🗞 He's like a frisbee with arms and legs

G'day sports fans,

“Footballers are like sausages, you can fry them, grill them, bake them, they’re still footballers.” - Allan Jeans on his Hawthorn players

🏏 Australia's hopes of continuing their unbeaten run in South Africa turned on David Warner's flimsy right boot as a footwear mishap proved pivotal in the hosts keeping the ODI series alive with a 111-run win in Potchefstroom.

Warner's rapid half-century, from just 27 deliveries, had Australia fast rounding in on their biggest ever ODI run chase in the Rainbow Nation as they rollicked along at nearly nine an over in pursuit of 339.

But the 36-year-old slipped when his shoe, emblazoned with his wife's name 'Candy' on its side, fell off as he attempted a quick single. Keshav Maharaj's direct hit at the non-striker's end caught him short to spark a collapse of 7-70.

Aiden Markram (102no from 74 balls) had carved up an Australian bowling attack, bringing up his second ODI hundred from the final ball of the innings to fire the Proteas to 6-338.

🇦🇺 Brayden Maynard is free to play in Collingwood’s preliminary final after he was sensationally cleared of rough conduct against Demon Angus Brayshaw.

After a four-hour hearing, the tribunal determined Maynard wasn’t careless in choosing to smother or in the way he landed, while he also didn’t engage in the act of bumping.

Professor Michael Cole argued that Maynard had less than 400 milliseconds to make a conscious decision: "Based on the numbers and based on the research, it's difficult to conclusively say Mr Maynard would have been able to make any conscious decision to reposition his body.

Once he's in flight, he's essentially a projectile. Like a frisbee with arms and legs."

The case was the first of two Tribunal cases on Tuesday, with Carlton forward Jack Martin successfully having his two-match ban for striking Sydney's Nick Blakey reduced to one. The hit was graded as careless conduct, high impact and high contact.

🏉 Rabbitohs bound Raiders gun Jack Wighton has been found guilty of biting and banned by the NRL judiciary for three matches (missing next season’s opener in Vegas) after an allegation was made by Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble to referee Ash Klein during Sunday's epic elimination final.

The only other player cited from Sunday's clash was Gamble's Knights teammate Adam Elliott, who was fined $3k for a high tackle on Canberra's Joe Tapine.

Roosters halfback Sam Walker accepted a $1k fine for his own high shot on Braydon Trindall on Saturday night.

🎾 Davis Cup Tennis: It's 20 years since Australia last won the Davis Cup title courtesy of a team led by Mark Philippoussis and their current captain Lleyton Hewitt.

They came agonisingly close to breaking that barren run in Malaga last year - reaching the Davis Cup Final for the first time since then before coming up short to Canada.

"It's been some of my proudest moments being able to hold up the trophy on a couple of occasions. And, you know, we came very close last year, but I know the boys are hungry this year." - Captain Hewitt.

Australia's quest to add a 29th Davis Cup crown to their haul begins with a testing clash against hosts Great Britain in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage in Manchester today.

With France and Switzerland to follow for Hewitt's men on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, they'll need to hit the ground running to give themselves the best shot at reaching the Final 8 in Malaga.

World No. 12 Alex De Minaur and No. 43 Max Purcell both come into this week on career-high rankings, with No.55 Jordan Thompson and No.74 Thanasi Kokkinakis also providing singles firepower and Matt Eden, fresh from a runner-up finish at the US Open, another strong option for the all-important doubles.

🏀 Boomers centre Duop Reath will join the growing list of Australians in the NBA next season, set to sign a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The South Sudan-born, Perth-raised Reath impressed with Portland's Summer League team and was then an efficient starter in the Boomers' World Cup campaign.

🇦🇺 Three-time premiership winner Alastair Lynch is among the Tasmanian club's nine-person board of directors.

The League's newest expansion club revealed its inaugural board on Tuesday night, following the selection of Grant O'Brien as chair in July.

Tasmania was granted the League's 19th licence in May, ending the island state's decades-long battle for inclusion in the national competition.

Lynch, who was born in Burnie in the state's northwest and played 306 games at the highest level, was selected on the back of his career, leadership and media skills.

🐴 Racing's first lady Gai Waterhouse (154 wins at Group 1 level) is set to receive the highest possible accolade when she's elevated to Legend Status at the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and Racehorse Of The Year ceremony later this year.

Waterhouse, who was awarded the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) in 2021, will join n honour roll that includes the likes of her late father Tommy Smith at the Perth event in November.

💰 Tabcorp has struck a historic deal with the Hong Kong Jockey Club so TAB can combine with Hong Kong tote pools and other aligned international totalisator businesses for Everest Day.

The 10-race Everest program at Randwick on October 14 is the first Sydney thoroughbred meeting to be included in the World Pool and there are estimates it will boost betting turnover by tens of millions of dollars.

🎾 US Open women's runner-up Aryna Sabalenka and men's champion Novak Djokovic each moved up one spot to No. 1 in the world rankings Monday -- Sabalenka's first week atop the WTA and Djokovic's record-extending 390th atop the ATP.

US Open women's champion Coco Gauff rose to a career-high No. 3 in singles and No. 1 in doubles.

Djokovic’s first-ever tennis practice at 4 years old in Kopaonik, Serbia - fascinating footage (Twitter).

Breaking: Former Wimbledon winner and world number 1 Simona Halep has been suspended for four years for anti-doping violations.

🏈 Aaron Rodgers Injury: After an offseason full of chaos, 'Hard Knocks' and an emotional buildup to Week 1 for Jets fans, their new quarterback played just four snaps and threw one pass (incomplete) before getting injured on a sack.

Breaking: An MRI scan has confirmed Aaron Rodgers has suffered a complete tear of his Achilles on the fourth play of his Jets’ career. Season over.

🏟️ Premier League strugglers Everton are close to being sold to Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners. They already own Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, Italian club Genoa, Brazilian side Vasco da Gama, Belgian outfit Standard Liege, and French third-tier side Red Star.

The takeover will bring to an end the tumultuous tenure of owner Farhad Moshiri, who first invested in 2016.

🏀 LeBron James (38) Olympic Gold medal winner in 2008, & 2012. Reportedly wants to play in one more Olympics, and he's already recruiting other superstars to join him in Paris next summer. The long list includes guys like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Devin Brooker, and LA team mate Anthony Davis.

🏟️ Egypt has grand plans to host the 2036 Olympics — and the country is already building a whole new city in order to make their dream a reality.

That’s despite them not even officially bidding for it yet, The Sun reports.

Work began on the new administrative capital in 2015 with the government pledging $78 billion to the ambitious project.

The desert city, still unnamed, is being constructed 30 miles west of Cairo and will be home to around 6.5 million people. And it will be full of state-of-the-art sporting facilities.

⚽️ Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba tested positive for testosterone, Italy's anti-doping agency announced.

The test was carried out after Juventus' game at Udinese on Aug. 20. Pogba did not play in the Serie A match but was on Juve's bench. Pending a trial and testing of a backup B sample, he risks a suspension of up to four years.

WEDNESDAY

⚾️ 08:40 - MLB - Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves (ESPN)

🏉 17:05 - NPC - Counties Manukau v Canterbury Rugby (Stan Sport)

🏏 21:30 - ODI Series - England v New Zealand (Fox Cricket)

🎾 22:00 - Davis Cup Tennis - Australia v Great Britain (Nine)

🚴🏻 22:50 - Cycling Vuelta a Espana Stage 17 (Vice)

THURSDAY

🏏 09:00 - CPLT20 - Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs (Fox Cricket)

⚾️ 12:10 - MLB - Los Angeles Dodgers v San Diego Padres (ESPN)

🏏 19:30 - ODI Asia Cup Super Four - Pakistan v Sri Lanka (Fox Cricket)

🚴🏻 20:35 - Cycling Vuelta a Espana Stage 18 (Vice)

⛳️ 21:00 - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship (Fox Sports)

🎾 22:00 - Davis Cup Tennis - Australia v France (Nine)

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