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Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video, PGA Tour

Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video, PGA Tour

Cameron Percy has lifted the lid on Cameron Smith’s intentions, revealing the Open champion is “gone” and will join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.

Smith, 28, was irate when he was asked about his future in the moments following his extraordinary one-shot victory at St Andrew’s last month.

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s pretty- not that good,” Smith said.

Pressed on the matter, the Australian was coy.

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff, I’m here to win golf tournaments,” he said.

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But Percy, a top-10 finisher at the Wyndham Championship, said his Australian compatriots Smith and Marc Leishman were “gone” and had signed with the financially lucrative LIV Golf Series.

“Unfortunately, yeah, they’re gone,” Percy told RSN radio.

The extraordinary revelation comes ahead of this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, which is expected to see Smith take to the tee amid a court’s hearing into whether three LIV golfers should be permitted to play after defecting to the rebel league.

Percy said the PGA Tour had known for years that a rebel tour was being formed.

“I had a long conversation with (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott and he was very interesting talking to about it, just where it is,” he said.

“He said he met with these guys (LIV) in 2017 (and) they were ready (to) do all this. So, the tour has known for a long time that this stuff’s in the works.”

Scott has previously been on the record speaking about LIV Golf, saying in April “the schedule that they’re proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers” and he would “consider” making a move too.

Percy, meanwhile, delivered a not-so-subtle dig at those taking the money and defecting, raising the ethical questions around where the money is coming from.

“The more and more you look into it, some people don’t care, some people have got a conscience and do care,’ he said.

“It really comes down to, you know, ‘they just executed 80 people this week, just chopped their heads off’. They’re not the nicest people in the world.

“Do you just look past that and go, ‘Oh well, I’m rich I don’t really care’. It’s a tough one, it really is.”

Smith, the world No.2, was reportedly offered more than $100 million to join the LIV Golf Series.

Should he indeed accept the offer, he will be the highest ranked player to defect.

Former major winner Ian Baker-Finch last month to ignore the offers and create a legacy in the game by staying in the PGA Tour – something currently he would struggle to achieve in LIV Golf, where tournaments are 54 holes and don’t contain the player strength nor history.

“I know that they are talking to him and many others,” Baker-Finch, who won the Claret Jug in 1991, told SEN radio.

“I hope he doesn’t because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.

“I don’t think I need the money. I don’t think it is going to be something that he should do.

“He will be a $100m guy or more now. Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money? I am hoping he stays and leaves a great legacy like a Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy … which he could do. I think Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors, and want to leave a legacy, they’re the guys I would be following.”

Originally published as ‘They’re gone’: Bombshell revelation as Aussie golfer says Smith, Leishman have joined LIV

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Sports

Nick Kyrgios US Open prospects, odds, could he win? Media reaction to Washington ATP win

Nick Kyrgios US Open prospects, odds, could he win? Media reaction to Washington ATP win

Nick Kyrgios’ career-best run of form has prompted an inevitable debate around one big question — is he a legitimate contender to win the US Open?

The 27-year-old Australian made history by winning both the singles and doubles titles at the ATP event in Washington, a month after he reached his first grand slam final at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios’ ranking has jumped to 37 and a strong performance at next week’s Montreal Masters could clinch him an all-important seeding at the year’s final grand slam in New York, starting later this month.

The enigmatic Aussie caught many by surprise with his run at the All England Club and how he’s since backed up that performance has prompted discussion about whether Kyrgios may now be emerging as the grand slam force many have always thought he could become.

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Kyrgios wins hearts with gift for fan | 00:37

Former world No.1 Andy Roddick is among those who believe the hype is real when it comes to Kyrgios’ prospects at Flushing Meadows, where Wimbledon champion Nick Kyrgios and injury-riddle Rafael Nadal may be absent.

“It’s a big, big deal to me that he goes into Washington, which is a pretty big event in the lead-up to the US Open,” Roddick told Steve Weissman of Tennis Channel on The Rich Eisen Show.

“Brutal conditions….To go through singles and doubles and not to tap out mentally or physically is a big, big sign.

“I think it puts him into the top two, maybe three, favorites for the US Open.”

Stuart Fraser, writing for The Times, said many of Kyrgios’ rivals will be relieved he is on course to be seeded at the US Open — removing him as a nightmare early round potential opponent — and agreed Kyrgios was up as a legitimate force in the singles.

“Whether Kyrgios is seeded or not at the US Open, he will be considered a contender after showing at Wimbledon that he has what it takes to come through several consecutive matches in the extended best-of-five-set format,” Fraser said.

“A potential second-round meeting with Medvedev in Montreal this week would help to determine where exactly he will sit on the bookmakers’ list.”

Kokk downs veteran Verdasco in Mexico | 00:26

Tennis Podcast co-host Matt Roberts said Kyrgios’ Washington performance showed he was likely to build on his success at Wimbledon, rather than it being a flash in the pan.

“I know it’s the first time he’s won a title this season but he has been playing very well whenever he’s played and I do think, I go back a lot to that quote he gave, kind of jokingly, straight after Wimbledon but it was serious at the same time, where he said that if he’d won Wimbledon he might have lost his motivation,” Roberts said.

“I actually think that losing that final, in a way, is probably the best thing in terms of prolonging his career. I think he’s got a little bit of a taste for it now in terms of wanting to see what happens when he properly dedicates himself and really does put his mind to it.

“I think he wants to find out how good he can get. A week like this, he played players that were kind of comfortable for him I think. He’s still only beaten Tsitisapas as a top 10 player in this run. We haven’t really seen him play those absolute top players I suppose.

“I’m interested to see next week when he plays potentially Daniil Medvedev in potentially his second match in Canada.

“That would be a fantastic test for both of them. it’s kind of tough to judge just exactly where Kyrgios’ level is but — an unmotivated Kyrgios is a dangerous player. A motivated Kyrgios is a different thing altogether.”

Co-host David Law warned, however, that history was not on Kyrgios’ side when it came to going all the way at slams.

“I think he is playing the most professional, consistent tennis of his career. Whether that means anything we’ll have to wait and see,” Law said.

“… I still think, best of five sets where you don’t have the help of the surface, he is going to malfunction.

“He is going to get in his own way. Somebody is going to hang on in a match, players peak at grand slams. He’s going to play against players who are playing their best stuff at that tournament and he is going to come apart at the seams, most likely, because that is the history.

RAGE aplenty as Kyrgios wins tie-break | 02:07

James Gray, writing for iSport, agreed despite acknolwedging the Kyrgios hype train “might never have had such a head of steam up as it currently does”.

“Entertainment has never been Kyrgios’s problem: attainment has,” Gray wrote.

“Have you finally got over that hump? There are certainly results in his 2022 record to suggest he might have done, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas (twice), Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, but his record against the top 20 in 2022 remains six wins and seven losses. For that kind of form to equal victory in New York, Kyrgios will need some help from the draw.

“He is likely to get some as well, since his world ranking will now almost certainly earn him a seeded spot, protecting him from the world’s top 30 players in the opening two rounds. And circumstance – injury to Alexander Zverev and the unvaccinated status of Novak Djokovic – will protect him from two of the top 10 for the duration of the tournament.”

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Sports

Harry McKay says Carlton Blues season should still be successful even if they miss finals

Harry McKay says Carlton Blues season should still be successful even if they miss finals

Coleman Medalist Harry McKay believes Carlton’s 2022 has been a successful campaign – even if it ultimately misses finals after being in the top eight since Round 1.

The Blues have been one of the stories of the AFL season, placing inside the top eight at the end of every round so far. After eight consecutive bottom-eight finishes, Michael Voss’ team now needs one more win to cement a finals berth for the first time since 2013.

But the Blues are now clinging to seventh spot on the ladder after a 33-point loss to Brisbane on Sunday – their fourth loss from their past six games.

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With two tough games against top-four sides Melbourne and Collingwood to finish their home and away season, the Blues are now in danger of missing finals, with St Kilda and, particularly, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs well placed to squeeze into the top eight .

The last team to be in finals places every round except the last was Carlton in 1977.

Asked on Fox Footy’s On The Couch if the Blues would still consider the 2022 season a success, even if they missed finals, McKay said: “Short answer yes.

“I think I judge success in terms of our environment that we’ve created. The last couple of years we’ve probably struggled in that space in terms of culture, environment, building a really solid gameplan.

“Whatever happens for the rest of the year, I guess that’s outcome-based. But for me as a player that’s been there seven or eight years, this 12 months have been a success. Whether that comes with finals or whatever it is, I think we’ve taken a really big step in the right direction.

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“’Vossy’ talked about the other day ‘hopefully it’s a long book and this is just Chapter 1’. We want to finish off the chapter really well, but it’s definitely still a success I reckon.”

While many Blues fans would struggle to comprehend missing the finals after so many victories in 2022, triple premiership Bomber Tim Watson said Carlton’s “trajectory is going in the right direction”.

‘What is that?’ Sloppy Blues torched | 01:52

“Success can be measured in a whole different lot of ways, but they are still improving and their graph is going in the right direction,” Watson told SEN Breakfast after hearing McKay’s comments.

“They built up a level of expectation, based on their performances earlier in the season, and I remember seeing them and thinking ‘yeah, they’re capable of actually winning the flag’.

“They’ve got some problems at the moment though – and partly to do with injury.”

McKay claimed last year’s Coleman Medal with a haul of 58 goals, but said he’d enjoyed this year more considering the team’s success to date.

“This year has been very enjoyable and a different place,” he said.

Carlton needs one more win to qualify for finals. Picture: Russell FreemanSource: Getty Images

“Although we did a lot right over the last couple of years, this year it’s just started to click. Some key changes to some key personnel have been really refreshing and really nice.

“The last few weeks have been challenging after a pretty solid first 16 to 18 rounds. It’s been a little bit disappointing we haven’t been able to play our best football, but we’re still in a really good and exciting position. Two big games at the MCG to finish the year and a chance to do something we haven’t been able to do in 10 or so years.

“Even post-game (Sunday afternoon), there was initial disappointment and frustration and we touched on a few things that didn’t go right. But before we walked out the door it was ‘what an amazing opportunity we’ve got’.

McKay said the Blues needed to improve their contested ball work, which had been “a little bit off” in the past fortnight, while they wanted to move the footy with more “dare”.

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Entertainment

Kevin Smith slams Warner Bros axing DC film Batgirl but still releasing The Flash

Kevin Smith slams Warner Bros axing DC film Batgirl but still releasing The Flash

Director Kevin Smith has slammed Warner Bros for its decision to ax the upcoming comic book film Batgirl.

The cult filmmaker criticized the cancellation during the latest episode of his YouTube series, Hollywood Babble-On.

“It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina batgirl movie,” the 52-year-old said.

“I don’t give a sh*t if the movie was absolute f***ing dogs**t. I guarantee you that it wasn’t.

“The two directors [Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi] who directed that movie did a couple of episodes of mrs marveland it was a wonderful f***ing show.

“They had more money to do batgirl than they had to do an episode of mrs marvel and stuff.”

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Initial reports suggested the film’s quality was so bad that it had been declared “irredeemable”.

Some reports also stated that since the film was a made-for-TV movie it looked “too cheap” upon release in theaters.

But the Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back star said he was skeptical of the rumour.

They said batgirl it looked too cheap because it was a $90 million movie,” he said.

“How do you make a cheap-looking $90 million movie?

“If it looked slightly better than an episode of Arrow then why couldn’t we see that?”

Smith went on to call the decision “baffling”, while he and co-host Ralph Garman questioned why the studio was still going ahead with Flashwhich stars controversial actor Ezra Miller.

the Fantastic Beasts star has been embroiled in multiple scandals in the past few months.

The 29-year-old, who uses they/them pronouns, was most recently charged with felony burglary in Vermont, US, over an incident at a residence on May 1 where bottles of alcohol were allegedly stolen while the homeowners weren’t home. The actor is due for arraignment on September 26.

In June, Miller was also accused by the parents of an 18-year-old of allegedly grooming their child with “cult-like” and “psychologically manipulative” behaviors, though the teen denied the accusations against the actor.

On top of that, Miller was arrested multiple times in Hawaii – first for disorderly conduct and harassment and then for second-degree assault – in March and April, respectively.

Miller also landed in hot water in 2020 after a video surfaced that appeared to show them choking a fan at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland.

“That’s the baffling thing,” Smith said.

“I don’t give a sh*t how bad the batgirl movie is, nobody in that movie is complicated or has anything in their real life you have to market around.

“In Flash movie, we all know there’s a big problem! Flash is the Reverse-Flash in real life.”

Last week, a Hollywood insider disclosed that the batgirl cast were blindsided by Warner Bros’ decision to cancel the movie.

“They had no idea the movie was being shelved,” a film industry source told the new york post.

“That’s a giant problem.”

The insider added that the actors had told their teams that the situation had been “humiliating” and “disappointing” as they found out about the news in the media alongside fans.

– with the New York Post

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Sports

Kevin Durant demands, Brooklyn Nets, trade rumours, whispers, next team, latest, updates

Kevin Durant demands, Brooklyn Nets, trade rumours, whispers, next team, latest, updates

The Brooklyn Nets absolutely deserve this no-ring circus, and every absurd sideshow that defines it.

They deserve to be universally mocked after Kevin Durant followed up his trade demand with a vicious put-back dunk — one call for the firing of the general manager who hired him, and another for the head coach he got hired.

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In May, Sean Marks and Steve Nash announced in a news conference that it was time to dump their culture of superstar appeasement in favor of the old one, under deposed coach Kenny Atkinson, of player development and organic team-centric growth.

Over the weekend, The Athletic reported, Durant announced in a London meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai that it was time to dump Marks and Nash in favor of replacements capable of driving a championship-level roster to a more desirable postseason location than a first- round sweep.

Durant has reportedly made these terminations the terms of his re-engagement, his only road back to Brooklyn, and on a certain level Tsai might feel tempted — despite tweeting out his support for the front office and coaching staff — to give him what he wants .

Kevin Durant looks headed for a messy exit from the Brooklyn Nets. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
Kevin Durant looks headed for a messy exit from the Brooklyn Nets. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

MORE COVERAGE

‘Didn’t even answer, he just left the chat’: Shock Nets claims as Simmons saga takes another twist

Durant issues major ultimatum to Nets owner as Brooklyn faced with shock double exit

NBL emerges as shock option for Bronny James as LeBron’s master plan revealed

After all, KD is better at his job than Marks and Nash are at theirs, and in a cold, cold business, a question needs to be asked: Who gives you a better chance to finally win a championship, Durant with a new head coach and GM, or Marks/Nash with whatever assets the Nets acquire in a KD deal?

They call the NBA a players league for a reason.

Basketball has fewer players in the arena than football, baseball, and hockey, adding more value to the individual juggernaut who can control the ball on nearly every possession.

Durant will go down among the top dozen or so all-time NBA greats, and even with his injury history at an opening-night age of 34, there really is no replacing him.

On the other hand, Durant has proven to be a less effective GM than Marks and one who shouldn’t be making personnel decisions.

As we’ve written before, KD executed one of the worst trades in league history when he exchanged Steph Curry and Golden State’s winning DNA for Kyrie Irving and a whole lot of problems to be named later.

Things haven’t gone to plan in Brooklyn for Durant. Michelle Farsi/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

Had Durant stayed with Curry and the Warriors, he ultimately would’ve won more rings than LeBron James’ four and climbed another step or three on the legacy ladder.

But Durant wanted to prove he could build his own winner, with Irving by his side, and what a colossal miscalculation it’s been.

Nobody blames the Nets for doing what they had to do to beat the Knicks and others in the free-agent race for Durant and Irving in the summer of 2019.

Smart people do blame them for taking on DeAndre Jordan at $40 million, for axing Atkinson, and for shipping out nearly their entire development system for 13 high-maintenance months of James Harden as part of the price of doing business with KD and Kyrie.

“The Nets should be fined by the league if they ever use the word ‘culture’ again,” said one prominent NBA source.

Of course, the Nets had already exposed their soulless core when they caved in on their initial COVID stance with the unvaccinated Irving, all in pursuit of on-court victories that wouldn’t come.

Tsai and Marks have found out the hard way that once you turn over your business to the talent, there’s no getting it back.

Durant hadn’t even started playing on his four-year extension worth nearly $200 million before he told the Nets he wanted to be somewhere else.

Right after Irving opted in, Durant opted out.

Durant reportedly wants Steve Nash gone as head coach. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Though he pushed for his buddy Nash, a man with no coaching experience, to get the Nets job two years ago, KD now believes Nash has little idea what he’s doing. Beautiful.

After the Celtics swept his team in April, Durant was asked if he believed Nash was still “the right guy to lead this group.”

With a dose of incredulity he responded, “I mean, come on man. Like, yeah, Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years, when he’s had to deal with so much stuff as a head coach, a first-time coach. He trades, injuries, COVID, just a lot of stuff he had to deal with, and I’m proud of how he just focused on his passion for us. And we’ll all continue to keep developing over the summer and see what happens.”

We all know what happened since that response.

The Warriors won another championship, beating the same team in the Finals that had embarrassed the Nets, and Durant decided to lash out.

He realized that Brooklyn was a million miles away from legitimate title contention — in large part because of deals and hires he notarized — and he wanted to get to a team that could cut off Golden State’s advance on more rings.

No, I needed to get to a team that could cut off Golden State’s advance on more rings.

Durant eventually realized the Nets’ asking price in a trade is so high, any team that lands him will be too depleted to win it all.

So in a brutally hot summer, he turned up the heat on Tsai by telling him he’d return if the owner makes Marks and Nash disappear. Durant is trying to will a trade into existence.

In the process, he has left the Nets looking like the kind of league-wide joke they often were in the bad ol’ days in Jersey.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission

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US PGA Tour files motion in court to prevent players from playing FedEx Cup, Matt Jones, latest, updates

US PGA Tour files motion in court to prevent players from playing FedEx Cup, Matt Jones, latest, updates

The US PGA Tour filed a motion in federal court on Monday asking three LIV Golf players not to be allowed to compete in this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, while delivering a blistering attack on the morality of the tournament.

Arguing LIV Golf players knew there would be consequences for leaving the PGA for the Saudi-backed upstart series, the PGA said in US District Court for Northern California that they can not “have their cake and eat it too.”

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Australian Matt Jones and Americans Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford will have a hearing on Tuesday afternoon in San Jose on their request for a temporary restraining order forcing them to be allowed to compete at this week’s St. Jude Championship at Memphis.

The PGA Tour called the players’ motion “legally baseless” in its filing and added their decision to wait two months after leaving to file the motion was “fabricating an ’emergency’ they now maintain requires immediate action.”

The PGA said players knew their actions would bring suspensions and noted other LIV players who could have playoff spots based on top 125 point finishers in the PGA season have opted not to ask for such spots.

Buhai poised to take British Open | 01:01

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Aussie golf’s ‘special’ $3.4m move earns big boost … but Smith wait goes on amid LIV link

‘I found three brothers’: Golf legend reduced to blubbering mess in stirring live TV farewell

“The players’ purported harm is entirely self-induced,” the PGA filing said. The three players were among 11 who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last week, the first legal blow in a fight over the future of elite-level golf that could take years to settle.

The court also heard that LIV Golf was “prepared to lose billions of dollars” for the sport by sportswashing for “deplorable” Saudi Arabia – the financial backers of the tournament.

“Liv is not a rational economic actor, competing fairly to start a golf tour,” the court heard.

“It’s prepared to lose billions of dollars to leverage plaintiffs and the sport of golf to ‘sportswash’ the Saudi government’s deplorable reputation for human rights abuses.”

A court has heard the PGA believes LIV Golf is sportswashing. Photo: Getty Images
A court has heard the PGA believes LIV Golf is sportswashing. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

LIV Golf offered record $25 million purses and lured away several of the sport’s top names from the US PGA Tour, prompting the PGA to make major prize money boosts for many events next season.

Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer are among those who have cast their lot with LIV Golf.

The next LIV Golf event will not be contested until after the PGA playoffs, with this week’s top 70 in points advancing to next week’s BMW Championship and the top 30 making it to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Gooch was 20th in FedEx Cup points with Jones 65th and Swafford 67th but they have been suspended since teeing off in their first LIV Golf event.

There are currently only 122 players in the field at Memphis as three of those who made the lineup have dropped out.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood cited personal reasons while American Daniel Berger has not played since the US Open due to a back injury and American Lanto Griffin said in July he was likely done for the season after back surgery.

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Business

NSW government announces driverless bus trial in 2023

NSW government announces driverless bus trial in 2023

Self-driving buses could hit NSW roads as soon as next year, with trials for the futuristic vehicles preparing to begin.

The Perrottet government has announced it will invest $5m for an on-road connected and automated vehicle (CAV) bus trial to kick off the beginning of the future on NSW roads.

With driverless vehicles predicted to hit our roads commercially in less than a decade, the government is working to set up a CAV-friendly road network to keep up with the likes of San Francisco, Paris and Singapore.

The state government says the trial will be subject to “robust testing” to ensure the buses will operate safely.

A government spokesperson said where and when the vehicles will pop up will depend on proposals from industry groups, which are being called on to get involved with the first 18-month trial in 2023.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello is hoping the project puts NSW on the map as a world-leading adopter of CAV technologies.

“Vehicle connectivity and automation are game-changing technological innovations with the potential to sustainably transform the future mobility of people and goods,” Mr Dominello said.

“Globally, these technologies are advancing rapidly and already appearing in vehicles on the market today.”

He said the move would put NSW “in the front seat” in the race to roll out of the new technology.

The strategy will introduce, test and deploy CAVS on the road network, shape policy, prepare the road network ready for the new models and develop physical and digital testing capabilities for the driverless cars.

Part of the project will also include supporting freight services and increasing knowledge of autonomous vehicles.

Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said the strategy would “revolutionise the way we travel”.

“The CAV readiness strategy outlines six priority areas focused on integrating this new technology into our transport system,” Ms Ward said.

“This will include working within the national regulatory framework over the next five years so we’re ready for the safe commercial deployment of CAVS in Australia.”

Ms Ward said adopting the new technology would help the state keep up with constituents’ expectations.

“Getting ahead of the game will make it easier to upskill our transport staff so customers have a seamless service when it is officially on our roads,” she said.

Regional Transport and Roads Minister Sam Farraway said NSW had already set several national and international firsts in autonomous vehicle technology.

“This is big-picture thinking – by putting NSW one step ahead it will bring investment opportunities, knowledge and better customer outcomes,” he said.

The state introduced the world’s first fully automated shuttle service in a public setting through the Coffs Harbor BusBot trial, which was completed late last year.

“This builds on what NSW has already achieved through autonomous shuttle trials, partnerships with local universities and investment in the Future Mobility Testing and Research Center at Cudal,” Mr Farraway said.

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Business

Google outage: Explosion at data center injures three electricians

Google outage: Explosion at data center injures three electricians

Google suffered a global outage today while an explosion at a data center in the United States left multiple staff injured.

Three electricians were critically injured after an “electrical incident” at the data center in Council Bluffs, in the US state of Iowa, local police and Google told news site SF Gate.

The accident unfolded at about midday Monday (local time) while the electricians were working on a substation near the data center buildings.

All three suffered significant burns after an electrical explosion, the publication reported.

The incident coincided with a major global outage, with users across the world complaining about the search engine going down.

Many users received an error message when they attempted to search.

People in the US, UK, Australia and Singapore reported issues, according to DownDetector.

It was not immediately clear whether the outage was linked to the explosion.

“We are aware of an electrical incident that took place today at Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, injuring three people onsite who are now being treated,” a Google spokesman told SF Gate.

“The health and safety of all workers is our absolute top priority, and we are working closely with partners and local authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation and provide assistance as needed.”

One of the injured electricians was flown to Nebraska Medical Center, while the other two were taken by ambulance, the publication reported.

They were all conscious and breathing at the time.

The affected data centre, which opened in 2009, is one of Google’s largest.

It is one of 14 in the United states, with there 23 around the world.

Read related topics:Google

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Sports

‘Trade me or fire them’: Kevin Durant’s bombshell Brooklyn Nets demand, Kyrie Irving

'Trade me or fire them': Kevin Durant's bombshell Brooklyn Nets demand, Kyrie Irving

NBA megastar Kevin Durant has reportedly given Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai a bombshell ultimatum, demanding coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks are fired — or he is traded.

Durant requested a trade in June but any move will require a massive package in return, none of which have eventuated, The New York Post reported.

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The Athletic reported Durant had a face-to-face meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai in London over the weekend in which he issued an ultimatum: Trade me or fire them.

According to the report, the Nets have “direct knowledge” concerning why the 12-time All-Star has asked to be moved on a year after he signed a four-year, $198 million extension. Also according to the report, Durant “does not have faith” in the direction of the team.

A source close to the Nets organization indicated Durant is not the only Nets star unhappy with the team’s leadership.

“Kyrie Irving hates these guys,” the source said. “He feels that Nash is terrible and Marks is bad.”

“KD came to the same conclusion,” the source added.

The two-time NBA champion and 2014 MVP’s discontent reportedly stems from the fact the Nets were swept by Boston in the playoffs, after struggling to a 44-38 record last year, despite having the likes of Durant and Irving, while James Harden also played on the side for most of the year.

But the demands have fallen on deaf ears as Tsai tweeted on Tuesday: “Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”

Nash, a 48-year-old Canadian and two-time NBA MVP as a guard, got his first coaching job with the Nets in 2020 and has gone 92-62 in two seasons guiding Brooklyn.

Marks, 46, was the first player from New Zealand in the NBA and won two league titles, one as a forward with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and the other as an assistant coach with the Spurs in 2014.

He spent most of the next two seasons as the Spurs’ assistant general manager before being hired to oversee the rebuilding Nets.

The Nets have yet to find a trade offer that would prompt them to deal Durant, and according to the report, Tsai and the Nets have made it known they would take “every last asset from a team that trades for Durant.”

In stating the lofty hope for the trade return, perhaps the Nets believe Durant would be less motivated to leave and more likely to report to September’s training camp.

But as the ultimatum becomes publicly known, it is difficult to imagine an avenue toward Durant playing again with the Nets or showing up to pre-season action with a team put together by Marks and coached by Nash — unless Tsai chooses the player over the organization’s leaders.

The Nets are seeking a young All-Star and a collection of draft picks for Durant, but finding equal value for a 33-year-old prodigious talent signed through 2025-26 is challenging.

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.

With AFP

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Sports

Golf 2022: Nick Faldo breaks down in live TV commentary farewell, CBS, PGA Tour Wyndham Championship scores, result

Golf 2022: Nick Faldo breaks down in live TV commentary farewell, CBS, PGA Tour Wyndham Championship scores, result

Golf legend Nick Faldo was reduced to tears and barely able to speak as he signed off on his 16-year career commentary in an emotional live TV segment.

The six-time major winner is leaving CBS and the Golf Channel and plans to focus on running his Montana farm and other business.

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Faldo, 65, was a blubbering mess as he attempted to give his final address sitting alongside fellow CBS analysts Jim Nantz, Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo after the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club

“I blew it,” he said, struggling to compose himself. “I was already…”

Faldo wept before finally stringing an emotional sentence together: “So I was on a boat in Ireland… They gave me a call and said, ‘How would you like to sit next to Jim Nantz?’ I literally fell out of the boat. I really did. That was 2006, and here we are, 16 years later.

Australian Baker-Finch and New Zealander Nobilo paid tribute to Faldo before the Englishman uttered an emotional final line.

“I’m a single child and at 65 I found three brothers, thank you,” he said.

Meanwhile South Korean Kim Joo-hyung fired a stunning nine-under par 61 to win the Wyndham Championship, his first US PGA Tour title, and secure his spot in the season-ending playoffs.

Kim’s outstanding effort at Sedgefield Country Club, where the 20-year-old played the first nine holes of the final round in eight-under, capped a remarkable week that opened with his quadruple bogey eight at the first hole on Thursday.

“It’s definitely a week I’ll remember forever,” Kim said after his 20-under total of 260 gave him a five-stroke victory over fellow South Korean Im Sung-jae and American John Huh.

“I can’t believe it — I’m speechless right now,” Kim said, his emotions finally showing after a round in which he looked in supreme control.

“I’ve worked really hard to get to this point,” he said, his voice cracking. “Just walking off that 18th green, just thinking about the behind the scenes work.

“It was a hard day. I didn’t know golf was this stressful,” added the player who goes by the nickname Tom in a nod to his childhood love of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Cameron Percy was the best-placed Australian, finishing tied eighth, nine shots off the lead.

Originally published as Golf legend Nick Faldo reduced to blubbering mess in stirring live TV farewell

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