I Dig Sports
Drivers Weigh In On Guaranteed Spots: It Reeks of Desperation
As the NASCAR Cup Series readies for another season beginning this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina for the Cook Out Clash, drivers weighed in on a number of burning topics.
Among those was NASCARs recent Open Exemption Provisional rule, which allows an additional 41st entry into the Cup Series field for special or invited entries to any race.
The rule comes amid four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves bid to compete in the Daytona 500 later this month with Trackhouse Racings Project91 program.
Castroneves, despite being an open entry, will be guaranteed a spot in the race if he fails to qualify on time or through the duels at Daytona (Fla.) Intl Speedway.
Denny Hamlin, who doesnt shy away from voicing his opinion, believes it reeks of desperation, from the sport.
I dont know how else to say it, Hamlin said. I dont know how nice you can really say it. It just feels like you are really trying to get any kind of headline you can to be relevant and I dont love it.
The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and co-owner of 23XI Racing continued, stating the move, while is a win for NASCAR with Castroneves track record, could be a long-term loss going forward.
I just think that you are premier stock car series in the U.S., Hamlin began. The premier racing sport in the U.S.; be the big boys and force people to come in here and get their credentials and do it the natural way.
I dont think it is going to be a big factor anywhere other than Daytona, but just simply put, saying that someone has a name that interests you and that they are going to have an automatic bid in the highest form of motorsports in the U.S. I dont love it.
When posed with the question, 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott took a more neutral approach.
Youd hate to have a Helio Castroneves, a Max Verstappen, a Lewis Hamilton or someone come in to run a race and then miss the show due to something silly, Elliott said. So I can certainly see that aspect of it from a promotor side of things, where you wouldnt want to risk that because thats obviously going to be a big deal for you.
But I also think that with prestigious races, there should be some sort of integrity in making the show. I think thats part of what makes the race prestigious. You know, its a hard event to make.
On the flip side, Elliott pointed to other prestigious races like the Indianapolis 500 or the Chili Bowl Nationals as a reason to perhaps leave guaranteed spots out of racing.
I think you see that with the Indianapolis 500, or you see that at the Chili Bowl Its a hard race to make, Elliott said. Its a big deal just to get into the show, so I can see both sides of the fence there.
I think its totally fine. I just dont want to ever degrade or hurt the long-term integrity of the sport and take the prestige out of events that should be some of our biggest days of the year.
For 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, the opportunity to compete alongside the former Team Penske driver is one hes looking forward to.
I might be biased, but I love Helio, so I was psyched when it was like, OK, hes running the 500. Oh, and hes locked in? Thats great for Helio,' Blaney said.
He was in Indy cars when I was over there at Penske for a while before he moved on, so I love Helio and Im happy that Im gonna be able to race against him because I loved growing up watching him run Indy cars, and then to get to be a semi-teammate driving for the same guy for a long time with Roger, so I didnt really have any thoughts about it, to be honest with you.
I was just excited that Helio is gonna be running the 500.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Chris Buescher may have entered this weekend as a sleeper to win the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
However, after a stellar performance on Saturday, hell enter Sundays event with a strong case for victory.
The RFK Racing driver qualified second out of the 39 entries at the quarter-mile bullring oval. Following time trials, Buescher went unmatched in his heat to score a wire-to-wire victory and an outside front row starting spot for Sundays main event.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott starts on pole.
While on paper Bueschers night ended near perfect, the start was a different story. Through the first practice session, the No. 17 Ford sat 30th on the speed charts.
His RFK team, however, was prepared to rectify the problem.
We made big changes. The team made really good changes and just had a game plan coming in, Buescher explained. We ran a lot of simulation leading up to this. We dont typically do a ton of preliminary work from me as a driver in the simulator. Its typically a lot more after races, but given my track record at these quarter miles, I figured better bite off into that one.
I ran a lot more there and went through all three of our cars and tried to pick out the good and the bad, and our team did a good job of having changes ready so that when we got here and realized we were just way too loose, we were able to make quick adjustments to get in the ballpark, Buescher continued.
In our second session out there we were able to get on the other side of it and we were able to bring that back and then also just kind of tweak on some braking stuff at the same time and just got it to where it was a whole different race car for qualifying and for that heat race.
Bueschers teammates also showed strength during the heat races as Brad Keselowski finished second in the first heat while newcomer Ryan Preece fought his way to third in the fourth and final heat.
While each heat race was only 25 laps, Sundays finale is slated to be 200 laps. With it being the series first stop to Bowman Gray since 1971, theres still plenty of unknowns.
One of those is how tire wear will play out. Despite the small sample size, Buescher felt he was able to experiment with longer runs and find a baseline for what may work from a strategical standpoint.
I believe its gonna be colder yet tomorrow, but I think were gonna get to the point where youre gonna chase tire wear, Buescher said. Were gonna try to take care of stuff. We tried in the heat race. We tried to get a couple car lengths out and just kind of conserve from there. I think it did work.
We had something left at the end just to be able to get that little bit of gap, but I would imagine that we are gonna see it fall off.
I think we just hope that you can control it as a driver. If you can make a difference in that fall off, thats ideal. If we all fall off the same no matter what you do, then its hard to make a difference from behind the wheel, or as big a difference, but I feel like you can be smart about it and know when to push and make decisions at the right times that if the tire will react to that, then itll make comers and goers throughout the evening.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. It was a great night for NASCARs most popular driver.
After setting the fastest time in the final four-minute practice session and earning the top starting spot in the first qualifying heat, Chase Elliott won that heat wire-to-wire to win the pole position for Sundays Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Elliott described track position at the tight quarter-mile track as critical to success.
Its going to be tough to win from the third or fourth row, said Elliott, who will share the front row with Heat 2 winner Chris Buescher, who led every lap of the qualifier and held off new Joe Gibbs Racing hire Chase Briscoe to claim the second starting spot in the 200-lap exhibition race.
I think the first couple of rows certainly have a massive advantage on the rest of the field. Obviously, anything can happen. You all have been watching long enough to know that anything can happen, and Im well aware of that. But I think just in a normal circumstance of people not totally crashing each other or whateveryeah, I certainly would want to be on the first couple of rows and, fortunately, we are. Well try to take advantage of that.
Heat 3 and 4 winners Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick will start from third and fourth on the grid, respectively. To underscore just how important starting position is, all four heat winners won wire-to-wire after posting the four fastest laps in the final practice sessions to earn their pole positions for the qualifiers.
The top five drivers in each heat advance to Sundays clash. The remaining 19 drivers will compete for two spots in a last chance qualifier that precedes Sundays main event. The 23rd spot in the field goes to the driver with the highest number of 2024 championship points not otherwise qualified for the Clash.
That provisional belongs to Ryan Blaney, who finished 10th after starting third in a wild first heat that featured three cautions in 25 laps. Kyle Larson, who started sixth and finished eighth in the second heat will have to race his way into the main event from the LCQ.
After battling a loose condition in his No. 17 Round Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford in the opening eight-minute practice session, Buescher benefited from adjustments made to the car based on considerable preparation time in the simulator.
We had the changes ready, so when we got there and realized we were just way too loose, we were able to make quick adjustments to get in the ballpark, said Buescher, who had failed to qualify for the main event in the last three Clashes at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Joining Elliott in the main event from Heat 1 were Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. Heat 2 qualifiers included Buescher, Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez.
Advancing from Heat 3 in addition to Hamlin were reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano, William Byron, Carson Hocevar and Alex Bowman. Joining Reddick from Heat 4 were Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Todd Gilliland.
BOSTON -- David Pastrnak scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Boston Bruins to a 6-3 victory over New York on Saturday, spoiling J.T. Miller's return to the Rangers.
Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha also scored for Boston, which snapped a two-game skid. Jeremy Swayman finished with 22 saves.
Miller scored twice in his first game with the Rangers one day after they reacquired him from Vancouver in a multiplayer deal that sent Filip Chytil to the Canucks. Jonny Brodzinski also scored and Igor Shesterkin had 19 saves as New York lost its third straight in regulation after a 7-0-3 stretch.
After Miller's rising one-timer from the slot made it 1-1 at 10:55 of the first period, Pastrnak put Boston ahead for good when he slipped a shot past Shesterkin with 2:51 left.
After Miller's second sliced it to 4-2 early in the third, Pastrnak scored on a slap shot 46 seconds later.
Jets prevail in thrilling showdown vs. Capitals
WASHINGTON -- The top two teams in the NHL facing off in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of over 18,500 fans on an early February Saturday night in the U.S. capital did not disappoint.
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets delivered in a thrilling midseason matchup with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin's career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money's worth out of the 5-4 game.
"We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said after his team won its sixth game in a row. "You know you're going against some elite players on the opposite side, and we've been watching what they've been doing. You're following them in the standings, watching them on the highlights and when you have a game like that, exciting for the fans, not so much for the coaches."
Maybe even the goalie coaches because even with all the scoring, Connor Hellebuyck and Logan Thompson had some big saves throughout at either end of the ice. Each had 25 saves, or this could have been a double-digit vintage throwback to hockey from the 1980s.
"Both teams obviously have a goalie -- goalies -- that every time they're playing you expect to win, they give you a chance to win," said Capitals winger Tom Wilson, who scored his 21st goal of the season. "The caliber of hockey tonight was high, and they were all over us.
"It was good hockey. I'm sure it was a fun game to watch and guys working extremely hard and trying to get it done. Just [came up] a little short, and I think it's nice to prove to ourselves that we can play with the top in the league and we belong."
Washington erased a two-goal third-period deficit when Ovechkin scored with 7:39 left in regulation and set off "Ovi! Ovi!" chants. The moment may have been the loudest Capital One Arena has been all season.
"Two best teams playing, and it was a battle," Ovechkin said. "It was a hard game at both ends."
Arniel, who coached Ovechkin for four seasons as an assistant from 2018-22, has seen that kind of shot up close plenty of times before.
"That came off in a hurry," Arniel said, "And obviously 'Helley' didn't have time to react to that one."
Hellebuyck has won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender twice and is an overwhelming favorite to make it a third. Thompson has excellence since joining the Capitals in a trade from Vegas last summer and earlier this week was rewarded with a new six-year contract that begins next season worth $35.1 million.
But the goalies weren't the focus of this one.
"It was a crazy game," said Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, who scored twice, including the OT winner. "There was a lot of weird stuff going on, a lot of goals. Obviously both teams are known for scoring, but also their defensive game. So I think both teams would probably want to clean some of those things up. But for just one game, a lot of swings. Great energy in the arena, and it was nice to be able to stick it out and get the two points."
If Washington can get through the Eastern Conference playoffs and Winnipeg through the West, the game certainly showed what a potential Stanley Cup Final might look like. These teams play again north of the border in March, but a best-of-seven series in June could be electrifying.
"Both teams have a lot of pride and want to show that they're the better team," Morrissey said. "We found a way to be resilient in the game, and definitely you can see why they're such a great team."
Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a 25 million ($25.9m) deal to sign centre-back Kevin Danso from Ligue 1 side Lens, sources have told ESPN.
The 26-year-old was on the verge of joining Wolverhampton Wanderers but Spurs' interest has seen the Austria international opt to sign a 5-year deal with the north London club.
Danso's prospective arrival comes amid Spurs' ongoing injury crisis that has prompted them to scour the transfer market for opportunities to add to their beleaguered squad.
Radu Dragusin is the latest member of Ange Postecoglou's team to be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the Romania international suffered a worrying-looking knee injury in Spurs' Europa League win over Elfsborg on Thursday.
Danso played in the Premier League for Southampton, on loan from Augsburg, in 2019-20. Following another loan spell at Fortuna Düsseldorf the following season, he joined Lens. Danso has made 128 appearances for the French club and was named in the Ligue 1 team of the year in 2022-23.
Sources have told ESPN that Spurs are interested in signing players to cover a number of positions during the last days of the transfer window. The club had agreed a deal with Bayern Munich so sign highly-rated 19-year-old Mathys Tel, only for the forward to reject the chance to join them on Friday.
Spurs have won one of their last 11 Premier League matches and are languishing in 16th place in the table.
Postecoglou, who has seen his position as head coach come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, confirmed on Friday that Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Timo Werner and James Maddison are all in line to return to action in the next 10 days.
Spurs travel to face Brentford in their next Premier League fixture on Sunday.
Information from ESPN's James Olley contributed to this report
Ancelotti slams 'inexplicable' referee call in defeat
Carlo Ancelotti branded the decision to not send off Espanyol's Carlos Romero -- who later went on to score the only goal in his team's 1-0 win over Real Madrid -- as "inexplicable" on Saturday, after the defender apologised for his challenge on Kylian Mbappé.
Romero was shown a yellow card by referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz for his foul on Mbappé in the 61st minute, bringing down the Madrid forward with a tackle from behind as he broke away on the counter attack.
The defender later went on to score a dramatic 85th minute winner, with the defeat leaving leaders Real just one point clear of rivals Atlético Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table.
"The decision the referee and the VAR took is inexplicable," Ancelotti told a post-match news conference. "Everyone saw it. The most important thing is to protect the player. It's a clear foul, a very ugly challenge. Fortunately nothing happened in terms of an injury, but the VAR is there for that. It's inexplicable to us that he didn't show a red card."
Speaking after the final whistle, Romero said he had apologised to Mbappé.
"I knew that it's impossible to stop [Mbappé] on the run," he told DAZN. "I did what I could to stop him. The challenge was a bit ugly, I didn't like that, and I said sorry to him."
Espanyol coach Manolo González said there had been no intent on Romero's part to injure Mbappé.
"It was a tough challenge, but it was meant to stop the counterattack, not to hurt the opponent," González told DAZN.
Madrid were also angered by the first-half decision to disallow a Vinícius Júnior goal for a foul by Mbappé.
"The game was difficult," Ancelotti admitted. "We did some things well. We had control, above all in the second half, and we had chances. We had a goal ruled out, we hit the woodwork. We had 20 shots on goal. Espanyol played well in transitions, defended well, they caught us out of shape and they scored."
Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger was withdrawn with an injury in the 15th minute, ahead of a run of games which will see Madrid play Leganés in a Copa del Rey quarterfinal, before hosting rivals Atlético in the derby next Saturday, and then visiting Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff.
The team are already without Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão in defence -- while David Alaba has only just returned from a long-term absence -- with the transfer window set to close on Monday.
"Rudiger has a muscular injury, now we'll have to assess it," Ancelotti said. "We've talked about [signings], we've thought about it and we know what we have to do."
Cricket Association of Nepal decides not to renew coach Monty Desai's contract
Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has decided not to renew the contract with the head coach of the men's team, Monty Desai. He recently completed his two-year tenure and a CAN spokesperson said "it was not a sudden decision," but a "mutual agreement".
"Head coach of the men's national cricket team Shri Mrugang Jagdish Desai 'Monty Desai' was appointed with a tenure of two-year and the agreement has come to an end which we all are well aware of," CAN spokesperson Chhumbi Lama said in a release. "Also, it is hereby informed that the Cricket Association of Nepal has decided not to renew the contract.
"It was not a sudden decision. A board meeting held earlier had decided not to offer him a contract extension. There is no reason to think negatively of him, the decision was more of a mutual agreement."
McDonald credits Kuhnemann recovery, Dubai training camp for Galle rout
Australia had spent roughly a week in Dubai, training in the ICC facility that replicates conditions from around the world.
"I think the strength in this group was the preparation in the UAE," McDonald said. "We had some time and space to get our heads around the challenges, different scenarios and the ICC facilities allowed us to do that. And to see the guys go to work, the conversations they had amongst each other, plus with the coaches - that gave us the best opportunity."
Part of Australia's thinking was that sometimes Galle tracks tend to start off batting-friendly, before breaking up from the third day onwards, while at other times, Galle pitches take rapid turn from day one. Australia prepared for both, though they got a batting track for the first two days in this game.
"I think the spinners getting to work on the shape and the pace of deliveries with spin coach Dan Vettori was important, as was the the batting unit working through flat surface versus extreme surface," McDonald said. "The ground staff there did an amazing job in recreating what we would potentially get here across the game. So we were just working through all of those scenarios, conversations, and it was a hectic time.
"I think we trained sort of five days there straight, put a lot of work in, and then we backed off when we got here. So it was to do the grunt work, get the conversations landed around how we wanted to play, and making sure we had great clarity when we landed here, which I think we did. I think that showed in the performance."
"I thought he was gone," McDonald admitted. "but as it progressed and got closer to the test match, he was pretty much a lock three days out. Not sure where we would have ended up, but there was plenty of conversations around potentials, and possibles in terms of selecting spinners. There was a legspin versus fingerspin debate, and we discussed two off spinners, which we played in Nagpur before.
"But Matt solved a lot of those dilemmas, and produced an outstanding performance."
The player who most defined the Test, however, was Khawaja, who hit a career-best 232 in the first innings, on a ground he had struggled in before. McDonald said that although Khawaja is 38, he felt as if the batter still had plenty of runs in him.
"Usman is an important part to the way that we play (in subcontinent conditions). He's got options - that reverse sweep that he's added over the journey.
"He's been through the ringer here before, and it's great that he's been able come through that, to have a method that is successful. The unquantifiable benefit is the conversations that he's having with the next generationm to get them prepared.
"We still think he's got plenty of cricket left in him. And I think he's been clear on that also."
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
TTU AD calls Toppin ejection 'egregious' after win
The controversy surrounding the ejections of Texas Tech forward JT Toppin and coach Grant McCasland didn't end with the visiting Red Raiders' 82-81 overtime win over No. 6 Houston on Saturday.
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt issued a statement shortly after the game, calling the decision "egregious" and saying he spoke with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark about it.
"I am appalled and disappointed by the official's egregious decision to eject JT Toppin from tonight's game against Houston," Hocutt said in a statement posted on X. "This decision, made on a play that was clearly accidental and without intent, is unacceptable.
"Immediately after the ejection, I spoke with Commissioner Yormark, who assured me that the situation would be addressed and there would be accountability. On behalf of Red Raider Nation, we are extremely proud of our team and the leadership of Coach McCasland."
Less than four minutes into the game, Toppin jumped and made a crosscourt pass to a teammate. While in the air, Toppin's leg made contact with Houston's Joseph Tugler. Though it appeared inadvertent, the officials reviewed the play and issued Toppin a flagrant foul 2, triggering an automatic ejection.
According to NCAA rules, a flagrant foul 2 is considered a "personal foul that involves contact with an opponent that is not only excessive but also severe (brutal, harsh, cruel) or extreme (dangerous, punishing) while the ball is live." According to the rule book, officials should consider a number of factors when determining a Flagrant 2 foul, including "any contact by the offending player to the groin area of an opponent which is not clearly accidental."
After the teams broke their respective huddles following the review, Toppin was unaware he had been ejected until the officials notified him. McCasland then erupted at the officials, yelling and signaling that Toppin was passing the ball. He was assessed two technical fouls and ejected.
"This is genuinely my thought: JT Toppin is a left-handed basketball player, and we worked against the double team," McCasland told reporters after the game. "He spun to throw the basketball with his right, but he gets crowded quickly, and he's trying to throw with his left.
"I don't know. Maybe we should call Patrick Mahomes and ask him because if you're in a throwing motion, and you have to switch hands and you're a lefty, you're going to have to throw your body in a way to torque it to throw it with your left hand. Your body is going to turn in such a way that your right foot is going to go forward to throw it."
Despite losing their head coach and leading scorer and rebounder -- and already missing sixth man Kevin Overton due to injury -- Texas Tech (17-4, 8-2 Big 12) ended Houston's 33-game homecourt winning streak.
The Red Raiders led by six midway through the second half before Houston (17-4, 9-1) took advantage of Tech's short-handed bench. The Cougars led by six with 3:40 left, but Tech surged and tied the score with 26.3 seconds left on Darrion Williams' 3-pointer. In overtime, the Red Raiders jumped out to a four-point lead -- but Houston rallied and took a one-point lead on J'Wan Roberts' free throw with 24 seconds left.
Chance McMillian was fouled on the next possession and hit two free throws with 14 seconds left that gave Texas Tech the lead for good.
McMillian finished with a game-high 23 points for Texas Tech, while Elijah Hawkins had 17 points. LJ Cryer paced the Cougars with 22 points and Roberts chipped in 18 points.
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