Sundowns, Pirates earn wins on PSL opening weekend

[Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( [Web Version]( Monday, 5 August 2019 "Hey Congress, do something now. End gun violence. Let's go! Alejandro Bedoya, moments after scoring a goal in an MLS match. Maverick Sports' [Yanga Sibembe]( and [Jonah Dylan]( unpack the weekend's big sports stories. Whether you prefer cricket over basketball or the other way round, Mav Sports has you covered. [Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( Football! Okay, it's not like we really had to go that long without it, what with the World Cup and Afcon Cup, but club football is officially back. The 2019-2020 PSL season kicked off last weekend, and the Premier League will get under way in just a few short days. There was action all over the map. The Mamelodi Sundowns started off their title defence on a good note, besting SuperSport United 2-0. Orlando Pirates, fresh off a convincing win in the Soweto Derby, started off their campaign with a 3-1 result over Bloemfontein Celtic. And if you're a Kaizer Chiefs fan, don't worry: they also started off their season with a win, keeping pace with the dreaded Bucs by topping Highlands Park 3-2. Newly promoted Stellenbosch FC earned their first ever PSL point with a 0-0 draw against Chippa United. What does it all mean? In short, we don't know. It's been one week, and we'll still be talking about it next May. For now, at least, most of the teams that were supposed to win did just that. We'll give it at least one more week before we start jumping to conclusions. However, we're sure everyone will be quite pleased with the number of goals scored by PSL teams over the weekend. We hope it continues. For everyone's sake. Including Bafana Bafana, who of course have a new interim coach in Molefi Ntseki after [Stuart Baxter resigned]( last Friday. We have a feeling that the PSL goal-fest was inspired by Banyana Banyana's thumping win in the Cosafa Women's Cup. The ladies made an impressive start to the defence of their title, thrashing the Comoros Islands 17-0 at the Wolfson Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday. The victory broke a couple of records, in that it became the largest ever winning margin in the competition, as well as Banyana Banyana’s biggest victory in their history. Despite resting a host of key players and being without their overseas-based stars, Banyana Banyana had too much quality for the islanders, who were making their debut in the competition. They then defeated Malawi 3-1 on Friday afternoon. At Wembley Stadium, defending Premier League champs Manchester City topped Champions League winners Liverpool in penalties to win the Community Shield. Last season, the two sides were historically better than everyone else in the EPL. So far, there's nothing to suggest they won't be head and shoulders above the rest of the crop once again. The EPL will get under way this week, and there are some intriguing matchups right off the bat. City will take on West Ham, Tottenham will welcome Aston Villa back to the top league and Manchester United will meet Chelsea to cap the opening week. Ahhh... don't worry: we haven't forgot about rugby (and we won't be any time soon, with the World Cup inching closer and closer). The Rugby Championship took a break this week, but it'll conclude this weekend when South Africa meets Argentina and New Zealand meets Australia. On the domestic front, there was yet more exciting rugby action in the Currie Cup over the weekend. Tafel Lager Griquas reclaimed the top spot on the standings with a vital bonus-point 37-15 victory against the Vodacom Blue Bulls. Meanwhile, the Xerox Golden Lions remain the only unbeaten team as they held their nerve in a hard-fought encounter against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for a narrow 24-22 victory. And the Phakisa Pumas created one of the biggest upsets in the competition thus far, shocking the Cell C Sharks with a 27-20 victory. In tennis, Lucas Sithole won the Belgian Open crown after outduelling top seed Sam Schroder of Netherlands in a breathtaking three-set showdown in the finals on Sunday. Twister, as Sithole is affectionately known, fought back from a set down to beat the top seed 1-6 7-6(3) 6-4. South Africa’s Raven Klaasen and his New Zealand doubles partner Michael Venus were victorious in the Citi Open in Washington DC. The third-seeded pairing rallied from a set down to beat Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Romanian Horus Tecau 3-6 6-3 10-2. Water Cooler Talking Points Need a quick sports talking point to impress your co-workers? We've got you covered. The Ashes is one of the most iconic sporting events, and once more age-old rivals England and Australia having been duelling it out to see who can be victorious in the first of five tests. So far it has been the Steve Smith show. The former Aussie captain, playing in his first test since the end of his 12-month ban for his involvement in [sandpaper-gate](, made 144 in Australia's first innings of the match, helping them to 284 all out, before registering a score of 142 to push Australia to massive 487/7 declared. Smith is just the fifth Australian to score hundreds in both innings of an Ashes Test. Surely with Smith's heroics, Australia will now either draw or win the match. A victory for England would be scandalous. American Football is also back! Okay, not really. The season is still a month away, but the preseason did get under way with the Hall of Fame Game, where the Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons 14-10. Not interested? Can't blame you. Also, Tom Brady — aka the greatest quarterback of all time, depending on who you ask — signed a contract extension that will pay him $23-million this season. That might seem like a lot, but if we're being honest he's worth much, much more. Can anybody stop the Marquez brothers in Moto GP? Marc and Alex both recorded impressive victories this weekend. And at this stage, it seems unlikely that they will be halted as they speed towards the titles in the first and second class respectively. [Marc held off the two Ducatis Andrea Dovizioso and Jack Miller]( to extend his advantage at the top of the riders' standings to 63 points with his sixth triumph of the season. Alex claimed his fifth victory in six races in Moto2. South Africa's Brad Binder had a disappointing race, crashing out after 12 rounds. It wasn't necessarily a super important fight, but Donald Trump was tweeting about UFC welterweight Colby Covington, who dominated Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark and is likely to get the next shot at champion Kamaru Usman. Covington — one of the most disliked fighters in the UFC — broke multiple records for his volume and takedown attempts during the five-round fight. After South Africa's Moruti Mthalane defended his flyweight belt in May, there was talk of a unification fight with England's Charlie Edwards, but that will have to wait for the time being. Earlier this week, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Edwards' next fight will take place on August 31 against Julio Cesar Martinez. Mthalane could be next for the winner, but we'll have to wait and see. In golf, Hinako Shibuno showed nerves of steel to put away an 18-foot birdie putt at the final hole and [win a thrilling Women's British Open]( at Woburn on Sunday. The 20-year-old, playing in her first Major, shot 68 for 18-under-par to win by a single stroke from American Lizette Salas. World No 1 Ko Jin-young, who was seeking a third Major title of the year, had to settle for third place following a 66. Still on golf, American JT Poston became the first player in 45 years to [win a PGA Tour event without dropping a shot](when he beat Webb Simpson by one stroke at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday. Not since Lee Trevino back in 1974 had a player negotiated 72 holes without a bogey en route to victory. Poston stormed to victory with an eight-under-par 62. [Daily Maverick Best Sellers]( Our list is compiled from print sales data and other sources. It represents the bestselling books in South Africa from the previous four weeks to 31 July 2019, and combines Fiction and Non-fiction best sellers. In Play By EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK Spanish Moto GP rider Marc Marquez (R) of Repsol Honda Team and Andrea Dovizioso (L) of Ducati Team in action during the MotoGP race of the Motorcycling Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at Masaryk circuit in Brno, Czech Republic, 04 August 2019. Coming Up This Week Select PSL Fixtures: Bidvest Wits vs Baroka FC (Tuesday 6 August, 19:30 SAST) Cape Town City FC vs Stellenbosch FC (Saturday 10 August, 18:00 SAST) Kaizer Chiefs vs Black Leopards (Saturday 10 August, 20:15 SAST) For full fixtures click [here]( Want more from us? Follow us on Twitter [@ArakibaArts]( and [@TheJonahDylan]( In Numbers 2,172 The number of combined punches thrown in Saturday's heavyweight fight between Adam Kownacki and Chris Arreola, a record for the division. On Daily Maverick Right Now [Cricket honours in a time of mediocrity]( [Cricket honours in a time of mediocrity]( By Yanga Sibembe [Newsflash: Vision 2022 blurred as Baxter resigns as Bafana Bafana coach]( [Newsflash: Vision 2022 blurred as Baxter resigns as Bafana Bafana coach]( By Yanga Sibembe [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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