Scout’s Overview
📡 🚨 Weekly Sports Radar: Horseball

Horseball is best described as a mix of basketball, rugby, and polo, all played on horseback. Two teams of four riders (plus substitutes) compete to score by shooting a ball with six leather handles into a vertical hoop. Riders must pass the ball at least three times between three different players before scoring. If the ball falls, players must pick it up without dismounting, showcasing incredible riding skills.

Horseball originated in France in the 1970s and has since spread to other countries, especially across Europe and South America. It's recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), with a World Cup and European Championships held regularly.

🏋 Athlete of the week: Zhao Xintong

Zhao Xintong is a Snooker player known for his fast, attacking style and hailed as one of his generation's most naturally gifted snooker talents.

Fun Fact: This month, he became the first Asian player to win the World Snooker Championship, right after coming back from a 20-MONTH ban from the sport.

🏟️ Venue of the week: Churchill Downs

The event itself. The sheer number of audience members. The architecture of the building. I can probably give you 10 other reason why we’ve chosen Churchill Downs as our venue of the week. It’s a historic racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, best known as the home of the Kentucky Derby since 1875.

🧤 Fit Check: Brazil Olympics Skateboarding

Brazil’s Olympic skateboarding kit, designed by Nike SB and Piet Parra, blends vibrant colors and bold patterns inspired by Brazil’s street art and urban culture, including evocative graphics that nod to the landscape and history of the country.

The designs celebrate Brazilian creativity and skateboarding’s free spirit. Each kit feels unique, mirroring how no two skate spots or skaters are ever the same.

From the bench
🗞️ In case you were injured:

If you ask me, any one of the following stories could’ve been athlete of the week:

• Naomi Osaka, former World No. 1 in Tennis, won her first title since becoming a mother this week.

• Katie Ledecky broke the world record in 800-meter freestyle swimming, nearly a decade after she last set it!

• Caitlin Clark has now become synonymous with women’s basketball. This week, she hit an insane 3-pointer, and Brazil’s players had to get her autograph. We’re truly witnessing history over here.

🎯 In overtime:

• Eberechi Eze, a Premier League footballer, helped his team reach the final of a tournament, won a celebrity chess tournament, then went back to football and scored in the league's next match.

• Every single horse running in this year’s Kentucky Derby is a direct descendant of the famous horse Secretariat. Bro’s been busy since retirement.

📊 Analyst’s Corner:

• The sports sponsorship market has grown tremendously over the past few years and is poised for a $160 billion surge by 2030

• This generation of fans (aged 18 to 34) is 1.4 times more likely to attend live sports and is less price-sensitive than older generations.

🏆 Sports Calendar

Here’s a look at the ongoing and upcoming sports events this week: (We’re trying out new formats to incorporate more sports, let us know if this one is better or worse!)