Michael Zerafa's (32-4) next fight has been locked in according to recent reports. Michael will take on WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (29-4-3) in a title fight on March 30 (Mar. 31 in Australia), according to BoxingScene.com.  The bout will take place in Las Vegas and is set to feature in PBC’s first PPV event in partnership with Prime Video.  A junior middleweight fight between Zerafa's fellow countryman Tim Tszyu and American Keith Thurman will headline the card, per ESPN.

Meet the new man to lead Victorian local footy forward AFL Victoria has announced Greg Madigan to lead the game forward as it reveals what he will bring to the role and why he is excited to jump on board. Greg Madigan (born 24 January 1970) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and Freemantle in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. Playing mostly at centre half back, Madigan was a member of Hawthorn's 1989 VFL Grand Final winning side, in only his 6th league game. However, in the subsequent years he failed to establish his position in the Hawthorn team, playing ten or fewer games in each of his six seasons at Hawthorn. In 1995 he was selected into the inaugural Fremantle Dockers squad with the second selection in the preseason draft. As one of the few players with AFL experience in the new expansion team, he managed the best season of his career, playing in 18 games. He remained with Fremantle for two more seasons, but struggled to keep his place, playing only 4 games in each of 1996 and 1997.

Damien Richardson (born 2 August 1969) is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. Since 2021 he has been a political campaigner promoting an anti-vax agenda. A graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, Richardson has appeared in a variety of Australian films and television shows, including Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters, Redball, The Hard Word, Rogue, Conspiracy 365 and Wentworth. He and co-writer Luke Elliot won the Best New Comedy-Drama award at the Melbourne Fringe Festival for their play The Belly Of The Whale. One of Richardson's best-known roles is Detective Matt Ryan in the crime drama City Homicide, which he played from 2007 until 2011. Since 2012, Richardson has starred as Drew Greer in the Jack Irish television films and subsequent 2016 series. He played Gary Canning in the soap opera Neighbours from 2014 to 2020. In 2021, Richardson quit acting to launch a failed bid to gain a seat as an independent in the Victorian state senate.

Richard Norton (born 6 January 1950) is an Australian martial artist, actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, security consultant, and fight choreographer. He holds a 5th dan black belt in Goju-ryu karate, a 6th dan black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, an 8th dan black belt in Chun Kuk Do, and a level 6 ranking in American Kickboxing.  After high school, Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment business before pursuing an acting career. Richard appeared as a bodyguard in the 1977 ABBA movie, as they toured his native country, Australia. He had a very minor speaking part. His first movie screen appearance was in the 1980 Chuck Norris film The Octagon, and he has worked on over 80 feature films and television programs.  He appeared in a number of martial arts films, facing off against stars such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yasuaki Kurata, Benny Urquidez, Don Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock, and has worked as fight choreographer for titles like The Condemned (2007), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), Dark Phoenix (2019) and The Suicide Squad (2021). With fellow karateka Bob Jones, Norton is the co-creator of Zen Do Kai, a hybrid self-defense martial art intended for the security industry. He is also the head of Richard Norton BJJ.

Sam Newman chatted to Jackson Warne about The Shane Warne Legacy that will be officially launched at the Boxing Day Test 2023 with fans able to complete a free four-minute heart test at 23 locations around the MCG. “Shane would have encouraged everyone to ‘have a crack’ and complete this simple screening and awareness test. Who knows; it could help save your life.” The medical grade tests focus on cardiovascular health measuring things including blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes risk and body mass index which can be viewed on a screen during and immediately after the test.

Q: What is The Bonobo Gene? A: A theory linking men's propensity for dumb (aka funny) behaviour to a breed of African apes. Sharing 98% DNA with a sex and violence-crazed primate might be a bit of a stretch ... but in this laugh-out-loud, intriguing and informative new release, author Steve Marshall makes the link, backed up by research, anecdotes, tall stories and a Blokes' Hall of Shame. Steve is well-placed to guide readers on this journey into the male brain, having lived and seen it all as a script writer, TV producer, radio performer, podcaster, small business owner, mate, husband and dad.  Like men themselves, The Bonobo Gene as a book evolved over time. It's the culmination of two years of research with academics, business leaders, entertainers, sports stars, friends and family. The book's chapters explore different theories and ideas seeking to explain why men are the way they are.  In deep diving on men and the male appendage, the book skillfully balances the funny and serious. Steve provides insights into some of our best known and most loved sporting heroes and rock stars, toxic masculinity, #Metoo, the Hollywood casting couch.  The Bonobo Gene is available now at all good bookstores or www.wilkinsonpublishing.com.au    About the author (and his alter-ego, Sergio Paradise): The stories Steve Marshall can and will tell you. A veteran media performer and creator, Steve has worked with some of the biggest names in Australian entertainment and the sporting world. He has worked as a producer on a host of hit shows across TV and radio- Sale of the Century, The Grill Team, The Footy Show - to name just a few. Steve has done it all. The Bonobo Gene is his first book but it very much draws on his wealth experience in the entertainment industry over the last few decades. Steve isn't afraid to share his bonobo gene moments and have a laugh in the process. In 1994, when Triple M Radio green lit the Saturday morning show, "The Grill Team",  the show's three stars, Eddie McGuire, Jane Kennedy and Trevor Marmalade asked Marshall, who was Trev's ex-housemate, to be the show's resident showbiz and gossip correspondent. "Ëveryone knows you work at Channel 9, so think of a stupid name for yourself", said Eddie. So Steve unashamedly stole the name from a former D-List Melbourne cabaret singer by the name of Sergio Paradise who still boasts a place in the record collection of Santo Cilauro. Marshall expected this to last a month at best before getting axed, but in 2023 he is still appearing round the traps under that moniker. Since The Grill Team finished, Serge has been on Radio SEN ("Ralphy, Serge & The Big Man", The Richard Stubbs Breakfast Show, RSN Breakfast, and more recently 3AW with Dee Dee Dunleavy. He even spent a year as showbiz reporter on Working Dog's "The Panel", until a Channel Ten exec asked, "Why are we having a bloke on who nobody's ever heard of talking about TV stars when we can have the actual stars?" Good Point. 

Peter Michael Moylan (born 2 December 1978) is an Australian former professional baseball relief pitcher.  He played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Macoto Gide.  He featured a mid-90s miles per hour fastball and threw sidearm. 

The Carlton Football Club recruited Nicholls from the Maryborough Football Club in 1957 after recruiting his elder brother, Don, the previous year their father ensured that both brothers would play together at one club. Don played 77 senior games as a centreman for Carlton from 1956, when he was Carlton's best first-year player, to 1961. Nicholls enjoyed an outstanding season in 1966, winning his second consecutive Robert Reynolds Trophy, and finishing second in the Brownlow Medal count, four votes behind St Kilda champion Ian Stewart. Success as captain-coach In his first year as captain-coach, Nicholls led the Blues to the minor premiership with 18 wins and a draw, followed by Richmond with 18 wins. 1972 was the first season in which the McIntyre "Final Five" system was used, and so because Carlton finished on top of the ladder, this meant that they had a week's break before facing Richmond in the Second Semi-final. The match was drawn, which in those days meant that a replay was required the following week, thus shifting every other match back another week. Richmond won the replay by 41 points, but in the post-match interviews Nicholls refused to panic: Carlton has not hit a form slump. We just had a dismal day – our worst for the season. There'll be no panic just because we went down by 41 points. There won't be more than one or two changes.  We will be sticking to the same players because it was, they who put us where we finished at the end of the home-and-away games. I know the players will redeem themselves next week. We just won't beat St. Kilda – we will win well. And if we team together as I know we can I know we are good enough to take the premiership. Robert Walls who was serving as vice-captain, recalled that the day after the semi-final defeat, the players arrived at training feeling flat, but Nicholls revealed to them the outline of his plan to win the premiership with all-out attacking football. But first, Carlton had to defeat St Kilda in the Preliminary Final. The Saints had played in the previous year's Grand Final and still boasted a strong team. Nicholls chose not to implement his plan, trusting that his players would get the job done. The Blues prevailed by 16 points and earned the right to redeem themselves against their arch-rival. Richmond went into the Grand Final as clear favourites, but this would be the day when Nicholls established once and for all his reputation as one of the greats of the game. The element of surprise in Nicholls' plan lay in his team selection; he handed the rucking responsibilities to "Percy" Jones, whilst stationing himself in the forward pocket with the intent of kicking goals. He also deployed Barry Armstrong in the centre while Vin Waite was given the task of minding Barry Richardson. Finally, in the lead-up to the match, Nicholls had given his players three simple instructions: get to the ball first, kick long into attack and contest for 100 minutes. The plan succeeded in the most spectacular fashion possible. In an enthralling spectacle of attacking football from both teams, Carlton piled on the goals to lead at half time with an incredible score of 18.6 (114) to 10.9 (69). The shell-shocked Tigers tried to claw their way back into the game, but every goal they scored was met with a Carlton reply. When the final siren sounded, Carlton had registered a record score of 28.9 (177) while Richmond's score of 22.18 (150), enough to win most games, remains the highest losing score in a Grand Final. While every Carlton player contributed, Nicholls himself had a field day, kicking six goals on Ray Boyanich. He said afterwards that had he not kicked six, he felt he would have failed in the position. Walls, who also kicked six goals, was nominated best on ground. Stung by their defeat, Richmond didn't have to wait long to avenge their humiliation as the two rivals squared off again in the following season's Grand Final.  On a hot and blustery day, Richmond prevailed in a match that would be remembered for two major incidents. The first occurred at the three-minute mark of the first quarter, when Nicholls was sensationally felled by Richmond back pocket Laurie Fowler while juggling a mark. Both players had their eyes on the ball and didn't see each other until it was too late. Fowler, who was airborne, hit Nicholls with his shoulder and emerged from the collision unscathed, but Nicholls went to ground and had to be helped to his feet by the club trainers. The sight of their fallen leader stunned the Carlton players; Robert Walls recalled that "[t]here was a bit of disbelief when Nicholls went down because we'd never seen the big bloke hurt like that before." Nicholls was awarded a 15-metre penalty, and goaled from the free kick, but suffered double vision from the collision, and had little further impact on the game. The second incident came in the second quarter, when Ian Stewart kicked the ball deep into Richmond's attacking zone to a contest involving Carlton full-back Geoff Southby and Richmond forward Neil Balme. What happened next would sour Carlton's already bitter relations with Richmond for many years. Going for the ball after it spilled off a pack contest, Southby was floored by a round-arm punch from Balme. The hit broke Southby's jaw, and he would not return to the field after half time. Just moments later, Balme would lash out again, this time at Vin Waite. Reflecting on the incident many years later, Nicholls angrily labelled Balme a "cheat": I didn't respect him as a player because I reckon he was a cheat. He used to dwell on players and with his big, strong frame, he should have been doing more courageous things. People over the years say Balmey knocked a couple out, but he basically king-hit people.

Frank Michael Howson (born 1952)] has had a career in entertainment. He directed Flynn (1996) on the early life of Errol Flynn and Hunting (1991). Howson, with Peter Boyle, helped establish Boulevard Films which produced thirteen films from Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1988) to Flynn; besides producing for Boulevard Films, Howson often wrote scripts and directed. Early Years Howson was born in Melbourne and started in show business when he was seven. After leaving school, Christian Brothers College, St Kilda (1963–1967), Howson's first job was with Melbourne radio station 3UZ as office boy. Eventually promoted to panel operator, he worked on John McMahon's popular weekly show Radio Auditions (see 3UZ). Whenever not enough acts showed up, young Frank was summoned to perform under made up names. During this period Howson was nicknamed 'Magical Frank' when asked to perform on a pilot for a TV talent show by 3UZ's Jimmy Hannan. Recording Artist DJ Stan Rofe signed Howson to a recording deal and produced his first single: "Seventeen Ain't Young" (written by Jeff Barry) / Hide and seek (Richie Adams, Mark Barkan) performed by "Frankie Howson" (1969) who was seventeen during recording, it became a Top 40 hit in Melbourne. Howson released two other singles This Night (Howson, Kenneth Firth, Miller) and 1983 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (John Capek, Howson). Music Publisher Howson was manager of the Australian branch of German-based I.C. Records to publish musical works (including his own) distributed by EMI. He co-wrote John Paul Young's 1984 album One Foot in Front. He signed New romantic and Pseudo Echo and co-wrote their songs Autumnal Park and Destination Unknown with Tony Lugton, they later had a 1987 No. 1 hit in Australia with their version of Funky Town. I.C. Records scored 3 national hits in Australia in its first 12 months of operation. Howson and Peter Boyle were Executive Producers for John Paul Young's 1983 hit Soldier of Fortune (John Capek, Marc Jordan) reaching No. 15. Howson and Allan Zavod wrote Time Can't Keep Us Apart which won the 1987 Asian Popular Song contest performed by Kate Ceberano to an estimated TV audience of 500 million. Theatre works Frank Howson began his career as stage actor, singer and dancer, and appeared in 21 major productions (including the Australian production of Oliver!) before turning 21. In the early 1970s, Howson met fellow actor Barry Ferrier while they were both appearing in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and the two men subsequently collaborated on a number of theatre-related projects. The first of these was a children's musical entitled The Faraway Land of Magical Frank, which was produced at the Toral Theatre in Melbourne in January 1976. Later that year, Howson and Ferrier released a concept recording of a follow-up children's musical, entitled The Boy who dared to dream, performed by Trevor White, pop singer Mark Holden and actors Johnd Waters and Tommy Dysart. The first staged production of the show (featuring some of the actors from the concept recording) was mounted in Melbourne in January 1978, with a second production in May 1981. Frank Howson went on to create two more children's musicals, without Ferrier's involvement: Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (music by Robert Gavin, 1981) and Sinbad the Sailor: The Last Adventure (music by Ian McKean, 1982). Both were initially staged at the Alexander Theatre at Monash University. Filmmaking Boulevard Films was a production company on Errol St, North Melbourne. Boulevard's notable productions include: 1988 Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Howson screenwriter, cameo) won two AFI Awards: John Waters: "Best Actor" and Kym Gyngell "Best Supporting"; nominated for five others including "Best Picture". Its soundtrack (with nine Howson co-compositions) was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Soundtrack Album of the Year. 1989 'Heaven Tonight' (Howson co-wrote the screenplay as well as songs for this film. It was nominated for an AFI Award. It starred John Waters, Kim Gyngell, Rebecca Gilling, Guy Pearce and Sean Scully.  1990 Friday on My Mind with Guy Pearce 1990 What the Moon Saw (Howson screenwriter, cameo) won an AFI Award for Rose Chong "Best Costume Design". It revolves around a child absorbed with the story of Sinbad. 1991 Hunting starred John Savage, Kerry Armstrong (nominated for AFI Best Actress) and Guy Pearce; Howson wrote and directed. 1996 Flynn starred Pearce, Steven Berkoff, Claudia Karvan, and Savage; Howson directed and co-wrote. Problems occurred while making this film with Boulevard Films collapsing acrimoniously. Some Boulevard Films listed at Internet Movie Database did not have a general release, e.g. The Final Stage (1995) had its 'World Premiere' ten years later at Melbourne Underground Film Festival 2005. Howson moved to Hollywood in 1997 after a falling out with his business partner and the collapse of Boulevard Films.

Sam Newman and Don Scott chat to James Tomkins OAM, who is an Australian rower, seven-time World Champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is Australia's most awarded oarsman, having made appearances at six Olympic games (for three gold and one bronze medal); eleven World Championships (for seven world titles including one in each of the five sweep oar events); four Rowing World Cups (for two titles) and eighteen state representative King's Cup appearances – the Australian blue riband men's VIII event, (for fifteen victories, ten as stroke). Tomkins is one of only five Australian athletes and four rowers worldwide to compete at six Olympics. From 1990 to 1998 he was the stroke of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.

Sam Newman and Don Scott chat with Stan "The Man" Longinidis who is an Australia retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Stan Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four different styles of kickboxing competition. Stan's kickboxing career commenced in 1983, and he had won two amateur titles when he challenged Santiago Garza for the WKA World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1987. Despite the contest ending in a draw, Longinidis had displayed such potential that he was invited to train full-time at the prestigious Jet Center kickboxing gym of Van Nuys. Determined to become Australia's first world champion in the sport, Longinidis resigned from his job as a computer programmer and moved to the United States. From his new home in California, he amassed 18 consecutive wins and won the WKA North American and US Heavyweight Championships, as well as the Australian National Heavyweight title.