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Zilisch Overcomes Adversity To Win Xfinity Series Road Race At COTA
AUSTIN Its hard to put Connor Zilisch off his game, as the 18-year-old road course prodigy proved once again in winning Saturdays Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
A commitment line violation couldnt do it. Sent to the rear for pitting too when pit road closed suddenly for the races second caution, Zilisch restarted 32nd after the first stage break and drove though the field, taking the lead from Carson Kvapil on Lap 56 of 65 at the 2.4-mile, 17-turn circuit.
Hard contact with the Toyota of Corey Heim couldnt do it. Fighting for position in the final stage, Zilisch slammed into Heim, knocking him off course. The wheel-to-wheel contact damaged the right front fender of Zilischs No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and caused a serious tire rub under hard braking.
Hot pursuit from Carson Kvapil couldnt do it. After making what proved to be the winning pass, Zilisch had to fend off his teammate until Kvapils right front tire went flat on Lap 60. That gave Zilisch all the breathing room he needed as he nursed his car to the finish line.
Runner-up William Byron trimmed a four-second lead to 1.639 seconds at the finish but couldnt mount a challenge over the closing laps.
As a result, the pole winner had his second Xfinity Series victory, adding to his maiden win in his first start in the series last summer at Watkins Glen.
That was way harder than I wanted it to be, said Zilisch, who scored the much-needed victory after respective finishes of 27th and 34th in the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta. I did not drive a clean race at all I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race.
I made way too many mistakes I was glad we were able to fight back.
Byron was driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that won last years Xfinity race at COTA with Kyle Larson behind the wheel.
My car was just kind of floppy in the short run, and I had to try to take care of it, said Byron, who will defend his win in the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. I just tried to stay with it there in the long run I had fun. It was a good workout.
It was good to get back into the rhythm of things, pushing the car. I think itll help me for (Sunday).
Zilisch is looking forward to Sunday, too. Hell make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Its been a fun weekend, but weve got a big race tomorrow, so Im looking forward to that as well, said Zilisch, who will start 14th.
Sam Mayer ran third on Saturday, with Austin Hill, last weeks Atlanta winner coming home fourth. Hill charged from fourth to first after a Lap 46 restart when Zilisch and Kvapil ran wide into Turn 1.
But Hills lead was short-lived. When he over-drove Turn 6a on Lap 52, Kvapil shot past him into the lead, and Zilisch followed into second.
Four laps later, Zilisch had the lead for good, though Kvapil made it a contest until his tire deflated.
Christian Eckes finished fifth. Jesse Love, Taylor Gray, Ross Chastain, William Sawalich and Blaine Perkins completed the top 10.
Carson Kvapil may have cut his teeth on asphalt short tracks across the Southeast, but he made himself at home quickly in his first career road course start on Saturday at Texas Circuit of The Americas.
Wheeling JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet, Kvapil forced leader Austin Hill into a mistake with under 20 laps to go, which allowed him to inherit the lead.
The only problem the Xfinity Series top road course racer, Connor Zilisch, snuck by Hill as well to snag second.
That set up a fierce battle between two of JRMs young stars on the 2.4-mile road course. Back and forth they went as puffs of smoke came from both drivers as they locked up their front brakes going through corners as they looked to find an edge.
However, Zilisch would pounce in turn one for the final time with nine laps to go. Four laps later, Kvapils incredible run came to an end as he flat-spotted his right front tire.
Hed pit on the same lap and ultimately finish 23rd.
We had such a good Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, Kvapil began. Its tough to get over that one. We flat-spotted the right front, just trying to see with the 88 (Zilisch) there. I felt like we were a little bit better in some places, but in others, he could really get away from us.
I knew if I just tried to keep my ground up, I would be able to catch him through the esses. But, ultimately, just used it up a little bit too much there.
With Kvapils lack of road course experience, he joked that his performance was a surprise.
I feel like we shouldnt of ran that good, maybe, Kvapil laughed. I guess it was a little bit expected, but at the same time, its a little bit of a surprise.
Now with a baseline to go off of for the rest of the season, the 22-year-old may be potent on road courses the rest of the season.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings honored the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau during their Stadium Series entrances on Saturday at Ohio State University.
The Blue Jackets walked from a pregame pep rally at St. John Arena over to Ohio Stadium wearing what the players called a "signature Johnny fit" of an Avalon Surf Shop hoodie, black Amiri hats with three stars on them, black sweatpants and black Uggs boots.
"Basically our whole outfit is a tribute to Johnny. Something that he would wear every day to the rink," Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier said.
Columbus coach Dean Evason said his players taking the walk that Buckeyes football players make on gamedays, from the arena to the stadium, was extra special thanks to the Gaudreau fashion tribute and the presence of their family. Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny's widow; their children; and Johnny and Matthew's mother, Jane, led the Blue Jackets from the arena to the stadium.
"To have the presence of Johnny with us in that setting ... you want to cry, you want to fight, and you want to get after it. So yeah, Johnny's with us here," Evason said.
Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed on Aug. 29, 2024, when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles on a rural road on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding.
"Johnny Hockey," as he was known in the NHL, played for the Calgary Flames for eight seasons before joining the Blue Jackets as a free agent in 2022. He was one of the best American-born scorers of his generation, with 743 points in 763 career games. Matthew Gaudreau, like his brother, played for Boston College before embarking on a four-season pro hockey career.
The Red Wings arrived on their team bus wearing jerseys that Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau had worn during their playing careers from the Omaha Lancers and Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, Boston College and USA Hockey.
"He not only meant a lot for the Columbus organization, for U.S. hockey and for hockey in general, but also for our locker room. I think there are plenty of guys who shared paths with him," Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said. "It's a little thing we can give back and I think it was a right decision."
Tributes to the Gaudreaus can be found throughout the Stadium Series. The Blue Jackets' skate guards have Johnny's No. 13 on them. Johnny Gaudreau also has a stall in his honor inside the Ohio State locker room.
"This whole day is something where we're thinking about John a lot. I mean, he would've loved to have been here," center Adam Fantilli said. "It was great that we were able to walk in with Meredith, Jane, Johnny and Noa as well. So it was really good to walk in with them and to be able to honor him and their family, but dressing like him and them wearing his jersey, just it's a great tribute to him."
Evason said the Stadium Series was another chance to honor their memories.
"Everybody's touched by Johnny. We've talked about the tragedy and how not only the hockey world, but everybody in the world has been touched. To honor him in any way we all have is absolutely fantastic," he said.
PITTSBURGH -- Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand left Saturday's 3-2 win at Pittsburgh in the first period with an upper-body injury.
Marchand departed after a hit by Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph at 5:56. Joseph drove Marchand into the corner, and the side of his head struck the boards. No penalty was called, but Mason Lohrei scored at 6:33 to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Marchand was attended to by a trainer for several minutes before he was helped from the ice.
Later in the period, Joseph took a hit in the corner from Bruins forward Mark Kastelic and left with an upper-body injury.
Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games in his 16th season with the Bruins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Isles' Sorokin joins exclusive goalie scoring club
The New York Islanders' Ilya Sorokin has joined the exclusive club of goalie goal scorers -- under the most unique circumstances.
Late in the third period of New York's game against Nashville on Saturday, the Predators -- trailing 6-4 -- were pressing in the Islanders' end. Sorokin came up with a big save that rebounded a puck out to Nashville forward Steven Stamkos. He tried sending a pass back to the blue line that skipped past a teammate and went all the way into Nashville's empty net.
The Predators fell to the host Islanders 7-4.
That final poor sequence by Nashville resulted in Sorokin, as the last Islander to touch the puck, being credited with the first goal of his career. That made Sorokin just the second Islanders goalie with a goal to his name and one of only 17 NHL goalies to have scored.
"If I had shot it [into] the goal, it might be a different emotion," Sorokin joked after the game. "But this was just luck. It was a good save before the [goal], though. I wasn't sure I was the last one [to touch it]. It's hockey; it happens."
The Islanders' win put Sorokin at 21-18-4 on the season, with a .905 save percentage and 2.76 goals-against average.
Sorokin is the third NHL goalie to score a goal this season after Pittsburgh's Alex Nedeljkovic tallied one against Buffalo on Jan.18 and Filip Gustavsson scored on St. Louis in October. The 2024-25 season is the first in NHL history where multiple goalies have been credited with goals.
Lionel Messi did not travel with his Inter Miami teammates to Texas to face the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday night, a source confirmed to ESPN.
New Miami head coach Javier Mascherano made the decision to rest the star forward due to the team's packed schedule. Inter Miami played three games in the span of 10 days, kicking off the 2025 campaign with the two-legged Concacaf Champions Cup series against Sporting Kansas City and the MLS opener versus New York City FC.
A club source confirmed Messi is not injured, and projected to play against Jamaican side Cavalier FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup first-leg match on Thursday at Chase Stadium.
In a statement later on Saturday, Houston said fans who attended Sunday's game would be offered a complimentary ticket to another match.
"The Houston Dynamo are excited to host Inter Miami CF at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday evening," the statement read. "The recently shared player status report for the match did not include forward Lionel Messi, but it has been reported he did not make the trip to Houston. Unfortunately, we have no control over who plays for our opponent.
"We look forward to hosting everyone tomorrow for what will be an incredible atmosphere and celebration of soccer for the city of Houston. To show our appreciation, fans who attend tomorrow night's match can claim a complimentary ticket to a future Dynamo match this season. Additional details will be provided early next week."
Messi's absence from the trip was first reported by the Miami Herald.
The news comes after Mascherano said Friday that the 37-year-old trained with teammates and would be available for selection this weekend.
"Leo is fine, he is normal and he will train normally like all his teammates," Mascherano said.
The coach did go on to reveal he would rest the player when the time was right, given the heavy schedule throughout the 2025 season.
"Look, there are not two equal situations. And we have to put everything in context. We played in a knockout round. We started the season in Kansas, where the Champions League is an important competition for us," Mascherano said.
"We also had the start of the MLS between the two games of the series. It is one of the competitions where we aim to compete and reach the highest possible. When we talk about being able to rotate or dose the players, we must see the context. The context is that we had to play three games in six days.
"We didn't have the rest that we had to have before, because we were changed on the first match date. It is what it is, we adapt to the circumstances. We couldn't modify anything. We asked to modify it and we couldn't. Beyond that, obviously we have to try to take care of the players. When we find the right time to rest, we will rest. We will move forward."
Inter Miami visits the Dynamo for the second match day of the 2025 MLS season. The team currently boasts two wins and one draw under Mascherano
Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho's four-match suspension has been halved by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) following a review of the club's appeal.
Mourinho was handed a fine and the ban over his comments about Turkish referees after a game at rivals Galatasaray, where he criticised the match officials in a news conference following the 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday.
The TFF fined the 62-year-old Portuguese 1.6 million Turkish lira ($43,963.89) but that was reduced to 558,500.
The penalties were due to "derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee" and accusations of chaos and disorder in Turkish football, according to the TFF.
The TFF said Mourinho's remarks violated sports ethics, promoted violence and disorder and could incite fan incidents.
Monday's game was refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic after both clubs requested a foreign official take charge.
Fenerbahce issued a statement on Tuesday defending Mourinho, saying his comments were taken out of context and deliberately distorted.
Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mourinho has previously been fined and suspended for his comments about Turkish match officials.
On Friday, Fenerbahce said Mourinho filed a lawsuit against Galatasaray after they accused him of making racist statements.
The Portuguese manager will return for Fenerbahce's Super Lig match against Samsunspor on March 16.
Fenerbahce are second in Turkey's Super Lig, six points behind fellow Istanbul side Galatasaray.
Ancelotti rues 'costly' Real Madrid defeat at Betis
Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat at Real Betis on Saturday could prove "costly" in the LaLiga title race.
Brahim Díaz put Madrid ahead early on at the Benito Villamarín, but Betis and U.S. men's national team midfielder Johnny Cardoso levelled with a header before half-time.
Former Madrid player Isco put Betis ahead with a second-half penalty, to see the reigning champions drop three valuable points in their battle for the title with Atlético Madrid and Barcelona.
"It was a bad game," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "We started well, but then we couldn't maintain our rhythm. We lost control of the game, against a team that played better than us and deserved to win.
"This is a real blow. We have to react. Losing at this stage of the season is costly. We didn't do well ... We lost the ball 27 times in the first half. That's too many."
Madrid are chasing three major trophies, having beaten Real Sociedad 1-0 in their Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday, and now preparing for a Champions League round-of-16 first leg clash with Atlético on Tuesday.
"If we play like this, we won't win on Tuesday, that's quite clear," Ancelotti said. "I hope this will wake us up. It seemed like lately we had been more organized, and more compact. And today we weren't able to do that."
Ancelotti opted to substitute star forward Kylian Mbappé in the 75th minute as Madrid chased an equaliser, replacing him with youngster Endrick.
"[Mbappé] had a problem this week [with his tooth] and he hasn't trained much," Ancelotti said. "He wasn't at his best, that was obvious. To avoid problems, I took him off and brought on Endrick."
Cardoso's goal was his first in LaLiga this season, having made 19 league appearances for Betis this campaign.
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has told his players to expect a number of departures at the end of the season as part of an overhaul of the squad.
United's financial position means any new signings in the summer will have to be funded by outgoings. And Amorim says he's ready to be "honest" with his players about whether he sees them as part of the future at Old Trafford.
"We can talk about that [departures] at the end [of the season]," said Amorim.
"We have a lot of games to play. But that is clear, and I think that is not a difficult situation because everybody understands that in football; sometimes you stay, sometimes you have to move on.
"When you are honest with someone, they can take it. In the beginning, it is hard, but they will understand. So I'm quite honest with my players and they already know that sometimes they have to move on at the end of the season."
A lack of available transfer funds has made Amorim's job more difficult.
There has been speculation that the 40-year-old, who arrived from Sporting CP in November, has been caught off-guard by the size of the task at the club.
Amorim, though, insists he was aware how tough it would be to turn things around.
"I knew the situation," he said.
"It's hard because the perspectives can be different. So it's hard to say if they [the club] are honest or not.
"I felt that they were honest, but I need to see things and to feel things myself. So it's always a difference of opinion in that matter. So I knew the situation. I knew that it was a risk, but we are surviving and doing everything.
"I think today is really hard. I know but this is going to help us in the future. So I have hope. We will see. I think the good thing is that we have a clear path.
"Now is hard, but we are doing things to achieve success in the future."
South Africa decimate England to march into semi-finals
South Africa 181 for 3 (Van der Dussen 72*, Klaasen 64, Archer 2-55) beat England 179 (Root 37, Archer 25, Mulder 3-25, Jansen 3-39) by seven wickets
After choosing to bat first in Karachi, the most run-laden venue of the event, England played like a side who would rather not. They were bowled out for the lowest total of this Champions Trophy and gifted South Africa wickets in a display of carefree and sometimes reckless strokeplay. South Africa were hit by both illness and injury-enforced absences and were not always at their best, but they caught particularly well in the field, paced their chase perfectly, and have plenty of positives to take into the knockouts.
Ben Duckett picked up from where Salt left off and scored two boundaries in three balls off Lungi Ngidi but Jamie Smith repeated Salt's mistake and tamely pulled Jansen to Markam at mid-on. Duckett settled as he was fed balls on the pads but when he tried to clip Jansen fine, he got a leading edge back to South Africa's destroyer-in-chief. England were 37 for 3 in the seventh over.
That could have become 38 for 4 when Joe Root cut Kagiso Rabada to backward point and though Mulder got both hands to it, he could not hold on. Root went on to nail the drive and the pull and formed a 62-run stand with a confident-looking Harry Brook and England were building solidly. But they could not keep Jansen out of the game. When Brook belted Maharaj over midwicket, Jansen ran to his right from long-on and slid on his knees to take a wonder-catch. Four balls later, Root was bowled when he missed a leg-side flick off Mulder and the ball hit his back pad on its way onto the stumps.
At that stage, Buttler, playing his last innings as England captain, had only faced a ball and had a big job on his hands. He received little help from Liam Livingstone who charged down the track to meet a Maharaj ball but South Africa's left-arm spinner saw him coming, tossed it up and had him stumped. Livingstone has only made more than 20 runs once in his last seven innings.
By then, England's effort looked mostly a case of marking time while South Africa stayed focused on searching for wickets. Rabada was brought back at the halfway stage. He beat Jamie Overton first up, then kept him in check by forcing a defensive shot and then had him caught at mid-on as the batter tried to attack. He looked to whip Rabada over the leg side but chipped the ball towards mid-on where Ngidi ran back and took a one-handed stunner as he hit the ground.
South Africa continued to catch well: Jansen took a low catch at midwicket to see the end of Jofra Archer and Maharaj made a tumbling grab at mid-off to end Buttler's innings on 21 and give Ngidi his 100th ODI wicket. England were bowled out in the 39th over, and took South Africa's concerns about a slow over rate with them.
At that stage, South Africa's semi-final qualification was assured because even if they lost the match, their net run rate could not dip below Afghanistan's. That took pressure off the chase but not necessarily off South Africa's batters, who all wanted runs ahead of an important week. Tristan Stubbs, playing his ninth ODI and first in an ICC event, didn't get any as he tried to play an Archer ball late but deflected it onto his stumps.
Though his first over lasted ten balls as he struggled to find his line, Archer quickly improved and delivered the rest of his opening spell with good pace and better accuracy. He was rewarded with a second wicket, too, when Ryan Rickelton, who looked confident in his 25-ball 27, was bowled by a delivery that nipped back into him and smashed into middle stump.
From there, it was all South Africa. While van der Dussen appeared at times frustrated by his slower scoring rate than Klaasen's, the pair complemented each other well. Van der Dussen scored largely through the leg side while six of Klaasen's 11 fours came through the covers. Klaasen reached his fifty with one of those shots off the 41st ball he faced. It was his fifth successive half-century in the format, which is the joint-most for South Africa. Van der Dussen's came off 72 balls as he rocked back to send Adil Rashid through square leg and bring up a second fifty in the competition. Klaasen departed when he tried to smash Rashid over fine leg but outside-edged to short third. David Miller hit the winning runs off the second ball he faced when he smoked Livingstone over the sightscreen for six.
This is the third successive tournament for which South Africa have qualified for the knockouts, after the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup. Their semi-final opposition and venue will only be confirmed after the match between India and New Zealand on Sunday. They will play the loser of that match either in Dubai on Tuesday (if it's India) or Lahore on Wednesday (if it's New Zealand).
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket
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