Hello and welcome to the sports edition! This year delivered plenty of unexpected sports stories, from a Canada goose making herself at home at Wrigley Field to the World Cup introducing its first half-time show. We were also thrilled to see that interest in women's athletics is still going strong — as are the sports bars showcasing their talent. Read more on that below, preferably with a game on in the background.
Sports
Best Seat in the House: A Canada Goose Nested in the Bleachers at Wrigley Field
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
You never know what you might see at a baseball game — a proposal, a grand slam, or a gaggle of "geesekeepers" protecting a bird nesting in the stands. If you can believe it, the latter went down at Wrigley Field in April. During the Chicago Cubs' game against the San Diego Padres, a Canada goose was spotted nestled in greenery boxes around the stadium's outfield bleachers (as you can see in this photo). The team stepped up to the plate to keep the goose safe, blocking off dozens of bleacher seats, adding signs, and designating staff to keep guard of the new fan. "At the Friendly Confines, we truly mean it when we say everyone's welcome, including the goose and her nest who took up residence in the bleachers," Cubs Senior Director of Communications Jennifer Martinez said in a statement to the Associated Press. She added: "Protecting our fans, and our feathered guest, is our top priority." The goose flew off a few days later, but not before fans had a chance to name her — some went with Suzuki, in honor of designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, while others dubbed the bird Pete Goose-Armstrong (PGA for short), as a reference to outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Though there's no word on where she is now, the Cubs community knows there's a good luck charm flying around out there — and who knows, maybe she'll make her way back to the ballpark next season.
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This Gym Teacher Invented Basketball on a Challenge by His Boss
Bettmann/Getty Images
Long before LeBron James was shooting hoops on the world's stage, another James was the biggest name in basketball — though folks today may not know it. In the winter of 1891, James Naismith was a graduate student and P.E. instructor at Massachusetts' Springfield College, where students forced to take gym class inside were growing restless. "There was no indoor game that would invoke the enthusiasm of football or baseball," Naismith later wrote. So his boss put the 30-year-old in charge of coming up with one. He thought long and hard, tried a few things and failed, and, finally, had a lightbulb moment. "I can still recall how I snapped my fingers and shouted, 'I've got it!'" Naismith recounted. Read the full story and see the original typewritten rules he hung in the school gym.
Sports
"We Need Them All Over": Women's Sports Bars Set to Quadruple in the US This Year
Amanda Loman/Getty Images
Was 2025 the year of women's sports bars? At the start of this year, there were six watering holes in the U.S. dedicated to playing women's sports on the TVs — but that number was expected to quadruple by the end of the year, NBC News reported back in March. By then, 17 such venues had opened or planned to in the near future. The locations range from big cities like New York and San Francisco to smaller spots like Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The boom aligns with the recent uptick in interest in women's college and professional sports, and many of the new bar owners cite Portland, Oregon's Sports Bra as an inspiration. The bar, opened by Jenny Nguyen in 2022, is believed to be the first women's sports bar in the country and is known for its welcoming environment. Molly Huyck is seeking to re-create that inclusive feel with SET the Bar in Omaha, Nebraska, which opened in March. "I'm super excited to have a sports bar that feels good and a place where everyone's welcome," Huyck told NBC. The more women's sports bars the merrier, added Annie Weaver, who opened The 99ers Sports Bar in Denver in December 2024. "We need them all over the United States. They need to exist everywhere. Everybody deserves to have a space like this."
Sports
The World Cup Is Getting Its First-Ever Halftime Show
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Halftime shows have long been associated with American football — and soon, that will also be the case for the other football. In March, FIFA announced that for the first time, the 2026 Men's World Cup will feature its own Super Bowl-style halftime show. "This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world," FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram, using the hashtag #FootballUnitesTheWorld. The final match of the tournament, set to be hosted at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, is still over six months away. But Infantino peeled back the curtain a bit, sharing that the show will be held in association with the advocacy group Global Citizen and that Coldplay will help put together a list of artists. Whether or not front man Chris Martin will take the stage is still TBD. Also TBD: if the show will be allowed to exceed the 15-minute timeframe for halftime breaks outlined in the International Football Association Board rules. Let the countdown to July 19 begin!
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