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Owens Goes Back To Back At Knoxville

Published in Racing
Sunday, 15 September 2019 03:47

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Jimmy Owens became just the second driver in the history of the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals to win the $40,000 event in back-to-back years Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway.

Owens joins fellow Volunteer State driver Mike Marlar as the only drivers in the 16-year-history of the crown jewel event to win in consecutive years.

Owens took the lead from Brandon Sheppard on lap 86 and held off one final charge from Sheppard exiting turn four to take the win.

Sheppard finished in second with Hudson O’Neal charging from the back after making two pit stops to Owens and Sheppard on the podium.

Devin Moran, in his first start in the Knoxville finale, finished in fourth with Kyle Bronson coming from his 20th starting position to round out the top five.

Polesitter Shane Clanton grabbed the lead at the start of the event with fellow front-row starter Darrell Lanigan running in second. Those two ran 1-2 for the first 44 laps of the race until Sheppard was able to get by Lanigan after a lap-44 caution flag.

Clanton led the first 55 circuits of the race until a restart on lap 56 allowed Chris Madden to become the first car to lead other than Clanton. Madden was seeking his first Knoxville win after being absent from the speedway for nearly twelve years.

Once in front, Madden started to pull away from Clanton. Clanton slowed on lap 72 with a broken axle, bringing his night to an end. On the restart, Sheppard became the third different leader of the race as he zipped around the top to take over the lead from Madden.

Like Madden did before him, Sheppard was pulling away from the field. However, the race for the top spot was far from over. Owens took second on lap 80 from Madden in swift fashion but was still several car lengths behind Sheppard. With 20 laps remaining, Owens found the momentum he was looking for, and with that rally he began slicing into Sheppard’s lead.

The laps were winding down in rapid-fire fashion, and Owens was ready to pounce. He darted under Sheppard with fourteen laps to go and wrestled the lead away from the fellow Rocket Chassis driver. Sheppard was not done though.

Owens had to battle traffic in front of him and Sheppard was able to make one last-lap ditch effort to steal the win from Owens, but came up just short at the finish line.

Jimmy Owens (center) shared the podium with Brandon Sheppard and Hudson O’Neal. (LOLMDS photo)

Owens started 18th and made history in event as no other driver has ever started that deep in the pack and managed a victory.

“We had a really good car. We had to be married to that top way more than I wanted to, but our tires fired up and we got going really well,” Owens said. “We chased Sheppard down in lapped traffic and we had one opportunity to get by him, so we took it the best we could. On that last lap I could hear him [Sheppard]. I didn’t know if he was above me or below me. I figured if he was below me, he couldn’t get around me so I just scooted down the track a little bit to kill his line coming off of turn four and I thought, well heck if it’s going to be a drag-race, maybe we can beat him to the line.”

Sheppard once again felt the disappointment of coming up just short of his and car owner Mark Richards’ first win at Knoxville.

“That was the most fun I have had in a race car in a while,” he said. “Jimmy did a heck of a job and my hat is off to him. He was there when he needed to be. There were a few things during the race that made me run harder than I wanted to. I am just disappointed; we had a really fast race car.”

Hudson O’Neal came home with his best career Knoxville Nationals finish.

“We were somewhere around 15th-20th place for most of the race. We made a pit-stop before the fuel-stop and I think it really brought the car to life. It definitely got the car a whole lot better because it was more maneuverable. I had some good restarts, and I think on that last one, we drove past four cars through the middle. Everything has to line up to drive from the back like that.”

The finish:

Feature (100 Laps): 1. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (18); 2. 1s, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (9); 3. 71, Hudson O’Neal, Morgantown, IN (16); 4. 1D, Devin Moran, Dresden, OH (17); 5. 40B, Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL (20); 6. 0m, Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC (4); 7. 2s, Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, NM (23); 8. 7w, Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB, Can. (3); 9. 1, Earl Pearson Jr., Hilliard, FL (15); 10. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Franfort, IL (21); 11. 32s, Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA (12); 12. 29, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (2); 13. 49, Jonathan Davenport, Pelzer, SC (24); 14. 0, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (10); 15. 1T, Tyler Erb, St. Mary’s, OH (5); 16. 50, Shanon Buckingham, Morristown, TN (22); 17. 28, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (14); 18. 16T, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (8); 19. Chase Junghans (28); 20. Brian Birkhofer (25); 21. 25, Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA (1); 22. 32P, Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL (19); 23. Shannon Babb (27); 24. 20RT, Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, IA (6); 25. 14, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (11); 26. 5, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (7); 27. Tim McCreadie (26); 28. Billy Moyer (30); 29. 1C, Chad Simpson, Mt. Vernon, IA (13); 30. Billy Moyer Jr. (29). Lap Leaders: Clanton 1-55, Madden 56-72, Sheppard 73-85, Owens 86-100.  

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – If Lexi Thompson is going to win her singles match and earn her first full point of this Solheim Cup, she’s going to have to battle more than opponent Georgia Hall.

According to Golf Channel’s Jerry Foltz, Thompson tweaked her back on the range Sunday morning at Gleneagles. Thompson’s agent, Bobby Kreusler, told Golf Channel that Thompson’s back was in “full spasm,” adding that Thompson wasn’t sure if she’d be able to play – or finish.

Thompson was able to tee off in her 12:04 p.m. loca-time match, but caddie Benji Thompson had to tee the ball up for her. Lexi was noticeably uncomfortable as she bent down to read her birdie putt on the first hole, grabbing her back in the process.

However, Thompson did win the first hole against Hall with par and hit a long drive at the par-5 second to set up a hole-tying birdie.

Thompson played in three of the first four sessions, earning half-points in both fourball matches.

Source: Messi trains ahead of UCL opener

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 15 September 2019 05:05

Lionel Messi handed Barcelona a fitness boost on Sunday as he returned to full training ahead of Tuesday's Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund in Germany, a source has told ESPN FC.

The source also revealed that Messi took part in a mini-game with his teammates on Friday, too. The Argentine wasn't present for the 15 minutes which were open to the media, but did emerge afterwards as he stepped up his recovery from a calf injury.

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Messi, 32, injured his calf in his first training session of preseason on Aug. 5, ruling him out of the club's tour of the United States. Barca initially expected him to be out for three weeks but he has still not returned and has not featured in any of their four league games to date.

As Ernesto Valverde said on Friday, he's unlikely to be rushed back or risked against Dortmund, but he is in line to make his first appearance of the season against Granada next Saturday.

However, he could still travel to Germany this week -- although that doesn't mean he will play. Barca fly to Dortmund on Monday, with the squad expected to be announced by Valverde as close to their flight as possible.

Ousmane Dembele is also closing in on a return to action. The France forward did some light training with his teammates on Sunday but is still a week or so away from a first-team comeback.

Dembele injured his hamstring in the opening day defeat at Athletic Bilbao and was ruled out for five weeks.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez made his return from a calf problem in Saturday's 5-2 win over Valencia, scoring twice as a second-half substitute.

With Messi, Dembele and Suarez all nearing full fitness, Valverde faces a potential selection headache down the line given how well their deputies have done while they've been injured.

Antoine Griezmann, Carles Perez and 16-year-old Ansu Fati have all had good games, with the latter stealing the show against Valencia.

He scored one and created another inside the first seven minutes as he made his first start for the club, prompting Valverde to say Barcelona must try and "control the hype" which is now surrounding the teenager.

How Broad has owned Warner

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 15 September 2019 05:48

Stuart Broad removed David Warner for the seventh time in the series in Australia's second innings at The Oval to complete one of the more one-sided contests between a batsman and a bowler you will see, causing havoc with his around-the-wicket line. Here's how it's been recorded by our commentary team

Edgbaston, 1st innings

3.5 NOW THAT'S OUT!! Full and fast, pinned in front of middle and leg! Warner is gone, no attempt even to review - Broad has burst through in the fourth over of the morning, and Edgbaston is all over this! "Cheerio, cheerio!" they crow, as Warner grits his teeth and heads for the dressing rooms. But hang on, because Hawk-Eye now has its say: and the ball was missing leg!! So a Tale of Two Missed Reviews ends with Warner back in the hutch for spit

Edgbaston, 2nd innings

2.6 huge appeal from Bairstow and the slips! Broad isn't so sure, but the cordon is adamant there was a noise as Warner flirted outside off! It's gone to a review and the crowd like what they've seen already! Almost off the back of the bat as Warner tried to leave that uncomfortable kicking back-of-a-length, and that's 450 wickets for Broad, and a massive one at that!

Lord's, 1st innings

4.2 bowled 'im, shaves the leg bail! Big nip-backer from round the wicket and Warner goes cheaply again! Broad the man to get him for the third time in a row this series, slightly rickety defensive shot but that was a sweet cherry - and England have their opening

Headingley, 2nd innings

1.2 big appeal... given! Wilson looked like he shook his head, and then stuck the finger up - utterly bizarre - and Warner sends it upstairs... impact umpire's call, and smashing into leg stump on with the angle! Warner's struggles against Broad continue! Wide on the crease again from Broad - you know the drill now when he's bowling to Warner - and moved in off the seam to thwack him on the pad

Old Trafford, 1st innings

0.4 caught behind! Five times for Broad! Warner trying to leave made his decision to late! Got a little outside edge before withdrawing the bat. Easy catch for Bairstow! It was a good length but way wide of off. It didn't shape away much. The tightness of the previous leave maybe caused doubt for Warner and he was too late to withdraw the bat!

Old Trafford, 2nd innings

0.6 given lbw! Broad's done it again! A straighter delivery, good length, spears into the pads and Warner is trapped deep in the crease. A pair for Warner, his first in Tests and three ducks in a row

The Oval, 2nd innings

6.4 gone! Do not adjust your monitors, Stuart Broad has got David Warner again! Again, you know the drill. Round the wicket, on a length, Warner has a nibble at it, and edges it to slip where Burns takes a good catch. Seven times in the series!

Afghanistan opt to bat, both teams unchanged

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 15 September 2019 05:36

Afghanistan chose to bat v Bangladesh

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and chose to bat against Bangladesh in the third match of the tri-series. With each side having won one game in the competition, the winner will move to the top of the table.

Both sides have stuck with the winning combination that saw them beat Zimbabwe in their respective encounters. History is stacked in favour of Afghanistan, who won the bilateral T20I series 3-0 last year. The only time Bangladesh have beaten the visitors in this format was in their very first encounter in 2014.

Bangladesh: 1 Liton Das, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Afif Hossain, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Karim Janat, 3 Najeeb Tarakai, 4 Asghar Afghan, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rahmanullah Gurbanz (wk), 9 Rashid Khan (capt), 10 Fareed Ahmed, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Mohammad Saad has become the first concussion substitute in the history of Pakistan domestic cricket. The middle-order batsman replaced Usman Salahuddin on day two of Central Punjab's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Southern Punjab.

Salahuddin sustained a blow to the back of his neck on the first day of the match, while fielding at short leg. He was struck by a sweep from the opening batsman Sami Aslam.

Salahuddin appeared in some discomfort, but walked off the field himself, in the company of the Central Punjab physio. Scans confirmed a concussion, but ruled out any major concerns.

"The player was immediately examined for concussion and was taken off the field for an X-ray," the PCB said in a statement. "Salahuddin had neck pain, headache, and blurred vision immediately after injury."

Salahuddin was cleared to return to the dressing room but remained under observation. At the start of day two, Central Punjab requested the match referee that Saad be allowed to replace Salahuddin in their XI.

Salahuddin, 28, played two ODIs in May 2011 against West Indies, and got his maiden Test call-up six years later, on another tour of the Caribbean. He had to wait until June 2018 for his Test debut, against England at Headingley, where he scored 4 and 33 in an innings defeat. He has not featured in international cricket since.

Source: NFL, Taylor to meet Monday about Brown

Published in Breaking News
Sunday, 15 September 2019 06:42

The NFL's meeting with Britney Taylor regarding sexual assault allegations against New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown is set for Monday, a source confirmed with ESPN.

Taylor, Brown's former trainer, filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday in which she accused him of sexually assaulting her on three occasions in 2017 and 2018.

ESPN had previously reported that the NFL and Taylor were expected to meet in the upcoming week. NFL Network first reported Sunday that the meeting would take place on Monday.

A source told ESPN's Josina Anderson that Taylor has given information to the league in advance of the meeting. The source said they were not told that Brown or any of his representatives would be at that meeting and are not expecting them to be.

Brown traveled with the Patriots to Miami ahead of Sunday's game against the Dolphins, a source told ESPN's Mike Reiss on Saturday, and could make his season debut. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday that Brown was not placed on the commissioner's exempt list, as there is no criminal investigation involving the wide receiver.

Brown's lawyer, Darren Heitner, said in a statement Tuesday that his client and Taylor were involved in a "consensual personal relationship."

Geoffrey Kamworor breaks world half-marathon record

Published in Athletics
Sunday, 15 September 2019 05:04

Three-time world half-marathon champion clocks 58:01 in Copenhagen

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor stormed to a world half-marathon record in Copenhagen on Sunday, taking 17 seconds off the previous record mark with his impressive time of 58:01.

The 26-year-old won the first of his three world half-marathon titles in the Danish capital and returned there with an aim of improving the 58:18 global mark set by Abraham Kiptum in Valencia last year.

Kamworor was just outside world record pace through 5km, which he passed as part of a large group in 13:53.

But he picked up the pace and clocked 27:34 for 10km.

Soon after, he was running solo and went on to pass the 15km mark in 41:05, a time which was 11 seconds inside sub-58 minute pace and the quickest ever recorded for that distance.

There was another world best at 20km, which he passed in 55:00 before crossing the finish line just a second over 58 minutes.

“Finally I could go for a fast time, and what a time it is!” said Kamworor.

A total of six athletes finished inside the hour, with Kamworor followed by his compatriot Bernard Kipkorir in 59:16 and Ethiopia’s Berehanu Wendemu Tsegu in 59:22 ahead of Kenyans Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo (59:27), Amos Kurgat (59:37) and Philemon Kiplimo (59:57).

Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen was seventh in 60:20 and Britain’s Charlie Hulson 28th in a PB of 65:19.

Kamworor now aims to regain the TCS New York City Marathon title on November 3, which he won in 2017.

The women’s title in Copenhagen was claimed by Tokyo Marathon champion Birhane Dibaba of Ethiopia in an almost two-minute PB of 65:57 as she won by 25 seconds.

Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir was second in 66:22 and Dorcas Tuitoek third in 66:36.

They were all part of the group which passed 5km in 15:48 and 10km in 31:15, before the trio reached 15km in 46:55.

Dibaba moved away to pass 20km in 62:31, ahead of Chirchir’s 62:49 and Tuitoek’s 62:59.

Mission fulfilled, now aiming for record five

Published in Table Tennis
Saturday, 14 September 2019 17:26

In the final at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus Paraguay Open, she beat colleague Honoka Hashimoto (5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6) to secure her fifth such title and moreover her fourth of the year.

Earlier, in 2017 she had won for the first time in Almeria on the southern coast of Spain, before this year succeeding in Muscat, Lisbon, Belgrade and now Asuncion.

She now joins the one other player at ITTF Challenge Series tournaments to have won four times in a calendar year and five overall. Colleague Maki Shiomi, who is on duty at the current 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships in Yogyakarta, like Hina Hayata succeeded for the first time in 2017 when she prevailed in De Haan, before in 2018 retaining her De Haan title, whilst also emerging successful in Minsk, Zagreb and Guadalajara.

Japanese success

Notably, since 2017 when Challenge Series tournaments became an entity in their own right and not part of the ITTF World Tour, in the women’s singles events, aspiring Japanese players have proved dominant. In addition to Hina Hayata and Saki Shibata; Hitomi Sato won in 2017 in Otocec, Bangkok and Minsk, prior to succeeding earlier this year once again in Bangkok. One wonders how near are these players to gaining a place in the Japanese first team which at the moment is very much in the hands of Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito and Miu Hirano.

Overall, in a period of time which is approaching three years, of the 30 ITTF Challenge Series tournaments that have been staged, Japan has won the women’s singles title on no less than 19 occasions.

Additional to Hina Hayata, Saki Shibata and Hitomi Sato; Honoka Hashimoto, who has now been a runner up on no less than seven occasions, won in 2017 in Zagreb, the same year as which Mima Ito succeeded in the Polish city of Czestochowa. Similarly, Miyu Kato prevailed in 2018 in Slovenia and this year in Guadalajara; likewise five months ago in May, Miyuu Kihara emerged the champion in Zagreb.

Famous shoes

Now can Hina Hayata make it five ITTF Challenge Series titles in the same year? Significantly her name appears on the entry list for the forthcoming 2019 ITTF Challenge Series Polish Open, play starts with qualification in Wladslawowo on Wednesday 16th October.

No player has won five ITTF Challenge Series women’s singles tournaments in the same year and only one has ever achieved the feat on the ITTF World Tour; in 2003, China’s redoubtable Zhang Yining won in Aarhus, Bremen, Guangzhou, Malmö and Zagreb.

Hina Hayata treads in illustrious shoes.

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Once again Asian excellence prevailed on the international scene.

Men’s Singles

…………Masataka Morizono, the no.4 seed, beat Austria’s Robert Gardos, the no.3 seed (11-6, 12-10, 11-2, 11-9) to win his first ever men’s singles on either the ITTF World Tour or at an ITTF Challenge Series tournament.

…………It was the third time that Robert Gardos has been the runner up at an ITTF Challenge Series tournament; in 2018 he was the silver medallist in Spain, just over one month ago in Nigeria.

…………At the semi-final stage Masataka Morizono beat Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes, the no.11 seed (11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7); Robert Gardos ended the progress of Brazilian qualifier, Vitor Ishiy (11-8, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4).

Women’s Singles

…………Hina Hayata, the no.3 seed, accounted for colleague Honoka Hashmoto, the no.2 seed, to arrest the title (5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6).

…………Success for Hina Hayata meant that at a Challenge Series tournaments, she won for the fourth time this year.

…………In the penultimate round, Hina Hayata beat Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, the top seed (11-5, 11-3, 6-11, 11-3, 11-5); Honoka Hashimoto ousted Slovaka’s Barbora Balazova, the no.4 seed (11-9, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10)

Men’s Doubles

…………Masataka Morizono and Lubomir Pistej, the top seeds, beat Romania’s Cristian Pletea and Hunor Szocs, the no.7 seeds (11-7, 11-4, 3-11, 11-3) at the final hurdle; it was the first time they had appeared as a partnership at an open international tournament.

Women’s Doubles

…………A debut as a pairing, Honoko Hashimoto and Maki Shiomi, the top seeds, beat Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz and Melanie Diaz, the no.2 seeds (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6) to claim the top prize.

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