Good evening!

If you didn’t know it already, Canadians love hockey (of the cold variety).

Today, an election debate was rescheduled because the timing clashed with an ice hockey match. The French-language leaders' debate was meant to happen on Thursday night, but was changed because it was scheduled to be at the same time as a Montreal Canadiens match.

The Canadiens (known to locals as the Habs, for French-language reasons) are playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night (local time). They will earn a spot in the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs if they win. The franchise has won the NHL’s Stanley Cup a record 24 times.

Back down under, it’s set to be a truly long (in a good way) weekend of sport. For a full schedule of what’s on, check the looking forward section.

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Stat of the day

$1 million
The amount of money that former Australian rugby league captain Paul Gallen and Kiwi international Sonny Bill Williams will both pocket for a boxing bout in July. It’s been reported that after extensive negotiations, the pair will battle it out over the course of eight two-minute rounds. 43-year-old Gallen said: “It’s been a long time in the making and my plan is to knock him out.” Both men will bring previous professional boxing experience to the ring but neither has fought for over two years.

Quote of the day

“I’m really disappointed to be facing some time out of the game. It’s never easy when something like this happens especially when you’ve been working so hard and feeling good. The road ahead will be challenging, but I’m ready to take it on. There’s still so much I want to achieve, and I’ll be using this time to grow in every way I can. I’m committed to doing the work, staying positive and coming back better than ever.”
Matildas star Mary Fowler, after scans confirmed the 22-year-old has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. She now faces an extended period of rehabilitation. Fowler was injured while playing for Manchester City in the Women’s Super League. 

Random fact of the day

In cricket, when a batsman fails to score any runs before getting out, it's called a "duck." This term originated from "duck's egg," an old cricket expression used because the number zero is egg-shaped. Over time, the phrase was shortened to simply "duck."

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In case you missed it…

⚽ Sydney FC won the second leg of its Asian Champions League Two semi-final against Singapore’s Lion City Sailors 1-0, but will not advance to the final. The Aussies needed to win by at least two goals in regular time after losing the first leg 2-0. The A-League’s most successful club has still never reached the final of an Asian Football Confederation club competition. 

🏀 Australian basketball star Josh Giddey’s first season with the Chicago Bulls has come to an end after his side lost 109-90 to the Miami Heat in the NBA Play-in Tournament. Giddey had a stellar season, averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. The Heat will play the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday (AEST) for a place in the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

🏉 AFL superstar Marcus Bontempelli, who has been sidelined with a calf injury since February, is on the verge of a return to the Western Bulldogs starting lineup. The 29-year-old completed an extensive training session last weekend and needed to pass a fitness test today to join the Bulldogs when they play St Kilda on Sunday night. The Bulldogs are 12th on the table, having won two of five games so far this season.

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Arsenal and Inter Milan book spots in Champions League semi-finals

The Champions League semi-finals are set after Arsenal and Inter Milan both won their respective quarter-finals this morning (AEST). 

What happened

Arsenal began the second leg of their tie with Real Madrid holding a three-goal advantage after a dominant 3-0 win in the opening leg of the tie. The English club once again got the better of Real Madrid, winning the second leg 2-1. It’s the first time Arsenal has reached the semi-final of the Champions League since 2009.

Heading into the match with a one-goal advantage following the first leg, Inter Milan drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the second leg. The result meant the Italians won the quarter-final tie with a 4-3 aggregate score. It marks the second time in three seasons that Inter have made the Champions League semi-finals. 

What’s next?

In the semi-finals, Arsenal are set to play French club Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan will take on Spanish powerhouse Barcelona. The first match will be on 30 April.

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Gout Gout set to headline Stawell Gift on Easter Monday

Australia’s oldest and richest foot race, the Stawell Gift, takes place this weekend. Australia’s newest athletics stars Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy will headline the event, but there is no guarantee that either of them will win the race on Easter Monday. Here’s what you need to know about the Stawell Gift.

What is the Stawell Gift?

The Stawell Gift is a running race held annually in the Victorian country town of Stawell since 1878. The races are handicapped, meaning athletes start on different marks according to their ability and form in the lead-up. The handicaps are designed so that all athletes cross the line at the same time.

The weekend will include a full schedule of events, but the main events will be the final of the Women’s Gift and the men’s Stawell Gift on Easter Monday. These races are 120m long and run on a slight uphill gradient.

As the richest foot race in Australia, the winners of both events will walk away with $40,000 in prize money. The first edition of the race in 1878 saw farmer William Jackson Millard claim victory and collect £20 (around $3,500 in 2025).

Stawell Gift

This year’s Stawell Gift will be one of the most anticipated Australian running races in recent years, with Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy set to go head to head. 120 metres seems like a fair compromise for the pair, given Gout is the national record holder over 200m and Kennedy won a silver medal in the men’s 60m at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year.

The last time Kennedy and Gout raced was at the Maurie Plant Meet three weeks ago in the men’s 200m. Kennedy managed to hold Gout off on the final stretch and win the race by four thousandths of a second.

On Monday, Kennedy will start the furthest back of any athlete on 0.25 metres, with Gout starting 75 centimetres in front on one metre. Defending champion Jack Lacey will start on six metres. The furthest mark forward is 10 metres.

The final of this year’s Stawell Gift will be raced at 2:20pm.

Women’s Gift

The two strongest athletes in the Women’s Gift field, Bree Rizzo and defending champion Chloe Mannix-Power, will start the race on the 0 metre mark. The women’s field also includes the 2019 winner of the race, Alexia Loizou, starting on 2.75m.

The event will see heats contested on Saturday with semi-finals and a final to follow on Monday. The final is scheduled for 1:45pm (AEST).

How to watch

The Stawell Gift will be broadcast on Channel 7 from 11:30am on Monday.

Looking forward… (All times are AEST)

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