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The state of Rio de Janeiro has approved a new law to help combat racist behaviour at sporting events, in the wake of the abuse suffered by Brazil forward Vinicius Junior in Spain.
Commonly known as the "Vini. Jr. law" in reference to the Real Madrid forward, the measure is the first of its kind in the South American country.
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Vinicius has been the target of repeated racist abuse in Spain, which has prompted widespread reaction from government officials in Brazil and throughout the world.
The new law, passed forward unanimously by Rio's legislative assembly (Alerj), dictates for an interruption or even termination of a sports event in which a racist act takes place.
Rio de Janeiro state representative Josemar, who put forward the proposal, said: "We have to eradicate this cancer that is racism once and for all, especially in sports. This law aims to combat racism and create an egalitarian society."
The new law also provides a protocol to direct racism complaints to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the referral of victims to the Public Defender's Office as well as other entities.
Vinicius, 22, has repeatedly complained about the Spanish authorities' and LaLiga's inaction around the issue of racism.
Following the latest racist abuse he suffered at Valencia's Mastalla Stadium on May 21 during a league game, Vinicius tweeted: "Racism in Spanish stadiums existed even before I was born. What has changed?"
Earlier this week, Spain's anti-violence commission proposed fines of €60,001 ($64,290) and two-year stadium bans for each of the four men accused of hanging an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge in Madrid in January.
The commission also proposed fines of €5,000 and one-year stadium bans for each of the three Valencia fans accused of racially abusing Vinicius on May 21.
Premier League transfer window preview: Kane to Man United? Rice to Arsenal?
The transfer window opens June 14 in the Premier League (find out about the rest of Europe here) and clubs have been planning their business after a long season interrupted by the 2022 World Cup in November and December.
ESPN writers have everything you need to know about the top teams' hopes and delve into deals that might be in the cards. Who will come in? Who will depart?
Teams in order of finishing place in 2022-23 season.
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Budget: Only limited by the usual financial fair play concerns, but they won't be frivolous.
What does the team need? City have had a great season and the squad doesn't need much, just a tweak here and there. Much will depend on departures. Pep Guardiola would like a midfielder and a left-back, while a centre-back could also arrive. There is also money to spend at City for the right deal but Guardiola and director of football Txiki Begiristain won't force it if they can't get the right players.
Who are the major targets? The top target this summer was Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and while City haven't formally pulled out of the race, the expectation is that the England midfielder will join Real Madrid for over £100 million. There is also interest in Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic and Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga. City are also monitoring RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol, who starred for Croatia at the World Cup.
Who could be leaving? Departures are likely to have a big impact on what happens at the Etihad Stadium this summer. Guardiola wants to keep midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, but Gundogan is out of contract and Silva has felt for a while that it's time to move on, either to Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona. City will allow the Portugal midfielder to leave but only if their valuation is met, which it wasn't last summer. Defender Aymeric Laporte could also leave after losing his place in Guardiola's first-choice team, while full-back Joao Cancelo has been linked with a permanent move when he returns from his loan at Bayern Munich.
Any new contracts? The key one for City and Guardiola is Gundogan. He'll be 33 early next season, but he has proved that he is still a key part of the team during the run-in and an FA Cup final where he scored twice. City are offering a one-year contract with the option of another year, and Barcelona are offering a straight two-year deal. Arsenal are also interested as manager Mikel Arteta looks to bring in experienced cover. -- Rob Dawson
Gab Marcotti believes Mikel Arteta and his players have overachieved in the current Premier League season despite the recent form over the last few weeks.
Budget: Around £100m to £120m, plus money from player exits. A return to the Champions League after six years away has given them a financial boost.
What does the team need? Mikel Arteta wants to revamp Arsenal's midfield with two signings. The Gunners are also interested in bolstering their options at centre-back and right-back. A new forward has been discussed, too.
Who are the major targets? West Ham's Declan Rice is Arsenal's preferred midfield signing this summer but the club face competition from Bayern Munich among others at over £100m. The Gunners also had multiple bids rejected for Brighton's Moises Caicedo and so a renewed attempt to sign him this summer would be no surprise.
Arsenal have offered a contract to Manchester City's Gundogan, who is yet to decide whether to stay with the champions or leave on a free transfer, but Barcelona are also pushing hard for his signature. The club have also been linked with Man City's Cancelo and Chelsea's Mason Mount.
Who could be leaving? Bayer Leverkusen are hoping to sign midfielder Granit Xhaka for around £12m, while injury-hit left-back Kieran Tierney is expected to move on with Newcastle monitoring his situation. Centre-back Rob Holding has also been made available, while the futures of midfielder Emile Smith Rowe and new USMNT striker Folarin Balogun are uncertain. PSG are reportedly interested in midfielder Martin Odegaard but Arsenal have no interest in letting him go. Cedric Soares spent six months on loan at Fulham last season and could be moved on, as could winger Nicolas Pepe.
Any new contracts? William Saliba's future is the immediate priority. The club have already signed Gabriel Martinelli, Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka to long-term deals and the club remain confident they can tie down the young centre-back, who has a year remaining on his existing agreement. Winger Reiss Nelson has rejected more than one offer of a new contract but the club remain in talks. -- James Olley.
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens think Manchester United have more pressing concerns that those Mason Mount would solve.
Budget: Between £100m and £150m.
What does the team need? A lot. The priorities are an established striker and a No. 8 midfielder, but manager Erik ten Hag has also made his case to football director John Murtough and the recruitment team that the squad also need a goalkeeper, right-back, centre-back, another midfielder and another forward. Ten Hag knows he won't get all that in one summer but he sees it as part of his job to be demanding.
Who are the major targets? Ten Hag wants Harry Kane but the club's hierarchy know how difficult it will be to do a £100m-plus deal with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy. If negotiations become drawn out, United are prepared to move on, and there are other targets including Napoli's Victor Osimhen, Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund, Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani, Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, Benfica's Goncalo Ramos, AS Roma's Tammy Abraham and Ajax's Brian Brobbey.
Sources said there is confidence that a deal for midfielder Mount can be done despite concerns over Chelsea's £60m valuation. He's only got a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge and has indicated to United that he is willing to move. Napoli defender Kim Min-jae has also been linked.
Who could be leaving? United hope to raise extra funds through a number of departures and they're willing to listen to offers for a host of first-team squad players. Midfielder Scott McTominay is wanted by Newcastle, while West Ham are expected to come back for centre-back Harry Maguire after having an enquiry knocked back in January. Fred, Anthony Martial, Anthony Elanga, Dean Henderson, Eric Bailly and Alex Telles could also leave.
Any new contracts? Goalkeeper David de Gea is close to signing a new contract, with his current terms expiring this summer, but has been told his status as No. 1 next season is not guaranteed. Sources said that backup Dean Henderson will be allowed to leave permanently for Nottingham Forest. United have wrapped up long-term deals for full-backs Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot and next on the list is Marcus Rashford. The England striker is about to enter the last year of his contract and United are hoping to reach an agreement quickly, ideally before the first international break of next season. -- Rob Dawson.
James Olley suggests Newcastle United as a smart potential destination for USMNT star Christian Pulisic.
Budget: £150m
What does the team need? A bit of everything. It may sound simplistic, but having qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, Newcastle need to add quality and quantity to their squad this summer.
Manager Eddie Howe guided the Magpies to a top-four finish well ahead of schedule with a squad that have yet to fully benefit from the huge wealth of their Saudi Arabia-backed owners. Key players such as goalkeeper Nick Pope (£10m), full-back Kieran Trippier (£12m), centre-back Sven Botman (£32m) and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes (£40m) are among those to arrive since the takeover in October 2021, but they have been astute signings for midrange fees rather than the kind of A-list deals Newcastle now have the financial power to pull off.
Forward Alexander Isak (£63m) was a club-record move, but this summer will be all about making Newcastle stronger in every area of the pitch. The incentive of playing in the Champions League next season will be an attractive proposition for potential signings.
In terms of specific areas in need of reinforcements, a new left-back to challenge Dan Burn will be a priority, while Howe is likely to pursue at least two new forwards.
Who are the major targets? In keeping with the understated approach of Howe, Newcastle's summer shortlist remains low-key and there are no noises emerging from St James' Park about headline-grabbing moves for some of the game's biggest stars.
Newcastle are pursuing Arsenal defender Tierney, with the former Celtic left-back identified as a potential replacement for Burn. Leicester City's James Maddison has been a long-term target for Newcastle and the England player is set to leave the King Power Stadium following the club's relegation from the Premier League.
Manchester United's McTominay and Celta Vigo's Veiga have been watched for a midfield upgrade, while the club have also been linked with Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma.
Who could be leaving? Newcastle have six players -- Matt Ritchie, Loris Karius, Matty Longstaff, Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark and Mark Gillespie -- whose contracts expire at the end of June and all are expected to be released.
Goalkeepers Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow have both spent time away from Newcastle on loan this season, so their futures are also in doubt. Jamaal Lascelles, Matt Targett, Jamal Lewis, Javi Manquillo, Jeff Hendrick and Ryan Fraser have dropped out of the picture under Howe and likely to be allowed to leave. Winger Allan Saint-Maximin could leave the club if a suitable offer arrives.
Any new contracts? Striker Callum Wilson, left-back Burn and centre-back Fabian Schar all have 12 months to run on their existing deals and can expect offers of new contracts. Wilson and Burn, both 31, have been key figures this season, but both are likely to see their places come under threat with new signings, so this summer will be decisive for them. -- Mark Ogden
Mark Ogden analyses Liverpool's pursuit of Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister.
Budget: £120m
What does the team need? The No. 1 priority for Liverpool this summer is to overhaul Jurgen Klopp's midfield and that process has already started with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be released at the end of their contracts.
With Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara both 32, and Fabinho the youngest of Klopp's regular midfield starters at 29, Liverpool are now facing a bigger rebuilding job than they would if they had started to address the issue 12 months ago. They recently withdrew from the £100m-plus race to sign Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Bellingham because of the likely cost of the deal, with the club focusing instead on signing two or three midfielders for the same financial outlay.
Having spent heavily to bolster their attacking options in the last three windows by signing Luis Diaz (£37m), Darwin Nunez (£80m) and Cody Gakpo (£35m), Liverpool have no need to add any more forwards. But they are likely to pursue reinforcements at full-back. With Trent Alexander-Arnold allowed to push more into midfield this season, adding another right-back as cover is key.
Who are the major targets? Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is Liverpool's prime target and a deal is close to being done in the region of £50m for the Argentina international.
Liverpool are also trying to persuade Mount to leave Chelsea for Anfield but face stiff competition from Manchester United and Arsenal for the 24-year-old.
Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram is a player of interest to Liverpool, but sources have told ESPN he is one of number of targets and that recent reports of a deal being close are wide of the mark.
Meanwhile, Wolves' Matheus Nunes is another target and a deal for the Portugal midfielder could be an easy one to agree because of the club needing to offload players in order to avoid non-compliance with the Premier League's financial fair play regulations.
Who could be leaving? Liverpool have already started their summer clearout, with midfielders Milner, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain heading out of the exit door. Striker Roberto Firmino has also left Anfield at the end of his contract.
Fabio Carvalho, signed from Fulham last summer, could be allowed to leave in order to help boost Liverpool's transfer funds, while the club has had interest in Curtis Jones from Premier League rivals.
And while Mohamed Salah signed a three-year contract last year, the 30-year-old forward's outspoken comments about Liverpool's failure to qualify for the Champions League might trigger a summer of speculation over his future. Liverpool will resist attempts to prise him away, but if a major European team makes a move, watch this space.
Any new contracts? Nothing major in the pipeline. Liverpool have spent the past 18 months securing their top stars and young players to new long-term contracts. -- Mark Ogden
James Olley details what Ange Postecoglou will look to bring to Spurs if he agrees to take over as manager.
Budget: Reduced by an absence of European football, Spurs will still be able to provide some funding to back new head coach Ange Postecoglou.
What does the team need? Postecoglou will assess his squad over the next few weeks to determine the club's transfer strategy. Spurs conceded 63 Premier League goals last season -- a figure only surpassed by the three relegated teams, as well as Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest -- so there are major issues defensively. A new goalkeeper, at least one new centre-back and perhaps a new left-back are all needed, while some fresh creativity in midfield would not go amiss either.
Who are the major targets? Difficult to answer comprehensively given Spurs have a new manager yet to start work, but the club previously expressed an interest in Fulham winger Manor Solomon and also Brentford goalkeeper David Raya. They are also expected to convert forward Dejan Kulusevski's loan deal from Juventus into a permanent transfer. Spurs have been repeatedly linked with a move for Leicester City playmaker James Maddison, who is available after the club were relegated, but it is unclear at this stage whether Postecoglou wants him. The same goes for Man United centre-back Maguire, while a permanent move for Barcelona's Clement Lenglet is being considered once his loan ends.
Who could be leaving? Speculation over Kane's future could dominate Tottenham's summer. Real Madrid and Manchester United are interested in signing the 29-year-old but Spurs are reluctant to let him go, even with a contract that expires in 2024. It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou's appointment is enough to convince Kane to stay, or even sign a new deal.
Brazilian winger Lucas Moura has already left, while 36-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has announced his intention to seek a new challenge with a year left on his deal. Right-back Djed Spence spent the second half of last season on loan and Spurs may be willing to listen to offers to sign the right-back. Wing-back Ivan Perisic was brought in on a free transfer at Antonio Conte's behest, so he could be moved on, while the futures of defenders Davinson Sanchez and Ryan Sessegnon are unclear.
Postecoglou will influence decisions going forward but, as it stands, Spurs are expected to allow loanee Arnaut Danjuma to return to Villarreal and will also listen to offers for midfielders Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks, as well as left-back Sergio Reguilon.
Any new contracts? Spurs will try to get Kane to pen a new contract if they retain him beyond this transfer window. Eric Dier's agreement expires in 2024 but the club denied reports an extension had been agreed last month. -- James Olley
Mark Ogden gives the latest on Christian Pulisic's future after Juventus emerge as front-runners to sign the USMNT forward from Chelsea.
Budget: The club insist UEFA's financial fair play rules are not a major concern, despite spending £600m in 12 months only to then miss out on Europe after a dismal season. While there are funds available, moving players on is the initial priority.
What does the team need? New head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be working that out now. Any objective look at the squad would conclude at least one centre-forward is a high priority, even with Romelu Lukaku's loan at Inter ending. The club are also short of depth in central midfield and a new goalkeeper would be a consideration after mixed spells for both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy.
Who are the major targets? Chelsea pulled out of a £52m deal for Sporting CP midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who is set to sign for PSG instead, and are considering other options including Brighton's Caicedo and Southampton's Romeo Lavia. They may consider moving for West Ham's Rice. France forward Christopher Nkunku is expected to join from RB Leipzig for over £60m, having agreed terms last year.
Pochettino would likely be interested in Kane if he chose to leave Tottenham but the prospects of the two London rivals agreeing a deal are remote. Napoli's Osimhen is likely to be of interest, although Chelsea would face strong competition for his signature, while Inter's Lautaro Martinez is another option.
Who could be leaving? Almost too many to mention. Chelsea ended the season with 31 first-team players on their books, plus eight returning on loan, so there will be a significant number of departures. Of course, Pochettino will have his say in the coming weeks but Mount is likely to leave, with Manchester United leading the race for his signature.
The versatile Ruben Loftus-Cheek is attracting interest from AC Milan, while winger Hakim Ziyech almost joined PSG in January and could move on alongside attacker Christian Pulisic, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang -- who could rejoin Barcelona -- and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi. Manchester City are exploring a move for midfielder Mateo Kovacic while Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Conor Gallagher, Kai Havertz and Marc Cucurella face an uncertain summer. Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria will return to Italy after his loan spell, while Brighton are interested in signing defender Levi Colwell after his loan, but the Blues continue to insist he is part of their long-term plans.
Any new contracts? It has long been expected that N'Golo Kante would sign a new deal but the longer the wait goes on, the more doubt creeps in. Another injury setback has not helped and he has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. -- James Olley
Dushmantha Chameera's four wickets leads bowlers' party as Sri Lanka wrap up series
Sri Lanka 120 for 1 (Karunaratne 56*, Nissanka 51, Naib 1-19) beat Afghanistan 116 (Nabi 23, Chameera 4-63, Hasaranga 3-7)
In this game, unlike in the previous one, it was the bowlers who set up the big win. Chief among them was Chameera, who took 4 for 63 - many of those runs coming via edges to the boundary, as he extracted good bounce from the surface at his sharp pace. Although the surface was not particularly bowler-friendly, he frequently got the ball to jag, especially into the right-handers.
It was Kumara who made the first breakthrough, having Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught hooking at fine leg in the second over. Gleaning a little movement off the surface, Chameera then made two breakthroughs in the fifth over, having both Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi caught by the wicketkeeper - Shahidi edging one that passed down the legside.
The tottering start became a full-on collapse when Kumara got the big wicket of Ibrahim Zadran with a dream inducker, which pitched just outside off, and jagged in to pass between bat and pad before rattling the stumps. Ibrahim was out for 22, leaving Afghanistan at 48 for 4 in the ninth over. This was only the second time in six consecutive matches against Sri Lanka that Ibrahim fell for less than 50.
When Chameera returned for a second spell, he produced the over of the innings in which he was unfortunate to get only one wicket. First ball, Mohammad Nabi edged him just over slip for four; second delivery, Nabi was dropped by backward point, who got hands to a shin-high chance before grassing it; and third ball, Najibullah Zadran edged towards slip, but the ball bounced short and burst through the fielder's hands to go to the boundary.
But come the fourth ball, Chameera finally had some luck. Chameera seamed a length ball on the stumps, which Zadran tried to play to the leg side, but ended up only sending a leading edge to point, which was easily held this time. Next over, Chameera would get Nabi too, seaming it in to hit him above the knee roll on the front leg. The batter reviewed the out decision, but the ball was projected to hit the top of leg stump.
Of the spinners, Hasaranga was the most effective, two of his three wickets coming from the legbreak. The first one dismissed Rashid Khan, who was playing his first match of the series, as the batter missed a sweep to be struck in front of the stumps. Mujeeb Ur Rahman then edged a Hasaranga delivery to the wicketkeeper, and Fazalhaq Farooqi was the last to go, lbw to the googly.
The chase was straightforward, but rapid. Nissanka got moving in the second over, when he cracked successive square boundaries on either side of the wicket off Fareed Ahmad. Nissanka continued to be aggressive, slamming Mujeeb for six over midwicket in the fourth over, before cutting him through point for four next ball. After five overs, Sri Lanka were 41 for no loss, though Karunaratne had had a little luck, with Rashid failing to hold a tough overhead catch at square leg.
But Nissanka continued to maul Afghanistan, hitting another six over midwicket off Farooqi, as he sped to a 32-ball fifty, completed in the tenth over. He was lbw to Gulbadin Naib first ball after the powerplay ended, but thanks to him, Sri Lanka had made 84 in the first ten overs. Then Karunaratne cruised to the target alongside Kusal Mendis, completing his eighth ODI half century in the 15th over.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf
Moeen Ali recalled for Ashes after agreeing Test comeback
He held discussions with Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key - England's captain, coach and managing director respectively - and the ECB announced on Wednesday morning that Moeen has agreed to return to Test cricket. He has been added to England's squad for the first two Ashes Tests at Edgbaston and Lord's.
"We reached out to Mo early this week about returning to Test cricket," Key said. "Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play Test cricket again.
"His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign. We wish Mo and the rest of the squad well for the Ashes campaign."
He has won the T20 World Cup with England and two IPL titles with Chennai Super Kings since his retirement, and has represented various franchises around the world in between his international commitments. He has also returned to Warwickshire, his home county, and spent the last week captaining their Vitality Blast side.
But since McCullum and Stokes took over a year ago, Moeen has become increasingly open to the idea of returning to Test cricket. He said last summer that he would "love" to play under the new regime: "They are both very aggressive and I think I would suit their cricket a bit more."
He gave serious consideration to a return for England's December tour to Pakistan after discussions with McCullum, but eventually opted against due to the prospect of spending more time away from his family during a busy winter of white-ball cricket.
England's squad will report to Birmingham on Tuesday and have three training days before the start of the series at Edgbaston on June 16. The venue is Moeen's home ground, but he has not played a red-ball game there since the first Test of the 2019 Ashes, when he took 3 for 172 in the match and was then dropped.
Moeen will likely bat at No. 8 if selected but is not a certain starter at this stage. Spinners often play a peripheral role at Edgbaston - only three wickets have fallen to spin in three County Championship games at the venue this season - and with Stokes' fitness to bowl still unclear, England may be tempted to field an all-seam attack supplemented by Joe Root's offbreaks.
He has struggled against Australia in the past, with 20 wickets at an average of 64.65, though those figures include a gruelling 2017-18 tour in which England's dearth of spin resources saw him play all five Tests despite ripping his spinning finger open on the seam of the ball early in the tour.
Controversy in Edinburgh with disappointed masters losing out on record chances plus news of Assembly league and Yorkshire Masters event in our latest UK road and multi-terrain round-up
BLAST SCOTTISH MILE (INC BMAF Championships, Edinburgh, June 4
World masters 1500m champion David Proctor, a 1:50.35 800m performer last year, was clearly the fastest male master with 4:16 though relative youngster Finlay Murray was quicker with 4:12 in the open race.
The open race also provided the fastest woman with German Margot Wyrwoll quickest with 5:07.
The fastest master woman was W35 Laura Haggarty with 5:10.
The event controversially switched directions to make the most of the following wind and being point to point was ineligible for record purposes although the BMAF incorrectly listing Fiona Matheson’s time from the event last year, which was publicised by the organisers, led some to believe that records could be set.
Fiona Matheson was denied a record in Edinburgh by the course (Bobby Gavin for Scottish Athletics)
W60 Matheson went faster this year with 5:24 to finish almost 200 metres clear of Lucy Woolhouse but the UK masters record remains just 6:06.
Also missing out on a record were M55 Andrew Ridley, who ran 4:35 compared to John Thomson’s 4:48. Thomson won the M60 race here in 5:13, well inside Nigel Gates’ 5:20 record.
Also missing out on a record was W75 Angela Copson who ran 6:57 compared to Anne Martin’s 7:39.
M70 Ed Norton (5:34) was another to miss out and like many of the other gold medallists would have bettered the previous record (5:47) even if the course had been out and back.
M35-40
1 David PROCTOR 4:16 V35
2 Darrell HASTIE 4:18 V40
3 Grant BAILLIE 4:24 V40
4 Iain WHITAKER 4:28 V40
5 Scott MACLEOD 4:28 V35
6 William EWENS 4:29 V35
7 John LENEHAN 4:31 V35
8 Colin WELSH 4:37 V40
9 David SCOTT 4:44 V35
10 Richard O’GRADY 5:03 V40
M45-50
1 Neil LAFFERTY 4:32 V45
2 Philip HOLDEN 4:36 V45
3 Malcolm LANG 4:39 V45
4 Allan CAMERON 4:40 V50
5 Gordon BARRIE 4:43 V50
6 John COYLE 4:47 V50
7 Alan CUNNINGHAM 4:48 V50
8 Tim HELY 4:49 V50
9 Justin DURHAM 4:57 V45
10 Brent BRODIE 4:58 V50
M55-60
1 Andrew RIDLEY 4:35 V55-1
2 Stephen ALLEN 4:38 V55-2
3 Adrian HAINES 4:55 V55-3
4 David CLARKE 4:59 V60-1
5 Rob ANDREW 5:01 V60-2
6 Graeme GEMMELL 5:06 V55
7 Greg PENN 5:07 V60-3
8 Russell PARKIN 5:10 V60
9 Walter HENDERSON 5:12 V55
10 David THOM 5:14 V60
M65 plus
1 John THOMSON 5:13 V65-1
2 Ed NORTON 5:34 V70-1
3 Dave WATSON 5:35 V65-2
4 Nick HOLLIDAY 5:37 V65-3
5 Gavin BAYNE 5:46 V65
6 David NICHOLSON 5:48 V65
7 Peter KENNEDY 5:53 V70-2
11 Brian HOWIE 6:52 V70-3
14 Ian BARNES 8:47 V85-1
W35-45
1 Laura HAGGARTY 5:10 V35-1
2 Jacqueline ETHERINGTON 5:31 V40-1
3 Sarah LITTLE 5:37 V45-1
4 Katie MITCHELL 5:39 V45-2
5 Louise TORR 5:39 V35-2
6 Jennifer BEATTIE 5:41 V40-2
7 Jennifer MACLEAN 5:45 V45-3
8 Leanne CALDER 5:49 V40-3
9 Sue ELLEN 6:02 V35-3
W50-55
1 Sharon DIXON 5:28 V50-1
2 Mary SENIOR 5:32 V50-2
3 Julie MENZIES 5:36 V50-3
4 Julia JOHNSTONE 5:43 V50
5 Hilary CARSWELL 5:47 V50
6 Julie WILSON 5:50 V55-1
7 Jane HALLORAN 05:53 V50
8 Karen DOBBIE 5:59 V55-2
9 Catherine FERRY 6:15 V50
10 Carol CLARKE 6:24 V55-3
W60 +
1 Fiona MATHESON 5:24 V60-1
2 Lucy WOOLHOUSE 6:08 V60-2
3 Sarah GILL 6:19 V60-3
4 Sharyn RAMAGE 6:24 V60
5 Kathryn MORTON 6:25 V65-1
6 Karen MCALLISTER 6:40 V60
7 Dorothy KESTERTON 6:48 V70-1
8 Frances WOOD 6:49 V60
9 Angela COPSON 6:57 V75-1
10 Linden NICHOLSON 7:00 V70-2
11 Erica CHRISTIE 7:06 V65-2
Open Mixed:
1 Finlay MURRAY 4:12 SNR
2 Lewis RODDIS 4:26 YTH
3 Sparrow John MORLEY 4:29 SNR
4 Fraser KELLY 4:31 SNR
5 Jack FULLERTON 4:34 SNR
6 Patryk KASPEREK 4:47 SNR
7 Jonah CUMINGS 4:52 SNR
8 Blair GEDDES 4:54 SNR
9 Francisco CAMACHO 4:55 SNR
10 Luke SMITHSON 4:59 SNR
13 Margot WYRWOLL 5:07 SNR-1W
15 Merce SANCHEZ OLLER 5:09 SNR-2W
22 Blake BURCHILL 5:28 Under11
25 Morag MCCLELLAND 5:34 SNR-3W
CREWKERNE 10km, Somerset, June 4
Overall: 1 W Loveridge (Chard) 34:53; 2 S Dixon (High, M40) 35:29; 3 G Davies (SWRR) 36:16
M70: 1 J Shapland (Bide) 44:14
Women:
1 S Trim (R Time, W40) 43:19; 2 J Carritt (High, W45) 43:55; 3 G Wood 44:40
W65: 1 E Wood (Axe V)
JUBILEE BRIDGE 10km, Runcorn, Cheshire, June 4
Overall:
1 C Hannon (St Hel) 34:16; 2 R Fowles (Bury, M40) 34:34; 3 T Fair (Liv PS) 35:00
M50: 1 I Low (Osw) 36:33
M55: 1 A SAtorey 38:36
M70: 1 M Walker (S’port W) 45:20
Women:
1 L Fisher (W35) 36:41; 2 L Young (Marsh L) 38:42; 3 K Butler (W35) 41:14
W55: 1 J Hickman (W Chesh) 46:09
MARHAM FLYERS DAMBUSTERS COMMEMORATION 10km, Norfolk, June 4
Overall:
1 H Tawell 35:31; 2 M Sladden (Wym) 36:18; 3 M Stockdale (Ryst) 36:33
Women:
1 L Finch (Norw) 37:41; 2 L McDonnell (Wym, W40) 39:07; 3 M Brown (3 Counties) 42:45
W55: 1 L Benstead (Ely) 44:03
WEYBRIDGE RACES, SURREY, June 4
Ollie Garrod, the world 40-mile record holder, collected the leading prize in both the 5km and half-marathon categories.
Ollie Garrod
Overall (13.1M): 1 O Garrod (Belg) 71:34; 2 B Devlin 75:24; 3 B Pickford (Clap) 79:20
Women: 1 H Hawken 87:24; 2 L Turnbull (On Run Ayles, W35) 90:14; 3 A Edwards (Shepperton, W35) 95:59
Overall (10km): 1 M Cryer (M40) 34:43; 2 B White 35:34; 3 D Barnicoat (M45) 35:36
Women: 1 M Pepin 38:59; 2 C Baxter 39:44; 3 E Morton (Shepp, W40) 45:59
Overall (5km): 1 O Garrod (Belg) 16:04; 2 W Cullen 16:38; 3 K McQueen 16:44
Women: 1 F Leach 19:26; 2 C Britain (W40) 23:10; 3 G James 25:10
YORKSHIRE VETERANS’ ROAD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS, Holmfirth, North Yorkshire, June 4
A new course at Cartworth Moor proved popular as 83 teams completed the three-stage event, split across nine age groups, Martin Duff reports.
There was a five-year M35 age group which attracted 12 teams and Barnsley, who had their middle runner Scott Hinchcliffe, the county vets cross-country champion for the past two years, post the fastest leg of the day at 14:46, in their victory.
City of Leeds were champions of the traditional M40-49 age group, with their Mike Burrett, the England Masters cross-country international, quickest with 15:33, albeit sharing the time with Simon Courtney of Stadium Runners.
St Theresa’s led from the start of the M50-59 age group event but the fastest lap went elsewhere, to Knavesmere’s D Smithers, with a 16:03 clocking.
Harrogate’s Darren West, the county vets cross-country champion, was quickest of the over-60 runners with 16:57, whilst Bryan Parkinson was fastest of the M70 runners ahead of his two Bingley team mates, with 21:39.
Knavesmere won a keenly contested women’s W35-44 contest, from Stadium runners and it was equally tight for the fastest lap as Holmfirth’s Helena Croft, with 17:43, just got the medal from Rotherham’s Sarah Lowery by a tick.
It was her team mate Adele Marsden who was comfortably fastest of the over-45 women but her final stage 19:20 split was not enough to prevent a Penistone victory.
Sue Cordingley, the 2019 British & Irish Masters cross-country international champion, gave Bingley a first ratestart in the W55 event and her 18:39 was easily the fastest as her club won the section by more than two minutes.
The oldest women’s age group saw new member Diane Baldwin d0 the same for Holmfirth’s W65s after moving north from Milton Keynes.
Men M35 (3x3M): 1 Barnsley 46:11 (G Briscoe 15:33, S Hinchcliffe 14:46, J Bird 15:52); 2 Stadium R 47:54; 3 Barnsley H 50:00
Fastest: Hinchcliffe 14:46; N Pearson (Stadium) 14:59; Briscoe 15:33
M40 (3x3M): 1 Leeds 47:04 (J Walton 15:43, M Burrett 15:33, A Buckley 15:48); 2 Stadium R 48:06 (L Timmins 16:14, S Courtney 15:33, S Carson 16:19); 3 Rotherham 48:43 (G Sampson 15:41, P Hoole 16:48, A Johnson 16:14); 4 St Theresa’s 48:46; 5 Sheffield RC 49:44
Fastest: Burrett/Courtney 15:33; S Grace (St Ther) 15:37
M50 (3x3M): 1 St Theresa’s 52:05 (D Parker 16:36, A Clarke 18:48, A Grinnell 16:41); 2 Steel C 53:54; 3 Wakefield 53:56
Fastest: D Smithers (Knaves) 16:02; Parker 16:36; G Felton (Barns)/Grinnell 16:41
M60 (3x3M): 1 Steel C 54:53 (J Turner 18:46, D Wilson 18:32; C Ireland 17:35); 2 Harrogate 55:30; 3 Knavesmere 62:48
Fastest: D West (H’gate) 16:47; Ireland 17:35; J Rose (Holmf) 18:30
M70 (3x3M): 1 Bingley 66:07 (D Johnson 22:31, B Parkinson 21:39, S Jordan 21:57); 2 Steel C 69:25; 3 Holmfirth 74:41
Fastest: Parkinson 21;39
Women W35 (3x3M): 1 Knavesmere 56:44 (H Hall 18:36, B Kalarikova 20:00, H Wilcock 18:08); 2 Wakefield 57:06 (H Beck 18:49, N Steel 18:22, A Dales 19:55); 3 Rotherham 59:54 (N Clegg 20:09, S Lowery 17:44, A Lally 22:01); 4 St Theresa’s 60:24; 5 Steel C 60:28; 6 Holmfirth 67:05
Fastest: H Croft (Holmf) 17:43; Lowery 17:44; Wilcock 18:08
W45 (3x3M): 1 Penistone 61:16 (D Broom 20:20, R Mayston 20:01, J Johnson 20:55); 2 Rotherham 62:45; 3 Holmfirth 62:45
Fastest: A Marsden (Roth) 19:20; J Jones (Holmf) 19:43; Mayston/H Standing (Holmf) 20:01
W55 (3x3M): 1 Bingley 62:19 (S Cordingley 18:39, M Green 22:05, T Gavins 21:35); 2 Steel C 64:52; 3 Barnsley 68:31
Fastest: Cordingley 18:39; G Colville (Barns) 19:49; F Jeffries (Steel) 21:04
W65 (3x3M): 1 Holmfirth 70:43 (D Baldwin 22:22, N Edery 23:08, E Stewart 25:13); 2 Steel C 72:53
Fastest: Baldwin 22:22; Edery 23:08; L Rowley (Steel) 23:09
SRI CHINMOY MIDSUMMER 10km, Battersea Park, London, June 3
Neil Wilson won overall in 31:57 but it was seventh-placed Rose Harvey who performed best.
The Clapham Chasers runner, who set a PB 32:59 in Manchester two weeks earlier, clocked 33:14 to take the women’s section by more than three minutes.
Overall: 1 N Wilson (Belg) 31:57; 2 J Laing (Hill) 32:03; 3 T Squires (Hill) 32:23; 4 A Wilson (Dulw R) 32:41; 5 J Fox (Belg) 32:49; 6 V Lio (Serp) 33:02; 7 R Harvey (Clap, W) 33:14; 8 S Lewis (Lon H, M40) 33:21; 9 J Lepretre (VP&TH) 33:23; 10 M Poser (Serp) 33:36
M45: 1 P Young (AFD) 34:59; 2 J Casal-Perez 34:58
M50: 1 J Ratcliffe (Herne H) 36:55; 2 M Carmack (Serp) 37:37; 3 Z Bredemear (Dulw Pk) 37:43
Women: 1 R Harvey (Clap) 33:14; 2 H Pullen (AFD) 36:52; 3 A Ferguson (Best A) 38:28
W45: 1 A Smith (L City) 40:46
W55: 1 M Lennon (Dulw R) 42:25
DK MILE, Blythe, June 2
Overall: 1 M Diment (M35) 5:15; 2 G Bracken (NSP, M60) 5:28; 3 M Fletcher (NSP, M40) 5:34
Women: 1 E Clark (Heat) 5:54; 2 K Watson (Blyth, W35) 6:01; 3 L Percy (Heat) 6:14
EALING MILE, Ealing, June 2
Overall: 1 O Forrest (B Beagles, U15W) 5:10; 2 D Nichols (SB, M40) 5:12; 3 W Walker (Unatt, M40) 5:15
Women: 1 Forrest 5:10; 2 C Morris (Eal E, W40) 6:36; 3 A Shierson (Eal E) 6:38
ASSEMBLY LEAGUE, Crystal Palace, London, June 1
The 2022 British Masters champion Ed Chuck fought off a challenge from Jake Simmons to win over a hilly two-lap course similar to the parkrun circuit but Simmonds’ Kent AC came out comfortably on top but they were even more dominant in the women’s race as they took six of the top seven places.
Ed Chuck leads Jake English (Cliff Hide)
International 50km runner and former Kent cross-country champion Amy Clements, fighting her way back to fitness after maternity leave, led most of the way but ended up third as she was caught by clubmate Katie Rowland who finished five seconds ahead of another ex county champion Bryony Proctor. A third former Kent senior winner Clare Elms was fifth and first over-50.
Overall: 1 E Chuck (Dulw R) 15:39; 2 J Simmonds (Kent) 15:41; 3 N Torry (Kent, M45) 16:16; 4 B Hope (Kent) 16:30; 5 R Donohue (Kent) 16:32; 6 J Brotchie (Dulw R) 16:33; 7 R Armstrong (Dulw R) 16:34; 8 B Clarke (Kent) 16:38; 9 J Halsworth (Dulw R) 16:31; 10 A Bond (Dulw R, M45) 16:42; 11 F Bungay (Dulw R) 16:46; 12 C Compton (Kent, M45) 16:48; 13 C Fraser (Kent) 16:50; 14 S Cottle (Eton M, M40) 16:53; 15 R Brown (Stock Ex) 16:54
M50: 1 K Howard (Petts W) 18:06
M55: 1 K Klidzia (Lon U) 18:19
M60: 1 R Beardsworth (Kent) 20:27
M65: 1 J Barron (Kent) 22:38
M70: 1 D Butler (Lloyds) 20:35; 2 M Mann (Dulw R) 23:47
TEAM: 1 Kent 14; 2 Dulw 23; 3 Stock Exchange 99
First woman Katie Rowland leads this group
Women:
1 K Rowland (Kent) 18:17; 2 B Proctor (Kent, W35) 18:22; 3 A Clements (Kent, W40) 18:23; 4 L Foreman (Camb H) 19:07; 5 C Elms (Kent, W55) 19:11; 6 T Murphy (Kent, W45) 19:45; 7 E Freeden (Kent) 19:48
W45: 2 C Norris (Dulw R) 21:19
W50: 1 V Carter (Stock Ex) 21:01
W55: 2 M Lennon (Dulw R) 21:26; 3 O Balme (Dulw R) 22:08
W65: 1 J Quantrill (Dulw R) 24:23
TEAM: 1 Kent 11; 2 Dulwich 66; 3 Greenwich Tri 88
RUNTHROUGH BATTERSEA PARK CHASE THE SUN 5km / 10km, Battersea Park, May 31
Overall (5km): 1 H Hart (Belg) 14:45; 2 B Crowley (IRL) 15:30; 3 K Bowling (AFD) 15:34
Women: 1 R Bunting (Lon Hth, W40) 17:53; 2 L Thompson (Ton) 17:53; 3 E Sharrock (Norw) 18:16
Overall (10km): 1 J Collier (Harrow) 30:13; 2 J Tranvag (Rindal Il) 32:48; 3 F O’Reilly (AFD) 33:21
Women: 1 M Alvarez (Peru, W45) 35:06; 2 S Holt (Strag, W40) 36:58; 3 B Port (Clap C) 38:39
SCOTTS TRAVEL MIDWEEK LEAGUE Div 1, Race 2, St Albans May 31
Cameron Dockerill led St Albans Striders to a team victory in the second race of the series, Martin Duff reports.
A time of 31:16 was comfortable enough to see off a challenge from Michael Waddington who moved up from third in the opening match as the then race winner Ben Hadman was relegated to third.
Katie Harbon again came out top of the women’s section with an improvement to 35:46
Overall: 1 C Dockerill (St Alb) 31:16; 2 M Waddington (Ware) 31:59; 3 B Hadman NHRR) 32:22; 4 J Pennell (St Alb) 33:02; 5 B Birch (Gard CR) 33:08; 6 P Adams (St Alb) 33:09; 7 T Webb (NHRR) 33:13; 8 M Smith (Orion) 33:21; 9 S Federici (St Alb) 33:47; 10 M Roberts (NHRR) 33:54
M40: 2 M Cooper (St Alb) 33:55; 3 P Evans (St Alb) 34:04; 4 A Hardy (Ware) 34:06; 5 S Buckle (St Alb) 34:09; 6 W Bell (NHRR) 34:11
M45: 1 K Francis (Ware) 34:07; 2 J Scott (St Alb) 34:08; 3 E Price (Gade V) 34:33
M50: 1 K Sambridge (Ware) 35:05; 2 S Aiken (Trent P) 35:38; 3 B Judge (Gard CR) 36:44
M55: 1 A Leach (NHRR) 34:03; 2 N Malpelli (NHRR) 37:03; 3 R Brown (Orion) 36:24; 4 P Harvey (Gard CR) 36:32
M60: 1 M Russell (Gard CR) 40:10
U20: 1 M Kercher (Trent P) 34:59
TEAM: 1 St Albans 196; 2 NHRR 294; 3 Ware 400
M40 TEAM: 1 St Albans 47; 2 NHRR 74; 3Ware 106
Women: 1 K Harbon (NHRR) 35:46; 2 K Woodward (Wat J, W40) 36:17; 3 J Vine (Gard CR, W35) 37:19; 4 L Parry (Gard CR) 37:30; 5 K Alpe (Trent P) 37:52; 6 Z Oldfield (Orion, W45) 38:09
W40: 1 J Baird (Trent P) 38:39
W45: 1 P Habbick (St Alb) 40:05; 2 A Greenwood (Trent P) 41:08
W50: 1 A McKeown (NHRR) 41:29
W55: 1 L Bentham (St Alb) 43:51; 2 V Shadbolt (Gard CR) 46:11
W65: 1 D Heydecker (St Alb) 47:34
TEAM: 1 St Albans 117; 2 Trent P 156; 3 NHRR 181
W35 TEAM: 1 Trent P 22; 2 NHRR 48; 3 Sat Albans 52
Overall
Senior TEAM: 1 St Albans 313; 2 NHRR 475; 3 Trent P 783
Vets TEAM: 1 St Albans 99; 2 NHRR 122; 3 Trent P 145
SCOTTS MIDWEEK LEAGUE Div 2, Race 2, Watford May 31
The rapidly improving Watford Joggers club made the most of home advantage to win both men’s and women’s team and individual plaudits.
The overall male standard and times were reduced compared to the opening match but the race provided a win for Jude Bell, who moved up from second last time out. 46-year-old Helen Mussen scored a repeat victory and did so in a much faster time of 39:48.
Overall:
1 J Bell (Wat J) 33:46; 2 O Hill (Wat J) 34:14; A Patterson (FVS, M40) 34:53
M50: 1 R Lowe (Harl) 36:14; 2 F Ryan (Wat J) 37:42
Div 2 TEAM: 1 Wat J 160; 2 Royston 322; 3 FVS 471
M40 TEAM: 1 Wat J 43; 2 Royston 90; 3 Watford J B 145
Women:
1 H Mussen (Wat J, W45) 39:48; 2 J Edmonds (Royst) 40:58; 3 C Lathwell (FVS) 42:24
W55: 1 K Murphy (Barn) 43:08
Div 2 TEAM: 1 Watford J 115; 2 Royston 140; 3 Barnet 217
W35 TEAM: 1 Watford J 39; 2eq Barnet/FVS 42
Overall
Div 2 Senior: 1 Wat J 275; 2 Royston 462; 3 FVS 737
Vet TEAM: 1 Watford J 82; 2 FVS 200; 3 Barnet 206
LINCOLN WELLINGTON MILE / 3km / 5km SERIES, Lincoln, May 30
Former world masters M75 1500m champion Victor Shirley ran one of the fastest 5km’s ever by a M80 with 23:27.
Overall (1M): 1 S Wilkinson (U20) 5:08; 2 K Shimada (Fetcheveryone, M40) 5:09; 3 R Clayton (Linc W, M40) 5:10
Women: 1 N McBride (U17) 5:39; 2 A Newbold (Newk, U17) 6:05; 3 A Laycock (Unatt) 6:21
Overall (3km): 1 E Whitworth (Linc W, U15W) 10:35; 2 I Porter (Linc W, U15W) 10:40; 3 F Phillipson (Linc W, U13) 10:51
Women: 1 Whitworth 10:35; 2 Porter 10:40; 3 F Lilly (Linc W, U13) 11:23
Overall (5km): 1 T Straw (Linc W) 14:58; 2 R Page (Linc W) 15:35; 3 J Swindale (Linc W, U20) 16:20
M60: 1 P Duncan (Linc W) 19:13.
M80: 1 V Shirley (N Masters) 23:27.
U15: 1 T Morris (Linc W) 16:23; 2 O Cooney (Linc W) 17:23
Women: 1 I Barwell (Linc W, U20) 17:23; 2 C Hanson (Linc W) 17:32; 3 L Skinner (OTCF, W40) 17:39
W40: 2 N Curtis (OTCF) 17:42; 3 C Cooney (Linc W) 18:29. W55: 1 C Payne (GRC) 21:40. W60: 1 F Usher (Linc & D) 21:07; 2 J Davidson (GRC) 23:34. U17: 1 S Barrett (Norw) 17:49
FELL RACES
PEN-Y-GHENT, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, June 3
Overall (5.9M/1650ft):
1 J Cox (Eden) 48:51; 2 M McGoldrick (Sett, M40) 50:19; 3 C Lowther (Eden, M40) 51:23; 4 S Lungu (P&B) 53:14; 5 S Bell (Ilkley) 53:28; 6 J Eyre (Eden) 54:05
M60: S Webb (Calder V) 61:36
M70: G Howard (Ilkley) 80:25
Women: 1 E Clayton (Bing) 56:50; 2 S Gibbs 61:39; 3 N Jackson (N Leeds FR, W40) 62:42; 4 H Cowley (Ches Drag) 63:36
W50: L ‘O’Brien (Felland) 77:17
DUDDON VALLEY LONG (English championships counter), Cumbria, June 3
Overall (29km/1830m):
1 Billy Cartwright (Mat) 2:46:28; 2 B Townshend (Kesw) 2:47:11; 3 B Rothery (Ilkley) 2:49:30; 4 F Grant (Dark Pk) 2:52:46; 5 S Hebblethwaite (Kesw, M40) 2:56:14; 6 R Jebb (Helm H, M45) 2:56:25; 7 G Dale (Amble) 2:58:35; 8 H Bolton (Kesw) 2:59:57; 9 M Lamb (Kesw) 3:00:21; 10 T Simpson (Amble) 3:04:25; 11 T Watt (Amble) 3:04:34; 12 O Johnson (Dark Pk, M40) 3:05:13; 13 B Sharrock (Amble) 3:05:53; 14 E Hyland (Calder V) 3:07:13; 15 S Halsall (Kesw) 3:08:40; 16 D Haworth (Mat) 3:09:17; 17 H Stainton (B Combe) 3:09:25; 18 G Roberts (Calder V) 3:09:39; 19 B Abdelnoor (Amble, M40) 3:09:59; 20 B Nikolich (Penn) 3:10:28
M50: G Mulholland (Calder V) 3:17:17
M55: J Hunt (Dark Pk) 3:32:23
M60: T Bolton (N Fells) 3:53:04
M65: S Entwistle (Penn) 4:27:49
TEAM: 1 Kesw 39; 2 Amble 60; 3 Helm, H 115; 4 Dark Pk 130; 5 Calder V 159
M40: Helm H 33
M50: Calder V 30
Women: 1 V Wilkinson (Bing, W40) 3:17:58; 2 N Jackson (Kesw) 3:21:34; 3 E Cowper-Coles (Denb D) 3:31:54; 4 A Fan (Amble) 3:32:30; 5 R Mather (Knave) 3:33:08; 6 E Pannone (Eden) 3:37:58; 7 L Watson (Dark Pk) 3:38:55; 8 N Beadle (Amble) 3:42:00; 9 D Berdeni (Dark Pk) 3:43:16; 10 A Lupton (B Combe, W40) 3:43:18; 11 B Hanson (Amble) 3:46:47; 12 A Whitaker (Harr) 3:48:07
W50: M Price (Mercia) 3:53:32
W55: S Hodgson (Kesw) 4:05:11
W60: R Browne (Bowl) 4:25:13
W70: W Dodds (Dallam) 5:29:08
TEAM: 1 Amble 23; 2 Dark Pk 34; 3 Kesw 46; 4 Mercia 80; 5 Calder V 11
MILLSTONE, Donard, June 1
Overall (4M/1500ft):
1 J Mcatee (Mourne) 37:49; 2 A Crutchley 38:29; 3 J Scott (Mourne) 39:08; 4 E O’Kane (U20) 39:36; 5 J Millar (Mourne) 39:46; 6 L Valley (Armagh, M40) 39:51; 7 M Jennings (Jog Lisb) 40:14; 8 M Harte (Newry, M45) 40:59
M50: W Cartmill (Newry) 43:52
M60: Deon McNeilly (Newc) 47:55
M65: D McGreevy (Newc) 48:36
M70: P McGuckin 56:02
M75: J Adgey (N Down) 67:36
Women: 1 E Dickson (Newry) 44:00; 2 M Hell (N Belf) 44:35; 3 S O’Kane (Lagan V, W55) 47:51; 4 T Cumming (Willow, W40) 48:56; 5 S Mcintyre 49:16
W60: P Shields (Murl) 56:56
W65: M Mackin (Drom) 57:57
BAMFORD SHEEPDOG TRIALS, Bamford, May 29
Overall (4.2km/305m): 1 D Haworth (Mat) 30:50; 2 H Holmes (Mat) 30:52; 3 C Williams (Dark Pk) 31:04; 4 E Brown (Hallam) 32:59; 5 J Wills 33:22; 6 J Brearley-Ratcliffe 33:39; 7 L Clayburn (Dark Pk) 33:57; 8 L Baxter (Dark Pk) 34:02
M55: P Critchlow (Beaum) 34:35
M60: I Shaw (Fat B) 37:47
M70: M Moorhouse (Mat) 44:10
U21: E Clowes (Newc TC) 34:12
Women:1 K Walshaw (Holm) 34:38; 2 A Pearse (Steel) 35:49; 3 B Bergstrand (M’bro, U21) 36:43; 4 K Sloane (Summ) 37:56; 5 E Venn (Long E) 40:28
W50: S Curtis (Penn) 40:49
W65: A-M Jones (Macc) 45:00
ISLE OF JURA, Craighouse Distillery, May 27
Overall (28km/2370ft): 1 F Wild (L’ber) 3:07:07; 2 P Rutter (Helm H) 3:23:33; 3 T Saville (Dark Pk) 3:23:36; 4 T Simpson (Amble) 3:26:42; 5 S Halsall (Shett) 3:28:04; 6 S Alexander (W’lands CC) 3:33:52; 7 S Crutchfield (W’lands CC, M40) 3:37:18; 8 E Thorburn (L’ber, M40) 3:47:29
M50: I Holmes (Bing) 3:47:45
M60: S Whitlie (C’thy) 4:21:26
TEAM: 1 Westerlands 11:08:09; 2 L’ber 11:19:06; 3 Dark Pk 11:30:52
Women: 1 E Johnstone (Penn) 4:18:43; 2 V Thompson (Helm H) 4:19:45; 3 E Downs (W’lands CC) 4:21:31; 4 B Halcrow (Amble) 4:23:34; 5 E Foreman (W’lands CC) 4:26:02
W40: S Richmond (Penn) 4:31:07
W50: A Mudge (C’thy) 4:33:33
W60: H Dean (Ochil) 5:35:06
TEAM: 1 W’lands CC 13:37:03; 2 Dark Pk 14:21:12; 3 C’thy 14:31:36
LUKES MOUNTAIN, Meelmore, May 25
Overall (5M/2000ft): 1 J Mcatee (Mourne) 38:15; 2 A Tees (BARF, M40) 38:35; 3 A Crutchley 39:10; 4 J Millar (Mourne) 40:23; 5 E O’Kane (U20) 40:42; 6 L Vallely (Armagh, M40) 40:44
M45: M Harte (Newry) 41:09
M50: W Cartmill (Newry) 44:42
M60: Deon McNeilly (Newc) 46:54
M70: P McGuckin 56:24
M75: J Adgey (N Down) 69:46
Women: 1 E Dickson (Newry) 45:29; 2 M Hell (N Belf) 46:47; 3 C Abraham 47:01; 4 S Mcintyre 48:40
W40: T Cumming (Willow) 48:42
W55: S O’Kane (Lagan) 51:00
W65: P Shields (Murl) 56:09
TOTLEY MOOR, Totley, May 23
Overall (5.5M/1100ft): 1 B Houghton (Dark Pk) 40:50; 2 D Haworth (Mat) 42:36; 3 C Williams (Dark Pk) 43:53; 4 J Wills 46:34; 5 S Birch-Machin (Dark Pk) 46:58; 6 P Critchlow (Beaum, M50) 47:08
M60: A Maplethorpe (Long E) 61:26
M70: M Moorhouse (Mat) 61:37
Women: 1 E Pannone (Eden) 48:36; 2 A Pearse (Steel) 51:00; 3 S Thorne (Steel) 54:45; 4 S Evans (Steel) 55:41
W40: N Neville (H&R) 57:36
W50: E Sanders (Ashb) 66:53
W60: J Matthews (S’well) 70:41
W70: J Forrester (Belpr) 78:21
Golden Roof Challenge 2023 – Innsbruck – live stream
Watch world-class pole vault and long jump action in Austria on Wednesday June 7
Innsbruck is not only hosting the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships this week but it also plays host to the Golden Roof Challenge on Wednesday (June 7).
This street athletics event features pole vaulters like Austin Miller and Matt Ludwig from the United States, with Yana Hladiyuck of Ukraine in the women’s vault.
Paralympic world record-holder Markus Rehm of Germany is in the men’s long jump with Cheswill Johnson of South Africa among others, while Agate de Sousa of São Toméan and Quanesha Burks of the United States are in the women’s long jump.
LIVE: 06:30 pm (CET) till approx. 10:00 pm (CET)
Inside the 'contentious' Toronto meeting as Jay Monahan faced players
Just moments after perhaps the biggest – and most contentious – player meeting in PGA Tour history on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan filled the media in on the tenor of the gathering.
“I would describe the meeting as intense,” Monahan said. “Certainly heated.”
He wasn’t lying.
The 75-minute meeting took place Tuesday afternoon at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, site of this week’s RBC Canadian Open, as Monahan met with approximately 100 Tour members, most of them ranked outside the world's top 50, just hours removed from his in-person CNBC interview alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to announce a merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF, which backs LIV Golf. The deal between the entities, which Al-Rumayyan said on TV that he expects to be finalized “in a matter of weeks,” was reportedly done at the highest level, and in secret, with just Monahan and two PGA Tour board members, Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, representing the Tour in seven weeks’ worth of meetings around the world, from New York City to London to Venice, Italy.
Many players revealed they found out through an email sent by Monahan to membership on Tuesday morning. Others were first informed via the initial CNBC report or social media. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that Rory McIlroy also wasn’t told the shocking news until early Tuesday. Not even LIV’s commissioner, Greg Norman, was clued in until a phone call from Al-Rumayyan right before his live interview with Monahan.
Unsurprisingly, many of the players in attendance at the Oakdale meeting didn’t take kindly to Monahan and the shocking news, which left a lot of them feeling betrayed and all of them caught all off guard.
Johnson Wagner, a former PGA Tour player who now contributes to Golf Channel, had access to an audio stream of the player meeting. Wagner described the meeting as “contentious” and said that he felt like the negative/positive split of the room was “90/10.”
Wesley Bryan later responded on Twitter to Wagner's estimate, "Way off."
“Most of the players were very, very angry,” said one attendee, who asked not to be named. “The sentiment in the room was pretty somber, and Jay was definitely getting attacked. He handled it OK, but there were times where he could’ve been more accepting and put himself in our shoes more. He was like, ‘I’m doing this for the betterment of the Tour, guys, can’t you see this?’
“And a lot of guys were like, ‘We don’t trust you!’”
Monahan began the meeting, which required two men to stand guard outside the room, with an opening statement that touched on much of what he outlined in his memo to players. He talked about why the merger was necessary to end the lawsuits between the Tour and LIV. He also called the agreement merely a “framework” that still needed to be approved by the Tour’s policy board, addressed some of his past comments, and provided initial comment on whether LIV members would be allowed back on the PGA Tour – he had few details, saying that wouldn’t happen this year, but moving forward, whatever process for reinstatement would be determined fairly by the Tour.
"We didn't learn that much other than there's going to be an alliance and the business structure is going to change, and I don't know if it's all going to be happy families," Geoff Ogilvy told Golf Channel and other reporters in Toronto. "But I think all these power brokers and check writers in golf are going to try and come together for the common good, and I'm sure there's going to be a little bit of carnage, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until I see the end result and see how it all turns out."
Monahan then ceded the floor to the players for further questions.
About 30 guys spoke up, and according to one source, some of the more vocal members were Harry Higgs, Mac Hughes, Maverick McNealy, Brandt Snedeker, Ben Crane, Aaron Baddeley, Shane Lowry and Doc Redman, who apparently received a standing ovation after pointing out, among other things, that Monahan dropped this merger on them after previously saying the Tour was in a great spot.
McIlroy, who also attended, reportedly didn’t say much during the meeting, except for one brief exchange with Grayson Murray.
“He only responded to Grayson when Grayson was going off on tangents, outbursts, saying like, ‘We don’t trust you, Jay! You should resign right now! You lied to our face!'” said the anonymous player. “I forget exactly what led to this, but Rory goes, ‘Just play better, Grayson,’ and that got a bad response from the crowd.”
And according to two sources, Murray, a recent winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, responded to McIlroy by telling him to, “F--- off!”
Bryan later said on Twitter that Murray and McIlroy “were cordial and pleasant post-meeting” as McIlroy stuck around to provide some insight and answer questions. “We chatted as a group of players, and we were laughing about the comment,” Bryan said. “No beef or hard feelings either way.”
McNealy was talked about as being one of the more reasoned voices in the meeting.
“Mav McNealy is a very, very smart man,” Cameron Percy tweeted.
Added Bryan via a video he posted to Twitch: “Mav had some hard hitters. Those were the ones that Jay couldn’t answer very well.”
And they weren’t the only ones.
“Everyone was asking how much PIF was investing, and he wouldn’t give us an amount,” said the anonymous player. That player also said Monahan struck a nerve with the room after countless uses of the word “we.”
“We, we, we,” the player said. “And everybody’s like, ‘Jay, stop saying we! We don’t know s--- about what's going on! You just dropped this on us!’”
“What’s the point of having a player advisory council?” the player continued. “The players just have no say really, even though Jay loves to say that we do have a say. It’s bulls---. … The players just want a voice and want transparency.”
Matt Kuchar apparently offered a different viewpoint, talking about how he always had a pipe dream for the PGA Tour to be a world tour. But Kuchar was one of the few positive voices.
There were plenty of players calling Monahan, whether directly or indirectly, a hypocrite. (Monahan later touched on that with the media: "I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite. Anytime I said anything, I said it based on the information I had at the moment, and based on someone trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms.")
The subject of 9-11 came up, and one player asked if he was going to have to apologize now for playing on the PGA Tour.
Another pressed Monahan on if he had anything to hide, to which Monahan replied, “No.”
There were even talks of whether the Tour needed a leadership change.
"I’m glad I wasn’t Jay today," Ogilvy said. "There's some grumpy players in there. I feel a little bit sort of, I'm not lied to, but just that the Tour has sort of changed its position quickly and dropped it on us really fast. So, maybe there's a feeling of a lack of trust a little bit in the leadership. ... It just feels like nobody really knows what's happening and the players are out of the loop. But no one really ever likes being out of a loop. You know, everyone likes bit of information, and especially when it's your livelihood and your job and the sport that you love."
Ogilvy reckoned that some of the vitriol also stemmed from players wanting "the loyal players rewarded and not almost punished for staying." But there seemed to be a multitude of other qualms, from the blindsiding to the lack of answers to the timing.
“People would be more open to it if it were this conversation two years ago before all the s--- started,” said the anonymous player. “The Tour messed up in the beginning and took such a hard stance. … To go back on his words literally a year later after making all these changes. Honestly, the PGA Tour is in a good spot with all the designated events and the changes. But I also think the litigation is the real reason [for the merger]. … I think LIV was going to be perfectly fine dragging out the court case. There’s a lot of stuff.”
And even after one of the spiciest player meetings in Tour history, there are still many questions.
Appearing later Tuesday night on a live stream hosted by Monday Q Info's Ryan French, Bryan was asked by French if he felt any better after leaving the meeting.
"No," Bryan answered, with little hesitation, "but there’s nobody in that situation – when you get completely blindsided by someone that’s been saying one thing for the last year and a half and all a sudden the script get 180 degrees flipped, there’s nobody that’s going to stand up in 45 minutes, or however long he spoke for, and is going to change anybody’s opinion on the matter."
Wagner felt that Monahan "kept his calm and his cool," with the commissioner even admitting at one point that he had not been transparent in this instance.
"If it’s possible, I gained even more respect for Jay because he was taking it from every single angle," Wagner said. "Players were mad, players are calling for resignation, and Jay sat there and took it like a champ."
Everything we know about the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LIV Golf agreement
There have been plenty of bombshells during the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League's ongoing battle on the course and in the courts to topple each other for supremacy in what was once known as the gentleman's game.
But nothing from the past 18 months or so -- not Phil Mickelson's controversial comments about the Saudi Arabian monarchy's history of alleged human rights violations; not major championship winners like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka accepting hundreds of millions of dollars to defect to LIV Golf; or Peter Uihlein jumping from Smash GC to the 4Aces -- could have prepared the golf world for what went down Tuesday morning.
Shortly after 10 a.m. ET, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sat with Yasir Al-Rumayyan -- the governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is financing LIV Golf -- on CNBC to announce that their circuits, along with the DP World Tour, had reached an agreement to unify and form a larger commercial enterprise.
PIF, with more than $600 billion in assets, will be the leading investor in the yet-to-be-named new entity, and it also will become a premier corporate sponsor of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and other international tours.
For those who need a point of comparison, it was like Dusty Rhodes' girlfriend showing up on stage with Ric Flair at a World Championship Wrestling event in the 1980s and pledging her loyalty to the Nature Boy.
Or Alabama football coach Nick Saban taking the Auburn job.
No one saw it coming -- not even the PGA Tour's biggest stars, who were kept in the dark.
After months of defending the PGA Tour and criticizing the source of LIV Golf's funding at every turn, Monahan made an abrupt eight-inch-heel turn, leaving golf fans and his own tour members to question everything they'd heard from him for more than a year.
"I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite," Monahan said during a videoconference with reporters on Tuesday. "Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that's trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms, but circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that's what got us to this point."
While there are still many details to be worked out, here's what we know and don't know about the new partnership:
How did the deal come together?
Sources told ESPN on Tuesday it came together very quickly. PGA Tour policy board chairman Ed Herlihy and board member Jimmy Dunne, who is well connected in the golf world, helped lay the groundwork for the agreement and had an initial meeting with Al-Rumayyan.
In the videoconference with reporters, Monahan said the PGA Tour had been in talks with PIF for about seven weeks. There were four in-person meetings as well as videoconferences and telephone calls. Monahan said an agreement was reached Monday night.
On CNBC on Tuesday, Al-Rumayyan said he met Monahan in London recently. They had lunch, played golf the next day and then had lunch again. Monahan said the policy board has to approve the deal formally; Al-Rumayyan said it should be finalized in a "matter of weeks."
What changed Monahan's mind about PIF?
That's the million-dollar question. In October, after Mickelson had suggested that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf needed to come together, Monahan told ESPN at the Presidents Cup in Charlotte, North Carolina, that it would never happen.
"Well, I think words and actions are important," Monahan said at the time. "I think it's impractical when you look at the fact that certain players have sued the PGA Tour, their employer has sued the PGA Tour. It's not in the cards. It hasn't been in the cards, and it's not in the cards. I think we've been pretty consistent on that front."
When Monahan was asked if the circuits could coexist, he said: "I'd provide the same answer. The answer to that is they've gone down their path, and I think we have been pretty consistent that we're going down."
So what changed? Sources told ESPN that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have each spent tens of millions of dollars defending themselves in a federal antitrust lawsuit that LIV Golf and 11 of its players filed against the PGA Tour in August. The PGA Tour filed a countersuit, claiming LIV Golf interfered with its contracts with players.
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California denied the PGA Tour's motion to dismiss LIV Golf's appeal over sovereign immunity. The case would have likely dragged on for several months, if not a couple of more years. Neither side wanted to share its secrets via required discovery, and neither wanted to keep spending money on lawyers.
Richard Sheehan, a professor emeritus of finance at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business who specializes in the economics of sports, said in a statement provided to ESPN that "economic interests do generally win out in the long term."
"Multiple lawsuits with potentially huge costs, very long potential timelines, and tremendous uncertainty regarding the legal outcomes have a way of focusing participants' attention on issues at hand and the financial and reputational stakes in the balance," Sheehan said.
"LIV and the Saudis may well have entered the golf arena in an effort to repair the Saudi Arabian monarchy's reputation on human rights. The lawsuits do not help on that end. And the PGA likely has no interest in trying to match Saudi/LIV funding of a protracted and expensive legal battle. Both had an incentive to settle, and the questions now revolve around the terms of that settlement."
Instead of spending tens of millions of dollars more on lawyers, Monahan might have figured it was more financially prudent to get in business with the Saudis rather than sue them.
"In terms of how did we get to this point and how did we go from a confrontation to now being partners?" Monahan said Tuesday. "We just realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart, and by thinking about the game at large and eliminating a lot of the friction that's been out there and doing this in a way where we can move forward."
When did players learn the news?
Believe it or not, it seems that nearly all of them learned at the same time as everyone else -- when CNBC published a short statement on its website, followed by a news release on the PGA Tour's website shortly after 10 a.m. ET.
Players weren't happy about being kept in the dark. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and members of the Player Advisory Council didn't even know what was taking place behind the scenes.
"It's disappointing being a PGA Tour member," England's Callum Tarren told the Golf Channel. "The guys who've stayed loyal to the PGA Tour, it's kind of a kick in the teeth for them. Obviously, Rory was a huge advocate of the PGA Tour, and now it looks like all of this hard work and sticking up for the PGA Tour was just left by the wayside."
Longtime PGA Tour member Scott Stallings blasted Monahan during an interview with Sirius/XM Radio on Tuesday.
"How many other sides of his mouth can he speak out of?" Stallings said. "And that's tough to say about the commissioner of the tour, but I mean literally it wouldn't take you very long to internet search to find completely contradictory comments to what he said on the CNBC interview today. I have no problem with the guys who went to LIV, zero problems with the guys that decided to go.
"But with [Monahan] saying on the interview that they're currently finding a path for the guys to be able to play on the PGA Tour by the end of 2023. He said they'll never play on the PGA Tour again. I'm just trying to understand at what point are we going to start establishing a baseline of truth? ... As far as that being our guy that's our advocate in the world in the game of golf, that's very disconcerting as a player."
When did LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman find out, and what happens to him?
Interestingly, Norman's name didn't appear in the 976-word statement that was released by the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund on Tuesday. Norman didn't react to the breaking news on social media on Tuesday. In fact, the LIV Golf League didn't even weigh in with a statement to the media or on its social media, either.
Al-Rumayyan told CNBC that Norman didn't find out about PIF's partnership with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour until shortly before everyone else did.
"I made a call just before this and, of course, he is a partner with us, and all the stakeholders that we have with us, they had the call right before this interview," Al-Rumayyan told CNBC.
Norman has been the face of LIV Golf during its first two seasons. He hasn't said much during the past several weeks, however, and his days with LIV Golf seem to be numbered. There has to be a reason Norman didn't comment about something he had been pushing for months.
What will future schedule and tournament formats look like?
While the deal has been described as a unification of the competing tours, they're going to continue to be separate entities for the rest of this season. The final seven LIV Golf League events will go on as planned, starting with a tournament in Spain at the end of this month. The season ends with a team championship in Saudi Arabia in early November.
The PGA Tour's plan to stage elevated events with no cuts and reduced fields in 2024 and beyond isn't expected to change.
The bigger question is what happens to the LIV Golf League after this season. The Saudis have invested more than $2 billion into the venture, and the league's lawyers said in court documents obtained by ESPN in February that it generated virtually no revenue in its first season in 2022. The league's season debut in Mayakoba, Mexico, and second event in Tucson, Arizona, drew low ratings. LIV Golf has since declined to provide TV ratings.
With the Saudis planning to invest billions of additional dollars into the new entity and the PGA Tour as one of its premier corporate sponsors, it might no longer have an interest in continuing to fund the LIV Golf League with little financial return.
The team format could be folded into the PGA Tour schedule or the LIV Golf League might continue in some iteration that takes place in the fall after the PGA Tour season concludes. But there seem to be serious questions about the future of the LIV Golf League.
"We're in a framework agreement," Monahan said. "We haven't concluded the definitive agreement. I have not had the opportunity that I'm going to have to conduct a comprehensive empirical evaluation [of LIV Golf]. I don't want to make any statements or make any predictions. But what is in place is a commitment to make a good-faith effort to look at team golf and the role it can play going forward."
Will the PGA Tour give the LIV guys their cards back?
It remains to be seen how difficult it will be for players like Mickelson, Johnson, Koepka, Patrick Reed and others to return to the PGA Tour if they choose to do so.
In a memo to PGA Tour members on Tuesday, Monahan described the reinstatement of players who had defected to the LIV Golf League as a "complicated endeavor and one that will be guided by established PGA Tour rules and regulations."
Does that mean those players will still face suspensions and/or fines for playing in LIV Golf tournaments without a conflicting-event release?
At the Players Championship in March, Monahan was asked about the possibility of suspended players returning to the PGA Tour. He said at the time, "I've been hearing that a lot lately, and I'm not certain where that's coming from. The players that are playing on that tour are contractually obligated to play on that tour. So any hypotheticals at this point really aren't relevant. But our position, to answer your question directly, has not changed."
On Tuesday, Monahan said there is a plan in place, but he wasn't willing to disclose it until the agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour is finalized.
"At this point, we're under a framework agreement," Monahan said. "To complete this, we've got to get to definitive. We have that identified in our framework agreement. But at this point, it's reapplying for membership at some point after the end of 2023, and that's something that I'll address in the future, certainly, once we get through the definitive."
Do the LIV golfers have to pay back any money?
Many of the league's top stars received multiyear contracts that guaranteed them more than $100 million over the course of the deal, including Mickelson (reportedly $200 million), Johnson ($150 million), DeChambeau ($125 million) and Koepka ($100 million).
The guaranteed money was being paid over the course of those deals, so PIF wouldn't be owed any sort of refund from the players. But if the LIV Golf League ends up folding, would PIF honor the remaining years on the players' contracts? LIV Golf League officials previously told ESPN that each of the deals is different, so it's unknown if LIV Golf has an escape clause should the league fold. Could the players sue the league for the rest of their money?
Do the PGA Tour players get any money?
One would have to assume that a large share of the Saudis' investment in the PGA Tour would go toward even richer purses for players. Several of the tour's top stars, including McIlroy, Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Hideki Matsuyama, declined significant offers from LIV Golf and remained loyal to the PGA Tour.
If the PGA Tour allows suspended LIV Golf players to come back, how is it going to compensate players like McIlroy and Matsuyama for what they passed up by turning down LIV Golf?
"You know, it probably didn't seem this way to them, but as I looked to our players, those players that have been loyal to the PGA Tour, I'm confident that the move that they made, they've made the right decision," Monahan said. "They've helped rearchitect the future of the PGA Tour. They've moved us to a more pro-competitive model."
Monahan was asked if the PGA Tour would consider compensating the players who were offered lucrative contracts from LIV Golf but turned them down.
"I think those are all the serious conversations that we're going to have," he said. "We're going to have them with our board. Ultimately everything needs to be considered. Ultimately what you're talking about is equalization over time, and I think that's a fair and reasonable concept."
MIAMI -- Luis Arraez had two hits to raise his major-league-leading batting average to .401 and help the Miami Marlins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Second in the NL East, the Marlins have won five straight to improve to 34-28 -- the first time they've been six games over .500 since August 2016. Arraez also now has 12 hits in his past four games, tying the most in a four-game span in Marlins history. It was also done by Cody Ross in 2008 and Preston Wilson in 2001.
"It is an honor when I see that number on the scoreboard but as I've said before, it is not impossible," Arraez said in Spanish. "Things are going well for me and we are also winning, which is what is most important."
After Arraez flew out to left in his first two at-bats, he hit consecutive singles to finish 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Arraez is the first player batting .400 or better 62 team games into a season since Atlanta's Chipper Jones in 2008, who was batting .421, according to ESPN Stats & Information. This is also the third-deepest into a season, by team games, that a qualified hitter has been batting .400 or better since 2000. Boston's Nomar Garciaparra (91 games in 2000) and Jones (73 games) were the others.
Miami broke open a scoreless game with a five-run fifth against Zack Greinke (1-6).
The former Cy Young Award winner kept Miami hitless until Sánchez's leadoff blast. Jesus Sánchez drove the first pitch from Greinke over the wall in left for his fifth homer.
Arraez's one-out single with the bases loaded made it 2-0 and ended Greinke's outing.
Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo threw seven innings of one-run ball. Luzardo (5-4) scattered two hits and struck out eight, matching his longest outing of the season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CINCINNATI -- Matt McLain's single to deep center field highlighted a three-run comeback in the ninth inning, helping to make top prospect Elly De La Cruz's highly anticipated debut for the Cincinnati Reds a winning one Tuesday night in a 9-8 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Trailing 8-6 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati loaded the bases against reliever Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson walked Curt Casali, scoring Spencer Steer and cutting the deficit to a run. Jake Fraley was hit by a pitch, scoring T.J. Hopkins and tying the game at 8.
Ferguson (3-1) was pulled for Shelby Miller. McLain then singled over the head of Jason Heyward in center field to score Stuart Fairchild and snap Cincinnati's nine-game losing streak against the Dodgers.
De La Cruz embraced McLain after the game.
"I told him, 'I told you,'" De La Cruz said, recalling what he told McLain in that moment. "I told him before he hit the walk-off, I said, 'Hey, you're going to hit a walk-off.' I said, 'I told you, man.'"
McLain finished with three singles for the Reds (28-33), who hadn't beaten Los Angeles (35-26) since Sept. 17, 2021. Eduardo Salazar (1-0) earned the win, striking out two in an inning of relief.
"We kept playing through all nine innings," McLain said. "The fans were in it, all nine. Obviously, Elly was making his debut. It was cool."
De La Cruz, who was named baseball's top prospect by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel in his updated rankings last month, made his major league debut. The 21-year-old batted cleanup and finished 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and a run scored. The double had an exit velocity of 112.0 mph, tied for the hardest hit by any Reds player this season, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
"I'm just every excited to be here," he said. "I'm just trying to give the team an opportunity to win, and sure enough, we did that today."
Mookie Betts led off the game with a ground ball right at De La Cruz down the third-base line. Betts stood at first with a base hit after De La Cruz was unable to snag it.
"I thought it was a foul ball," De La Cruz said. "But it's OK."
Betts scored two batters later on a double by Max Muncy. Betts jump-started a three-run first for the Dodgers, who were looking to rebound after dropping two games of a three-game set at home against the New York Yankees over the weekend.
Cincinnati countered with three runs in the bottom half of the first. Fraley and McLain had back-to-back singles and Jonathan India hit a fly ball to Betts in right. The out set up runners on the corners for De La Cruz.
Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin tossed a curveball low and inside to De La Cruz, who nearly came out of his shoes for strike one. The 6-foot-5 slugger then settled in and drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases for Steer. Gonsolin plunked Steer to bring home Cincinnati's first run, and then Tyler Stephenson brought home both McLain and De La Cruz on a line drive single to center field.
"We score three runs in the first inning, and to go back and give away three runs in the bottom half, not good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
The game remained tied at 3 in the third when De La Cruz hit a stand-up double, but he was stranded.
Los Angeles took a 4-3 lead in the fourth when J.D. Martinez hit a solo homer, his 15th of the season.
Reds starter Luke Weaver was pulled in favor of reliever Alex Young after allowing four runs on six hits and walking Betts to load the bases. Freddie Freeman then tagged Young for his second grand slam of the season and the fifth of his career.
Despite the loss, the Dodgers are still 16-5 in their past 21 games against Cincinnati.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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