Fantastic French women dethrone England whilst English men regain title on home soil
By JULIE O’HARE – Edgbaston Priory Club

A dramatic final day of the European Team Championships at Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham witnessed a remarkable victory by France’s women’s team while England regained the men’s trophy.

England were hot favourites for the women’s title, having beaten France in the last five finals and won the title on all but one occasion in the event’s 41-year history. Their sole defeat came in the 2010 semi-final to – and in – France, where the Netherlands went on to win the final.

Camille Serme put France ahead as she beat Sarah-Jane Perry in four games but Laura Massaro also won in four against Coline Aumard to take the match to a decider. Melissa Alves came flying out of the block, taking the first two games 11-1, 11-3 against England’s much higher ranked Victoria Lust.

Lust fought back to take the third, and again from 1-7 down in the fourth to level at 8-all. But it was Alves who took the next two points, and on her second match ball the impossible happened, a front court winner from Alves, a no let for Lust, and to French disbelief and delight they had finally become women’s European Team Champions.

“We thought it was possible,” said a delighted French manager, Philippe Signoret.

“Melissa can play very well and she was on fire in the first two games. This squad has a great history, I’ve known them since they were seven, so to see them do this is fantastic for them, and for France. And in England, too!”

Camille Serme was ecstatic: “We’ve been trying to win this for so long now, it feels great. Thanks to England for pushing us over the years, we’re delighted to finally win one.”

In the men’s final England faced third seed Spain, who had beaten defending champions France in the semis. England had beaten Spain 4-0 in the pool stages, but Spanish number one Borja Golan missed that match and immediately made amends as he beat Declan James in the opening match, James unable to properly compete in the fifth after an injury.

James Willstrop put England level with a straight-games win over yesterday’s Spanish hero Iker Pajares. Daryl Selby put England ahead with a five-game win over Bernat Jaume, which left England needing one game from the final match and Spain needing a three-nil win and points countback.

Tom Richards was always ahead against Edmon Lopez, and finished the match as he took the game 11-9, Lopez diving in vain into the back corner.

“I’m really proud to have been able to captain this team to the title,” said Captain Selby. “It’s been a long time since the event was held at home, so to do it here with the support of the crowd makes it even more special.

“It’s been a great event, superbly organised, and we’re all grateful for that and the support of the referees, volunteers, ESF, Edgbaston Priory Club and all the England Squash support staff.”

The day started with the women’s 3rd/4th match which saw Belgium’s Nele and Tinne Gilis take them to victory over Scotland for a second Bronze medal in a row.

“Very happy,” said Belgian manager Ronnie Vlassacks. “Not only with the Bronze medal, but to see how we’re closing the gap to England and France. With Nele and Tinne still so young and having a few years to improve, we hope what they’re doing will help us get some more young players to strengthen the depth of the team.”

The Scottish men went one better as they beat France in the men’s 3rd/4th, after narrowly losing to the former champions in the pool stages.

Elsewhere:

Across the four days over 700 local schoolchildren attended coaching clinics at the glass court venue, and enjoyed watching some of the matches.

Finland’s Men return to Division One after a three year absence, led by Olli Tuominen playing in his 22nd ETC in a row. Also promoted were the Czech Republic who beat Finland in the final.

The Finnish women beat Czech Rep to go back to Division One for first time since 2010, before losing to also promoted Germany in the final.

Pictures courtesy of : Edgbaston Priory Club

MONTEREY, Calif. – Ernie Francis Jr. stole the show during Saturday’s Trans-Am Series event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguan Seca.

Francis drove to a dominant 28.854-second win over the Burtin Racing duo of Lawrence Loshak and Tomy Drissi. After 66 Trans-Am races, 48 podiums and 38 race wins, newly turned 21-year-old Francis finally got to sip the victory champagne in a glorious moment on the top step of the podium.

“It was a great weekend for us as a team here at WeatherTech Raceway,” said Francis. “To sweep the weekend by winning qualifying and leading every lap of the race, it really builds morale for the team. We had a so many small gremlins that kept us from the podium this season, and to come all this way and finish where we did gives us hope to contend for the championship again.”

Starting from the dirty side of the track on pole, Francis’ wheels spun and allowed points leader Loshak to get the jump on the young Floridian driver going into turn one. Francis quickly recovered to reclaim his first-place position before crossing the stripe, commanding the race from green to checkered for his first win of the season and breaking Loshak’s two-race winning streak.

“The start of the race was incredible,” said Loshak. “We had a great start and we took first. I thought it would be like Sebring and then I turned, and the car didn’t. I fell back, losing position but as gas fell off I started to gain speed and the steering came back. We definitely had bullseyes on our back this weekend. I am surprised at the pace the all the guys brought this weekend. It’s hard to be on top and it’s even harder to stay there. We just didn’t have a lot for Ernie this weekend, but while we didn’t win the race we won the weekend, still on top of the championship.”

Losing momentum, Loshak dropped to fourth as Chris Dyson and Drissi passed him. Meanwhile, Dyson, who built a 10-second gap between himself and third-place Drissi, started experiencing mechanical issues after he set his fastest lap of the race. The mechanical gremlins caused Dyson to pit, forcing him to give up his second place position. The CD Racing squad worked to get Dyson back on track, but the setback cost Dyson a possible podium as he was six laps down.

“We had a tough day today,” said Dyson. “It’s a shame when mechanical things take you out of contention but that’s the difference between racing and other sports, you win as team and you lose as a team. The car was absolutely flying today. We had the speed to challenge Ernie but didn’t get the chance because a belt came off the water pump drive. We are going to be working our tails off leading up to Lime Rock. We’ve proven to have the speed to contend up front, as we’ve done all season, so we’re going to shake this race off and come back strong next round.”

With Dyson out, Drissi and Loshak diced for second and third. Racing door-to-door entering the Kink at the top of the notorious Corkscrew turn, Loshak overtook Drissi for second. Loshak then wheeled his gold No. 3 Penzoil/Elavon/GoShare Chevrolet Camaro into a healthy lead over his teammate, and ultimately finished where he started the race in second.

Drissi’s blue Godzilla: King of Monsters Chevrolet Camaro crossed the line in third, his second podium of the 2019 season.

“I love this track. It’s an absolute blast to drive,” said Drissi. “I had some good battles with Lawrence but just didn’t have enough in the end to contend up front.”

In the first of two integrated events with the National Championship, the Trans-Am West Coast Championship also competed on the 11-turn, 2.28-mile WeatherTech Raceway circuit. TA class points-leader Simon Gregg clicked off another victory after also winning last weekend’s TA West Coast race at Auto Club Speedway, chalking his win tally to two. Michael Fine took second with California-native Michelle Nagai taking third.

“I’m so proud of the team,” said Gregg.  “I felt like I had a good race and we had dramatic finish, finishing the race on a flat tire. The Derhaag Motorsports group have worked so hard to give me a good car for this trip to the west coast.”

Dirk Leuenberger in the Lux Performance Doge Viper drove a near perfect race to take the checkered in the SGT West Coast class.

“It was great to be part of Trans-Am history here at WeatherTech Raceway,” commented Leuenberger.  “After 50 years of Trans-Am racing here, I can say I won at Laguna, and on my first visit to the track at that.”

After three years of grinding, Mitch Marvosh in the Wolf Entertainment Chevrolet Corvette, claimed his first Trans-Am career win in the West Coast GT class. Roger Eagleton took second in the FiveStarPropMgmt/EnergyRealEst Ford Mustang with Beau Border in the APEX Race Parts CorteX Racing Ford Mustang finishing third.

“It’s about time I won something in Trans-Am,” said Marvosh. “I feel great to pick one up for the team. We’ve been at it for a few years and finally got a win. We took first on the start and never looked back.”

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — Tanner Gray wasn’t leaving South Boston without a trophy.

He made sure of it in race No. 1 of the WhosYourDriver.org Twin 100s, as he nudged Bristol winner Sam Mayer out of the way in overtime to win his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race.

For Gray, getting that initial checkered flag in NASCAR was the thing. The 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion has already shown to be a quick study to stock cars and oval tracks.

“It feels really good to get that first win,” Gray said, exhausted after the first twin 100. “I tried to screw it up throughout the race the whole time. I just kept getting loose, chasing it up the race track and made some adjustments there under caution before the green/white/checkered.”

The overtime finish didn’t disappoint, as Gray and eventual second-place finisher Mayer were beating and banging around the entire track.

“We took off and I was hoping I could get a little better jump, hold him tight down there to the bottom,” the DGR-Crosley driver said. “But I missed it a little bit. Tried to follow behind him and got into him, and in (turn) three just moved him, got underneath him, side-by-side going on the frontstretch. After that I’m not too sure what happened to him.”

Gray had come up just .030 seconds short on March 30 at California’s Irwindale Speedway, losing out on a drag race off turn four to Trevor Huddleston. This time, it was Gray who was .32 seconds faster than the runner-up.

Following Gray and Mayer across the finish line was another rookie, Max McLaughlin, in third. Spencer Davis and Ruben Garcia Jr. where fourth and fifth, respectively.

In race two, Nick Sanchez led the field to green by virtue of setting the fastest lap in race one. He led the first 18 laps after Gray was black flagged for jumping the initial start. Then, unfortunately, the rain came.

As a result, NASCAR officials were forced to postpone the remainder of the second WhosYourDriver.org Twin 100 to Sunday.

The finish:

Tanner Gray, Sam Mayer, Max McLaughlin, Spencer Davis, Ruben Garcia Jr., Colin Garrett, Travis Milburn, Chase Cabre, Derek Kraus, Hailie Deegan, Justin Carroll, Drew Dollar, Jason Miles, Nick Sanchez, Ron Jay, Chuck Buchanan Jr.

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Travis Horan outran the rain to win the 20-lap Extreme Stock feature at Lincoln Speedway Saturday evening.

Donnie Broderick shared the front row of the 20-lap feature with polesitter Alex Updegraff. Broderick got out to the early lead as Powell and Horan started to make their way through the field. Powell nearly had Michael Smith beat to the line for third on the first lap after starting sixth but settled for fourth. Powell got by Smith for second on the next lap and got around Broderick for the lead on lap three.

With Powell in the lead, Horan started to go to work on Broderick for second. Horan took the spot from Broderick on lap five. Smith and Broderick went to battle for third with Smith getting loose out of turn four on lap 11. Smith got spun around on the front stretch bringing out the caution.

Powell lead the field to the cone on the restart with nine laps to go. Horan tried the bottom of turns three and four but couldn’t steal the lead from Powell. Don Murphy fell off the pace with a flat tire that left debris on the track bringing out the caution.

Andrew Hogue was up to fourth on the restart and was working on Broderick down the backstretch for third. Updegraff entered the picture and got under Hogue for fourth on lap 13. Two laps latter Updegraff got under Broderick for third in turns one and two.

Powell and Horan had separated from the rest of the field when a smoking Powell pulled into the infield on lap 17. Horan inherited the lead and held onto it until the checkered flag waved. Updegraff held onto second. Broderick crossed the line third. Hogue beat Smith to the stand by inches to finish fourth. Smith rounded out the top five.

While the Extreme Stock field beat the rain, the 410 and 358 sprint car divisions did not.The 410 sprint car feature is slated to be made up May 11 after the completion of the regularly scheduled program. The make-up feature for the 358 sprint cars is scheduled for June 1.

Before the rain came the 410 sprint car heats were won by Robbie Kendall, Cole Young and Scott Fisher. Steve Owings, Jeff Halligan and Tyler Walton won the 358 sprint car heat races.

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.

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.”

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.

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."