It is a dog-eat-dog world in the NFL and no more so than on Friday night, when a canine companion made an unexpected appearance in place of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the draft telecast — perhaps a hint that the second evening of the virtual event could have more unscripted moments in store.
After trading out of the first round, Belichick was set to make his second-round pick from a relatively spare home workstation, as coaches across the league settled in for the evening.
However, as the camera cut to Belichick’s compound, it was a friendly pooch named Nike and not the grim-faced, eight-time Super Bowl winner who appeared to be calling the shots, sitting in the coach’s chair with its eyes glued to a laptop.
Photo: AFP
“Who’s taken Belichick’s chair there?” the television announcer said, as the Patriots fetched Kyle Dugger 37th overall out of Lenoir-Rhyne University.
As the draft rolled onward, the camera cut back to Belichick as he gave the dog a treat, no doubt pleased with its selection of the 24-year-old safety.
NFL experts, analysts and fans seized on the moment, after a Thursday night opener that offered little in the way of surprises.
“I just want Bill Belichick to trade me his dog,” tweeted @bridgetbaseball.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS