🗞 Entire Board Dismissed

G’day Sports Fans,

Classic quote: “There are a lot of carbs in beer.” - Steve Smith (Cheers for that insight, Steve).

📧 P.S. First time reading? Subscribe here for free.

🇦🇺 AUSSIE SPORTS NEWS
 Quitters never win, Smith plays golf, Opetaia’s pay day

🏏 Matt Renshaw will be sweating on scan results after the Test hopeful came off with a hamstring injury in the Brisbane Heat’s 20-run victory over the Sydney Thunder in Canberra.

🏀 South East Melbourne's NBL playoff hopes have been boosted by the arrival of former ex-Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns small forward Abdel Nader.

🏉 Former England captain Jo Yapp has been announced as the new Wallaroos head coach, becoming the country's first full-time women's mentor.

Yapp captained England to the 2006 Rugby World Cup final, and also spent five years as the head coach of England's U20 women's team.

🥊 Australian boxing world champion Jai Opetaia could be stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title for accepting a lucrative bout in Saudi Arabia.

Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) will pocket $680k to face England's Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7 KOs) on a card that will feature Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Joseph Parker in the Middle East on December 23.

However, the IBF demands his next fight comes against Latvia's Mairis Briedis, in a mandatory title defence first, despite Breidis being currently injured and unavailable to box.

🏏 After the departure of several high profile players, the Big Bash League has been given a significant boost with Pat Cummins returning to the Sydney Thunder.

Cummins will be on a supplementary contract as a 19th player in the squad, sitting outside of the 18-man playing squad.

THAT’S IT, I QUIT
Shake up at Netball Australia & West Tigers

⛹🏻‍♀️ Netball Australia boss Kelly Ryan has quit following a bitter pay war with the players' union, paving the way for the sport to rebuild from the ugliest period in its history.

Having taken up the chief executive role in mid-2021, Ryan has resigned - effective immediately - after the long-running dispute over a new collective player agreement (CPA) finally ended last week. (ESPN)

🏉 Shane Richardson was unveiled as interim chief executive at the Tigers on Tuesday after Justin Pascoe was pushed resigned from his role following a review into the club's culture and governance.

Pascoe quit after eight years in the job, the last few months of which have led to him being under sustained pressure from the club's supporters and board.

The board's controlling faction - the Holman Barnes Group - ordered an off-season review into the Tigers troubles after they picked up a second successive wooden spoon, ending the 2023 season with just four wins.

Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis, along with the rest of the seven-person board, has been dismissed and will be replaced as chair by former NSW premier Barry O'Farrell on an interim basis.

🏏 Steve Smith is adamant he doesn’t have to “reinvent the wheel” to address what could be considered a lean period in an otherwise stunning career with no immediate plans to enter retirement. 

Test centuries in both England and India in 2023 would be considered by a most a successful year, but Smith’s average across his past 11 Tests of 43.2 is well below his career return of 58.61.

His recent taking up of golf highlights an acknowledgement of a need to more occasionally switch off from cricket.

New Hobby: "I've sort of got into the golf a bit and played a bit of golf back home. The boys are continually laughing about it at the moment, that I'm getting into golf."

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium (1.20pm AEDT)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG (10.30am AEDT)

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner.

📺 Sports journalist Paul Kent has been found not guilty of allegations he attacked his then [now ex]-partner at his home in Sydney’s inner west.

Following a two-day hearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, Magistrate Daniel Rees told the court he could not find the charges proven beyond reasonable doubt.

🌎 WORLD SPORTS NEWS
Football is violent, Pants Down to play, Bronny plays

⚽️ Turkish domestic football has been suspended after a referee was punched to the ground by a club president following a top-flight game on Monday.

Halil Umut Meler was struck by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, who ran on to the pitch after his team conceded a 97th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

"The matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely," Turkish FA [TFF] chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi said in a news conference.

Meanwhile, Top-flight football in Greece will be played behind closed doors for the next two months in an effort to clamp down on violence at sporting events.

⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 50th goal in 2023 as Al-Nassr beat rivals Al-Shabab 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Saudi King Cup.

Three days ago, Ronaldo played the 1,200th professional match of his career in a 4-1 win against Al-Riyadh.

📺 Netflix is serving up another live sporting event. The streaming platform will air The Netflix Slam, a tennis match headlined by Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

The two Spaniards are scheduled to face off on March 3 (US) and it will stream live from the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

🏀 Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies guard, testified that he acted in self-defense when he punched a teenager during a pickup basketball game at his home in July 2022.

The teenager, Joshua Holloway, accused Morant of assault, leading to a lawsuit. Morant claimed that he swung first to protect himself after Holloway hit him in the face with a basketball, and he believed Holloway's actions [of pulling up his shorts] signaled a fighting stance.

Morant is also serving a 25-game NBA suspension for brandishing a firearm on social media.

❤️ Blackcaps legend Chris Cairns marked another step in his recovery after a heart attack and spinal cord injury by walking into a pub for the first time. Not all Heroes wear capes.

🏏 Rishabh Pant is set to make his return to cricket in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) after over a year out of the game.

India wicketkeeper Pant, 26, was seriously hurt in a car crash in December 2022.

Reports in India said he suffered injuries to his head, back and leg.

🏀 Bronny James, the son of legend LeBron James, said he was "thankful for everything" as he made his college debut less than five months after collapsing with a cardiac arrest.

The 19-year-old came off the bench in the first half for the University of Southern California in their 84-79 defeat by Long Beach State.

James was found to have a congenital heart defect in July and was cleared to return to the sport in November.

"Proud of you kid," LeBron James said.

"Today you've given me more life."

🎾 World number one Iga Swiatek has been named WTA Player of the Year for the second successive season. 

The Pole, 22, is the first player to win consecutive awards since 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams won four from 2012 to 2015. 

📺 LIVE SPORTS ON TV

TODAY

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Inter Milan v Real Sociedad  (Stan Sport)

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - FC Union Berlin v Real Madrid  (Stan Sport)

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Manchester United v Bayern Munich  (Stan Sport)

11:30  - NHL - St. Louis Blues v Detroit Red Wings  (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

11:30 - NBA - Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers  (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

14:00 - NHL - Edmonton Oilers v Chicago Blackhawks  (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

14:00 - NBA - Phoenix Suns v Golden State Warriors  (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

19:15 - Big Bash League - Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers  (Fox Cricket or Channel 7)

THURSDAY

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Newcastle United v Milan  (Stan Sport)

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain  (Stan Sport)

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Celtic v Feyenoord  (Stan Sport)

07:00 - UEFA Champions Lge - Atletico Madrid v Lazio  (Stan Sport)

11:30 - NHL - New Jersey Devils v Boston Bruins  (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

12:00  - NBA - San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers  (ESPN or Kayo Sports)

13:20 - Test Match - Australia v Pakistan  (Channel 7, Fox Cricket, or 7mate)

14:00 - NHL - Colorado Avalanche v Buffalo Sabres  (ESPN 2 or Kayo Sports)

19:30 - NBL - South East Melbourne Phoenix v Melbourne United  (ESPN or Kayo Sports)