I Dig Sports
BARBERVILLE, Fla. They say if you dont win the show, be the show. But if youre Ryan Gustin at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, you do both.
Moments after The Reaper crossed the line at Volusia Speedway Park to claim the 11th World of Outlaws Late Models win of his career, the engine under the hood of the No. 19r machine started to turn sour. With smoke billowing out from every corner of the car, Gustin crossed the scales to officially become the first winner of the new season.
It was obviously running hot, Gustin said. Smoke was pouring out on the backstretch and they said keep going, so we burned her down and it paid off. Im glad there werent many more laps, I dont know how many laps the old girl had left in her.
Earlier in the night, Gustin claimed the Simpson Quick Time Award and won his Heat Race to make the Redraw, where he pulled the outside of the front row to start next to Bilstein Pole Award winner Nick Hoffman.
A brilliant start gave Gustin the early lead, but a multi-car pileup on the backstretch quickly erased his advantage. On the following restart, Hoffman nailed the first set of corners to grab the lead back and went to work on building a gap.
Hoffman maintained the top spot for the next 15 laps until he jumped the cushion in Turn 2, letting Gustin get to his inside. That kicked off a back-and-forth tussle for the lead, with both drivers taking their turns at sliders through slower traffic.
It all came to an end for Hoffman just past halfway though, as he squeezed his No. 9 under Gustin entering Turn 1, lost the back end and went around to bring the caution out.
When the race went back green, Gustin found Ethan Dotson and Jonathan Davenport on his tail in second and third. A perfect restart allowed Gustin to extend a sizeable advantage over both of them with the laps ticking down.
Davenport got within four tenths of Gustin in the closing stages, but slid up over the cushion exiting Turn 4 which gave Gustin the opportunity he needed to drive away to the win.
Fridays event marked Gustins first World of Outlaws start with new crew chief Cody Mallory on the wrenches, and theyve already proven themselves to be a lethal duo capable of beating dirt Late Model racings best.
Cody came on here and hes completely redone this thing, Gustin said. Whole different unit than what weve had. This thing is just in the racetrack, fun to drive.
In the final run to the checkers, Davenport got close enough to notice the trouble brewing under Gustins hood, but wasnt able to pull off the winning move for his first Volusia win in seven years.
Congratulations to Ryan there, they did a great job, Davenport said. Saw his motor was running hot and I was pulling up beside him like man, dont burn that thing down, go ahead and give us one here. But anyway, it just wasnt our day.
Rounding out the podium was Cody Overton with a career-best third-place finish. It certainly didnt come easy, as the second-year Outlaw drove up from his 23rd starting spot to take home the Fox Factory Hard Charger as well.
I was kind of doubting myself after Qualifying, I was like maybe I just cant drive, Overton said. My car owner [Dave Steine] has a lot of faith in me, he has spent tons and tons of money and Im super thankful for him. This is a new car to me, my notebook has got one page in it. Were going to take these notes and grow from there.
Ethan Dotson kicked off his bid for the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award by finishing fourth, good enough for Fridays Rookie of the Race honors. Tim McCreadie completed the top five in his first World of Outlaws start in the Boom Briggs-owned No. 9m.
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin [2]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 2-Cody Overton[23]; 4. 74X-Ethan Dotson[5]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie[17]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[13]; 7. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[25]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[16]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 13. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 14. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 15. 16-Tyler Bruening[21]; 16. 28-Dennis Erb Jr.[24]; 17. 17SS-Brenden Smith[18]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[27]; 21. 14W-Dustin Walker[28]; 22. 1T-Tyler Erb[14]; 23. 8-Dillon McCowan[29]; 24. 157-Mike Marlar[20]; 25. 11-Austin Smith[30]; 26. 09-Michael Leach[19]; 27. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 28. 111-Max Blair[9]; 29. 60-Dan Ebert[15]; 30. 71-Hudson ONeal[22]
Barça using Madrid complaints as final motivation
Barcelona Femení head coach Pere Romeu said his team will use Real Madrid's complaints over scheduling as "extra motivation" in Sunday's Spanish Supercopa final.
Madrid manager Alberto Toril has voiced his issue with Barça having extra rest before the final and the fact they trained in the later time slot on Saturday at Leganés' Estadio Municipal Butarque, where the game will be played.
Barça progressed to the final on Wednesday, courtesy of a 3-0 win over Atlético Madrid, while Real beat Real Sociedad 3-2 24 hours later.
"The rules are very clear," Romeu said when asked about Toril's comments. "If you win LaLiga and the Copa [de la Reina], as we did, you get to choose when you train as the designated home team.
"We made the decision and that's it. A final is always extra motivation, regardless of the competition or the opposition, because you are 90 minutes away from a trophy. And it would be my first, I hope of many, as the coach.
"[Toril's complaints] have only served as extra motivation for the game. We're going to go out there and show on the pitch that we deserve to win the trophy and we will give everything possible to do that."
While Barça have benefitted from a longer break between the semifinal and the final, they have had to travel more this week with all the games played in Leganés, a city which is part of the Madrid metropolitan area.
"It made me laugh," Barça goalkeeper Cata Coll chuckled when responding to Toril. "Last year we played the second semifinal and won the trophy, so that shows how much of an influence there is.
"We are playing here in Madrid and have had a lot of travelling this week. They can come to Barcelona if [they prefer].
"There are always advantages or disadvantages for all teams. It's making excuses for the sake of it. At the end of the day, you have to play the game and do your talking on the pitch."
Barça go into the final as massive favourites. The back-to-back European champions have won all 16 of their Liga F games so far this season and sit 11 points clear of Madrid, who have a game in hand, at the top of the table.
The Catalan side have also won all 15 games between the two teams since Madrid fully absorbed CD Tacon in 2020.
Madrid have shown signs of improvement in that time, and have progressed to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the second time this season, but a first Clásico win continues to elude them.
"We are looking to reach finals and to have the chance to win trophies," Toril said. "I believe we are on the right path; that we are progressing. The club is growing.
"Our improvement has also been mental. Every day we are more competitive. During this four year journey, the results tell you that.
"When we face top sides, we try to match them. There have been games against Barça when we have done well. I am sure we will make it difficult for them tomorrow."
Pep: Man City no longer feared by opposing teams
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said teams have changed tactics because they are no longer intimidated by his side, which is making their Champions League campaign more difficult.
City are down in 25th place in the Champions League table, two points off the playoff spots, and Guardiola has noticed an increase in opposing teams adopting a man-marking approach, showing they don't fear City as they used to.
"Everyone came to the Etihad and stayed back," he told a news conference on Friday.
"The first team I saw man-marking was Neil Warnock at Cardiff. Now everybody does it. Everybody comes here, it doesn't matter, man-to-man.
"They just jump on [City's goalkeepers] Éderson or Stefan Ortega. You have to adapt, you have to be better with the ball, otherwise you will not qualify for the Champions League."
Guardiola said while his side may have been outplayed by Paris Saint-Germain in a 4-2 defeat on Wednesday, their problems were more about effective use of the ball than physicality.
"Speed is important, but against PSG we ran more than they did," he said. "Our problem is with the ball. That is what we have been lacking this season.
"When you have the ball and you don't pass it properly to your partner, everything is so difficult."
He stressed the importance of passing accuracy and said there was room for improvement despite the influx of new talent.
City signed Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday after bringing in 19-year-old Brazilian defender Vitor Reis and Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
Guardiola believes Champions League qualification would be as significant an achievement as winning a trophy, especially with injuries to key players like Rodri and a depleted defence.
City are fifth in the Premier League, 12 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, as they prepare to host fourth-placed Chelsea on Saturday trailing the London club by two points.
Despite their struggles, Guardiola remains focused on making tactical adjustments to restore their competitive edge and a return to the Champions League via a place in the top four.
Ange: Spurs 'playing with fire' without signings
Tottenham are "playing with fire" if they do not sign new recruits during the January transfer window, manager Ange Postecoglou has said as the injury-hit squad continues to struggle in the Premier League.
Spurs are a lowly 15th in the table, closer to the relegation zone than European qualification spots after just one win in their last 10 games, which include seven losses.
The club also have the longest injury list in the league, with 12 players sidelined including record signing Dominic Solanke.
The England striker is expected to miss six weeks of action due to a knee injury.
Postecoglou has drafted multiple younger players into the team to deal with the injury crisis and said he has had daily discussions with the club's technical director Johan Lange about "trying to get some help for the players" by dipping into the market.
"I'm not out there trying to find opportunities for the club, that's not my role at this time. There isn't time to do it," Postecoglou told reporters.
"I don't think I'm stating anything other than the obvious and for me to come here and say something else would be disingenuous. This playing group needs help, there's no doubt about that.
"We're sort of playing with fire by not bringing anyone in, but the flip side of that is the club is trying to change that situation."
Despite the club's woeful run of form, Spurs have retained faith in Postecoglou after he guided the team to the semifinals of the Carabao Cup, where they lead Liverpool 1-0 after the first leg. The return leg is at Anfield on Feb. 6.
Spurs have also been boosted by Cristian Romero's return to training while his centre-back partner Micky van de Ven is also expected to be ready before the second leg.
"Of the long-terms [injuries], they are the only two who have a chance of that week, but we've still got 12 days or something," Postecoglou said.
"Part of that process is to see how they cope with training over the next week or so. Both of them are scheduled around that sort of time to be available."
Reddy and Rinku injured, Dube and Ramandeep join India's T20I squad
Dube's last outing for India was in August 2024, during an ODI series in Sri Lanka. He then missed India's home T20I series against Bangladesh with a back injury. Dube returned to cricket with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 151 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 179.76, and took three wickets at an economy of 9.31.
In all, he has played 33 T20Is for India, for 448 runs at a strike rate of 134.93 with the bat, and 11 wickets with the ball. He was part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in the West Indies and USA last year.
Ramandeep has played just the two T20Is for India, both in South Africa last November. In the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-over tournament, he totalled 126 runs from six innings for Punjab, mostly providing quick runs for a strike rate of 134.04.
India's updated T20I squad
Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Axar Patel (vice-capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shivam Dube, Ramandeep Singh.
*The story was updated after the BCCI put out a statement.
Spin runs riot again as Noman, Warrican lead the way on 20-wicket opening day
West Indies 163 (Motie 55, Warrican 36*, Noman 6-41) lead Pakistan 154 (Rizwan 49, Warrican 4-43, Motie 3-49) by nine runs
Kraigg Brathwaite and Kavem Hodge put together a brief partnership that saw off fast bowler Kashif Ali, and initially held off the spinners. But once that stand was punctured, bloodletting followed. West Indies lost five wickets in the next 13 balls that reduced them from 32 for 2 to 38 for 7.
Three balls at the start of the 12th over from Noman got him his hat-trick with a mixture of deliveries. Justin Greaves' edge came as a result of a touch of extra bounce, while Tevin Imlach missed a sweep to a straight one. With just about everyone crowding around the bat for the hat-trick ball, Noman pushed it in at pace and found a bit of turn off the pitch. It was much too good for Kevin Sinclair's tentative prod, and Noman had his hat-trick.
However, what transpired in the final hour before lunch showed that while the wicket was highly conducive to spin, it wasn't necessarily unplayable. West Indies' bottom three had made history last Test when they became the three highest scorers in an innings for the first time ever, and they repeated the feat in this game. Motie, Roach and Warrican produced a canny mix of resolute temperament and entertaining flair to somewhat steer West Indies out of troubled waters.
Roach and Motie put on 41 for the ninth wicket before a missed sweep from the former gave Noman his fifth wicket. But Motie and Warrican linked up for another substantial contribution. It was a mix of good-cop, bad-cop as Motie shut the spinners out while Warrican gave them whacks from the other end. Lunch was extended as the final stand went on, and against all odds, went past 137 to get West Indies to their highest score of the series.
A whack down the ground from Warrican brought up the 50-partnership before Motie brought up his own half-century. It was only at the stroke of lunch that Motie missed a slog sweep off Noman that rattled his off stump, and a session that began with total Pakistan dominance ended on a rather more neutral tenor.
West Indies had, in Roach, a fast bowler they trusted even on this surface, and in the first hour, he showed why. Getting the new ball to nip both ways in the air and off the seam, he drew Mohammad Hurraira forward before rapping him on the front pad with one that seamed in, to draw first blood. It was the first of three wickets inside 14 balls.
Babar Azam was beaten by the lack of bounce from Motie as he tried to slice off the back foot and missed a cut that saw the ball crash into off stump. The stumps were disturbed once more when Shan Masood played all around another Roach delivery that came back into him, and 163 suddenly seemed a long way off.
Shakeel and Kamran Ghulam dug in, playing survival cricket in a passage of play that spelled danger for Pakistan. They drew the sting out of the game over the next half an hour, halting West Indies' momentum and taking the pressure off themselves as the partnership inched up and got Pakistan to 50.
After Ghulam's forward defensive shot to Motie hit him high on the bat and Alick Athanaze took a sharp catch, Shakeel and Rizwan took over. They looked more assured than any batter from either side all day: Shakeel absorbed pressure while Rizwan transferred it back on to the opposition. Providing the clearest template of how to bat in trying circumstances, Rizwan's use of the feet, manipulation of the fields, and the sweep shot got the runs ticking along, bearing down on West Indies' first-innings score.
But a bit of brilliance in the field, and then with the ball, saw West Indies wrest control back. When Shakeel looked to jab Warrican through midwicket, his mistimed shot interested Roach at long-on. The veteran seamer dived forward at full extension to take a catch that injured him in the process. The wind in his sails, Warrican removed Rizwan soon after with a beauty, as one spun prodigiously to leave Rizwan high and dry halfway down the crease, giving Imlach all the time in the world to whip the bails off.
West Indies had none of Pakistan's problems when it came to running through the lower order. Pakistan went on to lose their last six wickets for 35 runs, the 20th of the day coming courtesy of a mix-up between Sajid and Kashif that resulted in a run-out. It was a gift to the bowlers on a day they had no need for such generosity.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
India opt to bowl, make two changes for second T20I; Smith debuts for England
Toss India opt to bowl vs England
Suryakumar Yadav won his second toss of the T20I series against England and decided to do the same. He opted to chase when the dew makes the pitch quicker to bat on if not significant enough to make bowling nightmarish. While he dipped into the box of white new Kookaburras to choose the ball for India's bowling innings, Mohammed Shami continued to sit on the bench, which means we wait for his international comeback some more.
India lead the five-match T20I series 1-0 after a comprehensive win in the first game in Kolkata, where they had chased down 133 with 43 balls remaining.
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
England: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (capt), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jamie Smith, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood
Rahane lauds J&K seamers, admits he misread the conditions
"When we saw the wicket [before the match], it looked really dry," Rahane said after the loss which puts Mumbai's knockout qualification in danger. "Comparatively, the games which we played here previously, this was the driest wicket. We thought three spinners will be the best option. I thought in the second innings the third spinner will come handy. We thought it would turn from day two, but it didn't. It's fine.
"I think we were not up to the mark as a team, as a unit. And as I said, you know they challenged us and they played really well, so they deserved to win."
While crediting the J&K pace attack, Rahane said he was particularly impressed by the "courage" and "fitness" of the trio. They bowled long spells, sending down more than 90 of the 107.2 overs bowled to Mumbai. On the first morning they troubled the Mumbai line-up with swing, seam and bounce, and once the ball got older they tried short-ball plans to the tail to try and create opportunities.
"I'm happy to see their fast bowlers running hard, bowling in the right areas for a consistent period of time," Rahane said. "They're eager to do well for their team. I thought most of them bowled 8-10 over spells and that needs courage and good fitness. So really happy for them, the way they bowled, the way they showed their character. It's a really good thing.
"We were not up to the mark as a team, as a unit. And as I said, you know they challenged us and they played really well, so they deserved to win."
Rahane after Mumbai's loss
"They bowled consistently in tight areas, they challenged our batting line-up, especially in both the innings, so credit to them.
"Frankly, we didn't expect that ball will seam that much. We thought it will be a good wicket to bat and it will spin on day two but obviously they bowled really well."
Mumbai came into this game on the back of winning four of their last five Ranji Trophy games with one draw, but the domestic red-ball season was split into two this time with the two white-ball tournaments in between. The Ranji Trophy resumed with this round and it's possible their momentum was broken. They also had changes in their line-up because of the availability of international stars Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, which meant leaving out some in-form batters like Ayush Mhatre and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
"If you see our Ranji Trophy set-up, we had [to make] five changes. We played a different team in the first five-six games [before the break], so it's tough to analyse this one match because all the guys coming in you know for this game - and all are quality players," Rahane said when asked if he was concerned about the team's batting failures in this game. "So one bad game can happen and I'm not too worried about what has happened.
"Sometimes it's a challenge [to switch between formats], you get used to it. This is not an excuse, but I feel this is a learning for all of us as a team, especially how can we do better. Because I'm sure going forward this will be the format - red-ball, then white-ball [tournaments] and then coming into red-ball again. So this is a learning for us. Win or lose it's all about what we can learn as a team and how we can get better. There's still 1% chance for us to qualify. So you never know."
Vishal Dikshit is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
Ranji round-up: J&K stun Mumbai, Gill ton in vain for Punjab
Major moment: American Keys wins Aussie Open
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Madison Keys said breaking through at the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title "means the world" after she defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three thrilling sets Saturday.
Keys, the 19th seed, was a big underdog coming into the clash with two-time reigning champion Sabalenka, but she produced her best tennis to win in two hours and two minutes 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
At 29, Keys becomes the second-oldest first-time women's winner of the tournament after China's Li Na broke through for her win in 2014 at 31.
The American started fast against Sabalenka, who struggled with her serve early. Two double faults helped gift Keys the opening game, and Keys held for 2-0 advantage.
While Sabalenka struggled on her serve, Keys flourished. Through two service games, she had landed all but one of her first serves to put pressure on Sabalenka, who was unable to win her way back to level and was instead broken again for a 4-1 Keys lead.
And while Keys had the chance to serve out the first set not long after, Sabalenka started to lift. She broke Keys, but the seeds of doubt didn't take root for the American, who broke back immediately. Another Sabalenka double fault -- her fourth of the set -- brought up break point and paved the way for Keys to take the first set 6-3 in just 35 minutes.
Sabalenka's four first-set double faults was her most in a single match in Melbourne, let alone in a set, while her lopsided return of just four winners and 13 unforced errors painted the picture of an uncharacteristically bad start for the Belarusian.
But Sabalenka's record coming back from a set down in Slams had been remarkable. Coming into the final, she was a staggering 10-1 in majors after losing the first set, well ahead of the next-best player in that time, Iga Swiatek, who boasts a 6-5 record.
After a quick bathroom break, three-time Slam winner Sabalenka reappeared, seemingly reenergized. Breezing through her first service game, Sabalenka converted on her third break-point chance of Keys' service game to lead 2-0.
Not long after, Keys gave up a second service game, and the reigning champion found herself up 4-1 and steaming toward taking the second set, eventually taking it 6-2 and sending it to a decider.
After exchanging 11 holds and with a tiebreaker looming large, the decisive moment of the third set -- and the match -- came with Sabalenka down 0-15 and serving to stay in the tournament at 5-6. Having already sent an off-balance forehand long, Sabalenka served wide and the American rattled off a huge backhand return winner to which Sabalenka could only grimace in frustration.
Sabalenka steadied momentarily for 15-30, but a forehand error into the net in the next point brought up two championship points for Keys. She sent one wide, but converted the second with a stunning inside-out forehand winner. Keys screamed in ecstasy as she secured her first Grand Slam title.
"I just kept telling myself, 'Be brave, go for it, just kind of lay it all out on the line.' At that point, no matter what happens, if I do that, then I can be proud of myself. It just made it a little bit easier," Keys said in her news conference.
It was her fifth three-set win at the tournament, the most in a single Australian Open since the Open era began. She knocked off four top-10 seeds (Sabalenka, Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina and Swiatek) en route to the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. It's a feat tied only by Evonne Goolagong -- who presented Keys her trophy -- who defeated four top-10 seeds at Wimbledon in 1980.
"I really felt like going into each match that if I could just try to go out, play how I wanted to play, I was really just going to give myself the opportunity to try to win the match. I felt like not stressing about things that I couldn't control, I just felt like I was able to play a little bit more free," she said.
"I think there was a confidence in maybe not playing matches amazingly from start to finish and having some dips here and there, but being able to end on a really high note each time and figure out how to get back in matches, or how to close out a match really well ... I just slowly started continuing to build the confidence.
"I think part of it was that I never really got ahead of myself in each round. I never once thought about the next round until I was actually there. So, I think, yes, I believed that I could do it. I also think I did a good job of just focusing on the task at hand."
Keys mentioned she'd been using therapy as a way to unburden herself of expectations after years on the tour, and told ESPN that "letting go" of trying to win a major is what helped her succeed in Melbourne.
"I've done a lot of work to no longer need [winning a Grand Slam]. I really wanted it, but it's no longer the thing that was going to define me and, kind of letting go of that burden, I finally gave myself the ability to play for it," she said after the win.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka lamented her poor form in the first set, saying Keys managed to push her onto the back foot with powerful groundstrokes and assertive serving.
"I think she played super aggressive. It seemed like everything was going her way. I was just trying to put the ball back. Couldn't really play my aggressive tennis and didn't feel my serve that well. The return was off. Then in the second set I kind of got my rhythm back," Sabalenka said.
"She just played incredible. It seems like she was overhitting everything. The depths of the balls were really crazy. I was trying my best. Obviously [it] didn't work well."
Sabalenka also dismissed an unusual postmatch racket smash as "frustration," saying she needed to leave the arena briefly to compose herself before the ceremony.
"I was so close to [achieving] something crazy," she said. "When you're out there, you're fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go. I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful."
With the breakthrough major title, Keys moves up No. 7 in the world, which matches a career high she last achieved in 2016.
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