ New golf league ready to tee off

After months and months and a few more months of talk, the LIV Golf Invitational Series starts tonight in London. 

Golden points: It’s one that’s been backed by the Saudi government and is offering players life-changing money.

• The sums are so high that some of the top golfers in the world have quit the PGA Tour. That includes former world #1 Dustin Johnson.

• Phil Mickelson is also part of the 48-man field for the first event, with the winner set to pocket about $5.5 million.

• Aussie golfing great Greg Norman is the CEO and we’ll see some big changes like no players getting cut and only 3 rounds of golf, compared to the usual 4.

Key click: Here’s all the info you need to know about LIV Golf. 

Watch it: This won’t be on TV, but you can watch it on YouTube from 11.00pm (AEST).

⛸ Skating changes the rules for youngsters 

A big change is coming for figure skaters after what happened to Kamila Valieva at the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year.

Golden points: Valieva was one of the biggest stories of the Games. She failed a drug test, was allowed to continue competing and then missed out on a gold medal when she was the favourite. It’s a lot for anyone to take in. Let alone a 15yo.

• But the International Skating Union has voted to change that to make sure young athletes don’t have to go through something so tough.

• They voted 110-16 to change the minimum age for competitors. The age limit will go up to 16 next year and 17 in 2024.

• The rule change has been brought in to protect the physical and mental health of young athletes.

They said it: “This is a very important decision. I would say a very historic decision.” - ISU President Jan Dijkema hopes this makes a difference. 

What’s next: The new rule will mean we won’t see a repeat of the Valieva incident at the next Winter Games in Italy in 2026.

🏉 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!

👀 Quick singles

🏉 The LA Giltinis have been kicked out of America’s Major League Rugby comp. It’s a big deal because they’re the defending champs and have a lot of Aussies involved. 

🎾 Nick Kyrgios and doubles partner Alexander Bublik were knocked out of the quarter-finals at the Stuttgart Open overnight. But the Aussie tennis star is still alive in the singles after an easy win yesterday. 

🏈 Walmart must be doing pretty well over in the States. The heir to the retail giant is reportedly going to buy NFL team the Denver Broncos for about $6.6 billion, which would be a record for a North American sporting team. 

🏏 Cameron Green proved he’s just as good with the bat against the white ball with a century for Australia A yesterday. The Test allrounder finished unbeaten to help the Aussies beat Sri Lanka A. 

🥅 Tampa Bay’s hopes of winning a 3rd-straight Stanley Cup are still alive. The NHL champs evened their series against the Rangers with a 4-1 win at home. 

🏉 Brumbies centre Len Ikitau will miss the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific season. He was sent off in the win over the Hurricanes on the weekend and lost his appeal at the judiciary. 

🙃 Left of field...

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian found out that the Internet never forgets.

Golden points: It feels like a lifetime ago, but 12 months ago to the day, she posted an iconic photo on her Twitter page that led to an endless stream of memes.

• In the pic, she’s standing up and staring at a TV while holding a can of Coke No Sugar. She’s wearing a NSW Blues beanie and scarf and wants them to win.

• The sentiment was great, but it was posted 4 hours before kick-off. Hopefully, the can was nice and cold. 

• Current Premier Dominic Perottet kept the gag going yesterday when he posted an identical photo, with just a couple of minor tweaks. So, technically not identical.

📽 The highlight reel

It's impossible to distract Marnus Labuschagne when he's in the zone. So what was so important that it interrupted his shadow batting in his hotel room? 

📸 Photo finish

New Queensland coach Billy Slater showing rookie Selwyn Cobbo how to celebrate an Origin victory. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Collingwood upset the Demons by 17 points in Nathan Buckley's final game as coach.