Andrew Ryan

Managing Director of @FIBA Media. Formerly of @Olympics. Ice swimmer @AusWinterSwim. @CossonayCricket. Occasional commentary for @EuropeanCricket.

[Derek Alberts @derekalberts1]

Thursday’s Rugby League World Cup opener between Australia and New Zealand made the Bledisloe look like a cure for insomnia by comparison.

[Philip Charles VanDerHeyden IV @PhilipCharlesIV]

A LONG POST ABOUT JOSH GIDDEY...

I'm truly sick of talking about Josh Giddey's worth; I only keep talking about it because the disrespect gets loud repeatedly when he's done nothing to earn it.

I want to leave my thoughts at this:

I started playing & watching basketball when I was 7 years old. I was always short compared to people my age, so I was taught & coached at Point Guard through 12 years of organized play. I started for 8 of those years.

I think that's relevant because through all of those years, I was coached that the Point Guard had one objective: Making your teammates better.

Obviously, there were other objectives like hitting your wide open 3s, hitting your free throws, giving max effort defensively, etc - but my coaches were always most pleased with me when I ran the offense well and made scoring easier for my teammates, particularly when I recognized when someone was hot or when our best players needed to score, and acted accordingly.

So when the Chicago Bulls bring in a player who ranks in the 98th percentile for creating wide open shots for his teammates multiple years in a row, I think that's fuckin' awesome.

Players like Steph Curry, SGA and Jalen Brunson have added to the definition of Point Guard, as they've shown that your primary ballhandler can also be your primary scorer, and you can win championships that way.

But instead of that style being ADDED to what winning team composition looked like when it comes to the Point Guard position, it REPLACED it. I don't think that's fair nor does it make sense. Just because teams have won that way recently, doesn't mean that you have to win that way.

The folks who say you can't win with Giddey tend to insist that your team can't win with a pass-first Point Guard. I just don't agree. I've watched pass-first Point Guards win repeatedly in my lifetime. That style didn't become less effective. It just became less common.

Let's say Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis become a Top 5 duo in the NBA, and they're just absolutely BALLING. People would have me believe that regardless of how good they are, the team would lose if Josh Giddey was playing Point Guard? That notion is absolutely ridiculous to me. I'm not saying Giddey should be your 1st or 2nd best player. I'm simply saying you can build a championship roster that includes him starting for you, and I don't understand why there is so much fight against idea.

Would the Shaq/Kobe Lakers have lost if Giddey was their starting PG instead of Derek Fisher? Would the MJ/Pippen Bulls have lost if Giddey was the starting PG instead of Paxson or Harper? If you're saying Yes to those questions, I think you're insane.

The arguments against him act as if he actively holds the Bulls back from winning. I've played & watched basketball for too long to suddenly believe that someone who contributes like Giddey is a net negative to your team.

I've said what I wanted to say. I want to be done talking about this, but I know that's likely impossible given the constant need to use him as a scapegoat.

I hope Josh Giddey knows there are many Bulls fans out here who are rooting for him to succeed and who do appreciate his contributions to the team. They just aren't as loud as the negative ones, unfortunately.

#ChicagoBulls #JoshGiddey #BullsNation #SeeRed

[Mike Meehall Wood @MikeMeehallWood]

Anyone in the UK still complaining that nobody knows that this World Cup is taking place should consider that England v Tonga did *double* the audience of Australia v All Blacks.

#RLWC is massive (union is dead)

[Scott Bailey @ScottBaileyAAP]

Even with the rugby union figures not accounting for Stan, a rugby league international not involving Australia getting double the audience on free-to-air TV than the Bledisloe is wild.

International rugby league is in an extremely good place.

[Olgun Uluc @OlgunUluc]

A new career-high 32 points for Taran Armstrong, to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in a win vs NZ; JackJumpers move to 5-2 in #NBL27. He was 9/14 FG, 2/3 3PT, and 12/14 FT… now averaging 21.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 5.5 apg (1.4 TOV) over 7 games.

[Rugby League World Cup 2026 @rugbyleaguewcup]

WHAT A TRY! 🤯

#RLWC26

[RugbyLeagueonTV.com @rugbyleagueontv]

I don't know if this will be the case for all games but a full match replay of Australia v New Zealand went up on You Tube on the official world cup account.

https://t.co/OJR8xY8QRY

[DAZN @dazngroup]

Get ready for surf racing like you’ve never seen it before. 🌊

Guardians League is coming to DAZN in 2027, with world-class athletes competing on spectacular coastlines.

Watch the action live and free on DAZN.

#DAZN #GuardiansLeague #SurfRacing

[basketball.com.au @bouncepassau]

Two Australians. One floor. Las Vegas.

Matisse Thybulle's Lakers meet Alex Toohey's Warriors at 1pm AEDT - and Jock Landale has just set the bar.

#AussieHoops #NBA
https://t.co/7MVYF1NJZZ

[Michael Mulvihill @mulvihill79]

But the World Series ratings are never really bad *for baseball* because the most important thing by far is that every fan base believes that someday they can have the thrill of seeing their team win the whole thing. That’s what this whole offseason will be about.

[Josh Gessner @joshgessner]

Easy Way To Stay Closed.

One of the easiest ways to stay closed with the upper half is to internally rotate your glove side.

Now, I started incorporating this because when I was throwing my bullpens and I was in the low 90s, around 90 to 93 miles an hour, I compared that to bullpens where I was throwing a little bit harder.

I'm touching 94, 95, even 96 miles an hour.

The big difference that stuck out to me was how late I was able to keep my upper half closed, and it's a very small detail.

When the pitch was 92, I might've been here, but when it was 95, it was more here.

A very small difference that created large effects down the line.

And so what I started to incorporate was a little bit of internal rotation with the glove side to keep myself closed for that split second longer to throw hard.

Now, this is one of the things that Cullen incorporated into his delivery to go from the upper 80s into the mid 90s.

And so again, such a small change like this can yield big results in pitching velocity.

[L'Indépendant Sports @sport_lindep]

En Australie, #Sydney neuf clubs pour une seule ville : l’empire du rugby à XIII https://t.co/JgnS98DapP via @lindependant

[NFL Films @NFLFilms]

A one-of-a-kind player, coach, and man.

Rest in peace Mike Ditka 🧡

[cricket.com.au @cricketcomau]

One of the great short-leg catches 🙌

Mackenzie Harvey with a screamer for SA! #SheffieldShield

[Usman @jamilmusman_]

THIS IS FIRST OF ITS KIND! 😂

[Olgun Uluc @OlgunUluc]

An awesome Dash Daniels game: 16 points (5/9 FG, 3/5 3PT), 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Phoenix’s win vs ILL. The rhythm of his three-ball has improved a ton. He notably played with better force - on both ends - and decisiveness in this one; stood out as a downhill creator.

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

Finland gets the “ways to divide a country” treatment.

[NBL @NBL]

Fresh off a three-peat, Chris Fagan is in the house 🏆

Watch live on ESPN, 9Go! and 9Now 📺

[Ashley Browne @hashbrowne]

Brilliant American perspective on Wharfie Time from the always excellent @rodger

Today in Sports! The Wharfie Time Saga https://t.co/Lkp4Sl3efh

[Lennox 𓁻 @zaapN_]

And people were saying a PNG NRL team was a bad idea cause they have no juniors or pathways to produce🤣 🤡