Sarni's Scrolls: A Hard Day's Night Down Under

Super Bowl match-ups we'd like to see

I turned on ESPN2's Australian Open coverage at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Melbourne time: 1 p.m. on Thursday.

I was still watching tennis at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday. Fourteen hours later.

There was some napping involved.

Day 5 of the Aussie was awesome. Start to finish action and drama. And ESPN didn't miss a beat.

■ An incredible 15 second-round matches -- nine women's and six men's -- went to a deciding set.

■ There were three dramatic fifth-set tiebreakers... two airing simultaneously on split screens.

■ An excruciating record 42-point third-set tiebreaker won by Anna Blinkova over No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina. On her 10th match point.

■ No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek trailed Danielle Collins 4-1 before winning the last five games. Clutch.

■ No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev hit the final ball of his five-setter at 3:39 a.m. local time... the latest finish in Majors history. Pam Shriver and James Blake were still awake to call it.

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Super Bowl matchups we'd like to see

1. Ravens- 49ers: No. 1 offense vs. No. 1 defense. Super Bowl XLVII rematch.

2. Chiefs-Lions: The first game of the season... the final game. Full circle.

3. Bills-Lions: One team will win its first Super Bowl.

4. Chiefs-Packers: Super Bowl I rematch. Pat Mahomes vs. Jordan Love instead of Aaron Rodgers

5. Ravens-Bucs: Both franchises are 2-0 all-time in Super Bowls.

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Wild Card TV ratings

■ 40.0M -- Packers-Cowboys, Fox

■ 35.8M -- Rams-Lions, NBC

■ 31.0M -- Steelers-Bills, CBS

■ 29.0M -- Browns-Texans, NBC

■ 28.6M -- Eagles-Bucs, ABC/ESPN

■ 23.0 -- Dolphins-Chiefs, Peacock 

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Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (ESPN/ABC) topped Awful Announcing's Readers 2023 NFL Announcers Rankings... by a Tush Push.

Buck-Aikman, third in 2022, scored a 3.31 average to edge Ian Eagle and Charles Davis (CBS), the 2022 winners, who averaged 3.30.

Third place: Kevin Harlan and Trent Green (CBS), second in 2022, at 3.28.

Fourth: Kevin Burkhart and Greg Olsen (Fox), 3.26.

Fifth: Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth (NBC), 2.99.

Sixth: Jim Nantz and Tony Romo (CBS), 2.82.

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Super Bowl pregame music

■ Reba McEntire: "National Anthem"

■ Post Malone: "America The Beautiful"

■ Andra Day: "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

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ESPN achieved an unparalleled record viewership for studio shows across network platforms on Monday. Obviously, driven by the Dallas Cowboys' playoff ouster.

"The Pat McAfee Show" was the most-watched program with 811,000 linear viewers, up 70% over the previous high, 946,000 cumulative viewers (linear, YouTube, ESPN+), 3.25M total views.

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ETC.

■ The Boston Celtics put their 20-0 home record on the line against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Friday. (ESPN)

■ Top college game: No. 5 UCLA at No. 3 Colorado (women) on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12).

■ Ahead of the NBA All-Star Game, Indianapolis's airport has installed a full-length basketball court in the middle of its terminal to celebrate the city's love affair with the sport.

■ Unbelievable stat: LeBron James has played against 35% of all the players in NBA history.

■ Mikeala Shiffrin won her 94th World Cup race in Flachau, Austria... The men's downhill, the world's most dangerous World Cup ski race, takes place on Saturday (5:30 a.m., Peacock).

■ Rafael Nadal has signed on as an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Federation to promote tennis in the country. He plans to build an academy there.

■ Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is targeting a hybrid role in the NFL, combining the running back and wide receiver positions.

■ The New York Mets will retire Dwight Gooden's No. 16 on April 14 and Darryl Strawberry's No. 18 on June 1.

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■ Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has joined Fox Sports as a fulltime baseball analyst.

■ Aly Raisman has joined ESPN as an NCAA gymnastics analyst

■ The Chicago White Sox are looking to relocate downtown.... and bid farewell to the terrible Guaranteed Rate Field.

■ New York is building a pop-up cricket stadium, using parts from the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. The 34,000 venue is set to host the 2024 T20 World Cup matches.

■ Erika Ayers has stepped down as CEO of Barstool Sports. In 2016, when Dave Portnoy hired her, the value of the company was $15M. Today: $600M+

■ The NHL Players Association has announced a pioneering mental health program, the First Line initiative.

■ The Miami Dolphins have become synonymous with ineptitude in the cold as this line from "The Morning Brew" shows: "Like the Miami Dolphins, EVs don't handle the cold very well."

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■ Kris Jenner is recreating Khloe Kardashian's cookie-stacking technique for Oreo's Super Bowl commercial.... BTW, Oreo and Betty Crocker have teamed up to bring you Oreo filling in a tub.

■ Ariana Grande sold her Hollywood Hills hideaway to Bad Bunny for $8.3M, $600,000 less than what she paid for it two years ago.

■ Steely Dan, Timbaland, R.E.M., Hillary Lindsey, and Dean Pitchford will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

■ "Saturday Night Live" executive producer Lorne Michaels, 79, plans to stick around until the show's 50th anniversary in February, 2025... Possible successor: Tina Fey... This week's host: "Priscilla" and "Saltburn" star Jacob Elordi with musical guest Renee Rapp.

■ The Smashing Pumpkins are reviewing over 10,000 applications for an open guitarist role.

■ January is National Soup Month.

■ Have you tried a Wonut-- a waffle/donut hybrid?

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THEY SAID IT

■ "I do see color because I believe if you don't see color, you can't see racism." New England Patriots coach Jerrod Mayo.

■ "Damn, I'm getting older. I've got to get a championship." -- Baltimore Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson, 27.