Morning.

Did you know: It's tradition for the winning team to pour Gatorade over the winning coach at the final whistle of the Super Bowl? and you can have a punt on the colour...Purple, has come from rank outsider ($21.0) to the most backed - now $2.0 favourite. (story below)

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🎾 Djokovic comeback

🏈 Super Bowl preview

🥊 Aussie Super -fight is ON

Purple rain: (from the top) While it’s hard to pin down an exact source, rumours suggesting that either team would or could honour the late Kobe Bryant with a Lakers-themed purple Gatorade shower spread wildly throughout Twitter and Reddit.

🎾 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic beats Dominic Thiem to win 17th Grand Slam

The Good: Novak Djokovic defended his Australian Open crown and won a 17th Grand Slam (just 3 behind Federer), after digging deep into his physical and mental reserves to beat Dominic Thiem in a gripping five-set final.

The Serbian second seed won 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 for a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park.

Austrian fifth seed Thiem, 26, still awaits his first major title after losing a third Grand Slam final.

The Bad: Novak Djokovic says he was suffering from an ailment he “can’t really explain” when he took medical timeouts at key moments in matches at the Australian Open, for which he has been criticised.

Novak Djokovic has been scolded for going too far and could face a hefty fine after touching the chair umpire in a sarcastic protest

And the ugly...oh, and He told the crowd inside Rod Laver Arena to ‘shut the f*** up!’ when they were cheering for the under dog Thiem.

American Sofia Kenin fulfilled her potential by winning a first Grand Slam

Kenin won 4-6 6-2 6-2 against two-time major winner Muguruza in Melbourne.

The 21-year-old was a child prodigy, who started making television appearances from the age of five and hitting with the stars soon after.

"My dream has officially come true," said Kenin, the eighth first-time women's champion in the past 12 Slams.

"Dreams come true. If you have a dream then go for it - it will come true.

"These two weeks have been the best two weeks of my life."

🏈 Super Bowl LIV

The NFL dominates TV viewership in the U.S, accounting the entire top 10 programmes in 2019, and the highest-paid employee in 28 states is a college football coach. They just love it.

Fun fact: Advertisers can't call it the "Super Bowl" unless they are official sponsors.

• If the Niners win Super Bowl LIV, they will tie the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history (6).

• If the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV, they will end the second-longest Lombardi Trophy drought among teams that have already won a Super Bowl. Only the New York Jets (51 years) have endured a longer stretch in between titles.

At its core, this is a game that includes the most explosive offense in the NFL against one of the best defenses in the league.

The Quarterback's

Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) plays the QB position unlike anyone else. Between the sidearm slings, the no-look passes and the weaving scrambles, he's made so many ridiculous throws that there is an entire glossary of them.

Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers) has not been asked to do much this postseason (17-27, 208 yds, TD, INT), but he's more than a "game manager." Garoppolo's receivers rave about the catchability of his passes, a QB trait that often goes underappreciated.

The Coaches

Andy Reid (Chiefs), 61, hasn't been to the Super Bowl in 15 years and is the NFL's best coach to never win one, making him the sentimental favourite among neutral fans.

Reid has built an offensive juggernaut in Kansas City thanks to an otherworldly QB and the NFL's fastest group of receivers. 

Kyle Shanahan (49ers), 40, was a 49ers fan as a school boy due to his dad being the team's offensive coordinator when they won Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. 

Shanahan uses the same zone-running scheme that his father, Mike, used to lead the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s.

The average expert final score prediction:

San Francisco 49ers 30 - 34 Kansas City Chiefs

Some random markets for the Super Bowl:

Trump to congratulate winning team on Twitter

Yes — $1.38

No — $2.85

Drake pick or promote a team on Instagram?

Yes — $1.86

No — $1.86

Length of the final word 'Brave' in the anthem?

Over 5.5 seconds — $1.60

Under 5.5 seconds —$2.20

⚽️ Football

Liverpool opened up the biggest lead (22 points) by any team at the end of a day in English top-flight history with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Southampton - but manager Jurgen Klopp says his side are "not even close to being perfect".(bbc)

During the 1996-97 Premier League season, Manchester United won the league with 75 points.

Liverpool currently has 73 points — with 13 weeks left.

Newcastle Jets were left to rue an abundance of missed chances and settle for a point in a 0-0 draw against Western United at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Sydney FC juggernaut keeps marching on after seeing off a stubborn Brisbane Roar 1-0 on Friday night to extend their unbeaten run to 12 matches.

Adelaide United consolidated their position in the top six by sweeping aside Melbourne City 3-1 at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night. 

A late header from Nick D'Agostino on his Perth Glory starting debut ensured his side nicked a point from Melbourne Victory in an entertaining 2-2 draw at HBF Park on Saturday night.

Western Sydney Wanderers have marked Jean-Paul de Marigny's first game in charge with a 3-1 win on the road over a gallant Central Coast Mariners on Sunday afternoon.

🏉 Rugby

Super Rugby

Brumbies 27-24 Reds - It took a piece of perfect time from fullback Tom Banks running into the line to give his Brumbies team the edge in probably the closest of all the first round encounters.

The Reds were up 17-7 at halftime but the Brumbies pack work proved significant, hooker Folau Fainga'a scoring yet again from a driving maul.

Sunwolves 36-27 Rebels - The Rebels were forced to play catch-up throughout the game and every time they looked like reducing the margin the home side responded.

James Dargaville's try, just after halftime, was the key, taking a chip kick ahead on the sideline, he beat the cover defence, found himself in space and then ran 50m unchallenged to score.

Crusaders 43-25 Waratahs - New faces, new captain, same old Crusaders. The Waratahs bore the brunt of an emphatic statement from the defending champions who demonstrated the depth of resource they enjoy as Will Jordan and Braydon Ennor scored two tries each.

Remaining Week 1 results: Jaguares 38 Lions 8, Stormers 27 Hurricanes 0, Sharks 23 Bulls 15, Blues 29 Chiefs 37.

6 Nations

Ireland win 19-12 against wasteful Scotland

Andy Farrell's reign as Ireland coach got off to a winning but unimpressive start as his side earned a fortunate 19-12 Six Nations win over Scotland.

Scotland's new skipper Stuart Hogg's knock-on over the line in the second half summed up his side's try-less day. 

Wales hammer 42-0 Italy - A job well done for Wales as they thrash Italy to make it a winning start for new head coach Wayne Pivac. Winger Josh Adams scored a hat-trick of run-ins in the demolition of Italy.

France 24-17 England - Vincent Rattez and Charles Ollivon gave France 17-0 half-time lead. Skipper Ollivon slid over to give France 24-0 lead at start of second half. Jonny May two tries in eight minutes as England gain losing bonus point

Women's 6 Nations

3 very close matches in round one. no team scored more than 20 points or won by more than 6.

• England edged past France 19-13

• Ireland (18-14) start campaign with narrow win over Scotland

• Italy (19-15) narrowly beat Wales in Cardiff opener

Sydney 7s

In the Women's event - New Zealand's Black ferns beat Canada 33-7 to win 4 on the spin. Australia won the bronze final 12-10 against France

In the Men's event - Fiji won their first ever Sydney 7s title, beating the Bliztboks 12-10. Australia lost to New Zealand 24-7 in the 5th place play-off.

🥊 Boxing

Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu agree to All-Aussie blockbuster in April

Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu will get in the ring in April, and fight for the right to be considered the No. 1 boxer in the country.

First reported by The Daily Telegraph, the biggest match-up in Australian boxing has finally been agreed. After longwinded negotiations, Horn will edge a 60-40 purse split for their super welterweight showdown.

The location is yet to be confirmed, though Brisbane is leading the race to host the event. Sydney is believed to be interested, as well as Townsville and Perth. There is no rematch clause.

“I have a lot of respect for Tim Tszyu, and what his dad did in the past,” Horn told The Main Event Boxing Podcast.

“But it definitely comes down to business and I’m in there to beat Tim Tszyu.” (Fox)

🏏 Cricket

Is this the best backyard in the world? | The Cricket Tragic

Big Bash

Sydney Thunder leaving door ajar for world’s no. 1 quick Pat Cummins to make shock BBL return for title push.

The door is being kept wide open but Thunder coach Shane Bond said any decision on whether Cummins would reappear would be entirely up to the paceman after he requested a break.(Telegraph)

Sydney Thunder play the Melbourne Stars on Thursday at the MCG in the play-off, for a spot in the final to face the Sydney Sixers.

🏌🏻‍♂️ Golf

McDowell back in the winner's circle

Graeme McDowell ended his 2,037 day wait for a European Tour title with a gutsy, grinding victory at the 2020 Saudi International.

On a windy final day at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, the 40-year-old used all his experience to card a closing 70 and finish at 12 under, two shots clear of defending champion Dustin Johnson.(ET)

PGA Phoenix Open

The PGA's wildest event, the Phoenix Waste Management Open, lived up to its reputation over the weekend.

Tony Finau (-16) leads, with Web Simpson (who holed out on 12 yesterday) a shot behind in 2nd, going into the final day...

Anything those human's can do, a Robot can do (just as well)...

📺 Today's sport

⛳️ Phoenix Open, Round 4 (5am)

🏈 Super Bowl LIV (10:30am)

Back on Wednesday!

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