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Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Nathan Aspinall wants huge change to darts calendar including Ryder Cup-style tournament as he pitches incredible format
It would inject a fresh surge of excitement into the sport DART OF WAR Nathan Aspinall wants huge change to darts calendar including Ryder Cup-style tournament as he pitches incredible format Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NATHAN ASPINALL has dropped a bombshell proposal to add a Ryder Cup-style tournament to the ever-growing darts calendar. Aspinall, 34, made a bold pitch to the PDC as he spoke of his desire to launch a new darts event that is similar to golf's cross Atlantic competition between Europe and the United States. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Nathan Aspinall has called for a rule change that could have seen him unable to compete Speaking to Footy Accumulators, the world No.7 said: 'One change I would make is having a Ryder Cup-style tournament. You could do the UK against the rest of the world. 'You've got all the Dutch players, all the Germans, the likes of Damon Heta and people like that. 'You could do triples, pairs, and singles matches, it would be mega for players and fans. 'If you did it somewhere like in the centre of Germany, and change every year, you could probably sell a 30,000 seater stadium comfortably, and it would create some atmosphere. READ MORE DARTS LUKE OUT Darts legend Bobby George sends stark message to Luke Littler 'I think you've seen from the World Cup that you have to gel as a team. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, even though they're mates, they didn't gel at the World Cup, which is why they didn't get far. 'You saw with Josh Rock and Darryl Gurney, and Gerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton, they clearly did gel, and that's why they made the finals. 'The only issue is that there is that much going on in darts at the moment, I think the PDC is going to leave it as it is for now. You never know, in the future it might be something that they look into.' Aspinall has made over £2.2million from darts over the years, winning the World Matchplay in 2023 and landing the spoils in the UK Open in 2019. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The two-time World Championship semi-finalist has also become a Premier League regular. But 'The Asp' also confessed how he no longer enjoys darts all that much, seeing it as simply a job. Darts legend Bobby George sends stark message to Luke Littler as he warns sensation he can 'go from hero to zero quick' Aspinall said: 'I'm not a big darts fan anymore. I don't sit at home when I'm not playing and watch it. 'I didn't watch the World Cup, for example. If I'm out of the tournament, I won't go back to my house and see who wins. 'I treat it as my job now, and I'm here to make as much money as I can Aspinall 'Everyone thinks it's all roses and you travel to these amazing places, which we do, but it's very lonely. 'I spent five days in New York on my own and was so bored. I'm missing a wedding next month because I'm in Keel, so I'll miss a lot of family time and key events. But I'm the one who has to make the sacrifices so my family can have a good life. 'I treat it as my job now, and I'm here to make as much money as I can. It's about giving my family the best life I can, which basically means I do it for the money. 'I want to win trophies and win titles, but first and foremost, I want to win as much money as I can so my family can have a great life, that's my main drive and my motivation. 'If you're treating it as a passion and as a hobby, I don't think there's any pressure on you to win because you're just enjoying yourself, so it's harder for me. I don't like losing, and I know that if I turn up to work and don't perform, I'm not making any money, so there's big pressure.'
Fox News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
NCAA baseball team stopped caring about winning to focus on Jesus – then went to the World Series
College baseball nearly saw a miracle at Messiah University this year. The Messiah Falcons made a run all the way to the Division III World Series championship game on June 5 in one of the most historic seasons in program history. But for coach Phillip Shallenberger and his team, the goal wasn't even to get there. Their goal was simply to be good Christians. "It stopped becoming about, like, 'OK, can we win a national championship,' and it started becoming, like, 'How can we point people closer to Christ?'" Messiah pitcher Daniel Knight told Fox News Digital. About halfway through this season, after a 1-6 start, the team underwent a priority shift. No longer did they show up to the clubhouse every day with a main goal to win. Now, they were simply serving Christ. "We used to sit in the video room, and we would show the other pitcher and show what the other team does and really focus on what they were doing," Shallenberger said. "And then at about that point we started shifting toward just diving into the Word a little bit more. Like, 'How does God want us to lead?' "It was a bit more on the devotionals and bit less on the scouts. And that was actually about the time we started to play a lot better." Shallenberger even made his players carry 250-pound crosses as a team workout. "We do that right in the middle of our conference season in between games," Shallenberger said. But one time, Knight did the cross-carrying workout just before a game on April 17 against Eastern. He threw eight and a third shutout innings with nine strikeouts in that game. It marked a shocking turnaround for Knight, who got off to a poor start to the season with a 9.26 ERA. "It was kind of a wake-up call for me is that you know what the most important thing we can do is glorify God and always having that at our forefront if that means sacrificing being at our best physically and the more reason to rely on the Lord and his strength those are the choices that started to be made after that point," Knight said. Knight said the change came on a morning when he was reading scripture and heard God tell him, 'It's not about you.' "When I was focused on myself, I was becoming depressed. And then when I had that shift of God telling me, 'It's not about you,' I saw a change in when I was trying to serve other people, that I was receiving more joy," Knight said. Knight and the Falcons busted out of their 1-6 start with a 16-4 win against Dickinson College on March 4. From there, they became one of the hottest teams in Divison III, winning 16 of their next 19. Along the way, Shallenberger and his players started adding scripture to their play-call wristbands, where they used to place pitches and signs. "It would say, 'Whatever, bunt defense,' or whatever we wanted. But [Shallenberger] also added some sayings, like one was like, 'Surrender your hands' or 'Jesus over everything,'" said infielder Drew Hurst. "So I know for me, there would be multiple times where either I would make an error or strike out to end an inning and then run on the field and maybe be a little bit p---ed off at myself. But he always would put those on as a little reminder of why [we] play this game, and it's not about our performance or what we do win-wise, but how we, with body language on the field, show love to Jesus and the other team and whoever else is watching us." The players also studied characters in the Bible with Paul the Apostle becoming a team favorite. They finished the regular season 27-13 and then stormed through the Commonwealth Tournament, NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and then the first two rounds of the World Series. They fell short of taking home the trophy, losing to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in two games. But Hurst, Knight and many of Shallenberger's other devoted players will be back next year for a potential full season of putting faith over wins. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
