The Wrap - Ange(r) or Ange(l)?

1. Ange Postocoglou. A doomed time at Nottingham Forest of only 39 days (the second shortest ever!). The players have seemingly rejected his style and just sulked, while the fans deserve relegation. So negative and never gave Ange a chance. Ange has once again carried himself with great grace and style. The owner is a rash and impulsive person. 8 games is pretty ridiculous. The private ownership of sporting teams is always fraught. 

2. Ariarne Titmus. Some surgery setbacks and a fine career as she retires now. Mollie O'Callaghan becomes our No. 1 now. An exceptional career really. Incredible feats, but a lot of sympathy for someone doing the hard and relentless work every day. Time for a new chapter in her life. Hopefully her personal life is not splashed across every tabloid and every magazine, like Stephanie Rice, Jana Pittman, Suzie O'Neill, Lisa Curry-Kenny and Leisel Jones before her. The public admire these swimmers, but the sad impact of mental health struggles and relationship break downs continues to intrigue a public who don't need to know this.

3. ODI Cricket. No one can work out why and for what purpose the Indian team is in Australia to play yet another series of meaningless ODI games, Presumably just a money making exercise and a 'you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours' arrangement. 

4. NRL - Pacific Championships. The growth of the Pacific Islander player numbers in the game is incredible. Rarely a knee injury from any of them too. Resilient and passionate. New Zealand remain the big brother, but it is not what it once was. They are not feared or that dominant. Concerns continue with Dylan Brown. He is so talented, but fades away during games and can become a little invisible. The Knights will be nervous, but he scored the match winner. He can be mercurial.

New Zealand v Samoa was entertaining, but the lack of attacking shape is the difference. It seems like breaking the NRL structure is the attraction of the competition. Flair and difference. The drops by To'o and Mariner with tries on offer sadly killed their hopes. One pass too high and one pass too hard!

5. MLB. The Seattle Mariners have never won the MLB World Series and get a chance in the remaining two games v the Toronto Blue Jays. They lead 3-2 in the best of seven series. The LA Dodgers are immense and are already in the World Series waiting for their opponents. They disposed of the Brewers 4-0. Ohtani is incredible. Three home runs and six innings while pitching in the same game! He could just be the greatest player ever.

6. Everest - Ka Ying Rising. What a performance. So easy and no whip required to win easing down. The horse remains undefeated and one of the best ever sprinters world wide. A rare day when JMac won nothing. The Everest prizemoney split? 

Conversely, the Caulfield Cup has a total of $5 million with the winner taking $3 million. Half Yours was too good with Jamie Melham becoming the first winning woman in the event. Michelle Payne won a Melbourne Cup on a 101-1 pop, Prince of Penzance back in 2015.

7. F1 - Oscar Piastri. It is sadly going really bad at present. Starting sixth on the grid in Austin Texas at the American GP ran at the Circuit of the Americas. Verstappen is composed and looks too strong when it matters. He is on pole position. It is Verstappen's 48th pole position. He is fifth ever - behind: Lewis Hamilton (104); Schumacher (68); Senna (65) and Vettel (57).

McLaren seem to be intent on infighting instead, even discussing sacking Oscar...honestly.

8. EPL. Haaland scores another two goals v Everton overnight. He now has 11 goals...5 ahead of the nearest rival. An incredible talent and a 6 foot 5" frame makes him imposing and very hard to contain. Hopefully he can stay injury free.

9. AFL Trade Window. It is a long way back for a player looking for a move and not getting a deal (eg. Zac Merrett). Hard to play alongside that person. Charlie Curnow is due to produce for the Swans with half the club traded to get him there. Not in the Lockett-Buddy class. It could end in tears.

10. Umpire Joel Wilson. This is an extraordinary observation by Rod Tucker on the sacked West Indian umpire, Joel Wilson. On the basis of this, it seems a fair sacking!

“Joel Wilson was a very good umpire, just his decision making was below par. He paid the price for that. In the end, he’s a great human being. Everything else on the umpiring side of things, he’s fantastic. Just his decision making wasn’t up to standard. He lost his job because of that.”