🏉 Pies Punish Their Players

Cya Solstice, it's Wednesday, 22 June

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Martin Gabor and Lucy Watkin are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 10 minutes. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching 

⚾ 10.00am - MLB - Astros v Mets - Minute Maid Park, Houston - Foxtel, Kayo

🎾 8.00pm - Tennis - Eastbourne International - Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne - Foxtel, Kayo

🥅 1.50am (Thu) - Swimming World Championships - Duna Arena, Budapest - 9Gem

All times are in AEST

🏉 De Goey fined by the Pies 

They’re flying on the field, but a couple of star Magpies were grounded yesterday because of some inappropriate behaviour. 

Golden points: Jordan de Goey is the main figure here. He went to Bali during the club’s bye week but got in trouble when videos of him behaving inappropriately towards women popped up on social media.

• This isn’t the first time he’s been in trouble. De Goey was also arrested last year in New York for an alleged incident at a nightclub.

• The club stuck by him but they’re not happy. The Magpies fined him $25,000 but he won’t have to pay anything if he behaves. De Goey apologised and could play this weekend if he’s picked. 

• He might not lose any money there, but de Goey could miss out on a massive contract extension after a new deal was withdrawn by the club. 

• De Goey wasn’t the only Collingwood player in trouble yesterday. Youngsters Jack Ginnivan and Isaac Quaynor apologised for a video on social media where they rated women’s looks.

They said it: “We did a trend that we did not think about before posting and we're really sorry for making the mistake of participating in it and then posting it.” - The pair apologised and will undergo social media education. 

What’s next: We’ll see if the trio get picked for Sunday’s game against the Giants.

🏏 Sri Lanka puts Australia in a spin  

We’ve been so used to winning all these big games lately that it feels a bit weird to say that we just lost to Sri Lanka.

The score: Sri Lanka (258) defeated Australia (254) by 4 runs.

Golden points: There will be no famous comeback this time. The hosts wrapped up the ODI series against Australia with a thrilling win this morning.

• Charith Asalanka could have been out for one when the ball hit the stumps but the bails stayed on. That was a huge moment because he made 110. 

• It looked like we were cruising to victory. But Sri Lanka’s spinners picked up 3 wickets for 3 runs at a big moment in the game, with David Warner stumped on 99.

• That left the tail needing to do something special. They tried really hard and it came down to Matthew Kuhnemann. He spanked 3 boundaries in the last over but got out on the last ball. 

What’s next: We can’t win the series, but there is one more game to go on Friday.

Watch it: Fair play to Sri Lanka. This is how they wrapped up their first ODI series win over Australia at home since 1992.

🏀 Jackson says beat it to retirement 

I’m sorry, Ms Jackson. Is this for real? 

Golden points: It sure is. Lauren Jackson, you know her, Australia’s greatest basketballer. She’s back in the national team and ready to win another World Cup with the Opals.

• This is some sort of comeback. Jackson hasn’t played for Australia since 2013 when she retired because of chronic knee pain.

• But she returned to the court earlier this year with Albury Wodonga and has been killing it. 

• The 41yo has a CV as good as anyone’s filled with MVP awards and titles in Australia and overseas, and her height will be just what we need with Liz Cambage no longer in the team. 

They said it: “I never expected to get to this point so every day I get past here is a blessing and I truly feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to be getting another shot after the way my career ended.” - Let’s hope we go all the way as we did in 2006. 

What’s next: Jackson will join the Opals on Monday. The Opals start their World Cup in Sydney in exactly 3 months against France.

🏉 International footy bans transgender women 

Rugby league is the latest sport to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s matches.

Golden points: This was a big issue that started on Sunday when FINA decided to ban transgender swimmers from competing in women’s events.

• It didn’t take long for footy to follow suit when the International Rugby League (IRL) made the announcement yesterday.

• The timing of this is significant because the Rugby League World Cup starts later this year. 

• The IRL said they wanted to avoid any potential welfare, legal or reputational risks by allowing trans athletes to compete on the international stage. 

What’s next: There’s still more to come. The IRL says they’ll talk with players at the World Cup to come up with an inclusion policy.

🎾 Quiet please, the Special Ks are back 

Get the cereal ready because the Special Ks are ready to roll.

Golden points: It’s been a while since we saw Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis team up on the tennis court, but the wait is almost over.

• The iconic doubles act that won the Australian Open earlier this year will pair up at Wimbledon next week as the #11 seeds.

• We’d love to see the Aussie duo play more but this will be just their 4th tournament this year.

• They last played together in Miami and have dropped a couple of spots in the rankings to #6.

Watch it: Let’s see how the London crowd reacts to Kyrgios and Kokkinakis if they repeat what we saw in Melbourne.

👀 Quick singles

🏊‍♀️ Australia has won another silver at the World Championships this morning. The Aussies finished 2nd behind the USA in the 4x100m mixed medley relay. 

🎾 Serena Williams has made a successful return to tennis just in time for Wimbledon. She teamed up with Ons Jabeur to win a 3-set thriller in the doubles at the Eastbourne International this morning. 

🏈 NFL legend Rob Gronkowski has retired for the 2nd time. The 33yo was one of Tom Brady's most important teammates and now has plenty of time to party hard. 

🏉 The draw has been locked in for rounds 20-22 of the AFL season. There are some cracking contests in primetime that are gonna play a big part in deciding the ladder. 

🎾 Alex de Minaur will head into Wimbledon as Australia’s highest seed. He’s got the #20 next to his name, with Novak Djokovic and Iga Świątek the top seeds. 

🏐 The Queensland Firebirds are looking for a new Super Netball coach. That’s because Megan Anderson quit yesterday after her team missed out on the finals 2 years in a row. 

⛳ The LIV Golf Series has had another huge win. It looks like 4-time major winner Brooks Koepka will quit the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed rebel league. 

🏁 Garry Jacobson is looking for a new V8 Supercars team after he was sensationally let go by PremiAir Racing effective immediately. The team decided to sack him after he finished 22nd, 18th and 22nd in the 3 races in Darwin last weekend. 

🙃 Left of field...

We tempted you with cereal a bit earlier, and now it’s time for the main meal. But this one might be a bit tougher to stomach. 

Golden points: James Webb is ready to become the next Aussie to dominate the world. He’s not a sprinter. He doesn’t play footy. But he does eat hot dogs really quickly. 

• The man from Sydney won the Alameda County Fair hot dog eating contest in the States. That’s huge because it means he’s qualified for the Nathan’s 4th of July hot dog eating contest. That’s basically their grand final. 

• Webb devoured 41.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes. The guy in 2nd only managed 28. 

• It sounds like a lot, and it is, but Joey Chestnut holds the record with 76 snags in 10 minutes. That’s a lot of mustard. 

Watch it: Webb is Australia’s #1 ranked competitive eater, and I don’t plan on challenging him. Here’s what he’ll be up against on 4 July in the famous event at Coney Island.

📽 The highlight reel

Don't write off the champions. The Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back to beat the Avalanche 6-2 yesterday but still trail Colorado 2-1 in the Stanley Cup. This goalie knew he was in trouble. 

📸 Photo finish

There's a stack of international rugby league on this weekend. If you're in Sydney then you can head over to Belmore Oval tonight to watch Malta play Lebanon from 7.30pm (AEST). 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

They won the title back in 2013.