Thirty sporting questions burning to be answered

The first question is an obvious one, which horse will win the Melbourne Cup this afternoon?

My tip is Jameka on three counts, her win the Caulfield Cup, the only Australian-bred horse in the field, and named after tennis legend Serena Jameka Williams. My two roughies? Who Shot Thebarman, and Exospheric.

Why didn’t last year’s history-making jockey Michelle Payne get a start in the Cup, while Katelyn Mallyon has a first time ride on Assign?

Will the world’s premier batsman Steve Smith get some help from Adam Voges, David Warner, and Usman Khawaja to do battle with the world’s best pace attack in Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, and Kagiso Rabada on the bouncy WACA wicket?

Will Mitchell Starc rip through South Africa’s top batsmen Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, and JP Duminy?

Will Mitchell Marsh score some runs and take some wickets as he was selected to do as the Australian all-rounder, or will he be the first selection casualty of the summer?

How mentally shattered will England be after their ten-wicket batting collapse in a session against lowly Bangladesh to lose the Test by 108 runs?

Will Matt Moylan be the Kangaroos first choice fullback for the rest of the Four Nations tournament?

As a direct result will multi-talented Darius Boyd be a winger, or centre?

Will Scotland beat England next weekend in their Four-Nations clash?

Will Stephen Larkham try to back stab Michael Cheika as Wallaby coach? He has form in two player-power sackings of Brumby coaches David Nucifora and Andy Friend.

In the meantime, will Cheika join Alan Jones from 1984 as the only Wallaby coaches to claim Grand Slam status?

Will Cheika see the light on this spring tour to pension off Dean Mumm?

Will Cheika give Israel Folau a run in the centres?

How long will Graeme Arnold be able to keep his Sydney FC on an A-League high, unbeaten after four rounds?

Which opposition will be the first to crack the Fort Knox defence of Sydney FC, currently at 11 goals to nil?

Will Tiger Woods ever make a comeback after back surgery, or has his self-belief taken a terminal hit?

Will Jason Day’s chronic back problem haunt the world number one for the rest of his career?

Will Hideki Matsuyama’s current superb form be a threat to the big five in 2017 of Day, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Speith, and Henrik Stenson?

When will Adam Scott leave cricket scores off his card. Last week in Shanghai he carded 69 80 64 66, the second round gave up two doubles, six bogeys, and just two birdies?

There’s a new leftie in the USPGA’s winners circle – Cody Gribble. The 26-year-old won the Sanderson Farms tournament yesterday in only his eighth start, and looks likely to challenge the world’s two best lefties in Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson?

Will 20-year-old Perth-born Minjee Lee keep climbing up the world golf rankings, chasing the brilliant 19-year-old Kiwi Lydia Ko, entrenched at number one?

Will Scot Andy Murray be the new world number one next week? For that to happen, Murray must win in Paris for his eighth title of the year, and Novak Djokovic must fail to reach the final.

Will Serena Williams regain her mojo and world number one status and in the process win three more Slam singles to topple Margaret Court’s world record of 24?

Has the ATP been lenient on Nick Kyrgios, reducing his suspension for the most disgraceful example ever seen of tanking? Surely the next breakdown, and it will happen, should see him rubbed out of tennis altogether.

When will the ever-likeable Danny Ricciardo be given a car fitting to become the third Australian world formula one drivers champion after the late great Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones? Ricciardo’s beaming smile and Johnathan Thurston’s laugh are two of Australian sport’s signature assets.

How long will the evergreen Italian Valentino Rossi remain in contention for world motorcycling titles after 16 years, and counting?

Will Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer of all time with 11 world titles, become a professional golfer once he retires at 45 next year? He currently plays around 150 rounds of golf a year off a handicap of plus-two, so he will be a sensation on the Champions tour once he turns 50.

How about a national, but more telling, a Victorian basketball legend in Andrew Gaze loom as the likely saviour coach of the Sydney Kings, bowling along atop of the NBL ladder having won their last five games?

Surely Anthony Mundine (41) and Danny Green (43) will at last call halt after they meet for the first time in a decade at Adelaide Oval on February 3? A prize of 10 million bucks each should be enough to ride into the sunset.

And the really big question, will champion swimmers Cameron McEvoy, and the Campbell sisters Cate and Bronte recover from their spectacular Rio Olympic meltdowns?