I Dig Sports
BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has come to the defense of driver Takuma Sato following the opening lap crash in Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series event at Pocono Raceway.
Sato was one of five drivers involved in an opening lap crash, which was triggered following contact between Sato and Alexander Rossi when Sato appeared to try and cut in front of Rossi as they raced three-wide with Ryan Hunter-Reay towards turn two.
The crash also included Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe and Felix Rosenqvist, with Rosenqvist being taken to a local hospital for further checkups before being released.
Sato, the 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner, has been the subject of harsh criticism following the crash, with Rossi laying the blame for the crash squarely on Sato’s shoulders.
“I can’t even begin to understand how after last year, how Takuma Sato thinks any sort of driving like that is acceptable,” Rossi said. “To turn across two cars at that speed in that corner at the start of a 500-mile race is disgraceful, upsetting and probably cost us a championship.
“It’s upsetting because this team works hard. We’ve got a couple of days to rebound and we’ll just go for wins from this point on.”
On Tuesday, in response to the criticism of Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing issued a lengthy statement defending their driver. The team indicated in the statement that onboard telemetry proved Sato did not turn down on Rossi to cause the crash.
“Following the events on lap one of Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, we are relieved that all drivers emerged unhurt from the crash. Normally in a situation of this nature it is not necessary for a team to comment but following the accusations levied at Takuma, and after reviewing Takuma’s onboard data and camera, we feel that a clarification is necessary. The data and video clearly shows that Takuma did not turn down the track into Alexander in this incident and in fact the first steering wheel movement made by Takuma was to the right, as he tried to correct his car after the initial contact.
“This sort of accident is part and parcel of this type of racing and with track position being vital at every stage of each race is, in our view, a part of the sport. It’s a racing incident and we as a team wish to publicly state that we stand behind our drivers and have absolute faith in their ability to race and perform at the highest level for RLL.
“This was a racing incident which unfortunately may have some championship implications. A crash at Pocono impacted our title aspirations in 2015 while second in the standings so we know the frustration drivers and teams experienced. As always, we are thankful for the quick response of the AMR Safety Team.”
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Eric Rudolph got the best of home-track hero Lance Willix II on a late-race restart to win Tuesday night’s DIRTcar 358 Modified Series feature at Airborne Speedway.
Tim Fuller battled hard inside the top five all race and finished on the final step of the podium.
Rudolph and Mike Mahaney brought the 30-car field to the green flag. Mahaney got the initial jump on the outside and powered away from Rudolph. The No. 25r battled back and traded blows with Mahaney. Then on a restart, Plattsburgh regular Lance Willix II passed both of the dueling leaders in one shot.
The No. 31 used a unique racing line where he entered the corners low and hooked the left side tires on the edge of the track. This seemed to rotate the car and allow Willix to get on the throttle earlier than Rudolph or Mahaney.
Willix kept up his pace and maintained the lead until a dramatic incident on the front stretch brought out the red flag.
As witnessed, Kyle Dingwalll made contact with the frontstretch wall and veered in front of oncoming race traffic. Several cars, including Steve Bernier and Jessey Mueller, slid through the infield, which caused Mueller’s car to flip and land on top of Bernier.
The battle at the front was far from over.
“We had a lot of time to sit there and think. I didn’t know if I’d have an opportunity to pass him,” said Rudolph.
Throughout the race the implement tires at the inside of the track get clipped and can change the preferred racing line depending on where they move,
When the field went back to green on lap 90, Rudolph had to make a calculated move.
“That tire down there was in the infield for a long time and it had everyone glued to the bottom. It moved up a bit and made the track racy again. We were able to make the move around him [Willix],” Rudolph said of his racing-winning move.
That move made Rudolph and his team $4,000 richer. This was the second time the No. 25r has visited victory lane in series competition in 2019.
Plattsburgh still a very new track for Rudolph.
He noted, “I’ve only been here three times. I did a race here one time when it was asphalt. Track time helps anywhere you go.”
It’s not how Willix II wanted this one to end but a second-place finish with the best DIRTcar 358 modified drivers around is a great accomplishment
“This is the way we want to end the year. On a high note. We have momentum going into these big races at the end of the year. To be able to compete with Erick and Timmy and all these guys, it means something to us,” said Willix.
Fuller powered his way up to finish in third.
“I had the second-best car on the track. Erick and Lance did a really good job. It was a long race and fortunately, we ended up in the top three which is good any time you get into what of these deals,” Fuller said.
The finish:
Feature (100 laps) 1. Erick Rudolph 2. Lance Willix II 3. Tim Fuller 4. Jordan McCreadie 5. Mike Mahaney 6. Mike Maresca 7. Michael Parent 8. David Marcuccilli 9. Rocky Warner 10. Corey Wheeler 11. Demetrios Drellos 12. Ryan Bartlett 13. Mike Stacey 14. Yan Bussiere 15. Matt Woodruff 16. Jeremy Roy 17. Matt Depew 18. Dany Gagne 19. Kyle Dingwall 20. Steve Bernier 21. Danny Johnson 22. Jessey Mueller 23. Mathieu Boisvert 24. Preston Forbes 25. Louie Jackson Jr. 26. Chris Raabe 27. Mario Clair 28. Ronnie Davis III 29. Perry Francis 30. Ran McLean
LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Russ Conway, a hockey writer who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1992 for his stories about corruption in the NHL Players Association that helped bring down union head Alan Eagleson, has died. He was 70.
His death was reported by the Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he started at the age of 18 and later served as sports editor.
A longtime Boston Bruins beat writer, Conway published a series of articles that exposed Eagleson's lucrative conflicts of interest as the union boss, player agent and organizer of international tournaments. Conway's reporting spawned investigations in both the United States and Canada that resulted in Eagleson serving six months in prison and forfeiting his Order of Canada.
The Hockey Hall of Fame kicked Eagleson out and gave Conway its Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1999 for bringing honor to journalism and hockey.
A few more queasy days before U.S. Solheim Cup team settled
The American Solheim Cup effort is down to one final, grueling week of qualifying and a couple of tough choices for the team captain.
Seven spots are set on the team that Juli Inkster will take to Gleneagles in Scotland to meet the Europeans Sept. 13-15. Five spots are still up for grabs, including Inkster’s two captain’s picks.
“This year is really hard,” Inkster said Tuesday at the CP Women’s Open. “It’s almost like I wish I had zero picks. I've not been sleeping great, just because I'm trying to figure out what's best for the team.”
There’s one opening left off the American points list and two still to be confirmed via the U.S. Rolex World Rankings list, all three of which will be finalized after this week’s event in Canada. Inkster will make her two captain’s picks official on Monday.
“I’m just kind of waiting to see someone really step up,” Inkster said. “I hate to come down to the last tournament, but it’s pretty much coming down to the last tournament.”
The captain’s picks may be among the most highly anticipated in team history, with so many decorated American veterans not yet qualified to make the team. Whomever Inkster names as her picks, the team is looking at a major overhaul, with three Solheim Cup rookies already qualified and the possibility three more could secure spots this weekend.
Michelle Wie is out with an injury, and Brittany Lincicome is out after giving birth to her first child last month.
Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Piller, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang haven’t qualified to make the team, but are all teeing it up at the CP Women’s Open this week.
Kerr and Lewis are the most proven winners in this generation of American players, tough-minded and strong-hearted fighters who have both distinguished themselves in the game’s crucible, winning multiple majors, ruling in their time as world No. 1s and helping the United States win multiple Solheim Cups, but neither is at top form.
Pressel, another major championship winner, made a hard run at winning the AIG Women’s British Open three weeks ago.
“Really, my job is to take the next two best players, that are playing the best, that can help the team,” Inkster said.
Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Lizette Salas, Jessica Korda, Marina Alex and Megan Khang have already qualified for the team on points. Nelly Korda, Alex and Khang will be Solheim Cup rookies.
Brittany Altomare holds down the eighth and final spot on the U.S. points list. She would also be a Solheim Cup rookie.
Only four players can overtake Altomare for that last spot and three of them have to win to have a chance.
Ally McDonald can overtake Altomare with a finish of 17th place or better, depending what Altomare does.
Kerr, Lewis and Angel Yin have to win to have a chance to overtake Altomare.
Yin and Austin Ernst hold the two spots off the Rolex World Rankings list, but Annie Park is just .01 average points behind Ernst. Also, Altomare is in the mix to grab one of these spots if she doesn’t make the team on points. Stanford, Amy Olson, Pressel, McDonald, Kristen Gillman, Kerr, Ryann O’Toole and Lewis can potentially make the team through the rankings, depending on what the final strength of field factor turns out to be at tournament’s start.
U.S. Rolex Women’s World Rankings
(*The top two not otherwise qualified via the U.S. points list will make the team. Altomare is currently within the qualifying standard via points but hasn’t yet secured that spot.)
32. Angel Yin, 2.684
40. Brittany Altomare, 2.317*
41. Austin Ernst, 2.227
42. Annie Park, 2.2175
49. Angela Stanford, 1.975
50. Amy Olson, 1.966
52. Morgan Pressel, 1.908
60. Ally McDonald, 1.857
65. Kristen Gillman, 1.760
68. Cristie Kerr, 1.684
70. Ryann O’Toole, 1.655
75. Stacy Lewis, 1.537
Inkster can't sleep at night, wishes she had more picks for U.S. Solheim Cup team
Juli Inkster joked that making her two U.S. Solheim Cup captain’s picks are so difficult this year, she wished she didn’t have any picks at all, but the truth is that she would like more.
Inkster said Tuesday at the CP Women’s Open that she wished she had three picks.
“Two picks don’t really do much for me,” Inkster said. “If I had four picks, it would be great, but I do think we need one more pick in there.”
Inkster’s automatic qualifiers will be determined with Sunday’s finish to the CP Women’s Open. She’ll announce her two captain’s picks on Monday. European captain Catriona Matthew made her four captain’s picks last week. Inkster said another pick would help her with pairings.
“I've been not sleeping great just because I'm trying to figure out what's best for the team,” Inkster said.
The captain’s picks are especially difficult because so many proven American veterans haven’t yet qualified for the team. Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Piller, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang are all teeing it up at the CP Women’s Open this week in hopes of showing they’re worthy of making the team.
ATLANTA – This was not your normal weekend game at the club.
For starters, the group included six players, which at most clubs is not allowed, as well as President Donald Trump and some of golf’s most high-profile executives last Saturday at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey.
The president was teamed with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley against a threesome that included NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua, Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Andrew Giuliani, a public liaison assistant for Trump.
“So, the team of Trump, Ridley, and Monahan defeated the team of Bevacqua, Giuliani, and Clayton, 2 and 1,” Monahan said on Tuesday at the Tour Championship. “[The president] loves the game of golf, and that's very apparent. As his teammate, that's a little bit of extra pressure, but it was a nice day.”
Trump has been involved in the golf industry for a long time, well before becoming president, and regularly plays golf with high-profile players and industry executives.
“You always have to honor the office of the presidency,” Monahan said. “I’m concerned about criticism for everything. But in this instance, he has been a great supporter of the Presidents Cup. He loves our game. He has a relationship with a lot of our players.
“I'm not there for political reasons. I'm there to support him. He's asked me to be there and be there along with other peers in our industry. It's a chance for us to spend some time together and have a wonderful time.”
Liu, 12, to become youngest player to compete in CPWO
Vancouver’s Michelle Liu will become the youngest player to compete in the CP Women’s Open when she tees it up Thursday at Magna Golf Club in Ontario, Canada.
She’ll be 12 years, 9 months and 6 days old.
She earned an exemption into the field as the top Canadian finisher at the Canadian Women’s Amateur last month. She tied for 12th at 1-over for the 72-hole tournament.
The extra thrill for Liu in becoming the youngest to compete in the 47-year history of Canada’s national women’s championship is that she will be breaking the mark set by Brooke Henderson, who was 14 when she first played in the event in 2012.
“I look up to Brooke Henderson, just because she's a great player, great personality, Canadian,” Liu said Tuesday in a news conference at the event.
Liu said she met Henderson Monday on the driving range.
“I took a picture with her,” Liu said.
Liu was asked if it’s been a crazy leap this week, practicing alongside LPGA players.
“I definitely say crazy is a good word for it,” Liu said. “Yeah, I would say I've got to play with some really nice and really good LPGA players. Christina Kim, M.J. [Hur], and all of them. I think I really get to learn something from them, and especially how warm and welcoming they are to me.”
How will players adjust to staggered scoring? Even they aren't quite sure
ATLANTA – How fans will embrace the new strokes-based scoring at the Tour Championship will be a common topic this week, but the bigger question might be how players adjust to what is now a net competition.
This week’s points leader, Justin Thomas, will begin the Tour Championship at 10 under par. The next four players on the points list will start at 8 under through 5 under, respectively, while Nos. 6-10 will start at 4 under par with the total regressing by one stroke every five players. Those ranked 26th through 30th start at even par.
The new system, which removes much of the confusion that defined the old points-based race for the FedExCup, will likely create a different mindset for players.
“It will be interesting. You've got to make birdies regardless. I've just got to make 10 more than usual,” Lucas Glover said.
While most players acknowledged an increased level of urgency with the new format, how it might impact on-course decisions varies from player to player.
“I would think early on in the week it doesn't,” said No. 4 Patrick Reed. “Come down midway through Saturday's round or throughout Sunday's round, depending on where you stand, how aggressive do you want to play to try to make up shots or vice versa. It definitely could change it a little bit later on in the week.”
In many ways the new system has simplified the week for the players even if it might be difficult for some to embrace the strokes-based scoring.
“If you were to tell me I'm six shots back going into Sunday, I still think I've got a chance. Six shots back with four rounds to go, I definitely have a chance,” said Matt Kuchar, who is seventh on the points list and will start at 4 under par.
Mexican side Veracruz have confirmed the Twitter account of club president Fidel Kuri Grajales was hacked by a group of angry supporters on Tuesday.
The account was hacked by "true fans" who attacked the players and the club hierarchy after Veracruz failed to win in 31 matches in all competitions.
Under the president's account, the supporters posted: "We want the players to feel the shirt, the poor management of the club has been a cancer in this institution.
"Starting with this account, we're going to take back our club and our badge. This account has been taken over by true fans of Club Deportivo Veracruz. Stop tarnishing the badge!"
The messages were followed with the hashtags #we'vehadenough and #I'llbethereforyou.
The club released a statement two hours later confirming that the president's account had been hacked and they were working on solving the problem.
Veracruz have lost three of their opening four matches this season and find themselves at the bottom of the league table.
Last year's semifinalists Ajax clung on for a tense 0-0 draw in searing heat away to APOEL Nicosia in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie on Tuesday.
Slavia Prague won 1-0 at Romania's Cluj thanks to a spectacular Lukas Masopust goal in another of the ties which will earn the winners a lucrative place in the Champions League group stage while Club Brugge also won by a single goal at Austria's LASK Linz.
Ajax have managed to keep the bulk of last season's team together, with Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong the two major departures ths summer, and fielded seven of the players who started the second leg of their dramatic semifinal against Tottenham Hotspur in May.
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Despite a bright start, they were indebted to goalkeeper Andre Onana and played the last 10 minutes with 10 men after Noussair Mazraoui was sent off.
Musa Suleiman caused Ajax all sorts of problems and went agonisingly close to giving Cypriot side APOEL a first-half lead after he cut in from the right, played a one-two and spun into the box but sent his shot wide of the far post.
Shortly afterwards, Nicholas Ioannou saw an effort deflected for a corner.
APOEL increased the pressure after the break as Onana parried a powerful Lucas Souza shot before another effort was cleared off the line and an Andrija Pavlovic header bounced off the crossbar.
Jordanian Suleiman volleyed into the side-netting from close range and Onana then made a brilliant one-handed save to deny Souza again.
Mazraoui was given a second yellow card for a reckless sliding tackle but Ajax survived with their goal intact.
Slavia broke the deadlock in Romania with a remarkable goal when Nicolae Stanciu floated a corner to the edge of the penalty area for Masopust to volley effortlessly into the net.
An early penalty from Hans Vanaken gave Bruges their win away to Austrian outsiders LASK Linz who are bidding to qualify for the group stage for the first time.
Lois Openda went down under a challenge from Linz captain Gernot Trauner and the referee pointed to the spot, finally confirming his decision two minutes later after a lengthy VAR review.
Brugge survived a let-off when Simon Deli nearly turned the ball into his own net although the Belgians could easily have added to their tally in the second half.
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