Injuries bring a sad end to Ramy’s playing days
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

Ramy Ashour, probably the most gifted and entertaining player to ever pick up a squash racket, has announced his retirement from the professional game.

He took to social media to tell his army of fans about his decision to quit in a private post on Facebook, in which he revealed that numerous attempts to deal with troublesome injury issues had proved in vain.

At 31, he announced plans to stay in the game as a coach, mentor and promoter of a new tournament in New York in May when he will experiment with a new scoring system.

Ashour won three World Championship titles, lifted the British Open once, held the world number one ranking position for 21 months, and was rated the number two player in a PSA poll to establish the greatest player of all time.

Ashour quickly bridged the gap when he moved up from the junior game into the senior ranks.

He won his first world title at the age of 19 in 2008 in Manchester, beating fellow Egyptian Karim Darwish in the final.

He was runner-up to Amr Shabana the following year but went on to beat Mohamed ElShorbagy twice, in 2012 and 2014, the latter occasion crowning a return to action after a six-month lay-off caused by injury.

Ashour reached one more world final, finishing runner-up to Karim Abdel Gawad in Cairo in 2016.

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Ashour became the first Egyptian for 47 years to win the sport’s oldest tournament – the British Open – in 2013, which came in the midst of a 49-match unbeaten run as he won nine successive PSA Tour titles.

Since making his PSA debut in 2004, Ashour has lifted 40 PSA Tour titles, reaching 59 finals, while he won 358 of his 435 matches on the PSA Tour. Ashour’s final tournament win came at the Grasshopper Cup in March 2018 as he tore through the draw without dropping a game, again beating ElShorbagy in the final.

Ashour was also voted as the second greatest male player of all time in the summer of 2018, with thousands of squash fans taking part in a poll conducted by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

His last PSA title triumph was just over 12 months ago at the 2018 Grasshopper Cup tournament in Zurich.

POST YOUR TRIBUTE: Squash Mad readers are invited to post their own tributes to Ramy Ashour in the Comments Section below.

Pictures courtesy of  Patrick Lauson and PSA

FRANKLIN, Wis. – Fans may have to excuse Sam Mayer if he’s still basking in the glow of his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory, picked up earlier this month at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was so dominating a performance that it not only left Mayer beaming, and rightfully so, but he’s struggled to put it into words since then because of that fact.

Mayer swept both Friday practice sessions, qualified on the pole with a new track record and followed that up by leading every lap of the Zombie Auto 150 for a perfect weekend at the concrete half-mile.

Even two weeks removed from his incredible accomplishment, Mayer was still somewhat at a loss for words in describing his emotions.

“When you have a weekend like we did at Bristol, you have to try and appreciate it because that type of dominance doesn’t come along very often. It’s still hard to describe, but everyone at GMS Racing did their part to bring the best race car possible to the race track for me,” said Mayer. “I really didn’t have an excuse to not go out and put it in victory lane, I felt like. We were that good the entire weekend. Winning like that at a great track like Bristol really does mean a lot to me.

“It was pretty surprising, and honestly I think the momentum we have now is pretty crazy.”

During his earliest laps at the concrete half mile, Mayer wasn’t sure what his No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet would have against the rest of the field, but he found something in practice that “just stuck.”

“Early on in the weekend at Bristol, when the Xfinity Series and all the other big cars went out, the bottom (groove) wasn’t there at all,” Mayer recalled. “If you went down there, you’d get so free that you couldn’t keep the car down there and couldn’t get any drive (off the corner). Our race, though, was hammer down … and I don’t know what exactly caused it, but we needed to be right around the bottom.

“About 20 laps in, we found one area in (turns) one and two where once I got in it, my car wouldn’t leave the low groove if I tried,” he added with a laugh. “It was so good and turned so well. It couldn’t have been better for me.”

That assessment was accurate, considering that Mayer took over the K&N East championship lead by virtue of his weekend sweep at Bristol, moving to the top of the heap by three points over fellow Wisconsin native Derek Kraus.

Despite his new position at the top of the standings, however, Mayer was most proud of his commemorative sword, the traditional prize given to all Bristol winners after they conquer The Last Great Coliseum.

“I’d say the sword is one of the most unique trophies I’ve ever won. It’s at least right up there (near the top),” he said. “I have one trophy from the Shamrock Shuffle in Legend cars … and it has this weird-looking leprechaun nutcracker on it that’s pretty interesting, but that’s the only one that comes close.

“I couldn’t even take it straight home, because I had to fly back out of Bristol … and I don’t think the flight attendants would have liked me having a sword on the plane,” Mayer added. “My team had to bring it to the ARCA race at Salem the next weekend so that I could bring it back home.”

As he referenced, Mayer hasn’t slowed down much since his Bristol clinic, finishing second in a waterlogged and rain-shortened ARCA stop at Indiana’s Salem Speedway on April 14.

However, five days later – as part of his self-dubbed “Bristol victory tour” – Mayer got the opportunity to take in and throw out the first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball game.

It was a rare chance for the teenager to slow down for a night, and he enjoyed every minute of it.

“Having the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers game means a lot. The atmosphere was amazing and the game was very enjoyable,” Mayer noted. “I got pretty close to getting a strike, but it wasn’t quite perfect!

“I guess that’s why I’m a race car driver,” he laughed.

Mayer will return to action and continue his pursuit of the K&N East title on May 4 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway, recognizing that both he and GMS Racing are already in a strong position for success.

“This is the kind of start we envisioned ourselves having and hoped we could put together,” he noted. “I couldn’t be happier with this group and where we’re at right now. It’s been a whole lot of fun already.”

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Evan Hallstrom is making the transition from late model racing to super late model competition.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to go full-time super late model racing this season,” he said. “It will be a transition from late models to super late models because supers just have different moving parts than a late model does. We actually made a couple of super late model starts last year just to get a feel for it. That will definitely help us with our transition as well.”

The Hallstrom Motorsports driver is going into his fourth year of racing, but it will be his rookie season as a super late model driver. His tentative schedule consists of 15 races with the Pro All Stars Series in addition to some of the bigger super late model races, such as the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Oxford,” Hallstrom said. “It’s one of the tracks that I felt like came naturally to me in the late model. I struggled there in the super late model, but we’re going to work really hard to improve there and get plenty of seat time in preparation for the Oxford 250.”

Hallstrom is also looking forward to returning to his home track of Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., for a couple of super late model races as well as making his debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

“Obviously with Thunder Road being my home track I’m always excited to go back there,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to see how far I have come already with the help of my parents, sponsors and fans. It’ll be neat to be able to race in front of the hometown crowd in a super late model now.

“Loudon is another one that is circled on the schedule. The place is just bad fast and I can’t wait to get a solid lap around there at top speeds. I love the speed and I love flat tracks, which both sum up Loudon so hopefully we will find some success there too.”

Hallstrom will kick off his season on Saturday and Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway with the PASS North Super Late Models.

HAM LAKE, Minn. – Ryan Bowers has joined forces with BDS Motorsports to run the Midwest Power Series.

“It’s really good and I’m excited for the opportunity,” Bowers said. “It’s definitely a top-notch operation. My confidence is high knowing I have a great team behind me and I’m ready to get started.”

The 360 winged sprint car series goes green on May 3 at Princeton Speedway in Princeton, Minn., and continues the following day at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. However, Bowers will make his debut with the team next Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, to shake things down.

Bowers is hopeful to be on point once the Midwest Power Series season starts and that he will be a contender each night as $3,000 is up for grabs to any driver who can sweep the opening weekend. With the first two nights each paying $3,000 to win this makes the first weekend potentially worth a total of $9,000.

“My goal is to win the championship,” he said. “To do that I’m going to need to stay competitive along the way and in contention every night.”

The Midwest Power Series is slated to run 16 races across four tracks from May through September. The series primarily runs at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., which hosts 10 nights. The series visits Cedar Lake Speedway three times and makes a lone appearance at Princeton Speedway for the opener, at Knoxville Raceway on June 1 and at Ogilvie Speedway in Ogilvie, Minn., on June 22.

Bowers said BDS Motorsports will also race a combination of 410 and 360 sprint car events during select shows in the Midwest, including at Jackson Motorplex and Knoxville Raceway, when the Midwest Power Series is off.

“Along with staying competitive every night I’m really looking to bring home some wins along the way,” he said. “I’m excited to get the opportunity to run for this top-notch organization and I want to put the car in Victory Lane early and often.”

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Encouraged by a favorable spring forecast, Eldora Speedway officials have announced the 66th season opener scheduled for Saturday night will use a traditional showtime of 7:30 p.m.

A four-class bash, highlighted by a $5,000-to-win feature for the Sunoco American Late Model Series plus the winged sprint cars of the K&L Ready Mix NRA Sprint Invaders, DIRTcar Modifieds and Eldora Stock cars will kick off the 2019 season. The pit area will open to competitors at 3 p.m. and the grandstands will open at 4 p.m. The cars will hit the high-banked half-mile clay oval for hot laps and qualifying at 6 p.m. The first race will go green at 7:30 p.m.

Adult admission is $19 and children ages 12 and younger are admitted free to all general admission areas. Eldora continues to provide free parking for its patrons immediately adjacent to the grandstand.

Family-friendly pricing at the concessions is a staple of the 66-year old venue. Coca-Cola products in 12 oz. cans are still just $1 and the Eldora’s ‘World Famous Pizza Burgers’ and chicken wings will be hot and ready.

A full-service bar is located under the historic covered grandstand and ice-cold beer is still $2 per 12 oz. can.

POMPANO BEACH, Calif. – Starworks Motorsports has locked Parker Chase in for the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Chase was originally scheduled to co-drive the No. 8 Audi R8 LMS in just the endurance races on the IMSA schedule, but will now contest the full season with the team.

His primary sponsor, Vertical Bridge, has committed to the upcoming rounds at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Detroit, Watkins Glen Int’l and Road America, with hopes to fill out the remainder of the races.

“I’m very excited to be racing in the sprint races as well as the four endurance races,” said Chase. “I can’t thank Vertical Bridge Enough for their continued support this year, and I’m ready to get on track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next week.”

Chase will race alongside sports car racing veteran Ryan Dalziel, who is also committed for the remainder of the season.

“We’re excited to officially have Parker secured as Ryan Dalziel’s co-driver,” said team owner Peter Baron. “He’s a great young talent and shows strong speed everywhere we go. He and Ryan have proven to be a great combination, and hopefully our luck turns as we begin the next segment of races so we can fight for some valuable points. We’re looking forward to fighting at tracks where our Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO will be competitive.”

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has told officials to watch the Maple Leafs' skate-bump tactics.

"I'd just call it feet contacting feet," Cassidy told reporters in Boston on Monday, one day after the Bruins staved off elimination to force a Game 7. "Whether it's by accident or by design I don't know. I don't want to speculate."

Game 7 is in Boston on Tuesday -- the second-straight year a first-round series between these teams needed to go the distance. The Bruins won in last year's seventh game, 7-4.

On Monday, Cassidy was asked by a reporter whether he felt slew footing was an issue in the series.

Cassidy said he didn't think so, because the act of slew footing requires an arm -- but the coach did say he felt Toronto players were bumping into the back of Bruins skates a lot. "Whether it's just dumb luck, or how they battle for pucks," Cassidy said, "we've brought it up with the supervisor."

The NHL assigns a supervisor of officials to each NHL series, and coaches are encouraged to open a dialogue with the supervisor about any trends they see on the ice.

"There's a couple of things we find that Toronto does that we brought up," Cassidy said. "That's what [the supervisors] are here for, that's what they asked for. Is there anything you see? I'm sure Toronto brings some stuff up with us. We'll see where it goes."

Cassidy provided a few examples of the skate bump tactics. He said "there's been a few of them every game" and "that's what I believe caused the [Jake] DeBrusk/[Nazem] Kadri battle."

DeBrusk and Kadri had a few scuffles in Game 2; Kadri cross-checked DeBrusk late in the third period and was suspended for the remainder of the round.

Cassidy also pointed to a time when Sean Kuraly "went down from behind" after a faceoff.

When asked by a reporter about a play in the first period of Game 6 -- when Bruins forward Joakim Nordstrom was called for high sticking after he appeared to have his skates taken out because of contact from Toronto defenseman Travis Dermott -- Cassidy was emphatic.

"There you go," Cassidy said. "They go into the corner and he all of a sudden is flying backwards and his stick gets up. So it will be pointed out. It's still a high stick if it catches a guy in the face, unfortunately. But I think the original contact caused the high stick. Because Nordy's stick was on the ice battling for it. Usually, a high stick comes up in the act of ... this one came up in the act of falling backwards because his foot got kicked out, so I would hope they would notice the contact there."

Multimedia sports and entertainment company Relevent, a promoter of international soccer matches, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation and its secretary general, Dan Flynn, after the USSF refused to sanction the playing of an Ecuadorian league match in Miami.

According to the filing, Relevent was attempting to stage a match between Ecuadorian sides Barcelona SC and Guayaquil City FC, to be held May 5 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. As the national governing body for soccer, the USSF is charged with sanctioning all applications for international soccer matches held in the U.S.

The suit alleges that the USSF's decision to deny permission for the match violated its stated purpose "to promote, govern, coordinate, and administer the growth and development of soccer in all its recognized forms in the United States for all persons of all ages and abilities, including national teams and international games and tournaments" and that the USSF is required to sanction a match unless "the Federation decides by clear and convincing evidence that staging the match would be detrimental to the sport of soccer."

The suit goes on to contend the reason for the USSF's decision is that it "is economically conflicted and is abusing its authority, in order to protect Major League Soccer ["MLS"], a for-profit entity with which USSF has extremely close financial and personal ties."

Relevent competes against MLS' marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing (SUM), to promote soccer matches in the U.S, and it is in this area that the suit could have a broader impact.

The lawsuit, which was filed in New York, seeks to have the USSF's decision annulled and vacated, and asks the USSF to sanction the match as well as not denying any future applications made by Relevent without lawful reasons.

The lawsuit is one of several the USSF is facing, including a gender discrimination filing by the U.S. women's national team players, as well as an antitrust lawsuit filed by the NASL.

The USSF and a Relevent spokesman declined to comment when contacted by ESPN FC.

Relevent first applied to have the match sanctioned on March 29, 2019. Documents obtained by ESPN FC showed that Relevent applied for and received approval to put on the match from LigaPro Ecuador -- the league in which both Barcelona and Guayaquil play -- the Ecuador Football Association, and CONMEBOL, the governing body for the sport in South America.

A source familiar with the suit said CONCACAF approval wasn't needed and the only required approval that remained to be obtained was from the USSF.

On April 5, 2019, Relevent submitted its application fee and performance bond totaling $9,700. The USSF initially said Relevent's application was incomplete, on the grounds that Relevent chairman Charlie Stillitano, who was referenced as the FIFA match agent for the event, wasn't listed on FIFA's website as being eligible to fulfill that role. It was alleged that Stillitano's match agent insurance was in the process of being renewed.

Relevent, with the help of FIFA, soon provided documentation that Stillitano was indeed eligible to serve as the event's match agent, but the USSF wasn't satisfied. On April 12, the USSF wrote a letter to Relevent stating that until Stillitano's name appeared on FIFA's website, the issue would remain unresolved.

The suit also alleges that the USSF, in the same letter, referenced "the absence of 'exceptional circumstances'" from Relevent's application and that the USSF "threatened to penalize Relevent if it were to advertise the Match without formal USSF sanction, with penalties including fines, withholding of approval of matches, and 'any other penalty or combination of penalties that the Federation deems appropriate in its sole discretion.'"

The suit goes on to detail how the economic interests of the USSF and MLS are intertwined, with MLS commissioner Don Garber and Atlanta United vice president Carlos Bocanegra both sitting on the USSF board. It also highlights the fact that the league's marketing arm, SUM, has a contract to control the USSF's commercial rights.

"In refusing to sanction Relevent's application, USSF has thus elevated the economic interest of a select group of its members over its statutorily mandated purpose," the suit reads. "The decision is as arbitrary [it cannot be supported by a rational factual basis] as it is capricious [it represents a willful disservice to American soccer in the name of profit]. It is also [sic] represents a failure to perform a duty enjoined on it by law. USSF's decision to ignore or deny Relevent's application must be annulled, and the Match must be allowed to proceed."

This isn't the first time that Relevent and the USSF have been at odds over the staging of international matches on U.S. soil. After fan violence forced the postponement of the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors last year, Relevent offered to stage the game in Miami, but was rebuffed by the USSF and its president, Carlos Cordeiro. The match was eventually held in Madrid.

Relevent also tried to schedule a La Liga match involving Girona and Spanish giants Barcelona, only for the Royal Spanish Football Federation to refuse to sanction the event.

This is also not the first time that a Stillitano-led company has been involved in litigation with the USSF. Back in 2006, Stillitano's previous company, ChampionsWorld LLC, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the USSF, alleging that the Federation and MLS conspired to drive the company out of business. In 2012, the case was decided in favor of the USSF, before the ruling was appealed and the two sides eventually settled.

LONDON -- Several individuals on the Burnley bench riled Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri by repeatedly calling him "s--- Italian" prior to the touchline brawl that marred Monday's 2-2 draw between the clubs at Stamford Bridge, sources have told ESPN FC.

Sarri was sent down the tunnel in the closing minutes of the match by referee Kevin Friend and fourth official Roger East after losing his cool with members of Sean Dyche's backroom team, though the Burnley manager himself was not involved.

Sources have told ESPN FC that Sarri's anger boiled over when he was branded a "s--- Italian" by multiple members of the visiting club, and Chelsea's head coach was so offended by what he had heard that postmatch media duties were delegated to his assistant Gianfranco Zola.

Details of the words exchanged between the two benches are expected to be included in the referee's report given that East was in position to hear everything, and after the game Zola suggested that Chelsea could ask the Football Association to take action against Burnley for what was said.

"He's very frustrated, so he'd prefer not to come over here," Zola said of Sarri. "He's been sent off. I think he's been offended as well, so he didn't feel it was the right thing to do, to speak to you.

"I think he's been told something from their bench, but don't ask me exactly what. I don't want to go down that line, but we'll see what we can do about that.

"I think there will be a follow [up] on that. Maurizio felt very unhappy. We understand it's a football game. You say words because of the adrenalin, but he wasn't particularly happy."

Emotions between the benches flared early in the game, with Dyche's assistant Ian Woan pointing out that Sarri was encroaching on the visiting technical area while Chelsea took issue with what they perceived as cynical Burnley time-wasting from midway through the first half onwards.

Tensions escalated as Burnley stubbornly repelled waves of Chelsea pressure and acted to slow the game down in the closing minutes, and at the final whistle a mass of angry bodies from both clubs converged at the entrance to the Stamford Bridge tunnel.

Burnley goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer had to be restrained after becoming incensed with Chelsea goalkeeper coach Massimo Nenci and fitness coach Paolo Bertelli, while defender Antonio Rudiger also waded into the melee despite currently nursing an injured knee.

Both clubs are likely to face punishment from the FA for failing to control their players and staff, but individuals on the Burnley side could be punished further if they are shown in the referee's report to have provoked Sarri.

After the game Dyche made a light-hearted effort to play down the ugly scenes as "handbags, bumbags, manbags," but did confirm he had sought out Zola at half-time to raise the issue of Sarri encroaching on the Burnley technical area.

"He said at half-time [Sarri] is not quite getting it," Dyche said of his conversation with Zola. "I said he was going over into my box. He just said he didn't quite get the reality of it -- they're bigger in Italy. OK. He's been here a while, mind. I said fine and accepted it."

When it was put to him that Sarri had exchanged angry words with members of his backroom team including Woan, Dyche joked: "I don't think the coaches' language skills are that good. It wouldn't have been a deep conversation. Woany's from the Wirral [near Liverpool in England]."