PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia – Maverick Vinales claimed the pole position for Sunday’s MotoGP event at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Windy conditions forced qualifying, originally scheduled for Saturday, to be postponed until Sunday. That didn’t phase Vinales, who continued his strong form at the Australian circuit by earning his third pole of the season for Monster Energy Yamaha.

Vinales put his Yamaha bike on the pole with a 1:28.492, which was more than half a second ahead of Fabio Quartararo in second. MotoGP champion Marc Marquez qualified third to complete the front row.

“I feel good and very positive because on the laps I did I was able to push at my maximum, that‘s very important,” Vinales said. “Straight away I felt good on hard tires and soft tires, so we will try to keep this momentum: start well, get into first place, and push from the beginning. I will try my best as always. The Yamaha is working very good on the track, we need to be careful with the tires, but anyway, I‘m very happy and feeling very positive.”

Vinales’ teammate Valentino Rossi qualified fourth to lead the second row. He’ll be joined by Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci and the LCR Honda entry of rider Cal Crutchlow.

The Aprilia duo of Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone are seventh and eighth, with Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller qualifying ninth. Andrea Dovizioso qualified 10th for Ducati to complete the top-10.

Riders will now turn their attention to the race, which will take place at 3 p.m. local time in Australia.

Muni He of Chengdu, China made five birdies en route to a 2-under 69 on Saturday at Pinehurst No. 6 at the marathon LPGA Q-Series. She now holds the outright lead at 9 under, midway through the eight-round event.

He won on the Symetra Tour in her rookie year of 2018 and also made eight cuts in 19 starts on the LPGA tour this season. She’s feeling good about her position in the field, knowing four rounds remain.

“It’s very important for me to keep reminding myself like, ‘Hey, be patient and pace yourself’ because we have so much golf left," He said. 

Two shots behind He, at 7 under par, sit Lauren Coughlin (68), Maia Schechter (70) and Emma Talley (72). Lindsey Weaver (70) and Lauren Kim (72), the 36-hole leader, share third place at 6 under.

The third and final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament is being contested over 144 holes, with the first 72 played at Pinehurst No. 6. Play now shifts to Pinehurst No. 9 for the last four rounds, beginning Thursday. A minimum of the top 45 players and ties will earn LPGA status at the end of the competition. There are 98 players in the field.

A complete list of scores can be found here. 

HOUSTON -- A group of about 35 people staged a rally Saturday outside the Toyota Center before the Houston Rockets' game against the New Orleans Pelicans to voice support for protesters in Hong Kong.

As fans filed into the arena, the demonstrators gathered in the entrance plaza, wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Fight For Freedom" on the front and "China, Stop Bullying" on the back. They held American flags as well as signs expressing support for free expression and criticizing the Chinese government. Two attendees held a large, gold banner that read, "Hong Kong's fight is everyone's fight."

The rally was coordinated by two local groups: the Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinities and Texas for Hong Kong. The same coalition organized approximately 30 people on Thursday for the Rockets' home opener, and they sat behind the south basket and stood holding their signs during stoppages in play.

The Rockets have been at the center of the conflict between the NBA and China that was sparked by the reaction to a tweet on Oct. 4 by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressing support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. In the days that have followed, broadcasters in China, Chinese sponsors and the Chinese Basketball Association have severed or scaled back agreements with the NBA.

Chris Wong, a research scientist and Hong Kong native who has organized events in Houston to bring awareness to the situation in his home city, helped assemble participants from the local Hong Konger community for both Thursday's and Saturday's home games.

"My reaction [to the Morey tweet] was, 'Great, someone is supporting and publicly speaking for Hong Kong,'" Wong said. "But the reaction from the Chinese government and the machinery in China was such an overreaction just for someone sending out a symbolic tweet. I was mad."

The Rockets, who featured eight-time All-Star center Yao Ming for nearly a decade and played in the NBA's first game in China in 2004, are one of China's most popular NBA teams. The franchise has cultivated extensive commercial partnerships in the nation since drafting Yao in 2002. Although Tencent, an ESPN partner, has resumed streaming NBA games in China, the Rockets have not appeared on the platform in the opening week of the season.

Tram Ho, an internist who emigrated from Vietnam to the United States in 1982 after spending six months as a refugee in Hong Kong, said she was inspired to help organize the events in Houston by activists inside Barclays Center during a Brooklyn Nets preseason game. Tram, who counts herself as a casual Rockets fan first drawn to the NBA by retired Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, attended both Thursday's and Saturday's games and believes the current friction between China and the NBA is a harbinger of a larger conflict.

"China is not only bullying the United States right now, but [it] has been bullying other countries in Asia and South China Sea for a long time," Tram said. "I feel very sorry for Hong Kong, a democratic society. The two systems -- it's not going to work."

Fanny Wong, a certified public accountant in her 50s who immigrated to the United States from Macao in the 1970s, held a sign that read, "Stand with Hong Kong, Be Taller than LeBron, who kneels down for ¥¥¥ [the symbol for Chinese Yuan]." She wore a James Harden-style costume beard with a red zipper over the mouth to symbolize what she characterized as the self-censorship of many NBA players.

"I can understand that a lot of athletes, they have a lot of financial investment," Wong said. "What I would appreciate is that they be honest about that. Just say, 'We have a lot of interests at stake there, and there are certain things we need to compromise.' I'd respect that. They stood for justice somewhere else when there's no financial conflict of interest. But then where there is a conflict of financial interest, 'Oh, wait a minute. We don't understand.' To me, that's a lie. I'd respect it more if they were honest about it."

As game time neared, the group began to chant, "Stand for freedom, no censorship," before breaking into staccato chants of "Morey, Morey, Morey" and then "NBA, NBA, NBA."

"We are currently seeing people seeking profit over freedom," Jean Lin, a 28-year-old Taiwanese-American research technician, said when asked how the situation with the NBA and China is instructive. "Making that money and reaching that big market in China becomes more prominent, disregarding true American values."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney will miss at least the next two games and see a team of specialists to evaluate what the organization said Saturday is an ongoing presence of a neuropathic condition in his body. Looney missed almost all of training camp as he dealt with a right hamstring injury and played only 10 minutes in Thursday's loss to the LA Clippers before being taken out for what was termed "precautionary reasons." The Warriors believe the nerve condition is a "direct correlation" to the hamstring issue.

"It's not really his hamstring," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It's kind of a neuropathic condition that he's had for a couple years. It's something he's been able to play through, but in this particular case the condition is affecting his hamstring. His hamstring is sound, the MRI is clean, but it makes it trickier actually that it's a neuropathic condition. That's really all I'm going to say on it because I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to these matters."

Kerr spoke with uncertainty in his voice as he updated Looney's condition. The issue for the Warriors is that don't know exactly what's going on and they don't know how long the popular big man will be out.

"He's going to see a specialist," Kerr continued. "[We're] feeling really, really bad for him. He's such a great human being, great player. One of my favorite guys I've ever coached because he's not just low maintenance, he's zero maintenance. He just comes in and does his work and you just want a guy like that to flourish. He should be entering the prime of his career -- and hopefully he's got many years ahead of him, but we'd love to find some answers. Hopefully sooner rather than later and get him back on the floor."

The Warriors desperately need Looney on the floor given the lack of big-man depth they came into the season with. Veteran Willie Cauley-Stein missed all of training camp and remains out because of a foot strain, so the onus will be on young big men Eric Paschall, Omari Spellman and Marquese Chriss to pick up the slack in Looney's absence.

"Just putting Eric and Marquese and Omari in the fire," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. "That's going to be helpful for them throughout the course of the season when they're called upon to play significant minutes. And see the right pictures on the floor, especially defensively. I remember my rookie year there was no better way to learn than to just be out there and go through, get those reps in games so it's going to be fun to watch them. We got to help them; we got to communicate."

Cauley-Stein went through practice with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Saturday and is expected to stay with Warriors G League affiliate for a few days as he continues his injury rehab. Kerr also noted that Draymond Green will get a few more minutes at the center spot as the Warriors adjust the center rotation on the fly. Green injured his right forearm during Thursday's loss, but he went through Saturday's practice without issue and will play Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"He'll contribute at the center position and we can play Eric at the 4, so that has to be an answer, part of the answer," Kerr said. "But no matter how you slice it from a size standpoint it's a lot to handle. Typically we've played Draymond at the five over the years for 10 minutes a game. We've never really asked him to do that for huge minutes. We've done it to play in spurts or to generate pace and that sort of thing. But asking Draymond to guard Steven Adams for 30 minutes wouldn't make much sense. So we've got to mix and match and find different combinations and things to do and we'll go from there."

As a group, the Warriors are just hoping the tests Looney goes through over the next few days come back clean -- but the look of concern on Kerr's face was palpable as he spoke about one of the group's most popular players.

"Loon, he knows what he's doing out there," Curry said. "He knows where to be. He's been with us for a long time and been in some pretty high-intensity games. Those other guys have to step up in his absence ... myself, Draymond and Loon have been here through these championships and you want to have us out there as much as possible throughout the year, but if not it's just an opportunity. In this league you've got guys who can surprise you with opportunities so we'll see how it goes."

The Nationals waste Yan Gomes' leadoff double in the third, as Patrick Corbin, Trea Turner and Adam Eaton leave him stranded. Key play: Jose Urquidy fields Corbin's bunt with Alex Bregman hustling back to third to keep Gomes at second. One of those little plays that helped the Astros save a base and maybe a run.

MEXICO CITY – Max Verstappen secured his second Formula One pole of the season in an upset performance Saturday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It appeared as if one of the Ferrari cars – driven by Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc – would sit on the pole for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, but Verstappen made sure that wasn’t going to happen.

During the final qualifying session Verstappen roared to a stunning 1:14.758 lap, which gave him the track record by a scant .001 seconds. Shortly thereafter Valtteri Bottas crashed his Mercedes in the final corner, bringing the qualifying session to a premature end.

That meant Verstappen, the two-time and defending Mexican Grand Prix winner, had earned his second pole of the season for Red Bull.

Behind him, Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari with his best lap of 1:15.024. He was closely followed by his teammate Vettel, with championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Alexander Albon fourth and fifth.

Bottas ended up sixth despite his crash in Q3, followed by the McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris. Toro Rosso drivers Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly completed the top-10 in qualifying.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – After three years of waiting, close calls and excruciating heartbreaks, Todd Gilliland finally christened himself as a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series winner on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

Gilliland, who started 11th and wasn’t a factor for much of the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200, found himself in position on a restart with 10 laps to go and wasted no time in taking advantage of the shot.

Restarting third behind leader Ross Chastain, Gilliland forced his way up the inside in turn three on lap 191, powering past the Truck Series playoff contender and never looking back en route to victory.

Despite a subsequent caution with five laps left and an overtime restart which pushed the race one lap beyond its scheduled distance, Gilliland held off Chastain’s best efforts and pulled away on the final circuit to finally reach victory lane in his 46th series start.

“What a race,” Gilliland said. “I’d say we just didn’t have the speed overall at the start of the race; we were just really tight. We made our truck a ton better throughout the race, though, despite being involved in a wreck there part of the way through.

“Man, this has been a long time coming. Most short tracks, on a late restart, third is where you want to be, and I knew … I knew when we restarted up there with 10 to go that we had to take our shot at it. To end up here is an amazing feeling,” he added. “Hopefully this will help us build some momentum for the final couple of races and open up some doors for next year.”

Though he had a little help from teammate Harrison Burton to escape from Chastain during the overtime restart, Gilliland didn’t feel that it was specifically he and Burton teaming up to win the race.

“It was both of us trying to win on our own. My spotter was telling me to let him do the work, but I wanted to do the work and win for myself,” Gilliland noted. “Harrison isn’t the guy you want to move, because he’s my teammate and my friend, but I’m just proud to be able to get through there at the end and win one for this team after they’ve worked so hard for me all year long.”

Chastain attempted to get back to Gilliland’s bumper through turns one and two on the final lap, but ended up nearly being spun by Burton and had to fight just to hang on to second in the end.

“I’m living my dream right now. To go head to head against (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and hold my own is great, but I just wish I could have fought them one at a time,” Chastain noted. “I couldn’t take two of them though. They took turns beating my back bumper off.

“I wish I could have gone blow for blow with them. They just had the numbers there at the end.”

Johnny Sauter crossed the line third, followed by Grant Enfinger and Timmy Hill, who secured his first top-five finish driving for his self-owned Truck Series operation.

Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, Danny Bohn, Jeb Burton and Codie Rohrbaugh completed the top 10.

Three of the six playoff contenders – Tyler Ankrum, Austin Hill and Brett Moffitt – all failed to finish as a result of various crashes during the 201-lap slugfest on Saturday afternoon.

As a result, Moffitt heads into ISM Raceway in two weeks’ time with a 45-point margin over the elimination cut line, with Friesen 35 points clear, Chastain 20 markers up and Hill five points to the good.

Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum go into the final race of the semifinal round at risk of elimination.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Persistent rain showers at Port Royal Speedway have forced World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and track officials to cancel Saturday’s event at the speedway.

There is no rain date.

As a result, Brad Sweet will enter the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Nov. 7-9 with an eight-point lead over Donny Schatz in the battle for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship.

Those who purchased a ticket in advance to Saturday’s event at Port Royal Speedway will receive a face value credit to their MyDirtTickets.com account to be used towards any World of Outlaws event available at WorldofOutlaws.com/tix.

If a credit to your account does not work for you, then you have until Nov. 25 to request a refund. For more details call 844-DIRT-TIX to speak with a customer service representative about your options. The office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.