1. Ange Postocoglou. A sad but somewhat predictable end for Ange Postocoglou. Or 'Posto-no clue' as some of the fans saw him. He brought a style of play to Tottenham that the conservatives and traditionalists could not cope with (Bazball?), yet he also brought them silverware that they whinged about not having for a long time.
However, Ange fills his pockets with their cash and moves on. He will be in hot demand as a European champion who the players loved, no doubt about that. His super athletic surging game is so demanding on player fitness, rapid player burnout results. Injuries were massive under Ange and he pushed limits. By anyone's reckoning, a record number of losses in the EPL was unbelievably bad. A Europa title, unbelievably good.
He will be remembered well, but the pressure on the next coach will be unprecedented. The tight fisted owner, Levy, sacks the good ones... good luck to the next one. He does not buy players and that makes it hard for a football coach at the elite level. He is clueless. The club is 'Glou-less'.
2. NRL. Manly's inconsistency is incredible, losing a really bad one in Newcastle. The Dragons were even worse, dropping fifty points against the Dolphins. The Broncos surged back and Reece Walshe changed that for them. A super talent. Weeding out the cancers, week by week. Cobbo is on the outer and a few others need to go, perhaps even the son of the previous coach.
The Tigers look better, but keep losing. Losses get them 14th place. The Panthers into 13th. What about the Raiders? So much belief and so much composure, with great discipline. No byes yet and on top of the comp! They are playing finals already when some tipped them for the spoon!
Adam Reynolds hit the 300+ games group. A mighty achievement, but he is a way off some of these legends, including Ben Hunt and Daley Cherry-Evans who are still going and not far away from hitting third position.
The great Josh Papali'i scored two tries and kicked a conversion celebrating his record breaking games played record for Canberra v Souths. He is on 319 (same as Billy Slater), not far away! That is a lot of tough football.
3. AFL. Inconsistency by the GWS Giants is killing them too. The Gold Coast were up to their old bad tricks and the Swans, finally win. A weaker Richmond these days, but all wins count. Adelaide are starting to fire. Geelong are always close to the best. The big games roll on in the AFL on the long weekend...Essendon v Carlton and Melbourne v Collingwood. Huge crowds!
4. Formula 1. How good is Oscar Piastri? Five wins this season now. Awesome. He is on seven career F1 wins behind Ricciardo (8), Webber (9), Jones (12) and Brabham (14). I suspect he will eclipse all at McLaren very soon...and maybe this season the way he is driving that car. The number of races they now have compared to that of years ago (Alan Jones won when there were 14 races), makes it so much harder to win the whole thing. 15 races to go of a 24 race season, including the Canadian GP next week! He is well placed, but both he and Norris are close! Lots of time left yet.
5. Super Rugby. SO hard to get into this season and to see any of it, but the Brumbies continue to excel. Crusaders v Blues and Chiefs v Brumbies now in the semi finals for the two Grand Finalists! The Reds and the Hurricanes exit.
6. NBA. The Indiana Pacers v Oklahoma City Thunder. A shock Pacers victory in Game 1 on the buzzer surprised many. An intriguing week of games ahead.
7. NHL. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are all locked up at 1-1...nothing else but an arm wrestle is expected here.
8. Perth Bears. Mal Meninga is doing some superb service here as the ambassador for the NRL as the inaugural coach. He needs some decent leaders and talented players however! Let's hope this leadership role ends better than his political career. See a small summary of his 28 second political career here: Bing Videos
9. Cricket. The glory of Virat Kohli wining the IPL alongside of his other Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) team mates excited the Indian nation, especially with his recent retirement plans announced. He hit 657 runs in the tournament (third highest). Mitchell Marsh was fifth (627 runs). Hazelwood was a strong part of this victory too (third highest wicket taker and third best average - 22 wickets at 17.55).
The Test Championship of Australia v South Africa kicks off this week. Will be interested to see who opens the batting. Marnus is on his last legs, despite an impressive Test batting record.
10. French Open. Coco Gauff won her second Grand Slam v Aryna Sabalenka, who has now lost back to back Grand Slam finals. Gauff is the first US woman since Serena Williams (2015) to win a final. She did it in three sets and has really matured as a player.
Sinner v Alcaraz is the men's showdown tonight. Sinner was drug banned this year and will struggle to recover from this in the eyes of the public for some time. He has three Grand Slam titles (2 x AUS, 1 x US) and Alcaraz has four Grand Slam titles (2x Wimbledon, 1 x French, 1 x US). If Alcaraz wins, he will join Tony Trabert and Frank Sedgman as the only men to have won 5 Grand Slam titles.
11. US Open Golf. Starts this week at Oakmont in Pittsburgh. Rory is in horrific form. What price Sheffler yet again after his USPGA win and the recent Memorial Open victory last week? Four Grand Slam wins would place Sheffler alongside Els and Floyd in rising elite company. Many have won three...fewer four!
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