I Dig Sports
MOORESVILLE, N.C. Arbys, the largest sandwich drive-thru restaurant brand in the world, will sponsor Rick Ware Racing and will be featured across its teams in the NASCAR Cup Series and NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
The bulk of the partnership will be in the NASCAR Cup Series where Arbys will serve as an anchor sponsor of RWRs No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driven by Cody Ware.
The first of Arbys 12 races on the No. 51 machine comes this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Were extremely proud to expand our partnership with Arbys for 2025 and beyond, said Rick Ware, team owner. This renewed commitment is a testament to the hard work, dedication and progress weve made as an organization. From the shop to the track, every member of this team has been focused on improving our performance, strengthening our brand and delivering value to our partners.
To have Arbys recognize that effort and invest in an even bigger way speaks volumes to the commitment weve made to motorsports and the partners who support us. Were ready to build on this momentum and achieve even greater success.
Sandwiched amid Arbys calendar of NASCAR races are two NHRA events, including the sports biggest the 71st U.S. Nationals Aug. 27-Sept. 1 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park where RWR driver Clay Millican and Arbys are the defending event winners.
The U.S. Nationals is where our partnership with RWR began, and you couldnt have scripted it any better, said Jeff Baker, chief marketing officer, Arbys. Clay Millican won and Rick Ware was there, hands on with his race team. It was eye-opening to see the teamwork, the attention to detail and the dedication everyone at RWR put into their respective roles.
Its why we partnered with RWR again for the NASCAR Cup Series race last October at Talladega, where Cody Ware put the Arbys car out front. Both races were on network television, and the excitement it generated among our franchisees was palpable. It was an easy decision to come back with RWR in a much greater capacity in 2025.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. From the drivers seat to victory lane to running a race team, Tony Kanaans climb to managing Arrow McLarens IndyCar Series team has been impressive.
On Thursday, he was elevated to the role of Team Principal at Arrow McLaren.
Kanaan steps into the role of Team Principal after serving as Deputy Team Principal since the end of the 2024 season.
Kanaan competed in his final Indianapolis 500 with the team in 2023 and has since taken on increasingly influential roles within the organization, transitioning from Special Advisor in 2023 to Team Principal today.
His deep expertise and strong leadership are key attributes for the position in which he will oversee team and driver development and key commercial relationships.
A lot has happened since my last Indy 500 less than two years ago, to say the least, Kanaan said. Ive embraced every opportunity to grow with the team and Im excited to officially step into the Team Principal role, and having Kevin join to take on the business side of our team is part of our winning strategy. Were always looking for good people and talent to make the team stronger, and he and I will work well together.
Kevin Thimjon joins Arrow McLaren as President, bringing extensive leadership experience from roles at Core BTS, Lids Sports Group and Just Marketing International. He will lead the teams business operations, including finance, commercial strategy and administration, supporting the teams long-term growth and operational efficiency.
Im looking forward to joining Arrow McLaren and getting back into motorsport. Zak and I worked together at JMI for several years, so it will be great to work with him again and help grow a team and brand that has a lot of unlocked potential, beyond the success its already realized, Thimjon said. I have no doubt that Tony will get me up to speed on all things racing while we build the business with the strong team in place.
Thimjon also joins the McLaren Racing Executive Team under CEO Zak Brown.
Im excited to welcome Kevin to Arrow McLaren and our leadership group, Brown said. Kevin and I have stayed close since our days together at JMI, and hes the right fit to set the team up for long-term success. A few months ago, I said if we can find extra horsepower to add to the team, well add it, and Kevin is the perfect example of that. Under Tonys leadership, the team has been moving forward quickly, and he and Kevin will work well together to keep that positive momentum up.
Our sights are set on how we stabilize and grow strategically while competing at the top.
4 Nations revitalizes hockey betting ahead of final
In lieu of traditional All-Star festivities, the NHL opted to put on an international best-on-best tournament this season. The resulting 4 Nations Face-Off has been a resounding success, attracting massive viewership and surprising cultural relevance, which has extended to the sports betting realm.
Sportsbooks across the United States report that the 4 Nations games thus far have outperformed average regular-season NHL contests. DraftKings says that its four most-bet hockey games of the season have been from the tournament, while FanDuel says that 4 Nations contests are averaging over six times as many bets as an average NHL game this regular season.
In particular, Saturday's first USA-Canada matchup -- an epic 3-1 victory for the Americans -- was, bar none, the most-bet hockey game of the season. FanDuel says that the contest saw 13 times more bets than all of the 3-on-3 games that made up last year's NHL All-Star event combined, and 11 times more bets than an average NHL game this regular season.
Caesars Sportsbook's head of hockey Karry Shreeve says that the book is handling "seven to 10 times" more money for each game, with the first North American rivalry showdown bringing in even more.
"That game we saw just as much handle as we would in a Stanley Cup game," Shreeve told ESPN. "I think there's a chance that for Thursday's final, we could get up to almost Game 7 numbers, which is just incredible in terms of what you're asking for in the middle of February for hockey. I mean this is completely unexpected and certainly unprecedented."
While the storied USA-Canada rivalry always raises the stakes, this year's iteration seems particularly heated given the long layoff of best-on-best action, "words that have been exchanged" between both teams, as well as "politically" motivated sentiments off the ice, per DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello.
"I think that all throws a little fire into it," Avello told ESPN. "This is something that the fans love and these games are being bet heavily. This game Thursday is going to be a monster as far as betting is concerned, would outdo any All-Star Game."
With the elevated bettor attention and subsequent higher handle, bookmakers are putting their most diligent work into setting the lines for Thursday night's championship.
"The 4 Nations has been great from a betting engagement standpoint, particularly as fans look for marquee events coming out of football season," ESPN BET director of North American trading Adrian Horton said via email. "Thursday night feels like a Stanley Cup Final game from a trading perspective."
That means the books are expecting a low total. Shreeve points out that, during last year's playoffs, Game 7s were seeing only "three or four goals," as teams tend to tighten up when the stakes are highest. As such, Thursday's over-under has sat at a consensus 5.5 for much of the week and has only juiced further to the under (-135 at ESPN BET); BetMGM reports 30% of bets on the under, but 39% of the money.
Additionally, the money line has stayed remarkably close all week, with ESPN BET keeping the game a pick 'em at -110 for each side. USA is getting a majority of the action at major American sportsbooks, leading BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini to say, "Canada winning would be a good outcome for the sportsbook."
That said, there has been perhaps more support than expected for Canada: ESPN BET reports 46.1% of bets and 46.5% of handle backing the Canadians and BetMGM reports a 5% positive money split on their side. That tension, just as it should be felt on the ice in Boston, is keeping this betting line feeling truly championship-caliber.
"This almost has a Game 7 feel to it, which is absolutely incredible, and so we're going to treat it as such," Shreeve said.
BOSTON -- Other than the game itself, both Canada and the United States were talking about President Donald Trump hours before playing one another in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
Trump was a topic of conversation for both teams Thursday with many Team USA players speaking about the call they shared with the president with Team Canada sharing some of its thoughts about Trump once again stating that Canada would become the "51st state" in the country.
"It was awesome. It was one of the cooler experiences I've had," Team USA's Vincent Trocheck said of the Trump phone call. "Having the president of the United States call your team about a hockey game just seems kind of crazy but it's pretty cool."
Team USA and New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller echoed a similar sentiment.
"Pretty cool. It was so awesome to hear the support," Miller said. "It's a pretty big deal for us to take time out of his schedule to talk to us. It's just another one of those things where we're pinching ourselves this tournament. It's been really fun so far to see the support from everybody up to the president is pretty wild."
Miller said that Trump told the team to enjoy the moment and have fun with it with Team USA defenseman Zach Werenski saying he "kind of blacked out" because of the significance of the moment.
Team USA received a call from the President this morning to wish them luck ahead of tonight's #4Nations championship game. pic.twitter.com/he1kIgUVGW
USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 20, 2025
A reporter then asked Miller if Trump mentioned making Canada the 51st state.
"I don't think he brought that up," said Werenski, who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets. "He left that one out."
Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Thursday that he planned on calling Team USA while later adding that "on toward victory tonight against Canada ... will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important Fifty First State."
With political tensions already in place prior to the 4 Nations, those feelings have only amplified with hockey as its latest avenue. It started with fans on both sides booing during each country's respective national anthems.
It further escalated during the first Canada-U.S. game last Saturday. There were three fights in the first nine seconds of a contest which ultimately ended with the U.S. winning 3-1 in Montreal. The game itself became the talk of the North American sports landscape and only added to the anticipation of a potential rematch, something Canada secured Tuesday with a 5-3 win against Sweden.
Canada coach Jon Cooper was asked if the political discussion regarding the two countries has entered the dressing room.
"Other than the talk of [Canada becoming] the 51st state and then somebody saying, 'Wow, we'd have one hell of a hockey team,'" said Cooper, who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Cooper then further elaborated on the subject.
"Let's be honest, you'd never get what's going to be contested tonight," Cooper said. "The political side of things, we feel [that] for everybody on our side of things. But for us to come here and to be in that room, it's going to be more for us to win that game, then sit there and debate what the game means. We have to go out there and represent our country and make them proud. If we accomplish that, then I think we accomplish what we want to, which is to make Canadians proud."
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski contributed to this report.
Islanders waive D Cholowski to open roster spot
The New York Islanders placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers on Thursday.
The Islanders have one open roster spot coming out of the break but might need two as they anticipate the return of defensemen Scott Mayfield (lower body) and Ryan Pulock (upper body) from injured reserve. Both participated in their third straight practice on Thursday ahead of the Islanders' next game Sunday against the Dallas Stars.
Cholowski, who turned 27 on Saturday, has three goals, seven assists, 10 penalty minutes and an average of 12:48 time on ice in 33 games this season.
The Detroit Red Wings selected him with the 20th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft. He was picked by the Seattle Kraken from the Red Wings' roster in the 2021 expansion draft.
He has 13 career goals, 27 assists, 38 penalty minutes, 147 blocks and 48 hits while averaging 16:47 of ice time in 150 games for the Red Wings (2018-21), Washington Capitals (2021-22), Kraken (2022) and Islanders (2022-23, 2024-25).
Inter injury blow as Sommer suffers broken thumb
Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer has a broken right thumb ahead of key games in Serie A and the Champions League.
Inter said the Swiss 'keeper's injury was revealed in tests on Thursday and "necessary therapy will be decided in the coming days."
Thumb injuries can sideline goalkeepers for several weeks though no timetable was set by Inter for Sommer, who has started every Serie A and Champions League game this season.
The defending Serie A champion is second in the standings, trailing Napoli by two points, and travels to Naples at the end of next week. Inter first hosts Genoa on Saturday.
Sommer also could miss the Champions League round-of-16 games on March 4 or 5 then March 10 or 11. Inter will be drawn against Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven when the pairings are made on Friday.
Sommer's backups are Raffaele Di Gennaro and Josep Martinez.
Rohit rues putting down 'easy' catch to deny Axar hat-trick
"That was an easy catch, I should have taken that," Rohit said at the presentation. "The standard I've set for myself for standing in the slips... That was a little disappointing, but these things happen, I do understand that. But again, the way these guys bowled that set the game for us.
"I know they were 36 [35] for 5 and then they got a big partnership and these things are bound to happen. There will be odd partnerships, credit to [Towhid] Hridoy and Jaker Ali, they played brilliantly to stitch that big partnership. And then with the bat I thought we were very clinical."
Rohit joked he would take Axar to dinner on Friday night to make it up to him. Axar had sent back Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim on consecutive deliveries in the ninth over, and then Jaker edged his first ball behind only to see Rohit shell the chance. Rohit slapped the ground repeatedly in disappointment, while Axar turned back slowly to his mark with his hands on his head.
"I was going to celebrate but then I turned around since it didn't happen," Axar had said during the innings break, on missing out on the hat-trick. "These things happen, it's part of the game."
Jaker went on to score 68 in a century partnership with Hridoy, who in turn got to his maiden ODI century. The duo rescued Bangladesh from 35 for 5 to 189 for 6.
Axar finished with 2 for 43 from his 10 overs.
Pakistan fined for slow over-rate in Champions Trophy opener
The tournament hosts and defending champions lost to New Zealand by 60 runs on Wednesday.
Pakistan were found one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, the ICC said.
While on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Sharfuddoula, third umpire Joel Wilson and fourth umpire Alex Wharf levelled the charge, match referee Andy Pycroft imposed the sanction, deducting five percent of match fee.
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan pleaded guilty to the offence with no formal hearing required thereafter.
In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over if their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
Edited PTI copy
Sources: Cowboys All-Pro guard Martin retiring
FRISCO, Texas -- Zack Martin, one of the most decorated offensive linemen in Dallas Cowboys history, opted to retire, sources told ESPN.
Martin met with owner and general manager Jerry Jones on Thursday to inform him of his decision, sources said.
Martin was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection in 11 years with the Cowboys. Only Hall of Famers Bob Lilly (11), Larry Allen (10) and Mel Renfro (10), along with Jason Witten (11), who is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this season, have been named to more. Martin was a first-team All-Pro pick seven times, which is tied for the most in team history with Lilly and Hall of Famer Randy White.
Martin's seven first-team All-Pro selections also are tied with Hall of Famers Randall McDaniel and John Hannah for the most among guards all time, according to ESPN Research. The only player with more first-team All-Pro selections since Martin entered the NFL in 2014 is retired Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (8).
Martin also had only seven accepted holding penalties in his career, equaling his number of first-team All-Pro nods.
A first-round pick in 2014, Martin started 162 games, missing more than one game in a season just twice: 2020 and 2024. In addition, he was named to the NFL's All-Decade team from 2010 to '20.
In 2024, he was limited to 10 games because of an ankle injury that required surgery. He played through multiple injuries during his last two seasons until he no longer had the strength to sustain his elite level of play.
Martin, 34, quashed talk of retirement last summer during training camp and when his season ended. During several appearances before Super Bowl LIX, Martin said he wanted to get healthy before deciding on his future.
Martin held out most of training camp in 2023 before signing an adjusted contract that guaranteed him $36 million over the past two seasons and made him the third-highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Martin reworked his contract last offseason, allowing the Cowboys to gain some salary cap relief if he opted to retire in 2025. The Cowboys can designate him a post-June 1 cut, which means he will count $9.4 million against the cap in 2025 and $17 million against the 2026 cap.
His absence creates a void on and off the field for the Cowboys.
Brock Hoffman filled in admirably for Martin last season, but the Cowboys could look to the draft or free agency to fill Martin's spot. Martin was one of the team's most influential leaders, serving on the players' council under coaches Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy in his time.
Though not the most vocal, Martin's day-to-day dedication was admired by teammates.
Up next for Martin is likely a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a five-year waiting period.
Hornets' Ball to sit out vs. Nuggets with sore ankle
Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball will sit out Thursday's game at the Denver Nuggets due to left ankle soreness.
Ball scored 27 points in Wednesday night's 100-97 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, including a driving layup with 14.2 seconds remaining to help snap Charlotte's three-game skid.
Ball, 23, is averaging 27.3 points, 7.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 34 games (all starts) during his fifth season with the Hornets. The former All-Star is shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent from 3-point range.
Ball missed five games from late January to early February due to a sprained left ankle, then sat out against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 9 and the Orlando Magic on Feb. 12 because of left ankle soreness.
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