G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: "Because she is too ugly to kiss goodbye" - the wonderfully named Bum Phillips (former NFL Coach), on why he brings his wife on road trips.

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🐴 Quality weekend of racing

🏉 Top 5 biffs

🏌🏻‍♂️ Golf sets out return-to-play plan

🐴 Racing

SJ Tipping Game (results) 🎉

We had a huge number of entries, which is great to see, 37 of you managed to pick at least one winner from the 3 races and 5 of you managed to pick 2.

Shout out to our first winner Garry D - who managed to tip two winners and a 2nd place. He was only 0.1L from a ($287) treble. 🎩's off!

It looks like we have some knowledgeable punters in our readership!

We'll look at doing the horses again this weekend and introduce comps for other sports as they get back up and running.

The old Magic returns for Vega

There were those who thought he may never win another race but dual Group I winner Vega Magic proved them wrong in emotional scenes in Perth on Saturday.

It may have only been a Group III race in Perth but there tears and celebratory beers after Vega Magic, at one time regarded as one of Australia's best sprinters, recorded his first win in 658 days.

The win in the $160,000 race tipped the seven-year-old's career earnings over the $4million mark. (racenet)

Almond Eye makes amazing return in Japan

Group I wins don’t come any easier than Almond Eye’s success in Sunday’s Victoria Mile (1600m) in Japan.

Jockey Christophe Lemaire earned one of the easiest riding fees of his career as he guided Almond Eye to an effortless five-length win.

Almond Eye’s latest win was her ninth in 12 starts and came at the first start of her final racing season.

🏉 NRL

Top 5 rugby league biffs of all-time

The Battle of Brookvale has come in at No.1 on the top five rugby league biffs of all-time list as revealed by Nine's The Greatest.

They played in two grand finals between 2007 and 2008, but one of the most famous moments between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm is undoubtedly the Battle of Brookvale.

Ten players were charged and both clubs were fined $50,000 after an on-field brawl spilled onto the sideline.

The top five rugby league biffs as revealed by Nine's The Greatest:

5. Andrew Johns v Jamie Goddard – Game II 1995, Game III 1997

4. Anthony Watts v Robbie Farah – Round 19 2009

3. Steve Price v Brett White – Origin III 2009

2. Gorden Tallis v Ben Ross – Round 1 2003

1. Battle of Brookvale - Round 25 2011

🇦🇺 AFL

Geelong star Jack Steven hospitalised after sustaining injuries in off-field incident

Geelong has confirmed that star off-season recruit Jack Steven has been hospitalised after being seriously injured in an incident on Saturday night.

Steven presented himself to Cabrini Hospital on 183 Wattletree Road in Malvern at 1am with stab wounds.

Paramedics were called but left as he was already at the hospital and he has now been moved to the Alfred.

The Cats confirmed the news via a statement on Sunday morning, stressing that its main concern was the midfielder's health and well being.

"The club is aware that Jack Steven was injured in an incident last night," the statement read.

"Jack is in hospital and recovering. The club's concern is for Jacks' health and well being.

The incident comes after Stevens has struggled off the field for the past 12 months. (nine)

🏌🏻‍♂️ Golf

'Bubble' revealed for PGA Tour return

Golfers and caddies returning to the PGA Tour next month will face a battery of tests and safety measures as they adjust to tournament golf in the era of novel coronavirus.

Golf Channel says it has seen the 37-page health and safety document being sent to players as the PGA Tour, shut down since mid-March by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former world No.1 Jason Day and five-time tour winner Marc Leishman admit they have hesitations but will lean on mutual sponsor NetJets for private planes to travel to and from tournaments.

In addition to the Charles Schwab Challenge (11-14th June) the tournaments set to be held without fans are the;

• RBC Heritage (June 18-21) in Hilton Head, S.C., the

• Travelers Championship (June 25-28) in Cromwell, Conn, and the

• Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 2-5) in Detroit.

The first tournament tentatively preparing for spectators is the July 6-12 John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., followed by the Memorial.

⚽️ Football

'Bizarre, sterile and eerie' - what it was really like inside one of Germany's 'Ghost Games'

South Korea's K League kicked off last weekend, while some smaller leagues such as Belarus and Nicaragua have never stopped - but this was the first elite football in over two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The television broadcast during the afternoon made immediately clear that every shout, sound of the referee's whistle, and thud of the ball bouncing off the empty stands would create a haunting atmosphere at all of the matches played in this way.

With no fans in attendance, players could be heard communicating while coaches' directions to players on both sides were also clear.

In a disturbing exchange just minutes before Haaland's (Dortmund) opener, he was told to "go f--- his grandmother" by a Schalke defender, with the slur heard across the world due to the fan-less stadium.

Uefa has 'concrete plan' to finish European football season

Uefa president Aleksander Cerefin says it has a "concrete plan" for finishing the European season "in August".

The Champions League and Europa League are likely to be played in that month.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals are expected to be played over two legs.

The head of European football's governing body told BeIN Sports: "As things look now, I'm sure that we can finish the European season and this means Uefa competition." (BBC)

👊🏻 UFC

Looking back at landmark week as MMA bounces back

The UFC has concluded its triple header of events in Jacksonville, Florida, as it became the first sporting organisation to return to action in the United States since the cornavirus shutdown.

With the health of fighters and support staff a concern, the UFC sought to reduce the risk by employing multiple measures, including Covid-19 and antibody testing, and daily medical check-ups.

There was one notable scare before 9 May's UFC 249 event when Brazilian fighter Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for Covid-19 upon their arrival in Jacksonville.

"It feels good," UFC president Dana White told reporters at the post-fight news conference.

"I'm happy to have it behind me. It was successful in every way it could be successful. I feel great about it. More importantly, nobody is sick. Nobody has gotten sick. There's no guarantees in life, but hopefully that's the case and we all go home. It was a great event. It was a great week." (BBC)

🏉 Rugby

Quade Cooper reveals crazy new diet that has him fitter than ever

The 32-year-old is joined by Sonny Bill Williams and Brisbane Broncos gun Tevita Pangai Jnr in the diet, which includes bulk meat and seafood while fruit, vegetables and carbohydrates are largely excised.

“I’ve been on the carnivore diet for eight months, before that I wasn’t a full vegan but I was trying to eat healthy like that, trying to stay low on my meat and eat more veggies, no dairy.

“But I felt like I got quite lean but also soft in my muscles. Although I was training really hard, anytime I’d take contact I’d find I was getting hurt.

“Now I’ve combined this diet with pre-hab, looking after my body before I get on the field, before I leave the house, that has been a game-changer.

“The way I feel physically and mentally right now, it’s much better than 2016 or 2017. It’s a good feeling to know the things you’re doing and put time and effort into are paying off.”

Cooper told The Daily Telegraph his new regimen has been a ‘game-changer’.

Quade Cooper’s meal plan

7am: Bulletproof coffee (2 cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of MCT oil)

9am: Sip bone broth throughout workout

10.30am: Two rib-eye steaks with salt and butter

6pm: 800 gram tomahawk steak with roasted bone marrow, a dozen oysters.

We'll be back on Wednesday!

📺 Live Sport

Monday

⚽️ 23:30 (last night) - Bundesliga - FC Koln v Mainz 05 (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 02:00 - Bundesliga - FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (BeIN Sports 1)

🎯 04:30 - Major Tournaments - PDC Home Tour, Night 31 (Fox Sports)

🚘 05:30 - NASCAR Cup Series Race, 400 Miles (Fox Sports)

🎮 19:00 - Esports - Supercars All Stars Eseries, Celebrity Race (Fox Sports)

Tuesday

⚽️ 04:30 - Bundesliga - Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (BeIN Sports 1)

🎯 04:30 - PDC Home Tour, Night 32 (Fox Sports)