We’ve seen all manner of pitch invasions over the years but the recent such one in the Bosnian league left viewers to paws for thought after a dog showed his pedigree on the pitch by nutmegging one of the players.
Footage of the incident which occurred during a recent match between has since gone viral and shows the hound forcing a stoppage in the game when it ran onto the pitch, prompting several of the players to attempt to retrieve the match ball.
The dog, though, appeared more interested in an impromptu game of ‘fetch’ – and even ‘nutmegged’ one of the players before being dragged off.
The black dog’s cameo in the match was a brief one but his performance had all the skills one might expect of the likes of a Paul Pugba or a Terrier Henry – and certainly left at least one of the confused players red-faced after the cheeky nutmeg.
The canine couldn’t inspire either Sloboda or Posuje to victory however, as the score between the two Bosnian rivals finished one apiece when the full time whistle was blown.
But as quite a few football fans noted online, the unnamed pooch could well have a future for himself in the game after his debut seemed like little more than a walk in the park.
Which Premier League team will get to sign that four-legged striker in the January window?
“Which Premier League team will get to sign that four-legged striker in the January window?” wondered one fan in response to the footage.
“Can we swap this dog for [Anthony] Martial? Better hunger, runs after the ball, shows passion… give the dog the weekly salary!” joked a Manchester United supporter, while a third said that the hound “could add a bit of bite to your midfield.”
Fans online have reacted after the Marylebone Cricket Club in England announced amendments to laws and changed the traditional terms ‘batsman’ and ‘batsmen’ to more gender-neutral alternatives.
Founded in 1787, the MCC owns the iconic Lord’s ground and is recognized as the authority on cricket’s laws.
In a statement, it said that the changes – which see the terms ‘batter’ and ‘batters’ brought in to replace ‘batsman’ and ‘batsmen’ – were approved by its committee following discussions with its specialist Laws sub-committee.
They are to come in with immediate effect, with the MCC stating that it “believes that the use of gender-neutral terminology helps reinforce cricket’s status as an inclusive game for all”.
“The amendments are a natural evolution from work already undertaken in this area as well as an essential part of MCC’s global responsibility to the sport,” it added.
MCC has today announced amendments to the Laws of Cricket to use the gender-neutral terms “batter” and “batters”, rather than “batsman” or “batsmen”.
Furthermore, Assistant Secretary Jamie Cox said that the move “recognizes the changing landscape of the game in modern times” with the new terms “a natural evolution in our shared cricketing language” while the terminology “has already been adopted by many of those involved in the sport.”
“It is the right time for this adjustment to be recognized formally and we are delighted, as the Guardians of the Laws, to announce these changes today,” Cox stressed.
The MCC has also specified that the fielding position ‘third man’, along with other cricketing terms like ‘nightwatchman’ and ‘12th Man’ aren’t included in the Laws of Cricket they oversee.
Great news. Will really help to get more girls and women playing the glorious game
Although I'm a tea drinker myself, the term 'Tea time' I find rather discriminatory against individuals of all genders that prefer coffee or other liquads. I strongly feel that this should be changed to 'Beverage break' All aboard the woke train pic.twitter.com/EqaPi8t6bV
As certain parties argued among themselves that ‘batter’ is actually a mixture of flour and other ingredients used for baking, or the correct term for people who bat in other sports such as baseball, cooler heads prevailed.
“Why can’t we just call a man ‘batsman’ and a woman ‘batswoman’?,” it was posed.
A woman also highlighted that she and her fellow women players “were called batsmen” in the 1990s and were fine with it.
“It wasn’t a problem or seen as derogatory in any way. It was the term used for the person batting,” she clarified.
As a kid l played cricket whenever l could. I watched it instantly and looked up to a lot of batsmen. I modelled my technique on them. Never once did l feel awkward or offended by the term. I was a batsman and proud of it.
Another female agreed, and said that she played cricket whenever she could as a kid.
“I watched it instantly and looked up to a lot of batsmen. I modeled my technique on them. Never once did l feel awkward or offended by the term. I was a batsman and proud of it.”
“Batter is such a horrible term. [It’s] like calling a bowler the chucker. Like you I never once had a problem being called a batsman,” the original poster added.
Russian six-time world breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova is enjoying some Hawaiian sunshine before the 29-year-old prepares for her planned return at the million-dollar Swimming World Cup in October.
The two-time Olympic silver medalist later revealed she was unsure over her future in the pool and whether she would keep going until the Paris Games in 2023.
In the nearer term, however, a representative has told the Russian media that the Grozny-born star plans to compete in each stage of the lucrative four-stage FINA World Cup in October.
The event kicks off in Berlin on October 1-3, before moving on to Budapest for the dates of October 7-9. That is followed by a visit to Doha on 21-23 of the month, before wrapping up in the Russian city of Kazan on October 28-30 – a location where Efimova tasted world championship gold in 2015.
World swimming organization FINA proudly announced at the end of August that $224,000 would be distributed among the top 20 athletes of each stage, with more than $500,000 going to the top 10 swim stars at the end of the overall rankings. Total prize money will be an eye-catching $1,452,000.
Efimova seems set to compete – but in the meantime has treated fans to some snaps from her island getaway at Hawaii’s Laniakea Beach.
Posing in a colorful bikini near a coconut tree, the svelte Efimova pouted for the camera and added the caption “island life.”
The swim stunner’s latest offering drew a range of emojis – from flames, to bombs and love hearts – and included some cheeky responses.
“Nice coconuts,” quipped one follower.
Efimova delighted fans with another bikini beach snap earlier in her holiday, on that occasion donning a bright green number.
“Long-awaited holiday,” wrote the star.
“All this is very good! I would even say great,” wrote prominent Russian sports commentator Dmitry Guberniev.
If Efimova’s World Cup plans are confirmed, she will soon be slipping out of a bikini and into a full swimsuit as she prepares for a run at the riches on offer in Berlin, Budapest, Doha and Kazan.
Team USA have made Covid vaccination mandatory for any athletes hoping to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – although traditional powerhouses Norway said they will not be following suit by making jabs compulsory.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced on Wednesday that any athletes and staff hoping to be on the plane to China will have to have received their shots against Covid-19 by December 1.
“This step will increase our ability to create a safe and productive environment for Team USA athletes and staff, and allow us to restore consistency in planning, preparation and optimal service to athletes,” the organization said, adding that any possible exemptions would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The US had no vaccine mandate in place for athletes at the Summer Games in Tokyo but has changed its stance ahead of Beijing in February.
However, the most successful nation in Winter Olympic history won’t be following in the US’ ski-tracks.
“We are not going to compel athletes to get vaccinated,” Finn Aagaard of Norwegian Sports Federation and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee (NIF) told Reuters.
“Vaccines are freely available in Norway and it is our experience that there is a very high uptake among athletes, but we do not have insight into every individual’s status.”
Elsewhere, Sweden and Finland are unlikely to demand vaccination among athletes while Germany will wait for the release of the Beijing 2022 ‘playbook’ in October, according to Reuters.
The US is set to send around 240 athletes to the Beijing Games, but hundreds more hoping to make the final squad will also need to ensure they are covered.
The USOPC estimated that 83% of its 600+ delegation of athletes in Tokyo had been vaccinated.
However, big names who announced they hadn’t been jabbed included golf star Bryson DeChambeau – who ended up testing positive for Covid just before he was due to depart for Japan.
It remains to be seen whether there are any dissenting voices this time round as the US requires all its stars to roll up their sleeves for a shot at gold in Beijing.
Oleksandr Usyk raised a few eyebrows with his sartorial choices during Thursday’s press conference with Anthony Joshua but the Ukrainian slugger remains ideally poised to cause a shock at boxing’s heavyweight summit.
You know what they say about best laid plans.
Boxing has long had an issue with timing. No, not the type of timing one might expect to see in the ring in the crossfire of a fist-fight, but rather one of the sport consistently failing to set up the type of fights that fans wants to see.
The primary evidence of this, in recent years at least, was the so-called ‘Fight of the Century’ between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – a bout which it is unanimously agreed upon took place about five years too late.
The years following have sometimes seen a similar script. It can be argued that Gennady Golovkin was past his best in his two-fight series with Canelo Alvarez, while boxing fans can also point to a host of other scraps which either haven’t happened, or haven’t happened when they should have.
Boxing’s latest iteration of this familiar tale concerns the two men who hold all the marbles in the sport’s heavyweight frame: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The two British fighters have repeatedly cleared a path towards one another, only for road blocks to emerge just at it seemed likely a deal may be agreed.
For Fury, it was the court arbitration which ruled that he was contractually obligated to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time, again scuppering talks aimed at placing the world’s two best heavyweight fighters in the ring together.
The resulting gap in Joshua’s schedule allowed for the the WBO’s mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk to jump the line – with the undefeated Ukrainian now cast in the role of being spoiler to the hypothetical Joshua-Fury showdown.
In a certain light, it seems as if both Usyk and Joshua have been on a collision course for much of their careers. Both men won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London; Joshua at super-heavyweight and Usyk at heavyweight, and both have progressed through their ensuing professional careers with relative ease (Andy Ruiz notwithstanding).
And as Usyk has told the media on fight week, he sees all the pressure as being on Joshua to perform in front of his hometown crowd at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I believe it will be more difficult for him because he has three titles to defend and he’s fighting at home and defending at home,” said Usyk. “Then a baldish guy from Ukraine will come to his home country and will be looking for a big fight.
“In 2012, I was not thinking about fighting him because at that time I didn’t enter professional boxing yet but it was obvious he would become a superstar even back then because of the combination of factors; a guy from the UK, a heavyweight and many many other things. It was obvious that he would be a superstar.
“He says he does not remember me from back then… well, I believe he is joking. It doesn’t matter. I do remember him and have been watching his fights for quite a long time.“
Usyk brings a refreshing charm with him into the upper echelon of heavyweight boxing, having already ploughed through the cruiserweight ranks as undisputed champion.
The Ukrainian is hailed as being one of the sport’s more interesting characters – as evidenced by the shaven-headed fighter attending Thursday press conference with Joshua dressed as Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’ character from the movie of the same name.
Embodying that role even further, the Ukrainian boxer even showcased his juggling skills to the media this week as he inches ever closer to the biggest fight of his life.
Usyk’s affable nature and savvy media tricks might well lead to some dropping their guard as to the concussive dangers he poses in the ring – but one suspects that if Joshua quite literally does that in their fight on Saturday, there will be a right hook coming his way as if it was delivered from the muddy banks of the Dnieper.
More than all of that, though, Usyk finds himself with an enviable opportunity to insert his name into a heavyweight division which has been dominated by just three names since the retirement of Wladimir Klitschko: Fury, Joshua and Wilder.
And not only can he play spoiler by beating Joshua and delaying, or even cancelling, the mooted Joshua-Fury fight, Usyk can announce himself as one of the world’s best heavyweights as he looks to follow in Evander Holyfield’s footsteps by claiming gold in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight frames.
If, as Usyk predicts, it is Joshua who will be lying on his back and staring at the lights in London this weekend, it will be a crushing blow not just to the man he defeated, but to British boxing fans as a whole who have long craved the ‘Battle of Britain’ at the sport’s heavyweight summit.
There will be no happier man than the Ukrainian in this instance, as well as being yet another reminder that boxing should be obliged to strike while the iron is hot and better navigate the hurdles which keep its top stars separate.
But one suspects that Usyk will have a wry smile should this particular scenario unfold.
“Some people,” as Alfred Pennyworth said of Heath Ledger’s Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’, “just want to watch the world burn“.
