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Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie has extended his stay with Edinburgh by signing what the club say is the "longest contract" in their history.

As is the Pro14 outfit's policy, they do not give details on the length of the deal for the 24-year-old, who joined them seven years ago.

It comes a week after Scotland team-mate Hamish Watson also committed himself to the club long term.

Head coach Richard Cockerill described it as "fantastic news".

"Jamie and Hamish are two of best back-row forwards in the game right now," he told the club's website.

"Jamie is an excellent young player with an old head on his shoulders. He has a really bright future ahead of him and has, in my opinion, the capacity to captain his country in the future."

Ritchie, who would undoubtedly have attracted interest from other clubs, has 23 caps, having made his Scotland debut against Canada in 2018.

The "chuffed" forward said: "It means a lot to me and my family to know we'll be here for the foreseeable future. We have a strong group here and I think we can continue to improve.

"I'm proud of what I have achieved so far in my time at the club and I feel there is so much more to come."

Sanders Inherits Wild West Mod Victory

Published in Racing
Wednesday, 13 January 2021 22:00

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — Dustin Strand had the field cover during the modified portion of Wednesday’s Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Arizona Speedway, but at the end of the night, it was Rodney Sanders celebrating the victory. It was third different winner in three races.

Stand took the early lead and held off an early challenge from Fito Gallardo. Gallardo suffered mechanical issues and Sanders quickly capitalized, moving into second.  holding off challenges from Fito Gallardo and Sanders. Sanders quickly moved to second, but could not keep pace with Strand. The final seven laps went caution free with Strand crossing the finish line 2.101 seconds ahead of Strand. However, the victory was short lived when Strand was disqualified for a rules infraction during post-race inspection.

Sanders was declared the winner, giving him is first Wild West Shootout victory. Casey Skyberg finished second and Lucas Schott was third. Shane Sabraski and Tyler Wolff rounded out the top five.

Preston Carr took an early lead in the X-mod division, and survived several caution flags to capture the victory over Cole Campbell and Brock Gronwold.

Modified Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders[9]; 2. 6-Casey Skyberg[1]; 3. 69-Lucas Schott[13]; 4. 7A-Shane Sabraski[17]; 5. 4W-Tyler Wolff[24]; 6. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[19]; 7. 26G-Ryan Gierke[4]; 8. 21-Jacob Bleess[23]; 9. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[8]; 10. 8-Dillon McCowan[22]; 11. 85D-Mark Dotson[7]; 12. 27X-Calvin Iverson[18]; 13. 91-Joe Duvall[12]; 14. 21H-Andy Bryant[14]; 15. G17-Fito Gallardo[2]; 16. 111-Bumper Jones[15]; 17. 37-Clint Johnson[6]; 18. 19SB-Lance Mari[5]; 19. 30-Matt Leer[10]; 20. 4R-Jared Russell[16]; 21. 3J-Josh Cain[11]; 22. 111X-Logan Drake[20]; 23. 85-Jayson Good[21]; 71-Dustin Strand[3] (DQ)

Davenport Does It Again In Arizona

Published in Racing
Thursday, 14 January 2021 04:29

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — Jonathan Davenport claimed his second late model victory in three races during Wednesday’s Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway.

Stormy Scott drew the pole for the 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature, but Davenport started outside the front row.

Davenport hammered the cushion on the start and jumped into the early lead with fast-qualifier Ricky Thornton Jr. taking second.

Yellow flags were the story during the early going. The restart after the third yellow flag

changed the complexion of the race. Davenport again executed a perfect restart, sticking primarily to the outside groove, as he had done all race thus far. However, Thornton lost second to Jason Papich and found himself under heavy pressure from Brian Shirley.

The final caution flag came out on lap seven, when Shirley threw a giant slide job into turn one, successfully clearing Thornton. Unfortunately, Shirley slid a little higher than he wanted, getting swallowed by the cushion, causing him to hit the wall and stop in the middle of turns one and two.

Thornton was already committed to the throttle and had nowhere to go, piling into Shirley, who then was hit by Stormy Scott and Bobby Pierce

With four of the top six cars suffering major damage or being eliminated entirely, Davenport took the lap-seven restart with several new faces behind him, including 16th place-starting Tyler Erb, who had worked his way up to third.

Erb didn’t need long to dispose of Papich for second place and had his sights set on Davenport, for the lead. With Erb breathing down his neck, Davenport began to hit lapped traffic just past the halfway mark and experienced difficulty passing the lapped cars, as they stuck to his preferred line around the top of FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway.

Erb saw his opportunity at the completion of lap 20, getting underneath and alongside Davenport at the exit of turn four. The two drivers banged doors and traded paint coming to start lap 21, with Erb slightly beating Davenport to the line.

However, Davenport would not be denied on Wednesday, sticking to his preferred outside groove around the track and thwarting Erb’s challenges.

Davenport led the rest of the way, winning the $5,000 prize by 0.593 seconds over Erb, who advanced 14 spots to finish in the runner-up position.

Papich, Mike Marlar and Pierce completed the top five.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 1-Tyler Erb[16]; 3. 91P-Jason Papich[6]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[8]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 6. 59-Garrett Alberson[11]; 7. 19-Dustin Sorensen[3]; 8. 28M-Jimmy Mars[7]; 9. 86-Kyle Beard[9]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz[13]; 11. 32S-Chris Simpson[20]; 12. 1ST-Johnny Scott[19]; 13. 130-Chase Allen[14]; 14. 98-Jared Landers[18]; 15. 32B-Cody Laney[21]; 16. 91-Rusty Schlenk[15]; 17. 3S-Brian Shirley[10]; 18. 25F-Jason Feger[22]; 19. 91T-Tony Toste[12]; 20. 75T-Terry Phillips[17]; 21. 20-Rodney Sanders

The 2021 NHL rookie class is really fun -- but also really complicated. The introduction of taxi squads and delayed starts to Canadian junior hockey has given NHL teams more roster flexibility than they often have at this stage of the season. And the rollout of the flat salary cap has placed a premium on low-dollar contracts, meaning more first-years are being offered long looks and good opportunities.

Most teams will have at least one rookie in their lineup on any given night. How does the class stack up? To help cut through some of the noise, I wanted to take a look at a number of rookies either on opening night rosters, on taxi squads or already assigned to the AHL who are worth knowing as the season progresses. So I broke the class into tiers to separate rookies I expect to make the biggest impacts right off the bat from others who could be contributors to their individual teams, even if that doesn't mean they'll remain in the Calder Trophy conversation.

In all, we tiered nearly four dozen rookies, starting with three high-end Calder favorites. And in addition to the ranking, I offered up my personal pick to win the award for the league's best rookie.

Jump to:
Tier 1: Top Calder contenders
Tier 2: Calder challengers
Tier 3: Impact players
Tier 4: Contributors and role players
Tier 5: Taxi squadders and call-up options
Calder Trophy pick for 2021

TIER 1: TOP CALDER CONTENDERS

These are players who are the most likely to have dominant rookie campaigns and win the Calder Trophy.

Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers

Shesterkin has a chance to be the rare rookie No. 1 goaltender on a team with reasonable playoff aspirations. His performance last season suggests that he is more than ready for this step. The fact that he's 25 years old and had significant KHL experience before entering the NHL might sway some voters against him, but even if he doesn't win the Calder, it's hard to see him not being one of the most impactful rookies in the league this season.

Shesterkin posted a .932 save percentage over his first 12 NHL appearances with the Rangers last season. He got into only one game in the postseason bubble -- it didn't go particularly well -- but the vast body of work we have on Shesterkin suggests he is an elite goaltending talent. He had a .934 save percentage in 25 AHL games last season and a .934 career save percentage in 117 KHL games. While I wouldn't reasonably expect a save percentage north of .930 in his first NHL season, he's going to make a mark on New York's campaign.


Kirill Kaprizov, RW, Minnesota Wild

Prem chief leaves to become Arsenal director

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 14 January 2021 05:13

Arsenal have appointed Richard Garlick as their new Director of Football.

Garlick holds a similar post at the Premier League but will leave the organisation later this year. His start date at the Emirates stadium is yet to be finalised.

- Stream LIVE games and replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

The move continues a reshuffle of the Arsenal hierarchy with Garlick essentially replacing Huss Fahmy, who left the club in November, and working under technical director Edu.

An Arsenal spokesman said: "Richard, who is currently Director of Football at the Premier League and was previously Director of Football Administration at West Bromwich Albion, will join the club in the coming months.

"He will be a member of the Arsenal executive team and will be working closely with technical director Edu, manager Mikel Arteta and academy manager Per Mertesacker.

"His responsibilities will include football operations in the first team and academy, all player contract management and relationships with football's governing bodies."

Garlick is a qualified solicitor specialising in sports law and has been at the Premier League since 2018. He was previously at West Brom for eight years.

Arsenal's internal overhaul has also included the sudden departure of Raul Sanllehi as head of football in August, making 55 non-playing staff redundant and drastically reducing the scale of their overseas scouting network.

Man Utd's Ighalo keen on future MLS transfer

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 14 January 2021 05:12

Odion Ighalo told ESPN he would like to stay at Manchester United beyond the end of the month and revealed he would also be interested in a move to Major League Soccer.

Ighalo's loan from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua is set to end on Jan. 31 after a year at Old Trafford. The Nigerian is waiting before making a decision on his next move but has said he would "love" the opportunity to play in the U.S.

- Stream LIVE games and replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

"Today, I'm in Manchester but at the end of the month I don't know where I'm going to be," Ighalo told ESPN. "If it's possible I'd like to stay here but if not I have to go.

"I have options. I wait for my agent. He is doing his job and I'm doing mine. At the end of the month, we have to decide what is best and we'll take it. If it's possible I'd like to play in MLS but I have to wait to see if it's possible.

"The league is doing well and if the opportunity arises then I'd grab it with two hands."

With the arrival of Edinson Cavani in the summer, it is unlikely United will extend Ighalo's stay. But if he leaves at the end of the month, the 31-year-old said he will do so having fulfilled his dream of playing for the team he supported as a boy in Lagos.

"I never believed I'd play for United," he said. "Where I come from, we fight because of United games.

"We quarrel. We argue. When my team hasn't done well, I've cried. I grew my love for United since I was young and I'm the happiest man on Earth for my dream to come true. I've fulfilled my dream to play for Man United."

It was a surprise when United turned to Ighalo to fill the void left by the injured Marcus Rashford in January 2020. And not least to Ighalo himself.

"When the talk started I didn't believe it," he said. "I didn't believe my agent.

"But I got a call from my agent that Man United wanted to do the deal at about 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Shanghai time and I didn't sleep until day break.

"They said I would need to take a pay cut but I said I don't care, whatever the pay cut needs to be, just make this deal happen. This is my dream. I was on my bed praying. I didn't sleep for two days. I didn't believe it until I landed at Manchester airport."

Ighalo made a key contribution to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team at the end of last season, scoring five goals in 19 appearances as United reached the semifinals of the FA Cup and Europa League, as well as finishing third in the Premier League to secure a return to the Champions League.

He has found opportunities harder to come by this term but it has not dented his appreciation for the chance to live out his dream.

"I'm a professional, I don't make trouble and I don't complain," he said. "I just go to training and give my best.

"Lately I haven't been playing much but it's the coach's decision. If I'm not in the team and give them 100% support. The team is doing well and that's the most important thing."

South Africa could be forced to field a second-string T20I side on their upcoming tour of Pakistan as the bulk of the squad will have to return home to prepare for three Tests against Australia.

Although the fixtures and venues for the Australia series are yet to be confirmed, provisional dates have the first Test scheduled to start on February 18, four days after the tour to Pakistan ends. The short turnaround could mean that some red-ball players, including temporary Test captain Quinton de Kock, could return home on February 8, after the second Test, in order to prepare for Australia.

"It won't be our strongest team because the emphasis is on Test cricket against Australia, rightly so. It might be a watered-down T20 team," Mark Boucher, South Africa's coach, said. "And that's not a bad thing. At the start of the season, I alluded to the fact that we are going to have to use a lot of players. This is an opportunity for guys to put their hands up. We haven't played a lot of cricket, there haven't been a lot of A tours and even though it's not ideal to throw guys into the deep end and make them play international cricket when they are maybe not ready, there are not many other choices at the moment. Some will be pushed into the deep end and we will see how they respond."

"During Covid times you need to be careful with how you look at the ball. There are always legal ways of scuffing up one side to try and get reverse swing but a lot of our bowlers have never had to deal with reverse swing."
Mark Boucher

South Africa are yet to name their T20I squad, whose first match in Lahore is on February 11, but with the T20 World Cup in mind, they may want to field several players from the Test squad such as de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde. However, as teams such as England and Australia have experienced in the past, they may have to settle for having two very different squads as they navigate a packed schedule in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

The same will apply to the team management, with Boucher preparing to return home with the Test players and assistant coach Enoch Nkwe due to remain in Pakistan with the T20I squad. "The initial talk was that Enoch might stay over in Pakistan and finish off the series and I will come back. We are trying to split the management as well as we can to show the importance of both series," Boucher said. "We are preparing for most of our management to come back and one or two of them staying over."

A final decision will be made once South Africa's schedule against Australia is confirmed. By then, the Test squad will be ensconced in a security and bio-secure bubble in Pakistan, which could see them confined to just one floor of a hotel, although options for some recreational activities are being looked into. "Our security officers are looking at a club that is next door to the hotel where there is a pool, a gym and a field the guys can get out to and run around a bit," Boucher said. "But we are used to spending time in hotels almost in lockdown scenarios when you tour the subcontinent. We have got a games room to keep the guys interested. And Netflix has become a bit of a winner as well with guys lying around in the room and watching a few things."

The trip is South Africa's first to Pakistan since 2007. In the 14 years since, only du Plessis from the current squad has played in Pakistan, when he captained the World XI and in the most recent edition of the PSL, and likened it to being in "a movie," because of the security arrangements. South Africa expect a similar situation in the upcoming tour and are comfortable that there is no risk to their safety following a comprehensive review by their security team.

"It's very important that we get playing in Pakistan. But in saying that is a major concern. I don't like to micromanage. Guys have to gone and done a recce of the situation and they've come back and said it's safe," Boucher said. "We trust that the right decisions will get made if something does happen. They've assured us they will look after us as well. We are getting state security, which is good for us."

As for the actual cricket, Boucher will have as good an insight on what to expect as anyone, having been part of the last South African squad to play in Pakistan. He remembers it being a place of "tough cricket and different to other subcontinent countries. When you go to India, the ball turns a lot. In Pakistan, we haven't been in games where the ball turns a lot. It's conducive to fast bowling," he said. "It's very flat and guys will go with pace a lot. Reverse swing was very big in those days. The rules and regulations are a lot tighter nowadays for getting the ball to reverse, so I don't know if we will see too much of it."

With Covid-19 protocols disallowing players from using saliva to shine the ball, both teams will seek other ways of finding reverse swing, although Boucher cautioned it is not an art the younger crop of South African bowlers are well-versed in. "During Covid times you need to be careful with how you look at the ball. There are always legal ways of scuffing up one side to try and get reverse swing but a lot of our bowlers have never had to deal with reverse swing," he said. "In the franchise system, if you go to places where you feel reverse swing is going to be important, we scuff one end and guys can't control it because they don't usually bowl it. It will be a good lesson for our guys as well. KG (Rabada) has bowled really well with the reverse-swinging ball so he will be immense. And we've got a bowling coach (Charl Langeveldt) who was the master of it. I feel very comfortable that he will make some good calls with regards to getting it right."

On the other hand, South Africa's batsmen are gearing up for a challenge many of them will not have encountered before. "They are historically flat wickets. Having spoken to [former Pakistan coach] Mickey Arthur after the Sri Lankan series, he alluded to the facts that the wickets are very good for batting," Boucher said. "But it's something completely different - the areas you score in are different, the bowler bowl straighter lines, the ball starts to reverse a bit. A lot of our batters would never have seen that, especially being a young group. There is a lot of adapting to conditions but we are well aware of the technical adjustments we need to make as batters in order to succeed there."

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

South Africa will look to re-engage Jacques Kallis in a batting consultancy role as early as next month, ahead of their three-Test series against Australia, after Cricket South Africa's affirmative action hiring policy was put in abeyance by the interim board.

Last year, CSA made public a decision to give preference to consultants of colour as part of their transformation drive, effectively ruling Kallis (and others such as Paul Harris) out of part-time roles within the structures. Kallis, who worked as a batting consultant for the South African men's team in the 2019-20 summer, has since signed a short-term deal with England but said he was "sad" not to be working with his home country. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/england-in-sri-lanka-2020-21-jacques-kallis-sad-to-be-surplus-to-sa-requirements-as-england-coaching-stint-begins-1247716 That could change as soon as he returns from England's tour to Sri Lanka, with coach Mark Boucher suggesting Kallis should be used for the Australia series.

Although no one from Cricket South Africa has communicated with head coach Mark Boucher about their employment policy, he "picked it up from the media," that white consultants can be used, and hopes to entice Kallis to become involved as soon as possible. "Now that the rules have been changed a bit, he is someone we would like to get back into a consultancy role," Mark Boucher, South Africa's coach said. "I haven't had any major conversations with Jacques because he is in Sri Lanka now but, in the next short period of time, if we can get him involved somewhere soon, maybe against Australia, we must."

"A lot of the media have been saying that Jacques is my mate and it's a buddy selection. Yes, he is a mate of mine but Jacques is also a very good cricketer with a lot of knowledge. Why wouldn't we want him in our set-up?"
Mark Boucher

The exact dates and venues of the Australia series are yet to be confirmed but indications are that the three Tests will be played between Johannesburg and Centurion, both venues known for spicy surfaces. Though South Africa's batsmen fared well over the festive period against a depleted Sri Lankan side, they have endured three summers of lean scores and someone like Kallis is seen as central to helping them improve.

"Jacques was working with guys on an individual basis. He is a massive loss, the reason being that a lot of our batters were working with him. Even during the off season, he was having chats over Zoom. He had a session with Temba Bavuma here in Cape Town. Temba speaks very highly of him. There's a lot of knowledge that Jacques can pass on, to not only Temba but other batters as well," Boucher said.

"The batting knowledge that he has got, along with a couple of other guys in this country, needs to be utilised. The start was there, and then it was taken away from the players. Unfortunately, my hands are tied behind my back. Sometimes you get messages passed down to say this guy can't be selected to fulfil a role that you want him involved in."

Kallis' stint with South Africa ended after last summer's England series, several months before the affirmative action policy was put in place. During Kallis' time with the team, the South African set-up faced criticism for having several white men in senior position (then acting CEO Jacques Faul, director of cricket Graeme Smith, Boucher and Kallis) and for appearing to favour a particular clique, an accusation which has been denied. "A lot of the media have been saying that Jacques is my mate and it's a buddy selection. Yes, he is a mate of mine but Jacques is also a very good cricketer with a lot of knowledge. Why wouldn't we want him in our set-up?" Boucher asked.

The answer lay in the former board's determination to make cricket more representative as quickly as possible. In addition to their stance on consultants, the former board also proposed increased transformation targets for the national team which have since been suspended. They did not, however, apply the same policy to full-time employees and in fact hired both Dillon du Preez (assistant coach to the national women's team) and Neil McKenzie (batting lead), who are both white over the winter.

McKenzie's job is not limited to the national men's team and involves overseeing batting at all levels of South African cricket - the national men's, women's, under-19 and high-performance. As such, he will not travel with the national men's team to Pakistan, meaning they do not have a specifically appointed batting coach. It is not known whether Kallis was approached for the same role.

Instead, Kallis has been courted by England but confirmed he did not apply for the elite batting coach's position, potentially leaving him open to working with South Africa again. However, Boucher warned that South Africa needs to treat Kallis "with care," if they hope to be able to make use of his services.

"He is on my radar. I'm trying to get him back involved with the Proteas set-up. I just hope we treat him with care. He has shown he has got a lot of other opportunities in world cricket. We would be stupid not to try and hang on to him as long as we don't mess him around," Boucher said. "I know Jacques would love to be working in South African cricket. I'm sure that after the conversations we'll have, we will hopefully see him back here."

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Joe Burns cameo saves the Heat in low-scorer

Published in Cricket
Thursday, 14 January 2021 04:45

Brisbane Heat 5 for 150 (Lynn 50, Hatzoglou 2-28) beat Melbourne Renegades 6 for 149 (Webster 50*, Steketee 2-24) by five wickets

A classy innings from Joe Burns guided Brisbane Heat to a nervy win over the hapless Melbourne Renegades in a crowd-less game in Canberra.

The game was moved earlier in the week from Melbourne to Canberra due to the Victorian government's changing Covid-19 border restrictions on travellers from Brisbane and as a result no tickets were made available for the match.

Burns made 31 not out from 15 balls after the Heat had lost 4 for 12 in 16 deliveries to help his side to their fifth win of the season. Both sides did their best to lose the game. The Renegades had earlier dropped Chris Lynn twice and also dismissed him off a no-ball during his 40-ball 50. But Lynn handed back the momentum at a critical moment sparking a mini-collapse before Burns steadied the ship.

The Renegades had set a defendable total of 6 for 149 on what was a pretty slow pitch. Beau Webster overcame a slow start to finish with 50 not out from 40 balls while Jake Fraser-McGurk made an enterprising 40 from 33. The pair rescued the Renegades after they had slumped to 4 for 59. Matthew Kuhnemann, Mark Steketee, and Morne Morkel bowled 36 dot balls between them and combined for four wickets. Morkel and Steketee were particularly impressive at the death after Kuhnemann had squeezed the Renegades in the middle overs.

Finch at Four

When Aaron Finch batted at No.3 in the Renegades disastrous loss to Perth Scorchers it seemed the experiment of batting the Australia T20I captain and opener out of position might end there. But with Shaun Marsh's return not only did he not open, he batted outside the top three for the first time in his BBL career and for the first in 91 T20 innings globally. Since batting at No.4 in an IPL game in 2018 Finch had opened in 85 T20 innings and batted at No. 3 six times. In that period, only Babar Azam has scored more runs as an opener, while no one has scored more than Finch's five centuries. Of the eight openers who have scored 2000 runs or more in the period, Finch has the highest strike-rate and the third-highest average.

Marsh and Mackenzie Harvey opened and when Marsh departed for his first golden duck in BBL cricket, Sam Harper walked out at No.3. Harper and Harvey struck four fours and a six in the powerplay but fell within four balls of each other to leave the Renegades 3 for 36. Finch looked like a fish out of water at No. 4 scoring just 13 off 13 with Kuhnemann tying him down. He was trapped lbw by Jack Wildermuth to a ball nipping back and keeping a touch low to leave the Renegades 4 for 59.

1:16
Lynn and Burns bring the Heat

Super Sub

Morkel, with 544 international wickets for South Africa, was called in as the X-factor sub at the 10-over mark for his first game for the Heat and his first game as a local player. As surprising as he was as a sub choice, the move to sub Xavier Bartlett out after he had bowled one over conceding just two runs was equally perplexing. But Bartlett's struggles at the death in the last game meant the Heat were able to get five overs out of Bartlett and Morkel at a cost of 31. Morkel bowled a Power Surge over and two overs at the death, taking 1 for 29 in his first outing off an ankle injury. Steketee also bowled well in the key overs taking 2 for 24 from four. Oddly, Lewis Gregory did not bowl an over for the innings.

The Renegades were able to salvage a defendable total thanks to Fraser-McGurk and Webster. The pair put on 57 with Fraser-McGurk scoring 40 off 33 including a powerful six of Steketee. Webster, who had been the Renegades' best batsman last season, was struggling at 22 off 30 but he made up for it scoring 28 off his last 10 balls to reach his first half-century of the season off the last ball of the innings.

Once, twice, three times a charm for Lynn

Lynn was dropped twice during his half-century against Sydney Sixers and he had even more luck against the Renegades. Lynn and Max Bryant had hardly got away from the Renegades scoring at just over a run-a-ball in the chase. Bryant holed out trying to up the ante. Lynn nearly did the same but Noor Ahmad dropped a skier at deep backward square off Jack Prestwidge. The Heat scraped past the Bash Boost target of 71 off the last ball of the 10th over, having taken 13 from Ahmad's over. Prestwidge then compounded the error. He had Lynn miscue a catch to mid-off with a well-thought-out piece of bowling from around the wicket. The catch was well held, but replays showed Prestwidge had delivered a rare back foot no-ball, and Lynn survived. The free-hit went for four from Joe Denly's bat. Two overs later, Lynn was dropped again. This time, Peter Hatzoglou was the offender at backward point off Imad Wasim. Lynn reached his second half-century in a row. But he didn't make the Renegades pay. He chopped on off Kane Richardson trying to flay him on the up through the offside with the Heat still needing 44 to win from 37 balls.

Burns brilliance

Lynn's dismissal sparked a mini-collapse. The Heat lost 4 for 12 in 16 balls with a swathe of rash shots as the frugal bowling of Imad and Richardson caused some needless panic. But Burns provided a cool head with some help from the Renegades' inexperienced spinners. Burns struck two fours and a six in four balls without really taking a risk. Hatzoglou dropped short twice and Ahmad tossed one up in the slot for Burns to slog sweep into the empty stands. Burns finished the job in the 19th over with a glorious check drive and then a fortunate thick edge off Richardson. But fortune favours the brave, and Burns deserved every bit of it.

Alex Malcolm is a freelance writer based in Melbourne

Mantle card shatters record, sells for $5.2M

Published in Baseball
Thursday, 14 January 2021 05:00

A Mickey Mantle baseball card has shattered a five-month-old record for highest-selling sports card of all time, going for $5.2 million, PWCC Marketplace announced on Thursday.

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 9 -- PSA is a grading system that ranges from 1-10 -- took the record from a one-of-one Mike Trout rookie that sold for $3.94 million in August. It's believed that there are only six PSA 9s of that Mantle card still in existence.

Rob Gough, the actor who acquired streetwear brand Dope in 2017, purchased the '52 Mantle, which former NFL lineman Evan Mathis sold in 2018 for $2.88 million.

"The 1952 Topps Mantle is the holy grail of sports cards," Gough said. "As a kid ripping packs in the '90s, I always dreamt of owning one. ... I felt this Mantle was highly underpriced."

While not Mantle rookies, the 1952 cards are renowned for being Topps' first annual set and for having been dumped, by the thousands, into the Hudson River in 1960 after overproduction.

Since August, Gough has amassed a 1916 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie, a 1917 Collins-McCarthy Joe Jackson and several PSA 10 Michael Jordan rookie cards among others.

The purchase marks yet another milestone amid a recent surge in big-money sports memorabilia sales. Eight cards have now sold for $900,000 or more, with six of those sales in the past 12 months. Before the Trout rookie sale in August, a T206 Honus Wagner PSA 5, sold in 2016, held the record at $3.12 million.

And the ceiling could rise further yet. There are three recognized PSA 10 (rated "gem mint" condition, a "virtually perfect card" according to PSA) Mantles in existence, one of which was on climate-controlled, UV-protected display, and transported by armored car, in Colorado in 2018. They're valued at more than $10 million each.

Soccer

Alves reports for weekly Barcelona court visit

Alves reports for weekly Barcelona court visit

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFormer Brazil footballer Dani Alves on Thursday checked in at a Bar...

Fulham stadium plans include rooftop pool

Fulham stadium plans include rooftop pool

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFulham have unveiled lavish plans for their redeveloped Riverside S...

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

EmailPrintLiverpool and Manchester United have jointly launched an education programme through their...

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Basketball

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDenver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said Wednesday night that...

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOKLAHOMA CITY -- Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, front offic...

Baseball

'He looks happy': Has Juan Soto finally found a home with the Yankees?

'He looks happy': Has Juan Soto finally found a home with the Yankees?

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWHEN JUAN SOTO began to initiate himself with the New York Yankees,...

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics outfielder Miguel Andujar had surgery...

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