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MENOMONIE, Wis. – On my way to the Thunder Hill Nationals at Thunder Hill Speedway, I set a goal for what I wanted to accomplish.
My goal was to get a top-five in every race, because I knew there was going to be harder competition at this race.
When we first got there, we unloaded my kart and four-wheeler. Then, we went up to the track and set the kart up for how the track conditions looked at the time. In my first heat, I started sixth and finished third. For my second heat, we made some adjustment to tighten my kart and I worked on a different driving line.
In my second heat, I started fourth and finished third. My kart didn’t handle very well, so we took out all the changes we made. I started fourth in the A-Main and finished fourth. The A-Main went OK, I ran third the entire race other than the last corner.
Even though I met my goals the whole night, I wanted a podium finish.
After the races we visited with some friends we don’t see very often and then went back to the hotel to rest up for night two of the Thunder Hill Nationals.
The next morning, I woke up feeling pretty good, but knowing that everyone was going to race harder on night two. I knew I would have to be more aware of what could happen.
Before the races my Dad and I looked at the track and then I spent a little bit of time with my race friends. For my first heat, I had a loose kart. I started fifth and spun trying to miss another kart in front of me. I restarted eighth and finished fourth.
We tightened my kart up and in my second heat I started fifth again and spun missing the same kart. I restarted eighth and finished fifth, locking myself into the A-Main.
Some friends and I went up the watch the 125/250 B-main and based on that, we loosened my kart back up for the A-main. I scheduled to start 10th in the A-main. I knew I needed to be patient and smart to miss any spinning karts.
On the first lap of the A-Main there were three karts than spun out in front of me. I had nowhere to go and slid up into them. From that wreck my right-front toe was knocked out about an inch and there was four degrees less right-front camber.
On lap two, I had to miss another spin in front of me. From there I restarted 13th and missed a five-kart pile-up on lap six. The kart handled really bad with the right-front out of alignment. The last nine laps I had to miss another spin and drove it up to third place.
Later that night I celebrated in victory lane with Caden Kvapil and watched the fireworks show.
Then we drove back home the next morning and went to Knoxville Raceway for the Corn Belt Nations two-day show. I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July! I’ve uploaded the Thunder Hill Nationals video to my website, YouTube Channel, and Facebook page: McKenzie Smith Racing
Thank you to my partners for their support: Sky Zone Des Moines, MyRacePass, Gregg Young Chevrolet Norwalk, EBU, Ellis Greenhouse, Adam’s Performance, Jocko’s Sprint Part, Central Iowa Insurance Services, Mahaska Hog Wash, Midwest Balloon Services, Sign Creations, Van Meter Inc., Speed Sport, MPI – Max Papis Innovations, Walker Performance Filtration, Bell Racing, Compass Racing Development, Grandparents.
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U.S. Open champ Woodland mulled skipping Open as pregnant wife on bed rest
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 01:40
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Since winning last month’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Gary Woodland has kept the trophy close. On his nightstand next to his bed to be precise.
The U.S. Open trophy will be a constant reminder to Woodland’s wife, Gabby, who is at home in South Florida awaiting the birth of twin girls, who are due in two weeks.
Gabby Woodland is on “semi-bedrest” at the moment.
“[The U.S. Open trophy] is at home. It's right next to Gabby, she's on bedrest. She is looking at it all the time,” he said. “I don't know if she's excited about that.”
Woodland admitted Tuesday at The Open that it’s difficult being away from home so close to Gabby’s due date. The couple were also expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in 2017 but the girl was lost in a miscarriage and the boy, Jaxson, was born 10 weeks premature.
“It was a tough decision [to play The Open in Northern Ireland], we sat down and we talked about it. She was the one pushing me to come,” Woodland said. “We’re pretty confident they're not going to come this week, but you never know. I'm hoping that's the case.”
Woodland is also scheduled to play next week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational which is in Memphis and much closer to home if Gabby were to go into labor.
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Tiger's major record when playing a venue for the first time
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 03:43
Tiger Woods, like most in this week's field, is playing Royal Portrush for the first time. Here's a look at how Woods has fared when playing a major venue for the first time, when he's never before played in it professional competition.
Masters
1995, Augusta National: T-41 (as an amateur; won in 1997, the first time he played as a professional)
PGA Championship
1997, Winged Foot: T-29
1998, Sahalee Country Club: T-10
1999, Medinah Country Club: Won
2000, Valhalla Golf Club: Won
2001, Atlanta Athletic Club: T-29
2002, Hazeltine National Golf Club: Second
2003, Oak Hill Country Club: T-39
2004, Whistling Straits: T-24
2005, Baltusrol Golf Club: T-4
2012, Kiawah Island: T-11
2018, Bellerive Country Club: Second
U.S. Open
1995, Shinnecock Hills: Withdrew (wrist injury; was an amateur; tied for 17th in 2004, playing venue for first time as a pro)
1996, Oakland Hills Country Club: T-82 (as an amateur; DNP in 2008 PGA at venue)
1997, Congressional Country Cub: T-19
1998, Olympic Club: T-18
1999, Pinehurst No. 2: T-3
2001, Southern Hills Country Club: T-12
2002, Bethpage Black: Won
2003, Olympia Fields: T-20
2007, Oakmont Country Club: T-2
2013, Merion Golf Club: T-32
2015, Chambers Bay: MC
Open Championship
1995, St. Andrews: T-68 (as an amateur; won in 2000 the first time he played as a professional)
1996, Royal Lytham and St. Annes: T-68 (as an amateur; was T-25 in 2001, the first time he played as a professional)
1997, Royal Troon: T-24
1998, Royal Birkdale: Third
1999: Carnoustie: T-7
2002: Muifield: T-28
2003: Royal St. George's: T-4
2006: Royal Liverpool: Won
2009: Turnberry: MC
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Defending FedExCup champ says majors shouldn't revolve around playoffs
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 02:52
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The Open marks the end to a fast and furious major championship season that began in April with the Masters and hasn’t seemed to let up.
For most players the 2018-19 PGA Tour season has been a work in progress as they learn how to adjust to four consecutive months of major championships with the PGA Championship’s shift to May. At least one top player isn’t a fan of the new major season.
“It's too condensed,” Justin Rose said on Tuesday at Royal Portrush. “As a professional in terms of trying to peak for something, the process that's involved in trying to do that can be detailed and it can be longer than a month.”
Rose’s assessment is particularly interesting given his status as the 2017-18 FedEx Cup champion.
“I think it's pretty much driven by FedExCup, wanting to finish on a certain date, everything else having to fit in where it can,” he said. “For me, a major championship should be the things that are protected the most. That's how all of our careers ultimately are going to be measured. Thirty, 40 years ago there wasn't a FedExCup so if you're trying to compare one career to another career, Jack versus Tiger, it's the majors that are the benchmarks. For them to be tweaked so much I think is quite interesting at this point.”
This year’s schedule change was prompted by the Tour’s desire to finish the season before professional and college football overtake the sport’s landscape in the United States in September.
Along with the PGA Championship’s move to May, The Players transitioned to March and the Tour reduced the FedExCup playoffs from four to three events and conclude the last week of August.
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Captains Matthew, Inkster getting closer look at Solheim Cup prospects
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 03:17
There’s a lot more packed into the inaugural Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational team event this week than meets the eye with the Solheim Cup just eight weeks away.
For U.S. captain Juli Inkster and European captain Catriona Matthew, it feels like a bonus qualifying event for the biennial matches scheduled for Scotland in September, even though there aren’t actually any Solheim Cup points available this week.
Still, importantly, the captains will get to see their “prospects” interact in alternate shot and four balls. It’s a chance to impress the captains in those Solheim formats.
“It’s a great deal,” Inkster told GolfChannel.com. “Just having alternate shot for two rounds is awesome, and they’ll probably be practicing it together. We just don’t get opportunities to play alternate shot.”
Matthew is playing with Suzann Pettersen, one of her vice captains, in Pettersen’s return to the game after 20 months away for the birth of her first child. Pettersen is a potential playing vice captain.
Inkster is making a special trip to Midland, Mich., to see her players compete with qualifying now down to just four events.
“It’s crunch time,” Inkster said. “I have a lot of gals playing.”
On the American side, the sister combo of Jessica and Nelly Korda are paired together. So are Solheim stalwarts Lexi Thompson/Cristie Kerr, as well as Stacy Lewis/Gerina Piller and Paula Creamer/Morgan Pressel. Angela Stanford is also in the event, with Dori Carter as her partner.
Thompson is the only player among those proven American Solheim veterans listed above who is within the qualifying standard. Kerr, Lewis, Piller, Creamer, Pressel and Stanford wouldn’t make the team on points if the squad were set today. They would need to be one of Inkster’s two captain’s picks to make it.
“It was great seeing Stacy play great last week,” Inkster said. “That helps a lot. Kerr took the last two weeks off, and now we’ll see what she can do the next few weeks.”
Lewis finished third at the Marathon Classic last week and moved up to 12th on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list. The top eight automatically make the team when qualifying concludes at the end of the CP Women’s Open (Aug. 25). Lewis is 50 points behind Megan Khang, who holds the final spot on points.
Kerr and Thompson have become the dynamic duo of International team golf. They’re 11-1-2 as partners in Solheim Cup and UL International Crown play, but Kerr has yet to qualify. She’s on the cusp, sitting ninth in points, 31 behind Khang.
While there are no Solheim Cup points available this week, points will be doubled at the Evian Championship next week and again at the AIG Women’s British Open the following week. So this is a vital three-week stretch. A victory will be worth 120 Solheim Cup points at Evian and also at the Women’s British, with second place worth 60, third 57, with points awarded down to 20th place (6 points).
Lewis and Piller are 4-3-1 in Solheim Cup and UL International Crown matches.
“Pairings are key to what we are trying to accomplish, as is camaraderie and feeling good with your partner,” Inkster said. “It’s a big part of the Solheim Cup.”
Creamer and Pressel are far off the qualifying standard, but they can send a strong message to Inkster with a victory this week.
“I would love to see them do that,” Inkster said. “It’s tough for me as it is now, but I would like for them to really make my job tough. I would love to see them play well. They’re good together, and really good at alternate shot.
“It’s like they know how to dance together.”
Creamer, 33, has played in every Solheim Cup since she joined the LPGA in 2005. She’s 17-9-5 in Solheim Cup play, with her 19.5 points trailing only Cristie Kerr (21) for most in the American team history.
Pressel is 10-7-2 in six Solheim Cups.
They’re 2-2-1 as Solheim partners.
With so many newcomers looking as if they’ll make the American team, Inkster may need to use her two captain’s picks to add veteran experience. If the team were decided today, Thompson, Danielle Kang, Nelly and Jessica Korda, Lizette Salas, Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare and Megan Khang would make the team on points. Angel Yin and Austin Ernst would make it off the world rankings.
“I have a young team, a lot of players who have never been there, which I think is good,” Inkster said. “They all seem to be playing really well. And it’s maybe a little easier going overseas the first time, not knowing any different. So, I’m not worried about that.”
Inkster has other pairings to watch this week with the Korda sisters together.
Also, Kang and Salas are partnering, as are Khang and Annie Park, who is on the cusp of making the team off the world rankings list.
Just about everyone Inkster is looking at is in the event.
Matthew doesn’t have as many potential Solheim pairings in the event, but she’ll get a closeup look at Pettersen, plus Anna Nordqvist is partnering with Caroline Hedwall.
Also, Pernilla Lindberg, Bronte Law, Celine Boutier, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Sandra Gal are in event, though not in likely Solheim pairings.
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Juventus will be on the FIFA 20 video game under the name "Piedmonte Calcio" after the Serie A champions signed an exclusive deal with rivals PES 2020.
The Bianconeri have signed an exclusive contract with PES owners Konami, which sees them hold the rights to their name and any other football game -- including the FIFA series -- will have to change the club's name as well as create a custom kit and stadium.
However, the deal does not affect players, as they are negotiated separately which means Cristiano Ronaldo will still appear with his real name on the game.
Piedmonte Calcio will still be eligible for special items and the changes will not affect the FIFA 20 Ultimate Team.
The deal is different to the one Manchester United signed with Konami earlier in July, which saw them become an officially licensed club on PES.
On the new game, the Old Trafford side will have their official name, rather than Man Red as had been called in previous editions.
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Is Man United target Harry Maguire really the world's best defender?
Published in
Soccer
Monday, 15 July 2019 03:30
Harry Maguire has played in a World Cup semifinal and become one of the most highly rated defenders in the Premier League, but even his most ardent supporters would struggle to argue that he is the very best at his position.
Yet if Leicester get their way and force Manchester United to pay in excess of £80 million, the 26-year-old will become the most expensive defender in the world. That would eclipse the £75m that Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk -- not only the world's best defender but the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or this year.
All this for a player Leicester signed from relegated Hull City for an initial £12m just two years ago.
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Sources have told ESPN FC that, while United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to sign Maguire as quickly as possible to reinforce his porous defence at Old Trafford, the two clubs are still some distance apart in terms of their valuation.
United, who initially offered £40m for Maguire last month, are now prepared to pay closer to £70m to get their man, but Leicester's starting point is £80m and some reports suggest they are even ready to hold out for £90m.
Yet for all of Maguire's ability as a commanding centre-back, a player with an aerial threat in both boxes and one who can play the long and short game, it would signal a new, eye-watering benchmark in an already over-heated transfer market.
Leicester are smart operators when it comes to selling players. They banked £60m when selling Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City 12 months ago and also forced Chelsea to hand over £35m for midfielder Danny Drinkwater in 2017. The Foxes hierarchy know that United, having seemingly missed out on Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt, are short on alternative options for a proven, commanding defender, so they are quite rightly putting the squeeze on the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Woodward, an investment banker with JP Morgan prior to working for United, knows all about market forces and it is unfortunate for him and his club that they are now on the wrong end of the spike in transfer fees. But City were also forced to pay over the odds when they paid £50m to sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham two years ago, making him the world's most expensive full-back at the time, while Liverpool's wisdom was questioned when they paid £75m for Southampton's Van Dijk 18 months ago.
City and Liverpool would now both argue that they were justified in breaking transfer records to sign Walker and Van Dijk, and United must now decide whether Maguire is likely to prove as smart a long-term investment as those two, even if the costs seem alarmingly high.
United's history, certainly since Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge, is littered with examples of expensive signings which ultimately proved to be sound investments.
Gary Pallister (£2.3m), Roy Keane (£3.75m), Ruud van Nistelrooy (£19m) and Rio Ferdinand (£30m) all became British record signings when they moved to United, while Wayne Rooney was the world's most expensive teenager when he completed a £27m move from Everton in 2004.
All of the above left Old Trafford having more than justified their huge transfer fees, with each of them proving that the initial outlay was excellent value in the long term.
However, United's sense of value has deserted them since Ferguson retired in 2013, with those in charge too often knowing the price of something rather than the value.
Which is why they are now in a difficult position with Maguire. Is it another case of having to pay vastly over the odds for a player who will never live up to the pricetag? Or is Maguire a modern-day version of Pallister or Ferdinand, two defenders whose fees were questioned at the time, but who ultimately made the cost of the transfers look cheap?
One thing for certain is that Maguire is not the best defender in the world. True, Van Dijk wasn't either when he traded Southampton for Liverpool, but the Dutchman now has few rivals for that title after a sensational 18 months at Anfield. His £75m fee now looks to be a bargain and Liverpool could double it right now if they were foolish enough to consider selling.
It would be naive for United to expect Maguire to follow the same path so quickly. But he is better than what they have and would improve United, so the price is the price and they have to accept that market forces have left them having to break the world-record transfer fee for a defender.
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Toby Roland-Jones five-for gives him nine as Middlesex make light work of win over Glamorgan
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 07:04
Middlesex 384 (Malan 166, Sowter 57*, Roland-Jones 54) and 342 (Robson 140*, Simpson 56) beat Glamorgan 171 (Lloyd 67, Helm 5-53) and 299 (Hemphrey 72, Labuschagne 51, Roland-Jones 5-68) by 256 runs
It took Middlesex 90 minutes on the final morning to take the last four Glamorgan wickets and inflict on them their first Championship defeat of the season and also the heaviest defeat the Welsh county have suffered in terms of runs.
The seventh-wicket pair of Charlie Hemphrey and Graham Wagg resisted for 50 minutes to share a partnership of 62 before Hemphrey's vigil, lasing more than five hours, ended. He had faced 254 balls which included a six and eight fours before he became the second Glamorgan opener in the innings to feather an innocuous delivery down the leg-side to the wicketkeeper.
It was a disappointing end to a chanceless innings, but Hemphrey showed that he has all the attributes to develop into a successful opener as he comes to terms with his first season in county cricket.
Wagg went shortly afterwards for 40, guiding a delivery from Toby Roland-Jones to second slip, and the Middlesex seamer, armed with the new ball, removed Lukas Carey's off stump to claim his fifth wicket to end with 5 for 68 for the innings and his ninth wicket for the match Former England bowler Roland-Jones has been a revelation since returning from injury and indifferent form, claiming 19 wickets in the last two games.
"It's been great to be back and contributing," Roland-Jones said. "And after such along time out with injury it's taken some time to find my rhythm again. I'm over that now and hopefully we can carry this success on for the remainder of the season."
Facing defeat, Marchant De Lange decided it was time for some lusty blows, and when Tim Murtagh was recalled, also with the new ball, De Lange struck him for 24, with two sixes and three fours, in the only over he bowled before being replaced.
After De Lange and Michael Hogan had enjoyed themselves with a rapid partnership of 35, the fun ended when Nathan Sowter had Hogan caught on the long-off boundary for 22, with De lange undefeated on 45.
Hemphrey, who top scored with 72 for the home team said: "After some missed chances in their first innings and tumbling to 25 for 5 at the end of the day, we were always playing catch up, and from then on Middlesex had the momentum and came at us hard. We fought back in the second innings to get near 300, and it was nice to contribute but Middlesex thoroughly deserved their win."
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Luke Procter claims four to seal 72-run win for Northamptonshire
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 16 July 2019 07:36
Northamptonshire 342 (Bavuma 134) and 122 (Palladino 4-33) beat Derbyshire 146 (Hudson-Prentice 55, Sanderson 5-46) and 246 (Lace 41, Procter 4-26) by 72 runs
Northamptonshire boosted their chances of promotion by wrapping up a 72-run victory over Derbyshire at Chesterfield before lunch on day three.
Derbyshire's prospects of reaching a target of 319 on a pitch that was marked as below average always looked slim when they went out on the third morning needing another 164 with five wickets left.
Tom Lace top scored with 41 and Fynn Hudson-Prentice followed his first-innings unbeaten half-century with 26 not out but Luke Procter finished with 4 for 26 as the home side came up short on 246.
Although in the words of ECB Cricket Liaison Officer Dean Cosker "variable bounce and deviation" on day two resulted in the verdict on the Queen's Park surface, none of the wickets that fell on what became the last day could be blamed on the pitch.
Lace clipped Brett Hutton firmly to midwicket where Temba Bavuma held a good low catch before Harvey Hosein played across the line at Proctor.
Matt Critchley struck Matt Coles for two fours in an over but the on-loan Essex paceman had the final word by bowling him via an inside edge with Derbyshire still needing another 113.
Tony Palladino fenced at Proctor and was caught behind but Hudson-Prentice again played well and Ravi Rampaul delivered late defiance by driving Coles into the sightscreen and pulling him for another four.
The end came when he pulled Ben Sanderson to deep square leg where Bavuma, in his final match for the county, made no mistake which was fitting given his first-innings century was by some distance the highest score in the contest.
"It was an important toss to win, getting runs on the board was important and Temba Bavuma's innings was outstanding," Northants head coach David Ripley said. "We are grateful for the way he played.
"I think the pitch was just a little bit dry at the start and there was that little bit of uneven bounce for the seam bowlers which I guess means we are going home early. I'm just glad we got the points and three batting points so we've had a good three days."
Derbyshire head of cricket Dave Houghton said: "We lost the game with a bad session in the middle of the first day. We had a magnificent fightback to give ourselves a chance to win but realistically you lose a session by that much you are going to do well to stay in the game.
"I look at the wicket and think back over the game and I didn't see a batsman get hit on the fingers, I didn't see any ball crawling along the ground. It wasn't a road, it was a result wicket and I thought it played pretty well."
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