G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: “Fair dinkum, if Manly was playing Iraq in the grand final, I would be finding a shop that sold Iraqi flags.” - Penrith legend Greg Alexander.

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🏉 Where's Cam? and match day squads announced

⛳️ The fifth major

⚽️ A new record

🏏 Cricket

All-round class lifts Blues to top of the table: Half-centuries to David Warner, Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott helped NSW reel in the victory target late on day four. (cricket)

Match report: New South Wales win by 6 wickets.

📉 Sheffield Shield Stat: Last season 64 innings completed, 37 incomplete. This season so far, 30 completed, 24 incomplete. Courtesy @RicFinlay

Reasons...Too many insipid surfaces?, playing on roads in the BBL?

🗿Cricket Australia has announced that the first-ever statue of a female cricketer will be sculpted and put on display at the SCG.

Who do you think it should be? Early names to be floated include Betty Wilson, Belinda Clark or a modern player like Meg Lanning or Ellyse Perry.

⚽️ Football

🇩🇪 Joachim Löw will step down as German national team head coach after the Euros, one year before the end of his contract.

⚡️ ICYMI: A new record was set in the A-League, with Matt Hatch scoring with his first touch, on his debut in the league. He scored after just 25 seconds of play! 📺 on Twitter

🤝 Joan Laporta was re-instated as Barcelona president this week. He was President of the club previously between 2004-10. During that time the club enjoyed their best ever period, including; 4 league titles, 2 Champions Leagues and a Club World Cup. Can they/do they want to keep Messi?

🧤 Designer Nicole McLaughlin collab'd with Puma and turned goalkeeper gloves into a jacket. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Tonight: Sydney FC (1.91) v Western United (3.70): Something is not right with Sydney FC with the defending champions winless run reaching four matches after their draw against the Roar.

Western United on the other hand, ran into a red and black wall in Ballarat on Sunday evening, being held scoreless for the first time in over a month.

UEFA Champions League R16 second legs (this morning)

Juventus v Porto (Porto 2-1). The Serie A giants bring plenty of confidence and momentum into the second leg and I’ll be backing them to overturn this deficit.

BVB Dortmund v Sevilla (Dor 3-2). The reverse fixture ended a run of seven consecutive clean sheets for Sevilla. Their star Norwegian striker Erling Haaland dominated the first leg and assuming he is fit and firing for this one, I cannot see anything other than another Dortmund win.

🐴 Racing

All-Star Mile field and barrier draw

Two of Australasia’s best race mares dominate the market for the $5 million All-Star Mile at The Valley on Saturday following Tuesday‘s all-important barrier draw.

The Queen of West Australian racing Arcadia Queen has been installed the ($3.50) favourite after the Grant and Alana Williams-trained galloper was handed barrier 5 by her jockey William Pike who drew the gate.

The Jamie Richards-trained Probabeel is the clear second pick at ($4). The daughter of Savabeel jumps from gate 10 when she will aim to add to her imposing record of 10 victories from 21 starts which includes three Group 1 victories. (racenet)

Draw for the All Star Mile:

• 1 Behemoth

• 2 Russian Camelot

• 3 Shout The Bar

• 4 Lunar Fox

• 5 Arcadia Queen

• 6 Regalo di Gaetano

• 7 The Harrovian

• 8 Mugatoo

• 9 Sir Dragonet

• 10 Probabeel

• 11 Greysful Glamour

• 12 Star Of The Seas

• 13 Mr Quickie

• 14 Streets Of Avalon

• 15 Still A Star

🏉 NRL

Opening match preview: Storm (1.87) v Rabbitohs: Grant, Finucane out; Bunnies unveil new recruits.

The Storm and the Rabbitohs have been a popular pick to play out this year’s Grand Final and it is only fitting that they should meet in the opening game of the season. 

After winning their fourth Premiership last year, the Storm have been installed as slight favourites as they embark on a new chapter without long-time captain Cameron Smith at the helm. 

The Rabbitohs will also sport a new look this season with the likes of Jai Arrow, Josh Mansour and Benji Marshall joining Latrell Mitchell and Alex Johnston in the red and green.

As far as recent history goes, the Storm have no doubt enjoyed the better part of this match up winning each of their last four encounters against South Sydney dating back to 2018. 

🤯 Melbourne Storm have won each of their last 18 round One matches.

Cameron Smith's potential exit from rugby league has taken a 'sad' turn as friends reveal they can't even reach him.

Alternatively, according to Paul Gallen, it won't be long until we see Smith back in the game... and at a Queensland-based club.

🙋🏻‍♂️ Squads have been announced for the opening round (NRL)

✍🏼 Mitchell Pearce has agreed to a one-year extension with the Knights, at a heavily reduced price.

🕺🏼Cameron Munster has revealed he signed his first contract with the Storm at a strip club in a hilarious interview with ex-NRL star Brett Finch. (Instagram)

📺 The Storm sat down with Fox League for an epic 2020 Grand Final review filled with laughs, and a few sprays from Bellyache. Watch it in full tonight 7:30pm. 📺 Preview

⛳️ Golf

The Players Championship

A year ago on the Friday of the players was when the tour was suspended due to Covid.

Universally referred to as the fifth major, the Players Championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments staged throughout the year and this is the 49th edition.

Rory McIlroy took the title two years ago. Nobody has ever defended the title and of the last 10 defending champions, only Webb Simpson, who finished tied 16th in 2019, has recorded a top-55 finish. 

Venue: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Favourite Dustin Johnson's course form figures reads an unimpressive MC-MC-34-57-W-59-69-28-12-17-5 and he's won just once in 30 starts in Florida

Last week's winner, Bryson DeChambeau, has finished only 37th and 20th in his two starts here but he's impossible to ignore. Jon Rahm is inconsistent, as is Rory.

Maybe time to look a bit further down the Field? Hovland, Morikawa, Paul Casey?

👴🏼 Phil Mickelson has dropped out of the Top 100 World Golf Rankings for the first time since 1993. 1,425 weeks in the top 100 is incredible!

📲 Bryson DeChambeau received a text message Sunday morning from Tiger Woods to keep fighting, good advice for a final round that turned out to be the toughest at Bay Hill in 41 years. DeChambeau closed with a 71, to win by one shot from Lee Westwood. No one broke 70 on Sunday at Bay Hill for the first time since 1980.

🇦🇺 AFL

🙌🏼 St Kilda will pay tribute to the late Danny Frawley with a special match to tackle mental health, that they're calling 'Spud's Game'

It will take place in round 2 when St Kilda take on Melbourne, and money raised will go towards mental health programs.

✍🏼 Oscar McDonald joins Carlton

✍🏼 Deakyn Smith & Majak Daw join Melbourne Demons - here's them finding out on (Twitter)

❌ Carlton's gun free agency recruit Zac Williams will be forced to wait for his Blues debut, with the club unsuccessful in its bid to overturn his one-match suspension at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night.

🤕 Medical room: The full AFL injury list post-AAMI (AFL)

🇺🇸 USA

💰 Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott gets congratulations from other players after his big new contract.

The star quarterback reached a four-year, US$160 million deal to stay with the Cowboys on Monday, putting to rest months of speculation about where he would end up in the 2021 season. 

🃏 A Tom Brady autographed rookie card sells for record US$1.32M at auction. It's the highest price for a football card ever.

🗑 St3ph Curry. Steph Curry defeated Mike Conley 28-27 to take home the 2021 NBA All-Star 3PT contest.

Curry is now a 2x 3PT contest champion (2015, 2021).

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