🗞 Breaking Olympics

December 06, 2020

G'day sports fans,

Classic Quote: “The only time an Australian ever walks is when his car runs out of petrol.” – Barry Richards (South African Cricketer)

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🏏 Onto the Tests

⚽️ A step too far

🕺🏼 Break-dancing in the olympics

🏏 Cricket

Australia v India: Virat Kohli's side win series with game to spare

Second Twenty20 international, Sydney Cricket Ground

  • Australia 194-5 (20 overs): Wade 58 (32), Smith 46 (38), Natarajan 2-20

  • India 195-4 (19.4 overs): Dhawan 52 (36), Pandya 42* (22)

India won by six wickets

All-rounder Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 22-ball 42 as India beat Australia by six wickets to win the Twenty20 series with a game to spare.

India needed 14 off the final over, and Pandya hit debutant Daniel Sams for two sixes to win with two balls to spare.

Earlier Australia posted 194-5 with stand-in captain Matthew Wade scoring 58 and Steve Smith 46.

On a fantastic pitch, Australia started well with Wade, who captained his country for the first time in any format instead of the injured Aaron Finch, hitting 10 fours and one six in his 32-ball knock.

However, wickets kept pegging them back with Yuzvendra Chahal joining Jasprit Bumrah as India's top T20 wicket-taker with 59 victims when he removed Smith.

India were on course for victory before a mid-innings blip, but Pandya and Shreyas Iyer shared an unbroken 46 - including 37 off the final 16 balls - to guide their side home.

Old firm stand up against Australia A

A hundred to Ajinkya Rahane and another patiently defiant half-century from Cheteshwar Pujara against Australia A provided timely reminders that India's batting prowess extends well beyond skipper Virat Kohli

‘There is a process ’: Langer explains Smith’s captaincy snubbing

Australia has again resisted the temptation to hand Steve Smith the captaincy, instead handing the reins to Matthew Wade for Sunday’s must-win Twenty20 against India.

Australia lost regular captain Aaron Finch to a glute injury suffered in the series opener in Canberra and promoted Wade to the top job for the first time in his international career.

Coach Justin Langer said Smith was considered for the job on Fox Sports, but indicated there will steps to be taken before he would be made captain of the national team again.

⚽️ Football

Ulsan (former sponsors of the A-League, car company) 3-0 Melbourne Victory

Bjorn Maars Johnsen grabbed a double and Won Du-Jae was also on target as Ulsan Hyundai beat Melbourne Victory 3-0 in the AFC Champions League.

Johnsen slotted past Max Crocombe in the 65th minute and Du-Jae doubled the lead 12 minutes later when the second-half substitute headed home, and Johnsen's tap-in four minutes from time sealed a straightforward victory.

Victory were sluggish but did have chances of their own, Brandon Lauton forcing Jo So-Huk into a decent stop with a powerful drive, before Ulsan finally found the breakthrough. (ESPN)

Credit: @DailyOzFootball

Premier League

Man City 2-0 Fulham: Raheem Sterling's close-range finish and a Kevin de Bruyne penalty made it back-to-back wins for City. It could have been 7 or 8.

Chelsea 3-1 Leeds: Timo Werner somehow manages to steer Olivier Giroud's goal-bound header away from goal! (see below)

Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal: Kane and Son, "Kason"? put it to the Gunners, who were timid at best. Big relegation six pointer next Sunday, Arsenal v Burnley

Liverpool v Wolves is underway.

🐴 Racing

1001-day drought ends for ‘Special K’

Godolphin and trainer James Cummings scored their first win in WA when Kementari spectacularly ended a 1001-day winning drought in Saturday's Group 3 AJ Scahill Stakes (1400m).

The enigmatic galloper, who has been a source of frustration for punters during his drought, could have put retirement plans on hold after he stormed home to claim a comfortable victory.

It was somewhat of a consolation win for global racing and breeding giant Godolphin and trainer Cummings, after they had fallen short of success at Ascot in the past three years.

“It’s unreal,” Godolphin travelling foreman Nacim Dilmi said.

“At the top of the straight when I saw how well he was travelling, I knew he was going to give it a good fight.

“But the way he won today, he’s definitely still got it in him.

🏉 NRL

Tigers re-sign Seyfarth - Wests Tigers confirmed that local junior Alex Seyfarth has signed a new playing contract with the club for the 2021 NRL season.

Sandor Earl has announced his NRL retirement after a decade-long career that included a four-year ban for performance-enhancing drug offences.

🏉 Rugby

'We've got a long way to go'

Rennie's blunt assessment of Wallabies after finishing year with draw. Australia missed a last-minute penalty as they drew 16-16 with Argentina in the final game of the 2020 Tri-Nations.

Argentina, who left out captain Pablo Matera and two other players after comments on their social media accounts came to light, led 13-6 at half-time following Bautista Delguy's try.

A penalty and skipper Michael Hooper's converted try hauled Australia level but Reece Hodge's penalty went wide.

The result means, as expected, New Zealand are the Tri-Nations champions.

The draw meant the Wallabies finished the year with just one victory – a 24-22 win over the All Blacks in Bledisloe IV.

Despite the third near miss of the season, Rennie didn’t believe the Wallabies’ inability to close out the match was psychological.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position to win all of them. I don’t think it’s psychological,” he said.

“All of those games shouldn’t have come down to a last-minute penalty attempt.

“We had opportunities tonight to convert and put a bit of scoreboard pressure on them.

Without calling the season a failure, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie says his side will be judged on results and on that basis they have a “long way to go” after missing yet another chance to post a win on Saturday night.

🇦🇺 AFL

Reef McInnes is one of the most talented NGA prospects in this year's NAB AFL Draft

🥊 Boxing

Errol Spence Jr beats Danny Garcia in first fight since car crash

American welterweight Errol Spence Jr marked his first fight after a serious car crash by beating Danny Garcia to defend his WBC and IBF world titles.

Spence, 30, was in intensive care after flipping his Ferrari at high speed in Dallas in October 2019.

He was charged by police with driving while intoxicated and put on probation.

On his return to the ring, Spence dominated 32-year-old American Garcia to win by a unanimous decision at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Spence extended his record to 27-0 - with 21 of those victories by knockout - in a classy performance which was carded 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 in his favour.

🧢 The Cap Is Back

Roger Federer re-aquires the "RF" logo

When the Swiss makes his much-anticipated return to the courts in 2021, he will have a familiar look.

Nike had registered the ‘RF’ logo as its trademark in 2009 and while Federer confirmed he was keen to get it back, it has taken a couple of years for him to be allowed to use it once again. This time with Uniqlo, from tomorrow.

Federer offered this comment on the Uniqlo website:

“This hat has meant so much to me and to my fans over the years. It has given us a way to visibly connect, and I have appreciated the opportunity to thrive off this supportive energy.”

An identifiable and fashionable logo can ensure an athlete’s legacy. Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, two of the most recognizable athletes of all time, are practically immortalized by their iconic logos.

Jerry West’s silhouette dribbling a basketball, long used as the NBA’s calling card, was so distinctive, “The Logo” became one of his nicknames.

🏅Olympics

Parkour and breaking for Paris 2024

Parkour and breaking are set to be radical new additions to the Olympic programme when the final line-up for Paris 2024 on Tuesday.

Parkour is typically a street sport which involves running, jumping and climbing over obstacles.

Breaking, meanwhile, is a form of competitive breakdancing.

"It's going to be great for breaking as it gives us more recognition as a sport," breakdancer Karam Singh

"And for the Olympics, it will attract young people who may not follow some of the traditional sports."

Of the 27 international federations to have sports in the existing Olympic programme, 20 are proposing changes.

Cost-cutting measures will see athlete numbers drop from 11,238 at Rio 2016 to under 10,500 by 2024, which will be achieved despite the addition of new disciplines and the removal of only baseball/softball and karate.

  • A new "extreme slalom" concept of head-to-head racing is being proposed by the International Canoeing Federation

  • A mixed team time trial could be added to cycling's road-race programme

  • Rowing hopes to have three new 'coastal' events, with handball pitching for a beach version.

But not everyone is happy...Modern pentathlon traditionally struggles in terms of viewing figures. It would see the day-long event transformed to 90-minute 'TV friendly' semi-finals and finals.

📺 Live sport 👇🏼

TODAY

⚽️ 06:45 - Italian Serie A - Sampdoria v Milan (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 07:00 - France Ligue 1 - FC Metz v Olympique Lyonnais (BeIN Sports 3)

⚽️ 07:00 - Spanish La Liga - Deportivo Alaves v Real Sociedad (BeIN Sports 2)

⚽️ 07:00 - MLS Eastern - Columbus Crew v New England Revolution (ESPN 2)

🏈 08:05 - NFL Regular Season - Arizona Cardinals v Los Angeles Rams (ESPN 1)

🏈 08:25 - NFL Regular Season - Green Bay Packers v Philadelphia Eagles (7mate)

🏈 09:00 - NCAA Men's - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets v Kentucky Wildcats (ESPN 2)

🏈 12:20 - NFL Regular Season - Kansas City Chiefs v Denver Broncos (ESPN 1)

🏏 22:00 - ODI Series - South Africa v England (Fox Cricket)

TUESDAY

⚽️ 01:00 - Indian Super League - Jamshedpur FC v ATK Mohun Bagan (Fox Sports)

🏄🏻‍♀️ 05:00 - Women's Maui Pro, Day 4, Round 1 (Kayo Sports)

⚽️ 06:30 - German Bundesliga - TSG Hoffenheim v Augsburg (BeIN Sports 3)

⚽️ 06:45 - Italian Serie A - Fiorentina v Genoa (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 07:00 - Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion v Southampton (Optus Sport 1)

⚽️ 07:00 - Spanish La Liga - Eibar v Valencia (BeIN Sports 2)

🏈 09:00 - NFL Regular Season - Pittsburgh Steelers v Washington (ESPN 1)

🏈 12:15 - NFL Regular Season - San Francisco 49ers v Buffalo Bills (ESPN 1)

⛹🏻‍♀️ 18:05 - WNBL Regular Season - Adelaide Lightning v Melbourne Boomers (Kayo Sports)

🏏 19:10 - Twenty20 Series - Australia v India (Fox Cricket)

⛹🏻‍♀️ 20:35 - WNBL Regular Season - Perth Lynx v Sydney Uni. Flames (Kayo Sports)