The FAI today took another step closer to co-hosting EURO 2028 after they officially submitted a joint “Expression of Interest” to host the tournament along with the Football Associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The submission follows a feasibility study which evaluated the hosting opportunities and local benefits of organising major international football events.
News of the bid had been met with mixed views among football fans. Some question the wisdom of hosting an international tournament when the football infrastructure in the country has been described by Damien Duff as “horrific”.
However, FAI Chief Executive Jonathan Hill is adamant there will be knock-on benefits for the domestic game from an event the expression of interest touts as “one of the greatest sporting events ever held in Ireland and the UK”.
Hill said: “The sporting and economic benefits that hosting such a tournament present would, we believe, be of major significance across all levels of our game and for many years to come.”
“We will now work with UEFA, Government and all our stakeholder partners to present a bid that makes real sense for Ireland and for Irish football.”
Ireland manager Stephen Kenny yesterday cautiously welcomed the potential bid: “That is a good news story. I am sure the Irish supporters will look forward to having a lot of games in this country. But it is quite a distance away.
“The football infrastructure in this country is nowhere near where it needs to be and it needs serious Government investment.”
The Governments of Ireland, the UK, Scotland and Wales have confirmed their support for the Expression of Interest submission.
Minister for Sport Jack Chambers said: “We missed out on a lot of things during the pandemic and Ireland hosting games during EURO 2020 was one of those things. I welcome another opportunity to bring this fantastic tournament to Ireland, should a decision be taken to make a formal bid.
“We now look forward to receiving further tournament requirements from UEFA and we will continue to work with our football and government partners to develop our hosting proposal over the coming months.”
Details of the joint bid will now be worked out over the coming months.
The FAI statement says: “We will develop our proposals further, subject to the publication by UEFA of the full technical specification. This includes engaging in discussions with possible host cities and stadia to define the optimum tournament model, and conducting a full costs and benefits analysis. The Ireland & UK bid will offer an unrivalled tournament from a technical perspective – with modern, well-connected stadia and excellent infrastructure – that makes our partnership ideal to host EURO 2028.”
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A few weeks ago, at the PGA Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament, Sam Ryder scored a hole-in-one.
It was on the famous, or infamous, 16th hole. The par-three hole is surrounded by bleachers holding up to 17,000 very rowdy fans. Most fans spend the entire day there and as each golfer hits they yell, cheer and jeer at their effort.
When Ryder’s ball fell into the cup they covered the green and area in beer cans, not all empty. They repeated the dangerous act the next day after another ace.
Over the years a number of articles have been thrown onto play surfaces for a number of reasons.
In the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, Florida Panther forward Scott Mellanby killed a rat in their dressing room with his hockey stick. Fans brought plastics rats to the following games and threw them on the ice after every Florida goal. It was reported the team would collect the rats off the ice and resell them to fans before the next game.
In 1952 a Detroit Red Wing fan who owned a fish market spirited an octopus into the game. When the Wings scored their first goal, he threw it on the ice. He explained it took eight playoff wins to win the Stanley Cup in the days of the six-team NHL and the octopus has eight tentacles. The custom continues today even though it takes 16 wins.
Fans of the Nashville Predators, a geographical rival of the Red Wings, recently started to throw catfish onto the ice. The NHL announced that if it continued the team would be assessed a delay-of-game penalty. Now an occasional fish flies over the boards prior to games.
On promotion nights teams give out a variety of items to entice fans to the game. At one time frisbees were popular until a hockey game in the Western Hockey League game unwisely handed them out before the game. The team had an extremely bad game and by the end every Frisbee handed out was thrown on the ice by disgusted fans.
One item that is permitted to be tossed on the ice by all hockey teams is hats. In 1940, the story goes, a haberdasher in Toronto, Sammy Taft, offered the Maple Leaf players a new hat for a three-goal performance. The term “hat-trick” grew from his offer.
In those days practically all men wore fedoras, a fairly expensive heat gear. There was obviously no inclination to throw them on the ice. That practice really started when younger fans in their ball caps, which most had many of, started throwing them on the ice after a third goal by a player.
Today the Teddy Bear toss has become a regular for most junior and minor pro hockey teams. It started to give local first responders teddy bears to give children at accidents or traumatic scenes. Today the tosses, usually in December, supply charities the toys for Christmas hampers and other handouts.
One unique event that was popular locally in the Miller Bowl lacrosse bowl days and later the Civic Arena era was the blanket toss. Often a minor lacrosse or hockey team would carry a blanket around the rink or bowl during an intermission and fans would toss coins into the blanket to help the team financially.
At the Petes first game, in November 1956, each patron was given a sample can of a new liquid dishwashing detergent. The Petes won that first game in overtime and needless to say many of those cans, including mine, ended up on the ice in celebration. That ended that pre-game practice!
Don Barrie is a retired teacher, former Buffalo Sabres scout and a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame. His column appears each Saturday in The Examiner.
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insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.
2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We have the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we are sending a team of four reporters, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
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It was just a few short months ago in November that Jack Eichel’s time in Buffalo came to an unceremonious end, with Eichel getting dealt to the Golden Knights. For the first time since the trade, Eichel will step back into the KeyBank Center, the place where he called home for the first six seasons of his NHL career.
Eichel was supposed to be the piece to get the Sabres back over the top. While the center did his part on the ice, the Sabres continued to be a bottom-tier team, failing to reach the postseason in any season Eichel was there. Tension rose with disagreements over treatment for a herniated disk, boiling over with public comments of displeasure and turning what was supposed to be a bright future in Buffalo into an ugly bruise on the franchise.
While both sides were happy to put the Eichel saga behind them, the two meet up once again, as the Golden Knights travel to Buffalo on Thursday. Eichel will get back in front of the home crowd that cheered him on vigorously since he entered the league as an 18-year-old in 2015.
With Eichel’s return, here’s a timeline of the events during his time with the Sabres.
Sabres draft Eichel No. 2 overall in 2015 NHL Draft
In any other draft class, Eichel likely doesn’t fall to the Sabres at No. 2. He was fresh off a sensational freshman year at Boston University, becoming the second freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player. He was first in the NCAA in goals (26) and points (71), earning Hockey East’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
But a player by the name of Connor McDavid was also in that class and was selected by the Oilers at No. 1. There was some debate going into the draft if the Oilers would elect to take Eichel instead of McDavid, but Edmonton selected the 18-year-old from the OHL’s Erie Otters.
As a result, the Sabres landed Eichel with the No. 2 pick, considered to be a generational talent.
Eichel scores in his NHL debut
After signing his entry-level contract in July of 2015, Eichel made the team out of camp and was expected to immediately play a big role for the Sabres.
Eichel and the Sabres could not have asked for a better start from the 18-year-old. Eichel made his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2015, in the first game of the season for Buffalo. He scored his first goal in the second period of the game, roofing a shot over Senators goaltender Craig Anderson.
#NHL NEWS: Buffalo Sabres Forward – Jack Eichel scores his FIRST #NHL GOAL! What a goal it was.
He became the youngest player in Sabres history to score his first goal.
Eichel signs an eight-year, $80 million extension
The first two seasons were very successful for Eichel in Buffalo. He finished his rookie season with 56 points in 81 games and ended up fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year. In his second season, he missed the first two months of the season with an ankle sprain, but concluded the season producing at nearly a point per game clip, 57 points in 61 games.
The summer heading into the 2017-18 season, the Sabres rewarded Eichel with an eight-year, $80 million extension, looking up their young superstar to a long-term deal.
At the time, Jim Botterill had just taken over as general manager and viewed Eichel as the centerpiece of the team. While the Sabres as a team were not finding success, they had their young stud to build the club around.
Eichel scores his first NHL hat trick
It took over two seasons, but Eichel finally secured his first career NHL hat trick on Dec. 15, 2017, against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Sabres forward scored Buffalo’s first goal of the game in the second period, cleaning up a rebound in front. He cut the Hurricanes lead to one halfway through the third with a shot from the slot before showing off his patience with the puck, out-waiting Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward and beating him to tie the game just 10 seconds after his second goal to complete the “Jack-trick”.
Sabres name Eichel captain
Before Eichel began his fourth season with the Sabres, the team announced him as the 16th captain in franchise history in October of 2018.
He was just 21 years old when the club gave him the “C”, following Brian Gionta as the next Sabres captain.
Eichel suffers a neck injury in a collision with Nico Hischier
While the team was not finding success, Eichel continued to play at a high level, recording a career-high 82 points in the 2018-19 season and setting a new career-high in goals with 36 in 2019-20.
However, just 21 games into the 2020-21 season, Eichel collided awkwardly with Nico Hischier during a game on March 7, 2021, against the New Jersey Devils. Ralph Krueger, coach of the Sabres at the time, announced less than a week later that Eichel would be out “for the foreseeable future.”
It later was announced that Eichel had a herniated disk and that would keep him out of the remainder of the season, as he was placed on long-term injured reserve.
Eichel voices his displeasure with the Sabres’ approach to his injury
This is where the drama starts.
In May of 2021, Eichel met with the media to discuss the injury, where he expressed a “disconnect” between himself and the organization over the treatment of his neck.
“I’ve been a bit upset about the ways things have been handled since I’ve been hurt. I’d be lying to say that things have moved smoothly since my injury. There’s been a bit of a disconnect between myself and the organization. It’s been tough at times. Right now, for me, the most important thing is just trying to get healthy, figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year, wherever that might be.”
Eichel wanted to get disc replacement surgery for his neck, while the team’s doctors were advising against it, suggesting he go for fusion surgery instead. The disagreement created a rift between the two sides.
Not only was Eichel voicing displeasure with the Sabres, but also insinuating for the first time that his future may not lie in Buffalo. At the time, he did not confirm or deny that he had asked for a trade.
“There’s a lot I have to consider. But for now, I’m here. I’m the captain of this hockey team. My goal is to be available and to try to help this organization to win hockey games. I’ll do that as long as I’m here.”
Sabres strip Eichel of captaincy after failing training camp physical
Having gone the whole summer with no surgery to heal the herniated disk, Eichel failed his training camp physical in September. The team also decided to strip him of the “C”.
General manager Kevyn Adams met with the media to discuss the decision, in addition to the future of Eichel in Buffalo.
“To this point, Jack is not willing to move forward with the fusion surgery that our doctors are suggesting. So we’re going to continue to work towards solutions … If we have an opportunity to (improve our team), and we feel it’s the right thing for the franchise, then we’ll do it. But if there was a solution over the summer, and we thought it made sense, then we would have done it. Obviously that’s not the case.”
Sabres trade Eichel to the Golden Knights, ending the Eichel saga in Buffalo
After months of speculation and rumors, the Sabres finally pulled the trigger, trading Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick to the Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, conditional 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick in November of 2021.
The Golden Knights got a top center in the league to solidify an already deep top-six group while the Sabres acquired a promising prospect in Krebs, a bonafide NHLer in Tuch and two draft picks that will help the team long-term.
Vegas was welcoming of the disc replacement surgery for Eichel, as GM Kelly McCrimmon stated the team would allow Eichel to get the surgery of his choice.
“The decision of the surgery is one that we respectfully defer to Jack and his representatives. Why wouldn’t his people want what’s best for him?”
Eichel discusses ending his time in Buffalo and the months leading up to the trade
Outside of the May press conference, Eichel had kept things quiet about what was going on in Buffalo. He didn’t waste much time after the trade was done to dissect the situation.
“It’s been a long process. It’s been dragged out. Quite honestly, I feel a little bit embarrassed. As a hockey player, you want to be in the media, and have people talking about you for your performance and…your team winning games.”
Eichel confirmed what many had speculated — that he had in fact requested a trade from the Sabres.
“It just seemed that we were heading towards another…I don’t want to say rebuild but, we weren’t really in a position that we were going to try and win. I went to the team and said I wasn’t really happy with the idea of that. If that’s the route they wanted to take, maybe it would be better to move me, to use me as a jumpstart.
“Obviously that didn’t go over well. I’m a competitor, I want to win and obviously we hadn’t won. This is a business. (That’s) pretty apparent to me over the last eight months. I looked at that as a decision I was making strictly because I thought that was the best business decision for me as a hockey player.”
Surgery and Eichel’s time in Vegas
Eichel underwent successful surgery on Nov. 12, getting an artificial disk replacement procedure done at the Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic. It was expected that he would need about three months to fully recover from the surgery.
He began skating in a non-contact jersey with the Golden Knights on Jan. 11. Just over a month later, Eichel made his season debut with Vegas on Feb. 16. Since returning to the ice, Eichel has recorded seven points in 10 games, potting his first goal as a Golden Knight on Feb. 20.
The Sabres remain near the bottom of the standings while Eichel is now playing top minutes on a contender. It was a bitter way for the relationship between the two to end, but it’s one that both teams are looking to put behind them.
Don’t Bet On It: Sportsbooks across the U.S. have dumped betting markets on Russian soccer, hockey, table tennis and volleyball.
Thomas Eisenhuth/Getty Images
Sportsbooks across the United States have come up with their own sanctions against Russia by no longer accepting bets on Russian sporting events. Both mobile and physical sportsbooks have suspended their Russian betting markets in response to the war in Ukraine.
At the Superbook at Westgate Las Vegas, director John Murray says it previously took action on Russian soccer, but the sportsbook decided to remove the market this week after the invasion. “It was an easy decision,” he says. “It’s minor part of the business and we don’t deserve to be praised for it.”
DraftKings, which offered bets on Kontinental Hockey League, the professional league headquartered in Moscow composed of teams across Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and China, closed its Russian sports market. “We will no longer offer betting on sports leagues and events in Russia and Belarus, such as the KHL,” DraftKings said in a statement.
Caesars confirmed that it has also closed its betting market on Russian soccer, hockey, table tennis and volleyball, and Fanduel “indefinitely suspended” all betting markets on sports leagues and events held or connected to Russia and Belarus. PointsBet is no longer accepting bets or posting lines for Russian and Belarus based professional sports leagues and events as well.
Facing a backlash from the war, Russian billionaire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich announced Wednesday he would be selling the soccer team after members of Parliament said he shouldn’t be allowed to own the Premier League club.
The U.S. government has responded to Putin’s war by sanctioning billionaires—16 Russian business magnates have been hit with economic restrictions so far. The U.S. is also moving to seize assets like mega yachts.
Back in Las Vegas, Murray says sportsbooks are not “brave” for closing their Russian sports markets. “Given the climate and everything that’s going on in the world right now,” he says, “we just felt like it was better to get rid of it.”
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia was excluded from all international ice skating events as sporting sanctions continued to mount Tuesday following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A day after Russian teams were barred from soccer, rugby and President Vladimir Putin’s preferred sport of hockey — rulings backed by the International Olympic Committee — the International Skating Union decision pushes Russia out of another sport which is hugely popular at home.
The ISU said no athletes from Russia or its ally Belarus “shall be invited or allowed to participate” in its events until further notice.
“The ISU Council reiterates its solidarity with all those affected by the conflict in Ukraine and our thoughts are with the entire Ukrainian people and country,” the ISU said in a statement.
Barring Russian skaters means the figure skating world championships later this month are expected to take place without Olympic gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova and her teammate Kamila Valieva, who was the focus of a still-unresolved doping dispute at the Winter Olympics last month.
The International Volleyball Federation on Tuesday said it had stripped Russia of hosting rights for the men’s world championship in August and September and would seek another host country or countries.
“It would be impossible to prepare and stage the World Championships in Russia due to the war in Ukraine,” the FIVB board said.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Sprint events will take place in Imola, Austria and Brazil – while the top eight finishers will all score points for the shortened race, which sets the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix
Last Updated: 14/02/22 6:02pm
Formula 1 will hold three sprint races this year after a compromise was found over money concerns, while the events will also offer more points.
A success last year in increasing action and excitement with a grid-setting short Saturday race, F1 had originally intended to double the amount of sprints to six in 2022, although the top teams were understood to have wanted an increase to the cost cap to facilitate the extra running.
Not willing to budge on its budget cap, F1 offered a compromise of three sprints – and that was approved ‘unanimously’ at the F1 Commission meeting on Monday.
The three sprint races will take place in Imola (April 23), Austria (July 9) and Brazil (November 12).
There will also be a change to the points-scoring system. Last year when the format was trialled, only the top three drivers scored points, with three points for the winner, two for second and one for third.
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Craig Slater reports that the FIA are proposing ‘structural changes’ following their enquiry into the controversial ending to last season’s Abu Dhabi GP.
Craig Slater reports that the FIA are proposing ‘structural changes’ following their enquiry into the controversial ending to last season’s Abu Dhabi GP.
This season the winner of the shortened race – which determines the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix – will now receive eight points with seven for second and so on down to one point for eighth place.
Meanwhile, the FIA confirmed that no points will be awarded unless at least two laps have been completed without a safety car.
The new rule comes into force following last season’s two-lap, rain-hit Belgian GP which ran entirely behind the safety car.
