04-06-2024 Breakfast Bites FIJI & PACIFIC SPORTS NEWS Podcast S09E58 #TeivovoSports #TeivovoDigital

Kia ora, Talofa, Ma’lelei, Bula, Aloha and Welcome to Season 09 Episode 58 of Breakfast Bites, by TEIVOVOdigital.com – a wrap of Pasifika people’s sports news, on a sunny and bright Tuesday morning 04 June 2024.
 
Coming to you with tons of hanisi from the 180th meridian, in the middle of the blue continent.
 
In Rugby: France men and Australian women won the HSBC SVNS 2024 Championship in Madrid.
 
France beat Argentina 5-19 in the men’s final, with Fiji winning bronze over New Zealand.

Australia prevented a French double, overcoming France 7-26 thanks to a Maddison Levi treble, to claim women’s gold, while New Zealand won bronze beating Canada.

USA, Kenya, Uruguay and Spain secured men’s HSBC SVNS 2025 status with Play Off qualifications.

While China, Spain, Japan and Brazil earn places on the women’s HSBC SVNS 2025 series.
France’s Antoine Dupont and Canada’s Carissa Norsten win SVNS 2024 ‘Rookie of the Year’ awards, while Ireland’s Terry Kennedy and Australia’s Maddison Levi are top try scorers
Rugby sevens kicks off the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in Stade de France on 24 July.

However, everyone will be weary of a resurgent Fiji Men’s 7s team, who beat New Zealand twice over the weekend, with the Olympics on the horizon. 

Australian women were outstanding all weekend in Madrid, seeing off New Zealand 19-21 in a thrilling semi-final comeback.

The newly introduced promotion and relegation Play Off competition featured teams ranked ninth to twelfth in SVNS 2024 competing with the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024.

Samoa and Canada lost their places on the HSBC SVNS series as the USA and Spain retained their spots. Kenya and Uruguay will join them after wins over Germany and Chile respectively.
In rugby league: We’re about to find out just how good new NSW Blues Coach Michael Maguire is at the elite level of rugby league. Madge is a great fella blessed with an old school work ethic, a no nonsense mindset and an intense personality.

On the other side of the equation we know what we’re going to get from Billy Slater and the Queensland Maroons – a relentless 80-minute performance from an extremely well-presented team.

So place your bets on ORIGIN 01 ladies & gentlemen.

In the NBA: Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavs to Miriam Adelson and her family in December 2023, in a deal that valued the franchise at US$3.5Billion.

Now, not six months later, the team is on the cusp of its second NBA title ever. 

Their opponents in the finals, the Boston Celtics, just happen to own home court advantage and are the betting favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

It would be the first title for Boston since 2008, and the second under the current owners, who bought the franchise for US$360Million in 2002.

This season, the Celtics boast a US$183.6M payroll - fourth highest in the NBA, while the Mavericks have the 16th-ranked payroll @ US$163.6M.

In Football: The Matildas farewelled Australia before heading to the Paris Olympics with a 2-0 win over China in front of more than 76,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Monday night.
 
In her 104th and most likely final game for the Matildas, veteran goalkeeper Lydia Williams was then given a hero’s farewell in the 43rd minute.

And in SportsBiz: World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, announced in April it would distribute Olympic prize money for the first time.
 
A notable shift away from amateurism in the Olympics, which the International Olympic Committee did not support.
 
Fast-forward to last week, when another sport’s governing body - one already feuding with the IOC - made a similar pledge.
 
The International Boxing Association announced it will award US$3.1Million in prize money to male and female boxers who reach the Paris Olympics quarterfinals, plus compensation for their coaches and national federations.

Each gold medalist will get US$50,000.
 
And that’s a wrap!
 
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Mahalo and Ka kite; for TEIVOVOdigital.com, I’m Culden Kamea tanking you all too mass for all your love and support.
 
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