G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: "(We) should be allowed to wear shorts. God almighty, (LPGA) women are allowed to wear 'em, and we've got better legs than they do." - Greg Norman

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🏉 Warriors land in Australia

⚽️ Could the EPL finish their season in Australia?

🏋🏽‍♀️ Game of Thrones actor breaks 501kg (1,104lbs) deadlift record

"The Wifi password is on the back of the router mate"

🐴 Racing

An online buy wins Group I TAB Classic

An online buy that couldn’t get in foal has held off her rivals to cause an upset in Saturday’s Group I TAB Classic (1200m) at Morphettville.

Bella Vella spent time at three stables before her previous owner Sir Owen Glenn retired her to be served by multiple Group I winner Criterion.

However, the match didn’t produce a foal and Bella Vella was put up for sale in an online auction.

Enter Morphettville trainer Will Clarken, fellow trainer David Jolly and a band of mates, who bought the daughter of Commands for $20,000.

“David Jolly actually found her and some of my owners were looking at her as well so we put a syndicate together and bought her,” Clarken told racing.com.

“It’s a fairy tale story now.

“She was previously owned by the owner of Criterion and went to meet him and he was infertile so she didn’t get in foal so she came back to the track.

“The rest is history I guess now.”

Clarken has placed Bella Vella well since she joined his stable last year. She had won five of her 10 starts for the stable before Clarken tested her at Group I level in the TAB Classic. (Racenet)

🏉 NRL

‘One in 10,000 chance’

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys says there is only a “one in 10,000 chance” of players catching coronavirus if they conform to the NRL’s strict biosecurity measures after they reassemble this week.

The NRL will take the next step toward a May 28 restart of the suspended competition when the 16 clubs hold education days on Monday, with the biosecurity guidelines to be explained to all players.

Providing players are satisfied, they are expected to resume training as early as Tuesday.

“If they do something wrong they jeopardise the whole game, so the consequences are immense.”

Citing statistics supplied by the biosecurity expert hired by the NRL, V’landys played down the health risk of the NRL’s return to players and the community.

“But you do have to also put it into perspective. We have undertaken one of the greatest risk analyses there is,” he said.

“If they do transgress it is a one in a thousand chance in the community that they will get the virus.

“If they stay with our biosecurity measures it is one in 10,000 chance they will get the virus.

“I am not in any way discounting the importance of the coronavirus, but there is one in 10,000 chance you could die of a car accident. (Fox)

‘Corona cops’ to doorknock NRL players as Warriors land in Aus

The Warriors landed in Tamworth on Sunday and will spend two weeks training in quarantine before basing on the Central Coast.

It’s been revealed NRL players will receive random door knocks to ensure they aren’t breaking isolation protocols.

Parts of a document were leaked on Sunday which is the set of rules the ARLC and its innovation committee have devised to get the game back on track for a May 28 restart.

The document says players will be subject to “door knocks at your designated home to check where you should be or where you say you should be”.

Clubs are also told to call players to check they are isolating properly. Players and clubs will be subject to penalties if any of the protocols are breached.

“Failure to adhere to these protocols, even by one player or staff member, jeopardises the entire NRL season for everyone,” the document reads. (FOX)

🇦🇺 AFL

Welcome to footy

A British sports fan has delivered a hilarious review of his first time watching footy - and it’s hard to argue with some of his revelations.

Without any of his favoured codes to watch on at home, Reddit user mark49s decided to watch all of the matches from Round 1 this season, and posted his findings to the AFL subreddit this weekend.

He then shared the players he found most notable or interesting with some interesting descriptors.

From Collingwood, he enjoyed “#4 Ruck man, very tall; looks like Jared Leto but with bigger ears”, aka Brodie Grundy.

Adelaide’s Tom Lynch stood out because he “looks like the Shermanator from the American Pie films”, while Geelong pair “White guy with dreads” (Gryan Miers) and “caveman looking bloke” were impressive.

There was also Gold Coast’s “34 with poor attempt at moustache” (Ben King) and North Melbourne’s “A tall bloke with big pecs”.

After watching every team play, the impression mark49s got was that Sydney’s Isaac Heeney was the best player in the AFL. And also that he “looks like a Thunderbirds puppet”.

Also noting “The prevalence of the moustache is, frankly, astounding.”

🚴🏼‍♂️ Tour De France

Chris Froome concerned about crowds gathering

Chris Froome thinks the Tour de France can work without spectators but does not know how organisers can stop large crowds from attending.

The Tour, originally due to start on 27 June, is now due to begin on 29 August.

No French mass gatherings are allowed before September, but the government has said the Tour could start in August if the first stages were carefully run.

“Would the organisers be able to keep people from coming and gathering in large crowds?" said Froome.

The four-time Tour champion, speaking on an Instagram Live chat with former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, added: “In theory we can put on the race and it can be broadcast on television.

"You're not going to get the same scenes as you would get going through these tunnels of just people everywhere and all the rest of it.

"Maybe that's the version of the race we need to see this year. I don't know.”

⚽️ Football

Best Players age 21 or under

ESPN's criteria: Appearances at the highest level and confirmed performance level over a sustained period. (see full article here)

1. Kylian Mbappe (FW; Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Age: 21

Estimated transfer value: €175m

That last year's No. 1 retains the top spot shows that Mbappe has been so good for so long at such a young age. In the two years since helping France win the World Cup at 19, he has scored more than 70 goals for club and country and arguably usurped Neymar as PSG's main man. But with Real Madrid rumours ongoing, how much longer will he remain in Paris?

Premier League Offered The Chance To Finish This Season In Australia

The Premier League season has been handed a lifeline - after receiving an offer to finish it in Perth, Australia.

Premier League officials are desperate to finish the season but are yet to come up with a clear course of action.

However, The Sun have reported that agent Gary Williams is backed by an Australian senator and is leading the charge for the season to finish overseas.

Am unnamed club official told The Sun: "We go on world tours in pre-season. This is no different. And the climate in Australia is ideal just now."

The four venues are the Optus Stadium (65,000 capacity), Perth Oval (20,500), WACA (24,500) and Joondalup Arena (16,000).

English agent Williams revealed: "I have had discussions with contacts at Premier League clubs and they like the idea.

Transfer Gossip:

Real Madrid are preparing a £70m bid for 27-year-old Manchester Unitedmidfielder Paul Pogba. The France international has told the Premier League club he will not sign a contract extension. (Sunday Express)

Barcelona are willing to sell some of their biggest names, including 29-year-old France forward Antoine Griezmann, this summer in order to raise funds. (Daily Star Sunday)

BREAKING: Premier League clubs are preparing for the possibility of playing the whole of next season behind closed doors [Sky Sports]

🎾 Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt discusses how tennis in Australia can return

Lleyton Hewitt believes Tennis Australia could be forced to hold local competitions for homegrown talent only amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

🏅 Athletics

On Sunday, 3 of the best Pole-Vaulters on the planet competed against one another in the Ultimate Garden Clash

World record-holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the USA and 2012 Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie of France competed via a live video link from the comfort and safety of their own back gardens in a unique competition for the ages.

Instead of a contest to clear the maximum height – which would be difficult with a lack of officials to move the bar up and adjust standards – the three athletes worked together to devise their own competition format.

They attempted to vault 5.00m as many times as they could within 30 minutes.

Both Duplantis and Lavillenie managed 36 times each. (Watch on YouTube)

🏏 Cricket

Cricket Australia secures $50M loan after standing down more than 200 staff

Cricket Australia has secured a loan of $50 million, an upfront payment as part of a larger $200 million credit, which it has sought to cover the losses if India fail to tour the country later this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CA stood down more than 200 staff on 20 percent pay until the end of June with chief executive Kevin Roberts fearing they might run out of money by August if the drastic cuts were not made.

According to a report published in Sydney Morning Herald, stakeholders have been informed that the loan with the Commonwealth Bank is a "done deal".

CA is staring at losing a staggering AU$ 300 million in the wake of the pandemic and India's four-Test tour in December-January could provide relief to the struggling body.

Head Coach Justin Langer has spoken of some positives that may come from the restrictions.

"It wasn't that long ago that we prided ourselves on having an amazing club-cricket system that fed into state domestic cricket, which fed into the best of the best playing for Australia," Langer said.

"I see it as an amazing opportunity. I can see it actually going back that way.

"More emphasis back on club cricket, more emphasis on state cricket then get the best of the best in Australia. That would be my vision for the next five years."

🏋🏽‍♀️ Dead lift Record

Game of Thrones actor breaks 501kg (1,104lbs) deadlift record

Hafthor Bjornsson, who portrayed Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in the HBO series, broke the record at his gym in his native Iceland.

The strongman lifted the barbell for two seconds, before dropping the weights and roaring in delight.

Bjornsson, who is 2.05m tall (6ft 9in), previously won the World's Strongest Man competition in 2018.

The record was previously held by Eddie Hall, a British man who in 2016 became the first man to lift 500 kg.

Eddie came out after the record was broken and has promised to 'rip The Mountain's f*cking head off' after accepting an offer for a boxing match.

Watch this space.

We'll be back on Wednesday!