I Dig Sports
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. – Monster Energy Kawasaki has signed two-time AMA 450 Pro Motocross champion Eli Tomac to a multi-year contract extension.
Tomac joined the team in 2016 and sits seventh on the all-time 450MX Class win list with 14 overall wins and 27 podium finishes aboard his KX450 motorcycle over the last three motocross seasons.
“I’m thrilled to continue the relationship with Kawasaki,” said Tomac. “I feel we have an outstanding team in place, an excellent KX450 motorcycle and a common goal of winning races and championships. I’m looking forward to starting off this Pro Motocross season with the crew on a high note. Let the good times roll!”
Tomac has also shown great success in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, by earning 27 450SX wins and claiming the Monster Energy Cup twice.
He swept all three main events in 2018 to earn the Monster Million.
“Eli is an impressive athlete and an exceptional asset to the Monster Energy Kawasaki team,” said Kawasaki Senior Manager of Racing Dan Fahie. “It has been a pleasure working and winning together with him and his family and we’re all excited to continue this relationship and the successful route we’re on.”
INDIANAPOLIS – Team Penske continued to top the scoring pylon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second day in a row on Wednesday.
This time, it was 2017 NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden who had the fastest lap of the 3,219 turned on the second day of Indianapolis 500 practice.
Newgarden’s fast lap was 228.856 mph around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the No. 2 Shell Chevrolet. That was better than Scott Dixon’s 228.835 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Fernando Alonso of McLaren had issues for the second day in a row. On Tuesday, an electrical issue sent the No. 66 Chevrolet into the garage early. The team changed the alternator and electrical loom and he was back on track Wednesday.
But at 12:34 p.m. Eastern Time, Alonso crashed in turn two, damaging the No. 66 McLaren entry. According to team IndyCar President Bob Fernley, the backup car will be prepared and that will become Alonso’s primary car for the remainder of the week. The primary car will be prepared and available as the backup before Saturday’s qualifications.
Rookie Felix Rosenqvist also had a crash in turn two in the final hour of practice and slid across the track in front of Jack Harvey and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Power. Both were able to avoid the calamity, but Rosenqvist’s Honda was badly damaged.
“I was behind Colton (Herta) and just trying to run the car in traffic, and I just felt a very sudden change of having a bit of push, and it went very loose, very fast,” Rosenqvist said. “I couldn’t react to it.
“A shame, but that’s how it is.”
Power continues to have the fastest overall speed for the month at 229.745 mph. That was set during Tuesday’s opening day of practice.
Newgarden backed up Team Penske’s speed with another fast run on Wednesday.
“It was an OK day, pretty clean, for us at least,” Newgarden said. “It’s not easy. A couple wrecks today. I think that shows you that it’s not super straightforward to try and get around here even on a practice day.
“For us, we’re just trying to work through our program. I think we need to be a bit better in traffic. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what we need on the race car. That was kind of our focus today. We didn’t really do much qualifying sims or anything like that.
“We’re trucking forward. I think the Shell car feels OK. It’s not a bad start. I’m trying to stay careful with it. I always try and respect this place at the beginning. I never try and push until it’s time. Just you’ve always got to watch your back around here. She’s a tough place at a lot of moments.
“So far, so good. I’m really happy to be here with the group again and trying to go for a good month. I think we’ve got all the capability in the world, so hopefully we can seal off a good Sunday.”
Nearly all of the 36 car/driver combinations that were on track Wednesday were working on race setup. Teams won’t begin working on qualifying setups until Friday.
“You have so much time, I think it’s easy to do that,” Newgarden continued. “Just you have so many sets – you have 36 sets of tires. It’s crazy how much time and tires you have. I think being methodical is really the wise thing to do. It just works really well in my opinion.
“You’ve got to peak at the right moments. Qualifying is very important. There’s a time there when you need to go quick, you need to have the car trimmed correctly, and it’s got to feel good, and then there’s a time to push in traffic and make something happen in the race.
“I think you pick your moments carefully, and it’s always fun running around here, though. I’ve been having a blast the last couple days.”
Spencer Pigot of Ed Carpenter Racing was third in a Chevrolet at 228.658 mph followed by rookie Santino Ferrucci at 228.561 mph. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was fifth at 228.561 mph.
There were 36 drivers on the track with Newgarden the fastest. Rookie Ben Hanley was the slowest at 224.361 mph, but that is a margin of just .7879 of a second that separates positions one through 36.
Practice for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 continues Thursday.
SALISBURY, N.C. – In one of the most hotly-contested Open division features of the season so far, Max McLaughlin led all 20 laps to win Wednesday night’s Prelude to the QRC Open at Millbridge Speedway.
Matt Francis (Intermediate), Ryan Zima (Box Stock) and Jaxon Merrifield (Beginner Box Stock) also picked up victories in their respective classes during the sixth week of racing at the sixth-mile dirt oval.
McLaughlin held off Carson Kvapil through the initial start and early laps, then fended off his Phantom Racing Chassis teammate Nick Hoffman late to notch his second win of the season at Millbridge.
The Toyota Racing Development driver was all smiles after the race, carrying some much-needed momentum into next week’s sixth annual $5,151-to-win QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport.
“That was badass,” said McLaughlin in victory lane. “That’s two of the best young racers in the country right there, in Nick Hoffman and Carson Kvapil, and to hold them off is pretty fun. You see how my teammate drove me, too … as clean as could be. That’s how racing should be. It stinks that he broke.
“I really believe Nick and I would have had a great battle; I’d race him all day in anything.”
The elder Kvapil’s hopes faded with nine laps left, when he tagged the cushion and lost the engine in his No. 35 CorvetteParts.net machine, while Hoffman’s quest for victory ended inside of five to go after the motor mount broke on his silver and blue No. 2h entry.
“It was shaping up to be a really good battle between those two boys before Nick’s issue,” noted PRC team owner Harold Wiggins. “I’m not sure which one would have won it, but they always race each other really hard. It was a show, for sure.”
“Man, when we break things we seem to break them pretty big,” added Hoffman. “It was a lot of fun racing Max, though. He’s one of the best out here and pushes us hard every time we hit the race track.”
McLaughlin pulled away in the final laps to beat Tom Hubert by 2.7 seconds. Brent Crews completed the podium, followed by Andrew Wehrli and Dillon Latour.
Francis snookered Caden Kvapil on the initial start of the 20-lap Intermediate division feature and never looked back en route to his first-career Wednesday night win in the division.
Francis got the jump on the green flag from the outside pole and pulled away, beating the younger Kvapil by five car lengths in the end as they raced in and out of slower traffic in a caution-free event.
“I just swung wide on the start, exactly like my dad (Kenny Francis) told me to, and it worked out perfectly,” said Francis. “This is special. I haven’t won a Wednesday race in two years, so it feels good.”
Behind runner-up Caden Kvapil, Sam Corry, Laci Ferno and Kennedy Elledge completed the top five.
Zima won a frenetic 20-lap Box Stock main for his second victory of the season, putting memories of his dead-heat photo finish in week three out of mind by passing Colt Currie with nine laps remaining.
Zima then beat Cassidy Keitt, Aiden Price, Landon Sartain and Landon Totherow to the finish line.
Merrifield topped a caution-laden 12-lap Beginner Box Stock A-Feature, passing Carson Allen on lap seven, while Katie Yonchuk went wire-to-wire to win the 12-lap Beginner Box Stock B-Feature.
To view complete race results, advance to the next page.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With free agent Sergei Bobrovsky expected to depart, the Blue Jackets have locked in goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for next season.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday that the Blue Jackets signed the 25-year-old Latvian to a one-year contract for 2019-20. Merzlikins is expected to compete for the starting job in Columbus.
Joonas Korpisalo was Bobrovsky's backup this season, and the Blue Jackets acquired veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid in a midseason trade. Both players also are free agents but could return to Columbus and compete with Merzlikins for the starting job.
Merzlikins is currently playing for Latvia at the world championships. He was selected by the Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2014 draft and has been playing in the Swiss National League.
KOSICE, Slovakia -- Patrick Kane scored a goal and had two assists to become the United States' all-time leading scorer at the world hockey championship in a 6-3 win over Britain on Wednesday.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympian finished the game with 36 points, surpassing the 33 points U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Johnson had in the tournament. Johnson led the Americans with 11 goals when they won Olympic gold in 1980.
"It's special when you think of all the great American players, all the kids that grow up in the USA, dreaming of playing hockey, dreaming of playing for their country,'' Kane said. "I've really enjoyed this tournament. This is my third time over here. It would be really nice to win it more than anything. The personal achievements and accolades are pretty nice, too.''
The Americans won bronze last year at the world championship in Denmark, where Kane had a tournament-high 20 points and was named MVP. Kane first appeared at the world championship in 2008, when the U.S. was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a loss to Finland.
Kane has helped the U.S. win three straight games in Group A since opening with a loss to the host Slovaks. The Americans have preliminary-round games remaining against Denmark, Germany and Canada.
The British team, which returned to the top division for the first time in 25 years, had a relatively strong showing after losing to Germany by two goals and getting routed by Canada and Denmark. Mike Hammond scored late in the first period to pull Britain into a 1-all tie. The British team scored in each of the three periods against the U.S. after having only one goal and giving up 20 goals in the previous three games.
Switzerland stayed undefeated in Group B, as Andreas Ambuhl scored twice in a 4-1 win over Norway. The Swiss likely will be tested as they close the preliminary round against Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic.
Germany scored twice over the final 1:52 against Slovakia, rallying to win 3-2 to remain the only unbeaten team in Group A.
Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winning goal with 27.4 seconds left after Markus Eisenschmid pulled the Germans into a 2-all tie late in the third period.
Alex Ovechkin put the Russians ahead by four goals in the first period against Italy, and they went on to win 10-0 in Bratislava, extending a first-place tie with Switzerland in Group B.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Wednesday that right wing Chris Wagner has returned to Boston for tests on his injured right arm and will not be available for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Wagner hurt his arm blocking a Justin Faulk slap shot in the third period of Tuesday's 2-1 victory that gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead in the series. The fourth-liner, who scored the first goal of Game 3, had his arm in a sling after the game.
"You never want to see injuries like that, but that's testament to him and what he's willing to give for this team and block a shot like that," teammate Charlie Coyle said. "That gets us fired up. It's the little things. They add up. That's a big loss for us."
Noel Acciari is expected to take Wagner's spot on the fourth line alongside Sean Kuraly and Joakim Nordstrom. Acciari had been sidelined with an upper-body injury but was declared fit to play earlier in the week.
What to expect: A look at how Woods has followed up Masters wins
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods won the Masters. Now what?
It’s a question that Woods has answered four previous times, back when the golf calendar had the U.S. Open following the springtime pilgrimage to Augusta National. Now it’s the PGA Championship that is second in line, and it’s held on a course where Woods has won before (more on that below).
On the eve of the opening round, here’s a look back at how Woods has followed each of his previous green jacket performances in his very next major start:
1997 U.S. Open: T-19. After crushing the field en route to his first Masters title, Woods’ encore was quickly undone by an opening-round 74 at Congressional. He followed with a 67 that left him four shots off the lead heading into the weekend, but rounds of 73-72 put him at 6 over for the week and 10 shots behind Ernie Els, who edged Colin Montgomerie for his second U.S. Open title.
2001 U.S. Open: T-12. As incomprehensible as it is to type, Woods went to Southern Hills with a chance to win his fifth major in a row after wrapping up the Tiger Slam two months prior. But like in 1997, he was playing catch-up after opening with a 74 that featured just one birdie. Weekend rounds of 69-69 made the result more respectable, but he still finished seven shots outside of a playoff that saw Retief Goosen beat Mark Brooks.
2002 U.S. Open: Win. That was the first time a major was held at Bethpage State Park, as Woods snagged his second major of the year and seventh in the last 11 played. Woods grabbed the opening-round lead with a 67, led by three heading into the weekend and four entering the final round. Despite closing with a 2-over 72, he managed to finish the week as the only player under par and three shots ahead of Phil Mickelson. His bid for the single-season Grand Slam would be undone by epic weather conditions at Muirfield the following month.
2005 U.S. Open: Second. Weeks after edging Chris DiMarco in a memorable playoff at Augusta National, Woods wasn’t able to keep pace with a relative unknown in Michael Campbell. Woods was three shots off the pace heading into the weekend and all seemed lost once Goosen distanced himself from the field in Round 3, but when the South African collapsed in the final round, it became a wide-open race. Despite bogeys on his first two holes, Woods got within two shots of the lead with a birdie on No. 15. But bogeys on the next two holes coincided with a timely Campbell birdie as the Kiwi captured his lone major title by two shots.
Daly: Playing with cart a 'distraction,' still 'not even easy' but needs it to play
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Set against a backdrop of rolling hills, it was the kind of site that prompts a double take as John Daly wheeled his way through the crowds on Wednesday at Bethpage Black.
Daly became the first player since Casey Martin at the 2012 U.S. Open to be allowed to use a golf cart at a major championship under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and despite some push back from players, most notably Tiger Woods, using a golf cart was the 1991 PGA champion’s only option.
“I wouldn’t have been able to play [without a golf cart],” Daly said. “To tell you the truth it’s not even easy playing with a cart because for me the cart is more of a distraction but I need it otherwise I can’t play.”
Maneuvering a golf cart across Bethpage Black’s 7,459 yards of rolling terrain and between the throng of fans has proven difficult for Daly. It’s been made even more challenging by a list of guidelines that the PGA of America demanded for cart use during the championship.
“Where the player goes all depends on the golf course and the conditions. I will meet with John and just talk through where he can go and can't go,” said Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s chief championships officer. “Obviously there's some places on this golf course where you can't get a golf cart to. We try and use common sense, what's reasonable, what's fair for the protection of both the player and as well as the playing of a major championship.”
Osteoarthritis in Daly’s right knee prevents him from walking more than six holes at a time and he said there is no short-term option for relief.
“It won’t get better until I get it replaced and they said I’m too young [for replacement surgery],” Daly said. “If it was broken it would have been much better, but I have Osteoarthritis. It just hurts, especially when I go downhill. I rode in a cart and it’s swelling up like a watermelon.”
Despite losing about 30 pounds and a procedure six weeks ago to remove part of his meniscus, the pain remains and has been compounded by a recent diagnosis of diabetes and issues with his liver.
“When all the players were talking about it they didn’t know about the diabetes and the liver problems,” he said.
On Tuesday Woods was asked about Daly’s use of a golf cart. “I walked with a broken leg, so . . .,” said Woods, who famously won the 2008 U.S. Open on a broken leg and a torn ACL.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Heading into the opening round of the PGA Championship, Jason Day is keeping an eye on the thermometer.
Day won his lone major title at this event back in 2015 under sunny summer skies at Whistling Straits. Conditions will be a little different this week at Bethpage State Park, where plenty of ski caps were spotted during early-week practice and where temperatures aren’t expected to crack 65 degrees the rest of the week.
While players have their club distances charted based on a variety of metrics, Day keeps track of his yardages based on temperature. A full 8-iron, for instance, will travel 176 yards at 80 degrees. But it’ll only go 169 yards at 50 degrees, the approximate temperatures the Aussie will face for his second-round tee time Friday morning.
“You definitely have to manage the cold. You have to know how far things are going, and on top of it how far you hit it with layers on as well,” Day said. “With layers on you’re probably taking another five yards off. It’s literally probably a 10 to 15 yard difference, and on top of that you have to trust it.”
While Day plans to embrace the impact the cold temps will have on his yardage book, he doesn’t expect them to affect his oft-ailing back. Day abruptly withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March because of a back injury, but since then he posted top-10 finishes at both The Players and the Masters.
“Back’s been great. Haven’t had to do anything really, to be honest,” he said. “It’s funny. When you have a back issue and you do the right exercise, typically you can do the right exercise and everything will fall back into place properly. So it’s just a matter of finding out what that exercise is. And obviously rest, rest is huge.”
Day remains one of the longest hitters on Tour, and he’s currently fifth this season in strokes gained off-the-tee. It’s an advantage he hopes to press on a soggy Black Course that has been made even longer by early-week rain.
“You have to carry it further just strictly because of how thick the rough is,” Day said. “If you’re a long-ball hitter here and you’ve got it going somewhat straight, you’re going to play well as long as you can chip and putt well. Someone that is just medium distance and is hitting it just a little bit off the fairway, you’re not going to.”
'Bored' Koepka's slow-play fix: Make rounds 14-15 holes
With three major championships under his belt, defending PGA Champion Brooks Koepka has become one of the game's more vocal players on Tour.
Now with the game to back up his opinions, Koepka has showcased his true personality to the world of golf. His latest topic deals with the pace-of-play dilemma the Tour has been faced with recently.
Appearing on an episode of Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast, Koepka talks about how he would fix the slow-play issue in professional golf.
"Nobody wants to spend 5 1/2 hours out there," said Koepka. "I would just make it 15 holes, 14 holes. Because then you get to go to the 19th hole a little bit quicker."
Koepka then took it a step further, saying he gets bored in the middle of rounds, even during tournament play.
"It gets boring from hole five through 12, you’re just like 'where am I right now?'" continued Koepka. "I literally can’t tell you what happened during those holes. You kind of black out. Everything is so repetitive.”
This is nothing new for Koepka, the world's No. 3 ranked player, who has frequently discussed this issue a number of times already in 2019. His most quotable moment came back in February, when he said 'no one has the balls' to penalize slow play.
Prior to that, Koepka discussed how 'embarrassing' slow play has become shortly after a European Tour-produced video went viral of Bryon DeChambeau calculating air density into his methodical pre-shot calculations.
"I just don't understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds, a minute and 15 seconds to hit a golf ball. It's not that hard," Koepka said in January. "It's always between two clubs. There's a miss short, there's a miss long. It really drives me nuts, especially when it's a long hitter because you know you've got two other guys, or at least one guy that's hitting before you, so you can do all your calculations. You should have your numbers."
With the year's second major on the line this week at Bethpage Black, don't be surprised to see the same slow play from the guys who are bunched atop the leaderboard Sunday afternoon. Not even shortening it to 14 or 15 holes is going to fix that issue.
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