
I Dig Sports
Ali Price says Scotland players must show more desire for World Cup

Scotland's players must question how much they want to go to the World Cup after the "big wake-up call" of defeat by France, says scrum-half Ali Price.
Several players damaged their hopes of making Gregor Townsend's final squad of 31 as the Scots produced a dire performance to go down 32-3 in Nice.
The sides meet at Murrayfield on Saturday, and Price wants more desire.
"You have to realise who you are representing and ask how much do you want this," said Price.
"How much do you want to represent your country at a World Cup? Not many people get to do it and I feel like when your backs are against the wall a bit it's hard to remember that. You need to scrap and fight for everything.
"Defence is a mindset more than anything, you need to want to hit someone, want to put your body in front of someone. We just lacked a bit."
After falling 7-0 behind with just two minutes on the clock, the Scots never looked capable of finding a way back into the game.
Price admits the team have been guilty of rolling over in games when the going gets tough, such as the 27-10 Six Nations defeat by the same opposition in Paris back in February.
But he believes they can recover to build some confidence before the World Cup opener against Ireland on 22 September.
"We've come back from games like this before and we're at home next week in front of our own fans," said the Glasgow Warrior.
"We get another shot at France and then we roll into two Georgia games and try and gather some momentum.
"It's a wake-up call that we're not just going to roll into this World Cup and get us far as we want. We've got to want it and other teams have been working just as hard as us. There's lots to look at."
'It's a psychological barrier' - analysis
Scotland hooker Fraser Brown on Sportsound
We've now played in big internationals away from home where we've performed, but we've played in a lot more games away from home where we haven't performed and just failed to turn up.
It is mental, it's a psychological barrier, and it is something we'll need to find a way to get over as a players' group, as a leaders' group. Within the players' group it's something we need to enforce within the group. To be honest, at the minute, I'm not sure how we do it. The best way to do it is by winning games away from home.

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Mat Williamson outlasted a lengthy storm and a stacked field to earn a $100,000 payday Saturday night at Orange County Fair Speedway.
The 160-lap big-block modified race celebrated Orange County Fair Speedway’s 100th anniversary and featured the top big-block modified stars from the Northeast.
A storm struck the track early in the feature, forcing a lengthy rain delay. Once racing resumed it proved to be Williamson’s night.
The driver from St. Catherines, Ontario, dominated most of the race, but found himself locked in a late-race battle with Anthony Perrego for the lead. Perrego was able to steal the lead away on lap 129, but Williamson would not be denied.
With 13 laps left Williamson returned the favor on Perrego, slipping past him to regain the lead he had held for most of the night. One back out front Williamson appeared to be in control until runner-up Stewart Friesen slapped the turn one wall to bring out the caution with three laps left.
The green would wave for a three-lap shootout, but Williamson refused to be intimidated. He inched away from the resurgent Friesen, getting to the checkered flag first to earn the $100,000 paycheck.
Friesen settled for second, followed by Matt Sheppard, Danny Johnson and Billy Decker.
The finish:
Mat Williamson, Stewart Friesen, Matt Sheppard, Danny Johnson, Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Justin Haers, Larry Wight, Chris Hile, Brian Krummel, Mike Mahaney, Anthony Perrego, Dillon Steuer, Mike Gular, Pete Britten, Pat Ward, Jerry Higbie, Marc Johnson, Jack Lehner, Jessica Friesen, Bob McGannon, Michael Storms, Gary Edwards, Tyler Boniface, Josh Hoenforst, Matt Hitchcock, Billy Pauch Jr., Brett Hearn, Erick Rudolph, Donnie Wilson, Jimmy Horton, Matt Janiak, Rich Eurich, Matt Hulsizer, Jackie Brown, Billy Pauch, Billy Dunn, Jeff Strunk, Craig Mitchell, Ryan Godown, Tim Fuller, Tyler Dippel, Tommy Meier.

ERIE, Pa. – Due to persistent rain over the last 24 hours around the Eriez Speedway area and a chance of more precipitation, track and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series officials have been forced to cancel Sunday’s events.
The World of Outlaws action resumes Thursday, Aug. 29 at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., before the two-day Battle at the Border event at Sharon Speedway on Aug. 30-31.


SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Logan Seavey claimed the General Tire Pole Award for Sunday’s ARCA Menards Series Allen Crowe 100 presented by Lucas Oil at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Seavey’s fast lap of 33.466 seconds at 107.572 mph was nearly a half second quicker than teammate and defending race winner Christian Eckes.
Seavey made his ARCA debut at Springfield last season, finishing fourth, and won in his second career start at DuQuoin two weeks later.
“The second groove is starting to come in,” Seavey said. “Hopefully we’ll get a little more water on the track and we can find a little more speed in the race. As the race goes on it will lose grip and we’ll have to tighten the car up as we go. We’ll need to keep the tires under it. It’s tricky to get your car good here.”
Eckes’ lap of 33.952 seconds at 106.032 mph was good enough to give him a front row starting position for this afternoon’s 100-mile feature event. Ty Gibbs was third, Illinois dirt late model veteran Ryan Unzicker was fourth and Corey Heim, who was fastest in practice, was fifth.
Joe Graf Jr., Carson Hocevar, Kelly Kovski, Michael Self and Travis Braden rounded out the top-10.

CONCORD, N.C. — SPEED SPORT means different things to different people.
Reading the columns in these pages, there is no denying it has fed people’s passion for motorsports for the past 85 years.
SPEED SPORT has been a living, breathing part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was a permanent fixture in my house growing up. My grandmother bought my dad’s subscription from the time he was a teenager, and when I was a little girl, it had a place of honor in our house.
As with many race fans of the 1970s and ’80s, America’s Motorsports Bible resided next to the toilet in neat stacks as a favorite bathroom reader. There was no internet or social media to keep you updated 24/7, so SPEED SPORT’s weekly arrival was a race fan’s lifeblood.
And for local racers like us, it was equally special as we scoured the pages for mention of our series, teams and friends. Several articles were clipped out and hung around my dad’s shop while I was growing up.
One in particular had a place of honor — the results from the fourth annual USAC vs. NCRA Challenge at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds in July 1986 when Rich Vogler wrecked our driver, Jon Johnson, on the very first lap. Vogler was escorted off the property after the race.
Shane Carson won the race for the NCRA masses. That story hung on the wall of our shop for years. And one of the first things I did as an employee of SPEED SPORT is look it up in the large bound volumes of all the old issues. Years later, I listened as Carson told my husband the story almost word for word the way my dad had told it to him. We still laugh about that today.
In 2000, when I took the job with SPEED SPORT, it may have been the proudest moment of my dad’s life. His little tomboy race fan was working for his favorite racing publication.
During the last 19 years, my life has become so intertwined with SPEED SPORT that it is more family than some of my blood relatives. I married the editor. I took a few years off from working for it, but lived vicariously through him. I watched with a little envy as they celebrated the 70th and 75th anniversaries without me at the design helm. I’m thankful to have been back behind the mouse for this issue and for every issue since SPEED SPORT’s relaunch in 2012.
We survived the pain and loss when the weekly SPEED SPORT ceased publication because it could not survive in the world of 24/7 instant news. While we mourned the loss of our main source of income, we grieved for the loss of history, of legacy, of our family.
And we accepted the worry, the work and the risk it took to the keep the brand alive and the faith to believe in the vision of Turn 3 Media to make it what it is today.
As with any family, I cuss it a lot. It isn’t always pretty as there are long nights and hard work. There are times when you wonder if it is worth all the trouble.
Sometimes it’s been a really, really good day celebrating your 13th wedding anniversary and a text arrives that ruins it because your husband has to write an obituary for his favorite sprint car driver. And you want to say, “To hell with it‚ I don’t want to do this anymore.” But you don’t — you ignore the tears in your eyes and the moisture in his, and start pulling photos to go with the story because that’s what you do.
Somewhere there are people getting the worst news of their life and it’s your job to provide dignity to their loved ones who’ve provided this sport with so much through the years. As much as we hate it, we take that part of the job seriously.
While there have been many of those moments through the years, there have been so many amazing happenings. And when you look at the scales, the good always outweighs the bad. SPEED SPORT has given me so much. It has brought so many amazing people into my life and taught me so much about the world.
It isn’t just a magazine to me — it is my family.
Mickelson makes it to Medinah after hotel catches fire

MEDINAH, Ill. – Phil Mickelson was allowed back into his hotel room and made it to Medinah Country Club roughly 40 minutes before his 11:52 a.m. ET tee time on Sunday.
Intense storms in the Chicago area that altered Sunday’s start at the BMW Championship threatened to end Mickelson’s 2018-19 season one round early.
Roughly 90 minutes before his tee time, Mickelson tweeted that lightning hit the top floor of his hotel, sparking a fire and leaving him unable to return to his room.
“I can’t get back into my room and may miss me tee times because I am without clubs and clothes,” he wrote.
Phil's brother and caddie, Tim Mickelson, told Golf Channel approximately 20 minutes later that Phil had been allowed back in his room and would make his tee time, albeit with an abbreviated warm-up.
Mickelson pulled into his parking spot at Medinah just before 11:15 a.m. ET and emerged from his car wearing flip flops. Like everyone else who's ever been late for a tee time, Mickelson put on his shoes and socks in the parking lot and then took a handful of swings with a training aid.
Mickelson estimated that he was locked out of his room for nearly 90 minutes, and attributed his eventual re-entry and subsequent arrival at Medinah to the power of social media. He then headed off to the practice area. Mickelson, who has become quite active on Twitter as of late, has nearly 418,000 followers.
The Eaglewood Resort and Spa, which sits next door to Medinah and has a dedicated gate to the BMW Championship for its guests, was the building struck by lightning.
Wyndham Championship winner J.T. Poston was staying at the same property. He was checking out of the hotel, but found that his car had been boxed in by emergency vehicles. He ended up walking onto Medinah through a spectator gate off the fifth hole, where a rules official picked him up and gave him a ride to the clubhouse.
About three minutes before he pulled into his parking spot, Mickelson thanked emergency officials and joked: "Turns out my clubs acted as a fire retardant. Lucky me."
But Mickelson did get burned on social media by Luke Donald, as he jabbed Phil in relation to their previous Twitter back-and-forth about greens books.
It was an eventful morning for Mickelson, but, according to his sister, he forget Rule No. 1: Let Mom know you're safe.
Mickelson went off the 10th tee with Brooks Koepka and Dylan Frittelli in the final round.
Poston walks to Medinah after hotel catches fire; 'It was wild'

MEDINAH, Ill. – It turns out Phil Mickelson wasn’t the only PGA Tour player whose routine was disrupted by a lightning strike and hotel fire ahead of the final round of the BMW Championship.
Like Mickelson, J.T. Poston is staying this week at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa, which sits less than a mile from tournament host Medinah Country Club. Poston was in the hotel at approximately 9:15 a.m. ET when lightning struck the roof, sparking a roof fire that led to an evacuation of the building.
A winner earlier this month at the Wyndham Championship, Poston was nearly en route to the course ahead of his 12:03 p.m. ET tee time when the evacuation process began. But with the hotel thrown into chaos, he encountered an unexpected problem.
“I couldn’t get to my car,” Poston said. “I was pretty much ready to go but I couldn’t get my car out of there because of all the fire trucks and stuff.”
Poston waited about 20 minutes for the scene to clear, and he tried to hitch a ride from caddie Aaron Flener who was staying at another nearby property. But he made little progress with the on-site traffic jam, and Flener was denied access to the area in his own car, leaving Poston with little choice but to get creative.
“I ended up walking over here,” Poston said. “Someone told me that there was a spectator gate over by 5 green. So I just headed that way and a rules official picked me up once I got through the gate.”
Poston started the final round in a tie for 24th at 8 under, and entering the week 36th in points he’ll need a strong finish to crack the top 30 and earn his first Tour Championship appearance.
“It was wild,” Poston said. “Definitely never had that happen before, especially before the final round of a tournament.”
Pieters (69) becomes first Czech Masters repeat champion

VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic -- Thomas Pieters shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to become the first golfer to win the Czech Masters for the second time, beating Adri Arnaus by one stroke.
Pieters took a three-shot lead after a birdie on the seventh only to bogey the eighth. The overnight leader added a birdie and a bogey on the back nine in the final round to finish on 19-under 269 for his fourth European Tour victory, and his first since the 2016 Made In Denmark tournament.
"I felt like I was in control today, almost the whole day and I kind of did my own thing," Pieters said.
He also won at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague in 2015 for his first Czech Masters title.
"I'm relieved. It's been a long time, it's been three years since I last won," the Belgian said. "It feels good to win again. I never doubted myself but it's just been a long road of not feeling that great with the golf swing. It feels good to get back on track again and get another win."
Arnaus birdied two of his last three holes to post a 69.
Seven strokes off the pace after the third round, defending champion Andrea Pavan of Italy shot a 7-under 65 for a 16-under 272 to tie for third with Sam Horsfield (68).
Matthias Schwab (70), Liam Johnston (70), Rikard Karlberg (72), Erik van Rooyen (71) and Hugo Leon (72) shared fifth, another two strokes back.
Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington closed on 284 after a 70.
Quotes of the week: Almost-missed tee times and firing back against the haters

From almost-missed tee times, firing back against criticism and playing with the President, take a look at this week's Top Quotes:
“It was wild. Definitely never had that happen before, especially before the final round of a tournament.” - J.T. Poston after the hotel he and Phil Mickelson were staying at caught fire the morning of the final round at the BMW Championship.
"Y'all can say whatever you want, but we're having a f---ing awesome time. So screw all y'all haters, no big deal. I still love you all, even though you hate me." - Bryson DeChambeau went on a rant on Snapchat following being the center of a slow-play firestorm.
“F— yeah, I’m interested.” - Caddie Hall of Famer, Joe LaCava, remembered the phone call he got from Tiger Woods when he asked him to be his caddie.
“I mean, I probably would say that I had the worst warmup I've ever had in my life [Thursday] morning. I didn't know what it was going to do. I didn't know how I was going to hit it.” - Justin Thomas said before he tied the course record with a 65 on Thursday at the BMW Championship. He went on to break that record on Saturday with a third-round 61.
“Either way, I'm going to Australia. It's just whether I'm going to be playing or not.” - Tiger Woods commented on his place on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
“One of the greatest days of my life! Thank you for a great day #potus #dad … You are the best!” - John Daly posted on Instagram after his round with President Donald Trump.
“It was a disconnect of old school and new school.” - Jason Day said after he parted ways with caddie Steve Williams after just two months.