I Dig Sports
FLAT ROCK, Mich. – Frank Jiovani won the 50-lap ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model feature to open the season Saturday at Michigan’s Flat Rock Speedway.
Jiovani won the ARCA Moran Chevrolet Late Model feature over Craig Everage, Dennis Strickland, Jeff Vrsek and Steve Cronenwett Jr. A lap-47 incident between race leader Paul Pelletier and Justin Schroeder brought out the yellow, with both drivers going to the tail of the field.
Jiovani, who started 10th, took the point and zipped to the win. Chris Benson, Pelletier, Schroeder, rookie Connor Zbozien and Joe Hawes completed the top 10. Jiovani also set fast time at 11:666 seconds.
By lap eight of the ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock A Main, half of the 20-car field had ended their nights due to on-track incidents. Fast qualifier Greg Studt was in the lap four melee, which brought out the red flag. Studt pitted, while Clarity Patton, Jeff Metdepenningen and Kyle Worley retired for night with damage to their machines.
Studt, restarting 16th, went to the high side and slowly picked off car after car, grabbing the lead with four to go on his way to the win. Arnold Kirsch took second, rookie Ethan Stadniczuk, who also came from the tail and followed Studt’s tracks, used the high groove and got all the way to third at the stripe in a great drive.
It was all Billy Earley for 15 laps of the ARCA Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Figure 8 feature, but the race was 20 laps. Earley’s shut-off switch shut down the engine as the defending champ coasted off the Figure 8 course.
Dennis Whisman inherited the lead and scored the win. Whisman’s night started off on a sour note, as he broke something in qualifying and slammed the wall. The crew worked all the way to the feature to get him back out on the track.
Joe Vanderhoof was second, James Vanderhoof third, Dave Lambert fourth and Dennis Whisman Jr. fifth.
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KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Brian Brown is two-for-two this year at Knoxville Raceway.
The Grain Valley, Mo., driver passed Josh Schneiderman just past the halfway point of Saturday’s 410 sprint car feature and held on for his 46th career win. It was worth $4,000 aboard the Casey’s General Stores/FVP No. 21 on Budweiser Night.
Joe Beaver duked it out with fellow Knoxville native Jon Agan to win a 360 feature that saw five lead changes to win his first main event at Knoxville since 2016. Matthew Stelzer was dominant, leading wire to wire in the Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance feature.
Schneiderman shot out to an early lead ahead of Matt Juhl and Kerry Madsen in the 20-lap 410 sprint car main event. Madsen moved into second by lap four, while Brown slid into fourth. By lap six, Brown had gotten by Juhl for third, and he eked by Madsen on lap eight for second.
Up front, Schneiderman was strong on the cushion, but entered lapped traffic on lap nine. Brown shot by for the point, but the pass was negated when seventh running Justin Henderson flipped in turn two. He walked away. Schneiderman led Brown, Madsen, Juhl and Parker Price-Miller back to green.
Brown and Madsen were all over the tail tank of the leader. Brown threw a slider to take the point from Schneiderman on lap 11, with Madsen moving into second. Mark Dobmeier was running twelfth on lap twelve when he got the wrong end of a three-wide battle, and flipped in turn one. He walked away.
Brown led Madsen, Schneiderman, Juhl and Price-Miller back to green. Brown pulled away with some furious action behind him. Madsen crossed the stipe second, ahead of Juhl, a late charging Brooke Tatnell and Price-Miller.
“(Schneiderman) is a really good race driver,” said Brown in Victory Lane. “He’s just had some tough luck over the years here. That’s a family I really admire. They’ve been here a long time. I want him to win a race, just when I’m not here. My engine (lost a cylinder) with about eight laps to go. I’m proud of all of our guys. My grandpa George (Lasoski) is here, and he hasn’t been here in about three years to see me win. It’s awesome to have him back. It’s just a calming feeling to have him back in my pit.”
The 18-lap 360 feature may have been the race of the year to date. Joe Beaver led early from outside row one. Jon Agan was in second by lap two, working the low side of the big half-mile. He shot by Beaver on lap four to take the lead. Behind him, Clint Garner was taking third from Lee Grosz.
Beaver would not go away, and passed Agan briefly for the lead on lap six, but Agan kept his spot until heading into traffic on lap eight. Beaver hit the cushion to shoot around Agan, who was pinned behind a lapper. Agan freed himself and performed a big slide job on Beaver in turns one and two to take the lead back on the ninth circuit.
The pair dueled on. Beaver maintained his momentum on the top, and on lap 14, drove between Agan and the turn two wall to shoot back into the point. He would get through traffic from there to win his ninth feature here, and his first since his championship season of 2016. Garner took second with two to go, and Grosz claimed third on the last lap, ahead of Agan and Carson McCarl.
“He did the same thing on me,” said Beaver of his winning move on Agan. “He squeezed one through, and I thought, ‘The hell with this, we’re doing it too.’ I’m getting a little choked up here. What can I say about this thing? It was ripping around there. We spent a lot of time in the shop this week that we normally don’t. We found some things. It was fun! It was like going to Slideways (Karting Center) at two in the morning and giving it hell!”
Matthew Stelzer dominated the 12-lap Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance main event for the second straight time. It was his ninth career win here. Stelzer took the lead immediately from his starting spot outside row two. Brandon Worthington gave chase, ahead of Jeff Wilke and Chase Young.
A restart with four laps down, gave Young a chance to jump up to second place, while Evan Epperson also entered the top four. Worthington dueled with Young, using the bottom to regain second with five laps to go. A final caution came out for a spun Mayberry, but nothing was stopping Stelzer.
Stelzer’s victory came ahead of Worthington, Young, Epperson and Mike Ayers.
“I’m on a mission this this year,” said a determined Stelzer in Victory Lane. “We’ve got a lot of goals to accomplish this year, and we’re starting to knock them off. I don’t know how much time I have left in this car, and I have to make time with what I have.”
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The Tampa Bay Lightning were embarrassed in a first-round NHL playoff elimination this postseason, but they're still the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup in 2020.
The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas on Saturday opened the Lightning at 6-1 to win it all next season, the clear-cut favorite. The Lightning return nearly every player from a team that tied an NHL record with 62 wins in the regular season before being swept out of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a stunning upset.
Last summer, the Lightning were a 7-1 favorite to win the Cup, the shortest odds in the NHL.
The Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights were right behind them at 10-1. The Knights and Leafs were also eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the latter by the Bruins.
Among other 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifiers, the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche were at 14-1; the St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins were at 16-1; while the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators and Blue Jackets were at 20-1.
The shortest odds among non-playoff teams are the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers at 25-1. Both of those teams made high-profile coaching changes, with the Panthers hiring Joel Quenneville of the Blackhawks and the Flyers bringing on former New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.
Teams with the longest odds include the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings at 80-1. But the longest of the long shots are the lowly Ottawa Senators, who are a massive 300-1.
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The secret to Sergei Bobrovsky's playoff redemption tour
Published in
Hockey
Saturday, 04 May 2019 10:09
COLUMBUS -- When Blue Jackets winger Nick Foligno first arrived in Columbus in 2012, he instantly bonded with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
After every win, the team skated over to congratulate the goaltender. Usually guys tapped Bobrovsky on the helmet or shoulder. Foligno usually lurked by the end of the line and greeted Bobrovsky with both arms outstretched.
"When we were going on that run the first year, we missed the playoffs by a point ... every game just got bigger and bigger," Foligno says. "At first it was just a little hug, and then it just got bigger and bigger, because we kept winning and gave ourselves a chance."
Besides the one game the next season when Foligno forgot (and heard about it from Bobrovsky after), the two haven't missed a hug since. And over the past six years, Foligno, Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets organization have been through a lot. There have been highs of regular-season success (and many, many hugs) and lows of early playoff exits -- or no playoffs at all. Until this spring, the Blue Jackets hadn't made it past the first round in their 18 years of existence.
Bobrovsky, too, has wavered. He is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and unquestionably the greatest goaltender in franchise history. Yet the narrative surrounding Bobrovsky is one of a postseason bust. Between 2011 and 2018, Bobrovsky went 5-14 in the playoffs, with a 3.49 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bobrovsky allowed at least three goals in 79 percent of his postseason appearances in that span, by far the most of any goalie with at least 10 appearances.
This spring, though, it's been all warm and fuzzy in Columbus. Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets are rewriting the narrative, and it's been one big redemption tour.
"I'm not in his head, but I think it's obvious he was really motivated to have a strong playoffs," says Joonas Korpisalo, Bobrovsky's backup. "It doesn't matter what people think about him, he just wants to work hard for himself and the team. And he works harder and is more of a pro than any goalie I've ever seen."
Bobrovsky has been sensational for Columbus this postseason, going 6-2 with a 2.13 GAA and .933 save percentage. His narrative began shifting in the first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. During the regular season, opposing goaltenders posted a .878 save percentage against the Lightning. Bobrovsky's mark? .932.
He seemed even more locked in as the Blue Jackets kept winning; through the first three games of the Boston series, Bobrovsky limited the Bruins' top trio of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron to just one goal. The Bruins were left wondering how they could possibly get through.
"The secondary saves he is making are very impressive," Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo said. "But he's definitely going to crack at some point." (Bobrovsky would allow four goals in Game 4 -- which tied the series 2-2 -- but few, if any, were his fault.)
Bobrovsky's biggest area of improvement is in medium-danger chances. Natural Stat Trick ranked Bobrovsky 34th among goalies in the regular season with a medium-danger save percentage of .892. Through seven games in the playoffs, it was as high as .942.
"I see him every day for the last six years, and it doesn't surprise me," says teammate Boone Jenner. "He's just such a workhorse. Every day he comes in, and I get stoned in practice. This is him locked in."
In many ways, Bobrovsky is the avatar for the Blue Jackets, a team balancing a chip on one shoulder and the immense pressure to win on the other.
Bobrovsky, 30, becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and wanted to work out a long-term extension with the Blue Jackets earlier in the season. Columbus appreciated Bobrovsky but didn't want to pay him the money he felt he deserved. The sides were so far apart that they cut off talks.
That should weigh on Bobrovsky. Instead, it has brought out his best. As the wins keep piling up, Foligno -- now the team captain -- can't help but notice something different in Bobrovsky.
"The enjoyment factor is different this time," Foligno says. "He's laughing, joking, having a good time. He's loose, you know? He's enjoying this run and just playing the game free, and it's really working for him."
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The celebration began almost the moment Rory McIlroy arrived at Quail Hollow Club on Saturday with a birthday cake and a collection of presents.
The festivities continued onto the first tee when the crowd serenaded the freshly minted 30-year-old by singing “Happy Birthday” to the Northern Irishman. He completed his day in near darkness with a small group of fans offering another rendition.
In between the celebrations and well-wishes, McIlroy managed to remain in the hunt for his third victory at the Wells Fargo Championship with a third-round 68 that left him alone in fifth place at 9 under par, two shots off the lead.
“It's awesome. I'm really grateful,” McIlroy said. “I really felt the love out there. Celebrate another decade of my life and I get to do it on one of my favorite golf courses in the world, it's pretty cool.”
McIlroy won his first PGA Tour event in 2010 at Quail Hollow, two days before he turned 21, and he added his second title in 2015, when the event was played a week after his birthday.
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Lexi (69) steps back from social media and into contention
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 04 May 2019 14:25
DALY CITY, Calif. – Lexi Thompson made news before striking a shot this week at the Mediheal Championship.
She created a buzz announcing she was taking a step back from social media, handing over duties to her management team, in part to spare herself exposure to the trolls who live to antagonize with “harsh, hurtful” commentary.
She created a buzz again early on Saturday, this time on the course, with spectators watching her name shoot up the leaderboard.
She acknowledged that being off social media might be helping her this week.
“I think so,” Thompson said. “It makes me focus on my game a lot more.
“This week, I’ve hardly checked my phone, just to text my mom, or take a picture of my dog. I think it’s good for me, just to focus on my game.”
With Lake Merced Golf Club once again a brutish test, Thompson’s 3-under 69 amounted to a moving-day charge. She got herself in contention to try to make a run at her 11th LPGA title, her first this season. She vaulted from a tie for 21st to a tie for fourth, but thanks to Sei Young Kim’s brilliant back nine, Thompson finds herself six shots back.
At Lake Merced, however, six shots isn’t as daunting.
How tough is it playing?
So Yeon Ryu began the day with a one-shot lead and shot 79.
Inbee Park was tied for fourth at day’s start and shot 80.
Thompson was one of just four players to post rounds in the 60s. Only Minjee Lee (67) and Kim (68) posted a lower score.
“Overall, this golf course is very challenging,” Thompson said. “They’re tucking some of these pins, putting them on three degrees of slope. It’s hard, and once it starts blowing, it’s hard to actually get close to these hole locations.”
Thompson got off to a sluggish start this year, with a T-10 at the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions her only top 25 finish in her first four starts. She rounded into form in the year’s first major championship, finishing third at the ANA Inspiration, but then she missed her first cut this year at last week’s Hugel-Air Premia LA Open last week.
On a demanding course, in cold and windy conditions, Lake Merced is presenting a major-like test.
“It definitely requires a lot of patience, because there will be holes where you just have to take a bogey and just move on to the next one,” she said. “If you hit a squirrely drive, you just have to pitch out. You're going to make bogeys out there. At the same time, there are birdie opportunities. If they get nicer, with some of the pins, you can make some birdies. But, like I said, it's a challenging golf course, you just have to take the hard holes and just run with pars.”
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DALY CITY, Calif. — Sei Young Kim shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday at Lake Merced to take a three-stroke lead in the LPGA Mediheal Championship.
Playing through a back injury that has forced her to alter her swing, Kim rebounded from an opening bogey with an eagle on the par-5 fifth. The 26-year-old South Korean added birdies on the par-4 11th and par-5 15th and 18th to take a 10-under 206 total into the final round.
Charley Hull was second after a 70. The Englishwoman missed a chance to pull closer when her 6-foot birdie try on No. 18 slid left.
Puerto Rico's Maria Torres was 5 under after a 71.
Minjee Lee, coming off a victory Sunday in Los Angeles that moved her to No. 2 in the world, had a 67 to match Lexi Thompson (69), Amy Yang (70), Louise Ridderstrom (72) and Eun-Hee Ji (73) at 4 under.
Second-round leader So Yeon Ryu shot a 79 to drop into a tie for 20th at even par. She had four bogeys and a triple bogey in the par-4 16th.
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DALY CITY, Calif. – Charley Hull isn’t complaining about the difficult hole locations this week.
Or the bumpy Poa annua greens, with their swales and slopes.
Or the cold, damp air and bone-chilling wind at the Mediheal Championship.
She loved the tough test as she climbed into contention Saturday at Lake Merced Golf Club, where the 23-year-old Englishwoman is bidding to win her second LPGA title.
“I love this golf course, because it's long and it's tight,” she said. “I prefer the harder golf courses. I wish we played more of them. I like them when the rough is long, when the courses are long and they're tricky.”
Full-field scores from the LPGA Mediheal Championship
Hull has a tough-guy in her corner these days, a guy who likes a good, hard fight. She is engaged to Ozzie Smith, an English Impact Fight boxer. He’s here this week, supporting her while also mending a broken hand. She was there to support him last month, when he won the supermiddleweight title in England.
They are planning to marry on Sept. 21, after the Solheim Cup.
“He’s my best friend as well,” Hull said. “He’s really good for my golf.”
Hull said it’s helpful being with a fellow professional athlete.
“It’s nice that he understands the challenges,” Hull said. “It’s good, too, when maybe I’m not practicing as hard as I should. He makes me practice hard.”
They’ve been together for a year-and-a-half now.
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'U.S. Open-esque' hole locations toughen the test of Lake Merced
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 04 May 2019 15:45
DALY CITY, Calif. — Lake Merced Golf Club is a tough test every year the LPGA arrives here, but the hole locations this week are giving it an even more brutish edge.
Thick rough, pinched fairways in the landing areas and bone-chilling winds have all made scoring difficult this week.
So, in particular, have so many hole locations cut on the edges of greens that are firming up quickly.
“Yeah, they’re pretty tough,” Bronte Law said after putting up a 3-over-par 75 that left her tied for 20th. “When you take them that close to the edges, on greens that have firmed up, with pins on slopes, you are really having to work hard for pars.
“You have to hit miracle shots to have birdie chances on some of these holes.”
The scoring average in the first round was 74.08, which was higher than in any round of the ANA Inspiration, the year’s first major. Only the third round of the Vic Open, played in high winds, produced a higher scoring average this year (75.73). Saturday’s scoring average at Lake Merced was 73.58.
“They’re tucking some of these pins, putting them on three degrees of slope,” Lexi Thompson said after posting a 69 to move into a tie for fourth. “It’s hard, and once it starts blowing, it’s hard to actually get close to these hole locations.”
There were only four rounds in the 60s posted on Saturday, with Minjee Lee’s 67 the lowest round.
“They’re very tough [hole locations],” Louise Ridderstrom said after posting an even-par 72 to move into a tie for fourth. “I hit my irons very well today and still only shot even par.
“I think there might have been players who putted it off the ninth green.”
The hole at No. 9 was cut 4 paces from the left, front edge of the ninth green, which is located at the top of a hill in front of the clubhouse. Any approach shot coming up short there was in danger of rolling all the way back down the hill. Any approach to the back of that green left a player in danger of putting it off the front of the green.
The hole at the 10th was also cut four paces from the left, front edge of that green.
Law said there were so many delicate putts to be navigated.
“It was definitely U.S. Open-esque in spots,” she said.
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Barcelona fell to their first La Liga defeat since November as the champions were beaten 2-0 at struggling Celta Vigo after making 11 changes but forward Ousmane Dembele suffered an injury setback ahead of Tuesday's Champions League game at Liverpool.
The win took Celta on to 40 points and a step closer towards guaranteeing survival but it meant 19th-placed Rayo Vallecano is almost certain to be the first team to be relegated, after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Levante left them on 31 points from 36 games.
Uruguay forward Maxi Gomez gave Celta a deserved lead in the 67th minute, sliding to the floor to divert a low pass beyond Barca's reserve goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, after the home side saw a goal ruled out for a marginal offside after a VAR review.
Celta's captain and talisman Iago Aspas then sealed the win by converting from the penalty spot after another VAR review ruled that Barca's Samuel Umtiti had handled the ball.
Barca's players were given a guard of honour by Celta when they came out of the tunnel before kick off after lifting an eighth title in 11 seasons last Saturday by beating Levante 1-0 at the Nou Camp.
Many of the players who received the tribute, however, had done little to contribute to the title win.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were among a number of high profile players to be rested ahead of the trip to Anfield, where the Catalans are aiming to book their place in the Champions League final for the first time since 2015.
Dembele was one of few regular starters to face Celta but he had to be taken off in the sixth minute after hurting a right hamstring muscle when attempting a sprint.
"It happened in the first play of the game. He was sprinting and he noticed something wasn't right. It was obvious something was up so we moved quickly to make the change. We didn't want to make it worse," Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said after match.
"It's a muscle injury. I can't say too much because we want to see what the medical team say, but it looks like it could be a hamstring tear. There will be tests on Sunday and we will see.
"It's not fatigue because he played very little the other day. He warmed up properly ... These are things that happen in football. As the coach, I don't have an explanation for what happened but it's a setback to lose him for the upcoming games."
The France forward has been plagued with muscle injuries since completing a €105 million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
Barca, who lost for the first time since a 4-3 defeat to Real Betis nearly six months ago, have 83 points while second-placed Atletico have 74 after losing 3-0 at Espanyol earlier on Saturday.
Valverde put his side's defeat down to the many changes he made.
"We dominated the game in spells but once they scored and they sensed they could win the game we had no response," he said.
"We were playing with a lot of new players and it was difficult for us to create chances. We created barely anything in the second half and didn't do nearly enough to score."
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