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Reds announce release of veteran slugger Kemp

Published in Baseball

Saturday, 04 May 2019 14:23

CINCINNATI -- The Reds have released injured outfielder Matt Kemp just over four months after acquiring the 2018 All-Star from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati announced the move Saturday.

"With our support, [Reds Manager] David [Bell] is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

Kemp hit .200 with one homer and five RBIs before Cincinnati placed him on the injured list April 23 with a broken left rib. Kemp was injured colliding with an outfield wall in San Diego.

The 34-year-old was among four players acquired from Los Angeles in a seven-player trade in December along with outfielder Yasiel Puig, infielder Kyle Farmer and left-hander Alex Wood. Kemp is in the final season of a $160 million, eight-year contract.

Reds manager David Bell said the starting center-field job now belongs to Nick Senzel, a top prospect who made his major league debut Friday.

"We just didn't see a great fit for Matt here," Bell said. "He's obviously had a great career and has been a great player. Just how our outfield is shaping up and the roster construction, we didn't see a great fit for Matt and that's how the decision was made."

The Reds also optioned OF Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville and recalled LHP Cody Reed from Louisville. Schebler was hitting .123 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 30 games and had lost his starting job to Senzel.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Red Sox get 10 straight hits in nine-run inning

Published in Baseball

Saturday, 04 May 2019 20:02

CHICAGO -- The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 consecutive hits against Chicago White Sox left-hander Manny Banuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning Saturday night.

Banuelos retired his first eight batters before Christian Vazquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Nunez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vazquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Banuelos with a 9-1 deficit.

Carson Fulmer replaced Banuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.

The Red Sox won Saturday's game 15-2.

The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field in Denver on July 30, 2010.

Boston went on to score five runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth to take a 15-1 lead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Wings for Life World Run live stream

Published in Athletics

Saturday, 04 May 2019 13:34

Live footage from the worldwide run where participants start together and race until caught by the finish line ‘catcher car’

Taking place in numerous locations and via the app across the world, the Wings for Life World Run sees runners of all levels battle to stay in front of ‘catcher cars’ which start half an hour behind them and progress at a steadily increasing speed.

The race begins at 11:00 UTC but the pace of the catcher car will be different this year. As with previous events, the car – whether real or the virtual version on the Wings for Life World Run App – will accelerate incrementally as the run goes on. However, with an aim of making the simultaneous global run even more exciting, the pace of the moving finish line will increase more significantly, particularly in the critical later stages of the race.

This should see the last participants caught at around 65 to 70 kilometres (40 to 44 miles), creating a shorter race that provides an even more riveting finish.

Two-time world 110m hurdles gold medallist Colin Jackson, who is the international sports director for the Wings for Life World Run, said: “This change gives ultra runners and ambitious marathon runners a prime opportunity to challenge each other, something that’s unique to the Wings for Life World Run.

“I can think of no other event that sets up quite the same playing field. It’s going to be good fun for the athletes, and I personally can hardly wait to watch.”

Watch live on the stream below.

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Ulster beat Connacht to book Pro14 semi-final spot

Published in Rugby

Saturday, 04 May 2019 11:26

Ulster swept into the Pro14 semi-finals with thrilling 21-13 victory over Connacht in Belfast.

Rory Best and Darren Cave helped extend their club careers by at least one more game as Ulster continue their hunt for their first silverware in 13 years.

Marcell Coetzee's late try sealed a dramatic win after Nick Timoney's first-half score had put them ahead.

Bundee Aki crossed as Connacht contributed to an entertaining derby before Coetzee sealed Ulster's win.

Dan McFarland will now go up against former club Glasgow Warriors in their semi-final at Scotstoun on 17 May.

Coetzee seals it

Ulster dominated territory and possession but they needed a trademark score by Coetzee at the death to make sure of the result.

The South Africa flanker capped a talismanic performance with a muscular finish in the 78th minute after Jack Carty's second penalty brought Connacht back to within a single point.

Best and John Cooney were watching from the sidelines and the tension was palpable as Billy Burns restarted the game but Iain Henderson came up with a stunning turnover penalty to set up the final drive.

Cooney's replacement David Shanahan urged his pack into the Connacht 22 before Coetzee bounced through two tackles and stretched to score a deserved try.

Burns kept his cool to land a tough conversion that sparked a wave of relief and elation in the stands.

Retiring duo play their part

Best and Cave were celebrated before and after the game by the Ulster faithful but the most fitting tribute came from their team-mates on the field.

Cave was restricted to a brief second-half cameo as he won his 228th Ulster cap to move within one appearance of Andrew Trimble's record.

Best, who recovered from an ankle knock to lead his team out onto the Belfast turf for a final time, was under pressure at the line-out but produced a superb turnover in the 50th minute to release the pressure as Connacht looked for a way back into the match.

On an emotional occasion for Ulster's longest-serving players, experienced lieutenants such as Henderson, Coetzee and Luke Marshall stood tall in a fraught contest.

Marshall, who was briefly replaced by Cave, was everywhere in an all-action display that showcased how badly he was missed for much of the season through injury.

Knock-out rugby returns to Kingspan

This was Ulster's first knock-out match in Belfast since their 2014 Champions Cup quarter-final defeat by Saracens but the home side were determined not to come out on the losing side this time.

Timoney's try in the 15th minute was a reward for Ulster's ambitious, high-tempo approach.

Cooney slotted an early penalty as Ulster owned the ball for the opening five minutes and they continued to stretch the Connacht defence with a speed of thought and foot that their opponents struggled to match.

A pair of offloads by Coetzee and Kieran Treadwell created a corridor of space for Timoney on the left wing and the former Sevens international sprinted clear for a wonderful score.

Carty eventually got Connacht on the scoreboard after his brilliant skip pass caught Robert Baloucoune out of position and the visiting fly-half was presented with a straightforward penalty.

But Cooney cancelled that after Aki was judged to have illegally tackled Burns as Ulster to led 11-3 at the break.

Connacht prove their point

Connacht head coach Andy Friend has transformed the team that laboured to a sixth-place conference finish last season and the visitors showed their mettle even as Ulster looked to take the game away from them.

Cooney broke from the back of a line-out maul to bring Ulster within metres of the Connacht line but Carty snaffled an intercept to clear the danger.

The home side failed to heed their lesson when they next attacked and Colby Fainga'a turned the momentum when he grabbed an attempted Burns pass and then produced a brilliant overhead pass to the supporting Aki to race clear under the posts.

The Kingspan crowd were rocked but they need not have worried as Coetzee dragged his side and some of the Connacht defence with him into a semi-final date in Glasgow in two weeks' time.

Ulster: Lowry; Baloucoune, Marshall, McCloskey, Lyttle; Burns, Cooney; O'Sullivan, Best (capt), Kane, Henderson, Treadwell, Timoney, Murphy, Coetzee.

Replacements: Cave for Marshall (40), Shanahan for Cooney (69), Herring for Best (69), O'Toole for Kane (69), O'Connor for Treadwell (73), Reidy for Timoney (79).

Not Used: Warwick, Kernohan.

Connacht: O'Halloran; Fitzgerald, Farrell, Aki, Healy; Carty, Marmion; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham, Dillane, Thornbury, McKeon, Fainga'a, Butler (capt).

Replacements: Daly for Aki (62), Blade for Marmion (52), McCabe for Buckley (71), Delahunt for Heffernan (57), Carey for Bealham (52), Boyle for Faingaa (65).

Not Used: Masteron, Leader.

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One-Legged Bill Schindler

Published in Racing

Saturday, 04 May 2019 11:00

In an era when sportswriters tagged competitors with colorful nicknames, William Lawrence Schindler earned a few — “Bronco Bill,” “Wild Bill” and after a tragic 1936 accident, “One-Legged” Bill Schindler.

Born in Freeport, Long Island, in 1909, Schindler lost both his parents as a teenager. Before they died, however, he spent hours tinkering in his dad’s automotive shop. Anything with an engine captivated him.

That fascination led to racing motorcycles with his buddies in a field near his home. When that became boring, he turned to four wheels and found his way into a “big car.”

His talent, evident early, took him to wins in Watertown and Deer Park, N.Y., after only four outings.

Schindler soon began racing midgets and ran with several organizations, including the AAA. Winning came easy.

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By mid-1936, he’d wrapped up the EMRA midget championship and took time to attempt some other racing disciplines. He’d already ran stock cars with the AAA in a 250-miler on the Daytona beach course when a large- purse sprint car race in Mineola, N.Y., caught his attention.

He entered it and it changed his life.

Trying to squeeze between another car and the fence, Schindler ran out of room and took a wild ride out of the track. The crash shattered his left leg. When infection set in, the leg was amputated.

He didn’t win the day he was released from the hospital, as legend maintains, but Schindler wasn’t about to allow something like a missing leg slow him. He raced without a prosthesis and by the spring of 1937 he’d claimed an indoor midget title and won the James Cagney trophy at Boston Gardens.

That performance earned Schindler a ride in the potent Mike Caruso midget. And in the years leading to World War II, the team was virtually unstoppable. In 1940, East Coast car owners formed the ARDC to get from under the oppressive AAA. They elected Schindler their president, a position he held for eight years. He was also the first club champion after winning 21 features.

Unable to serve during WW II because of his missing leg, Schindler devoted hours to visiting military hospitals who had lost limbs in combat. His example of achievement in a rough-and-tumble sport inspired war-torn young men to believe they too could battle their way past devastating injuries and lead normal lives.

With the resumption of racing after the war, Schindler ripped through ARDC competition. He captured the 1945 and ’46 titles. In 1947, he won an incredible 53 features. Proving this rarified accomplishment wasn’t a fluke, he performed a similar feat in 1948, winning another 53 features and the championship.

By 1949, midget racing was on the downslide and Schindler looked to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He arrived at the speedway in 1951 without a ride, remarking to a friend, “I guess I’ll get a job on a pit crew sweeping up.”

AAA official Frankie DelRoy took a liking to Schindler and arranged a ride in Lou Rassey’s striking orange and black Auto Shippers Special.

Schindler was the fourth fastest qualifier but started 16th because he did not turn that lap on the first day of qualifying. He raced up front before a universal joint failed. His performance opened the door for other Indy car rides and he performed well.

Schindler produced a second-place finish in Sacramento, Calif., a third-place effort at California’s Bay Meadows Speedway; a track record and second-place run at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway; and a runner-up effort at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

Two more Indianapolis runs and more solid finishes led to his first championship victory when he caught Jack McGrath at the checkered flag to win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Aug. 16, 1952.

Schindler was just as competitive in the AAA sprint cars. In 1951, the Eastern title chase went down to the last race of the year, and he finished second in the championship to Tommy Hinnershitz.

Chasing the AAA Eastern Sprint championship in 1952, Schindler asked Mike Caruso to help him in Allentown, Pa., on Sept. 20. They had the car singing. While leading his heat, another driver crashed. Schindler couldn’t avoid the rear axle and wheels torn from the wrecked car. He catapulted high in the air, vaulted the fence and struck a ticket booth 50 feet outside the track.

When rescuers arrived, Bill Schindler was dead.

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Ford & Lexus Collect Mid-Ohio GT Poles

Published in Racing

Saturday, 04 May 2019 12:34

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Porsche’s three-race qualifying streak in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class came to an end Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort.

Sebastian Bourdais – subbing for Joey Hand in the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT – alternated fast laps with the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR of Laurens Vanthoor throughout the session’s final two minutes, with Bourdais ultimately nipping Vanthoor by .275 of a second at the checkered flag.

Vanthoor held the top spot briefly with a lap of one minute, 19.399 seconds (102.378 mph) on his final lap, but was bested by Bourdais just seconds later with a lap of 1:19.124 (102.734 mph).

It was Bourdais’ second WeatherTech Championship pole, with his first coming at Sebring in 2014 for Action Express Racing. He will lead the eight-car GTLM field to the green flag for Sunday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge, which takes the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET.

“The guys did a really good job,” said Bourdais, who is subbing for Hand for the second consecutive race as Hand is focusing on recovery efforts from a recent bout with the flu to ensure he’s prepared for Le Mans. “It’s really tricky conditions. We really didn’t get good reads this morning, and it was wet again to start with but to begin the weekend out on top, I’m really proud of all the guys. Ford gave us a great car. I couldn’t be any happier.”

Porsche had previously won the pole for all three WeatherTech Championship races to-date this season, with Nick Tandy scoring the pole at Daytona and Long Beach and his No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR co-driver Patrick Pilet leading the way at Sebring.

It was a back-and-forth qualifying session, with the pole position swapping hands nine times over the final five minutes of the 15-minute session and five different drivers leading at one point. In fact, the four different manufacturers that make up the GTLM class took the top four spots on the grid with the No. 24 BMW Team RLL M8 of Jesse Krohn and the No. 4 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner making up the second row.

Ford is the only manufacturer with two cars in the top-five with Ryan Briscoe qualifying fifth in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT entry.

Richard Heistand won the GT Daytona pole for AIM Vasser Sullivan. (IMSA Photo)

In GT Daytona, Lexus is making a case for being the one to catch at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Richard Heistand won his first Motul Pole Award in the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, topping the GTD class with a time of 1:24.281 (96. 448 mph).

It was an unpredictable qualifying session for GTD teams, as the track was transitioning from wet to dry following heavy mist earlier in the day. Adding to the challenge was that this weekend is Heistand’s first trip to Mid-Ohio.

Heistand’s pole marks the second consecutive season that a Lexus RC F GT3 has led the GTD field to green at the 2.238-mile road course. Heistand’s co-driver Jack Hawksworth scored the pole position in the No. 15 Lexus last year, while its sister car – and current pole-sitting car – the No. 14, went on to win the race. It was the first WeatherTech Championship victory for the manufacturer.

“I think it’s a great car,” said Heistand. “I’m happy with the lap. To be honest, I think the car suits the conditions. It turns the tires around pretty quick. With the track drying, I just had to put together a clean lap. It’s funny when everything is going right, you don’t feel like anything was that hard. And then on days it’s not working, you’re trying really hard and don’t get anywhere.”

Heistand’s time turned out to be almost two seconds quicker than that of second-place Ben Keating in the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, who posted a time of 1:26.109 (94.401 mph). Despite the large margin between front row cars, the morning weather conditions prevented cars from reaching Hawksworth’s 2018 track record of 1:19.317 (102.484 mph).

Adding to Lexus’ qualifying success was Frankie Montecalvo, who placed both AIM Vasser Sullivan machines in the top three for Sunday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge.

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Jarvis Puts Mazda On Mid-Ohio Pole

Published in Racing

Saturday, 04 May 2019 12:45

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Oliver Jarvis and Mazda came out on top of an all-out battle to earn the pole for Sunday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday afternoon.

Jarvis secured his second pole of the season in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P. After current DPi points leader Pipo Derani set the pace early on in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, the battle for the pole came down to a battle between between Jarvis and Dane Cameron in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi.

Jarvis and Cameron traded the top spot no less than four times before Jarvis finally posted a lap of one minute, 10.705 seconds (114.967 mph) around the 2.258-mile permanent road course to get the pole. He then ran out of fuel at the end of his final qualifying lap as Cameron appeared to be on one last flyer, but the Mazda had just enough to keep the pole.

“We basically had zero dry running (before qualifying),” Jarvis said. “We got a little bit this morning, but the track was still improving. I think what you saw was a combination of the track getting better, the drivers taking a step each lap, and then Dane and I just going head-to-head.

“It was a head-to-head battle, we just didn’t realize it at the time. I just kept getting a new update. I’d do, like a 12.0 and think, ‘Oh, that was a good lap.’ Then, I’d get told on the radio, ‘Target time’s 11.6.’ It’s like, ‘OK, I’ll go again.’ Then do 11.4 and there’s a new target time. It was great fun.

“This track for me in the dry – I mean, I was disappointed when it was wet, just purely because it’s such a driver’s track in the dry. You can really hang the car out and push. You can really find some time by taking a bit of risk, but you can also stick it in the wall and look silly. To come into pit lane in P1 and the car in one piece is fantastic.”

Jarvis eclipsed Helio Castroneves’ year-old track record of 1:11.837 by more than a second. That’s nothing new for Jarvis, though. He opened the year with the Motul Pole Award for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, breaking P.J. Jones’ 26-year-old track record at Daytona. He and co-driver Tristan Nunez will be looking for Mazda Team Joest’s first WeatherTech Championship victory on Sunday.

To do it, they’ll have to hold off a stout field that includes both Acura Team Penske DPis, which qualified second and third. Defending race winner Castroneves wound up second in the No. 7 ARX-05 DPi he shares with Ricky Taylor with a best lap of 1:10.727 (114.931 mph), with Cameron third at 1:10.806 (114.803 mph) in the No. 6 he co-drives with Juan Pablo Montoya.

Derani wound up fourth in the No. 31 Cadillac with a lap of 1:11.721 (113.338 mph) as he and co-driver Felipe Nasr look to preserve their current lead in the WeatherTech Championship DPi standings. They head into the race holding a two-point lead, 92-90, over Castroneves and Taylor.

Joao Barbosa made it two Action Express Racing Cadillac DPis in the top five, putting the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry fifth at 1:12.320 (112.400 mph). Barbosa and co-driver Filipe Albuquerque won the most recent WeatherTech Championship round, last month’s BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach.

In LMP2 qualifying, class points leader Kyle Masson took the Motul Pole Award. He posted a best lap of 1:14.877 (108.561 mph) in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA he shares with Cameron Cassels. It was Masson’s first career WeatherTech Championship pole.

“It feels really good,” Masson said. “We had a strong race car last year. The conditions have been wet, so not much time to focus on anything, but we went on the knowledge we had last year and capitalized on it. We were able to improve the car regardless of the fact we didn’t have any

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Canes' van Riemsdyk (shoulder) out for playoffs

Published in Hockey

Saturday, 04 May 2019 13:42

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs after having shoulder surgery.

General manager Don Waddell said Saturday that the 27-year-old van Riemsdyk underwent surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to miss four to six months.

The Hurricanes recalled defenseman Jake Bean from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte on an emergency basis.

Van Riemsdyk was hurt in the first period of Game 2 of the second-round sweep of the New York Islanders last Sunday. He played in the first nine games of the postseason for Carolina, which has advanced to the Eastern Conference final in its first playoff appearance since 2009.

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Garcia (65) finds hot hand on Moving Day after ho-hum start at Wells Fargo

Published in Golf

Saturday, 04 May 2019 07:55

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sergio Garcia made his move on Day 3 at the Wells Fargo Championship, but whether his 6-under 65 was good enough to begin Sunday’s final round with a legitimate chance to win remains to be seen.

After struggling to an even-par total through two days, Garcia began the weekend 11 shots off the lead but quickly started to make up ground with birdies at Nos. 2, 3 and 4. He added two more before the turn for a front-nine 30.

After rebounding from a bogey at the 12^th hole with a birdie at the 14^th the Spaniard missed just his fourth green of the day at No. 18 but hit his bunker shot to 9 feet and converted the putt for a clutch par.

“To be realistic I would say probably three or four [shots back]. It also depends on how many guys are in front. If there's one guy, then you can kind of make it up. If there's three or four guys, it's tougher because it's very difficult for me to play really well again and then all of them not to play well,” said Garcia, who was tied for sixth place and five strokes off the lead when he completed his round.

Garcia hasn’t finished inside the top 10 at Quail Hollow since 2005 and his 1.371 strokes gained: putting on Saturday is more than a stroke better than his second average.

“Today was a lot of good drives, a lot of good iron shots and a lot of good putts,” he said. “Very happy with that and hopefully we have another one of those tomorrow and see what happens.”

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Dahmen sticks approach, hates eagle putt, makes eagle anyway

Published in Golf

Saturday, 04 May 2019 08:17

Is it still considered "Kevin Na-ing" if you walk the putt in in digust? That's exactly what Joel Dahmen did on No. 7 at the Wells Fargo Championship on Moving Day.

After sticking a fairway wood to just 11 feet, Dahmen hit his eagle putt and started walking towards the hole as if he hated it. What happened next? It went in, of course.

Kevin Na has recently caught attention for his quick steps towards the hole after he makes a putt. If Dahmen was channeling his inner Na, we may never know.

That eagle got Dahmen to 9 under with 11 holes to play in his third round.

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