🥊 It's Tim's Time

Cya weekend, it's Monday, 28 March

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 9 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching 

🏀 9.00am - NBA - Suns v 76ers - Footprint Centre, Phoenix - NBA League Pass

🎾 12.00pm - Miami Open - Zverev v McDonald - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami - Foxtel, Kayo

🏏 1.00am (Tues) - IPL - Gujarat v Lucknow - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai - Foxtel, Kayo

All times are in AEDT

🥊 I get knocked down, but I get up again 

Tim Tszyu found out just how good it feels to turn 21 in America. Hang on, isn’t he 27? You’re absolutely right, but the Aussie boxer is now 21-0 after he won his first fight in the States.

The score: Tim Tszyu beat Terrell Gausha 114-113, 116-111, 115-112

Golden points: The rest of the world is now starting to pay attention after Tszyu won the toughest fight of his career by unanimous decision.

• Things did not start well when he was knocked down in the first round, but he got up again to hurt Gausha with a relentless flurry of body shots. Ouch.

• The win means he’s the #1 ranked WBO super-welterweight and the #1 contender for a world title fight.

What’s next: There’s a big fight on 14 May that’s kinda important for Tszyu. Brian Castano is gonna fight Jermell Charlo for all 4 belts, and the winner of that will get in the ring with Tszyu for all the bling.

Watch it: Here are the highlights from yesterday’s big fight.

🥊 Ebanie is dressed for success 

Hats off to Tszyu for his big win yesterday, but there was another Aussie boxer who got to celebrate on the weekend. And this time it came with a shiny new belt. 

Golden points: Ebanie Bridges is the new IBF bantamweight champion after she beat María Cecilia Román via unanimous decision in the UK.

• That’s a pretty fair effort because Román held the title since 2017 and was the favourite to win.

• But Bridges dominated the fight and was the clear winner according to the judges. Not bad for a former bodybuilder who also teaches maths. 

They said it: “I can box, I can fight, and I can look hot on the scales.” - Bridges has copped flak for wearing lingerie to the pre-fight weigh-ins, but she’s not going to change a winning formula.

🏁 Mighty Max is back on top 

It looks like it’s not going to be a one-horse race in Formula 1 this season after defending champ Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this morning.

Golden points: Verstappen started from 4th on the grid but won the 2nd race of the season after he passed race one winner Charles Leclerc on lap 46. It was an important comeback for Verstappen, who failed to finish last week. 

• Spare a thought for Sergio Perez who started from pole but lost his lead after an ill-timed pit stop just before a safety car came out.

• Aussie Daniel Ricciardo didn’t finish the race after his McLaren car failed with 12 laps to go.

• It was lucky the race even went ahead after a nearby missile strike on an oil facility last week.

What’s next: Book your tickets now because F1 is heading down under. The next race is in Melbourne on 10 April after a couple of COVID-cancelled years.

⚽ It smells like victory 

Some team names make absolutely no sense. But when it comes to the Melbourne Victory, it's pretty spot on. The Victory were victorious in yesterday's A-League Women's Grand Final. 

The score: Melbourne Victory beat Sydney FC 2-1.

Golden points: The A-League Women’s trophy is staying in Melbourne after the Victory beat Sydney FC in the Grand Final for the 2nd year in a row.

• It’s a pretty solid effort because the Victory only just snuck in the finals and then beat the top 3 teams on their way to the title.

• They are just the 2nd team in competition history to go back-to-back and they’re the first team to win it from 4th spot on the ladder.

• Goalkeeper Casey Dumont was sick all week but was named player of the match for saving almost every shot that came her way. 

Watch it: Here are the highlights from yesterday’s Grand Final.

🏉 Lions roar as Broncos gallop into the finals 

What a time to be a fan of women’s footy in Brisbane. The Lions are into the AFLW prelims again and the Broncos wrapped up a 4th minor premiership in a row after a super Sunday in the sunshine state. 

Golden points: The Lions have a chance to defend their AFLW title after they beat the Magpies by 50 points yesterday.

• This was the game that was delayed a week because of heaps of COVID cases in the Collingwood camp. 

• The Lions were way too good and will now play the Demons at the MCG. That’ll be the first ever AFLW game at the venue and tickets to both prelim finals will be free.

• Calculators were needed yesterday to work out which teams would make the NRLW finals. But the equation became pretty simple when the Broncos smashed Parramatta to knock the Eels out of the top 4. 

Key click: Here is all the info for this weekend’s AFLW and NRLW finals. 

🏏 GOAT puts Pakistan in a spin

If good things come to those who wait, then the Aussies definitely deserved their Test series win over Pakistan.

Golden points: After 2 draws to start the series, Australia lifted the trophy after they took the final wicket in the final session of the 3rd and final Test.

• They call him the GOAT, and Nathan Lyon showed why with 5 wickets to help the Aussies win by 115 runs.

• That was Australia’s first Test series win in Asia in 11 years and it’s the perfect prep because there are a couple more tours to Sri Lanka and India coming up in the next 12 months. 

What’s next: The players are gonna keep on racking up the frequent flyer points because they’ve got a long tour of Sri Lanka starting in June. But before that, there’s a 3-game one-day series against Pakistan that starts on Tuesday.

👀 Quick singles

🏀 Aussie youngster Josh Giddey will miss the rest of the NBA season because of a hip injury. Giddey has had a great year for Oklahoma City in his first season, but the injury will probably cost him any chance of winning Rookie of the Year. 

🏁 Shane van Gisbergen is on top of the V8 Supercars standings after a dominant weekend in Tasmania. Van Gisbergen won all 3 races, something not done since Garth Tander did it back in 2005. 

🎾 Nick Kyrgios continues to sizzle after he beat Italy's Fabio Fognini in straight sets at the Miami Open. The Aussie is into the Round of 16 after his 2nd win in a row over a seeded player. 

🏏 It was 8th time lucky for Elyse Villani as she starred with the bat to help Tasmania win its first WNCL title. Villani hit an unbeaten century as she and teammate Emma Manix-Geeves led Tasmania to a big win over South Australia. 

🏉 Mitch Barnett is facing a long ban from the NRL after he was referred straight to the judiciary for an ugly hit on Chris Smith. Barnett was sent off for elbowing Smith in the jaw on Saturday and will learn his fate on Tuesday night. 

🏀 The WNBL semi-final between the Capitals and Lynx has been postponed because of a COVID outbreak in the Capitals team. It means the series is down to 2 games because the season has to be over by Easter.

⚽ Danish footballer Christian Eriksen scored an emotional goal in his first game back for his country since he suffered cardiac arrest at the European Championship last year. It took less than 2 minutes for him to score this goal against the Netherlands.

🏏 Australia will play the West Indies in the semi-finals of the Women’s 50-over World Cup after India was eliminated following a final-ball loss to South Africa. That game is on Wednesday, with England to play SA in the other semi.

🙃 Left of field…

Friday night was one of those “where were you” moments when Lance Franklin kicked his 1000th AFL goal. Well, we know where Alex Wheeler was because he caught the ball. But all good things come to an end and he’s gonna hand it back.

Golden points: Wheeler could have a future in the AFL after he flew through the crowd to catch Buddy’s milestone goal. 

• It would have been an awesome memento to hang in the pool room or something he could have sold for heaps of money. It's been valued at $200,000.

• But Franklin and the Swans really wanted the ball back, and after a wild search on social media, they tracked Wheeler down. 

• He’s going to get some cool stuff from the Swans but it probably won’t compare to the Bitcoin that NFL star Tom Brady gave a fan when something similar happened last year. 

Watch it: He got the pill! He got the pill! Watch him get said pill.

📽 The highlight reel

It looks like we've found the next mini golf master after this guy drained a full-court putt at an NBA game to win $50,000. 

📸 Photo finish

It's Mother's Day in the UK, and Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford just wants to say thanks to his mum for helping him tie the knot. Literally, of course. 

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

The Gold Coast Titans beat the Broncos 28-26 in Round 4.