🗞 Football as we know it

September 15, 2020

G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: "For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip." - John Motson BBC commentator

I've tried to keep the mail a bit lighter today, let me know if you prefer it or not, I know you're all busy people 😉

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🐴 Ballydoyle add to Melbourne Cup contingent

⚾️ Most expensive US sports franchise bought

⚽️ Championship AU by 2022

🇦🇺 AFL

Kade Simpson will retire after this week's clash against Brisbane.

Thursday: North Melbourne (8.50) v West Coast Eagles (1.06): A win for the Eagles will be enough to secure the double-chance throughout the finals, while a loss would still leave them with home-field advantage against the eighth seed in the Elimination Final.

  • 📈 West Coast has won only once in five games at Metricon this year

🏉 NRL

Robbie Farah and Brett Kimmorley join Zac Bailey to preview all of the ins and outs ahead of Round 19 of the Telstra Premiership

✍🏼 Signings

Thursday: Rabbitohs v Bulldogs: Gagai suspended; Doorey's season over (match preview)

  • 📈 Souths have lost only once all year at ANZ and have also covered in six of their last seven games as the line favourite at home.

Adelaide locked in for 2020 Origin opener

The Adelaide game on November 4 is just 10 days after the NRL grand final, with Sydney to host Game II one week later on November 11 and the final match at Suncorp Stadium on November 18.

⛳️ US Open

Venue: The West Course, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York.

Course Details: Par 70, 7,477 yards

Stroke Average in 2006 when 7,264 yards - 74.99

The 120th US Open tees off on Friday (AEST)

Golf fans now prepare for a hectic early season stretch with only two months separating the US Open from the Masters.

FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson has opened as the favourite heading into the weekend, while there is also a strong Aussie contingent made up of Jason Day, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.

"Nobody in the world putts better on Poa Annua greens and with recent form figures reading 2-1-2-1, the world number one is without question the man to beat."

Defending champ Gary Woodland will also be in attendance, alongside this year’s only major winner, Collin Morikawa.

🇦🇺 Jason Day (36.0) has finished inside the top-ten in five of his nine US Open appearances

Top of the market:

  • Dustin Johnson (9.0)

  • Jon Rahm (10.0)

  • Justin Thomas (13.0)

  • Collin Morikawa (17.0)

  • Rory McIlroy (17.0)

  • Xander Schauffele (15.0)

  • Webb Simpson (26.0)

  • Bryson DeChambeau (26.0)

  • Daniel Berger (31.0)

  • Patrick Cantlay (31.0)

🤔 I sent a poll out the the Sport Journal Club members to pick their winner, and Jon Rahm (11.0) came out on top by some distance (23% of the votes) having won two of his last six starts. He ranks first on the PGA Tour's All-Around Rankings. It's a fair call. Xander Schauffele was second.

⚽️ Football

Australia could have a national football second division by 2022

The Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) have created a partner group involving 30 clubs (who all raised $100,000) across the country aimed at creating a new competition below the A-League.

The group includes several former National Soccer League clubs including Marconi Stallions, Melbourne Knights, South Melbourne, Sydney United, Adelaide City and Wollongong Wolves.

At his stage it's envisaged as straight Promotion/Relegation into existing NPL state tiers. The Championship, Australia. Football as we know it. (SMH)

Transfers

🔁 Sydney FC youth midfielder Jake Hollman will be signing for Macarthur FC.

🔁 Newcastle's Dimitri Petratos has joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Wehda on a three-year deal

🔁 Jacob Tratt has joined Indian side Odisha FC from Perth Glory on a one-year deal

🔁 Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has signed a new five-year deal with the club. (BBC)

🔁 Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed a new three-year deal worth in the region of £250,000 per week. (Sky)

👊🏻 Hamburg's former Dynamo Dresden defender Toni Leistner climbed into the stands to confront fans of his old club after his side's 4-1 German Cup defeat.

🐴 Racing

Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes favourite sidelined by injury

Ballydoyle quarantine Tiger Moth for the Melbourne Cup

Tiger Moth demolished the field at Leopardstown on Saturday with a four-length win in the mile-and-a-half Group Three. That win earned him a 2.5kg penalty from Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter, taking his Cup weight to 52.5kg and his spot in the order of entry to 12th.

Tiger Moth has been placed in quarantine at Ballydoyle for a trip to Australia & the Melbourne Cup along with Anthony Van Dyck & Santiago.

Witchita is being prepped for the Kennedy Cantala. Magic Wand & Armory will run in the Mackinnon Stakes.

🇺🇸 'Merica

Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is set to be the new majority owner of the New York Mets in a deal that values the team at US$2.42 billion.

It’ll be the highest-valued North American team purchase in history, beating the $2.275 billion that David Tepper paid to purchase the Carolina Panthers in 2018.

Cohen will have 95% ownership of the team, with the Wilpon and Katz families retaining 5%.

Of MLB’s 29 other owners, 23 must approve the deal for it to go through. A vote is likely to take place in November.

The Miami Heat's path to the Eastern Conference finals has been nothing short of dominant. The Boston Celtics' journey has featured a few more bumps in the road.

⛹🏻‍♀️ Super Netball

Indigenous Round 2020 celebrates the gathering of many journeys at the same destination and kicks off this Wednesday night in Townesville.

🚴🏼‍♂️ Le Tour

German Lennard Kamna produced a superb solo break to power to victory on stage 16 of the Tour de France as Primoz Roglic maintained the overall lead.

Today, the Tour takes in a brutal 170km mountain route from Grenoble to Meribel Col de la Loze, in a day that is likely to ignite the general classification race.

📺 SBS has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to the Tour de France until 2030, in an agreement with the owners and organisers of the iconic cycling race, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O).

As part of the new broadcast deal, SBS has secured the exclusive Australian rights to the Dakar Rally and Schneider Electric Paris Marathon, as well as additional men’s and women’s cycling events, including the Paris Roubaix, La Vuelta, Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. (SBS)

🏉 Rugby

The dates for the two Bledisloe Cup Tests in New Zealand have been confirmed.

The All Blacks will play the Wallabies as Sky Stadium in Wellington on Sunday 11 October and then the following week on Sunday 18 October at Eden Park in Auckland.

Rugby Australia Interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke said: “Thank you to New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Government for the flexibility and support over the last week, to find a mutually agreeable solution.

Back on Friday!

📺 Live sport

Wednesday

⚽️ 08:15 - Copa Libertadores - Jorge Wilstermann v Clube Atletico Paranaense (BeIN Sports 1)

🏀 08:30- NBA Conference Finals - Boston Celtics v Miami Heat (ESPN 1)

⚾️ 08:40 - MLB - Miami Marlins v Boston Red Sox (Sky Sports 3)

🏒 10:00 - NHL Conference Finals - Tampa Bay Lightning v New York Islanders (ESPN 2)

⚽️ 10:30 - Copa Libertadores - Santos FC v Club Olimpia (BeIN Sports 2)

🏀 11:00 - NBA Conference Semifinals - Los Angeles Clippers v Denver Nuggets (ESPN 1)

⚾️ 11:40 - MLB - Seattle Mariners v San Francisco Giants (Sky Sports 3)

🎾 19:00 - ATP Rome Masters, Rounds 1&2, Day 3 (ESPN 2)

🎾 19:00 - WTA Internazionali d'Italia, Round 2, Day 3 (BeIN Sports 3)

⛹🏻‍♀️ 19:30 - Super Netball - SeasonCollingwood Magpies Netball v Sunshine Coast Lightning (Telstra TV)

⚽️ 20:00 - K League 1 - Suwon Samsung Bluewings v Pohang Steelers (Optus Sport 2)

⚽️ 20:30 - J1 League - Sagan Tosu v Consadole Sapporo (Optus Sport 3)

⚽️ 20:30 - J1 League - Yokohama F. Marinos v Shimizu S-Pulse (Optus Sport 4)

🚴🏼‍♂️ 21:35 - Tour de France, Stage 17, 170 km (SBS)

🏏 22:00 - ODI SeriesEngland v Australia (Fox Cricket)

Thursday

⚽️ 08:15 - Copa Libertadores Group Game - SC Internacional v America de Cali (BeIN Sports 2)

⚾️ 08:40 - MLB - Cincinnati Reds v Pittsburgh Pirates (Sky Sports 3)

⚾️ 09:05 - MLB - Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets (ESPN 2)

⚽️ 10:30 - Copa Libertadores - Bolivar v Palmeiras (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 10:30 - Copa Libertadores Group Game - CD Universidad Catolica v Gremio (BeIN Sports 2)

⚾️ 11:40 - MLB - Seattle Mariners v San Francisco Giants (Sky Sports 3)

⚾️ 12:00 - MLB - Los Angeles Angels v Arizona Diamondbacks (ESPN 2)

🎾 19:00 - ATP Rome Masters (ESPN 2)

🎾 19:00 - WTA Internazionali d'Italia (BeIN Sports 3)

🇦🇺 19:10 - AFL - North Melb. Kangaroos v West Coast Eagles (Fox Footy)

🏉 19:50 - NRL South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canterbury Bulldogs (Fox League or Nine)

🚴🏼‍♂️ 21:30 - Tour de France, Stage 18, 175 km (SBS)