THERE will be no snooker at the Olympics in 2020.
That may not come as a surprise to most, but the sport was this week announced among those such as netball, tug of war, dancesport and flying disc to miss out on a place at the Tokyo Games.
I’m all for the inclusion of different events – squash should have its day – but not those whose traditional showpiece lies elsewhere; will a golf gold medal at Rio next year rank higher than a major win for McIlroy et al?
And where would Olympic success rank on snooker’s calendar; would the sport’s elite rather win gold at Tokyo or join a prestigious World Championship winners’ list at the Crucible?
Luckily, for the broadcasters’ sake, chess and bridge did also not make the grade. I wouldn’t be tuning in to that gold-medal match.
One athlete who will no doubt be present in Japan in five years’ time, if not Rio, is sprinter Candace Hill.
Who? I hear you say – well Hill is a 16-year-old American high school student who at the weekend ran a faster 100m time than any British female athlete has ever done.
Her 10.98 secs would have placed seventh at the London 2012.
Meanwhile, in Australia, The Footy Show viewers were treated to the sound of former rugby league player Ben Ross’ arm breaking on air. The video of which went viral.
The 35-year-old entered into a charity arm wrestle with former Australia international Wendell Sailor on the Channel Nine show.
But the stunt landed NRL stalwart Ross in hospital, screaming in pain, before The Footy Show chiefs quickly cut to an ad break.
Next up will be Martin Keown and Alan Shearer playing slaps on Match of the Day.
Picking a winner at ‘crazy’ Chambers Bay was supposed to be as predictable as a British summer.
However, it was Jordan Spieth who added the US Open to his growing trophy collection.
Spieth, playing with experience and a hairline belying his 21 years, was one of the favourites after winning the Masters in April.
And I was (frustratingly) pleased for him, despite seeing the money I had on Dustin Johnson disappear when the American three-putted from 12 feet on the final hole.
But, which golfer has finished US Open runner-up a record number of times without winning it, and on how many occasions?
Last week I asked you where the martial art of Sambo originated from. It is an acronym for Samozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, translating as self-defence without weapons, and was developed by the Soviet Red Army in the 1920s to improve hand-to-hand combat.
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