I Dig Sports
MIAMI -- The Washington Nationals placed shortstop CJ Abrams on the 10-day injured list on Saturday because of a right hip flexor strain.
Abrams first experienced discomfort during the Nationals' home series against Arizona last week and it then flared up again on Friday, when Washington opened a road series in Miami. He was removed after the third inning and underwent an imaging test Saturday that confirmed the strain.
"I told him today to get this thing to calm down and get it right so it doesn't become a bigger issue," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said before Saturday's game. "In a week and a half, hopefully he'll be ready to go."
Abrams, 24, has four homers through his first 11 games this season.
"CJ wants to play every day," Martinez said. "He wasn't happy about it. But this was the second stint that it was bothering him. We're going to try to get him all healed up so it's something that he won't have to worry about for the rest of the year."
The Nationals recalled infielder Nasim Nunez from Triple-A Rochester in the corresponding move. Nunez was a Rule 5 selection last season, Nunez and appeared in 51 games for Washington. The 34-year-old, who was with the team in Spring Training in West Palm Beach, Florida last month, joins the active roster for the first time this year. In 10 games at Rochester, he hit .192 with three RBIs and five stolen bases.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO -- The White Sox placed outfielder Austin Slater on the 10-day injured list before Saturday's game against the Red Sox with a right meniscus tear and recalled outfielder Greg Jones from Triple-A Charlotte.
The move is retroactive to Friday, when Slater was set to start against the Red Sox but was scratched just before the first pitch.
White Sox manager Will Venable said Slater first sensed the knee injury warming up and wasn't sure if Slater would need surgery.
The White Sox signed the 32-year-old Slater in November. He is batting .250 with two doubles, one home run and one RBI in eight games.
Chicago was already depleted by injuries. Andrew Benintendi (left adductor), Mike Tauchman (right hamstring), Josh Rojas (fractured toe), Korey Lee (left ankle) and Fraser Ellard (right hamstring) also are on the IL.
Jones, 27, was batting .129 nine games with Charlotte.
NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees placed Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation Saturday, one day after he gave up five runs and got two outs in a rainy 9-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Stroman went to a hospital for tests on his left knee after throwing 46 pitches in the rain Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said Stroman said his knee was bothering him, and the Yankees announced the move about an hour before Saturday's scheduled first pitch.
Stroman is 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts after allowing a three-run homer to Jung Hoo Lee and a two-run double to LaMonte Wade Jr. in his shortest career start that was not interrupted by rain, though Boone said he was not sure whether the conditions caused the injury.
"I don't know, tough to say," Boone said before Saturday's game. "We haven't been in ideal conditions most of the start of the season here, and that affects everyone a little bit different.
"Stro has also been doing this a long time and pitched in these situations a lot before, so I'm sure that all plays a role."
The Yankees recalled pitcher Allan Winans from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to replace Stroman on the roster.
Winans had a 5.02 ERA in five spring training appearances and pitched 2 innings in his lone appearance with Triple-A.
Winans made his major league debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2023 and was 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA in eight starts over the previous two seasons.
The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Braves on Jan. 23, designated him for assignment on Feb. 5 and invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee two days later.
Entering Saturday, New York had lost four of five following a 6-2 start and its starting rotation had a 5.46 ERA, worst among the 30 teams. The Yankees went on to beat the Giants 8-4 as Will Warren gave up two hits and two runs while recording six strikeouts in a five-inning start.
Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to rejoin the Yankees on Tuesday or Wednesday after recovering from right rotator cuff tendinitis that has sidelined him since spring training.
Boone did not address who would be dropped from the rotation, though Stroman's injury creates an easier decision.
"I'm excited to get him back," Boone said. "He's turned into a really good pitcher in the league. So feel like he's in a really good spot, too."
Stroman turns 34 on May 1 and is in the second season of a two-year contract guaranteeing $37 million. The right-hander's deal includes a $16 million conditional player option for 2026 that could be exercised if he pitches in at least 140 innings this year.
He skipped the Yankees' first two spring training workouts at a time when he didn't have a projected rotation role behind Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Schmidt. He arrived on Valentine's Day, eight days ahead of the mandatory reporting date, and injuries to Cole, Gil and Schmidt created a need for him.
A two-time All-Star, Stroman hasn't pitched through the fifth inning this season and has a 2.04 WHIP.
Last season, Stroman was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) when he threw 154 innings, his most since 2021 with the New York Mets. Stroman struggled in the second half and did not appear in the postseason when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance since 2009.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Li-Ning Named Global Premier Partner of ITTF Mens and Womens World Cup Macao 2025
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is proud to announce Li-Ning Company (Li-Ning) as the Global Premier Partner of the ITTF Mens and Womens World Cup Macao 2025. As part of this strategic partnership, Li-Ning will provide comprehensive support and services, further strengthening its long-standing relationship with the global table tennis community.
All referees, ball kids, volunteers, and event staff will be outfitted in official Li-Ning apparel, showcasing the brands commitment to combining professionalism with performance and design. This collaboration continues Li-Nings contribution to enhancing the visual identity and operational excellence of ITTF events worldwide.
A globally recognised leader in sportswear and equipment, Li-Ning has been a steadfast supporter of table tennis, sponsoring some of the sports most successful national teams. As the Official Clothing partner of the ITTF, Li-Ning also designed and delivered specialised umpire and referee uniforms for table tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, further highlighting the brands pivotal role in supporting world-class sporting events.
The ITTF Mens and Womens World Cup Macao 2025 is set to bring the worlds best table tennis players together in what promises to be a thrilling week of sporting excellence and celebration.
'Better than Ireland' - Glasgow boss Smith hails dominant Leinster
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith hailed Leinster as the greatest club team he has ever seen after watching the Irish side end Warriors' Champions Cup hopes in devastating fashion.
The URC champions were completely outgunned as Leinster ran in eight tries in a 52-0 quarter-final victory in Dublin.
It followed a similar 62-0 destruction of Harlequins in the previous round and Smith says Leinster are simply operating on a different level from all their rivals.
And when asked if this Leinster side is better than anything he has witnessed in the club game, Smith told BBC Scotland: "Definitely, hands down.
"I've been coaching since 2007 in the Heineken Cup and hands down, it's by a long shot.
"Not just the fact they have the best players. Most of them have been in the number one seeded team for a long period. They've played more than one World Cup.
"They come back and they play together at the club. You can see that. They've been kept together for a long time.
"A lot of money has been spent. Do they play better than Ireland? Yes, I think so.
"If you replace Bundee Aki with Jordie Barrett and you have the likes of RG Snyman in there and Rabah Slimani, there's some good foreigners that's added value when they are still developing young Irish players.
"I think if you look at Bordeaux and Toulouse, they are also teams that have some big hitters. From a financial perspective, it is tough to compete with that budget."
142 unanswered points - who can stop Leinster in Europe?
The game in Dublin was effectively over after 25 minutes, and questions turned to if Leinster could 'nil' a team for the second time in a week.
It wasn't just a yes, but a resounding one. Even in the 79th minute, 52 points and eight tries to the good, the blitz defence was racing up on the Glasgow line like it was the second minute.
As head coach Cullen said: "This group is hungry and motivated and that's what we want to see".
Spearheaded by the impressive Sam Prendergast, Leinster will now face either Northampton or Castres in the semi-finals, and on the evidence of the last two weeks they will be favourites to reach the final.
However, there is one lingering question over Leinster - and that's the ability in the biggest moments.
It's strange to say it for a team littered with Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand internationals, but their trophy 'drought' stretches back four years.
They have lost the last three European finals, and haven't even lifted the domestic United Rugby Championship title in that time.
That could cause natural worry as another potential decider looms ever-closer, but former Leinster and Ireland fly-half Ian Madigan says "this year feels different".
England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Harrison, Hunt; Botterman, Atkin-Davies, Muir, Talling, Ward, Aldcroft (capt), Kabeya, Matthews.
Replacements: Cokayne, Clifford, Bern, Galligan, Feaunati, L Packer, Aitchison, Rowland.
Ireland: Flood; McGann, Dalton, Higgins, Costigan (capt); O'Brien, Lane; O'Dowd, Jones, Djougang; Tuite, Wall; Hogan, King, Wafer.
Replacements: Moloney, McCarthy, Haney, Campbell, Moore, Reilly, Fowles, Elmes Kinlan.
Referee: Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (fra)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (sco)
Vasser Sullivan Team Continues Long Beach Domination
LONG BEACH, Calif. Vasser Sullivan Racings recent run of success at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach continued when Parker Thompson planted the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 on the Grand Touring Daytona pole for the third round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The Vasser Sullivan squad boasts a back-to-back winning streak at Long Beach, with Ben Barnicoat and Parker Thompson having scored a win here in GTD last year after Jack Hawksworth and Barnicoat took the GTD PRO victory in 2023.
Its also the teams third straight Long Beach pole in either GTD PRO or GTD; no IMSA GT team has done so at Long Beach since Corvette Racing did so from 2007 to 2009 in the former American Le Mans Series GT1 class.
It was Thompsons turn to shine again today as he out-fought Jonny Edgar (No. 177 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R) and Tom Gamble (No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO) by the thinnest of margins to earn the inside of the front row for tomorrows 100-minute race.
Consider that Thompson toured the 11-turn, 1.968-mile street circuit in 1 minute 17.877 seconds (90.974 mph), 0.06 of a second faster than Edgar and 0.062 quicker than Gamble. Manny Franco was fourth, just 0.291 of a second off, in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.
We put a lot of importance on qualifying today, said Thompson, who will share the car with Hawksworth on Saturday. Obviously the Grand Prix of Long Beach is very exciting with close walls. The racing tends to be exciting when it comes to the pit stops. Its tough to pass around here and track position is almost everything.
The way these weekends are laid out, you never know what youre going to get in qualifying, he continued. Youve got IndyCars on the same weekend putting down rubber, youve got Stadium Super Trucks and other cars out there. I thought that the field would have collectively went faster, although it was very tight. But Im happy to be up here.
Thompson attributes Vasser Sulllivans success here both to the team and to the Lexus RC F GT3s affinity to the streets of Long Beach, and believes the team is the best in GTD beyond just Long Beach.
Our preparation always seems to be rewarded here, he says. Particularly in California, Jimmy Vasser was a resident here and that always helps. Hes had a lot of success here and his team has a lot of success too.
Our Lexus RC F just seems to love Long Beach. I think I speak for most front-engined cars but its interesting to see Rexy (the No. 177 AO Porsche) up there thats obviously is about as rear-engined as it gets. But all the front-engined cars have had a lot of success around Long Beach. So kudos to IMSA for making it tight. I was definitely sweating. It looks like theyve figured things out Balance of Performance-wise as theyve got a rear-engined car behind a front-engined car which is no easy task.
Speaking of thin margins, all told seven drivers posted times within a half second of Thompsons pole winning lap, although the seventh fastest qualifier Robert Wickens forfeited his fastest lap (1:18.239) as the result of causing a red flag in the afternoon practice session.
Wickens, making his first WeatherTech Championship start since 2017 and his GTD class debut in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with hand controls featuring the Bosch electronic braking system, had to rely on his second fastest lap of the session a 1:18.411.
The penalty slots Wickens into eighth spot on the grid with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, the No. 89 Vasser Sullivan Lexus and the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO between the DXDT Vette and Francos fourth placed Ferrari.
LONG BEACH, Calif. Three classic American circuits. Three Motul Pole Awards for Dries Vanthoor and BMW M Team RLL. It has been a clean sweep of Grand Touring Prototype class qualifying for the duo so far in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
Vanthoor, a 26-year-old Belgian who is considered a rising star in international sports car racing, earned the GTP and overall pole position for Saturdays edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the events 50th year. Vanthoor and the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were also the fastest qualifier at the first two WeatherTech Championship races of the season the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Daytona Intl Speedways banked oval/road course hybrid, the bumpy Sebring airfield circuit, and the 1.968-mile Long Beach temporary street course have little in common, demonstrating the diversity of the WeatherTech Championship.
Yet Vanthoor and the BMW have been the fastest combination over one lap everywhere IMSA has visited this year for his first three career poles.
The challenge for Vanthoor and his co-driver Philipp Eng along with BMW M Team RLL drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann, who qualified the No. 25 BMW on the outside front row is to translate that single lap Friday speed into a Saturday race victory. Their best result this year is fourth place at the Rolex 24.
Big thanks to the team and BMW for giving us a great car to start the weekend here, said Vanthoor, whose posted a fast lap of 1:11.539 (99.034 mph) around the tight 11-corner Long Beach layout. Its the third time, but now I think its finally time to also finish it off. We didnt capitalize yet and bring a victory home.
Its been fun, but I think a race win is going to be a little more rewarding.
BMW ran first and second in both Friday practice sessions at Long Beach, with van der Linde in the No. 25 car fastest in the 60-minute opener before Vanthoor took over at the front in 90 minutes of warmer afternoon conditions.
In the 15-minute qualifying period, Vanthoor was 0.25 seconds faster than van der Linde, whose best time was clocked at 1:11.789.
Nick Tandy, in the championship points-leading No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 he shares with Felipe Nasr, was the only other driver to break 1:12 with a 1:11.989. Mathieu Jaminet, the 2023 Long Beach GTP race winner, locked up the second row for Porsche for Saturdays 100-minute sprint by qualifying the No. 6 Porsche 963 co-driven by Matt Campbell fourth.
With two Acuras in fifth and sixth and two Cadillacs in seventh and eighth, its a two-by-two Noahs Ark type of grid by manufacturers in the first eight of 11 spots.
But the key story Friday was BMWs continued dominance of qualifying in 2025. BMW M Team RLL ended the 2024 season strongly with a 1-2 finish at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the penultimate round of the WeatherTech Championship season. Improvements to the cars electronic braking, a function of the hybrid power components used in the GTP class, have fueled BMWs impressive recent single-lap speed.
Vanthoor is a veteran in the FIA World Endurance Championship but this is his first full season in IMSA. Hes a longtime BMW factory driver in GT-class competition who made the step up to prototype competition for BMW in WEC in 2024.
Ive always been reasonably okay adapting to new tracks and different circumstances, going back to my GT days, Vanthoor remarked. Thats something that helped me out here. Simulators help you get a feel for how the track is, the kind of flow you get with the braking and the gear shifts. But its not copy/paste, not a one-to-one comparison to real life.
Its all going in the right way, and it shows the car is fast, but now we want more, he added. We need to make sure we do a clean race myself and as a team and capitalize on those pole positions. You can be on pole position for every race, but if you dont get the win, nobody is really going to be happy.
Chandler Smith Holds Off Larson For Big Bristol Check
BRISTOL, Tenn. After charging into the lead in Friday nights Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chandler Smiths work was far from over.
The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford then had to hold off NASCAR Cup Series moonlighter Kyle Larson over a seven-lap dash to the finish to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season, his second at the 0.533-mile short track and the sixth of his career.
Smith also won the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus that goes to the highest-finishing Truck Series regular.
Smiths victory by 0.934 seconds over Larson ended the latters quest for a weekend sweep of NASCARs three national series races.
Even though Larson had 27-lap fresher tires than the race winner for a restart on Lap 244 of 250, he could do no better than second.
Im more excited for the team than I am for myself, said Smith, whose tenure in No. 38 F-150 came in an 11th-hour deal at seasons end. This group came togetherwe hired my crew chief (Jon Leonard) two weeks before Daytona
My lifes been really, really crazy recently, and there were a lot of unknowns about my future going into the season, and we kind of had our backs against the wall putting this group together like I said. But holy (crap), I wouldnt want any different of a group than I had behind me.
Smith grabbed the lead from eventual third-place finisher Corey Heim just before a caution flag flew on Lap 237 for Andres Perezs spin on the backstretch. That gave Smith control of the race for the final restart, and he promptly asserted himself from the top lane.
After overcoming a tight handling condition in the second stage and a pit road speeding penalty at the stage break, Larson took the green flag behind Smith on Lap 243 and quickly passed Heim for second, but the driver of the No. 07 Spire Motorsports couldnt catch Smith, despite trying different lines around the concrete oval.
We fell back on that long run in the second stagegot super tight, said Larson, who pitted on Lap 162 for fresh rubber after putting 27 laps on the tires he got on Lap 135 during the stage break. Then I sped on pit road, but on that next stop, I think that probably helped us
We had a little bit of an advantage to get toward the front. I thought it would be more of an advantage than it was. But still, I think it was a benefit to our race Still, to get to second is good.
The second-place finish was not good enough to keep Larsons hope of the weekend sweep alive, however, hell have two more chances at victory this weekend with Saturdays NASCAR Xfinity Series race and Sundays NASCAR Cup Series race.
Tyler Ankrum ran fourth, followed by Ben Rhodes. Bayley Currey picked up the first stage win of his career in Stage 2 before falling out with transmission trouble 13 laps from the finish.
Smith led twice for a race-high 127 laps, followed by Rajah Caruth, who was out front for 85 circuits on a contrary tire strategy.
Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was eliminated in a Lap 53 crash involving Frankie Muniz, Stewart Friesen and Brandon Jones.
Heim leads Smith by 18 points in the series standings, with Majeski 57 points back in third.
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