Proteas desperate for wins, Banyana Banyana searching for WC victory

[Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( Monday, 10 June 2019 "We are making mistakes all the time." Faf Du Plessis Welcome to the weekly Maverick Sports brief. Because Mondays are for armchair analysis. Want to tweak things? Don't click unsubscribe, rather [manage your preferences right here.]( The Weekend Damage Welcome! That quote feels like an ominous one to start Daily Maverick's first ever sports newsletter with, but let's be honest: it about sums up the week. The Proteas continued their [nightmare World Cup]( with a third straight loss and are nearing must-win territory when they meet the West Indies on Monday. The #ProteaFire is all but extinguished. You're probably wondering: what is this thing that's suddenly appeared in my inbox, and is there a point to it (or a point aside from ranting about South African sports)? Well, yes, sort of. Even when your team is losing, sports can be an amazing distraction from everything else going on in the world. Sports uplift us, they make us laugh, they make us cry, and in the weirdest way, they bring us together. Think about it: that person you were just arguing about politics with? They're pissed about the Proteas too! So we'll bring you our take on the biggest sports stories of the week, and we'll try to give you something fun to talk about, even if it's yet another loss. We are excited, and we hope you are too. Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup is [underway in France](, but Banyana Banyana are still searching for their first ever World Cup point. The South Africans [made their debut]( against Spain on Saturday and led at halftime, but a pair of penalties eventually doomed them en route to a 3-1 loss. Water Cooler Talking Points Need a quick sports talking point to impress your coworkers? We've got you covered. On Saturday, South African boxer Kevin Lerena retained his IBO Cruiserweight (200 lbs) title with a unanimous decision win over Vasil Ducar in Kempton Park. But the IBO belt is a minor one, and while it's fair to put Lerena in the upper tier of the cruiserweight division, this was not an impressive win. Ducar had only had eight fights and is also an MMA fighter, which is not something most world title challengers can say, for good reason. Time for Lerena to step up his competition level. Elsewhere, Henry Cejudo became just the fourth UFC fighter to hold two belts at the same time, joining Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. In NBA news, the Toronto Raptors took a 3-1 lead over the two time defending champions Golden State Warriors and are just one win away from the title. And the Boston Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues to force a decisive Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. In tennis, the curtain fell at Roland Garros on Sunday, as King of Clay, Rafael Nadal made it 12 Roland Garros titles, and in the process, improved his record at the tournament to 93 - 2. Nadal overcame a spirited effort from Dominic Thiem to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and in the process he became the first player to win a single major 12 times, while also making it 18 major titles in total. He now sits just two away from Roger Federer's record haul of 20 major titles in the men's game. Earlier on in the weekend, Ashleigh Barty became first Australian in 46 years to win a singles title at Roland Garros when the 23-year-old whipped Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-3. The victory propelled her to number two in the world. We believe that our investigations and our brand of journalism should be free for all. That's why we don't have any nasty paywalls. If you value our journalism and you appreciate what Daily Maverick does, [consider becoming a Maverick Insider.]( In Play By EPA-EFE/PETER POWELL South Africa's Thembi Kgatana celebrates scoring the first goal during the preliminary round match between Spain and South Africa at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 in Le Havre, France, 08 June 2019. Coming Up This Week FIFA World Cup: South Africa vs China (Thursday 13 June, 21:00 SAST) ICC Cricket World Cup: South Africa vs West Indies (Monday 10 June, 11:30 SAST) 2019 U.S. Open Golf Tournament: Thursday 13 June to Sunday 16 June Stanley Cup Final Game 7: St. Louis Blues vs Boston Bruins (Thursday 13 June, 2:00 SAST) NBA Finals Game 5: Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors (Tuesday 11 June, 3:00 SAST) In Numbers 13 The number of years the women's "up-run" record in the Comrades Marathon, set by Elena Nurgalieva, stood before Gerda Steyn shattered it. Steyn trimmed more than 10 minutes off the long standing record, coming in at a lung-bursting 5.58.53 On Daily Maverick Right Now [Banyana Banyana down, but not out after Spain defeat]( [Banyana Banyana down, but not out after Spain defeat]( By Yanga Sibembe [De Villiers debacle shows why cricket needs to catch up with soccer]( [De Villiers debacle shows why cricket needs to catch up with soccer]( By Mark van Dijk [Women's World Cup: Banyana Banyana set to make debut, with the usual suspects gunning for glory once more]( [Women's World Cup: Banyana Banyana set to make debut, with the usual suspects gunning for glory once more]( By Jonah Dylan and Yanga Sibembe [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](