I Dig Sports
ST. LOUIS – Officials from Gateway Motorsports Park and iHeartMedia St. Louis have announced that iHeartMedia St. Louis will serve as the sponsor of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event at the 1.25-mile oval on June 22.
“This is a unique sponsorship agreement as iHeartMedia St. Louis has bought the naming rights on the event, as well as additional event and facility elements, in an effort to further enhance their role as the advertising leader in the St. Louis region,” said Chris Blair, Gateway Motorsports Park’s Executive Vice President and General Manager. “We’ve teamed up with iHeart on music events in the past and their efforts will enable us to expand our midway entertainment options, develop unique fan experiences at the race and also dramatically expand our marketing footprint to other regions. The Gateway sales team and iHeart sales executives, working together, will make a special event even greater.”
“iHeartMedia strives to provide our clients with unprecedented access to consumers by providing direct engagement and on-site activations unlike any other media group,’ said Katy Pavelonis, Senior Vice President for the St. Louis Region. “When the Gateway team presented this unique sponsorship opportunity to us, we realized the potential of being associated with one of the greatest summer events in St. Louis. Our radio partners will be provided with unrivaled access to market to at the event to the loyal NASCAR fan and our listeners will love the exclusive content and prizes in the days and weeks leading up to the event.”
The sixth annual NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 200 will feature practice, qualifying and the main event in a unique, one-day format on June 22. In addition, the ARCA Menards Series Day to Day Coffee 150 also will slate a full schedule of practice, qualifying and the 150-mile event on the same evening.
The track also will host the Rumble Before The Roar pre-race party in the new trackside party pavilion as a kick-off to the day’s events.
The NASCAR Truck 200 also is the final race of NASCAR’s new Triple Truck Challenge. The Challenge will provide the race winner with a $50,000 bonus and a potential $500,000 prize if the driver wins all three races: Texas, Iowa and Gateway.
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'We've won more overs than we've lost' - Tom Moody
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 16 April 2019 10:46
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has attributed their up-and-down season to losing key moments in matches they had otherwise dominated. Sunrisers have six points from seven matches and are currently looking to snap a three-match losing streak.
One of Sunrisers' handicaps, the unavailability of captain Kane WIlliamson in five of their matches due to a shoulder issue, has meant that seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has had to lead the side in five of their games. Moody gave a positive assessment of him while reinforcing that the switching leadership wasn't as big a factor as their tardiness at finishing games off.
"Obviously it would have been nice to have Kane fit from the beginning of the tournament," Moody said on Tuesday. "I think when Bhuvi captained the side, he did a very good job. I don't think it's a leadership issue at all. I think it's simply there's been moments - if you look at our games [up]till today in detail, there's been aspects of our game that we haven't got quite right. But I think we've won more overs than lost in the tournament.
"Look at KKR, very first game - we'd won [the first] 90 percent of that game. And we lost it. There are many examples like that. Mumbai Indians here - we played exceptionally well and then we found ourselves in no-man's land. And that last game here, we dominated the first half of the game, we got off to a steady start. We didn't quite capitalise in the first ten overs, what we should have done having not lost wickets. We then found ourselves going backwards. So we're winning the majority of a lot of the contest, but we're not finishing the job."
"It's really down to him to turn things around. I think that's what's the exciting part for him and for us. He still will have an opportunity to turn things around and have an impact this season." Tom Moody on Manish Pandey's poor run
The previous game, the one against Delhi Capitals, was particularly demoralising for Sunrisers who, having putting up 72 for the opening stand, were bowled out for 116 in a chase of 156. After the game, David Warner had noted that leaving out multiple experienced middle-order batsmen for the game had hurt Sunrisers. Williamson's return had meant Mohammed Nabi had to drop out of the XI. Among the domestic players who were left out was Manish Pandey, whose poor returns as a Sunrisers player continue to build up.
Pandey has made 54 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 93.10 and hasn't hit a single six this season. His highest score of 19 this season is his sixth highest overall for the franchise - he has only five scores of 20-plus in 18 innings overall.
"Obviously Manish hasn't quite hit the ground running in the last season and a bit," Moody said. "In the last year and the start of this season. No one will be more disappointed than Manish himself. He's a player that's got a lot of pride in his game and he's a good performer. He came into this season in some good form as well, having scored runs in the domestic season and having captained his side to victory. So it hasn't quite worked out for him, to this point. It's really down to him to turn things around. I think that's what's the exciting part for him and for us. He still will have an opportunity to turn things around and have an impact this season."
There wasn't, however, a clear indication from moody whether Sunrisers would switch back to having either Pandey or Yusuf Pathan back as they face table-toppers Chennai Super Kings at home on Wednesday. But whether they'll lean again on experience or not, Moody said that most importantly, they had moved on from the collapse.
"Ask Delhi Capitals. They're going okay," Moody said when asked about how a team bounces back from such a defeat. "The most important thing when you have a disappointing loss is you do reflect and then you move on. You don't ignore it. It's important to reflect and have a good look at it and you move on as quick as possible as a group. And we've done that."
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Kyle Jarvis, Timycen Maruma star as Zimbabwe wrap up 4-0 whitewash
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 16 April 2019 11:18
Zimbabwe 129 for 7 (Maruma 35, Chakabva 28, Naveed 2-26, Mustafa 2-29) beat UAE 175 (Suri 46, Rizwan 45, Williams 2-27, Jarvis 2-28, Mpofu 2-39) by three wickets (DLS method)
An all-round team performance ensured Zimbabwe clinched a three-wicket win via the DLS Method to close out a 4-0 series whitewash.
Choosing to bat first, UAE were well placed at 91 for 2 in the 25th over with Chirag Suri on 46, but the former Gujarat Lions squad member fell leg before to Sikandar Raza for 46 and the rest of the UAE line-up struggled to capitalise on the platform he had built.
Kyle Jarvis had been productive with the new ball through the first three matches and on this occasion he chipped in with a crucial double-strike in the 37th over. Ex-captain and opening batsman Rohan Mustafa was bumped down the order to make room for Suri and help insulate a weak tail. While Suri benefited from the move, Mustafa's form drought in Zimbabwe continued when Jarvis nabbed him for just 1, ending his series with 20 runs in four innings. Jarvis struck next ball to claim Imran Haider edging behind for a golden duck to make it 139 for 7.
CP Rizwan had been at the other end with Suri during a 38-run third-wicket stand, but could not find a reliable partner while trying to stretch out the innings. He made 45 at No. 4 before he was last man out in the 48th over, run out by Raza who denied him a second run with a direct hit from the third man boundary as UAE ended on 175.
Zimbabwe were cruising at 37 for 0 in the seventh over of the chase when rain interrupted play for two hours, resulting in a revised target of 128 off 30 overs. Captain Mohammad Naveed dismissed both openers in his first two overs after play resumed, including Regis Chakabva for 28 to make it 49 for 2.
Another flurry of three wickets in four balls fell across the 17th and 18th overs as Zahoor Khan had Craig Ervine edging behind before Mustafa bowled Sean Williams and Peter Moor to give Zimbabwe a brief scare at 79 for 5. It could have been 80 for 6 had Naveed held onto a chance in the 19th off Zahoor when Timycen Maruma was on 0, but the captain grassed the chance running back from mid-off. Maruma compounded the error clubbing two fours and a six off Mustafa in the 20th, bringing the equation down to a very manageable 31 off 62 balls.
Maruma hit another four and six off Haider's legspin in the 21st before Shaiman Anwar claimed him with his part-time spin in the 23rd for a top score of 35 off 22 balls. Zimbabwe needed just 10 off the last seven overs, and despite a runout to start the 25th, which resulted in Ryan Burn walking off for 1, Jarvis and Raza struck a pair of boundaries off Shaiman to clinch victory with 31 balls to spare.
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Barnes: If UCLA paid buyout, would have left
Published in
Breaking News
Tuesday, 16 April 2019 12:07
Last week, UCLA hired Mick Cronin after whiffing on Tennessee's Rick Barnes.
But what if UCLA had promised to pay Barnes' $5 million buyout?
"I think I would've been the coach at UCLA," Barnes told reporters in Knoxville on Tuesday. "I've said that to people before. I really felt at that time that's what would happen."
In one of the most transparent and honest news conferences ever held by a coach who'd just rejected an enticing offer from another school, Barnes admitted he tussled with his final decision to stay in Knoxville, largely due to financial matters.
As part of his return, Barnes has agreed to a new deal with Tennessee that will pay him $4 million per year before increasing to a $6 million annual sum by the end of the contract, sources told ESPN's Chris Low last week.
Barnes signed a deal last year that was set to pay him $3.25 million per year with annual $100,000 increases. His new deal will also provide more cash for his assistants, including former Colorado assistant Kim English, who replaces Rob Lanier on Tennessee's staff.
Lanier, UT's former associate head coach, recently agreed to a deal to be Georgia State's head coach.
"I'm supposed to be at Tennessee," Barnes said. "And it's really above and beyond the basketball program. I'm in love with this community. I'm in love with this state. I just think we got a lot of great things going on in this town."
But the multimillion-dollar buyout in his contract seemed to be the main issue that stopped Barnes from taking his talents to Los Angeles.
"A lot of praying went into it, I can tell you that," Barnes said. "There was a lot going on. When you get down to a situation like that, it has to make sense from a financial standpoint. Bottom line is we couldn't work it out with the buyout."
Barnes led Tennessee, which secured a No. 1 ranking during the 2018-19 season, to the Sweet 16, where the Vols lost to Purdue in overtime in one of the greatest games in NCAA tournament history.
On Tuesday, the 64-year-old head coach said talks with UCLA moved swiftly last week. But he told the school he would not leave Knoxville without talking to athletic director Phillip Fulmer and others in the community.
"I told them point blank, 'I'm not going to walk out of here and not meet with my team,'" Barnes said. "'I'm not going to walk out of here and not meet with people here that have been really good to me.' ... I said, 'You just can't say send a plane tomorrow and we're leaving. I'm going to make sure this is done the right way.'"
Barnes said lost weight as he pondered his options. He also said he believed the breakdown of the buyout talks was a sign from God.
"There was one time in my mind I truly felt that's what would happen," Barnes said about potentially taking the UCLA offer. "It got to that point where I felt like my prayers had been answered."
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NEW YORK -- The Boston Red Sox recalled catcher Sandy Leon and designated catcher Blake Swihart for assignment, making Swihart the first roster casualty amid the team's early-season struggles.
Leon, who spent the first few weeks of the 2019 season in Triple-A, will start when the Red Sox take on the rival Yankees in New York on Tuesday, with Chris Sale on the mound.
The Red Sox are off to a 6-11 start, tied for last place in the American League East, and their starters have the worst ERA in baseball at 7.18.
Leon spent much of 2018 as Sale's personal catcher, and much of the Red Sox pitching staff speaks glowingly of his ability to call a game. In 2018, he led the majors with a 3.29 catcher's ERA in 89 games.
Christian Vazquez has been the team's primary starting catcher.
Swihart, once the top prospect in the Red Sox farm system and a 2011 first-round pick, has struggled with injuries since making his major league debut in 2015.
Drafted as a catcher, Swihart first hit the injured list in 2016 after spraining his left ankle during a collision with the Fenway Park left field wall while playing outfield. Swihart also spent significant time in 2018 on the IL, nursing a strained hamstring.
Swihart spent the first two months of the 2018 season as the 25th man on the Red Sox, without minor league options.
In an effort to create more playing time, Swihart added the infield and outfield to his defensive arsenal but received 30 at-bats in the first 50 games of the season. The 27-year-old finished the year hitting .229/.285/.328 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 82 games.
In 203 games with the Red Sox, Swihart has hit .255/.314/.365 with nine homers and 58 RBIs, accumulating 0.3 WAR.
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Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins has a torn left quad, a source told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears on Tuesday.
Doctors are still determining the severity of Cousins' quad tear, which will determine the length of the recovery process, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. It is unclear whether he will need surgery or how long he could be out. An MRI confirmed the team's fear of a tear on Tuesday morning.
Cousins' noncontact injury occurred while he was pursuing a loose ball with 8:30 remaining in the first quarter of Monday's 135-131 loss to the LA Clippers in Game 2 of their playoff series. League sources told ESPN on Monday night that there was evidence that the injury was considered season-ending.
Cousins knocked away a pass from Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari. As he tried to chase down the ball, he fell to the floor before he could control the ball.
He tried to get up and keep going, but once he rose to his feet, he immediately called to be taken out of the game. He then gingerly made his way back to the Warriors' locker room with team medical personnel.
Cousins missed almost a full year of play with a torn left Achilles suffered last season in New Orleans. He signed a one-year deal with the Warriors, expecting that a healthy return to play would catapult him back into the free-agent market this summer.
Game 3 of the series, which is tied 1-1, is Thursday night in Los Angeles.
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Monte Carlo Masters: Cameron Norrie beats Adrian Mannarino in first round
Published in
Tennis
Tuesday, 16 April 2019 04:32
British number two Cameron Norrie reached the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters by beating France's Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3.
The 23-year-old broke early in both sets to win in one hour 19 minutes.
World number 56 Norrie next faces Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, who beat 12th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Eleven-time champion Rafael Nadal, who had a first-round bye, begins his title defence against fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday.
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The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is deeply saddened by the news that Qatari table tennis player, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Najjar, passed away on Monday 15th April 2019 after 10 days in intensive care following a car accident in Doha.
The Qatar U21 player, who represented Al Sadd Club, became the highest ranked player in his country and had an extremely bright future ahead of him.
A very polite and well-mannered man according to his peers and colleagues at the Qatar Table Tennis Association, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Najjar was in his second year of a Sport Management degree at Qatar University.
This was a young man looking to build a successful career in sport and someone very well respected by everyone who came into contact with him, both as a player and as a person.
He was registered to play at the upcoming Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest between 21-28 April.
Shocked and saddened by his tragic passing, the whole ITTF family will honour his memory in Budapest and beyond.
The ITTF sends its deepest condolences to the family of Abd Al-Rahman Al-Najjar, to the whole Qatar Table Tennis Association and to Khalil Al-Mohannadi, President of the Qatar and Arab Table Tennis Federations and Deputy ITTF President.
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This information gives key tips for those considering purchasing Olympic tickets.
The action-packed programme will feature a record 33 sports and 339 events and will run from 24 July until 9 August 2020.
Table Tennis will be played for the majority of the overall duration of Tokyo 2020, with matches played every day between 25 July and 7 August, except for a one-day break on 1 August.
All Table Tennis matches will be played at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium venue.
Here follows more detailed information on the key times and dates (please note that all times stated are JST):
The Men’s and Women’s Singles preliminary rounds, as well as the Mixed Doubles round of 16, get under way at 09:00 JST on 25 July 2020. The main draw of the Singles competitions kicks off on the same day at 14.15.
27 July marks the first opportunity to lift silverware, as the Mixed Doubles Bronze and Gold Medal Matches take place from 20:00, followed by the Victory Ceremony.
Bronze and Gold Medal Matches for the Women’s Singles will take place at 20:00 on 30 July, while the equivalent showpiece encounters in the Men’s Singles competition will be held at the same time on 31 July.
Leading up to that, the Women’s and Men’s Single semi-finals will take place at 11:00 and 15:00 respectively on 30 July.
After a one-day break from all Table Tennis action on 1 August, the Team competition – where players compete for national glory – gets under way at 10:00 on 2 August for the round of 16 matches, with quarter-finals starting on 3 August.
Semi-finals will run from 19:30 on 4 August (Women’s Team) until the same time on 5 August (Men’s Team), while all Team Medal Matches take place between 6-7 August.
6 August sees the Women’s Team Medal Matches at 11:00 (Bronze) and 19:30 (Gold), while the same times apply for the Men’s Team Medal Matches on 7 August.
China will be defending their Gold Medal for both Men’s and Women’s Team events, while Chinese duo Ma Long and Ding Ning are the current Olympic Champions in the Men’s and Women’s Singles competitions respectively.
Click here for the full event schedule.
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Defying the odds to win Women’s Team gold at the 2017 European Championships, Romania has grown into a leading nation at continental level and the country’s representatives will prove tough to beat at the 2019 World Championships.
Europe’s highest ranked player in the Women’s World Rankings, Bernadette Szocs has injected a new sense of excitement into the European game over the past year or so following her outstanding gold medal finish at the 2018 Europe Top 16 Cup competition. Fast on her feet and possessing a warrior-like persona on the table, Szocs occupies the no.14 spot in the seeding list.
Seeded three positions lower is 2015 European singles champion and three-time Olympian Elizabeta Samara. Celebrating her 30th birthday on Monday 15th April, Samara has enjoyed many a great battle against some of the biggest names associated with the sport and will provide a stern test to whomever she draws in Budapest.
Three further Romanians will compete in the Women’s Singles draw: Daniela Monteiro Dodean, Irina Ciobanu and Adina Diaconu.
When you cast your eye back over the history of the World Championships there is one name that stands out above the rest for Romania and that is Angelica Rozeanu’s.
Crowned Women’s Singles champion the last time the World Championships were staged in Budapest in 1950, Angelica Rozeanu won the gold medal on six consecutive occasions and rightfully took her place in the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1995.
With the World Championships returning to the Hungarian capital for the first time in 69 years, will we see another Romanian rise to the challenge?
Watch Romania’s star players in action at the Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships by purchasing your tickets below:
Tickets
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