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SONOMA, Calif. — In anticipation of its newest testing program, Flying Lizard Motorsports has partnered with Lamborghini Squadra Corse and has taken delivery of a brand-new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo.
Starting this month, the team will offer a testing platform primarily based at its home track of Sonoma Raceway.
“We are excited to be partnering with Lamborghini Squadra Corsa,” said Flying Lizard Program Manager Darren Law. “Having a 2019 Super Trofeo this season will allow us to grow our test program at Sonoma Raceway. The goal this year is to spend time investing in research and development of the new car and working with customers. We have had a high level of interest from many drivers wanting to experience the performance of this car and we are interested to see where this relationship can lead.”
The IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American series kicked off in April at Barber Motorsports Park, and has garnered significant interest among sports car drivers and teams.
In an effort to further promote the new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo and the growing race series, the new program will provide the opportunity for interested parties to test the car with the six-time American Le Mans Series champions.
“Lamborghini Squadra Corse are delighted to be able to partner with a team such as Flying Lizard Motorsport in an effort to further promote the Super Trofeo racing platform,” said Chris Ward, senior manager, Motorsport Automobili Lamborghini America. “Adding a venue like Sonoma with the support of a team like them for our prospects to try out the car in a test environment is really exciting and I’m sure will bear fruit in the immediate future. I look forward to welcoming the team to the Series soon with some new customers to further expand our already growing grid in North America.”
The team’s first test with the 620 horsepower, V10 machinery will take place at the beginning of May.
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The Vegas Golden Knights have promoted Kelly McCrimmon to general manager, while George McPhee will remain in his role as president of hockey operations, it was announced Thursday.
McCrimmon, who previously served as assistant general manager, was one of the hottest GM candidates in the league. He drew interest from the Edmonton Oilers, and sources told ESPN that he would have been a front-runner for the expansion Seattle team.
"Together they have constructed a championship-caliber team in a very short time," Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said of McPhee and McCrimmon in a statement. "This personnel move ensures that our hockey operations group stays intact and positions our organization for long-term success."
The new role for McCrimmon will take effect Sept. 1.
The Golden Knights said McCrimmon will represent the team at the league's GM meetings and be the point of contact for other NHL general managers. He will report to McPhee, who will continue to be responsible for all hockey operations decisions.
McCrimmon, 58, was named Vegas' assistant general manager in August 2016. Many around the NHL pointed to him as a key voice in scouting and evaluation for the Golden Knights' wildly successful expansion draft.
The Golden Knights opened the 2017-18 season with 200-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup -- the longest in the league -- and became the first NHL team to make the postseason in its inaugural season since the Oilers and Whalers merged from the WHA in 1979-80, when just five of the league's 21 teams didn't make the playoffs.
The Golden Knights lost to the Washington Capitals in last year's Stanley Cup Final. They again made the playoffs in 2019 but were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
McCrimmon is the longtime owner, general manager and coach of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings. McPhee had previously served as the general manager of the Capitals.
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Carli Lloyd will be back for her fourth FIFA Women's World Cup after United States coach Jill Ellis announced her 23-person roster for the 2019 edition this summer in France.
Ellis attempted to bridge the gap between experience and change with almost half of the players named to the U.S. roster set to participate in the sport's signature event for the first time.
The roster includes 11 first-time participants, three more than the team that won the World Cup four years ago and tied for the third-most rookies among U.S. entries in the women's tournament that began in 1991.
But the roster announced Thursday also includes eight players who started in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan. That experience includes Lloyd, the tournament's reigning Golden Ball winner and now the ninth American woman to appear in four World Cups. Six more players are appearing in their third World Cup -- including a potential starting forward line of Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. Morgan and Rapinoe share the captain duties with Lloyd.
? BACK FOR FOUR
23 players on the squad. A nation at our back. Our World Cup roster is here.#OneNationOneTeam #FIFAWWC
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) May 2, 2019
Defenders Ali Krieger, Kelley O'Hara and Becky Sauerbrunn also make a World Cup roster for the third time, with O'Hara and Sauerbrunn likely to fill starting roles on the back line.
In all, 12 players return from the 2015 team that won the championship.
There is also experience of a sort among the newcomers. Only goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, midfielders Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis, forward Jessica McDonald and defenders Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson and Emily Sonnett have no prior major tournament experience. Mewis and Sonnett were Olympic alternates in 2016 who traveled with the team before and during that tournament in Brazil.
Those 2016 Olympics turned out to be something of an early look at 2019. Despite Ellis' stated desire to expand the player pool and open up competition after the U.S. was eliminated from that event in the quarterfinals, 15 of the 18 players named to the smaller Olympic roster also appear on the current World Cup roster.
Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh, all first-time World Cup participants who are expected to play leading roles, made their major tournament debuts in the Olympics.
This year also marks the first time since the first Women's World Cup in 1991 that a U.S. team will compete in either the World Cup or Olympics without at least one of Briana Scurry or Hope Solo among its goalkeepers. Named to this roster, Alyssa Naeher and Ashlynn Harris were part of the 2015 team but did not play any minutes in the tournament.
Among the notable omissions were defender Casey Short, who started 13 of the team's 16 games as recently as 2017, and midfielder McCall Zerboni, an NWSL standout who became the oldest player to earn her first cap when she debuted in 2017. After giving debuts to current and recent collegians like Emily Fox, Hailie Mace, Savannah McCaskill and Andi Sullivan, Ellis also opted to instead complete the roster with veterans like Morgan Brian, Krieger, Allie Long and McDonald.
The average age of the World Cup roster is 28, the same as the roster four years ago. That despite the inclusion of Davidson, the youngest player on the roster at 20, and Pugh, 21. Both Davidson and Pugh are younger than any player on the 2015 roster.
The only holdover from the 2007 team, Lloyd is the oldest player on the current roster at 36.
The United States plays Thailand in its opening game on June 11 in Reims. It also faces Chile and Sweden in Group F play. The only other team in the group ranked among the top 30 in the world, Sweden eliminated the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic quarterfinal.
Women's World Cup Roster by Position (Club):
Goalkeepers (3): Adrianna Franch* (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris** (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher** (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders (7): Abby Dahlkemper* (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson* (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn* (NC Courage), Ali Krieger*** (Orlando Pride), Kelley O'Hara*** (Utah Royals FC), Becky Sauerbrunn*** (Utah Royals FC), Emily Sonnett* (Portland Thorns FC)
Midfielders (6): Morgan Brian** (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz** (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan* (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle* (Washington Spirit), Allie Long* (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis* (NC Courage)
Forwards (7): Tobin Heath*** (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd**** (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald* (NC Courage), Alex Morgan*** (Orlando Pride), Christen Press** (Utah Royals FC), Mallory Pugh* (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe*** (Reign FC)
* First Women's World Cup ** Second Women's World Cup *** Third Women's World Cup **** Fourth Women's World Cup
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Surrey fired out cheaply again as Kent claim first win
Published in
Cricket
Thursday, 02 May 2019 09:59
Kent 131 for 2 (Bell-Drummond 41) beat Surrey 127 (Elgar 62*, Milnes 3-37) by eight wickets
Last season's beaten Royal London Cup finalists Kent opened their south group win account for 2019 by trouncing Surrey by eight wickets at the Kia Oval.
In the battle to avoid this season's South Group wooden spoon, Kent skittled Surrey for 127 inside 36 overs with only Dean Elgar, the South Africa left-hander with 56 Test caps, making it past 15 for an unbeaten 62 from 94 balls. Kent then made light of the run-chase, coasting home with 22 overs to spare courtesy of a cameo 36 from 32 balls from their interim skipper, Heino Kuhn.
Chasing 128 at a modest asking rate of 2.56 an over, Kent had already reduced their target to double figures when Zak Crawley skied a catch to third man. Daniel Bell-Drummond and Matt Renshaw, the Australia Test batsman, continued their side's aggressive approach to the pursuit with a second-wicket stand worth 43 that ended when Bell-Drummond fenced at a Conor McKerr legcutter to be caught behind.
Despite the fast fading light and squally showers, Kuhn and Renshaw showed all their international experience to steer Kent to victory with an unbroken half-century stand to wrap up their side's win by 4.15pm.
Batting first after winning the toss on an overcast morning in SE11, Surrey made a poor start in the face of some impressive line-and-length bowling from Kent's new-ball pairing of Harry Podmore and Matt Milnes.
Podmore broke through in the third over of the day when Will Jacks, push-driving away from the body and with firm hands, dragged a delivery on to his stumps via an inside edge. Four balls later, Mark Stoneman nicked low to slip after being squared up by late away-sing from Milnes, who then rushed one through the gate to peg back Jamie Smith's middle stump.
Occasional seamer Bell-Drummond came on as a surprising first change, only to strike with his sixth delivery from the Vauxhall End, a short one that Rory Burns pulled obligingly to midwicket to make it 38 for 4. Surrey's demise continued when Jordan Clark nicked a Bell-Drummond legcutter through to the keeper and Ryan Patel skied Renshaw's first-ball full-toss to short fine leg.
Stuart Meaker pulled a Milnes bouncer down the throat of long leg then Renshaw got one to bounce and brush Freddie van der Bergh's outside edge for Crawley to pull off a reflex one-handed catch at slip.
Dean Elgar's 79-ball fifty with two fours and a six helped the hosts limp to a three-figure total, but the dogged accuracy of Fred Klaassen, the Dutch left-arm paceman, was rewarded when he demolished McKerr's stumps as the tailender swished across the line.
Elgar was left high and dry having hit only two fours and a six during his 108 minutes at the crease when former Test team-mate Morkel was skittled by a Klaassen yorker to end Surrey's innings more than an hour before the scheduled lunch interval. Bell-Drummond, Renshaw and Klaassen bagged two wickets apiece, with Milnes the pick of the attack with 3 for 37.
"To be fair it was quite bowler-friendly at the start of the day, but obviously you've still got to put the ball in the right place and I think 'Podders' did that nicely," Milnes said.
"We were maybe a bit surprised that Surrey decided to bat first, but they've got a quality top order and they wanted to back them. That said, we bowled very well at them and kept the early pressure up throughout. Out of my three wickets I think the Jamie Smith dismissal was the best. It felt quite a good delivery to bowl him, the wind helped a bit, but it nipped back off the pitch and bowled him through the gate.
"We're a young side and pride ourselves on our fielding and today we showed what we're capable of as an all-round unit. As far as I see it, we have the potential to be the best in the country."
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Drugs test exposure sealed Alex Hales' fate - Ashley Giles
Published in
Cricket
Thursday, 02 May 2019 10:02
Ashley Giles has accepted that Alex Hales would still be in England's World Cup squad if news of his drugs test failures had not been revealed by the media.
But Giles, the England men's team director, has also insisted that Hales has not been "deselected" as a direct result of that indiscretion. Instead, according to Giles, Hales was axed from England's World Cup plans because of "a string of poor behaviour over time" and "the effect the [latest] news had on the players, the management and the captain".
Giles also confirmed that, while he was aware of Hales' second drug test failure before the selection of England's provisional 15-man World Cup squad - only Giles, Tom Harrison (the ECB's CEO) and Nick Peirce (the ECB's chief medical officer) were informed among ECB officials - he had not passed on the information to the selectors as he was "bound by a duty of confidentiality".
"When the teams were selected, the selectors and the captain were unaware of any issue surrounding Alex," Giles said. "The advice we got from our legal guys was categorically we had a duty of confidentiality which we stuck to. We couldn't tell them, simple as that.
"But once the story broke on Friday, the effect of it on the England environment - on the players, management and captain - was really strong. We're building towards our biggest summer of cricket in 40-50 years and our responsibility is to making sure we're in the best possible shape going into the World Cup. This became too big a distraction for our environment to have."
Speaking candidly on Thursday afternoon, England's captain Eoin Morgan confirmed that he and the team's senior players - Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes - had reached the conclusion that Hales' place in their plans was untenable, due to a "lack of respect for [the team] values, and ... a complete breakdown of trust". Giles subsequently confirmed that he had been asked to take action.
"Being at England's camp in Wales and seeing the effect of that news, it was clear it wasn't going to work," he said. "There's an element of trust in that environment and if that trust is not within the group, that's a problem. I think that's what occurred here. It could be seen that a string of poor behaviour over time has led us to this point.
"There was consultation. The captain consulted with his senior players and I talked to the captain and the coach. I'm not a selector, but the selectors were unanimous in this decision, fully supported by myself and Tom Harrison that this was the right way to go."
While Giles was adamant the door had not been permanently closed on Hales' England aspirations, he did confirm the player "had some making up to do".
"Alex has been an important part of this team's journey over a period," he said. "The door isn't closed, whatever people think.
"What we want to see is some really good behaviour over time and some good cricket, of course. We're there to support him. I understand he's going back to play for Notts but it's important we have support from all corners, whether it be the PCA, the ECB or Notts. The player's welfare is still fundamental. But there's some making up to do, I'm sure."
Giles seemed particularly underwhelmed by the statement from Hales' management team which suggested that previous assurances from Giles that Hales' World Cup place would not be affected were "rendered meaningless" by the subsequent decision to 'deselect' him.
"I didn't think that statement was particularly good, but he's clearly disappointed and we get that," Giles said. "We - Tom Harrison and I - kept our part of the bargain and maintained our integrity throughout this. Someone else clearly didn't. That's the problem.
"We said no off-the-field incident could have a bearing on World Cup selection. We stand by that. Any process, whether it be discipline or otherwise, you can't have double jeopardy.
"At the same time, Tom and I can't make guarantees on selection because we're not selectors. That's not handing over responsibility, but we assured him in this case that, for this off-the-field incident, it could not have a bearing on World Cup selection.
"But once the story broke, the effect was really strong. It was too big a distraction for our environment to have. So yes, of course, had the story not been made public, the environment would not have been affected and he could have stayed in the side."
Giles also confirmed that England's policies on the issue of recreational drugs may need to change. While he accepted the current guidelines had been put in place to avoid a recurrence of the Tom Maynard tragedy in 2012 - many felt Maynard may not have attempted a desperate escape from the police if he was less fearful of the repercussions to his career of a potential drugs test failure - he conceded they required reviewing in light of the Hales case.
"The worst thing we could do is bury our heads in the sand and go, let's hope this doesn't happen again," Giles said. "If policies need reviewing, that's what we have to do to make sure next time things work much smoother.
"Let's remember why it was put in place. That policy was put in place after the Tom Maynard situation, a terrible situation, where if we had something like this in place, maybe that could have been avoided. But whether it operates right or not, that's what needs review."
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Cricket South Africa evaluating Rabada's back niggle
Published in
Cricket
Thursday, 02 May 2019 10:02
South Africa's injury worries continue to mount with Kagiso Rabada undergoing a scan for a back niggle a day after being rested from Delhi Capitals' league fixture against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.
Rabada has topped the wicket charts in IPL 2019, and has been pivotal in Capitals' march to their first playoffs since 2012.
He had complained about some discomfort after his most-recent outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. On Thursday, Cricket South Africa confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the scans done on Rabada's back had been shared by the franchise, and their medical team was contemplating the next course of action.
With South Africa's World Cup opener against England exactly four weeks away, a serious injury to the leader of their attack could seriously hamper their preparations. South Africa are already dealing with multiple niggles in their squad. They are also anxiously awaiting further news of the prognosis for Dale Steyn, who pulled out of Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL campaign a week ago after his right shoulder flared up.
Should Rabada need a spell on the sidelines to deal with an injury, South Africa will go into the World Cup with virtually every member of their bowling attack - bar the 40 year old Imran Tahir - on the mend from recent injuries.
Having missed much of the home summer with ligament damage in his knee, Lungi Ngidi picked up a side strain during the fifth ODI against Sri Lanka in March, while Anrich Nortje strained his shoulder in the same game, meaning he was unable to take up a contract with Kolkata Knight Riders. Tabraiz Shamsi has also been rested from the ongoing CSA T20 Challenge in order to fully recover from some stiffness in his back.
Both Ngidi and Nortje have since returned to competitive action, bowling a controlled number of overs against the visiting Afghanistan Academy side last week. But it is not yet fully clear when Steyn might be fully fit. With South Africa's pre-World Cup camp starting in 10 days, an injury to Rabada could complicate things even further.
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Hill's lawyer details abuse denial in letter to NFL
Published in
Breaking News
Thursday, 02 May 2019 10:51
The attorney for Tyreek Hill issued a detailed denial of child abuse allegations made against the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver in a recording that was released last week while also accusing Hill's fiancée of abusing their 3-year-old son.
In a four-page letter sent to the NFL on Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, attorney N. Trey Pettlon went through the key accusations made by Hill's fiancée, Crystal Espinal, in a recording she secretly made and that was broadcast April 25 by KCTV in Kansas City.
In the recording, Espinal says, "He kept saying 'Daddy punches me,' which you do when he starts crying. What do you do? You make him open up his arms, and you punch him in the chest." Pettlon addresses that accusation, writing there have been times when Hill has tapped his son on the chest and told him to "man up, buddy" or "don't cry, my man" while denying grabbing his son's arms as part of physical discipline.
"He (Hill) categorically denies he has ever 'punched' his son in the chest or anywhere on his body, or otherwise touched him in the chest in a mean-spirited manner or as a form of discipline," Pettlon wrote.
Pettlon denied Hill played any role in breaking their son's arm. The attorney notes the boy was examined at the hospital and the injury was considered an accident.
Hill also denies Espinal's assertion that their son is "terrified" of him, with Pettlon adding that this was a claim he was hearing from Espinal for the first time. Pettlon addressed Hill's response from the audio, in which the wide receiver tells Espinal "You need to be terrified of me, too, b----," and write that Hill's comment was "inexcusable."
The letter confirms the recording is of Hill and Espinal. Following the release of the audio, Hill was barred indefinitely from all team activities by the Chiefs.
Pettlon also cites text messages between Hill and Espinal, claiming Espinal admitted to leaving marks on their son while spanking him.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said Saturday that the team is conducting an internal investigation into the matter, and Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, who declined to press charges a day before the audiotape surfaced, has reopened the case.
Hill is willing to meet with NFL investigators, Pettlon said, and will cooperate with the investigation "to the extent that he can under the law."
ESPN's Adam Schefter contributed to this report.
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Lowe: How philosophical differences define the Rockets-Warriors series
Published in
Basketball
Thursday, 02 May 2019 09:48
Only two-plus weeks ago, Stephen Curry coaxed Montrezl Harrell into the air on a mean pump-fake with the Golden State Warriors down by two in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series against the LA Clippers. For a fleeting moment, Curry, a 90 percent career free throw shooter, had an easy path to three free throws: leap into Harrell, airborne and helpless, for a shooting foul.
Curry demurred. He let Harrell fly by, pivoted to his left, and launched an open 3-pointer to give Golden State the lead. He missed. The Warriors lost.
Curry drew some criticism, including across ESPN television the next day, for not flinging his body into Harrell. A lot of those same people might also lament James Harden's occasional abandonment of normal basketball movement patterns in an effort to create contact -- including the jackknifing of his legs on step-back 3-pointers that have thrust "landing space" into the NBA vernacular and spawned a public officiating controversy. Those two acts -- a shooter in Curry's position leaping sideways into an airborne defender, Harden extending his legs -- aren't quite the same thing, but they are cousins.
It would have been interesting to have a candid discussion with Golden State's coaches after that Clippers game about Curry's decision. On some level, they probably wished he had taken the free throws.
For years, Golden State's coaches have tried to convince Curry and Klay Thompson to leverage the fear of their shooting ability -- and the connected power of their pump-fakes -- into easy points. Steve Kerr once froze the video during a film session to highlight a moment when Curry might have been able to draw contact using a pump-fake, Bruce Fraser, a Warriors assistant coach, told ESPN last season. "Teams run at [Curry] like they are scared to death of his shooting," Fraser said then.
Kerr even cued up tape of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, master of many fakes, including an extended two-arms-over-head pump-fake that looks almost like a faster version of Chandler Parsons' exaggerated pump-fake today. (Perhaps Kerr has personal memories of Abdul-Rauf lighting up the Bulls for 32 points in a February 1996 Nuggets-Bulls game -- one of only 10 Chicago losses that season.)
Here's Nick Young executing it as the Warriors' bench, knowing the Abdul-Rauf history, goes bananas:
Even if Curry evaded contact, he could still pump-and-drive his way into the paint.
"Everyone is so afraid of him, I'm always trying to get him to pump-fake more," Kerr told ESPN in late 2017. Curry leaned into it for a bit:
Thompson could never bring himself to seek out collisions, Golden State coaches and executives say. He viewed it as gimmicky. Thompson had confidence in his shot. He didn't need free throws.
The Houston Rockets would probably nudge him harder. Part of what makes Golden State-Houston such an irresistible rivalry is that the teams stand as ideological opposites within the deepest recess of their basketball souls. Those philosophical differences are informing the ongoing officiating debate, which will fade -- along with this series -- if Houston does not win both Games 3 and 4 at home.
And it's not a good-versus-evil dichotomy either, though some will frame it that way. It's more old-school versus so-new-school-we-don't-know-quite-what-to-do-with-it. The Warriors are basketball purists almost at their own expense. Curry did not leap into Harrell, after all. Their motto is "strength in numbers." Even in some huge playoff games, Kerr stretches the rotation to its breaking point. He prefers an equal-ish opportunity offense in which everyone screens, cuts, passes and touches the ball.
"Kerrism," as Ethan Strauss has dubbed it at The Athletic, has practical strategic aims. It is not just basketball religion. An extended rotation keeps players fresh. Touching the ball on offense pushes everyone to play harder defense. Moving the ball from side to side forces every opposing defender to expend energy.
And yet: Sometimes it feels a little like dogma. Anderson Varejao plays in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals (never mind that he helped swing Game 7 of the conference finals). The Warriors open the second quarter of a big game with both Curry and Kevin Durant on the bench. Golden State refuses to just give the ball to Curry and Durant, or run endless pick-and-rolls between them, until they reach a crisis moment. Warriors Twitter cracks about "Kumbaya Kerr."
Even as Curry and Thompson revolutionized the entire idea of 3-point shooting, Kerr's Warriors held true to a style in keeping with how basketball has always looked.
The Rockets do not care how anything looks. They care about math. The math says Harden isolating is the most efficient thing they can do, so they do that over and over. The math says Harden isolating into a step-back 3-pointer is the most efficient version of that, so Harden now takes and makes more step-back 3s than anyone attempted in normal 3s until Curry.
They are also at a talent deficit against perhaps the greatest collection of prime star talent ever assembled. They are seeking any edge, and there just aren't many edges beyond Harden creating points in any way possible.
Harden and those "landing space" 3s are at the crux of what Houston alleges as officiating bias against them in head-to-head games against Golden State. As Rachel Nichols and I reported Monday, the Rockets have done extensive math and concluded that incorrect calls and non-calls cost them 18 points last year in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
The NBA told ESPN it disputes Houston's methodology. It is right to do so. It's quite Houston-friendly.
The league would not comment further, and it has not yet publicly disputed that total missed calls and non-calls in this matchup have favored Golden State over the past two postseasons.
Sources say such a discrepancy exists. While there have missed calls going both ways, the discrepancy has amounted to approximately three additional, definitive missed calls per game that have disadvantaged the Rockets. That does not include gray area uncalled "potential infractions" the NBA flags upon enhanced review and deems inconclusive.
(The NBA declined to share any such data, as it is confidential. Also: Such a discrepancy would inevitably exist, to some degree, in any head-to-head series between any two teams -- and could flip in the other direction at any time, given the small sample sizes.)
Here's a thing the NBA has found after years of parsing data about officiating: Even though they earn heaps of free throws, most ball-dominant superstars do not get close to every call they deserve under the letter of the law. Most have a sizable ratio between incorrect non-calls -- those they deserve but don't get -- and undeserved fouls drawn. (Cut to Shaq nodding.)
That is inherent to being a ball-dominant superstar. Some beloved teams -- Pat Riley's Heat, Jerry Sloan's Jazz -- famously defended with nonstop handsy physicality because they knew referees simply could not call every foul. If they did, games would last four hours. Ball-dominant superstars suffer from something like the corollary of that.
A few seasons ago, Harden's foul ratio was likely typical of a ball-dominant superstar -- or something in the upper bound. That ratio likely increased as Harden pushed the boundaries of individual usage and embraced the step-back 3 at such high volumes.
For better or worse, Golden State's egalitarian style mitigates this sort of extreme foul ratio issue with Durant and Curry. (For the record, Kerr has coached with more urgency in these playoffs. He started the Death Lineup from the jump against Houston, and has been more willing to let Curry and especially Durant cook.) Kerr is of course correct that referees miss calls on both in every game, especially on drives. It's just that neither has the ball as much as Harden.
If the Rockets are victims, they are at least somewhat victims of their own math-based modernity -- of their unique dependence on Harden, and his step-back 3.
By the way: Credit Harden for accepting that burden, even if he enjoys it. It is taxing. He is bigger and stronger than Curry, and stouter than Durant. He can absorb more blows.
The refs can't call everything. Some of the calls they miss against Harden -- including a couple in Game 1 of this series -- rob Houston of these newfangled three-shot fouls. A three-shot foul is more profitable than almost any other outcome of an offensive possession. As ESPN's Kirk Goldsberry put it on a podcast this week, a three-shot foul on Harden produces more points on average than an uncontested Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk.
Those potential fouls, at least the way Harden produces them, are more or less brand new to basketball. What even is a "landing space"? How far does it extend? How far can Harden jump forward? How far does any human need to jump forward -- to use his legs for extra power -- on step-back triples almost no one was even taking five years ago? How far forward does Harden's defender get to jump? One Western Conference team instructed its players not to jump forward at all against Harden's step-back, per sources with that team -- to stand still and raise their arms up.
Jay Williams on ESPN's Get Up! this week literally laid two strips of masking tape on the floor and hopped between them, like an overgrown bunny, to illustrate what was and was not an appropriate leap forward on jumpers.
If we are reduced to that sort of granular analysis -- in slow motion, in pristine studio environments -- what are referees supposed to do during live games?
Some calls are obvious. Thompson violently invaded Harden's landing space on two shots when Harden did not move forward much -- bad missed calls. Harden's leg kick in the direction of Draymond Green on his game-tying attempt in the final seconds of Game 1 was blatant and unnatural ref-bait.
The Warriors bend the rules, too. They just do it in ways that everyone has agreed upon as semi-acceptable parts of basketball culture. They sometimes set moving screens to free shooters. They grab and hold on defense when they can get away with it. And boy howdy, do they complain to referees.
The ways that Houston bends the rules are new and unfamiliar. The Rockets have argued the league's most experienced officials, the ones who comprise most playoff crews, are least likely to award Harden three-shot fouls. Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports wrote Tuesday that Harden has earned fewer three-shot fouls per game in the playoffs than in the regular season.
Had Curry thrown himself sideways into Harrell, some commentators would have surely argued that he had earned that bit of contrivance with a real basketball play -- a pump-fake. Illegal screens -- a tactic every team uses, but one which the Warriors perhaps use more effectively and to aid much better shooters -- are seen as cooperative acts. They are one teammate helping another. We lionize physical defense.
The league is still grappling with whatever it is Harden is doing on these step-back 3s, let alone the jagged intricacies of his driving game. In contrasting the "pump-and-jump into a defender" play -- the one Curry did not make against Harrell -- with Harden's "landing space" attempts, several coaches and executives offered this distinction: Curry is tricking the opponent; Harden is tricking the referees. One is closer to real basketball.
Those two acts are different. Again: They are cousins, not immediate family. But illegal screens and under-the-radar grabbing and holding could be framed as tricking referees, too.
All of the Rockets' complaints really come down to Harden. They surely know he will get little sympathy. He has led the league in free throw attempts in six of the past seven seasons. He drives and winds up to shoot 3s in some instances more to draw contact than to try to direct the ball into the basket. He has a history of flopping.
The Rockets also missed 27 straight 3s with a chance to make the NBA Finals. Their lack of diversity in style hurt them in that game, hurt them in prior postseasons, and may be hurting them in some vague overarching mathematical way with officials. They may have a right to complain, but they can also adapt.
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Trungelliti's 'principled stand' finally backed by integrity unit
Published in
Tennis
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 23:33
Marco Trungelliti has received support from the Tennis Integrity Unit more than two weeks after complaining of feeling abandoned after blowing the whistle on match-fixing in the sport.
The 29-year-old world number 130 acted as a witness in last year's prosecution of three fellow Argentine players for gambling-related activities.
He said he was criticised for his actions, with his motives questioned.
But the TIU says he acted with "the best interests of the sport" in mind.
"His courageous and principled stand against those who seek to corrupt is to be admired and commended," the organisation added in a statement.
The three tennis players sanctioned former world number 78 Nicolas Kicker, ex-world number 269 Patricio Heras and Federico Coria, whose career-high ranking is 223.
Last June, Kicker was banned for six years, with three of those suspended, while Heras was banned for five years, with two suspended. Coria was banned for eight months, with six months suspended.
Trungelliti, who famously drove all night from Barcelona to Paris to claim a place in the main draw of the 2018 French Open, subsequently found himself shunned by some of his fellow professionals and said he repeatedly asked without success for the TIU to support him.
The TIU explained in their statement why they had not publically defended Trungelliti earlier.
"As part of its confidentiality policy, the TIU's intention is at all times to protect the identity of witnesses, and in line with that has not commented on or confirmed Mr Trungelliti's involvement in these cases," they said.
"However, the TIU understands that Mr Trungelliti has subsequently been subject to strong personal criticism and that his motives for co-operating with the TIU have been questioned.
"The TIU unreservedly condemns the treatment received by Mr Trungelliti and would like to place on record its appreciation of his support and full compliance with the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program."
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Returning to duty Nadeen El-Dawlatly aiming for African Games
Published in
Table Tennis
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 12:35
by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-African Press Officer
Hard work to make comeback but most certainly Nadeen El-Dawlatly is determined.
“I feel that I have so much more to give, a lot of targets in my mind to achieve. My husband and my family are motivating me to come back even stronger. I feel so motivated, it was hard at the beginning but with some fitness training and a lot of practising, it gets better.” Nadeen El-Dawlatly
A daily routine has been established.
“I wake up early morning, go to work then I return to my baby to spend some time with her and later take her with me to practise. I literally missed everything; from the physical pain and muscle soreness to the heavy training and also I missed so much the competitions and representing my country.” Nadeen El-Dawlatly
The African Games is the priority.
“I am doing all I can to be able to be ready for the 2019 African Games in Morocco. The tournament is of course my focus and I mainly focus on getting back to my shape and to be fit again. My husband and my family are doing everything they can for me to get back stronger. They are helping me in every possible way. I am really grateful and I would not do any of this without them.” Nadeen El-Dawlatly
Notably at the 2015 African Games staged in Brazzaville, Nadeen El-Dawlatly was a member of the Egyptian gold medal winning women’s team. In addition she was the women’s singles runner up beaten by colleague Dina Meshref in the final, the player she partnered to runners up spot in the women’s doubles event.
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