Colossalbet Blog

Author: Arjun Nair

  • Giddey’s Thunder score biggest NBA win in a decade

    The Oklahoma City Thunder have monstered the struggling Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA, running out 43-point winners on the road.

    Josh Giddey has won bragging rights over Australian countrymen Duop Reath and Matisse Thybulle as Oklahoma City belted Portland by 43 points for their biggest win in a decade.

    One of the NBA’s most potent attacking sides, the Thunder began Monday’s (AEDT) road game with an 11-2 run and never again trailed, finishing up 134-91 winners.

    Only twice since the turn of the century have the Thunder, or predecessors the Seattle Supersonics, scored bigger victories – both were by 45 points in 2012 and 2013.

    The latest win would have equalled those 45-point margins if not for a dunk from Portland’s Moses Brown in the final 30 seconds.

    Victory came despite Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault beginning to send his starting five to the bench with five minutes to play in the third quarter. None returned after the final change.

    In total, six Thunder players scored in double figures, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way on 28.

    Australian guard Giddey had a team-high five assists to go with six points and four rebounds.

    The Thunder shot at 71.8 per cent from the field before half-time, the most accurate first-half shooting display from any side this season.

    They parlayed their precision into a 33-point half-time lead, all but sealing victory with two quarters to play.

    Had the game stopped there, it would have been their most accurate shooting game in club history, dating back to the Supersonics’ formation in 1967.

    The loss was Portland’s seventh in a row as life without Milwaukee recruit Damian Lillard continues to weigh on the Blazers.

    Australians Reath and Thybulle combined for only six points from the bench.

    Elsewhere, veteran Kevin Durant had 39 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Phoenix Suns’ 140-137 double overtime defeat of the Utah Jazz.

    Utah’s Lauri Markkanen (38 points, 17 rebuonds) booked overtime with a lay-up that tied the game at 115 in the final 20 seconds.

    Once there, a three-pointer from Grayson Allen put the Suns in front in the final minute of the second period, before Devin Booker (26 points, eight assists) sealed victory with two free throws.

    An 11th-hour dunk from Kristaps Porzingis helped Boston survive a scare from Memphis and run out 102-100 winners on the road.

    Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum pivoted around to find a cutting Porzingis, whose two-handed dunk put the Bostonians in front.

    Memphis missed two shots that could have helped snatch the game back and had another blocked, slipping to 3-10 for the season as the Celtics pieced together a six-game winning streak.

    Toronto set a new team record for assists in a season, recording 44 in a 142-113 thrashing of Detroit.

    Scottie Barnes led the way with nine assists, helping consign the Pistons to an 11-game skid.

  • Unbeaten Wanderers have eyes set on ALM title glory

    Western Sydney are aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the A-League Men season when they host Perth Glory in round four.

    Western Sydney midfielder Josh Brillante says his side should be aiming to snare championship glory as they attempt to build on the solid foundations set over the past year.

    The Wanderers finished fourth on the A-League Men table last season in their first full campaign under coach Marko Rudan before being bundled out of the finals at the first hurdle by Sydney FC.

    Former Victory star Brillante was among the key inclusions for Western Sydney this season, and the side has made a promising start.

    After drawing 0-0 with Wellington in round one, the Wanderers crushed Western United 5-0, before fighting back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw away from home against Newcastle.

    Rudan’s side will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the season when they host Perth at CommBank Stadium on Saturday night.

    When asked what a minimum benchmark should be for the Wanderers this campaign, Brillante didn’t mince his words.

    “I think the benchmark is set at being the champions,” he said.

    “We’ve put in a great pre-season so far and we’ve started off the season really well.

    “We’re looking to keep progressing every week and getting results.

    “So far we’ve had a pretty good record defensively, only conceding the two (goals) last week away from home.

    “We’ve got great attacking prowess. If we can keep the goals (against) at a minimum, I think we’re going to do really well.”

    The Wanderers boast the likes of Socceroo Brandon Borrello, Nicolas Milanovic, Lachlan Brook and former Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers forward Marcus Antonsson among their attacking stocks.

    Glory coach Alen Stajcic went as far as rating the Wanderers as the best attacking side in the league.

    Perth will be unable to call on star midfielder Oliver Bozanic and Jarrod Carluccio because they are on loan from the Wanderers – with the contract stipulating they aren’t allowed to play against Western Sydney.

    Glory, who moved up to sixth with last week’s 2-0 win over Central Coast, are still without injured striker Luke Ivanovic.

    Perth will come up against a familiar face in the form of Wanderers defender Jack Clisby.

    Clisby spent the past two seasons with the Glory before returning to the Wanderers, who he played 37 times for between 2016-2018, but Western Sydney coach Rudan won’t be hitting up the 31-year-old for intel.

    “I don’t really talk to players about playing their former clubs,” Rudan said.

    “It’s not something that really interests me too much.

    “But Jack’s started every game and he’s getting to understand the way we play, which has been different to his last few clubs he says.”

  • SA horses shine at Flemington on Cup week

    Promising filly Karavas completed a successful week for South Australian horses at Flemington with her win in the Group 3 Ottawa Stakes on Thursday.

    It was the second win in three years in the feature for the Richard and Chantelle Jolly stable and capped a massive six days in the saddle for Jake Toeroek.

    The lethal combination claimed last weekend’s Listed John Letts Cup at Morphettville with Pudding, one of two winners for the leading rider on the day, Toeroek’s third win in succession in the race.

    They followed up with four winners at Morphettville on Melbourne Cup Day, the leading rider grabbing a fifth win with Sabermetric.

    That form flowed to Flemington where Karavas stamped herself as a filly with a bright future dominating down the straight to make it two wins from as many starts.

    “She’s a real athletic filly, well-muscled. She always looked like she’d go early,” Richard Jolly said.

    “She had the benefit of that run at Murray Bridge.

    “People disregard our form a bit, good on them, she started good odds,” he said.

    Jolly said unlike their previous Ottawa winner See You In Heaven, Karavas was a filly who would be best suited over the short course.

    “This girl is more precocious,” Jolly said.

    “I feel this filly is going to be a sheer sprinting type.

    “We can put her away now and aim at some nice races in the autumn,” he said.

    Karavas’ win followed on from a big Melbourne Cup Day where Travis Doudle claimed the Schweppervescence Plate over 1000m with Damien Oliver riding, while Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray’s The Map scored an impressive win in the 2800m race with Jamie Kah in the saddle.

    “By far and away the biggest thrill of my training career,” MacGillivray said.

    “The Map is a very special to us,” she said.

    Jamie Kah said it was a thrill to reunite with a stable who had been so crucial in her career in the early days.

    “Riding a winner on Melbourne Cup Day is awesome, but (winning) for them it felt like winning a Melbourne Cup,” Kah said.

    “I was always excited to ride this horse.

    “The feel she gave was fantastic,” she said.

    The hot SA form didn’t stop there with the Michael Hickmott trained, Fancify, finishing 2nd in the Three-Years-Old and Four-Years-Old, Fillies and Mares Race on Oaks Day while Kristi Evans trained, Platinum Wolf, ran a great race to finish 3rd in the Greys race on Cup day. 

  • Mr Brightside ready for Champions tilt

    Mr Brightside will chase Group 1 honours in the Champions Mile at Flemington.

    The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes would like a little luck to go their way in what has been a frustrating week at Flemington. 

    After Mr Brightside was touched out in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, the Hayes boys have suffered narrow losses with Apulia and Crosshaven earlier in Melbourne Cup week. 

    “With a bit of luck, we could be having a great Cup Carnival,” Ben Hayes said. 

    The Lindsay Park stable is pinning their hopes in Mr Brightside to end Cup week with a Group 1 win in the Champions Mile (1600m) on Saturday. 

    Hayes said the stable made the decision to come back from the 2040m of the Cox Plate when beaten by Romantic Warrior to Saturday’s journey with a view of a potential trip to Hong Kong. 

    “He’s an elite miler, so if we do decide to go to Hong Kong, it gives us more options,” Hayes said. 

    “We can stay at the mile or go to 2000 metres in Hong Kong, but we’ve got to get through this run first and see how he recovers from it. 

    “We haven’t committed to anything yet. He’s in the sixth run for the prep and these good horses, you do need to look after them. 

    “It’s something we’ll discuss with the team after the run.” 

    Hayes said Mr Brightside had remained at Flemington since his Cox Plate defeat and had freshened up nicely for his tilt on Saturday. 

    Mr Brightside will also be racing in blinkers again as the gelding looks to improve on his fourth in the corresponding race in 2021, when run as a handicap, then third last year. 

    “He’s probably due and there will be no excuses,” Hayes said. 

    “He hasn’t missed a day’s work. We’ve kept him at Flemington since the Cox Plate and we’ve always said that he thrives racing two weeks, two weeks, and that is what is happening here. 

    “He’s done so well and is a happy, enjoyable horse. 

    “I never get sick about talking about Mr Brightside, but if I ever do, slap me.” 

  • Rebels excited to have Tupou in Super Rugby ranks

    Melbourne’s biggest signing Taniela Tupou will be at Super Rugby training early next month, with coach Kevin Foote looking to make the Rebels’ scrum a weapon.

    Melbourne expect superstar Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou to hit the ground running, with their new recruit to start training with the Super Rugby Pacific club early next month.

    Signed from Queensland, Tupou will lead a beefed-up pack alongside Test forward Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, who spent last season playing for UK club Northampton.

    One-Test All Black midfielder Matt Proctor, England-capped halfback Jack Maunder and Reds utilty back Filipo Daugunu are also moving to Melbourne, with all Super sides unveiling their squads on Thursday.

    The Wallabies’ World Cup campaign was dealt a massive blow when Tupou suffered a hamstring injury, which saw him miss crucial pool games.

    But the 27-year-old was able to turn out for the Barbarians invitational team against Wales last weekend, and Melbourne coach Kevin Foote said he would be available to train on December 4, when the representative players were due back.

    The Rebels now have Test forwards Rob Leota, Pone Fa’amausili, Josh Kemeny and Jordan Uelese all up for selection.

    “Taniela’s been really good – our medical team have been in touch with all the Wallabies player to support them,” Foote told AAP.

    “He comes in on December 4, so we get the World Cup guys pretty early.

    “The scrum is pretty exciting for us and it’s smart recruitment.”

    Former Reds backrower/lock Salakaia-Loto, who started training with the Rebels after missing selection for the France tournament, has already made an impression.

    “Lukhan is a massive guy – he’s 130 kilograms and he’s a no-nonsense guy,” Foote said.

    “He’s come back to Australia and he really wants to win something, so I think the timing of us getting him is pretty awesome.”

    Among other squad changes, incoming Queensland coach Les Kiss has added All Blacks pairing Alex Hodgman and Jeffery Toomaga-Allen in one of his few big plays to offset the loss of Tupou.

    Teenager Frankie Goldsbrough – one of Queensland’s most sought-after talents – has also been elevated to the squad.

    Experts say Goldsbrough is a realistic chance of joining the likes of Jordan Petaia, Ben Tune and Daniel Herbert as an 18-year-old Super Rugby debutant.

    The NSW Waratahs have lost World Cup playmaker Ben Donaldson to the Western Force, and retired former captain Michael Hooper.

    Miles Amatosero is set to make his mark, with the 21-year-old second-rower, who stands more than 200cm and weighs 125kg, returning to Sydney after a stint in France.

    The ACT Brumbies, who were Australia’s best-performing team in 2023, have remained settled apart from the departure of halfback Nic White to the Western Force and Pete Samu to France.

    Skipper Allan Alaalatoa is expected to miss the opening rounds as he recovers from an achilles injury.

    As well as luring Wallabies halves Donaldson and White to the west, the Force have also recruited former All Black Atu Moli and Reds prop Harry Hoopert to bolster their front row, while backrower Will Harris has joined from the Waratahs.

  • Federer-slayer Millman to quit after Australian summer

    John Millman, the only Australian this century to conquer the great Roger Federer at a grand slam, has announced he will retire from tennis after this summer.

    Former grand-slam quarter-finalist, fan favourite and Roger Federer slayer John Millman has ruefully called an imminent end to his professional tennis career.

    The 34-year-old revealed on Thursday night he was walking away after a 10th and final Australian Open campaign in January, saying “unfortunately age has caught up to me”.

    “Just the three (shoulder) surgeries. Chronic back injury was the thing that did me in, though,” Millman told AAP, after posting on social media: “All good things come to an end.

    “After the upcoming Australian Summer, I’ll be retiring from professional tennis.

    “I’m incredibly grateful for all the support I’ve had throughout my career. It’s been a thrilling ride living out a dream I had as a kid.”

    Millman overcame all manner of injuries to forge a special place in the Australian tennis history books with a career-defining fourth-round victory over Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open in New York.

    He was the first Australian to topple the Swiss great at a grand slam since Pat Rafter at the 1999 French Open, when Federer was still a teenager.

    Millman went tantalisingly close to repeating the feat at the 2020 Australian Open, losing in five sets after leading Federer 8-4 in the deciding super-tiebreaker.

    He reached a career-high No.33 in the world in October 2018, won his lone ATP singles title in Kazakhstan in 2020 and played five Davis Cup ties for Australia while also wearing the green and gold at two Olympic Games.

    In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Millman became the first player in Olympic history to win a singles match 6-0 6-0, against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis.

    In addition to his stirring run at Flushing Meadows five years ago, where it took Novak Djokovic to stop him, Millman twice made the third round at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon.

    But he says his battered body has “really broken down”.

    “It’s been a fantastic career, but I’m ready to try something else,” Brisbane-born Millman told Nine News Queensland.

    “The way I play, I have to be up there playing 11 months a year; and I’m just no longer able to do so.

    “I can still play at a high level, I feel, but not day-in, day-out. The body is not letting me.

    “All those years of being physical on the court have caught up with me.”

    Millman will feature in Australia’s United Cup side for the mixed teams’ event kick-starting the summer of tennis in Perth and Sydney from December 29.

    While the world No.436 won’t make direct entry to the Australian Open, it’s almost certain the popular grinder will receive a wildcard into his home slam for one last time.

  • Maxi is stretching cricket’s limits, says Aussie coach

    Australia coach Andrew McDonald believes Glenn Maxwell will inspire the next generation of cricketers with his pyrotechnics – just like Ricky Ponting did.

    Glenn Maxwell has been hailed by Australia’s coach as a game-changing talent who can inspire an entire generation with his brilliance.

    Andrew McDonald, left amazed like the rest of cricket by the match-winning double hundred that a hobbling ‘Maxi’ smashed against Afghanistan on Tuesday, described the allrounder as stretching the possibilities in the batting art just as Ricky Ponting and AB De Villiers did before him.

    Suggesting it might take a long time for the true magnitude of Maxwell’s unbeaten 128-ball 201 in Mumbai to be properly appreciated, McDonald also couldn’t help smiling as he related how, back home in Australia, he’d heard that players were now all imitating the 35-year-old’s outrageous inventions.

    “I had some text messages from some friends that went to cricket training that night (of Maxwell’s innings) and the night after, back home and what were they playing? Reverse sweep, scoops…

    “It’s probably a little bit of a nightmare with developing players for the coaches, but you’ve got to encourage it.

    “I think the players take the game forward every day and the game is better today than it was yesterday and Glenn Maxwell will no doubt inspire a new generation with some outrageous shots – and they’ll take it even further than he has.

    “And that’s the beauty about this game, the limits are endless. He’s stretched the boundaries as did AB de Villiers, as did Ricky Ponting in their time as well. So it’s exciting to see where the game may head.

    “He sees the game differently. Some of the options that he takes, the work that he’s put in, even some of the things he does in the field, he does differently and it never ceases to amaze.”

    Captain Pat Cummins hailed Maxwell’s effort, as he battled body cramps and a back issue, as the “greatest ODI innings” as he almost single-handedly dragged Australia to victory when they had looked beaten at 7-91 chasing 292.

    “It looks like it will take a long time for an innings like that to sink in,” said McDonald.

    “It’s one which you look the highlight back the next day and it still amazes you what happened.

    “I think Patty summed up very well…probably the greatest one-day innings ever.”

  • Guineas next stop in winning Roll

    Guineas the likely next step for daughter of Shamus Award

    Katherine Coleman has always known Roll On High was a filly with above-average ability and now the rest of the world does too after she charged into Thousand Guineas contention at Flemington on Tuesday.

    The daughter of Shamus Award now occupies a place on the second line of betting on the Group 1 at Caulfield on November 18 after decisively winning the $175,000 Desirable Stakes.

    The 1400-metre event was only the fourth start for Roll On High, following a Pakenham maiden win on October 20, but Coleman said the Slade Bloodstock galloper had earned her crack at a valuable Group 1 win.

    “Definitely, if she pulls up well then she’s probably earned her spot there,” Coleman, who trains in partnership with Peter Moody, said.

    Roll On High ($12), who is from the High Chaparral mare All Highs On Me, came with a sweeping run down the outside to score by three quarters of a length from Joliestar ($9.50) with Kimochi ($4.20) filling another minor placing, two lengths away in third.

    Even though Roll On High was up in grade, winning jockey Billy Egan said she relished the set up of the Desirable Stakes and would take benefit from the outing.

    “She was going this good when she won last start but she didn’t have that many horses to pass last time so she was a little lost when she got to the front,” Egan said.

    “Today she had one more to drag her a long way down the straight and she was very willing to pass it but when she hit the front she was still a touch green but she has a touch of class there.”

    Commemorative, the $3.30 favourite, enjoyed an economical run on the fence and presented as a winning hope early in the straight but weakened late to finish sixth, beaten just under six lengths.

  • Without A Fight gives Zahra back-to-back Cup wins

    Without A Fight has provided Mark Zahra with back-to-back victories in the Melbourne Cup.

    Imported galloper Without A Fight has etched his name into the history books by taking out the 163rd running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. 

    Brought out to Australia for last year’s Melbourne Cup under UK trainers Simon and Ed Crisford, Without A Fight was not suited on the wet conditions, fading to finish 13th behind Gold Trip. 

    But 12 months later, and in the care of Anthony and Sam Freedman, Without A Fight appreciated the firmer Flemington track that was upgraded to a Good 3 after the Melbourne Cup (3200m) on Tuesday, to race to a comfortable win under a brilliant ride from Mark Zahra. 

    After settling back in the field, Zahra was able to weave a passage through the field from the hometurn to take Without A Fight ($8) to a 2-¼ length victory from Soulcombe ($9.50) with outsider Sheraz ($151) a further half-length away third. 

    In winning Tuesday’s Cup, Without A Fight became the first horse since Ethereal in 2001 to complete the Caulfield – Melbourne Cup double and the 12th overall. 

    Zahra won the Cup last year on Gold Trip and had to make the difficult decision on whether to ride that galloper again or stick aboard Without A Fight after winning the Caulfield Cup on the gelding 17 days ago. 

    “Mark Hunter is a good friend and I rate him as one of the best judges in Australia,” Zahra said. 

    “I spoke to him at length about it and he said ‘you know, there’s not much in it, but if you can get him to settle, he’ll run it’. 

    “We went through the race, the weather forecast. 

    “The stars aligned for Gold Trip last year and they aligned for this horse this year. 

    “I don’t get to pick the result, I have to pick them before then and there was just a few things, the weight and the way he won the Caulfield Cup, I was confident he’d run it out today.” 

    Zahra said drawing barrier two and hugging the rails throughout allowed Without A Fight to have an easy run. 

    He said he was fortunate that he had some of the best jockeys in the world to follow. 

    “I was following Alenquer, probably not the best chance but D Oliver, in front of him was Gold Trip, in front of him was Vauban,” Zahra said. 

    “So, I thought I’m just going to stay here. They all made their moves, which opened up for me and I was on a horse you can just sit on. 

    “He’s got an electric turn of foot, and he just pulled me all the way to the line, and it was all over. 

    “I stood up in the irons and gave them the two fingers for two winners. 

    “I don’t know what I was thinking – idiot.” 

    Without A Fight’s victory adds the father-and-son training team of Anthony and Sam Freedman to the record books. 

    Anthony was part of Lee Freedman‘s haul of five Cup winners before the four brothers, Lee, Richard and Michael, went their separate ways. 

    The last win for the Freedman family came in 2005 with Maybe Diva and Sam Freedman said it had been a long time between wins in the Cup for the family. 

    Freedman senior is rarely seen at the races and Sam Freedman has been the face of the team. 

    “It’s been a great race for the family,” Freedman said. 

    “It’s been a while between drinks but it’s good to get another one and credit to the old man. 

    “He’s been incredible through all of this, his wisdom and experience in nursing a horse through like this. 

    “He went up to Queensland with him and looked after him up here and got him right into form and brought him back to Victoria and he’s been brilliant ever since so credit to him.” 

  • Moloney sets title defence, aims for April unification

    Jason Moloney had initially been tipped to lock in a unification bout for late 2023, but will instead defend his WBO world bantamweight title in January.

    Jason Moloney will defend his world bantamweight title for the first time on January 13 and is eyeing a maiden unification bout on Australian soil in April.

    Melbourne-born Moloney announced on Thursday he would meet American Saul Sanchez in Quebec City for his first fight since beating Vincent Astrolabio to claim the WBO belt.

    On his third attempt at a world title, ‘Mayhem’ Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) overcame a hand injury to beat the Filipino by majority decision in May.

    After taking a break to allow his hand to recover, Moloney was down to fight Alexandro Santiago for a shot at the WBC title which would have moved him a step closer to undisputed champion status.

    But a mandatory fight with Astrolabio has taken priority for Santiago.

    IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez’s decision to retire and then backflip only days later cast doubt over a unification bout between he and Moloney.

    Itching to return to the ring, Moloney has opted to prioritise a maiden title defence over a chance for another belt.

    “Time was ticking away and I don’t want to sit on the sidelines any longer,” Moloney told AAP.

    “We tried quite hard to make the fight happen in Australia but a few pieces of the puzzle just weren’t falling into place.

    “Certainly after I’m successful in January, I’m hoping to get out and I’m hoping that a unification fight is next and hopefully in Australia.”

    Moloney is aiming for that fight to take place in April and wants his brother, super flyweight Andrew, to feature on the same card.

    “I’d like that,” he said.

    “He’s fighting December 9 in Melbourne and looking to get a win and get himself back in the title mix.

    “Hopefully we’ll share a show together early next year.

    “I would like to fight probably April, fingers crossed we can have a unification then.”

    But first, Moloney has been listed on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev’s fight with Callum Smith on January 13, the former defending his WBO, WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles.

    Australian super middleweight Rohan Murdock will fight Christian Mbilli on the same card in Quebec.

    Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs) last fought in October when he handed Filipino southpaw RV Deniega the first loss of his professional career by unanimous decision in Japan.

    The 26-year-old is listed at No.10 on the WBO rankings and is contesting his first world title.

    “He’s someone who’s been on my radar for a while,” Moloney said.

    “He’s going to come into the fight very hungry, it’s his first chance at winning a title himself so I’m expecting a really good, hard fight.

    “But I believe in myself and believe in my abilities. I think I’m the best bantamweight in the world at the moment and it’s time to prove that.”