May your Easter long weekend be as relaxing as this basketball court in Tacoma, Washington.

We are off tomorrow and Monday, and will be back in your inbox on Tuesday.

Until then, here is everything you need to know heading into a packed few days of sport.

40
The number of years between World Cup appearances for Iraq. The 48th and final qualifying spot was on the line yesterday, and Iraq secured it with a 2-1 win over Bolivia 2-1 in the inter-confederation playoff final in Mexico. Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold took charge of Iraq in May 2025 and guided the side to qualification. He said: “I’m so happy that we’ve made 46 million people happy – especially with what’s going on in the Middle East at the moment, I’m just so happy for them.” Iraq's only previous World Cup appearance was in 1986. They will face France, Senegal and Norway in the group stage.

"Obviously a bit disappointed, fell below team standards. He's really apologetic. Josiah knows he made an error. It's not ideal, but it's happened now... he's fully aware of the mistakes he's made."
Brisbane Broncos captain Adam Reynolds has confirmed winger Josiah Karapani has been stood down from this weekend's match against the Gold Coast Titans. The 24-year-old received a police infringement notice for public nuisance and a 28-day banning notice from Brisbane's Fortitude Valley after an incident in the early hours of Saturday morning. The defending premiers sit 10th on the NRL ladder with a 2-2 record and will face the 16th-placed Titans on Saturday.

In the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Cleveland Cavaliers this week, two milestones were reached. LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most wins in NBA history, including playoffs (1,229), and Luka Dončić became the third-youngest player ever to reach 15,000 career points, trailing only James and Kevin Durant. 

🏏 England cricket captain Harry Brook and batter Jacob Bethell have received formal cautions from England’s independent Cricket Regulator over a nightclub incident in Wellington, New Zealand, last October. Brook was involved in an altercation with a security guard while attempting to enter a venue during England's ODI tour of New Zealand. The 26-year-old was separately fined £30,000 ($AU58,000) by the England and Wales Cricket Board and placed on a final warning. The caution will remain on both players' disciplinary records for three years.

🏉 Wallabies lock Will Skelton is set to miss the rest of the year after a suspected Achilles tendon rupture while playing for French club La Rochelle against Bayonne on Saturday. The 32-year-old, who stands at 203cm, went down after 30 minutes in just his second match back from a calf injury. He later confirmed the news on Instagram. A six-month recovery timeline would rule the 37-Test veteran out of the Wallabies' entire 14-Test 2026 schedule, a major blow as the team builds towards the 2027 home World Cup.

🏉 Melbourne Storm forward Tui Kamikamica has been discharged from Royal Melbourne Hospital after experiencing a suspected stroke on Monday. The 31-year-old Fiji captain has begun inpatient rehabilitation and is expected to return to the club once that is complete. Kamikamica played 25 minutes in the Storm's Round 4 loss to North Queensland on Saturday. He has made 142 NRL appearances and was part of last year's grand final side. The Storm (2-2) face the undefeated Penrith Panthers tomorrow night.

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Arsenal have eliminated Chelsea from the UEFA Women’s Champions League, with four Matildas involved in the quarter-final tie. Each knockout round is played over two legs (one at each team's ground), with the combined score deciding who advances.

Arsenal, featuring Matildas Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord, won the first leg 3-1 last week. Chelsea took the second leg 1-0 this morning, but Arsenal progressed 3-2 on aggregate. 

Sam Kerr, who plays for Chelsea, had two chances saved before Sjoeke Nüsken scored from a Kerr cross in stoppage time. Ellie Carpenter also featured for Chelsea. For Arsenal, Catley started but went off at half-time with a calf issue, while Foord played the full match. 

Bayern Munich also advanced overnight, beating Manchester United 5-3 on aggregate.

There will be two more quarter-finals tonight: Barcelona v Real Madrid and Lyon v Wolfsburg. Arsenal is set to face the winner of the quarter-final between Lyon and Wolfsburg. The semi-finals begin on 25 April, with the final in Oslo on 23 May.

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The Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers are locked at 2-2 in the NBL Championship Series after Adelaide pulled off a one-point thriller in Game 4 on Tuesday night. 

Here's what to know ahead of Sunday's decider.

Adelaide won 92-91 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in front of a venue-record crowd of 10,100. The Kings led by as many as nine points in the third quarter and shot above 60 per cent in the first half, but the 36ers clawed back.

Zylan Cheatham led Adelaide with 23 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. The 36ers’ Bryce Cotton, the six-time NBL MVP, added 19 points and 12 assists. For Sydney, Kendric Davis had 22 points and 10 assists, while Jaylin Galloway drained five three-pointers for 20 points.

Tied at 90-90 with under a minute to play, Davis missed a three-pointer before Cotton calmly sank two free throws to put Adelaide two points ahead. Sydney's Torrey Craig was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining, trailing by two. He made the first free throw but missed the second. Adelaide’s Isaac Humphries grabbed the rebound to seal it.

The home side has won every game in the series so far. 

The Kings dominated Game 1 in Sydney, winning 112-68 in the largest margin (44 points) in Championship Series history. Adelaide responded in extraordinary fashion in Game 2, with Cotton scoring a buzzer-beating coast-to-coast layup to win 91-89 after trailing by 14 in the third quarter. 

Davis then delivered one of the greatest individual finals performances in NBL history in Game 3, finishing with 34 points, 15 assists, and zero turnovers in a 106-93 Kings win in front of a record crowd in Sydney.

The Kings are chasing a sixth title after last winning the championship in 2023. Coached by legendary six-time NBL champion coach Brian Goorjian, they will be confident that they can close a stellar season out on their home court.

Meanwhile, the 36ers are looking to break a title drought that stretches back to 2002. Coach Mike Wells is full of belief. After Game 4, he said: "We've been on the ropes twice and we've been in two elimination games, and when you're in that type of situation and you win, you get a belief and we believe that we can win."

The rivalry between the two teams’ marquee players, Cotton and Davis, has been a key talking point of the series. Davis finished runner-up to Cotton’s sixth MVP award and has been vocal about using the snub as motivation.

Game 5 tips off on Sunday 5 April at 2:30pm (AEST). Note that daylight saving ends that morning. You can watch the match on Channel 10 or ESPN (via Disney+, Kayo, or Foxtel).

Note: Daylight saving ends 2am Sunday, 5 April; times from Sunday onward are in AEST