G'day sports fans,

I love a weird sport-related superstition:

Serena Williams, if winning, will not change her socks once during a tournament 🧀

Michael Jordan wore his collegiate basketball shorts (North Carolina) underneath his red and black Bulls shorts, for his whole career.

Roger Federer, is all about the number 8. He’ll want to serve eight aces before beginning a match, wants eight towel rubs at the end of a set, sets up eight bottles of water courtside and carries eight rackets.

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🐴 Pick winners, win SJ merch

🇦🇺 Families to join players in hubs

🎾 Pro-tennis returns, in a backyard

🐴 Sport Journal Tipping game: This Saturday!

Get involved in a little tipping game this Saturday.

How to play: Have a go at picking the winner in 3 of the feature races this weekend, win Sport Journal merch. simple. Just click the link to complete the form. It's free to enter and a bit of fun.

How to play:

• Click HERE to open the form

• Enter your email and name (so we can contact you when you win)

• Pick a horse in Race 7 Flemington (VIC) > hit next

• Pick a horse in Race 8 Morphettville (SA) > hit next

• Pick a horse Race 6 Rosehill (NSW) > hit next

• Have a guess at the combined winning distance of the 3 races > hit submit

You don't need to be an expert, just select a horse from each race.

We may even give a consolation prizes for the worst/'unluckiest' tipsters.

If we have a good number of players, we'll look to build the prize fund over the coming weeks and branch out into other sports.

Play HERE

🏉 NRL

Bryce Cartwright given medical exemption

Gold Coast Titans NRL player Bryce Cartwright has been cleared to return to training despite not having a flu shot, after being granted a medical exemption.

Key points:

• Cartwright was initially stood down after refusing the flu vaccine

• The Prime Minister has weighed into the issue, saying unvaccinated players should not be allowed in the NRL competition

• The NRL said players could be exempted from flu shot requirements on religious, medical or conscientious grounds (abc)

Peter V'landys hits out at 'ludicrous' referees following Fair Work Commission dispute

ARLC chairman Peter V'landys has hit back at the referees' union, calling the situation 'ludicrous', after it lodged a dispute with the Fair Work Commission over the NRL's decision to reduce the game to one referee.

The NRL confirmed yesterday that the pocket referee would be gone for the rest of the season, turning back the clock by a dozen years to 2008.

Under the changes, the NRL will save money by no longer using touch judges, who are employed on a casual basis. (nine)

⛹🏻‍♀️ Netball

Adelaide Thunderbirds star Layla Guscoth opens up on her decision to fight COVID-19 as a doctor

Adelaide Thunderbirds star Layla Guscoth has opened up on her decision to step away from the netball court and put her medical studies to work amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Birmingham-born netballer returned home to England back in March to help tackle the pandemic as a doctor.

After it was announced that the Suncorp Super Netball season would be placed on hold until at least the end of June, Guscoth felt it was best she put her skills to work.

"I emailed quite a lot of people at South Australian health to see if I could help. But with visa restrictions it's really hard to do anything medically on the sport visas. (nine)

⚽️ Football

Premier League: Government 'opens door for safe return in June'

Oliver Dowden (Culture Secretary) said plans for the resumption should "include widening access for fans to view live coverage and ensure finances from the game's resumption supports the wider football family". (BBC)

The 57 Premier League players who can walk out of their clubs on July 1

Premier League players whose contracts expire on June 30 can walk away from their clubs even if the 2019/20 season has not resumed by then, a leading UK sports lawyer has warned.

The Premier League has confirmed today that clubs can enter talks with players whose contracts expire on June 30 and try to agree extensions until 'the end of the season'.

Here's the full list of players (SkySports)

🇦🇺 AFL

AFL clubs get their hub wish

AFL players are poised to celebrate a big win, with immediate family members set to join them in Queensland team hubs ahead of the 2020 season restart next month.

Players being kept away from their families for long periods of time was a major sticking point when the AFL put a 'worst-case' hub scenario to the AFL Players' Association last month.

But the easing of some state government coronavirus restrictions since then means that only four clubs - West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide and Port Adelaide - will be required to enter hubs in order to restart the season.

In a deal struck between the AFL and AFLPA, players from those clubs should learn today that their families are also welcome in those hubs. (nine)

🇺🇸 'Merica

The first pro-sports event in the US in 2 months

Professional sports have returned to the United States for the first time in nearly two months, as a tennis tournament was played on a Florida family's backyard court.

Four men's tennis players competed in the inaugural UTR Pro Match Series presented by Tennis Channel,

Two tournaments were scheduled, one for the men (completed) and another for the women starting 22nd May. The series is designed "to showcase how tennis can be played locally—and most importantly, safely—as the world looks to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic," according to the Tennis Channel.

Australian, Alja Tomljanovic, the big-hitting baseliner spearheads the UTR Pro Open Series.

The events will be crowdless and players will provide their own towels and equipment, among other restrictions put in place. (insider)

Ranking the top 10 NBA players of all time

ESPN's NBA expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, taking into consideration both total career value and peak performance.

Being in the conversation as the best player of all time means being part of an exclusive club - The list of 10 through 1 crowns the exceptional performers who have their own cases to be the greatest ever.

Shaquille O'Neal sneaks into the top 10, Kobe is there but the top 3 is probably who you'd expect.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

• 6 MVP awards and was a 19-time All-Star.

• He won six championships -- with the first and last coming 17 years apart -- and was

• Named to 15 All-NBA teams, with 10 first-team selections.

2. LeBron James

• Standing 6-9 and weighing north of 250 pounds with a 40-inch vertical

• The four-time MVP and three-time champion has reinvented how an athlete's prime should be viewed; he had the Lakers in the thick of a title hunt as a 35-year-old playing in his 17th season.

1. Michael Jordan

• The greatest player of all time. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships, winning six Finals MVP awards and five regular-season MVP honors while becoming a global icon on and off the floor.

• Jordan's brilliance on both ends of the court defined a generation of basketball and set a new standard for players following in his footsteps. His game transcended the sport. (ESPN)

🏋🏼‍♂️ Just the former 'World's Strongest Man' nailing a summersault

🏎 F1

Daniel Ricciardo joins McLaren on a multi-year agreement

The Formula 1 transfer market has taken two more hugely-significant turns in the wake of Sebastian Vettel’s plans to split from Ferrari for 2021.

Carlos Sainz will join Ferrari on a two-year deal to replace Vettel, while McLaren have confirmed Daniel Ricciardo as the Spaniard’s replacement.

🏉 Rugby

'The Hollywood of rugby'

Some of rugby's global stars could soon find themselves playing in the United States if a group of American investors deliver on their word of creating a new league that has been labelled "the Hollywood" of the sport.

The National Rugby Football League, which has links to the NFL, is set to be launched in two years' time, with a US$8.7m (AU$13.4m) salary cap equal to that of the Premiership in England.

"This won't be a dumping ground for international players. It will be more like the IPL players, where you bring a Ben Stokes or AB de Villiers as your sprinkling of stardust on top of largely domestic squads."

“Our ambition is to be the biggest league in the world,” Michael Clements, the NRFL commissioner, told The Telegraph.

The NRFL was regionally established in 2014 but the competition folded in 2017 amid financial turmoil.

See you Monday!

Don't forgot to throw your hat in the ring to win some Sport Journal merch. Play our first ever tipping game

📺 Live Sport

Saturday

🐴 16:25 - Group 1Goodwood, 1,200m - SW+P, 3YO & Up (7 or Racing.com or Sky Racing 1)

⚽️ 17:30 - K League 1 - Daegu FC v Pohang Steelers (Optus Sport 1)

🐎 19:42 - Harness Racing, Platinum Projex Pace, 2,300m (Sky Racing 1)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04 (BeIN Sports 1)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v SC Freiburg (BeIN Sports 2)

⚽️ 23:30 - Bundesliga - TSG Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (BeIN Sports 3)

Sunday

🎮 00:30 - Esports - Motorsport, Formula E Race (Fox Sports)

⚽️ 02:30 - Bundesliga - Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (BeIN Sports 1)

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

👊🏻 08:00 - UFC Fight Night, Prelims (ESPN 1)

👊🏻 11:00 - UFC Fight Night - Alistair Overeem v Walt Harris (ESPN 1)

⚽️ 17:30 - K League 1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings v Ulsan Hyundai (Optus Sport 1)

🐴 17:35 (TBC) Group 1Victoria Mile, 1,600m (Sky Racing 2)

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