Russ Bray: I only made £12k a year from my darts app — then Luke Littler came along
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Hamilton Spectator
12-06-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Retired autoworker (Gentleman) Jim Long loving life on the professional darts tour
(Gentleman) Jim Long has been a man in motion since winning his Professional Darts Corporation tour card in January. The retired autoworker from London, Ont., headed to Europe with wife Rhonda on Feb. 6 to compete. The initial plan was to come home March 3 but he had to delay their return after qualifying for a European tour event scheduled for March 7 in Belgium. They didn't get home until March 28. 'I couldn't tell you how many trains I took,' Long said of the trip that took them to England, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Long, 57, returned to Europe seven days after coming home. This time he went solo since Rhonda, his partner since 1989 and mother of their three kids, couldn't face another transatlantic trip so soon. He spent three weeks on tour by himself. There was one more five-day trip to Europe before Long, Rhonda and son Zach left for Germany on Monday for the 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts, which runs through Sunday in Frankfurt. Long and Hamilton's Matt (Ginjaninja) Campbell, who earned his tour card in 2022, lost their opening match 4-1 to Malaysia's Tengku Shah and Tan Jenn Ming on Thursday. Tenth-seeded Canada continues Group F play Friday against Denmark at the Eissporthalle Frankfurt, home of the Löwen Frankfurt hockey team. Forty countries are competing with the top four seeds — defending champion England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — given a bye to the second round where they will be joined by the 12 group winners. The tournament offers 450,000 pounds ($832,900) in prize money, ranging from 4,000 pounds ($7,405) for the team that finishes last in its opening-round group to 80,000 pounds ($148,075) for the winning duo. It's Long's second trip to the World Cup of Darts. He competed with Dawson Murschell in 2019, making the quarterfinals in Hamburg after upsetting fifth-seeded Australia. Long and Campbell are good friends. Before Campbell, a former welder, turned pro, he and Long would meet up twice a month 'to sharpen each other up and play.' Long is loving life on tour, although the travel, jet lag and logistics have proved challenging. 'I'm having the best time. Fun doesn't quite cover it even,' he said in an interview. 'The travel is exhausting … But the excitement of playing and walking into the venue with 127 other professional darts players, the guys that I watched on TV and I continue to watch on TV now, it's still exhilarating for me. 'The guys are friendly. You'd be surprised, the top guys, they're just friendly and they'll talk to you just like you're one of the group.' World No. 14 Peter (Snakebite) Wright, a two-time world champion known for his colourful Mohawk, had him stay over during one of his trips. 'When I get home I'm usually thinking when do I get to go back?' said Long. He calls it the 'perfect retirement plan.' Long's goal is to enjoy the experience — and hopefully break even on his travels. 'I found that so far I'm not playing as good as I'd like but I'm winning matches … I've done OK money-wise,' he said. 'The first trip over I lost money, of course, but the next two I've actually made some money which has been kind of nice.' His best result so far was reaching the final 16 at an event in Germany before losing to No. 34 Brendan (The History-Maker) Dolan. Long, who has won his first-matches about half the time, acknowledges he has been putting pressure on himself to do well. 'I just want to show I belong,' he said. Long demonstrated that at Q-School where more 870 entries competed for 29 tour cards. He became the seventh Canadian to earn one, following Campbell, Murschell, John Part, Jeff Smith, John Norman Jr., and Ken MacNeil. The tour card lasts for two years and earns him admission to 50-plus events in a year. Long said the first thing he did when he got the competition schedule was to take down his fridge calendar to start planning his itinerary. 'It's a little overwhelming to be honest,' said Long, who does his own travel arrangements. Competitors who finish in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit get to retain their tour card after the initial two-year period. Long is currently ranked 108th while Campbell is No. 53. Long worked for General Motors from 1990 to 2020, working on the Chevrolet Equinox. He was a team leader on the assembly line for 18 years before finishing his career there in the paint shop. He got into darts after high school. He used to play pool at a local tavern in Wardsville after work and was invited to play darts one day when they were a man short. Long has twice competed at the PDC World Darts Championship. In 2018, he upset Northern Ireland's Mickey (The Clonoe Cyclone) Mansell in the first round before falling to Dutch pro Benito van de Pas, the 30th seed. Long, listed as a 2,500/1 longshot in the 96-player field at London's Alexandra Palace, earned 25,000 pounds ($46,285) as a second-round loser, more than enough to cover his expenses. He lost to England's James (Hillbilly) Hurrell in the first round in December 2024. After he competed at Alexandra Palace the first time, he got a Facebook friend request from a 12-year-old Luke Littler. Now 18, Littler is ranked second on the PFC Order of Merit and won the PDC World Championship in January. Long didn't have to wait long to face Littler, whose nickname is The Nuke. The two were paired up in the first outing of Long's first competition after winning his tour card. Long was up 3-0 and 4-2 but eventually lost 6-4 to the teenage sensation who recorded three straight 100-plus checkouts en route to the win. —- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
Irish Daily Star
28-04-2025
- Irish Daily Star
Why Jalen Hurts and other Eagles players are not attending White House
Jalen Hurts and several other members of the Philadelphia Eagles ' Super Bowl -winning team are set to shun President Donald Trump 's invite to the White House due to 'scheduling conflicts.' For some time, it has been a tradition for U.S. sports teams to visit the White House to celebrate their championship victories in their respective leagues. Earlier this month, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to D.C . to mark their World Series triumph, and the Eagles are set to follow suit . Back in February, the Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at the Superdome. Philadelphia crushed Kansas City with President Trump , who had predicted Patrick Mahomes and co. to emerge victorious, watching on although he left prematurely in the third quarter . Read More Related Articles Justin Thomas dismisses Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau theory after Masters drama Read More Related Articles Rory McIlroy to skip tournament for 'reset' after Shane Lowry title defense doesn't go to plan Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP thanks to his 221 passing yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a game-high 72 yards and a score. However, the 26-year-old will not be visiting the White House as part of the traditional visit to honor the Super Bowl champions. On Monday, a White House official confirmed Hurts will not visit the White House when the Eagles come to D.C. later in the day due to 'scheduling conflicts.' Hurts will be joined by several other prominent Eagles stars in not attending the trip to visit President Trump . The decision by Hurts and 'other prominent Eagles' players comes after Saquon Barkley lashed out at fans over the backlash he received for playing a round of golf with the controversial President. Barkley attempted to justify his decision later on social media, which led to further ridicule. Several players have already spoken out in opposition following the team's dominant win over the three-peat-chasing Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans in February with Trump in attendance. When TIME asked if he would be present, Hurts looked dismissively off-camera and refused to answer , seemingly making his feelings very clear about the upcoming event. Jalen Hurts recently refused to confirm if he'll visit Donald Trump at the White House with his Super Bowl-winning Eagles (Image: TIME) Hurts and several of his teammates' decision to avoid the White House emulates the 2018 Eagles team, who also didn't go to the White House after Trump revoked their invitation. Back in 2018, after the Eagles defeated Tom Brady 's New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the likes of Chris Long, Malcolm Jenkins, and Torrey Smith made it clear they did not want to attend after the NFL passed a rule that banned players from kneeling – or making any other protest gestures – during the national anthem. The Eagles' invite to the White House was ultimately revoked when the organization decided to send a smaller delegation to Washington D.C. for the event. Ahead of meeting with Trump following their second Lombardi Trophy win, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has already stated that players won't be forced to attend - including Hurts. 'Our culture is that these are optional things,' Lurie told reporters. 'If you want to enjoy this, come along and we'll have a great time and if you don't, it is totally an optional thing.' Lurie further further clarified the nature of the visit: 'This is really just an invitation from the White House. That's all this is, and we're not politicizing it in any way. Not for us.'
Irish Daily Star
25-04-2025
- Irish Daily Star
Jalen Hurts risks Donald Trump anger 7 years after White House visit was canceled
Jalen Hurts could emulate the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles and miss out on Donald Trump 's invite to the White House to celebrate the Super Bowl win. For some time, it has been a tradition for U.S. sports teams to visit the White House to celebrate championship victories in their respective leagues. Earlier this month, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to D.C. to mark their World Series triumph, and the Eagles are set to follow suit. However, the last time the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, Trump revoked their White House visit after several players expressed their unwillingness to attend following the NFL's decision to ban players from kneeling or making any other protest gestures during the national anthem. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt , the Eagles have 'enthusiastically accepted' the invite despite speculation over whether the Eagles would follow suit again . Read More Related Articles Rory McIlroy's stunning mansion with Erica Stoll pictured, golf course next door Read More Related Articles Rory McIlroy made trip to stunning new mansion while celebrating Masters win Several players have already spoken out in opposition following the team's dominant Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans in February with Trump in attendance. Hurts , however, has so far refused to confirm whether he will attend the White House on April 28 or not. When TIME asked if he would be present, Hurts looked dismissively off-camera and refused to answer, making his feelings very clear about the upcoming event. The quarterback is one of the most prominent Eagles players and is the face of the franchise, so his absence would be a blow. Back in 2018, after the Eagles defeated Tom Brady 's New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the likes of Chris Long, Malcolm Jenkins, and Torrey Smith made it clear they did not want to attend after the NFL passed a rule that banned players from kneeling – or making any other protest gestures – during the national anthem. The Eagles' invite to the White House was ultimately revoked when the organization decided to send a smaller delegation to Washington D.C. for the event after some players made clear they did not want to visit President Trump. Jalen Hurts refused to confirm if he'll visit Donald Trump at the White House with his Super Bowl-winning Eagles (Image: TIME) Now, Trump is set to share an awkward reunion with the NFC East franchise. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has already stated that players won't be forced to attend, including quarterback Hurts. 'Our culture is that these are optional things,' Lurie told reporters. 'If you want to enjoy this, come along and we'll have a great time and if you don't, it is totally an optional thing.' Lurie suggested times have changed in the seven years since, adding: 'There were special circumstances [in 2018] that were very different, and so this was kind of an obvious choice and [we] look forward to it. When you grow up and you hear about, 'Oh, the championship team got to go to the White House,' that's what this is. And so we didn't have that opportunity and now we do. I think we're all looking forward to it.' When Trump revoked the invitation to the Eagles, he labeled the players 'disrespectful' in a post that read: 'The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!'
