I Dig Sports
BRADENTON, Fla. After five thrilling Pro Modified qualifying sessions, Mark Micke claimed the $10,000 low qualifier bonus Friday night at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, the final race of the DI Winter Series presented by J&A Service, at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Mickes 3.575-second pass from Fridays fourth qualifying session was enough to keep him and his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission 69 Camaro at the top of the quickest 32-car Pro Mod field in drag racing history. Three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous champion Tommy Franklin is the No. 32 qualifier with a 3.637-second effort.
2024 NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion and two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Johnny Pluchino maintained his No. 1 position in the third annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational in his Ross Environmental Services 13 Mustang. John Carinci claimed his No. 1 spot Friday night under the lights in the second annual Pro 10.5 Challenge in his turbocharged 2004 Corvette.
After struggling unexpectedly on Thursday, Mark Micke returned to his dominating ways on Friday, jumping to the top of the qualifying sheet with a 3.575-second pass at 223.65 mph. The pass extended Mickes No. 1 qualifying streak to an incredible 13 events in a row in his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission 69 Camaro.
We got behind during testing, and Thursday we just couldnt put it together, said Micke, who also collected the $10,000 low qualifier bonus. We had changed the car up a lot at U.S. Street because theres radial prep, and we found out we couldnt run it like that at this race. We put our heads together, looked over the data, and were pretty confident this morning.
We ran a .61 in the morning, and that got our confidence back, Micke continued. Things just fell our way in the next round we watched the weather falling and the track getting cooler, and I said, Boys, I think this is our run. To put together 13 No. 1s in a row against the baddest Pro Mod racers in the world, Im just really proud of our guys. Thick and thin, hot or cold, whatever the prep, weve been able to pull it out with the car. To be standing on top, thats pretty badass.
As the No. 1 qualifier, Micke was the first driver to pull a poker chip out of the bag in Friday nights chip draw. He pulled the No. 2 chip along with No Prep Kings star and 2024 Snowbird Outlaw Nationals winner Kye Kelley, setting up what will be the marquee matchup of round one between two drivers with points championship aspirations.
Reigning back-to-back PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2023 WSOPM semifinalist Jason Harris ran a 3.583 at 209.04 mph to take the No. 2 spot in his ProCharged Party Time Racing 69 Camaro. Hell take on Jay Cox in the first round on Saturday.
2017 WSOPM champion Mike Bowman returned to his previous form, taking the No. 3 position with a career-best E.T., running a 3.589 at 220.37 mph in his twin-turbo 69 Chevelle. He drew 2025 U.S. Street Nationals runner-up Lyle Barnett in the first round.
Also running a career-best was 2025 U.S. Street Nationals semifinalist Rian Hayward, who used a 3.593 at 208.62 to put his ProCharger-powered Code Blue 69 Camaro in the No. 4 spot. 2025 U.S. Street Nationals winner and current DI Winter Series points leader Ken Quartuccio rounded out the top five with 3.594 at 208.75 in his Scott Tidwell Racing screw-blown 69 Camaro.
Tommy Franklin, a three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion, ended up on the 32-car bump spot in the third iteration of his infamous Jungle Rat 69 Camaro. His 3.637 at 208.36 in the final session of the night secured his spot.
John Carinci proved the potential of his turbocharged 04 Corvette in the final Pro 10.5 qualifying session when he laid down a 3.903 at 205.69 to take the No. 1 spot from young gun Joel Wensley Jr. He steadily improved throughout the four qualifying sessions on Thursday and Friday, starting with a 5.072 followed by a 4.049 that put him in the middle of the pack going into the final session. Tuner Carl Stevens Jr., winner of the 2018 WSOPM in Denver, then sent Carinci on a chart-topping pass under the Friday night lights.
Carinci continued to thank the people in his corner who contributed to his success to this point in the event.
It was a validating performance for Carinci, who has competed in Outlaw 10.5 for years. He was one of the 24 participants in the first Pro 10.5 Challenge last year, and now hes leading the 25-car qualifying order at the second running of the $25,000-to-win race.
Its fun, its exciting, Carinci said. I drove 30 hours to come down here [from Canada]. Ive been doing 10.5 for a long time, and when they opened up the 10.5 in the World Series of Pro Mod, I said, Weve got to be part of that because thats what we love. The 10.5 tire is the wildest tire the cars look cool and people love them.
While 25 drivers made qualifying attempts, only the quickest 16 will race on Saturday. Small-tire veteran Rob Valden, driving for Charlie Cooper in his turbocharged 22 Mustang, qualified second with a 3.914 at 204.39 in the final session. Wensley Jr., whose 3.925 at 194.32 gave him the provisional No. 1 spot on Thursday, slipped to third in his ProCharged 14 Camaro.
The late Lizzy Musis fan-favorite, nitrous-fed Bonnie 69 Camaro, now driven by Blake Denton out of the Tommy Franklin Motorsports camp, qualified fourth with Dentons 3.952 at 191.73. Second-generation Outlaw 10.5 driver Ty Kasper wheeled his familys turbocharged Victus Sports Sinatra 05 Mustang to a 3.953 at 199.76 to round out the top five.
Pluchino made his best qualifying run in Thursdays night session, but he also looked strong in Fridays two Mountain Motor Pro Stock sessions, which included a day session and one in the evening. He secured the No. 1 position on the strength of a 4.061 at 177.60 in the Kaase-powered Ross Environmental Services 13 Mustang that he drove to two PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world championships and the first-ever NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship last season.
Weve made four really good runs all weekend, but our No. 1 run was good, Pluchino said. Im honestly more impressed with what we did in the heat. Both of our runs during the daytime were low for the session and very impressive runs. As happy as I am to be No. 1, Im really happy that we have a car thats capable of going out in the heat and going .09, .10 when the conditions are difficult.
Pluchinos performance would typically net him a first-round match with the No. 16 qualifier, but like the Pro Mod and Pro 10.5 classes at WSOPM, the $25,000-to-win MMPSI also uses random chip drawings to determine matchups in eliminations. Pluchino drew Dennis Firkus, who threw down a 4.069 at 178.99 in his Done Rite Auto 07 Cobalt in the final qualifying session to qualify No. 2.
After Pluchino and Firkus, two-time and reigning PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers used a 4.074 at 178.10 in his Sonnys Racing Engines/ATI Performance 21 Camaro to qualify third. Multi-time world champion John Montecalvo, who won the 2023 MMPSI, stepped up to a 4.08 at 178.00 in his Kaase-powered JM Racing 19 Mustang in the final session to end up fourth. Longtime MMPS wheelman Tony Gillig took advantage of the opportunity to fill in for 2023 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Alan Drinkwater, steering the Drinkwater familys Kaase-powered Flatout Gaskets 08 Mustang to the No. 5 spot with a 4.096 at 176.93.
Nitrous-assisted hot rods led the way again in Top Sportsmans second and final qualifying session on Friday after topping the Thursday chart. Glenn Butcher, who won the 2024 PDRA Elite Top Sportsman world championship, locked in the No. 1 position with a 3.835 at 196.13 in his Albert-powered 69 Camaro. Virginias Thomas Brown moved up to second in his Camaro with a 3.967 at 190.35. Longtime Top Sportsman proponent Bruce Thrift took his Color Me Gone GTO to the third spot with a 4.006 at 183.54.
The top three in Top Dragster remained unchanged from Thursdays lone qualifying session after the second and final session on Friday. Russ Whitlock clinched the No. 1 position in his ProCharged 08 Race Tech dragster with his 3.885 at 188.96. Les Feist, who made the trip down from Minnesota, followed with a 3.888 at 184.93 in his 13 Miller dragster. Multi-time NHRA national event winner Matt Sackman in the supercharged SB Metal Fab 10 Spitzer qualified third with a 3.889 at 185.21.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez was nearly perfect in his debut with the Ducati Lenovo Team, winning Saturdays Tissot Sprint during the Grand Prix of Thailand at Chang Intl Circuit.
Marquez launched from the pole and ran away from the field to get his championship chase off to a winning start.
He finished 1.185 seconds ahead of his brother Alex, who rode the BK8 Gresini Racing machine to a second-place finish.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) earned some valuable points after having to settle for P3 in the first Sprint of the campaign.
Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) finished fourth, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) fifth.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has revealed defender Andreas Christensen has picked up another injury just three days after being cleared to return to action against Real Sociedad this weekend.
Christensen, 28, came off the bench against Valencia in Barça's first game of the season in August but was then sidelined until January with Achilles problem.
Upon his return to training at the start of the year, the Denmark international injured his calf, ruling him out until the end of February.
Earlier this week, Barça confirmed Christensen had been given the green light to play competitively again, but he received another setback on Saturday.
"What I can say now is that Andreas got injured in this morning's training session," Flick told a news conference.
"He was an option for Real Sociedad on Sunday, but again he is injured. We are looking now how heavy is the injury. Hopefully it's not so much."
Christensen joined Barça on a free transfer from Chelsea in 2022 and made 32 appearances to help the club win LaLiga in his first season.
He followed his debut campaign up with another 42 appearances last term, being used as a defensive midfielder at times by previous coach Xavi Hernández, but he has been limited to just one outing this season.
In his absence, Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez have emerged as Barça's first choice centre-back pairing, with Ronald Araújo and Eric García providing backup.
"We want at least four players for this position," Flick added. "Normally we have five really good centre-backs, but without Andreas, it's four.
"Ronald also had a huge injury but he's doing really good now. He's a leader. He has everything to reach a very high level. I am really happy with all of them."
Squad depth may be needed in the coming weeks as the games come thick and fast for the LaLiga leaders.
After Tuesday's 4-4 draw against Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, Barça welcome Real Sociedad in LaLiga this weekend before travelling to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Flick aid the fact his side are still in the running to win all three competitions, after already winning the Spanish Supercopa in January, is proof they are exceeding expectations this season.
"We have to accept [the busy schedule] and manage it with the players, maybe by using some fresh legs," he said.
"It's good to have [the games]. We have three competitions and can fight for three titles. When we start this season, at this time now, March 1, no one expected that. The team is going great."
Forwards Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford are quickly adapting to Aston Villa's style and growing in confidence, manager Unai Emery said after they linked-up again to lead the club into the FA Cup quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City.
Rashford set up fellow January singing Asensio for the opener against English second-tier side Cardiff at Villa Park on Friday, having also assisted the Spaniard for both his goals in their 2-1 last-gasp Premier League home win over Chelsea earlier this month.
England international Rashford is on loan from Manchester United while Asensio has joined from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the season.
"They are adapting of the structure ...," Emery told reporters.
"They have a lot of skills to add in our structure, helping us like they are doing. They are scoring goals and getting assists for their teammates, playing in our structure and feeling comfortable.
"They're getting more confidence. It's important how every player is trying to support and to help in our structure, getting us as strong as possible."
Emery said it was important to enjoy the moment as Villa entered the FA Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 10 years, but he did not consider his side the outright favourites to win the title with Manchester City, Man United and Newcastle United still in the competition.
"We know this competition is a way for a trophy, a way for Wembley, a way for Europa League and prestige for the club and the supporters are excited and motivated to try and share this opportunity with us," Emery said.
Villa next take a trip to Belgian side Club Brugge for the Champions League round of 16 first leg tie on Tuesday.
Burnley players refused to shake hands with Preston North-End striker Milutin Osmajic during their FA Cup fifth-round clash on Saturday as a sign of solidarity with teammate Hannibal Mejbri.
The Burnley midfielder accused Osmajic of racially abusing him when the two sides met in the Championship earlier this month.
"I will not be silent about what happened today," Mejbri wrote on social media post-match.
"I will always call out racism whenever I hear or see it. That is the only way we change as a sport and a society. I am a strong person but nobody should have to experience this disgusting abuse on the pitch."
Osmajic "strongly refuted" the claims per a statement released by Preston and the incident is being investigated by the English Football Association.
The rancor stemming from the incident carried into their FA Cup meeting on Saturday, where none of the Burnley players put their hands forward to Osmajic during the pre-match handshakes. Mejbri was fit to play at Deepdale but Burnley boss Scott Parker said he left him out of the squad to "protect" his wellbeing.
After realising he was going to be shunned by the Burnley squad, Osmajic walked past the line without any interaction.
The forward went on to score Preston's second goal in their 3-0 win and celebrated by cupping his hands around his ears to mock the away fans.
Spanish footballer Nico Hidalgo has died aged 32 following a lengthy battle with lung cancer, his former clubs said on Saturday.
Hidalgo, a midfielder, began his career at Motril, making his senior debut in 2010, before moving to Granada B in 2012.
He then joined Serie A giants Juventus in 2014, although he did not make a first-team appearance and would be immediately loaned back to Granada.
He was later loaned to Cadiz, who he joined permanently in 2017. He also played for Racing Santander and Extremadura.
Hidalgo was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 and retired the following year.
"With Nico's departure, not only is an excellent footballer gone, but also a great person. But the affection of his teammates, coaches, workers, directors and fans will always be present," Granada said in a statement.
"We will never forget your smile and your joy. Your fight is our inspiration. Rest in peace." Cadiz said in a statement posted to X.
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is "conscious" after being taken to hospital following a wildly reckless challenge from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts just eight minutes into Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round clash.
Palace chairman Steve Parish confirmed to the BBC at half-time that Mateta had a gash behind his ear and was at a local hospital receiving further treatment as he expressed his anger at the tackle, which saw Roberts sent off.
After the match, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said that Mateta is "conscious."
"He's conscious and he's in hospital, but his ear obviously looks terrible. [It's a] very serious injury, so of course we hope all the best for him and let's see," Glasner said.
Roberts rushed outside the 18-yard box and leaped to clear a long ball but his high left-footed follow-through struck Mateta in the side of the face.
Mateta remained on the ground for several minutes and needed lengthy medical treatment before he was fitted with a neck brace and carried off the field toward an ambulance.
"In all the time I've been watching football I don't think I've ever seen a worse challenge. If you're kicking someone in the head then you don't know what damage may have been done," Parish said.
Referee Michael Oliver initially did not even show Roberts a yellow card despite being only a few yards away from the incident but then brandished a straight red after being called over by VAR to review the incident on a pitchside monitor.
"They're professionals and they have to treat each other like professionals and have a duty of care for your fellow professionals," Parish said.
"That keeper has not had one [duty of care]. Credit to the players carrying on and it is difficult for me to think about anything else with JP [Mateta] in hospital.
"In all the time I've watched football, someone mentioned there was one like it in the World Cup in 1982.
"Why the referee [Michael Oliver] needed to go to the screen I have got no idea."
Mateta is Palace's leading scorer with 12 Premier League goals this season. Despite his lack of firepower up front for the remainder of the match, Palace still earned a 3-1 victory over the 10-man Millwall side.
"Maybe we are not really happy today. We can't be really happy," Glasner added.
"Of course, it's a great win in going into the quarterfinals, but when you lose a player, especially with a foul like this, you have two different feelings in your stomach."
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
McSweeney, Scott and Thornton end South Australia's 13-year trophy wait
South Australia 268 for 7 (Nielsen 68, Lehmann 67, Scott 54*, Siddle 3-40, Sutherland 3-67) beat Victoria 204 (Sutherland 50, Thornton 4-27, McAndrew 3-47) by 64 runs
Victoria were bowled out for 204 in 43.3 overs in reply at Adelaide Oval as SA captured their first 50-over trophy since 2011/12.
Victoria's run chase, with Marcus Harris flying on 41 from 42 balls, was well on track at 74 for 1 in the 14th over. But McSweeney, who hadn't taken a wicket all tournament with his gentle offspin, then provided an unlikely - and decisive - turn.
Harris gave himself room to hit McSweeney through the offside, but smacked the ball straight to Jason Sangha at cover. In his next over, McSweeney dismissed dangerman Peter Handscomb for 1. The SA captain instinctively flung his right hand at a lofted straight drive, parried the ball, and completed a stunning catch on the second grab.
In SA's innings, Nielsen top-scored with 68 from 93 balls, Lehmann made 67 from 75 and allrounder Scott, the player of the tournament, finished with a flourish with an unbeaten 54 from 37 deliveries.
Victorian captain Sutherland took three of the initial four wickets and veteran Peter Siddle claimed 3 for 40.
SA made a solid start with openers Nielsen and Mackenzie Harvey putting on 44 runs before Sutherland struck in the eighth over. Harvey, who hit two fours and a six in his 23 from 23 balls, chopped on to his stumps when attempting to force through the off-side.
Sutherland claimed Daniel Drew in the 14th over and McSweeney soon followed. When Sangha fell to Sutherland, SA were wobbling 118 for 4 in the 26th over, before Nielsen and Lehmann steadied with a 56-run partnership.
Lehmann later combined with Scott for a brisk 67-run stand, with the latter reaching his half-century from 36 balls in a flurry featuring seven fours and a six.
Vidarbha's one hand on the Ranji Trophy after Nair's 132*
Vidarbha 379 and 249 for 4 (Nair 132*, Malewar 73) lead Kerala 342 (Baby 98, Sarwate 79, Nalkande 3-52, Rekhade 3-65, Dubey 3-88) by 286 runs
Two seasons on, Nair is at the forefront of Vidarbha's charge to a third Ranji Trophy title, having batted all day to construct an unbeaten 132, his 23rd first-class century and fourth first-class century of the season. It helped stretch Vidarbha's lead to 286 at stumps, but crucially they still have six wickets remaining. If Nair does lift the trophy, it'll be his third - his first two were with Karnataka in his first two seasons, 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Malewar and Nair put on 182 for the third wicket - Malewar making 73 to go with his superb 153 in the first innings - to defuse any tension there might have been in the Vidarbha camp after they lost Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey inside the first three overs. Rekhade was bowled through the gate by Jalaj Saxena's in-drift, and Shorey was out to Mohammed Azharuddeen's brilliance as he dived full stretch to pluck a healthy edge in front of first slip to give MD Nidheesh an early wicket.
Kerala could have had a third very quickly, but Malewar was aided by luck when DRS deemed a not-out lbw decision off Saxena to be umpire's call. It was the start of a frustrating few hours for Kerala, where they dropped a sitter of a big-match player, two of their frontline seamers - Nidheesh and N Basil - received warnings twice for running onto the danger area of the pitch and then saw two healthy nicks off Saxena, their most prolific and in-form spinner, go through a vacant slip cordon when the need of the hour was to attack, not defend. All these factors combined to give Vidarbha the push they needed.
In the seventh over of the day, Malewar survived again, this time overturning an lbw call on DRS after being given out to Nidheesh, with replays showing the ball swung in late and would have missed leg stump. Things were happening quickly, and Kerala should have remained on the offensive. They didn't and paid the price.
Nair was good enough to pick gaps through the cover as Kerala left the off side open to have him drive against the turn. His ability to mix that up by playing a superb reverse sweep all along the ground made him a tough prospect to bowl at. Malewar's temperament stood out as he absorbed the pressure from Saxena and played largely within himself until he got to his half-century and then stepped out to play a glorious drive over mid-off.
As the partnership grew, Kerala resorted to a leg-stump line briefly to try to unsettle the batters. But given Vidarbha were sitting pretty with a lead, realisation dawned for Kerala that they needed to be a little more on the offensive, by which time the pair had already put on 100 runs.
Nair survived on 65 when a leading edge off Saxena didn't carry to the bowler, and he responded by offsetting any pressure by playing the reverse sweep. En route, he went past the 800-run mark for the season and charged into the 80s by hitting Aditya Sarwate for two back-to-back sixes - one over long-on and long-off. As he brought up his century, Nair dropped his bat, removed his gloves and showed two palms towards the dressing room - a symbolic gesture to signal his nine hundreds across the season - before taking guard and continuing to blunt the bowling.
Then a sharp tuner from Sarwate spun back in to trap him lbw, a decision that Kerala got overturned in their favour through the DRS. But moments like those were far and few amid a largely frustrating day for Kerala, whose hopes of a maiden title seem all but gone, with them needing a miracle to make a match of this on the final day.
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
DC eye playoff spot as they opt to bowl against RCB
Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bowl vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning won the toss and elected to bowl against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final game of the Bengaluru leg of WPL 2025. If DC win tonight, they will confirm their place in the playoffs.
Smriti Mandhana wanted to bowl as well and hoped to get their "first win at home" this season. RCB made one change to the XI that lost against Gujarat Giants, with left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht replacing legspinner Prema Rawat.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bist, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Kim Garth, 10 Ekta Bisht, 11 Renuka Singh
Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Minnu Mani, 10 Shikha Pandey, 11 Shree Charani
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