🗞 Heartfelt tributes

G'day sports fans,

🧹 Housekeeping: In the last issue I proved that Artificial Intelligence isn’t stealing our jobs, anytime soon. I was playing around with Chatgpt over the weekend and thought I had built a widget to insert random sports facts/records directly into the newsletter.

Well, um, as MANY of you told me, it didn’t work.

Some of my favourtie replies to the newsletter;

“Your factoid about Sandy at Freo is bull****. It’s also spelled Fremantle. He played from 2003 to 2019. Also he is a legend.”

“Sandilands played for a hell of a lot longer than that.”

“This is not your best work”

Back to the drawing board. 🤣

🇦🇺 Aussie Sport

✍🏼 Jack Wighton will leave the Raiders and join the Rabbitohs at the end of this season after signing a deal with South Sydney, instead of taking up a more lucrative deal with Canberra or Wayne Bennett's Dolphins.

Nine's Danny Weidler broke the news on Tuesday, before The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Wighton had agreed to a deal of up to four years.

The Herald said Wighton informed Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and his teammates on Tuesday afternoon, four days out from their clash with the Dolphins in Canberra on Saturday.

✍🏼 Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona has signed a contract extension that will keep him in Melbourne until the end of the 2027 season.

“Nelson is in the prime of his career and is embracing his new role as one of the leaders of our forward pack," said Storm chairman Matt Tripp.

⚽️ ANZAC Soccer Ashes trophy has been rediscovered in suburban garage after almost 70 years.

For decades, Australian football has been hunting down an object described as "the greatest domestic treasure there is": a small, hand-carved wooden box containing the ashes of two cigars smoked by the captains of Australia and New Zealand after their first 'A' international match on Australian soil in June, 1923.

Known as the Soccer Ashes, this precious relic was the first trophy that was ever contested between the two trans-Tasman rivals, and forms a key chapter in the larger history of the Socceroos.

🏟 The Federal Government is reportedly set to approve funding for a multi-purpose stadium in Hobart, ticking off the final hurdle for a 19th AFL licence being awarded to Tasmania.

According to WIN News Tasmania’s Brent Costelloe, the Albanese government will fill the $240 million shortfall for the 23,000-capacity venue, which has been proposed to be built in Macquarie Point.

An announcement is expected within the next week, but the AFL is still awaiting official confirmation from the Federal Labor government ahead of the May 9 budget.

It would pave the way for the AFL and its 18 presidents to approve the 19th licence, bringing Tasmania into the competition.

❤️ Heartfelt tributes to Dean Holland are being made as Australia's racing community mourns the jockey who died following a fall during a race in country Victoria.

Holland, 34, was in the final sprint to the finish line in the opening race at Donald on Monday when his horse veered suddenly and crashed into the inside rail.

• More than $350,000 has been raised for the Holland family through crowdfunding

• Holland's family described him as a "once-in-a-lifetime" person.

⚽️ The heartwarming angle of Nestory Irankunda's 99th-minute equaliser that you haven't seen. Bask in his family going absolutely berserk at the sight of him rescuing a point for Adelaide United on Sunday. (📺 Twitter)

🌊 Byron Bay's adaptive surfing champion Mark "Mono" Stewart has made history by scoring two perfect rides in the final of the Japan Open.

The 61-year-old received 10 out of 10 for consecutive tube rides — winning his division in Shizunami on Monday with a score of 20.

MIDWEEK PUNT WITH DABBLE

😡 We were a Paul Momirovski try away from an ANZAC day $27 multi.

NBA MULTI: Nice little odds boost to the price paying $17.22 (GET ON).

Each of the Cavaliers' (playing Knicks) last six games have gone UNDER the total match points line.

Ten of the last 12 games between the Lakers and Grizzlies at FedExForum have gone UNDER the total match points line.

Each of the last seven games between the Heat and Bucks at Fiserv Forum have gone OVER the total match points line.

Six of the Kings' (playing Golden State) last eight games have gone UNDER the total match points line.

🌎 World Sport

⚽️ Ex-Southampton, Spurs, PSG Manager Mauricio Pochettino is in advanced talks with Chelsea to become manager at Stamford Bridge, replacing interim boss Frank Lampard before the start of next season.

🏏 Ajinkya Rahane has been included in India's squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia.

Rahane, 34, made his debut in 2013 but has not played a Test match since January 2022.

The final will be held at the Oval between 7 and 11 June

🚨 The New Orleans Police Department have issued an arrest warrant for former UFC star Nate Diaz on suspicion of second-degree battery.

Diaz was involved in a brawl last week following a Misfits boxing card in the city. A video that surfaced appeared to show Diaz render YouTube personality Rodney Petersen unconscious in the middle of a melee with several others.

⚽️ If successful in their pursuit, Man United will increase Kane's current £200,000-a-week contract at Spurs to £300,000 if he moves to Old Trafford this summer, with the club also trying to tie down fellow England forward Marcus Rashford, 25, to new terms by also offering a £300,000-a-week deal. (Sun)

🏈 Aaron Rodgers - the NFL's four-time Most Valuable Player - will join the New York Jets after they agreed a trade deal with the Green Bay Packers.

The quarterback said in March that he intended to end his 18-year spell with the Packers and join the Jets.

Rodgers, 39, had spent his entire NFL career with Green Bay, helping them win the Super Bowl in 2011.

🎾 Wimbledon is set to donate more than £500,000 to Ukraine relief after the "difficult decision" to lift its ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

The All England Club (AELTC) and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will also fund accommodation for Ukrainian players.

Russians and Belarusians were not allowed to play last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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📺 Live Sports TV Guide

TODAY

08:40 - MLB Regular Season - Philadelphia Phillies v Seattle Mariners (ESPN 2)

09:00 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders (ESPN)

11:30 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Edmonton Oilers v Los Angeles Kings (ESPN 2)

12:00 - NBA Playoffs First Round - Phoenix Suns v Los Angeles Clippers (ESPN)

00:00 - Indian Premier League Group Game - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders (Fox Cricket)

THURSDAY

04:45 - Premier League - West Ham United v Liverpool (Optus Sport 5)

04:45 - Premier League - Chelsea v Brentford (Optus Sport 6)

05:00 - Premier League - Manchester City v Arsenal (Optus Sport 3)

09:00 - NHL Playoffs First Round - Boston Bruins v Florida Panthers (ESPN 2)

11:45 - MLB Regular Season - San Francisco Giants v St. Louis Cardinals (ESPN 2)

12:00 - NBA Playoffs First Round - Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors (ESPN)

19:50 - NRL Regular Season - Cronulla Sharks v North Queensland Cowboys (Fox League or Channel 9)

20:30 - ODI Series - Pakistan v New Zealand (Fox Cricket)