I Dig Sports
Pistons G Ivey (leg) cleared for basketball activity
Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, sidelined since Jan. 1 with a broken left fibula, was cleared on Thursday to resume basketball activities.
The team said Ivey, 23, is entering the first phase of a re-conditioning program and that his status will be updated again in two weeks.
The Pistons (43-36) have clinched their first playoff spot since 2019, entering Thursday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining in the regular season. The playoffs begin on April 19, following the play-in tournament.
Ivey averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30 games (all starts) this season. He has contributed 16.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 181 games (164 starts) since Detroit drafted him fifth overall in 2022.
Strider nears return after 'dominant' rehab start
ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider struck out 13 batters in 5 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday in his second injury rehabilitation start and appears ready to return from elbow surgery to make his Atlanta Braves season debut next week.
Strider gave up three hits, two walks and one earned run against Norfolk, then was removed after 90 pitches, as planned. He struck out his first six batters, had nine strikeouts through three innings and reached 97 mph with his fastball.
"I watched most of it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "Most of it looked really good. ... As dominant as he is, it looks like he's becoming even more of a pitcher."
Strider last pitched for the Braves on April 5 last year and had internal brace surgery a week later with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister. He led the major leagues in 2023 with 20 wins and 285 strikeouts, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Strider has made three Triple-A rehab starts, giving up two runs in 13 innings.
"He got back out for the sixth, got his pitches," Snitker said. "It was exactly what we wanted to happen."
Snitker did not commit to Strider joining the Braves rotation for his next appearance. He said he wanted to see how Strider felt after the start and his next side session.
"I kind of feel like he's right where we want him to be before he gets here," Snitker said.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Jo Adell became the third player in Angels history to homer twice in the same inning, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward also homered twice and Los Angeles routed the Tampa Bay Rays 11-1 on Thursday.
Adell led off the fifth against Zack Littell (0-3) with first first homer this season for a 3-1 lead and capped an eight-run fifth inning with a three-run drive against Mason Englert. Adell matched a career high with four RBI.
Rick Reichardt homered twice in a 12-run inning at Boston on April 30, 1966, and Kendrys Morales homered twice in a nine-run sixth at Texas on July 30, 2012.
Ward homered on the game's second pitch and Nolan Schanuel hit an RBI double in the second.
Jonathan Aranda closed the Rays to 2-1 with a run-scoring single in the fourth off José Soriano (2-1).
Trout hit a two-run homer in the fifth against Littell and added a solo homer in the ninth off Hunter Bigge for his fifth home run this season and the 27th multihomer game of his big league career. Trout also homered in the July 30, 2012, game.
Ward also homered in the fifth, a two-run drive against Littell.
Los Angeles has won four straight series.
CARY, N.C. -- Former major leaguer Mark DeRosa will manage the United States for the second straight World Baseball Classic, USA Baseball said Thursday.
DeRosa led the U.S. to the championship game of the 2023 tournament, where it lost to Japan 3-2 as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end the game.
Michael Hill, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of on-field operations and workforce development, will be the team's general manager, a position Tony Reagins held for the 2023 tournament.
DeRosa, 50, is a broadcaster for MLB Network. He had a .268 average with 100 homers and 494 RBIs over 16 major league seasons.
Cubs acquire lefty Cosgrove from Padres for cash
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs acquired left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove from the San Diego Padres on Thursday for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa.
The 28-year-old Cosgrove was 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA in four appearances with Triple-A El Paso this season. He is 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA and one save in 72 major league relief appearances since making his debut in 2023.
Cosgrove appeared in 18 games for the Padres last season and was 0-1 with a 11.66 ERA. He pitched in 54 games in 2023, and his 1.75 ERA and .173 opponent batting average led all qualified major league rookie relievers.
The Cubs also designated right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian for assignment. Kilian is 0-4 with a 9.22 ERA in eight career major league games since debuting in 2022.
Juan Soto wanted Pete Alonso back on the Mets -- and he was right
NEW YORK -- Juan Soto had several questions for the New York Mets during his free agent negotiations this past winter. One was about their lineup construction.
Soto had just spent the 2024 season in the Bronx as half of a historically productive duo who drew constant comparisons to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He and Aaron Judge, the American League MVP, were a strenuous puzzle to solve in the New York Yankees' lineup. The left-handed Soto hit second. The right-handed Judge batted third. They protected each other and pulverized pitchers. Leaving the Yankees would mean leaving Judge.
"That was one of the essential parts of the discussion," Soto told ESPN in Spanish on Tuesday. "Who was going to bat behind me?"
The answer seemed clear. Pete Alonso remained a free agent. The first baseman is homegrown and adored in Queens. More importantly, for lineup construction purposes, he's a right-handed slugger. He isn't on Judge's level -- who is? -- but he ranks right behind Judge in home runs since debuting in 2019. He was an obvious complement to Soto.
"I told them the best option was him," Soto said.
By late January, Alonso's return still appeared unlikely. Mets owner Steve Cohen, during a fan event at Citi Field, called the negotiation "exhausting" and "worse" than the Soto pursuit. He left the door open, but much to the chagrin of Mets fans in the crowd that day, he also said the organization was ready to move on from the four-time All-Star.
Less than two weeks later, just days before spring training, the sides came to an agreement on a two-year contract with an opt-out after this season. The 30-year-old Alonso went from seemingly in the Mets' past to protecting the franchise's $765 million investment. Two months into the partnership, the early returns of the 2025 season support Soto's opinion. The best example came in Tuesday's win over the Miami Marlins.
The Mets, leading 6-5, had runners on the corners with one out in the sixth inning for Soto. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough brought in right-hander Ronny Henriquez -- and, despite the runner on first, made the unusual decision to intentionally walk Soto. That loaded the bases for Alonso and created an inning-ending double-play opportunity with a righty-righty matchup -- though McCullough made another unusual call by pulling in the infield and the outfield. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he wasn't surprised by the Marlins' decision to walk Soto.
"I think it gets to a point where it's pick your poison there," Mendoza said.
Two pitches later, Alonso cracked a 93-mph sinker into the left-center field gap for a bases-clearing triple, blowing the game open on a cold, blustery afternoon in Queens.
It was Alonso's second double of the day -- his first, a Texas Leaguer to right field in the third inning, drove in the Mets' first two runs. Alonso has served as the offense's engine in the three hole, behind leadoff man Francisco Lindor and Soto, batting .333 with three home runs, 15 RBIs and a 1.139 OPS through the club's first 12 games.
"It seems like teams are trying to not get beat with Soto," Mendoza said. "And then, before you know it, they're making mistakes with Pete, and he's been ready to go and making them pay."
Alonso is looking to reverse a three-year decline in offensive production, making better swing decisions after the worst offensive campaign of his career in 2024. It's early, but so far Alonso is laying off pitches outside the strike zone more often. He's barreling pitches over the plate at a higher percentage. He's crushing pitches the other way -- in the Mets' home opener Friday, he clubbed a 95-mph fastball from Kevin Gausman down and out of the strike zone for a two-run home run to right field.
Hitting behind Soto, who has a .404 on-base percentage as a Met, has made his work a little easier.
"He's such a pro," Alonso said of Soto. "Obviously, we know he has power, he has the hit tool. He can hit for average. Super dynamic player offensively. But the thing that I really benefit from is just seeing -- because he sees a ton of pitches and just kind of seeing what they're doing to him, obviously, it really helps because they're trying to stay away from the middle of the zone with him and I can kind of take some mental notes with that."
With more pitches to Soto, the game's most disciplined hitter, comes more strain for pitchers. With more runners on base, comes more pitches -- and fastballs -- over the plate for Alonso to devour. It is a formula Soto envisioned over the winter. Whether it extends beyond this season remains unknown.
There's no question he is popular with fans. During the Mets' home opener Friday, Citi Field roared for Alonso during pregame introductions. The fans did so again when he stepped into the batter's box for his first at-bat. And then once more, moments later, when he emerged from the dugout for a curtain call after hitting a two-run home run.
This week, one option for replacing Alonso was taken off the board when first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension. Guerrero's contract should help Alonso's earning potential if he chooses, as expected, to opt out of his contract and hit free agency again this winter.
For now, in his seventh season, Alonso is thriving as the Mets' first baseman, hitting behind his team's most valuable player.
"That's why you want [protection] like that," Soto said. "First of all, to have the chance to do more damage and stuff. But whenever they don't want to pitch me, I know I have a guy behind me that could make it even worse for them."
Ireland will take on Scotland and Canada in Tests in early August as part of their preparations for the Women's World Cup which will begin later that month.
Scott Bemand's Ireland side will face Scotland in the opening World Cup warm-up game at Virgin Media Park in Cork on 2 August before a contest against Canada at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on 9 August.
Canada, who defeated Ireland at last autumn's WXV 1 tournament in Vancouver a week after the Irish had shocked world champions New Zealand, are second in World Rugby's rankings behind England.
Ireland will open their World Cup campaign by facing Japan in Northampton on 24 August before further group games against Spain and New Zealand on 31 August and 7 September.
Bemand's Ireland squad will link up in June to begin an extended training stint.
"We are delighted to confirm our two warm-up fixtures against quality opposition in the build up to Women's Rugby World Cup," said the Ireland head coach.
"Our pre-season block that will run throughout June and July in Dublin will be designed to test and prepare the extended squad, ensuring we are in the best possible shape for the tournament ahead and getting the opportunity for valuable match minutes and exposure is vitally important."
Ireland have made three changes from the thumping win over Italy for Saturday's Women's Six Nations game against champions England in Cork.
With captain Edel McMahon ruled out by injury, Ulster's Brittany Hogan returns to the back row with Dorothy Wall also recalled to the pack and Emily Lane drafted in at scrum-half.
Wall, who started in the opening defeat by France, returns to the second row after coming off the bench in Parma as Ruth Campbell drops to the replacements.
Aoibheann Reilly produced an impressive scrum-half display against Italy but has to be content with a place on the bench as Lane is recalled after starting against France.
McMahon's absence means that wing Amee-Leigh Costigan will captain the side.
Enya Breen's unavailability because of injury results in Vicky Elmes Kinlan being drafted into the replacements.
Ireland's back three is unchanged with Anna McGann named at wing after scoring a hat-trick of tries in Parma.
Ireland suffered a record 88-10 Six Nations defeat by England in last year's championship but head coach Scott Bemand said earlier this week that his side are now a considerably "better team".
Ireland: Flood; McGann, Dalton, Higgins, Costigan (capt); O'Brien, Lane; O'Dowd, Jones, Djougang; Tuite, Wall; Hogan, King, Wafer.
Replacements: Moloney, McCarthy, Haney, Campbell, Moore, Reilly, Fowles, Elmes Kinlan.
LONG BEACH, Calif. The Saturday sports car showcase at Long Beach often serves as a highlight of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season and the full Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend.
For a race that is the shortest on the WeatherTech Championship calendar at just 100 minutes, a shifted vibe and approach pushes the focus level to a hyper-targeted effort.
Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy have won the first two Grand Touring Prototype races of 2025 in their No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. Both are past Long Beach winners, with Nasrs first and thus far only triumph coming in 2021 in the Action Express Racing-prepared Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R. Tandy co-drove to the first Porsche 963 global victory at Long Beach in 2023, sharing with Mathieu Jaminet.
Nasr described from the drivers seat what may not entirely translate about just how hard to push between the concrete walls of the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street course.
I just love this style of racing bringing the GTP cars to Long Beach and extracting the maximum of the car in a track like that. Its a real challenge, he explained.
You have to be patient with yourself, and the track might not be ready to give you the grip yet, or the car. The track evolves so much that its hard for yourself to say what you did right or wrong. You have to be patient in what you change and how you evolve during the session.
Of course, theres a commitment level as the weekend goes beyond practice into racing, you start getting closer to the walls, braking later. Thats the fascinating part of street racing. For us drivers, you start getting closer to the walls, closer to the limit, its a great feeling behind the wheel.
Two-time and defending GTP winner Renger van der Zande comes to Long Beach with the races title sponsor, Acura, for the first time. Now sharing the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 with Nick Yelloly, the Dutchman added to Nasrs thoughts about why he likes Long Beach so much.
Theres a lot of pressure for sure and I like pressure, van der Zande said before heading to a simulator session in Indianapolis ahead of this weekends race. Thats good and obviously the discussion here at Honda is about how short of a window it is to really find the right decision moments.
Its really a cooperation; its not just Im Renger, I won it twice, so I know what to do. Its every year is different again. Theres so much to think about and the homework theyve been doing is incredible and I just tried to support it with the experience I have.
Cadillac has enjoyed a wealth of Long Beach success, with six overall IMSA top-class prototype wins since 2017. Ricky Taylor won the first of those six with brother Jordan in 2017 and seeks a return to the top in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R hell share this year with Filipe Albuquerque.
It is always exciting to get into the sprint race part of the season where we can really get back into the rhythm of IMSA racing, said the elder Taylor brother. Its always a bit of a shock to the system to transition to every lap really counting, but I think all of our drivers really enjoy that. We really have to be on our game and make every session count.
With Grand Touring Daytona Pro absent, the GTD class gets the spotlight as the only IMSA GT class competing in Long Beach. For drivers and teams, the event serves as a highlight of the season.
Elliott Skeer, co-driver of the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R with Adam Adelson, enjoys his first of two California-type home races Long Beach, although this one is closer than WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey.
Skeer lives in San Diego and Adelson in Los Angeles, so the camaraderie of the event and the memories established stand out. Both look to atone from a challenging 2024 Long Beach race where the car retired after just eight laps due to contact.
(Long Beach) is even closer for Adam than me, so its surprising to find someone closer, Skeer laughed.
Its the friends, family, environment, the one race we can get everyone to. Hopefully I get to race it this time. Last years race didnt go to plan.
Its not a track you can do on a track day. You have to be in this event to race here. Ive been going since 2006 as a fan I think, religiously. I remember watching Pat Long and the (Flying) Lizards religiously.
Now to be driving around the fountain in a Porsche is an incredible thing. We have a good pit stall with the points were in. We can execute the one pit stop and try to start the Adam era of Wright strongly.
For former junior open-wheel-racer-turned-IMSA-winner Parker Thompson, the visibility change moving from a smaller open-wheel car to a heavier GT beast from Lexus marks a fascinating visual shift on a street course.
You just dont realize how much room there is on the passenger side when you sit offset, said Thompson, who won at Long Beach last year with Ben Barnicoat and shares the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 with Jack Hawksworth. So, throughout my career growing up, when I race on a street course, you had easy visibility of both the left and right front wheels.
The Lexus, because it is one of the larger, wider GT cars, youre basically guessing where that right-front is at all times. Especially Turn 8 at Long Beach is one of those turns where in qualifying, youre like, Oh, am I gonna hit it? Is it close? So, it is just kind of a guessing game. Thats the biggest difference is the offset.
SALINA, Okla. A break of over two months comes to an end for the American Sprint Car Series National Tour as the stars of the national 360 Sprint Car series take on Salina Highbanks Speedway on April 12.
The season opener at Volusia Speedway Park helped kick off the 2025 campaign back in January, putting many brand-new eyes on ASCS racing. The action resumes back in the ASCS homeland of Oklahoma with a $4,000 grand prize on the line for the winner of the main event, which will be co-sanctioned by the ASCS Sooner Region and count for points in both series championship standings.
MEET THE FAMILY
Seventeen drivers are on the full-time roster, ready to take on each of the 33 remaining events. The list includes four past champions, seven returning drivers from the 2024 roster, four rookie-of-the-year contenders, one regional ASCS champion and one past National Tour regular.
Defending champion Seth Bergman made the list of 15 different points championship winners in National Tour history last November after clinching the 2024 title. He rejoins the roster with fellow champions Sam Hafertepe Jr., Jason Martin, and Blake Hahn, who is chasing the championship for the first time in three years. These drivers combined for 21 feature wins on the Tour last season.
Oklahoma racer Matt Covington leads the charge for the returning drivers from the 2024 roster, now in his 13th full-time season chasing his first Tour championship. He joins Zach Blurton, Landon Britt, Terry Easum, Kyler Johnson, Austyn Gossel, Bradley Fezard and reigning ASCS Sooner Region champion Casey Wills in the 2025 championship chase.
Four young drivers brand-new to the Tour have joined the roster for 2025, all chasing rookie-of-the-year honors awarded to the driver with the most championship points at seasons end. Ryder Laplante (18, of Calera, Okla.); Brady Baker (17, of Alexander, Ark.); and fellow 14-year-olds Garrett Benson (Concordia, Mo.) and Brogan Carder (Sioux Falls, S.D.) make up the list coming into Salina.
The full-time roster is capped by former Tour regular and feature winner, Harli White. The 29-year-old from Lindsay, Okla., spent four consecutive seasons racing as part of the full-time roster, and is transitioning back to full-time ASCS competition for the first time since 2020, piloting the Big Sky Speedway-backed No. 17w.
She made history in her last full season on the Tour, becoming the first female ever to win an ASCS National Tour event by taking the checkered flag at Riverside Intl Speedway in Arkansas.
THE CHAMP IS HERE
Seth Bergman returns to Tour competition at Salina, armed with a slew of new cars and equipment as he prepares for his first title defense as ASCS National Tour champion.
Bergman, 37, of Snohomish, Wash., took time over the last four months to overhaul his teams operation, preparing an upgraded transporter and two new Triple X Race Co. cars for the season ahead. T
he work led him to the decision to skip the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park in January by virtue of the one race drop addition and the races at Volusia counting only as one points event but he and his Oklahoma-based team are prepared to contest each of the remaining events on the calendar.
Historically, Bergman has posted only two top-10 finishes in six career sprint car starts at Salina, but that trend is on track to change Saturday. Hes made two outings with his new equipment with the ASCS Sooner Region already this season, posting back-to-back runner-up finishes two weeks ago at Creek County Speedway and Enid Speedway against many of the same drivers hell race against this weekend.
LEADING THE PACK
Five-time Tour champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. continues his quest for a record sixth ASCS National Tour championship at Salina, where hes won once with ASCS before.
The 39-year-old from Sunnyvale, Texas, took the checkered flag when the Tour visited the track in 2014, besting fellow veterans Johnny Herrera and Dustin Morgan in the main event. Since then, his only other start at the three-eighths-mile oval came with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars in 2015.
Though hes currently listed as sixth place in the championship points standings, Hafertepe will come into Salina as the top-ranked ASCS full-timer in points after the season-opening three races at Volusia, where he posted finishes of third, seventh and 11th.
Over the past several weeks, hes been partaking in 410 sprint car competition with the World of Outlaws, posting podium finishes in two of his last three starts (March 15 at Kennedale Speedway Park; March 22 at Cotton Bowl Speedway).
MEMORY LANE
Blake Hahn will be one of only three drivers in the field this Saturday to have previously won with the ASCS National Tour at Salina. Its now been almost 10 years, but the grandson of ASCS founder Emmett Hahn still savors that night in June 2015 the evening of his first career Tour victory.
Now 30 years old, Hahn of Sapulpa, Okla. has amassed two Tour championships and a total of 21 Tour feature wins and returns to the full-time roster this year in search of a third points title.
Historically, Hahn has put up two wins and three top-five finishes across seven career starts at Salina also winning with the Oil Capital Racing Series in 2021.
After qualifying for all three features in the season opener at Volusia, Hahn comes into the weekend as the second-ranked full-time driver in the championship points standings.
ON DEFENSE
The last time the ASCS National Tour appeared at Salina Highbanks, Jason Martin stood in victory lane.
The 42-year-old from Liberal, Kan., bested Arkansas racer Jordon Mallett and 2000 National Tour champion Wayne Johnson en route to his eighth of nine total Tour feature wins that season, which helped him clinch the 2023 championship.
Martin kicked off his 2025 Tour campaign with two feature starts in the three races held at Volusia in January. Hell try and defend his Salina victory from two years ago this weekend against several names he competed against at Volusia.
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