Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...
I Dig Sports

I Dig Sports

Jets re-sign F Connor to 7-year, $50M deal

Published in Hockey
Saturday, 28 September 2019 20:00

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets re-signed restricted free-agent forward Kyle Connor on Saturday to a seven-year, $50 million deal.

Connor's deal carries an average annual value of $7.14 million.

The 22-year-old just completed his three-year entry-level deal that had a $925,000 cap hit. He was the final player general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff needed to get under contract after Patrik Laine agreed to a two-year, $13.5 million contract Friday.

Laine was the more talked-about Jets restricted free agent, but Connor actually had more goals and assists last season. Connor, from Shelby Township, Michigan, had 34 goals and 32 assists in 82 regular-season games last season. Laine had 30 and 20, playing most of his time on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

He has 67 goals and 61 assists in 178 career games in three seasons, all with the Jets.

The Jets will open the season Thursday night in New York against the Rangers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pens' Crosby hit by puck, exits preseason finale

Published in Hockey
Saturday, 28 September 2019 20:28

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby left the Pittsburgh Penguins' preseason finale against the Buffalo Sabres in the first period Saturday after taking a shot off his skate.

Hit by a shot from Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella, Crosby played on for 6 minutes, 42 seconds before leaving. Pittsburgh forward Bryan Rust left the game after he was hit in the hand in the third period.

"They both got hit with shots," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "They are being evaluated now. We will probably have more definitive answers tomorrow morning."

The Sabres won the game 3-2 in a shootout, with Casey Mittelstadt scoring in the sixth round.

Tage Thompson also scored for Buffalo in the shootout. Thompson's goal in the second round drew Buffalo even, after Pittsburgh's Kris Letang opened the round by scoring on a wrist shot. Letang was the only Penguin to score in the shootout.

Buffalo's Linus Ullmark made 34 saves, and Scandella and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres. Patric Hornqvist and Rust scored for the Penguins, and Matt Murray made 28 saves.

The two teams will open the regular season Thursday in Buffalo.

Champ (67) takes 3-shot lead at Safeway Open

Published in Golf
Saturday, 28 September 2019 13:53

After three rounds in Napa, Cameron Champ leads the Safeway Open as he looks for his second career PGA Tour victory. Here’s what happened Saturday at Silverado Resort and Spa:

Leaderboard: Champ (-14), Sebastian Munoz (-11), Adam Hadwin (-11), Nick Taylor (-11), Chez Reavie (-10), Collin Morikawa (-10), Justin Thomas (-10)

What it means: Champ put together a bogey-free, 5-under 67 to take a three-shot lead into Sunday’s final round. The second-year Tour pro out of Texas A&M hasn’t been in contention much since last fall’s maiden Tour win at the Sanderson Farms. Champ has just two top-25 finishes this year and only one since Kapalua in early January.

Rounds of the day: Zac Blair birdied five of his last seven holes and Bud Cauley birdied three of his final four as each shot 6-under 66 to climb to 9 under. Daniel Berger and Rhein Gibson, each at 8 under, also carded 66s.

Best of the rest: Just a week removed from his victory at the Sanderson Farms, Munoz fired 67 to vault to 11 under, where Hadwin also sits after a 67 of his own.

Biggest disappointment: Bryson DeChambeau led by two entering the day, but he fell down the leaderboard with a third-round 76.

Biggest storyline entering Sunday: A Champ victory Sunday would mean more than just a young talent ending a lengthy slump. It would also be a special moment for Champ and his family as Champ’s grandfather, Mack, is in hospice with terminal, Stage IV stomach cancer.

STERLING, Va. — President Donald Trump enjoyed a unique mix of playing partners for his round of golf Saturday, though his partners report he ended up on the losing end.

Trump played with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and two retired pro golfers, Gary Player and Annika Sörenstam, both members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Graham reported that Trump was in good spirits, though he says the president and Player lost the match to Sorenstam and himself.

“We defrocked the Black Knight and the president,” said Graham, using a nickname for Player, who has long liked to wear all black on the golf course.

“They beat the hell out of us,” Player admitted with a big smile.

The press pool following Trump spoke to Graham and Player briefly on the South Lawn upon the return to the White House. Graham was asked about the president’s mood, in light of the Democratic-led House launching a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump.

“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing golf with him. It was wonderful,” Graham said. “Playing with Gary Player and Annika Sorenstram was one of the best days I’ve ever spent on the golf course. The president was a charmingly great host, a lot of fun.”

Player is the winner of 24 PGA Tour events and 118 international tournaments. Sörenstam completed her LPGA career with 72 tournament victories and was the dominant female player of her era, earning the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award three consecutive years beginning in 2003.

The group joined the president for a round at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

DeChambeau (76) caps birdie-free round with adventurous par

Published in Golf
Saturday, 28 September 2019 14:36

NAPA, Calif. – Bryson DeChambeau quickly went from bogey-free to birdie-free at the Safeway Open.

DeChambeau was the only player not to drop a shot through the first two rounds at Silverado Resort and Spa, amassing a two-shot lead heading into the weekend. But things unraveled in a hurry for the five-time PGA Tour winner, who struggled to a 4-over 76 without making a single third-round birdie.

That score beat only three players among the 67 who made the cut and dropped DeChambeau from solo leader into a tie for 15th, six shots behind Cameron Champ. DeChambeau declined to speak with media following his round.

After rolling in more than 116 feet worth of putts en route to a second-round 64, DeChambeau struggled on the greens Saturday amid swirling winds. He needed 33 putts to complete his round, including five misses from inside 10 feet.

DeChambeau’s woes included an adventurous 18th hole, where his approach to the par-5 bounced over the greenside grandstand and into an adjacent penalty area. That initiated a lengthy discussion with PGA Tour officials as to where he would be allowed to take relief from the grandstand.

Mark Russell, the Tour’s vice president of rules and competitions, oversaw a ruling in which DeChambeau was allowed to move the ball to a different spot behind the green to get relief from the temporary immovable obstruction while maintaining a position within the penalty area.

Bryson DeChambeau found himself in a tough spot behind the 18th green Saturday at Silverado.

“He could not take the ball freely outside of the hazard. He would have to take a penalty stroke to do that, but he got maximum relief from the TIOs in the hazard,” Russell said. “He only gets maximum relief. Not complete relief, maximum relief. So that’s what he did.”

DeChambeau played a pitch shot from the penalty area over the grandstand that landed on the green en route to a closing par.

NAPA, Calif. – With the difficulty factor turned up a notch at the Safeway Open, Justin Thomas switched from targeting birdies to hanging on to pars for dear life.

Swirling winds made conditions especially difficult for the third-round leaders, a group that included Thomas who started the day just three shots off the lead. While a 1-under 71 may not seem particularly spiffy, especially coming on the heels of a second-round 64, Thomas was pleased with his effort given the circumstances.

“A grind, for sure. It was tough out there,” Thomas said. “I’m proud of myself how I hung in there. I really fought hard. To only make one bogey, to drive it how I did on the back nine, hit some very poor irons and kept myself in the tournament, which is good.”

Thomas appeared headed for a missed cut after bogeys on three of his first five holes to open the tournament, but he’s been on the comeback trail ever since. Despite circling only two birdies during his third round, he’s firmly in the mix for his second win in as many months, sitting among a tie for fifth at 10 under and four shots behind leader Cameron Champ.

Thomas is the highest-ranked player in the field this week in Napa, and his record at Silverado Resort & Spa includes top-10 finishes in each of his last two appearances. It all adds up to an appetizing situation heading into a final round where conditions are expected to remain demanding.

“I just need to go out and play my game. I love this golf course, and I can make a lot of birdies, leave myself a lot of chances,” Thomas said. “Just get some rest and come out tomorrow and we’ll be ready to go.”

Munoz (67) playing free and eyeing back-to-back wins in Napa

Published in Golf
Saturday, 28 September 2019 15:38

NAPA, Calif. – Don’t blame Sebastian Munoz for riding a hot streak.

The Colombia native has started the new wraparound season in nearly ideal fashion, chasing a T-7 finish at The Greenbrier with his first career win in a playoff last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s one of only two players to start the year with a pair of top-10 finishes, and he’s in position for more success after playing his way into Sunday’s final pairing at the Safeway Open.

Munoz started the day six shots off the lead, but a 5-under 67 combined with difficult and windy conditions helped move him all the way into a three-way tie for second at 11 under, three shots behind leader Cameron Champ.

“I went to college in Texas, so I mean, I learned how to play in the wind. So I feel comfortable,” Munoz said. “I know how to hit the shots, it’s just a matter of executing.”

Munoz had only four career top-10 finishes entering this season, and he barely hung onto his card last season. But he’s quickly transformed into a coast-to-coast success story, one he hopes to build on Sunday as he looks to become the first Tour player to win in back-to-back weeks since Bryson DeChambeau took the first two playoff events last year.

“I feel great moving up from my category (with the win). I mean, that was a huge relief for me not having to think about the reshuffle,” Munoz said. “I can play a little more aggressive, a little more free, not worrying about, like, I need these points. … I’m just playing a little more fun, a little more loose and having fun.”

MADRID -- By the end of this derbi, take my word for it, Kieran Trippier stood in the flash zone of the Wanda Metropolitano and gushed with enthusiasm for what he'd just been through.

The phrase "best derby I've ever played in" was the one he reached for. North London? Spurs vs. Arsenal? What are they?

I'm an optimist, a romantic, and therefore, sure, like everyone else I'd have loved Karim Benzema's wonderful, towering header to have sneaked into the corner of the net or Trippier's searing cross in Saturday's first half to have met the toe of Koke's boot as it was intended to and zipped past Thibaut Courtois.

We love goals, all of us. But I was inspired by this meeting of Madrid's two biggest, noisiest inhabitants.

Trippier has loved the intensity, the tension, the different kinds of questions Spanish football asked him compared to the Premier League.

More -- and typical for someone who's steadfastly set himself to learn Spanish at double-quick time, we shouldn't be totally surprised -- the Bury Beckham has pretty instantly understood the impact of this cross-capital feud.

The welcome for the Atleti bus as it nudged along Avenida Luis Aragones and reached the space-age Wanda Metropolitano was rapturous. Of course.

Vibrant, loyal, defiant, things exploding (fireworks, don't worry) and passionate about their team. As a Scot, I know how inspirational it can be to perpetually feel like the underdog -- that's the Atleti experience when Madrid lord it over them.

But before he went out and dignified this 0-0 draw with daring, athleticism, intelligence and total, total focussed attention, I guess some ghosts danced their way through Trippier's psyche.

It was in exactly this spot that he said goodbye to Tottenham. The Metropolitano was not only the disappointment of his entire playing career, even ahead of losing a World Cup semifinal with England, having put them 1-0 up against Croatia.

To reach Spurs' first European Cup or Champions League final and lose without properly competing, without fully imposing their personality, must have been truly heartbreaking.

Then, in the same part of the deep bowels of this magnificent arena, to admit, as Trippier did, that his season hadn't been up to scratch and that he had to change something, struck me as the mark of a true man.

Honesty, self-assessment and painful admission on a night when most competitors, especially proud ones, must have wanted to go and either hide or drown sorrows until they couldn't swim around the mind.

So, suddenly, he was back at the Metropolitano, not for a debut, but for the biggest test, Juventus included, of his adaptation to La Liga football.

Honestly, while he wasn't the man of the match, I thought Trippier was super.

Athleticism, yes. Diligence, yes. But also terrific application of football intelligence to the extent that he was able to test the rivals in front of him and to blunt Eden Hazard, on Madrid's left, while the Belgian was full of vitality and impishness.

Trippier's key moment came midway through the first half when, set free down the right, he made time stop and looked up in a kind of theatrical way as if to say: "Hey, LADS, I'm in a great position here ... anyone want to take advantage?"

Captain Koke did, but it was typical of the two strikers -- Diego Costa and Joao Felix, each of whom had a night when they certainly didn't want to offend any visiting player (choirboys, let's say) -- that they weren't in the vicinity.

So Koke bursts into the Madrid box, Trippier's centre is what the Oxford English Dictionary would define as "the corridor of uncertainty" and it's fizzing along at laser speed.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- When does the transfer window reopen?

Jan Oblak's save from Benzema might have been the goal-prevention moment of the raucous night, just ahead of his full-length dive to his left to push Toni Kroos' wonderful right-footed volley around the post.

But Courtois' interception of that Trippier centre, a 6-foot-4 man not only at full stretch outward into his six-yard box, but with arm extended like Clark Kent, was simply magnificent.

World Cup third/fourth playoff and Courtois wins it; first Madrid derbi and Courtois tarnishes Trippier's golden moment ...

They'll be back for more. I liked watching an English import look not only as if he was comfortable in his clothes, but utterly enjoying himself.

What added a little lustre to Trippier's night was the fact that he really worked another Belgian in a way that spoiled the chances of this being an ultra-hazardous night for the Colchoneros.

Hazard was superb last week against Sevilla, given a good rest in midweek during the Osasuna win, and I guess the concept of manager Zinedine Zidane was that this would be his star signing's five-star night -- instead, Trippier did enough harrying and fussing around the former Chelsea man that, gradually, he drifted out of the contest. Not a terrible night from Hazard, not anywhere near it. And when he's fit he's going to feast on some of La Liga's defences.

However, Trippier did a double shift of such proportions that he was a constant threat up the pitch, and he never allowed his direct rival to impose himself at the other end. Diego Simeone, even though this project with his English patient is only partially completed, will be extremely happy.

This, you have to see, isn't the Trippier who exited the Metropolitano with his head hanging low, self-castigating and out of form.

A matter of a few months later and he's buzzing that he made this move, buzzing that he's at least the equal of anyone in the Atletico team and, now, certain that his status in the Madrid neighbourhood where he lives has just rocketed.

But it would be impossible to leave this assessment of the derbi without saying two important things.

First, as impressive as Atleti's new right-back was, his place on the podium was looking up to Ghana's Thomas Partey.

The midfielder was superb -- he out-Casemiroed Casemiro.

Quick to press, clever in the tackle and superbly firm, the things which were most to savour about his performance were that he not only passed beautifully between the lines of pressure from Real Madrid, he also made his job look easy. So easy that he was often a thought or three ahead of the rivals buzzing around him.

Easily one of the best games Thomas has played for Atleti.

But, Real Madrid. Anyone who saw them in Paris 10 days ago, giving up the ghost, not chasing the ball, leaving their brilliant, elegant manager, Zidane, complaining that they "didn't put a foot into challenges" wouldn't recognise this XI.

Madrid have now gone out, sequentially, and outcompeted Sevilla in a stadium where they've lost more often this century than any other arena. And won.

Then they dealt, stylishly, with Osasuna thanks to two goals from their Brazilian babies.

Now they've come to the Metropolitano, they've not only matched Atleti but probably are the unluckier side to depart with only a point and, in my humble opinion, they are on the road to a credible La Liga season.

From the humiliation of Paris to this reaction? Seven of the next nine points, three clean sheets, successful team rotations -- crisis, what damn crisis?

Patriots seal playoffs spot with thrilling last-ball win

Published in Cricket
Saturday, 28 September 2019 21:51

St Kitts and Nevis Patrios 149 for 7 (Brooks 53, Gurney 2-23) beat Barbados Tridents 148 (Shakib 38, Cottrell 3-27, Brathwaite 3-30) by 1 run

A match that was a slow burn for most of the first 30 overs came alive in the last quarter of play with a series of dramatic twists and turns that ended with St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots booking their place in the CPL 2019 playoffs, with a one-run last-ball win over Barbados Tridents at Kensington Oval. A first-innings fifty by Shamarh Brooks set up a fighting total of 149 for 7 after Patriots had opted to bat. Tridents' steady reply then turned haywire after Patriots captain Carlos Brathwaite sparked a collapse with the key scalp of Shakib Al Hasan.

With 12 to get off the final over and two wickets in hand, Raymon Reifer looked like he would take Tridents across the line after striking an audacious six over extra cover off the first legal ball - the first ball of the over had been a wide - to bring the equation to 5 off 5. But Reifer inexplicably ran himself out coming back for a non-existent two on the next ball. The last-wicket pair of Chemar Holder and Harry Gurney took it down to two off the final ball to win, or a single to force a Super Over, before Dominic Drakes beat Gurney for pace with a length ball that pegged back the offstump.

Brooks' home-ground heroics for Patriots

Two days short of his 31st birthday, Brooks produced a career-best maiden half-century in T20 cricket on his return home to his native island. Brooks came in to bat after Mohammad Hafeez had struggled through four overs to make 6, and fired from early in his knock, with back-to-back fours in the fifth over off Chemar Holder.

He survived a massive lbw appeal from Hayden Walsh Jr on 28 after going deep in his crease missing a flick to midwicket. Brooks then rubbed salt into the wound by smashing the legspinner for four and six in the 14th just a few days after Walsh had taken the season's best figures with 5 for 19 against Trinbago Knight Riders. Walsh eventually got Brooks out bowled slog sweeping off the final ball of his spell in the 16th. Brathwaite then fell at the start of the 17th to an arm ball from Shakib to leave Patriots struggling again at 114 for 6 but a late burst from Fabian Allen and Keron Cottoy gave the visitors life heading into the innings break.

Shakib's impact with bat and ball

The Bangladesh star had started off the match with a maiden, finished with returns of 1 for 14 in four overs and was no less a menace with the bat after arriving in the third over of Tridents' chase. Regularly using his feet to the spinners, Shakib played some gloriously elegant drives through extra cover for four and over long-on for six off Hafeez in the fourth over.

He was undeterred when Alex Hales fell to a brilliant catch by Sheldon Cottrell in the eighth over, and continued to steer the innings in tandem with JP Duminy. After 11 overs, Tridents were 83 for 2 and needed just 67 off 54 balls, seemingly well on course for a stress-free conclusion.

Brathwaite's rescue act

The Patriots captain resuscitated his side's chances with a game-changing 12th over that claimed both Shakib and Jonathan Carter. Shakib found Brooks with a miscued drive to long-on off the third ball for 38. Carter then helped the pendulum swing back closer to the Patriots when his misguided attempt to open the face for a single to third man instead produced an edge dragged onto the stumps.

Rayad Emrit, who had taken Hales' wicket, then induced a slap to mid-on by Jason Holder in the 14th over. Cottrell trapped Ashley Nurse with an inswinger in the next over before another ill-fated steer by Duminy resulted in Brathwaite's third wicket, edged behind to Devon Thomas, completing a slide of 5 for 14 to make it 99 for 7 from 85 for 2.

With 37 needed off three overs, Reifer battled back fiercely, striking sixes in consecutive overs off Brathwaite and Cottrell to keep Tridents in the hunt. Then came his six off Drakes to start the final over to bring the equation down to a run a ball before madness set in. Tridents must now come back on Sunday for a do-or-die clash against St Lucia Zouks. Only one point separates the Tridents and Zouks and the winner will claim the final playoff spot in CPL 2019, regardless of the result of Tridents' last league stage match at Queen's Park Oval against Knight Riders.

Oklahoma, Notre Dame (again) earn 900th wins

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 28 September 2019 18:28

Oklahoma and Notre Dame became the sixth and seventh FBS teams to earn 900 wins in program history on Saturday -- a feat the Irish accomplished for the second time.

Notre Dame originally reached 900 wins in 2017 while appealing an NCAA mandate that the school vacate 21 victories because of academic misconduct, including all 12 wins from the school's 2012 run to the national championship game, as well as nine from 2013.

The NCAA denied the school's appeal in February 2018, putting its official win total back under 900. The university's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, strongly criticized the NCAA's decision at the time, saying the school was being punished for rigorously enforcing its honor code.

The decision ultimately allowed the No. 6 Sooners to beat Notre Dame in the race to an official 900 by a matter of hours on Saturday, running away from Texas Tech 55-16 before the No. 10 Irish matched them with a 35-20 win over No. 18 Virginia.

The schools join Michigan (956), Ohio State (916), Texas (911), Alabama (910) and Nebraska (900) as the only Football Bowl Subdivision programs to achieve 900 wins. The Cornhuskers won No. 900 last weekend by beating Illinois. Yale, now in the Football Championship Subdivision, has 909 wins.

Both Oklahoma and Notre Dame have 325 losses to go with their 900 victories. The Sooners have played in 11 more ties than the Irish, 53-42.

Oklahoma is in its 125th season of football, posting the fifth-best winning percentage nationally though its first 124, with only 13 losing seasons. The Sooners own seven national championships.

Notre Dame, which started playing in 1887, has 11 national championships dating back to 1924, with the most recent coming in 1988. Entering the game against Virginia, Notre Dame had an all-time win percentage at 72.7.

ESPN's Sam Khan Jr. and Tom VanHaaren contributed to this report.

Soccer

Pulisic scores in 5th straight game for 1st time

Pulisic scores in 5th straight game for 1st time

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsChristian Pulisic scored in his fifth straight game for club and co...

Why Pulisic is at his best with Milan, and are Barca doing enough to protect Yamal?

Why Pulisic is at his best with Milan, and are Barca doing enough to protect Yamal?

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWelcome to a new season of Onside/Offside! Luis Miguel Echegaray sh...

Martino: Messi available for Argentina WCQ return

Martino: Messi available for Argentina WCQ return

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsInter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino confirmed Lionel Mess...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Spurs say Vassell (foot) out until at least Nov. 1

Spurs say Vassell (foot) out until at least Nov. 1

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsSan Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell will miss the start of the up...

Sources: Pistons owner set to buy Chargers stake

Sources: Pistons owner set to buy Chargers stake

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLOS ANGELES -- Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores has agreed to purcha...

Baseball

Unsettled playoff races? Will the White Sox ever lose again?! What to watch in MLB's final weekend

Unsettled playoff races? Will the White Sox ever lose again?! What to watch in MLB's final weekend

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWe head into the final weekend of the 2024 MLB regular season -- wh...

Dodgers wrap up 11th NL West title in 12 years

Dodgers wrap up 11th NL West title in 12 years

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League West...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated