England’s Nick Brett Makes Insane Shot at World Indoor Bowls Championship

In Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Prepare to be amazed by the thrilling action of carpet bowling, Zion Williamson announces his arrival in a big way and more.

I don’t know what sport this is, but this is incredible

Before last night, I had never heard of indoor bowls (also known as carpet bowling). That’s not terribly surprising, considering this is what the crowd at the world championships looks like. 

BBC Sport

But let me tell you, after seeing the shot from England’s Nick Brett this week, I have all the respect in the world for these athletes in their silly shirts. 

Brett and partner, Greg Harlow, faced Alex Marshall and Paul Foster in the open pairs final at the World Indoor Bowls Championships on Monday. In the seventh end of the first game (the rules appear to be like a mix of curling and bocce), Harlow informed Brett that he had a space of “about six inches” between two balls to squeeze his shot through and get close to the jack (the target). 

Brett rolled the ball down the mat in a big, sweeping curve that managed to take a path directly through the narrow space between the other team’s two balls. All the septuagenarians in the stands went nuts. 

The first time I saw the video I was even more impressed, because I thought Brett had to make the ball spin to get it to curve like that. After doing some research (including watching a legendary but very uncharismatic carpet bowler instruct some teens on a VHS tape from the '90s) I learned that the balls are designed to curve due to their shape. But still, Brett had to correctly calculate the precise trajectory of the curve that would take it through that tiny sliver of space. I don’t know how he did it. 

Zion lived up to the hype

Of course Zion Williamson actually did something interesting after I went to bed. 

The 2019 No. 1 pick scored just two points and played just eight minutes in the first half of his NBA debut against the Spurs on Wednesday night. 

But then he caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points in a span of about three minutes. 

His four three-pointers during that stretch were more than he ever had in a game during his one year at Duke.

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Holy crap, he just snatched that!

Them: You can't get a steal & a block on the same play.

Jaren: #GrzNxtGen pic.twitter.com/fDrnM72uHN

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 23, 2020

He knew exactly what was coming

Nothing wrong with giving an official a heads up on what’s coming so they know what to look for.
https://t.co/8pTNK4lWqz

— Sage Rosenfels (@SageRosenfels18) January 22, 2020

When Jeter got the call

A phone call 25 years in the making. pic.twitter.com/hy5cfeuCAr

— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) January 22, 2020

Agreed, Derek

Walker: “This is way better than that Spongebob shirt from yesterday”

Jeter: “No, it’s really not.” pic.twitter.com/MZb47fkQGD

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 22, 2020

I was 10 when that happened, but still

if you wanna feel old, this is the young man j.t. scooped up at the plate in the 2002 world series. https://t.co/pMZJlFm32j

— bomani (@bomani_jones) January 23, 2020

The Raiders officially changed their name

Introducing your Las Vegas Raiders. #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/nctLjrdfbi

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) January 22, 2020

This guy isn’t human

Justin Tucker casually nailing 70 yarders 😮 @jtuck9 pic.twitter.com/gZPPXKVj8b

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 22, 2020

Pretty creative

Yes, this is, so far, my FAVE Mahomes-inspired Superbowl thingy -- a cake from a local bakery. #SuperBowl2020 pic.twitter.com/e6BtonvLxA

— PeggyLowe (@peggyllowe) January 22, 2020

Not sports

A German company is making gin-and-tonic-flavored yogurt. ... Somebody stole 92 beehives from a farm in California. 

That’s a big pizza

A 338-foot-long pizza made by an Italian restaurant in Australia raised funds for firefighters battling bushfires. It took four hours to prepare and yielded 4,000 slices https://t.co/2BBKwoBmfU pic.twitter.com/0j5PU8FzOF

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2020

The BBC weatherman had a lot of fun with Florida’s falling iguanas

It's so cold, the iguana's are falling out of the trees in Miami... pic.twitter.com/YSYazSbzfW

— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) January 22, 2020

The aftermath

This iguana waking up after going dormant during the cold spell in Florida is WILD.

(Via @fguzmanon7) pic.twitter.com/XfsbhoS1oE

— Liam Martin (@LiamFromBoston) January 22, 2020

Will Ferrell looks back on his time on SNL

A good song

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