I Dig Sports
The Indianapolis 500 isn’t called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing for no reason. Every year 33 of the greatest racers in the world converge on Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete for the honor to be called Indianapolis 500 champion.
Everyone remembers the winners – Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and more – but we don’t always remember the drivers who competed in the Indianapolis 500.
Today and every day until the 103rd Indianapolis 500 we take a look at 10 drivers you may have forgotten competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Indianapolis 500.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety after a high hit that helped take Sharks forward Tomas Hertl out of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, according to a source.
In the first period, Barbashev cut across the middle of the ice and caught Hertl as he skated down the rink. Hertl's head snapped back on impact. Although the Sharks center would remain in the game and play through the second period, he didn't take a shift in the third period -- one of three key players missing for San Jose as they tried, and failed, to rally in the Blues' eventual 5-0 victory to take a 3-2 series lead.
The Barbashev hit on Hertl.#SJSharks #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/kAXPyjo3Ma
— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) May 19, 2019
There was no penalty on the play.
San Jose coach Peter DeBoer called the play "an arguably five-minute major on Tommy Hertl that, if it's called, maybe that's a momentum-changing play right there."
A source told ESPN that establishing that Hertl's head was the main point of contact on the hit was difficult, considering that Barbashev also connected with Hertl's arms and shoulder. There also was a question on whether the force of the hit was enough to warrant supplemental discipline, even if it might have been enough for a penalty in the game.
The decision not to give Barbashev a hearing probably won't sit well with the Sharks, who already feel that the Blues avoided a suspension on Sammy Blais's hit to the head of San Jose defenseman Justin Braun back in Game 3. Forward Logan Couture went as far as to say that the lack of punishment on that hit opened the door for this one to occur.
"I saw the Hertl hit. Just watched the replay. Yeah, that's a tough one. But they had one in Game 3 on Braun and nothing happened, so they can do it again, right?" he said after the Game 5 loss.
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Elite women's hockey players have announced the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association -- a united front of some American, Canadian and European players which will serve as "a vehicle to support the creation of a single, viable women's pro league in North America."
The PWHPA includes stars like Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight of Team USA and Shannon Szabados, Marie-Philip Poulin of Team Canada and Noora Raty of Finland -- as well as the nearly 200 professional women's hockey players who have announced they are not playing in a league next season until they are provided with better financial support and resources, as well as stronger health insurance.
The PWHA will help those players navigate training needs as well as help them land support from sponsors.
"We are fortunate to be ambassadors of this beautiful game, and it's our responsibility to make sure the next generation of players have more opportunities than we had," Coyne Schofield said in a statement. "It's time to stand together and work to create a viable league that will allow us to enjoy the benefits of our hard work."
The PWHPA is receiving pro bono support from the law firm Ballard Spahr, which has also advised the U.S. women's national team in its dispute over equitable support with USA Hockey.
The women's hockey landscape has endured major upheaval over the past two months. In late March, the Canadian Women's Hockey League made the stunning announcement that it was shutting down, citing a business model that "has proven to be economically unstable." The news came a week after the league's Clarkson Cup had a record 175,000 fans tune in as the CWHL brokered a last-minute deal with the NHL Network to stream the game to a United States audience.
The U.S.-based National Women's Hockey League is the only remaining league in North America, but the 200 players announcing they would not play in any league next season is an indictment on the NWHL's reputation. The NWHL also had a successful season last year, including seeing the All-Star game in Nashville, Tennessee draw 6,200 fans -- the largest crowd for a pro women's hockey game in the United States. There were also encouraging attendance figures, including the Minnesota Whitecaps, in their first NWHL season as an expansion team selling out every home game. (TRIA Rink in Saint Paul has a capacity of 1,200).
Even though the NWHL has promised to increase salaries for the 2019-20 season -- the lowest salary last year was $2,500 -- and give players a 50-50 cut of all revenue from league-level sponsorship and media deals, many players have expressed skepticism of the league's viability, as well as frustration with the lack of transparency that has existed in the past.
Terry and Kim Pegula, who also own the NHL Sabres, turned over their ownership of the Buffalo Beauts this offseason, effectively cutting ties with the NWHL. Also, the New Jersey Devils dissolved their marketing partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters.
The NWHL still insists it will have a 2019-20 season. Monday, the NWHL announced its first two player signings. Madison Packer re-signed with the Riveters for a salary of $12,000 while Kaleigh Fratkin re-signed with the Boston Pride for a salary of $11,000.
The hope for the PWHPA is to make the women's hockey community less fragmented.
"We are prepared to stop playing for a year -- which is crushing to even think about -- because of how important a sustainable league will be to the future of women's sports," Szabados said in a statement. "We know we can make this work, and we want the chance to try."
Added Raty in a statement: "We might play for different teams, and come from different countries, but we're united in our goals."
Privately, the NHL is exploring its options on whether or not it should sponsor a women's hockey league. Thee NHL is considering an option that is similar to the NBA's involvement with the WNBA, according to sources.
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KOSICE, Slovakia -- The Brits will be back.
Ben Davis scored 2:03 into overtime for Great Britain to complete an unlikely comeback and edge France 4-3 to avoid relegation at the expense of the French at the ice hockey world championship on Monday.
Britain's return to the top division after 25 years looked short-lived after it was defeated in its previous six group games and was 3-0 down in the middle period.
The British fought back with a couple of goals from Robert Dowd and Mike Hammond in the second frame. Robert Farmer tied it in the final frame, forcing overtime.
Great Britain will now get to compete at next year's worlds in Switzerland.
In Group B, Dennis Rasmussen scored the winner into an empty net with 34 seconds remaining for Sweden to beat Latvia 5-4.
Latvia needed a win in regulation to keep alive hopes for a quarterfinal spot in the Group B game in Bratislava. After Roberts Bukarts tied the game for Latvia at 4-all with 3:24 remaining in the final period to complete his hat trick, the Latvians pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker.
Latvia's loss confirmed the four quarterfinalists from Group B: Leader Russia, the two-time defending champion Swedes and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
Elias Pettersson, Adrian Kempe, Anton Lander and Patric Hornqvist had a goal each for the Swedes. William Nylander had two assists to lead the scoring table with 15 points.
Canada plays Denmark in Group A later Monday, while Austria faces Italy in another relegation match in Group B.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Blues push Sharks to the brink
Published in
Hockey
Monday, 20 May 2019 05:04
The San Jose Sharks are on the brink of elimination yet again. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues are one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970, which was their third year of existence.
Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for Tuesday night, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:
Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars
Play of the night | Social post of the day
About last night ...
Game 5: St. Louis Blues 5, San Jose Sharks 0 (Blues lead the series 3-2)
The Sharks started out strong and had a few early looks. But then things went sideways: San Jose couldn't get one in while the Blues -- the best road team in these playoffs, now 7-2 away from home -- capitalized. St. Louis amped things up in the second period, outshooting the Sharks 20-6. St. Louis has now outscored San Jose 7-1 since the controversial hand pass play that ended Game 3.
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer admitted his team lost his composure in the third, especially when Joe Pavelski got hit high and had to exit the game.
Pavelski to the locker room after this hit #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/sabOojxJ1K
- Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 19, 2019
Pavelski was one of four players -- which also included the hobbled Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, the team's second-leading goal scorer -- who ended up in the locker room before the final whistle.
Three stars
1. Jaden Schwartz, LW, St. Louis Blues. Schwartz didn't have the regular season he wanted, scoring only 11 goals, less than half of his 2017-18 total. He's compensating for it with a monster postseason. With his second postseason hat trick, Schwartz now has 12 goals in 18 games.
That makes Schwartz only the third player in NHL history to score more goals in the postseason than the regular season (minimum 10 goals regular season). The other two? Claude Lemieux in 1996-97 and Marian Gaborik in 2013-14.
2. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, St. Louis Blues. There was some discourse early in these playoffs about Tarasenko not being engaged. He's one of the purest goal scorers in the NHL, and he has been engaged lately, all right. He became the first Blues player in team history to successfully score a penalty shot in the playoffs, and tacked on two more assists to extend his point streak to five games.
3. Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues. By stopping all 21 shots, Binnington posted his first shutout of the postseason, and seventh playoff road win. That matches Matt Murray for the second most by a rookie goalie in NHL history. Only Ron Hextall (eight in 1987) had more.
Play of the night
OH BABY!!!!! #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/DQJPMzDFKS
- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 19, 2019
Tarasenko's sick release on full display here. Martin Jones didn't stand a chance.
Dud of the night
Erik Karlsson hobbling around on one leg. Karlsson was laboring just to skate, and we wonder if he should have started Game 5, or if he'll be available for Game 6 considering he couldn't finish the game.
Interesting comments from DeBoer on Karlsson. To paraphrase: You go with the information based on what the player and the medical staff tell you for the game, but in hindsight there's regret having played him.
- Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 19, 2019
Social post of the day
Barbie's got some moves.
Quotable
"I think the Winter Classic was probably one of those, wanting to look back, a turning point. I think that whole 'Peaky Blinders' theme really brought the guys together." -- Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, on the inspiration for the Bruins (and many, many other NHL players) to add "newsboy" caps to their Amazon carts.
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After successfully defending a major title (again), Brooks Koepka is back atop the Official World Golf Ranking.
Koepka teed off at Bethpage ranked No. 3 in the world, but after retaining the Wanamaker Trophy he moved to the top spot even though former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished alone in second. It marks the first time Koepka has held the No. 1 ranking since the start of the year, as it has been a split between Johnson and Justin Rose for the 20 weeks of the year.
But now it's Koepka followed by Johnson, with Rose down one spot to No. 3. The rest of the top 10 remained the same after the second major of the year: Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler.
Other notable moves following the PGA include Jordan Spieth, who jumped nine spots to No. 30 with his first top-10 finish in nearly a year. Patrick Cantlay rose from 17th to 14th after a T-3 result, while the same finish pushed Matt Wallace from 31st to 25th.
Luke List struggled to a final-round 74, but his sixth-place finish still had repercussions since it helped him move up 18 spots to No. 58. That ascent was timely given that the top 60 in the world rankings this week are exempt into next month's U.S. Open and can skip a trip to sectionals. Others inside the cutoff include No. 59 Chez Reavie and No. 60 Abraham Ancer, while AT&T Byron Nelson winner Sung Kang jumped another 14 spots with his seventh-place finish but is on the outside looking in at No. 61.
Jazz Janewattananond, who made headlines while testing the oratorical skills of TV announcers, jumped three spots to No. 69 in the world after a T-14 finish. The top 60 from the June 10 rankings will also receive spots at Pebble Beach if not otherwise exempt.
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Three-peat, anyone?
With another successful title defense secured, Brooks Koepka now sets his sights on a fifth major victory – and a little piece of history at next month's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Koepka won his first major title two years ago at Erin Hills, and he won again last summer at Shinnecock Hills. Looking to become the first to win three in a row since Willie Anderson from 1903-05, Koepka was installed as a 5/1 betting favorite for Pebble when the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook published odds once the final putt dropped at Bethpage.
For perspective, Koepka opened at 14/1 to win the PGA when odds were published following the Masters, and he was bet down to 10/1 by the time tournament week rolled around.
Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner at Pebble who nearly captured the U.S. Open there in 2010, is next on the odds sheet, followed by Masters champ Tiger Woods. Here's a look at odds on several of the possible contenders, with another major less than a month away:
5/1: Brooks Koepka
8/1: Dustin Johnson
12/1: Tiger Woods
14/1: Rory McIlroy
16/1: Justin Rose
20/1: Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth
25/1: Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari
30/1: Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay
40/1: Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott
50/1: Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed
60/1: Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Webb Simpson
80/1: Marc Leishman, Gary Woodland
100/1: Matt Wallace, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner, Branden Grace, Ian Poulter, Cameron Smith, Lucas Glover
125/1: Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson, Si Woo Kim, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jim Furyk, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Daniel Berger
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SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. – Helen Alfredsson won the U.S. Senior Women's Open by two strokes.
Alfredsson shot an even-par 72 at Pine Needles on Sunday to finish at 1-over 285 and earn her first USGA title.
The 54-year-old Swede earned $180,000 in prize money for this victory along with a 10-year exemption into the event and an invitation to next year's U.S. Women's Open in Charleston, South Carolina.
She began the final round tied with Trish Johnson, who finished third last year at Chicago Golf Club and slipped with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14. Alfredsson closed her round with 13 consecutive pars.
Johnson and Juli Inkster finished two strokes back.
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PGA Championship purse payout: Koepka earns nearly $2 million
Published in
Golf
Monday, 20 May 2019 01:51
Brooks Koepka won his second straight PGA Championship and collected nearly $2 million in the process. Here's a look at how the purse was paid out at Bethpage Black.
| 1 | Brooks Koepka | -8 | $1,980,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Dustin Johnson | -6 | $1,188,000 |
| T3 | Jordan Spieth | -2 | $575,500 |
| T3 | Patrick Cantlay | -2 | $575,500 |
| T3 | Matt Wallace | -2 | $575,500 |
| 6 | Luke List | -1 | $380,000 |
| 7 | Sung Kang | E | $343,650 |
| T8 | Gary Woodland | 1 | $264,382 |
| T8 | Matt Kuchar | 1 | $264,382 |
| T8 | Rory McIlroy | 1 | $264,382 |
| T8 | Shane Lowry | 1 | $264,382 |
| T8 | Erik van Rooyen | 1 | $264,382 |
| T8 | Adam Scott | 1 | $264,382 |
| T14 | Chez Reavie | 2 | $191,665 |
| T14 | Jazz Janewattananond | 2 | $191,665 |
| T16 | Brandt Snedeker | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Mike Lorenzo-Vera | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Abraham Ancer | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Lucas Bjerregaard | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Lucas Glover | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Xander Schauffele | 3 | $143,100 |
| T16 | Hideki Matsuyama | 3 | $143,100 |
| T23 | Thomas Pieters | 4 | $91,000 |
| T23 | Jason Kokrak | 4 | $91,000 |
| T23 | Billy Horschel | 4 | $91,000 |
| T23 | Emiliano Grillo | 4 | $91,000 |
| T23 | Jason Day | 4 | $91,000 |
| T23 | Jimmy Walker | 4 | $91,000 |
| T29 | Paul Casey | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Graeme McDowell | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Keegan Bradley | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Webb Simpson | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Adam Hadwin | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Sam Burns | 5 | $65,000 |
| T29 | Justin Rose | 5 | $65,000 |
| T36 | Beau Hossler | 6 | $48,200 |
| T36 | Li Haotong | 6 | $48,200 |
| T36 | Danny Lee | 6 | $48,200 |
| T36 | Rickie Fowler | 6 | $48,200 |
| T36 | Harold Varner III | 6 | $48,200 |
| T41 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Charles Howell III | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Aaron Wise | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Adam Long | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Scott Piercy | 7 | $36,036 |
| T41 | Danny Willett | 7 | $36,036 |
| T48 | Henrik Stenson | 8 | $26,250 |
| T48 | Kelly Kraft | 8 | $26,250 |
| T48 | Bronson Burgoon | 8 | $26,250 |
| T48 | Francesco Molinari | 8 | $26,250 |
| T48 | Tyrrell Hatton | 8 | $26,250 |
| T48 | Tommy Fleetwood | 8 | $26,250 |
| T54 | Charley Hoffman | 9 | $22,850 |
| T54 | Justin Harding | 9 | $22,850 |
| T54 | Alexander Noren | 9 | $22,850 |
| T54 | Cameron Champ | 9 | $22,850 |
| T54 | J.J. Spaun | 9 | $22,850 |
| T54 | Zach Johnson | 9 | $22,850 |
| T60 | Ross Fisher | 10 | $21,300 |
| T60 | Rob Labritz | 10 | $21,300 |
| T60 | J.T. Poston | 10 | $21,300 |
| T60 | Louis Oosthuizen | 10 | $21,300 |
| T64 | Max Homa | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Joost Luiten | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Corey Conners | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Kurt Kitayama | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Cameron Smith | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Thorbjorn Olesen | 11 | $20,200 |
| T64 | Tony Finau | 11 | $20,200 |
| T71 | David Lipsky | 12 | $19,250 |
| T71 | Rafael Cabrera Bello | 12 | $19,250 |
| T71 | Lucas Herbert | 12 | $19,250 |
| T71 | Phil Mickelson | 12 | $19,250 |
| T71 | Daniel Berger | 12 | $19,250 |
| T71 | Joel Dahmen | 12 | $19,250 |
| 77 | Kevin Tway | 13 | $18,900 |
| T78 | Andrew Putnam | 14 | $18,750 |
| T78 | Pat Perez | 14 | $18,750 |
| T80 | Rich Beem | 15 | $18,550 |
| T80 | Ryan Vermeer | 15 | $18,550 |
| 82 | Marty Jertson | 19 | $18,400 |
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