I Dig Sports
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Inclement weather failed to put a damper on the final day of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship testing at the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona Intl Speedway.
While the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s remained in the Daytona International Speedway garages during a rainy one-hour concluding session for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, the two customer 963s fielded by Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports topped the timing screens.
Neel Jani posted the days best lap of 1 minute, 45.433 seconds (121.556 miles per hour) in Protons No. 5 Porsche, just surpassing Gianmaria Brunis 1:45.879 (121.044 mph) in JDC-Millers similar No. 85 car.
Jack Aitken filled out the top three in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, while Sheldon van der Linde continued BMWs impressive form in the lead-up to next weekends Rolex 24 At Daytona by logging the fourth-best time in the wet conditions.
Janis lap was almost exactly 10 seconds off the fastest lap of the three-day Roar test, a 1:35.424 (134.306 mph) effort turned in on Friday afternoon by Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.
Forty-one of the 61 cars entered for next weekends twice-around-the-clock contest turned laps Sunday in a 60-minute session that was delayed more than two hours when a thunderstorm brought track activity to a halt.
We decided to drive because we have not had any experience yet in Daytona in the wet with that car, said Jani, a 41-year-old from Switzerland. We were trying it out and gathering data to see how the tire develops and how tire pressures develop, especially on the banking.
In the beginning it was a bit drier and there were some dry patches in the (Le Mans) chicane, but afterwards the conditions got worse, he added. But it was a very interesting session for us, just in terms of learning in the various conditions. Next week, it looks like on qualifying day it could be wet; this way we already have a bit of experience.
The wet track contributed to a handful of spins in Turn 1, but there were no crashes as drivers took care to not damage their cars prior to race weekend.
When there is no standing water, there is actually good grip because there is not a lot of rubber down, Jani said. But when it rains a lot, theres a big danger of aquaplaning. Turn 1 is definitely a tricky one, because if you cross the rubber line, its very slippery. And Turn 1 has a lot of rubber everywhere! So you have to find that two-meter gap somewhere in that line that has the grip. As soon as you miss that line, it gets fairly tricky.
Paul Di Resta (No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) paced the 10 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) entries that elected to practice in the wet. His 1:49.870 lap works out to a 116.647 mph average and was 0.6 second up on Mikkel Jensen in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA.
Ollie Millroy in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 was fastest among all Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class competitors at 1:57.033 (109.507 mph). The fastest GTD PRO entry was the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, with Alexander Sims clocking 1:57.672 (108.913 mph).
In continued damp but improving conditions later Saturday afternoon, the seventh and final session of the weekend was reserved for Bronze-rated drivers. That produced a handful of off-course excursions but nothing major.
Dan Goldberg led LMP2 in the seventh session in the aforementioned No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA, with a best time of 1 minute, 40.613 seconds (127.379 mph), which was ultimately the fastest lap of the day.
Anthony McIntosh (No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) led GTD at 1:48.459 (118.164 mph) and Kenny Habul (No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3) led GTD PRO at 1:48.756 (117.841 mph).
The field for the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be set on Thursday, Jan. 23, prior to the race on Saturday, Jan. 25.
It was a career-best Chili Bowl performance for Daison Pursley Saturday night inside the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Okla., as he finished second.
However, Pursley was left with disappointment as NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson wired the field, leading all 40 laps of the feature to snag his third Golden Driller in the historic event.
While Larson was the class of the field, Pursley believes he could still match Larsons pace.
Yeah, disappointing. I mean, just sucks, Pursley began. Kyles one of the best. You give him the front row like that and hes hard to beat.
I dont feel like he was any faster than us or anything. He just started up front. Track position I feel like is everything in this building.
Starting from third, Pursley hounded the back bumper of Larsons No. 1k throughout the event.
In fact, the door swung open for the CB Industries driver with four laps to go as Larson slapped the outside wall hard as he rode the right-rear tire on it momentarily before Pursley came darting to his outside in turn one.
Before completing the pass, however, the caution flag waved due to the signage on the frontstretch wall littering the race track from Larsons key moment.
The field would reset as Larson would hang on for the final laps.
I had plenty of chances and never really got to capitalize on it, Pursley said.
So, it sucks that the banner got ripped off there and had to draw the yellow because I felt like I was gonna drive around him that corner. Just wasnt close enough to capitalize on his mistakes.
Nothing to hang our heads about. Just been second in this building all week, so, it kinda sucks.
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid and Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers will have disciplinary hearings with the league for their actions in the Canucks' 3-2 win over the Oilers on Saturday.
The NHL's player safety department said hearings for both players will occur on Monday afternoon.
The pair are facing potential suspensions after drawing match penalties during the chaotic closing seconds of the game in Vancouver.
Multiple scrums erupted, and McDavid was penalized for cross-checking Vancouver's Conor Garland, while Myers was penalized for cross-checking Edmonton's Evan Bouchard.
McDavid, 28, has 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) through 43 games. The three-time Hart Trophy winner earned 15 penalty minutes Saturday after entering the night with only 14 on the season.
"Connor gets frustrated, and he gets his stick up," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He's frustrated because we're down one goal and the best player in the league is getting held for 15 seconds."
McDavid's only suspension so far in his 10-year career was a two-game ban in February 2019 after an illegal check to the head against New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy.
Myers, 34, has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) and 54 penalty minutes -- including 17 on Saturday -- through 45 games.
Myers previously was suspended three games for boarding in 2012 and three games for a hit to the head in 2014.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
Kylian Mbappé admitted he is now close to his best after scoring twice in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Las Palmas on Sunday, saying "I've adapted to the team now, and I can play as I want."
Madrid went behind inside the first minute at the Bernabéu, before Mbappé responded from the penalty spot, Brahim Díaz added a second, and Mbappé scored a third, and had another goal disallowed for offside.
Rodrygo made it 4-1 in the second half, while Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde both had goals ruled out by VAR, as Madrid went two points clear at the top of LaLiga.
"I'm really happy," Mbappé told Real Madrid TV, when asked about the Bernabéu crowd chanting his name during the game. "I've adapted to the team now and I can play as I want, with my teammates, with personality. We're all enjoying it."
Mbappé faced criticism for his form earlier in the season, but has now scored 18 goals in all competitions, including four in his last three appearances this week.
Madrid's comeback win saw them take advantage of slip-ups from Atletico Madrid -- who lost 1-0 at Leganés -- and Barcelona, who drew 1-1 at Getafe.
"It was an important game, we knew what had happened yesterday, with Atletico and Barcelona," Mbappé said. "We wanted to win, and we did. We started badly... but the reaction was 'top'.
"We were on the front foot, playing fast, attacking the spaces with quality. We scored a lot of goals. We're happy, because we're leaders."
The win over Las Palmas was a convincing response to losing 5-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final, and needing extra time to beat Celta Vigo in midweek in the Copa del Rey.
"I'm proud of [the team's] reaction," Mbappé said. "Losing the Supercopa was tough, and although we played well in the cup, we made mistakes and went to extra time. But we had the personality to win. Today was very important. Now we depend on ourselves to win the league."
Coach Carlo Ancelotti suggested criticism of Madrid's form has been excessive.
"I'm still a bit confused," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "There are days when we've played very badly, but what I see is that Madrid are leaders. I'll keep studying, to see if I'm mistaken."
"There's criticism and then there's criticism," Ancelotti added. "Whistles from the Bernabéu hurt, and motivate us. It was a useful wake-up call."
Ancelotti praised Mbappé as "the best centre forward in the world."
"People doubted if he could play there," he said. "He's a great forward, who feels comfortable in the middle. His movement is unique, and playing inside, he can make the most of it."
Everton's blistering first-half display secured a 3-2 win over a woeful Tottenham Hotspur side as David Moyes earned his first victory since returning for a second spell as manager at Goodison Park on Sunday, piling more misery on the visitors.
Needing to get back to winning ways after picking up one in their previous 12 league matches, Everton took the game to their troubled opponents, racing into a two-goal lead inside 30 minutes through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye.
Calvert-Lewin's fine finish was the first time his team had scored in a league game since Boxing Day, ending his own 16-match barren run stretching back to September.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs in first-half stoppage time as young Archie Gray put through his own net to ensure Everton scored as many goals within one half of football as in their previous seven games in all competitions.
Goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison caused the home fans some concern late on but the hosts survived to record a win that moved 16th-placed Everton four points clear of the bottom three and within four of sorry Spurs who are one place higher.
"I'm delighted with how we went today, we needed a win for the lads and the club," Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports.
"Everything clicked today. You go through periods where you're not hitting the back of net or getting the rub of the green. We were defensively solid and built from that."
Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images
On paper, this encounter looked like the perfect platform for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side to start to turn around their faltering season, which remarkably sees them looking over their shoulders at the drop zone rather than up the table.
Spurs had lost one of their previous 24 games at Goodison Park prior to Sunday's trip north, while they have won more points from Everton than against any other Premier League team.
Everton have only just sacked their manager Sean Dyche as they again find themselves battling relegation, failing to even score in nine of their previous 11 league matches
You would not have thought it was Everton struggling for goals though as Calvert-Lewin twisted and turned the Spurs backline inside out before opening the scoring 13 minutes in.
Ndiaye, one of the few bright attacking sparks for Everton this term, compounded Spurs' misery with another fine finish on the half-hour mark after bamboozling Radu Dragusin as the hosts continued to bombard the beleaguered Antonin Kinsky's goal.
Tottenham's Gray was then unfortunate to put through his own net after James Tarkowski headed the ball back across the area.
The visitors dominated possession after the break and at least gave themselves a chance of getting something from the match after Kulusevski's fine lofted finish before Richarlison, against his former club, slid the ball home in stoppage time.
The close scoreline, however, flattered injury-hit Spurs, whose season continues to lurch from one crisis to the next.
It was Tottenham's 12th Premier League loss this term, making it only the sixth campaign in which they have lost as many as 12 games in their first 22 matches of a league season.
"It is a difficult result," Spurs coach Postecoglou told Sky Sports. "We struggled to really get in the game in the first half and that gave Everton and momentum.
"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb but the players certainly tried to claw the game back but we just fell short. We couldn't really take control of the game. We had some chances where we probably should have capitalised early on, but in the end it wasn't enough."
Ruben Amorim has said his Manchester United team might be the worst in the club's history following their 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
United failed to register a shot on target in open play as Brighton dominated at Old Trafford.
The result means Amorim has already suffered four home Premier League defeats since taking over as manager from Erik ten Hag, who was sacked at the end of October.
"We are getting a new coach who is losing more than the last coach," Amorim said. "I have full knowledge of that. I am not going to change, no matter what.
"I know we can succeed but we need to survive this moment. I am not naive. We need to survive now. We are the worst team, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.
"I know you want headlines but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go: your headlines."
After two positive results against Liverpool and Arsenal, Amorim said he would learn more about his players during the games against Southampton and Brighton.
United survived a huge scare against Southampton, the Premier League's bottom team, before winning 3-1 but were comprehensively beaten by Brighton.
Amorim has now lost seven of his 15 games since being appointed. United are 13th in the table, five places and 10 points above the relegation places.
"Everybody here is underperforming, no matter what the circumstances, we are underperforming and have to accept that," Amorim said.
"It's unacceptable to lose so many games. For any Premier League club, imagine Manchester United. So it's a really hard moment but we have to continue, we have to continue, there is no other way. We need to suffer and continue."
Out-of-form Brighton ease to win at Man United, and it shocked absolutely no one
MANCHESTER, England -- The most shocking aspect of Manchester United's dismal 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday is that there was little surprise at all.
Anyone who watched the first 80 minutes against Southampton -- the Premier League's worst team -- on Thursday will have worried about what Brighton might do at Old Trafford. And in that sense, the Seagulls leaving Manchester as comfortable winners was entirely predictable.
United managed to rally themselves against Southampton to eventually win 3-1. There was no repeat against Brighton and, if anything, the visitors could have won more handsomely. They scored three, had another ruled out through VAR and squandered chances at the end.
Manager Ruben Amorim has been keen to take responsibility for what is an awful run of results onto his own shoulders, but this is not a new phenomenon. Brighton have won their past three games at Old Trafford under three different managers. The problem isn't Amorim, it's the situation he has inherited.
"We have to acknowledge the moment and not go around the problem," Amorim said afterward. "Everybody here is underperforming; no matter what the circumstances, we are underperforming and have to accept that.
"It's unacceptable to lose so many games. For any Premier League club, but imagine Manchester United. So it's a really hard moment, but we have to continue, there is no other way. We need to suffer and continue."
The most damning thing for United is that Brighton didn't even need to be that good. They arrived at Old Trafford having won just one of their past nine league games. But instead of looking out of form and out of sorts, they sauntered to victory.
The last time Brighton scored three in a league game was in October against Tottenham Hotspur's notoriously leaky defence.
"We are not surprised," Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said. "We haven't been getting the results that maybe we deserved.
"We had a very mature performance. We controlled the game and created chances. The guys looked quite confident on the pitch."
Brighton needed just three shots on target to score three goals. It helped that goalkeeper André Onana -- terrific against Southampton -- made a howler to gift the visitors their third goal. Yasin Ayari hit a hopeful cross towards nobody in particular and instead of a routine collection, Onana came sliding out and fumbled the ball into Georginio Rutter's path to score into an empty net. It was an embarrassment which summed up United's afternoon.
Ruben Amorim doesn't hold back on his struggling Manchester United side after another Premier League defeat.
United had just one shot on target, which came from Bruno Fernandes' first-half penalty. For the first time in nine years they failed to have a shot on target from open play in a league match at Old Trafford.
It was another one of those days when researchers were forced to open the record books to find out the last time United were this bad. Defeat to Brighton is their sixth home Premier League defeat of the season -- their most from their opening 12 home matches of a league season for 130 years. The last time it happened -- in the 1893-94 season -- they weren't even called United (they were named Newton Heath) and played at the Bank Street stadium.
Amorim has now lost seven of his first 15 games in charge, the first United manager to do so since Jimmy Murphy, who briefly took over after the Munich air disaster in 1958.
"We have to understand we are breaking all the bad records," Amorim said. "The opponents are better than us in many details. It's a hard moment, you have to acknowledge that we are in a very difficult situation."
Since Amorim took over from Erik ten Hag in November, his team have taken 11 points from 11 league games. They sit 13th in the table, just five places and 10 points above the relegation places. The danger is that things could get worse before they get better.
United's next five league games are all against teams 10th in the table or lower. If Amorim's team cedes points to the likes of Fulham, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Everton and Ipswich Town over the next month, they will be a lot closer to the drop zone than they are now.
It's predominantly those teams that United struggle against. Under Amorim, United have beaten Manchester City and Arsenal and drawn with Liverpool, but have lost comfortably to Nottingham Forest, AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Before the latest harrowing defeat against Brighton, United paid tribute to Denis Law. Their legendary former striker, who died aged 84 on Friday, is celebrated with a statue outside Old Trafford and was part of one of the club's greatest ever teams in the 1960s.
What is happening now couldn't be further removed from the success enjoyed by Law and his teammates, something laid out plainly by Amorim in his post-match news conference.
"We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United," he said. "In [the past] 10 games in Premier League, we won three. We need to survive now."
And that's where United find themselves. Focusing on survival after doing what everyone expected and losing again.
Shami puts in the hard yards at India's first training session ahead of England T20Is
On Sunday, Shami began by marking a spot on a good-length area on the practice pitches, and then warmed up by bowling with a half run-up for more than 20 minutes. Later, he bowled with his full run-up to openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in the nets. In between, he practiced short- and long-range catching with fielding coach T Dilip and head coach Gautam Gambhir. After the net sessions ended, Shami closed the evening out with a ten-minute spell of bowling on the practice pitches. By the time his session wound down, Shami was bowling at nearly full tilt.
The fitness of Shami, 34, has been a concern for India for more than 12 months, and now he has been selected for the upcoming T20Is and ODIs against England to test his readiness for the Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19 in Karachi. India will open their campaign against Bangladesh the next day in Dubai.
Rana and Hardik Pandya were the only two members of the squad who batted and bowled. Hardik also did some power-hitting with Rinku Singh and Dhruv Jurel, while Rinku and Tilak Varma largely faced the spin of Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar.
Kraigg Brathwaite laments inability to adapt to spinning conditions
"We expect the same type of pitch in the second Test and we've got to come better," Brathwaite said at the post-Test press conference. "It was a difficult pitch to bat on for sure. But it's their decision how they want the pitch. We've just got to come good."
"It's great to see. Jamal has worked extremely hard over the years and it's good to see he got his first five-wicket haul. His hard work has paid off. He bowled well; he was consistent. I wish him all the best in his second test match.
"I do think we could improve bowling wise. We gave them 50-60 runs too much in the first innings because the pitch spun from ball one and we could have created enough pressure on the batters to get more wickets. Saying that, we also didn't bat as well as we could. I think Alick [Athanaze, whose fourth innings 55 was West Indies highest individual score] showed us today how easy it can be. You've got to be braver in your shot selection. But I think a better all-round performance and we could win the second Test."
With the pitch tricky and the Test match short, smaller differences were always going to prove decisive, and Brathwaite was keen to stress that, despite the margin of victory, he felt the disparity between the two sides was small. With Pakistan's strategy certain - both captains effectively confirmed they expected a similar turner for the second Test - which also takes place in Multan, starting on January 25 - surprise is not something that can catch West Indies out.
"I think we could be better with the ball in the first innings. We gave them 50 runs too much, and on top of that, we didn't bat as well as we could have, especially in the first innings. Both innings the top order didn't get any runs. So I think batting wise the top six should be able to bat at least a session.
"Pakistan only batted one session in their second innings, too, and I think bowling wise once we stay consistent in bringing batters onto the front foot, we'll have a better chance of limiting that first innings total. And we've got to bat better, we've got to find a better way."
While he didn't commit to that strategy, perhaps judicious aggression, a measure of which West Indies began to introduce into their batting as each innings wore on, is something West Indies might look to do more of next week. Some batters found the use of reverse sweeps from outside the line a fruitful scoring option, while West Indies' most destructive phase with the bat came when the tenth wicket partnership put on 46 in 21 balls, taking the spinners on when they flighted the ball.
"The ball was ragging, so one is going to have your name on it regardless. The pitch was difficult as you could see. It was very dry before even the game started. So I'm not surprised with the game finishing early."
Commanders O-line takes hit as Cosmi tears ACL
Washington Commanders right guard Sam Cosmi will miss the rest of the postseason after he tore his right ACL in Saturday's divisional round win over the Detroit Lions, coach Dan Quinn said Sunday.
Cosmi has been a critical part of the Commanders' offensive line for several years and had started every game this season. He'll eventually have surgery to repair his knee. Veteran Trent Scott subbed for him in Saturday's 45-31 win over the Lions.
Washington (14-5) plays the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles-Los Angeles Rams game in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 26.
Cosmi suffered the injury on running back Brian Robinson Jr.'s 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
"Really bummed on Sam," Quinn said after the game, before the full extent of his injury was announced. "That's a big loss for us."
Washington drafted Cosmi in the second round of the 2021 draft. He started at right tackle for two seasons before switching to guard for the 2023 season. His ability to block in space on screens and on pulling action, among other aspects of his game, has been pivotal for Washington.
Scott has mostly played tackle for Washington this season, but Quinn said they've sometimes used him at guard on their scout team just to get him more reps at the position.
Scott has started 23 games in his seven-year career. In 2021 and '22 Scott played 22 games at guard for Carolina and then Pittsburgh. Quinn said they'll consider the matchups to see who replaces Cosmi next weekend, but he said Scott "did a really good job."
The Commanders can also opt for veteran Michael Deiter, who has started 35 games in his six-year career at guard and center. He has started two games at center this season.
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