Morning all,

“These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess” - Kobe Bryant, RIP.

In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🏀 Remembering Kobe Bryant

🎾 Australian Open

🏉 Falou is back following code-switch

⚽️ Football

Victory qualify for ACL group stage after Nabbout stunner

A brilliant Andrew Nabbout goal has secured a memorable win for Melbourne Victory over Japanese powerhouse Kashima Antlers and 2018 champions, catapulting the embattled A-League club into the group stages of the AFC Champions League.

It sealed a first first-ever away win in Asia for the Victory.

Transfers:

🔁 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "It is difficult in the transfer window. I can’t remember many good deals we’ve brought in in January. Alexis Sanchez will come back in the summer and prove you all wrong.” - he's too much!

🔁 Christian Eriksen joins Inter Milan from Tottenham, Inter Milan announced that they had signed the 27-year-old Dane has been signed for a fee reported by the BBC to be around £16.9m. Eriksen had been linked with a move to Spain last summer and had six months left on his contract with Spurs.

Brisbane football club given $150,000 for project that was already funded:

North Brisbane FC won grants from state, local and federal government for the same upgrade to its oval (Guardian)

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba to headline Aussie bushfire relief game

The Ivory Coast icon will team up with former stars including Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke to raise money for victims Down Under

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba will team up with the likes of former Manchester United duo Dwight Yorke and Ji-sung Park in a charity match in Australia to raise money following the fires which have left more than 30 dead and thousands of homes destroyed since September.

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey and World Cup winner with France legend David Trezeguet will also feature in the encounter to be held at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, May 23. (BBC)

🎾 Australian Open

Ashleigh Barty moves a step closer to home honours

Barty is aiming to become the first Australian champion in the women’s singles for 42 years.

The world number one is the first Australian woman to make the last four in singles since Wendy Turnbull in 1984 and is aiming to become the first to lift the trophy since Chris O’Neil six years earlier.

HOW?! Injured Fed saves SEVEN match points to complete epic Open comeback

If not the impossible, Roger Federer at least did the implausible, coming back from an injury and seven match points to win a five-set Australian Open epic against Tennys Sandgren.

On the flip side, this could well be one of the biggest 'chokes' in tennis history.

The sideshow; Fans simply couldn’t take their eyes off of chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.

• Men: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in a semifinal, and the other two semifinalists will be decided today (Wawrinka vs. Zverev) and (Nadal vs. Thiem).

• Women: American Sofia Kenin will meet Ashleigh Barty in tomorrow's semifinal, and the other two semifinalists will be decided today (Kontaveit vs. Halep and Muguruza vs. Pavlyuchenkova).

🏉 NRL

All Stars team announcement: Indigenous All Stars v Maori

The NRL All-Star teams have been announced, featuring a number of big-name stars.

Rabbitohs recruit Latrell Mitchell will play at fullback for the Indigenous side, with Cody Walker, Andrew Fifita, Josh Addo-Carr, Tyrone Peachey and Jack Wighton also named.

The Maori side is headlined by Kalyn Ponga, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak Nelson Asofa-Solomona Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich and Dylan walker.

The All-Star clash is set to take place on February 22 on the Gold Coast. Full teams - (NRL)

🇺🇸 USA

Remembering Kobe Bryant (1978–2020)

Kobe Bryant was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday. He was 41.

On the court, the figures speak for themselves: Points 33,643 (25.0 ppg), Rebounds 7,047 (5.2 rpg) Assists 6,306 (4.7 apg).

Off the court: In 2015, Bryant announced his retirement in a poem titled "Dear Basketball." Two years later, it was turned into an Oscar-winning short film.(watch below)

By 2019, his investment firm, Bryant Stibel & Co., had more than $2 billion in capital under management.

Sports are often viewed as an escape from the "real world," but what has transpired in the "sports world" over the past couple of days, is as real as life gets.

New York: Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building were both lit up in Lakers colours.

France: Neymar honoured Bryant after scoring a goal

Manila, Philippines — A memorial wall near the "House of Kobe" gym built in honour of his 2016 visit to the Philippines. "Sport is the vehicle through which we change the world," said Bryant in 2018. "The next generation is going to carry [us] forward."

Australia: Rafael Nadal and Kyrgios paid tribute at the Australian Open

The other seven victims, who can sometimes be overlook in a tragic event such as this, have been identified, per multiple reports.

• The Altobelli family: John Altobelli, a decorated college baseball coach, along with his wife Keri and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa.

• Christina Mauser, Kobe's assistant coach. "I'm scared, I think, more than anything. ... She was warm. She was incredibly bright," her husband Matt told the Today Show this morning.

• Sarah and Payton Chester, a mother and daughter who were remembered as "full of mischief and laughter," per NYT.

• Ara Zobayan, a pilot who had been flying in Southern California for 20 years. One of his flight students told the L.A. Times that Zobayan had been Kobe's private pilot. "He doesn't let anyone else fly him around but Ara," he said.

"Those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you don't feel like working, you're too tired, you don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway."

"That is actually the dream. That's the dream. It's not the destination, it's the journey. And if you guys can understand that, then what you'll see happen is you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won't come true; something greater will."

— Bryant, in a public message to his daughters in 2017 (watch)

Shaquille O'Neal: "There are no words to express the pain I'm going through ... I love u and u will be missed. Kobe was so much more than an athlete, he was a family man. ... I would hug his children like they were my own and he would embrace my kids like they were his."

One man was featured on the big screen in 30 NBA games over 30 days

Meet David Delooper, who took on a challenge called 30 for 30 for 30. Delooper went to 30 NBA games over 30 days and was featured on the Jumbotron in all 30. (twitter)

🏉 Rugby

Israel Folau is back in rugby after agreeing a cross-code switch

Banished former Wallaby Israel Folau has figured out his next sporting move after having been kicked out of Australian rugby for homophobic comments — and he’s decided to return to rugby league.

Drew Mitchell is coming out of retirement to play MLR

Drew Mitchell, 33, is coming out of retirement after agreeing on a deal to play with Rugby United New York in the new MLR season in America.

The rugby salaries in American are minuscule – Bastareaud is rumoured to be on a deal worth no more than $45,000 – but that hasn’t deterred others from taking a keen interest in what the MLR has to offer.

Chris Robshaw (England, Harlequins) and Zebo (Munster, Racing92) are also set for talks with he NY club.

Super Rugby 2020 preview: Queensland Reds

The Queensland Reds once again head into a new Super Rugby season with a side horribly light-on inexperience. Coach Brad Thorn will be banking his crop of youngsters can finally transform potential into consistent results.

2019 produced as many wins (six) as any campaign since last making the post-season, but it was no improvement on 2018 and still saw them finish second-last on the overall ladder. (continue preview)

Super Rugby 2020 preview: NSW Waratahs

With a host of players leaving the club at the end of 2019, the Waratahs head into this Super Rugby season as (very) unknown quantity.

Add in a change of head coach and captain, and the Tahs have gone through more off-season fluctuation than just about any other side. Hell, CEO Andrew Hore even headed for the exit.

They’ll hope the off-field developments lead to a similar transformation of their on-field results. (contour preview)

Fiji unveil Montpellier boss Vern Cotter as new head coach

“Following an extensive recruitment process with many outstanding applications, the board is pleased to have secured such an exceptional candidate in Vern Cotter for the top job of Flying Fijians head coach,”

This could be significant in the development of the Flying Fijians into a world-class outfit. Wow!

🏉 AFL

Tigers boss pours water on Rance return talks

Richmond general manager of football Neil Balme concedes Alex Rance's return to the Tigers is increasingly unlikely.

"In the back of our minds, we are still hoping that he might think about coming back but that's getting less likely I think," Balme told SEN on Tuesday.

The five-time All-Australian announced his sudden retirement from AFL in December to focus on his family and religion. (news)

📺 Today's sport

🏀 NBA regular season matches (11am)

🎾 Aust. Open Women's QF, Kontaveit v Halep (11am)

🎾 Aust. Open Women's QF, Muguruza v Pavlyuchenkova (1pm)

🎾 Aust. Open Men's QF, Wawrinka v Zverev (3pm)

🏀 NBL Regular Season, Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats (7:30pm)

🎾 Aust. Open Men's QF, Nadal v Thiem (7:30pm)

Back on Friday!

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