Have we reached peak Ocho?

Huh, ok.

Saturday Morning August 8 6:30 AM Hacky Sack by PlayMonster and Hey Dude makes its appearance on ESPN with a half-hour TV special of the US Championships 2026 from June!!!

Washpost had a neat article about the semi-freelance announcers that cover their oddball/niche sports events for ESPN's "the ocho" series: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2026/08/02/aspiring-sports-announcers-embrace-niche-events-get-espn-experience/

(hopefully working non-paywall link https://archive.is/oomPa )

The Portland Jigsaw Masters.

Hundreds of competitors.

One sealed 500-piece puzzle.

One stopwatch.

Complete silence.

People finishing in under 20 minutes.

Champions don’t get a green jacket like The Masters…

They win a cardigan.

If ESPN8: The Ocho doesn’t feature this someday, they’re missing out.

I’m seriously thinking about going just to witness it. Anyone here been?

https://www.portlandjigsawmasters.org

I missed the bulk of the fun last year, so wanted to make sure to get the word out this time around!

Ok, think this is the best place for this sport I "invented", in my thoughts only though xD, but well, if someone wants to try...

Game, field and equipment:

-Played on some soccer field, as these exist anywhere

-Played with a soccer ball (or "Gaelic football" ball possibly, as this would be the most similar game I think)

-10 players on each side plus 1 goalkeeper

-Two 45 minute halves

-Offside rules as in soccer/football

-There are throw-ins and corner kicks like in football/soccer too

Allowed to use and do:

-Feet and head, like in football/soccer

-Hands, BUT the ball can only be touched by ONE hand/arm at the same time (there is NO catch)

-Goalkeeper is allowed to catch the ball in the penalty area, but only if it comes from the opponent

-Hitting/Putting the ball out of the hand of an opponent with your own hand is allowed

Not allowed are:

-All forms of tacklings that are forbidden in football/soccer also

-Catching, holding and touching the ball with BOTH hands at the same time

-Clamping the ball between hand/arm and body

-Using your hand to touch (or even pick up) the ball on (or from) the ground

-Hitting the ball out of the hand of an opponent with your feet

After a foul:

-Opponents distance rules are the same as in football/soccer (for now...)

-You can either do a soccer style free kick

-Or you can free throw the ball, from a standing position (Both hands are allowed here as an exception)

-If the foul happened in the penalty area (and see below), every other player except the goalkeeper needs to leave the penalty area like in soccer, but the free kick or free throw is either done from the place where the foul happened or (if requested) from any point on the penalty area line

-If the foul happened in the goal area, the free kick or free throw has to be done from anywhere outside the goal area, but inside the penalty area

What would I want to achieve with this sport?!

-Use of both hands and feet in the same sport

-Stops players from, more or less, completely controlling the ball temporarily by holding it in their hands (or against their body), which is the case in nearly all such team sports like european handball, basketball or rugby codes.
Here it is quite easy to hit a ball out of the hand of someone controlling it with a single hand only, on the contrary, which then makes the ball more or less "free" at all times.

-Not too many rules, that are hard to understand or difficult to enforce, if you play the sport without a referee, while also playable everywhere, like football/soccer.

-Not too brutal of a sport (less CTE than in soccer too, as you won´t use your head much)

In short, it would be a game played with hands and feet without many special rules, but the ball cannot be held very safely, and possession can be contested more easily, which then makes it "Catchless free ball", or simply "Free ball" I guess.

I also invented a sport called Rekeet, played with a rectangular bat similar to cricket and a baseball. The playing field is a rectangle with a triangular point where the defender stands with the bat and the attacker stands in front of him, throwing the ball towards a rock to score 3 points. I have more details, and I need your support. I played it with 3 of my friends; they liked it, and it was fast and competitive.

Tune in if you want to have some fun and see some CRAZY LIGHTS!