NEW YORK -- Sir Winston gave the Triple Crown another unexpected turn, rallying to capture the Belmont Stakes on Saturday in a 10-1 upset.
The win gave trainer Mark Casse the final two jewels in the showcase for 3-year-old thoroughbreds. He won the Preakness with War of Will, who was expected to battle favored Tacitus in the 1½-mile Belmont.
Instead, Casse's other's colt took the lead Saturday after a ground-saving ride by Joel Rosario and held off Tacitus by a length. Long shot Joevia finished third and Tax was fourth.
The Triple Crown grind caught up to War of Will, who ran in all three races. He finished ninth in the 10-horse field.
The Belmont capped an entertaining Triple Crown highlighted by a disqualification in the Kentucky Derby and a horse without a rider in the Preakness. It sparked interest in thoroughbred racing despite no possibility of having the third Triple Crown winner in five years, coming on the heels of Justify last year and American Pharoah in 2015.
UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is a man who appreciates his hardware.
You'll hear from time to time about a UFC champion who keeps the title belt in a closet somewhere. Or maybe "at mom's house." Every champ is different, in terms of the value he or she puts on the physical belt. Cejudo is one who cherishes his.
He has transformed a prominent wall in his Arizona residence into a shrine of his athletic achievements. Wrestling plaques. Photos. An Olympic medal (perhaps you've heard, he won a gold one at the 2008 Games). Two framed UFC belts.
It's an impressive collection. If Cejudo (14-2) were to retire right now, his legacy would be a strong one. And yet, there will be much at stake for him Saturday when he meets Marlon Moraes (22-5-1) for the vacant bantamweight championship at UFC 238 in Chicago.
If Cejudo wins, he will be a two-division champion and a candidate for best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He'll have to continue to promote himself, as he has done consistently in 2019, but his level of reach will greatly expand from what it is now. That is a certain perk of reaching the status of "Champ Champ."
If he loses, he'll still be a champion, but in a 125-pound weight class that the UFC has made pretty clear it has zero interest in keeping alive. And while Cejudo will still have an audience, it will be hard for him to maintain the attention of fans if he's holding only a championship belt the promotion is barely in the business of wanting to have.
Cejudo is in a great spot going into UFC 238 -- a card on which he will share the spotlight not just with Moraes but also with women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (16-3), who will defend her belt in the co-main event against No. 1 contender Jessica Eye (14-6, 1 NC). But Cejudo is also at a crossroads. There is a lot on the line for him.
4: Consecutive wins for Moraes, whose streak is tied for the longest active run at bantamweight with those of Petr Yan (also on the UFC 238 card) and TJ Dillashaw (coming off a flyweight loss to Moraes' opponent, Cejudo).
32: Seconds it took Cejudo, in his last fight, to knock out then-bantamweight champ Dillashaw. It was tied (with Tito Ortiz's finish of Evan Tanner in 2001) for fifth-fastest KO in UFC title fight history, behind Conor McGregor over Jose Aldo in 2015 (13 seconds), Andrei Arlovski over Paul Buentello in 2005 (15 seconds), Ronda Rousey over Alexis Davis in 2014 (16 seconds) and Frank Shamrock over Igor Zinoviev in 1998 (22 seconds).
6:59: Average fight time for Moraes, the shortest for an active UFC bantamweight (minimum five fights).
19: Career takedowns in the UFC for Cejudo, according to UFC Stats data. He has at least one in eight of his 10 fights in the promotion.
5: Title defenses for Moraes when he was World Series of Fighting bantamweight champ. Cejudo has made zero defenses of the 125-pound UFC belt he won in 2018.
Source: ESPN Stats & Information
"Marlon Moraes is a lot more dangerous than TJ [Dillashaw]. His biggest threat is his power. I mean, look at him: He's knocked out three opponents in the first round. He's got vicious power. In MMA, that's scary. That's scary because it just takes one blow, one hit, and that's it. But so do I [have power] -- so do I, and I'm showing it. I'm getting better. I'm stronger and I'm faster." -- Cejudo, speaking to ESPN
"You are trying to take food from my family. You're trying to take my dream. I'm going to f--- you up, man. I'm aiming to put my hand inside your head. I'm aiming to put you to sleep." -- Moraes, speaking to ESPN
Gilbert Melendez breaks down how Henry Cejudo's stance could play a factor vs. Marlon Moraes. Order UFC 238 on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
This looks like a tough stylistic fight for Cejudo. He's moving up to fight a true bantamweight at the 135-pound limit. Moraes is such a gifted striker, and he won't be easy to take down. My mind says Moraes ... but I don't know, something in my gut is going the other way. Cejudo via decision.
Well, there will be two interested observers right there at the United Center, plus two who maybe can't bear to watch the main event because of a missed opportunity. The winners of the two undercard bantamweight bouts -- Jimmie Rivera vs. Petr Yan, No. 7 in ESPN's 135-pound rankings, on the main card and No. 5 Aljamain Sterling vs. fourth-ranked Pedro Munhoz on the ESPN prelims -- will have put themselves in position to call for a title shot. Which one will have made the stronger case with the more eye-opening performance?
5: Takedowns by Shevchenko in December's title-winning bout with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, a UFC career high. Shevchenko is 5-0 when landing multiple takedowns, 0-2 when she doesn't.
3: Consecutive victories by Eye, her longest win streak since 2013 and tied for the longest active streak in the UFC flyweight division's short history.
11: Finishes for Shevchenko among her 16 victories (6 submissions, 5 KO/TKOs).
10: Decisions among Eye's 14 career wins.
-1,400: Odds favoring Shevchenko in this fight (wager $1,400 to win $100).
Source: ESPN Stats & Information
"You want to work out next to me? Fine. I'll squat more than you. You want to see me wrestle? You're going to get really scared when you see me wrestle. You want to see me punch? Your whole training camp is going to be nothing about what you can do. It's going to be about me." -- Eye, speaking to ESPN about training in the same facility as her opponent
"For me, it's nothing. I even can say hello to her. For me, it doesn't cost anything, because in the Octagon we have to fight. Right now I have to prepare for my fight. This is what I think about everything, all day long: to be the best version of me for my fight. I don't spend too much energy on different things." -- Shevchenko, speaking to MMA Junkie about the same subject
Dominick Cruz displays what Valentina Shevchenko needs to do, and not do, vs. Jessica Eye. Order UFC 238 on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
Shevchenko might be the best female fighter on the planet. Currently, that distinction tends to go to Amanda Nunes, for good reason, but there are some who felt Shevchenko actually beat Nunes when they fought for the second time in 2017 -- and she was fighting up a weight class in that bout. She's at home at 125, and she's going to reign for a while. Shevchenko via TKO, third round.
In this case, too, the next in line could be right there in the building. The opening fight of the night pits Katlyn Chookagian, No. 4 in the ESPN flyweight rankings, against No. 5 Joanne Calderwood. Chookagian is coming off a loss to Eye, though, so she'd have to be especially impressive against Calderwood, winner of two straight, to earn a title shot.
The! Greatest! Fight! Ever!*
* That is not billed as a main event or co-main
Having Tony Ferguson or Donald Cerrone on the bill is a win for a fight card. Having them both is a KO. Having them across the cage from each other could mean Fight of the Night.
This is a collision of guys who come to fight and to take the fight out of the other guy. Ferguson (25-3) has 20 career stoppages (11 KO/TKOs, 9 submissions), and Cerrone (36-11, 1 NC) has finished 27 of his wins (17 subs, 10 KO/TKOs).
Ferguson has not lost since 2013; his 11-fight win streak ties him with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for longest active run in the UFC.
Cerrone, on the other hand, is on a resurgence. Since dropping four of five fights from early 2017 through mid-2018, he has won three in a row, his past two in a return to 155 pounds after an up-and-down spell at welterweight.
Ferguson has had well-documented personal problems of late. Cerrone is fighting just 35 days after going five tough rounds with Al Iaquinta. Who knows what either of these guys will have in him on Saturday? But their fighting history tells us they'll both unleash everything they have, and "El Cucuy" vs. "Cowboy" will be something to see.
The lightweight showdown pitting Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone could steal the show at UFC 238. Order here on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
You'll see this fight on SportsCenter in the morning
See above.
Most in need of a win
This is a competition with multiple entrants. That's a big positive for the fans because fights with consequences tend to get the blood circulating at a more urgent rhythm.
And the must-win scenarios are a positive for the fighters involved, too, because in this case they're battling not for their jobs but for championship opportunities.
Top bantamweight contenders Pedro Munhoz and Aljamain Sterling have had a war of words ahead of their UFC 238 bout. For more UFC on ESPN+, sign up here http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Beyond the three fights mentioned in the two "Waiting in the wings" sections above, there's one more that also has the potential to earn someone an immediate title shot. Tatiana Suarez and Nina Ansaroff, who meet in the feature fight of the ESPN prelims, both have résumés worthy of calling out new strawweight champion Jessica Andrade with this one more win. Suarez is 7-0 as a pro, and Ansaroff (10-5) has won four in a row.
Nickname of the night
It's tough to beat "Evil" if you're a fighter whose last name is Eye. With every chug of his cageside victory celebration, Tai Tuivasa reminds the world of where his "Shoeyvasa" moniker comes from. There's a certain simplicity in Chookagian's "Blonde Fighter," and mystery to the nth power in Yan Xiaonan's "Nine." But c'mon, Darren Stewart earned his nickname by knocking an opponent's teeth out. Ever since, he has been known as "The Dentist." Open wide and give a cheer for that one.
First baseman Mitch Moreland's return to the Boston Red Sox was a short one, as the team placed him on the 10-day injured list Saturday after he strained his right quad in his first game back Friday.
The Red Sox activated Moreland prior to their 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. He started the game but left after the sixth inning with the quad injury.
Moreland had previously been out since May 26 with a low back strain.
The 33-year-old remains the team leader in home runs with 13 despite missing 16 of the Red Sox's 63 games this season. He is hitting .225 with 34 RBIs with 151 at-bats.
Infielder Marco Hernandez was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket in a corresponding move. He has played in 61 career games for the Red Sox, but none since 2017.
Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Brent Honeywell has fractured a bone in his right elbow throwing a pitch during a bullpen session and will miss another season.
The Rays made the announcement Saturday between games of a doubleheader in Boston.
Honeywell is the No. 6 pitcher and No. 19 overall prospect in baseball, according to ESPN's Keith Law.
The 24-year-old right-hander was at the team's spring training complex in Port Charlotte, Florida, working his way back from Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2018. He was sidelined for the entire year.
Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to perform surgery on the bone Monday and make sure there are no complications from the elbow surgery.
There is no timetable for his return.
Honeywell was selected by the Rays in the second round of the 2014 draft, and is the No. 3 prospect on their team, according to Law.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CLEVELAND -- Dellin Betances' rehab from a spring training shoulder injury appears to have hit a snag, as the New York Yankees reliever will be undergoing testing Monday to determine the extent of the soreness he felt following a recent workout session.
Originally, the soreness had been believed to be "normal," according to manager Aaron Boone.
It was after facing hitters Wednesday in the first live pitching outing of his rehab from a right shoulder impingement injury that Betances felt some discomfort. He reported that feeling Thursday but believed it would dissipate.
By Friday, when Betances was scheduled to throw a side session off a mound at the Yankees' facility in Tampa, Florida, it had not.
"He got out and started long toss and got on the mound and felt like it was still there," Boone told reporters Saturday in Cleveland. "He backed off, and I thought that was wise."
Boone said Betances was tested Friday and that he saw an orthopedist at the team's spring-training complex. Although the testing went well, according to Boone, the Yankees are having Betances fly back to New York this weekend so he can be evaluated further Monday by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.
"Hoping it's not serious, but we'll know a little more in a couple days," Boone said.
The manager described the pain as being in Betances' back, around his lat muscle. Starter Luis Severino, who also has been out since spring training, is currently rehabbing from a right lat strain himself.
Betances first felt some slight discomfort in his shoulder during spring training. At that time, his velocity was noticeably down. Normally operating in the upper 90s, his fastball was hovering closer to 90 mph. Delayed arriving to spring training by a week due to the birth of his first child, Betances thought he was just easing into form a little more slowly than normal. But an MRI ultimately revealed an injury.
He's been shut down and subsequently rehabbing since then, being administered a cortisone shot as part of his recovery. Betances had reported feeling stronger in throwing sessions he had at Yankee Stadium last week as he anticipated the next stage of his return: facing live hitters.
Without Betances, Yankees relievers entered Saturday's game in Cleveland with a 3.76 ERA, the fifth-lowest in the majors. Their 10.21 strikeouts per nine innings are also the third-best mark in the league.
"He's Dellin Betances. It just lengthens your bullpen [having him]," Boone said. "He's a great pitcher, and hopefully this is just something that slows him a little bit. He's obviously a very important player to what we do.
"No denying how important he is to our club."
There's also little denying the impact All-Stars Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have on the Yankees. Both injured sluggers are still on the mend from respective calf strain and oblique strain injuries. Stanton could be a little more than a week away from coming off the injured list, while Judge remains slightly further away from returning.
Both players are going through rehab at the Yankees' facility in Tampa.
Boone said Saturday that Stanton will be starting a rehab assignment with the High-A Tampa Tarpons on Monday or Tuesday. It'll be his second rehab stint with them, after he was sent back to the IL due to complications after a pitch hit him on his left leg in an extended spring training game a few days prior.
After a few games with the Tarpons, Stanton will be moved to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to finish his rehab stint. The assignment spread across the two teams is expected to last "at least a week," Boone said.
Judge could begin his own rehab assignment in the next two weeks, Boone said. Earlier this week, he said Judge could possibly return by the time the Yankees travel to London later this month to face the Boston Red Sox.
One Yankees infielder who might miss out on that trip is Troy Tulowitzki. The 34-year-old shortstop who has been rehabbing from his own left calf strain since the beginning of April has paused his rehab for a few days to travel home to Southern California from the Yankees' Florida facility.
"He's kind of just trying to weigh everything that's going on with our organization, where he's at," Boone said Saturday, speaking extensively about Tulowitzki's absence for the first time. "Obviously it's been a tough time for him battling back and getting back and having a setback and everything. So he's just taking some time to go through things with him and his family and his agent. So we'll respect that time."
Tulowitzki, who hadn't played a game since 2017 entering this season due to ankle and heel injuries, is hitting .182 with a double and a home run in five games this season. As the Yankees have become deeper organizationally with Didi Gregorius' return from the IL this weekend, there may not be a place for Tulowitzki on the Yankees' roster.
Adam Hickey and Nicole Taylor became English 10,000m champions at the FASTFriday meeting on June 7, winning in 29:08.19 and 33:31.35 respectively at a wet and blustery Walthamstow.
The Orion Harriers-organised event aims to embrace the spirit of modern-day distance track racing with street food, trackside bars, live race commentary and a lively crowd and for the first time it incorporated the England Athletics 10,000m Championships.
In the men’s race, Inter-Counties cross country champion Hickey saw off the challenge of Jack Gray to take the title in a personal best and track record time, improving on his previous best of 29:32.92 run at the Highgate Night of the 10,000m PBs in 2015.
Gray secured silver in 29:12.36, while defending champion Ollie Lockley claimed bronze in 29:26.94 after running a solo second half. Owen Hind was fourth in 29:50.53.
“I always have confidence in my kick but you never know for sure,” Hickey told England Athletics.
“Credit to Jack. We worked together throughout.”
Taylor beat marathoner Tracy Barlow to the women’s title, surprising herself with her victory and time as she had been aiming for around 34 minutes.
Barlow clocked 34:15.20 to secure silver, while Naomi Taschimowitz gained bronze thanks to her 34:17.99, with both athletes making their 10,000m track debuts.
Phoebe Law was fourth in 34:35.26.
Results for the 10,000m races can be found here, while 5000m results are here.
Divine Oduduru stormed to a sprint double at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, on Friday, clocking an equal world lead of 9.86 (+0.8m/sec) for the 100m and 19.73 (+0.8m/sec) for 200m.
The top three all ran sub-10 seconds in the 100m as behind Nigeria’s Oduduru was American Cravon Gillespie with 9.93 and Japan’s Hakim Sani Brown with a national record 9.97.
Those positions were matched in the 200m final just 45 minutes later, with Gillespie second in 19.93 and Sani Brown third in 20.08.
COLLEGIATE LEADER ✅
WORLD LEADER ✅#ncaaTF Champion ✅9️⃣.8️⃣6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/nXDx3vWDiQ
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2019
USA’s Grant Holloway broke the collegiate record to win an exciting 110m hurdles and behind his 12.98, fast finishing Daniel Roberts ran 13.00 to match the previous record mark in second.
Holloway also formed part of the Florida 4x100m team which ran a world-leading 37.97 and he clocked a 43.75 anchor in the 4x400m.
WOW WOW WOW ???
1️⃣2️⃣.9️⃣8️⃣ ??? pic.twitter.com/7y9pwpNgq8
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2019
On the first day of the championships, GB’s Jacob Fincham-Dukes had finished fifth with 8.00m in the long jump won by JuVaughn Harrison with 8.20m, while Chris Nilsen cleared 5.95m to win the pole vault ahead of European champion Mondo Duplantis with 5.80m.
Harrison went on to complete a jumps double as he won the high jump with a PB clearance of 2.27m.
DOUBLING DOWN ON HISTORY!
JuVaughn Harrison becomes the first #ncaaTF athlete to win both the High Jump & Long Jump ?! pic.twitter.com/Qph2DvkOUI
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2019
Anderson Peters of Grenada broke his own championship record with 86.62m in the javelin, while France’s Yanis David leapt 6.84m to win the long jump ahead of Jasmyn Steels with a 6.71m PB.
Results can be found here.
More to follow…
Britain's Gordon Reid was beaten in straight sets by second seed Gustavo Fernandez in the wheelchair singles final at the French Open.
The former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, 27, lost 6-1 6-3 to the Argentine at Roland Garros.
Scot Reid, who had beaten top seed Shingo Kunieda in the semi-finals, was appearing in his first Grand Slam final for three years.
Victory gave 27-year-old Fernandez his fourth Grand Slam singles title.
World number one Novak Djokovic's bid to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time was ended by Dominic Thiem in the French Open semi-final.
Thiem beat the 32-year-old 6-2 3-6 7-5 5-7 7-5 in the semi-final, which began on Friday but was interrupted by bad weather three times.
The fourth seed will face 11-time champion Rafael Nadal on Sunday, a repeat of last year's final.
Thiem, 25, is the first Austrian player to reach a second Grand Slam final.
"It was an unbelievable day for me," said Thiem, who had never beaten a world number one at a major before.
Friday's play was suspended once, then cancelled because of wind and rain in a move criticised by former players and journalists., who pointed out that the skies later cleared with daylight still left.
Nadal's semi-final win over Roger Federer took place earlier on Friday so was not affected by the suspension, while Thiem wrapped up victory on Saturday afternoon after the third break in play because of rain.
For 2016 champion Djokovic, who had won 26 Grand Slam matches in a row, defeat ended his hopes of becoming the first man in the Open era to hold all four major titles at once on two separate occasions.
Thiem lost in straight sets to Nadal in last year's final, but has long been heralded as a future Grand Slam champion - with the French Open seemingly his best chance on his favoured surface.
The final may go differently this year as Thiem has a new coach havinge started working with Chilean Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu three months ago.
Thiem, who was playing his fourth semi-final at Roland Garros, can also take confidence from his win against Nadal on clay at the Barcelona Open in April.
The world number four went on to win his 13th tour title at the tournament and reached the semi-finals in Madrid in May before losing to Djokovic.
The French Open is Thiem's most successful Grand Slam. He reached the US Open quarter-final in 2018 but has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon or the Australian Open.
Thiem and Djokovic had already been affected by the weather at Roland Garros. Both players had to play quarter-finals on Thursday after rain also stopped play on Wednesday.
After being broken twice in the first set, Djokovic asked the umpire whose responsibility it was to decide whether it was too windy to continue, but play carried on and he dropped a set for the first time this tournament.
The world number one looked increasingly frustrated on Saturday, getting a warning for exceeding the 25 seconds allowed to take a serve and then speaking angrily with the umpire after losing the third set.
"Well done, you made yourself a name. You made yourself recognisable now," said Djokovic, who questioned several line calls during the match.
Rain interrupted play for a third time, with the match stopped for over an hour meaning the women's final did not start at 14:00 BST as scheduled.
And as soon as the players returned to the court, a close line call gave Thiem break point and prompted another discussion between Djokovic and the umpire.
The Serb saved the break point and went on to break back in the next game only for Thiem to then immediately break once more. He then had two match points on his serve, but Djokovic won the game to make the score 5-4 to the Austrian.
Three games later, Thiem got another match-winning opportunity and this time he took the chance to reach a second successive French Open final.
Australian Ashleigh Barty has beaten Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova in the French Open final to win her first Grand Slam title and complete a fairytale return to the sport.
The eighth seed won 6-1 6-3 against 19-year-old Vondrousova on the Paris clay.
Barty, 23, quit tennis to play professional cricket in 2014, but returned to the sport 17 months later.
Now she is the first Australian to win a singles titles at Roland Garros since Margaret Court in 1973.
After thumping away an overhead on her first match point, Barty turned to her team and raised her hands in the air, placing them on her head in disbelief before dropping to her haunches on the red dirt.
More to follow.
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