Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among several people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN. Bryant was 41.
Drafted 13th overall in 1996 out of Lower Merion High School outside of Philadelphia, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and the 2008 NBA MVP. The 18-time All Star retired in 2016 after 20 seasons in the league, all with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were among many in the global football community that paid tribute to Bryant and his daughter.
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Dia triste pra nós dos esporte, pra nós fãs e principalmente pra família e amigos de kobe. Com suas mãos se fez lenda, obrigado por exaltar o esporte Kobe... que Deus conforte o coração de sua família e amigos ??? #ripkobebryant #24 pic.twitter.com/QPjIy7Fhou
— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) January 26, 2020
Heroes come and go
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) January 26, 2020
Legends are for ever ❤
R.i.P. Kobe and his daughter Gianna and all the victims my prayers to the families #blackmambaforever https://t.co/JSoN1g9yea
RIP LEGEND ?????... pic.twitter.com/kEQ99cRohO
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) January 26, 2020
We have no words to express how shocked we are to hear of the tragic passing of one of the greatest sportsmen of all time and Rossonero fan, Kobe Bryant. All our thoughts are with the families of those affected by this tragic accident. You will forever be missed, Kobe ?❤️? pic.twitter.com/FOd365chEL
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 26, 2020
Shocked by the death of @KobeBryant, an exemplary athlete both on and off the basketball court. Our most heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/wGhF4xouVL
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 26, 2020
Los Angeles has lost a legend.
We mourn the loss of Kobe, his daughter Gianna, and all the victims of today's accident. Our thoughts are with the Bryant family and those impacted by this tragedy. pic.twitter.com/z91bcCOMlY
— LAFC (@LAFC) January 27, 2020
Zimbabwe chose to bat v Sri Lanka
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
On a dry Harare surface that is expected to get lower and slower as the game wears on, Williams was keen to take the first lease when the batting conditions are expected to be optimal.
Both sides made changes to their XIs from the last Test. For the hosts, one change was enforced as Kyle Jarvis sustained a lower back injury. Fellow seamer Carl Mumba replaced Jarvis, while 29-year-old legspinning allrounder Tinotenda Mutombodzi was handed a Test debut, coming in for left-arm spinner Ainsley Ndlovu.
For Sri Lanka, there was just one change with left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando replacing Kasun Rajitha, a move that captain Dimuth Karunaratne hoped would add some variation to the bowling attack.
Sri Lanka lead the two-match Test series 1-0.
Zimbabwe: Prince Masvaure, Kevin Kasuza, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams (capt), Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (wk), Donald Tiripano, Carl Mumba, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Victor Nyauchi
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
Britain's Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram reached the quarter-finals of the men's doubles at the Australian Open.
The 11th seeds beat sixth seeds Horacio Zeballos of Argentina and Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-4 7-6 (13-11).
They will face Finland's Henri Kontinen and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the semi-finals.
Later on Monday, Briton Ken Skupski and Santiago Gonzalez take on 16th seeds Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor.
Fifth seed Dominic Thiem was in ruthless form as he beat Gael Monfils in straight sets to reach his first Australian Open quarter-final.
The Austrian did not face a single break point in a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win over the French 10th seed.
He will now face the winner of Monday's highly anticipated match between world number one Rafael Nadal and Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
Thiem was runner-up to Nadal in the past two French Open finals.
Against Monfils on Rod Laver Arena, Thiem controlled the match from early on, breaking in the third game. He then consistently put pressure on the Frenchman's serve, creating 14 break points while giving away very little on his own serve.
The 26-year-old dropped just four points on his serve in the third set, serving out the victory to love.
His celebrations had been briefly put on hold when he thought he had sealed the win with an ace, only for the replay to show it was out.
But he took it on his second serve when Monfils netted a forehand, summing up an erratic performance by the 33-year-old Frenchman, who made 32 unforced errors and has now lost six out of six meetings with the Austrian.
"I think that I played my best match so far of this Australian Open. A very, very good feeling," Thiem said.
"The score looks way easier than the match was. I think I was lucky to make an early break in each set and then was managing to hold my serve well. I'm so happy because I'm for the first time in the quarter-finals here."
Fourth seed Simona Halep overcame a gutsy display from Elise Mertens to secure her place in the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-4 win.
The 2018 finalist was a break up in the first set and two breaks up in the second but saw her advantage eroded by the Belgian 16th seed in both sets.
However, Halep responded by moving up gears, and eventually won in one hour 37 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The Romanian will play Estonian Anett Kontaveit in the last eight.
Mertens adopted a higher-risk strategy in the match, where she produced more winners but also more errors - 38 to Halep's eight. But she still pushed Halep to the limit, which reminded the Romanian of their encounter in 2019.
"I played Elise in the Doha final last year - I led by a set and was up 4-2 but lost the match," said Halep, who has yet to drop a set in Melbourne this year.
"I knew I had to stay focused today. I was a little nervous at 4-3 but was strong enough to finish."
Halep gestured to her box on occasions. The Wimbledon champion had previously revealed she would be donating A$200 (£104) to bushfire relief every time she gave her Australian coach Darren Cahill a hard time.
"Darren is counting the looks," she said. "Was I worse than the last match? Yes. But it's for a good cause. He said he would tell me the total at the end of the tournament."
Kontaveit, the 28th seed, held off a superb deciding-set fightback from 18-year-old Iga Swiatek to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Pole Swiatek, who surprised 19th seed Donna Vekic in the previous round, looked confident both on the baseline and at the net in the first two sets and even produced a tweener during the second set.
But her form dropped at the start of the third and she was 5-1 down and heading for the exit. However, she fought back brilliantly to level before Kontaveit stopped the rot by holding serve before sealing victory by breaking her opponent.
Spaniard Garbine Muguruza is into her first Grand Slam quarter-final for two years following a 6-3 6-3 win over Dutch ninth seed Kiki Bertens.
The 26-year-old, who saw off fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the third round, showed glimpses of the sort of form that led her to the French Open and then the Wimbledon title in successive years.
She will now play either German 2016 champion Angelique Kerber or Russian 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
In a winner takes all affair, the Czechs got off to a bright start with Lubomir Jancarik and Tomas Polansky coming out on top in the opening game of the doubles. But, an immediate response followed from Hong Kong, China as Ho Kwan Kit and Ng Pak Nam turned the contest around in their favour (8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7).
Then, in what was surely the fixture of the night, Pavel Sirucek produced a fierce comeback display from two games down to force Wong Chun Ting down to the wire. With no room for error Wong stepped up the pace in game five to hold off a brave fight from his hard-hitting counterpart (11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7). Undoubtedly a star of tomorrow Tomas Polansky gave it his all in an attempt to keep his country in the tie, but a straight games loss to Ng Pak Nam (11-7, 11-6, 11-3) signalled the end of a fine run for the Czechs.
Disappointment for the brave Czechs but on reflection just reaching the final play-off round is a fine achievement in itself, especially considering the no.16 seeds’ near exit to DPR Korea in round one.
Suffering a 0-3 defeat in the following match against top seeds Korea Republic it would have been easy for the Czech players’ heads to drop. However, the exact opposite happened with the squad feeling more motivated than ever, much to India’s frustration. Seeded fifth, India were anticipated to condemn Czech Republic to a second loss on the bounce, but an inspirational team performance saw the side from Europe defy the odds to extend its stay in the competition.
Hungary, the team responsible for ousting a strong Great British side, awaited the Czechs in the penultimate round of the second stage. Once again Pavel Sirucek, Lubomir Jancarik and Tomas Polansky were called upon, and once again they didn’t disappoint as Czech Republic stormed to a 3-0 victory. It was just incredibly unfortunate for the Czechs to meet a table tennis powerhouse in the form of Hong Kong, China at the final hurdle otherwise we might be talking about an even bigger success story!
The stats show that the Czech Republic won more matches than it lost (3:2) while both defeats came against higher-seeded opposition. Despite missing out on the ultimate goal of securing qualification for Tokyo 2020, all in all it has been an admirable outing for the Czech Republic men’s team who can return home feeling proud of their efforts.
Nouran Gohar turns up the power against Camille Serme. Picture by JEAN ERVASTI
Serme and King beaten in straight games
By LINDA ELRIANI – Squash Mad Correspondent
In the semi-finals at Heights Casino, Gohar and El Tayeb both achieved straight-game victories against France’s Camille Serme, the recent ToC champion, and New Zealand’s Joelle King.
Gohar and Serme began with long, arduous rallies with both players vying for the T and trying to take the ball early. The quality of the squash was incredibly high and they were both pushing so hard to stick to their game plans.
Camille was managing to slow the ball down a little with some great lobs to help negate some of Nouran’s amazing power. It was even up until 6-6 and then Nouran started to pull away using her superb power in her hard and accurate drives and make it incredibly hard for Camille to move forward and use her attacking game. Nouran took the first 11-8.
In the second game Camille got a good start at 4-1 and was managing to cope with Nouran’s barrage of hard hit shots, but just as in the first game, Nouran dug in deeper and hit several magnificent, powerful drives that won her rallies outright. Her drives pinned Camille back and totally prevented her from taking the ball in the air.
Camille was trying so hard to impose her game, but she was finding it hard to slow the pace down well enough to impact Nouran. Both players were moving so well, but Nouran was particularly fast today and seemed to be reading Camille’s shots very early. Nouran ended up coming through the second with the same scoreline of 11-8.
The third game was evenly matched again up to 6-6. The rallies were so fun to watch as both players covered the court with such ease and grace and the quality of play was second to none. The game ended up being a repeat of the previous two with Nouran pulling away from her opponent, while Camille was desperately hanging on by her finger nails. Nouran came through to secure her place in the Carol Weymuller final 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 in 34 minutes.
A smiling Nouran said: “I’m really happy with the match. It was hard after losing last week. Camille was playing brilliantly and she can beat anyone on her day. I was trying to play my game hard and accurate, but in front of her as she is very dangerous on the volley. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”
The second semi-final match featured a rematch of last year’s final between world No.6 King and reigning champion El Tayeb.
The match started well and evenly with some great long rallies. Nour and Joelle have very different styles so it was interesting to see who could dominate. Nour is skilful, wonderfully swift and fantastically gutsy so you know you have to do so much to win each point. Joelle’s volleys are strong and she controls the middle, so well so Nour would have to keep the ball away from Joelle as much as possible.
At 5-5 the pressure from Nour started to show and some errors started to creep in. Joelle was going short just a little too early and not quite well enough and Nour took total advantage of this and took the first game 11-6.
The second game was always in Nour’s favour. Joelle was looking a little flat and her drives where not as tight as they usually are so this gave Nour more opportunities to use her creativity and hit some wonderful shots in the front. There were some marvellous rallies but Nour seemed to come out on top and continued like yesterday to be looking like she was having fun on the court. Nour got game ball at 10-3 but Joelle squeezed back two more points before Nour won the second game 11-5.
The third game was Joelle’s best. She pressed Nour deeper and this gave her the chance to use her volleys and cut off the ball short. Joelle got her first major lead of the match at 5-2. But with a cross court nick off the serve from Nour and a couple of errors from Joelle and some gutsy patience, Nour was fully back in the game.
Nour was managing to hit a great width and, with an opponent as tall and strong as Joelle, this is vital. Joelle tried to regain her composure, but each time she tried Nour seemed to have the answer or she would make an error. It was the two errors from Joelle that gave Nour the finals points to victory taking the match 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 in 33 minutes.
A very happy El Tayeb said: “I was more nervous than yesterday. Joelle has been playing great squash recently. I think it was up and down from both of us. But I managed to play the bigger points better. Winning in three against Joelle is massive. I’m happy and proud. This will be the second final in a row here which is great! I’m really looking forward to playing Nouran tomorrow.”
PSA $51,250 Women’s Carol Weymuller Open 2020, Heights Casino, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Semi-finals:
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [3] Camille Serme (FRA) 11-8, 11-8, 11-7
[2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [4] Joelle King (NZL) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8
Final:
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Pictures courtesy of JEAN ERVASTI
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – While Cadillac was celebrating its fourth-straight overall win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, BMW and Lamborghini earned victories of their own Sunday at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, under the guise of BMW Team RLL, topped an exhilarating GT Le Mans class battle to earn its second Rolex 24 class victory in as many years as an organization.
In 2019, the RLL squad won with its No. 25 BMW entry, but this time around it was the No. 24 and co-drivers Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus and Chaz Mostert who reigned in the end.
After trading the lead with both Porsche North America entries for much of the 24-hour distance, Finnish pilot Krohn survived drama on a late pit stop and then pulled away from the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Earl Bamber during the final stint of the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.
With an hour and eight minutes to go, Krohn was coming down pit road for a routine round of service when an LMP2 entry pulled out from the stall just ahead of BMW Team RLL’s, leading to a brief stall of Krohn’s machine that cost the No. 24 eight critical seconds of road time as it crept into position.
As it turned out, however, it didn’t make a difference in the final result.
Krohn absolutely turned up the wick inside of the final hour of competition, running down Nick Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR-19 and making the winning pass on lap 760, when Tandy ran wide at turn one with just under 46 minutes to go.
From there, Krohn slowly and steadily opened up a 14-second margin of victory – the largest gap of the race – as he put in near-qualifying times lap after lap down the home stretch.
Sunday’s class victory was the first Rolex 24 triumph for Krohn, Edwards and Mostert, but the second for Farfus, who was also part of the 2019 class-winning team on the other end of the RLL garage stall.
“I knew (after the bad pit stop) it needed to be quali lap after quali lap,” said Krohn of his final stint. “I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes, and I knew that catching (the Porsches) was one thing, but passing them was completely another. I don’t know how we did it, but a flawless job by the whole team.
“These guys (Edwards, Farfus and Mostert) led the pace; I just had to go in and bring it home.”
The pair of factory Porsches filled out the remaining two steps on the GTLM class podium, with the No. 912 of Bamber, Mathieu Jaminet and Laurens Vanthoor crossing second and the No. 911 co-driven by Tandy, Matt Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki finishing third in the hotly-contested class.
In GT Daytona, Paul Miller Racing finally collected its maiden Rolex 24 class victory after many years of trying thanks to the efforts of Andrea Caldarelli, Corey Lewis, Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow.
The quartet co-drove the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo to the win following a strategy shift that saw the Paul Miller squad short-pit on its final two stops in order to save time on refueling.
That move ultimately allowed Caldarelli to leapfrog the GRT-Magnus Racing Lamborghini of Marco Mapelli going into the final stint, giving the No. 48 an 18-second margin at the head of the class order.
Caldarelli maintained and extended that gap to the finish, taking the checkered flag in front of Mapelli by 21.908 seconds. It was the third straight Rolex 24 win for Lamborghini in the GTD class.
Among Paul Miller Racing’s quartet of drivers, perhaps the most emotional after the race was Sellers, who finally took a class win at the Rolex 24 in his 14th attempt at the 24-hour endurance classic.
“The emotions are high,” said Sellers. “The difference is, in the 13 times prior to this, I didn’t have these guys and the crew standing behind us. It’s not about one single person in this deal, it’s everybody. You don’t win a race like this without everyone … and everyone played their part today.
“I have to say, in every race there’s a standout performance, and we all did our jobs, but Andrea really stood out,” Sellers added. “We leaned on him heavily, especially at the end of the race, and we’re just thankful that he was able to come here and be a part of our program. I’m so happy. I don’t know what to say; I’m just so proud of everyone at Paul Miller Racing. They deserve to finally celebrate this one.”
Second in GTD went to the No. 44 GRT Magnus Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Mapelli, Andy Lally, John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly.
The final step on the class podium filled by the No. 88 WRT Speedstar Audi R8 LMS GT3 co-driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Rolf Ineichen, Daniel Morad and Dries Vanthoor.
Wayne Taylor Racing collected the overall victory on Sunday. For more on the two prototype classes, click here.
CONWAY, Ark. – The COMP Cams Super Dirt Series presented by Lucas Oil hosted its Night of Champions banquet on Saturday night at the Centennial Country Club.
The night’s festivities included Louisiana native Timothy Culp being crowned as the 2019 CCSDS champion and Scott Crigler being honored as the Midwest Sheet Metal Rookie of the Year.
Culp, who now resides in Prattsville, Ark., received $10,000 for his inaugural CCSDS championship. He claimed the title by 23 markers over Missouri’s Tony Jackson Jr.
With the title, Culp became the eighth different champion in the 13-year history of the tour.
In addition to Culp and Jackson Jr., the balance of the top 10 in the final series standings were honored, which included Brian Rickman, B.J. Robinson, Morgan Bagley, Kyle Beard, Hunter Rasdon, Scott Crigler, Chad Mallett and David Payne.
Alton, Missouri’s Scott Crigler was crowned the Midwest Sheet Metal Rookie of the Year. He received $1,500 for his efforts, while his runner-up in the competition, Chad Mallett, received $1,000.
Casey Mooneyham was presented with the Crew Chief of the Year award for his 2019 accomplishments with Tony Jackson Jr.
Additionally, Billy Carroll from COMP Cams received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his support and contributions to the racing community.
Sixteen drivers visited victory lane in 22 events with the CCSDS in 2019. Tony Jackson Jr. led the way in wins, with four visits to victory lane.
In total, more than $34,000 in points money was paid out, which marked a $12,000 increase from the 2018 point fund.
“Our first season to run a series, was definitely a learning experience, but Jack [Sullivan] and I are really proud of the season that we had,” said CCSDS CEO Chris Sullivan. “We had a ton of great competition on the tour and no shortage of great racing. I can’t say enough about all of the sponsors, who go above and beyond to sponsor the tour. They’ve allowed us to expand what we do and offer more money and prizes to the racers.
“We’re really excited about 2020 and what the series will have to offer tracks, drivers and fans.”
The 2020 CCSDS season marks the 14th year for the tour and includes more than 30 dates spread across 12 tracks in five states. Action opens on March 6-7 at Louisiana’s Boothill Speedway with the inaugural Ronny Adams Memorial.
The weekend posts a $3,000 winner’s check on Friday night and a $7,000 top prize on Saturday, March 7.
PEORIA, Ariz. – Chaz Baca had to hold off one of the top IMCA modified drivers for his $1,250 win during the second day of Canyon Speedway Park’s Winter Challenge Series.
Ricky Thornton Jr. provided the pressure over the last nine laps, but last year’s 43-time winner was unable to get past Baca.
Baca used the outside line to take the lead on lap three of the 25-lap main, while ninth-starting Thornton worked his way forward, using the middle of the track down to reach Baca’s tail on lap 16.
A couple times Thornton looked as if a change of lead was imminent, but never quite had the momentum for the pass. A yellow with two laps remaining created a potential dramatic conclusion, but Baca was up to the task and held off Thornton for the win.
Reigning track champion Ryan Roath finished third. Day two brought 25 modifieds to Canyon.
The IMCA Northern sport mods saw 2019 44-time winner, Cody Thompson, work his way from ninth to the lead by lap seven, running mostly the outside line in making progress. Thompson passed Mike Wells for the lead and went on to post his fourth win of the year.
Thompson did not race last year until late March and has gotten a jump-start on bettering last year’s total.
Andy Clower and Rex Higgins completed the podium. A 22-car field was on hand.
The IMCA stock cars put on another sterling race, with 20 cars on hand and the winner from the first day, Andy Altenburg, redrawing the pole. Altenburg led much of the race while Chance Hallatz, his fellow front row starter, trailed just behind the Minnesota leader.
Hallatz used an outside pass to take the lead for five laps, before Altenburg used the bottom to regain the lead coming to the white flag. A yellow set up a final chance for Hallatz, but Altenburg used the top line out of turn four to win the race to the line.
Hallatz was second and 12th-starting Cody Center was third.
The hobby stocks had the same two cars racing for the win as Saturday, when Brad King was pressured by Jason Duggins for the 20 lap-main. King held on for his second win of the series and again gave the trophy to a young fan with his enthusiastic, crowd-pleasing flair.
The Winter Challenge Series will resume next weekend.
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