⛳ Rebel Players Punished By The PGA Tour

Welcome to the long weekend, it's Friday, 10 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 this weekend

🏉 Friday, 7.50pm - AFL - Bombers v Blues - MCG, Melbourne - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 Friday, 8.00pm - Test Cricket - England v New Zealand - Trent Bridge, Nottingham - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 Saturday, 11.00am - NBA Finals Game 4 - Celtics v Warriors - TD Garden, Boston - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 Saturday, 5.05pm - Super Rugby Pacific - Blues v Brumbies - Eden Park, Auckland - 9Gem, Stan Sport

🏉 Saturday, 5.30pm - NRL - Roosters v Storm - SCG, Sydney - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 Saturday, 11.30pm - International T20 - Sri Lanka v Australia - Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium, Kandy - Foxtel, Kayo

🏐 Sunday, 4.00pm - Super Netball - Swifts v Firebirds - Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney - Foxtel, Kayo

🏁 Sunday, 9.00pm - Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit, Baku - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEST

⛳ The PGA Tour strikes back as LIV series tees off

It was always going to be one of the stories of the year, and the launch of the LIV Golf Series didn’t disappoint.

Golden points: Just 30 minutes after the first event in London started, the PGA Tour suspended all of its members playing in the rebel league for disrespecting the tour in the search for money.

• That’s not a small number. 17 of the 48 players who teed off last night are members of the PGA Tour.

• It means they can’t play in any PGA events, but they are still able to compete in the majors and the LIV Series, which offers way more money than what they were getting.

• The decision isn’t surprising because the PGA Tour had warned players that there would be penalties for joining the Saudi-funded league. Some players knew it was coming so they quit the PGA Tour. 

They said it: “It's troubling that the Tour, an organisation dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing.” - LIV Golf called the decision “vindictive”.

What’s next: We’ll hear plenty more about this. For the record, Charl Schwartzel leads the London event by one shot after the first round.

🏐 It's the finals countdown 

If you’re not pumped for the Super Netball finals then you’re missing out.

Golden points: There is one round to go and there are 4 teams fighting for the last spot in the finals. It literally comes down to the final game of the season.

• The Vixens, Fever and Giants can chill. They’ve already qualified for the finals.

• But then it gets tight. The Magpies are 4th but they play the Vixens, who have already wrapped up the minor premiership. If the Magpies win then they’re in.

• The game between the Swifts and Firebirds on Sunday is basically an elimination final. The winner of that can move into 4th if results go their way, but the loser is done. The Thunderbirds can make it too, the've gotta beat the Fever to have a chance.

Ladder look: Here are the standings heading into the final round.

Watch it: All 4 games are on Foxtel and Kayo. Here’s the draw so you know when to tune in. We already know that the Vixens and Fever will play next week for a spot in the Grand Final which has been sold to Perth. That decision did not go down well.

🏉 Mixed results for Origin ratings

NSW fans don’t need to see the numbers from State of Origin again. But the TV and streaming figures do make for some interesting reading.

Golden points: It was a bit of a mixed bag for Channel 9, but it’s hard to really judge the numbers when so many people have moved away from traditional TV.

• What we know is that 2.48 million people tuned in for the series opener. It sounds like a lot, and it is. But it’s actually a 9% drop compared to game one last year.

• So, on the one hand, it’s one of the lowest ratings in Origin history. But on the flip side, it’s still one of the most-watched shows of the year.

• The streaming numbers are huge. About 425,000 people are clearly tech savvy, and that makes it the most-streamed show on any channel this year.

What’s next: Let’s see what the numbers are like for game 2 in Perth on a Sunday night on 26 June.

🏗 So much sport for Sydney's new stadium 

It’s a great time to be a sports fan in Sydney. Especially if you live near the city. Or close to a light rail stop.

Golden points: Allianz Stadium in Moore Park has been refurbished and is nearly open for business. It’s so close that you can practically smell the new paint.

• We’ve only got to wait until 2 September for the first game. Congrats to the NRL for winning the race. The Roosters will play the Rabbitohs in the final round of the season. They also played the final footy game there in 2018.

• The Wallabies only have to wait another 24 hours. They’ll play South Africa in the Rugby Championship.

• The action continues on 6 September when the Matildas play Canada. That’s a tough one because Canada won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

They said it: “Over 150,000 fans are expected to visit the new precinct over the course of the four events, providing a significant boost to the NSW visitor economy.” - Minister for Tourism and Sport Stuart Ayres is pumped up.

🏉 Brumbies galloping towards the final

It hasn’t been a great week for the Blues, so let’s hope that trend continues tomorrow.

Golden points: Calm down, there’s still a while to go until the next State of Origin game. This is all about Super Rugby Pacific because the Auckland Blues are playing the ACT Brumbies for a spot in the final.

• All of Australia better be behind the Brumbies because they’re our last hope after the Waratahs and Reds lost last week.

• But they’ve got the toughest trip possible. They’re in New Zealand trying to beat a team that has lost just one game this season.

• It won’t be easy, but the Brumbies nearly beat them a couple of weeks ago only for the Blues to kick a drop goal after the full-time siren.

Watch it: Chuck it on 9Gem or Stan Sport on Saturday night. Kick-off is at 5.05pm (AEST). The winner plays either the Crusaders or the Chiefs in the GF.

👀 Quick singles

🥊 Aussie boxer Justis Huni and his family are safe after shots were fired into his home yesterday morning. Queensland police are investigating the matter ahead of Huni’s fight next week.

⚽ The awards keep coming for Sam Kerr. The Aussie football star was named Professional Footballers’ Association Players’ Player of the Year after a huge season with Chelsea.

🎾 The singles champions at Wimbledon will win slightly less than what they did at the 2019 event. But the overall prize pool has increased to a record sum of more than $70 million.

🏀 The Golden State Warriors are sweating on the fitness of Steph Curry. The world’s best shooter hurt his left leg on Thursday late in game 3, and the Warriors need him to play because they trail the Celtics 2-1 in the NBA Finals.

🏉 The Wallabies have locked in their 3 international wildcard picks for the series against England. Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete have all been selected from their overseas clubs.

🏀 The Boomers have named their squad for some World Cup qualifiers at the end of the month. Former NBA star Matthew Dellavedova is the headline act as the Aussies try to qualify for the Basketball World Cup.

🏉 The AFL has decided to get involved in the off-field incident involving the Demons. The integrity unit will investigate the fight between teammates Steven May and Jake Melksham.

🙃 Left of field...

If you’re a cricket purist then you might look away. If not, you gotta Czech this out.

Golden points: The European Cricket League has provided some quality content on social media. We’ve got some new material after the Prague Barbarians pulled off something impossible.

• These guys aren’t professional so anything can happen in these short matches.

• It’s usually a dot ball when the ball goes to the keeper. But the Barbarians somehow managed to run 3 in their game. The fielders kept fumbling the ball and throwing it wildly, so the batters just kept running.

• The commentators were in stitches, the bowler was livid and the batters had stitches from running so hard.

Watch it: Enjoy.

📽 The highlight reel

Judson Clarke will never forget his AFL debut. Talk about immediate impact. He kicked 2 goals with his first 2 kicks to help Richmond beat Port Adelaide last night.

📸 Photo finish

The news just keeps getting better for the LA Rams. Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp has signed a 3-year extension days after they locked in Aaron Donald on a mega deal.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

West Coast Fever's Jhaniele Fowler is way out in front with 760 goals.