Happy Friday. Let me arm you with a joke to take into the weekend. I love a sports pun and this one made me chuckle.

Why are tennis players bad at relationships?

Because love means nothing to them!

Ha. Ha.

21 years and one day
The amount of time between LeBron James’ first NBA bucket and his son Bronny’s. Yesterday, Bronny scored his first points in the league during the Los Angeles Lakers' 134-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

“I came to the Bulldogs at their lowest point to make a change. I hope I did that for you all. Unfortunately, circumstances won’t allow me to be at the Bulldogs any longer, and I wish the club and especially their fans nothing but success.”
Former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs player Josh Addo-Carr in a statement to The Sydney Morning Herald. Addo-Carr has been sacked from the club with a year remaining on his contract following a positive roadside drug test for cocaine in September.

The Golden Globe is a sailing race that requires individual competitors to circumnavigate the globe without stopping. The sailors start and finish in Les Sables-d'Olonne in France and are required to follow a route that passes by the five ‘Great Capes’. It was first held in 1968/69 and has only been raced two times since, in 2018 and 2022. It will next be held in 2026 and feature 21 sailors. 

🏏 In the Women’s Big Bash League last night, the Sydney Thunder beat the Hobart Hurricanes by 33 runs. English cricket star Heather Knight was the Player of the Match, scoring 48 runs off 28 balls. Hobart Hurricanes spinner Molly Strano also took a very impressive catch to take the wicket of Chamari Athapaththu, but the Thunder were too strong with the ball and bowled the Hurricanes all out for 113. 

🏉 New Zealand All Blacks coach Scott Robertson responded to English rugby prop Joe Marler’s social media post criticising the haka. Robertson said: "Look, the haka for us, it's a custom, it's part of who we are. It's our DNA”. Marler has since apologised and expressed regret for his “poorly articulated tweet”. The All Blacks take on England at Twickenham early on Sunday morning (AEDT). In the other Autumn International this weekend, Scotland will host Fiji. 

⛳ Australian golfer Jeffrey Guan will continue to pursue his dream of success on the PGA Tour despite permanently losing sight in his left eye. The 20-year-old was hit in the face by a golf ball during a tournament last month. The ball fractured his cheekbone and eye socket, as well as causing loss of vision. Guan will not be able to play for at least six months and has had two operations. 

Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson have both reached the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

For de Minaur, it’s one step closer to qualifying for the prestigious ATP Tour Finals. Meanwhile, it’s Thompson’s first quarter-final berth at a Masters 1000 event.

De Minaur was able to overcome 22-year-old Brit Jack Draper in three sets (5-7, 6-2, 6-3). The Australian ended a seven-match winning streak for Draper, who upset world no.6 Taylor Fritz in the Round of 32 and won the Vienna Open last month. It was especially sweet for de Minaur since Draper was the player who ended his U.S. Open campaign earlier this year. The victory has provisionally made him the world’s eighth-ranked player, and he’s in line to qualify for the ATP Tour Finals in Turin. De Minaur will play Holger Rune in the semi-final tonight.

Thompson beat French veteran Adrian Mannarino in straight sets. It’s the first time the 30-year-old has made the final eight at a Masters 100 event from 28 attempts. It tops off a year that has seen him win his first doubles grand slam title at the U.S. Open, and his first ATP title at Los Cabos. Next, he will play France’s Ugo Humbert, who upset world no.2 Carlos Alcaraz in the Round of 16.

De Minaur said: “You can never say ‘job done’ in the middle of a tournament, that’s not in my DNA”.

Thompson said: “It’s what we’ve been working towards, these big results at big tournaments.”

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Formula One is in Brazil for the São Paulo Grand Prix this weekend. The Brazil GP is the second last fixture on this season’s calendar to feature a Sprint Race. Four races remain in the season, as the Constructors’ Championship battle between Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren continues, and Lando Norris continues to pursue Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

The São Paulo GP has been raced at ‘Interlagos’ since 1990. The drivers will race 71 laps of the 4.3km course, totalling 305km.

Historically, Michael Schumacher had the most success here with four wins. Verstappen won the Sprint Race and GP last year to take his tally of wins at this event to two. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has won three races at Interlagos, the most of any current driver.

Team Ferrari, made up of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, are the favourites to win having won both races since the four-week break. They will be keen to continue their run of form and challenge Mclaren for the Constructors’ Championship.

Meanwhile, Verstappen has faced plenty of scrutiny this week following his aggressive driving style alongside rival Lando Norris at the Mexico GP —- which ultimately cost him 20 seconds in penalties. When asked if he’d be changing his driving style, he said: "It's my 10th year in Formula 1. I think I know what I'm doing."

In the Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen leads Norris by 47 points and Leclerc by 71 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren remains in first after claiming the top spot from Red Bull two weeks ago. After impressive drives from Leclerc and Sainz in Austin and Mexico City, Ferrari sits in second, 29 points behind McLaren, and Red Bull in third, 54 points behind the leaders.

You can watch the race on Foxtel or Kayo on Monday at 4:00am.

ICYMI: TDA Sport has a new game on Instagram called Blurdle. IYKYK.
Today’s answer: Lionel Messi
Useless clue: Clean ya bloody room!

Cassandra Iannucci is a senior lecturer at Deakin University and recently helped to co-author an article that explored physical education (PE) curriculums at Australian schools.

PE has long demonstrated benefits for physical, mental, and social health. Research has shown that students who engage with and enjoy PE at school will carry healthy habits into their adult life.

However, global trends suggest a decrease in physical activity in the past 25 years, coupled with an increase in screen time. Australia, which has long been considered a ‘sporting nation’ received a grade of D- on the Global Physical Activity Report card in 2014, 2018, and 2022.

The article suggests that this decline can be addressed by requiring greater curriculum time for PE and providing PE teachers with regular professional development and opportunities to develop partnerships between schools and universities.

Such efforts can help instill positive attitudes toward physical activity and overall well-being. Learn more about the vital role of sport and PE in education at Deakin University and its potential impact on future generations.

Think Beyond The Field. Study Sport at Deakin.