Good evening!

The collab I certainly didn’t see coming this year is the one between Flavor Flav and the U.S. Women’s Water Polo team. 

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure who Flavor Flav was. It turns out he was the hype man for the influential 80s hip-hop group Public Enemy.

Now he’s the official hype man for the U.S. water polo teams. USA Water Polo announced on Monday that Flav has signed a five-year sponsorship deal “aiming to elevate the visibility and excitement surrounding water polo in the United States.”

Here’s what Flav had to say: "Supporting USA Water Polo teams is an honour. As a girl dad and a champion of all sports, I'm excited to bring my energy and voice to this incredible sport. Niche sports often don't get the spotlight they deserve, but they are packed with incredible talent and heart. Together, we're going to make some serious waves!"

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

35
The record number of Tour de France stages Mark Cavendish has now won. The 39-year-old from the Isle of Man surpassed a record held by cycling legend Eddy Merckx last night when he won the sprint finish on stage five. Cavendish, affectionately known as the Manx Missile, won his first Tour de France stage in 2008.

Quote of the day

"It is business as usual at Paralympics Australia. There is no disruption to the preparation of the Australian Paralympic Team following yesterday's announcement.”
A spokesperson for Paralympics Australia in a statement to the ABC following the resignation of CEO Catherine Clark. Clark’s departure comes just 56 days before the commencement of the Paralympics. She had spent two and a half years in the role. Cameron Murray has been appointed as the interim CEO.  

Random fact of the day

The oldest-ever Olympic medallist is Swedish man Oscar Swahn. Swahn competed in shooting events. He was 72 years and 281 days old when he won a silver medal in the team running target double shot competition at the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium.

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

🏉 Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has named his team for the first Test match of the year against Wales this Saturday at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. The team features seven potential debutants with Jeremy Williams (second row) and Josh Flook (outside centre) both in the starting side. Liam Wright, who plays flanker, has been named captain. 

🏉 The Wallaroos, Australia’s women’s rugby team, has also been named by coach Jo Yapp. They will play Fijiana (Fiji’s women’s rugby side) at 4:45 pm on Saturday. Michaela Leonard, who has played in 25 Tests, will captain the side which includes four debutants. Biola Dawa will start her first game in the Wallaroos jersey on the wing while other debutants Allana Sikimeti, Lydia Kavoa, and Natalie Wright will come off the bench. 

🏒 Jessica Campbell has been named the assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken in the NHL (North America’s top ice hockey league). Campbell will be the first woman to hold a full-time assistant coach position in the history of the league. 

🏀 The Opals, Australia’s representative women’s basketball team, beat world number two China last night 94-66. 43-year-old Lauren Jackson, who has come out of retirement and is striving for a fifth Olympics, looked solid playing 21 minutes and scoring 13 points. The Opals, who are ranked third in the world, play China again on Friday night.

I’ve got 1 minute

The popularity of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has continued to change the WNBA, America’s top women’s basketball league. 

On Tuesday night in Las Vegas, 20,366 spectators watched the Las Vegas Aces defeat the Indiana Fever. It was the largest regular-season crowd since 1999 (two years after the league’s inception) and the fifth-largest crowd in WNBA history. 

More numbers…

The effect of Caitlin Clark is also evident in TV viewership. As of last week, the average for games without Clark was 428,000 viewers, while the same statistic for games with Clark was 1,180,000 viewers… a 177% increase. 

What Clark said:

Clark regarding the fans in Las Vegas: "Obviously, they're always excited, but tonight it just felt very different. There were just mobs of people watching us warm up. It's super cool to be a part of. I hope everybody enjoyed it. And also, I hope everybody saw how good the Aces are. Their fans show up and are incredible."

How to watch

You can watch the WNBA on Foxtel or Kayo Sports.

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Day 3 of Wimbledon and we’re back with another wrap-up. 

Kokkinakis upsets in five… again

Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated 17th seed Canadian Félix Auger Aliassime in five sets to progress to the second round. The game was played over two days due to rain delays. Kokkinakis has played in six matches at grand slams this year, five of them have taken five sets to determine a winner. He will play Frenchman Lucas Pouille tonight in the second round.

Thompson and Vukic out

Fellow Australian Jordan Thompson, who made the semis at the Queen’s Club Championship before Wimbledon, was outclassed by American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-2).

Aleks Vukic also lost his second-round match in straight sets (7-6, 6-2, 6-2), to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Vukic took Alcaraz to a tiebreak in the first set but Alcaraz upped the intensity in the second and third set to cruise through to the third round.

Big losers

Naomi Osaka, a four-time grand slam champion, was knocked out in the second round losing to 19th seed Emma Navarro (6-4, 6-1). Other big names who are heading home early include men’s sixth and eighth seeds Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud. 

Big winners

Women’s second seed Coco Gauff won her second-round match in straight sets. First seed Iga Świątek won her 20th straight match in the first round and plays her second-round match from 12:30am tomorrow (AEST). 

Meanwhile, men’s number one Jannik Sinner beat fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini in four sets to reach the third round. Third seed and seven-time Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic won his first-round match in straight sets and plays Brit Jacob Fearnley at 10:30pm tonight. Djokovic looks strong despite sporting a knee brace following surgery to fix a torn meniscus three and a half weeks ago.

Murray playing doubles 

While Andy Murray will not be playing in the singles tournament due to recent surgery, he is still playing in the men’s doubles with his brother Jamie and the mixed doubles with star British player Emma Raducanu. The Murray brothers take on Aussies Rinky Hijikata and John Peers tomorrow at 1:45am (AEST). It is likely to be Murray’s last Wimbledon.

Aussies playing tonight

No.9 Alex de Minaur v Jaume Munar (ESP) at 8:00pm

Daria Saville v No.18 Marta Kostyuk (UKR) at 8:00pm

 Adam Walton v Francisco Comesana (ARG) at 8:00pm

Alexei Popyrin v No.30 Tomás Martín Etcheverry (ARG) from 9:20pm

Thanasi Kokkinakis v Lucas Pouille (FRA) from 11:15pm

How to watch

You can watch Wimbledon on the Nine Network and Stan Sport

A message from our sponsor

New Deakin Research, confirms benefit of increased representation of women on boards.

The Office for Women in Sport and Rec has recently released research by Deakin University which found that having gender diversity on boards of sporting organisations contributes to improved board performance, culture and decision making.

Introduced in 2019, Victoria’s Balance the Board policy requires sports boards to be made up of at least 40% women in order to be eligible for government funding. Deakin’s research shows it's working, too. Women on boards grew from 45% to 96% between 2017 and 2023.

But it’s not just about numbers – it’s making a real difference.

"Women directors brought crucial skills like governance, strategic planning, and risk management," said Research lead, Professor Pamm Phillips.

A key challenge to balancing boards is in attracting and keeping women in these roles, and research found that male leaders are key to driving this change.

“We are focused on breaking down barriers for women and girls in sport, ensuring that everyone in Victoria has the opportunity to take part in the sports they love,” said Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence.

To read a summary of the research, click here.

Looking back…

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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