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Rivalry reduced: Guardiola marches past limping Mourinho

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 13 February 2021 18:45

MANCHESTER, England -- It's not all bad news for Jose Mourinho. The Tottenham Hotspur manager can still claim to be the last coach to mastermind a win against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, although that distinction might not have provided much consolation as Spurs headed back to London after a 3-0 defeat against the runaway Premier League leaders on Saturday.

But with Tottenham now facing a battle just to finish in the top four this season after suffering their fourth defeat in five league games, the fading memory of that 2-0 home win against City last November at least offers Mourinho the right to say he still knows how to beat the best. Sadly for Mourinho, that is what his rivalry with Guardiola has now become: a fading memory. While Guardiola wins trophies and breaks records, and then threatens to repeat it all at City, Mourinho is locked in a battle with himself to prove that he is not yesterday's man. Wins like that one last November still matter to Mourinho.

If he beats his old rival in the Carabao Cup final in April (his 1-0 win with Manchester United in October 2016 remains the last time Guardiola was knocked out of the competition), Mourinho will deserve to celebrate another trophy, but the one-time Special One doesn't come close when the biggest prizes are handed out nowadays, and the Carabao Cup might be as good as it gets.

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Guardiola has won that particular trophy in each of the past three seasons. Two years ago, it was the first leg of a domestic treble and City are on course to do that again this year. They may even win the Champions League, too. And having secured a 16th successive win in all competitions with this victory against Spurs, who can seriously bet against City sweeping the board this season?

But that is the glittering road ahead: trophies and history lurking at every turn.

There was a time when Mourinho was on a similar path during his first spell at Chelsea and then Internazionale, but it is all about Guardiola now. This was the 25th meeting between the two men in all competitions for all clubs, and Guardiola has won 11 compared to Mourinho's seven, with the other seven finishing level. For Mourinho's sake, let's not talk about the trophy count.

At the Etihad on Saturday, Mourinho's team were dominated from start to finish -- with the exception of the 14th minute when Harry Kane sent a free kick against the City crossbar -- and the home side could have won by a greater margin.

"A fresh team against a very tired team," Mourinho said after the game. "But a team that started the game very well.

"I am very, very happy with the players' attitude. I had guys on the pitch who played two hours a couple of days ago and they gave everything."

Mourinho at least showed ambition with his starting lineup, by boldly selecting four forwards in Kane, Erik Lamela, Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura, but it made no difference. He and his team still had no answer to City's waves of attacks as Ilkay Gundogan once again scored twice, having hit two at Liverpool last week, after Rodri's opener from the penalty spot.

But there was never any hint of a repeat of the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when Mourinho's team went top with 20 points from nine games. They have since taken 16 points from a possible 42, dropping to eighth place in the process.

As for City, they've won 13 of 15 league games and drawn two since losing at Spurs. Back then, they were as low as 11th, but they now sit top, seven points clear of second-placed Leicester City, with a game in hand on Brendan Rodgers's team. Manchester United can close the gap to five points by winning at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, but City play their game in hand at Everton on Wednesday and a win at Goodison Park will surely signal the end of this season's title race.

The worry for the chasing pack is that City were so comfortable in winning this game -- both going forward and defensively. They did not need to hit top gear to claim the three points and the win was achieved without the injured Kevin De Bruyne and with Ruben Dias and Sergio Aguero only fit enough to take a place on the substitutes' bench.

City's first goal came from the penalty spot on 22 minutes, when Rodri made it 1-0 after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had fouled Gundogan.

"A modern penalty," Mourinho said. "A modern penalty is one where even if you touch with a nail it can be a penalty."

Davinson Sanchez denied City a second on 42 minutes with a goal-line block from Gundogan's close-range shot, but the latter was on the scoresheet early the second half when he beat Hugo Lloris with a tame left-foot strike. Gundogan's second on 66 minutes was outstanding -- the Germany international controlled a long clearance by goalkeeper Ederson before beating Sanchez and then scoring past Lloris.

The game was won by then and the title race has a similar sense of inevitability. City might lose again before the end of the season, but it's difficult to see them dropping seven or eight points.

City and Guardiola march on, but Mourinho and Spurs are limping. The Spurs boss has little to smile about right now -- apart from being the last man to beat Guardiola.

Kate Ebrahim and Thamsyn Newton have been recalled to the New Zealand women's T20I squad for the series against England at home in March following strong performances in the domestic Super Smash competition. The T20Is, to be played after the ODI leg as a series of double-headers alongside the men's games against Australia, will not feature Suzie Bates, who is still recovering from a right shoulder injury.

Ebrahim, whose last international appearance came in a T20I against Australia in Canberra in October 2018, hit 292 runs in nine innings at an average of 73.00 for Canterbury in the Super Smash, while also picking up a wicket in the eight overs she bowled in the competition. She has played a total of 31 ODIs and 37 T20Is over the years. Wellington's Newton, meanwhile, scored some handy runs but impressed with her medium-pace bowling, picking up seven wickets with an economy rate of 7.05 for Wellington women. She played the last of her 19 international matches in November 2017 against Pakistan in Sharjah.

Both of them were in action in the Super Smash final, where Ebrahim's 40-ball 45* helped Canterbury pull off a four-wicket win with two balls remaining.

"Kate and Thamsyn have worked hard and proven their ability in the Dream11 Super Smash this season," selector Jason Wells said in a statement. "Kate has been excellent with the bat for the [Canterbury] Magicians and yesterday's match-winning knock in the Grand Final capped off a superb Super Smash campaign for her.

"Thamsyn is an athletic cricketer whose all-round skills have served the [Wellington] Blaze well in their T20 campaign."

Apart from the missing Bates, the squad wears a familiar look, with Sophie Devine continuing to lead, and the likes of Amy Satterthwaite, Amelia Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Leigh Kasperek and others all in the mix. "We have shown faith in this group of cricketers and believe they have the skills and talent to compete against a strong English side," Wells said.

Squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amela Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin (wk), Thamsyn Newton, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Lea Tahuhu

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Late eagle propels Spieth to 2-shot lead at Pebble

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 13 February 2021 18:19

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- One swing put Jordan Spieth closer than ever to ending a long and mystifying slump, and it served as a reminder that he still has a long road ahead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Two shots behind with three holes to play on Saturday, Spieth holed out with an 8-iron from 160 yards for eagle on the 16th hole, the start of a stunning turnaround that sent him to a 1-under 71 and a 2-shot lead going into the final round.

Daniel Berger helped out by going from a share of the lead to 2 shots behind when his tee shot on the par-5 18th was out of bounds by mere inches and led to a double bogey.

"It's a good lesson to learn for tomorrow, how quickly things can change out here,'' Spieth said.

The timing was ideal for Spieth, who has been without a victory worldwide in his past 79 events, since he won the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.

He led by 2 shots at the turn only to miss the green and make bogey at the 10th and 12th, and then he bailed out of a tough wedge to a back pin on the par-5 14th that spun off the green for another bogey.

The pin on the 16th was cut to the left on a severely pitched green, and it was perfect.

"With the wind in off the right and a little mud on the right side of the ball, I knew I could throw it out to the right and let kind of the wind and the mud do most of the work,'' Spieth said. "In the air, I thought it was going to be really good. It was one of the only shots I kind of said, 'Oh, be good,' on today. Certainly a bonus for it to drop."

These moments used to happen when Spieth was winning all the time. This was the second time this week he holed out from the fairway, and now he is on the cusp of winning again. Spieth was at 13-under 203 with plenty of contenders right behind.

Berger called over an official for a linear measurement of his ball on the 18th, against the hedges but inside the white disks that mark out of bounds. He still had a 72 and was 2 shots behind.

"I'm still 2 shots out of the lead, so I feel pretty good about my chances going into tomorrow and drop a few more putts and it will be a good week,'' he said.

Patrick Cantlay, whose third round began with such promise when he hit 8 feet for eagle, birdied the 18th for a 70 and joined Berger 2 shots out of the lead. Tom Hoge (68) and Russell Knox (69) also were 2 shots behind.

This is the second straight week Spieth has had at least a share of the lead. A week ago in the Phoenix Open, he couldn't make any putts and closed with a 72 to finish 2 shots behind.

Even so, this is considered a body of work -- seven straight rounds of good scoring, and this week doing it while mostly keeping the ball in play.

Spieth expects there to be nerves, just like always. He is equally excited about the process as the position.

"I don't really care about the time frame stuff,'' he said about the 43-month drought. "I'm really just going to throw that out of my head, because I'm finally consistently doing things over the last two weeks that I've wanted to do for a long time. I think, obviously, the more you continue to do that, the bounces go your way, like the hole-out did today on 16.

"Someone may do that to me tomorrow or come shoot a 64 or something. I mean, it's golf, and it's Pebble Beach.''

Spieth's goal was to set a target and go get it, realizing that his game is still not as complete as when he was winning often and regularly contending in majors.

"It's working that direction, but it's not there yet,'' he said. "I'm just trying to have it feel a little bit better than yesterday.''

Jason Day was very much in the mix too, after a 68 left him in the group at 10-under 206.

Paul Casey stayed 3 shots behind with a great break on the 18th when his tee shot tumbled down onto the rocks, but he had a flat enough lie that he could hit off the rock back into the fairway. He shot 71.

Maverick McNealy had a 69 that included a penalty shot behind the fifth green when his ball moved right as he set the club behind the ball.

Spieth didn't have to contend with what he predicted to be a "mean'' day at Pebble Beach. The rain in the forecast was gone by the time he teed off. The raging wind was more of a stiff breeze along the ocean holes that Pebble gets all the time, though it was no less challenging coming back into it on the back nine.

No rain was in the forecast, just typical Pacific wind on a course where it all can change quickly.

Osaka saves 2 match points, rallies vs. Muguruza

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 13 February 2021 18:19

MELBOURNE, Australia -- So good for so long lately, Naomi Osaka was just one point from the end of her lengthy winning streak, one point from leaving the Australian Open with a loss to Garbine Muguruza.

Bleak as things looked for her late in a big-hitting matchup of Grand Slam champions and former No. 1-ranked women, Osaka never wavered, erasing two match points and grabbing the last four games to edge Muguruza 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena in the fourth round Sunday.

The third-seeded Osaka returns to the quarterfinals of a tournament she won in 2019 for one of her three major trophies. Osaka ran her winning streak to 18 matches -- a run that included a US Open title in September -- and put a stop to Muguruza's own fine form of late.

Heading into Sunday -- the second day of the tournament without any spectators, because of a local COVID-19 lockdown -- two-time major champion Muguruza had been broken only once in this Australian Open. She had dropped a total of 10 games through three matches.

But Osaka broke her five times and won 17 games in all in a contest featuring entertaining baseline back-and-forth play and terrific serving by both on a cloudy day with the temperature in the mid-60s.

"I was a bit intimidated, because I knew that she was playing really well coming into this match,'' Osaka said. "In the stressful points, I feel like I just had to go within myself. And I know that today I probably hit a lot of unforced errors, but I feel like it was what I needed to do, because I couldn't really give her any short balls because she would finish it.''

Osaka wound up with more unforced errors, 36-28, but also more winners, 40-24.

The key moment came when Osaka was serving at 15-40 while trailing 5-3 in the final set. Muguruza could not convert either of those match points: Osaka delivered one of her 11 aces at 118 mph on the first; Muguruza missed a groundstroke on the second.

Fifteen minutes later, the match would be over.

Muguruza served for the win in the next game and got broken when Osaka smacked a cross-court forehand winner to close a 14-stroke exchange. After holding to go up 6-5, Osaka broke Muguruza yet again to win their first head-to-head meeting.

Osaka, a 23-year-old who was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 3, now faces unseeded 35-year-old Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan with a semifinal berth at stake.

"I'm not really looking forward to it,'' Osaka said. "She's going to be really tough.''

The other fourth-round matches on this side of the women's draw were later Sunday: Serena Williams vs. Aryna Sabalenka, and Simona Halep vs. Iga Swiatek.

The 71st-ranked Hsieh's 6-4, 6-2 victory over 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova made her the oldest woman to make her major quarterfinal debut in the professional era.

This is Hsieh's 38th main-draw appearance at a Grand Slam tournament.

Hsieh plays with an unusual style that includes two-handed shots off both sides, and that might have flustered the 19th-seeded Vondrousova, who made 31 unforced errors, 13 more than the winner.

Hsieh beat 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the second round.

UFC 258 live updates and results: Usman vs. Burns

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 13 February 2021 19:02

Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns have faced off hundreds of times with each other in practice. On Saturday, they'll do it for real.

Usman will defend his UFC welterweight title against Burns, his former sparring partner, in the main event of UFC 258 in Las Vegas.

Purchase UFC 258 here.

"I know a lot about Kamaru," Burns told ESPN. "I know exactly how he wants to fight. I know a lot about him. On the other hand, he knows a lot about me, too. It's just different. I don't care. It is what it is. We're gonna go out there, I'm gonna try to knock him out or submit him."

Usman and Burns had been training together in South Florida since 2012, first with the Blackzilians, then HKickboxing and finally with Sanford MMA. Usman departed for Colorado to train under coach Trevor Wittman last year after the initial fight with Burns was scheduled for July. But Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from that bout.

While Wittman will corner Usman, Burns will be missing longtime coach Henri Hooft, who has decided to sit this one out because he also coached Usman before he switched gyms.

Usman, a Nigeria, native is 12-0 in the UFC -- one win short of Georges St-Pierre's record 13 straight UFC welterweight wins. Usman, 33, is coming off a unanimous-decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 last July.

Burns (19-3) has won six in a row, the most recent a unanimous decision win over Woodley last May. The Brazil native is 4-0 since moving up to welterweight from lightweight in 2019. Burns, 34, is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with power in his hands. He's trying to become the first Brazilian to win the UFC welterweight title.

In the co-main event, Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso will meet in a battle of promising women's flyweight up-and-comers. The 22-year-old Barber (8-1) is trying to bounce back from her first career loss, as well as ACL surgery. Grasso (12-3), a 27-year-old Mexican striker, is looking to put together her first UFC winning streak.

Also on the undercard, former top middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum tries to snap a losing streak against Ian Heinisch and dominant Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Rodolfo Vieira tries to stay undefeated in MMA against Anthony Hernandez.


Fight in progress:

Middleweight: Maki Pitolo (13-7, 1-3 UFC, +145) vs. Julian Marquez (7-2, 1-1 UFC, -170)


Results:

Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez (8-2 1 NC, 2-2 1 NC UFC) defeats Rodolfo Vieira (7-1, 2-1 UFC) by second-round submission

Vieira came in as a heavy favorite, the odds-on pick to dominate with his oppressive ground game. Vieira is a five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, a former prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club gold medalist and a monstrous MMA prospect.

Then, Hernandez did the impossible.

After Vieira started to tire in the first round, Hernandez took over. He beat up Vieira on the feet, cut him with elbows and then -- incredibly -- submitted Vieira with a guillotine choke. The finish came at 1:52 of the second round. Hernandez winning by submission was +1600, per Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, and just emerging victorious was +370.

"I knew I was gonna do it," Hernandez said in his postfight interview ... "I've never felt more ready for a fight."

Vieira came out right away in the first round and picked Hernandez up for a big slam. He quickly got into mount and worked for an arm triangle. Hernandez survived and made his way back to his feet. When he did, Vieira was gassed out and Hernandez started landing hard punches.

"I was like, Oh he's not that strong," Hernandez said. "My coaches just told me to be calm. ... I just stayed calm, listened to the game plan and made it happen."

Vieira took Hernandez down in the second round, but Hernandez escaped before Vieira could get to his back. On the feet, Hernandez cut Vieira with two elbows and then grabbed his neck in a scramble. Vieira had no choice but to tap in a shocking result.

Hernandez, 27, has won two of his last three fights. The California native has six submissions in eight pro victories, but said afterward he is just a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Vieira, a 31-year-old Brazil native, got hit with his first pro loss. He had finished every previous MMA bout.

-- Marc Raimondi

Watch this fight on ESPN+.


Welterweight: Belal Muhammad (18-3, 9-3 UFC) defeats Dhiego Lima (17-8, 4-6 UFC) by unanimous decision

Muhammad came out of his corner at the start of the fight and immediately began stalking his prey, and he didn't take one step backward during the three rounds that followed. His steady stream of punches never wobbled Lima but did wear him down, enabling Muhammad to earn his fourth straight victory.

Muhammad's domination made it easy for the judges, who all scored the bout 30-27.

The 32-year-old from Chicago did not escape unscathed, however, as Lima landed an abundance of calf kicks throughout the three rounds, forcing Muhammad to switch stances and robbing him of some of the power in his punches.

But that was about all Lima was able to muster offensively. The leg kicks aside, the 31-year-old from Atlanta simply did not throw enough strikes. He occasionally countered a Muhammad attack, but mostly was outworked in the fisticuffs. It was his first fight in nearly a year and a half, and he looked rusty in seeing his three-fight win streak come to an end.

-- Jeff Wagenheim

Watch this fight on ESPN+.


Strawweight: Polyana Viana (12-4, 3-3 UFC) defeats Mallory Martin (7-4, 1-2 UFC) by first-round submission

play
1:10

Polyana Viana makes easy work of Mallory Martin with armbar submission

Polyana Viana gets Mallory Martin to the mat, and Martin can't escape as Viana submits her via armbar in Round 1.

If Viana keeps fighting like this, that 0-3 skid early in her UFC career will be a distant memory.

Viana picked up her second consecutive submission victory by tapping Martin with an armbar at 3:18 of the first round. It was another impressive showing for the Brazilian strawweight, who also tapped Emily Whitmire in the first round with an armbar in her previous performance in August.

Martin, of Denver, was comfortable taking the fight to the ground and working out of Viana's guard, which proved to be a costly mistake. Viana caught her in a triangle from the bottom and then alternated back and forth between the triangle and armbar until the finish. She also landed a series of hard elbows to the top of Matin's head, while working on the submission.

Viana, who began her UFC career 1-3, is now 3-3 in the Octagon. Martin falls to 1-2.

-- Brett Okamoto

Watch this fight on ESPN+.


Catchweight (140 pounds): Chris Gutierrez (16-3-2, 4-1-1 UFC) defeats Andre Ewell (17-7, 4-3 UFC) by unanimous decision

play
0:25

Andre Ewell saved by Round 1 horn

Chris Gutierrez manages to drop Andre Ewell, but Ewell escapes and is saved by the horn at the end of Round 1.

Gutierrez got a kick out of a short-notice fight. Actually, several of them.

Using a superlative kicking game, Gutierrez outpointed Ewell via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27) in a 140-pound catchweight bout. The fight was put together earlier this week after Ewell's positive COVID-19 test forced him out of last weekend's UFC Fight Night card.

Gutierrez damaged both of Ewell's legs with kicks. But those weren't the only targets of Gutierrez's dangerous legs. He dropped Ewell with a left head kick at the end of the first round. Ewell rebounded with a solid second round, taking Gutierrez down after catching a kick and working a heel hook.

In the third round, Gutierrez really opened up. With Ewell feeling the effects of leg kicks, Gutierrez landed a beautiful left kick counter with Ewell against the cage. Later, Gutierrez propelled his left leg off the cage and landed a kick with that same leg to Ewell's face. Gutierrez finished the bout looking for a mounted triangle on a grounded Ewell.

Gutierrez, 29, is unbeaten in five straight fights and looks like someone to watch in the bantamweight division. The Boston native has not lost since his UFC debut in 2018. Ewell, a 33-year-old California native, had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

-- Marc Raimondi

Watch this fight on ESPN+.


Welterweight: Gabe Green (10-3, 1-1 UFC) defeats Phil Rowe (7-3, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision

Green landed some big punches along the way, but it was his lower leg kicks that got the knockdowns, did the damage and secured his first UFC victory.

When the fight was being contested at distance, the taller Rowe used his reach to pick apart Green. And when the fight went to the canvas, Rowe also showed off a jiu-jitsu edge that put him in dominant positions on the canvas, close to setting up a submission. But Green dropped him twice in the second round and one more time at the start of Round 3, all with calf kicks. That was what swayed the judges in a close fight.

For Green, a 27-year-old from Downey, California, the victory got him back on track. He lost his UFC debut last May, ending a six-fight win streak.

On this night it was Rowe whose streak ended. The 30-year-old from Palm Coast, Florida, who was making his UFC debut, came in riding a seven-fight winning streak that dated back to his third pro fight.

Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Green, and the third had it 30-27.

-- Jeff Wagenheim

Watch this on ESPN+.


Still to come:

Welterweight: Kamaru Usman (c) (17-1, 12-0 UFC, -270) vs. Gilbert Burns (19-3, 12-3 UFC, +220)
Women's flyweight: Maycee Barber (8-1, 3-1 UFC, +105) vs. Alexa Grasso (12-3, 4-3 UFC, -125)
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum (16-6 1 NC, 10-6 1 NC UFC, -220) vs. Ian Heinisch (14-3, 3-2 UFC, +180)
Men's featherweight: Ricky Simon (17-3, 5-2 UFC, -240) vs. Brian Kelleher (22-11, 6-4 UFC, +200)
(c) = defending champion

NBA warns LeBron, Kuzma for flopping vs. Grizz

Published in Basketball
Saturday, 13 February 2021 16:39

LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma both received warnings for violating the NBA's anti-flopping rule in the Los Angeles Lakers' 115-105 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the league announced.

The NBA said Saturday that James' violation occurred with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter when James, positioned between Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen of the Grizzlies, fell to the floor while vying for a rebound.

Kuzma flopped with 6:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, according to the league. While guarding Brooks, Kuzma tried to draw an offensive foul on the Memphis wing by spinning and tumbling to the hardwood after Brooks put his shoulder down and initiated contact with Kuzma's hip.

The NBA looked to clean up the game by monitoring flopping starting in the 2012-13 season. After receiving a warning, a player can be subject to fines that grow from $5,000 to $10,000 to $15,000 to $30,000 for each subsequent violation. If a player reaches six flops in a season, the fine can increase even further, and the league has the right to issue a suspension.

Nearly a decade after introducing the rule change, the anti-flopping rule is rarely enforced. James and Kuzma are just the sixth and seventh players to be reprimanded with warnings by the league this season, joining LaMelo Ball, D.J. Augustin, Gary Trent Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and Mason Jones.

The last player to be fined by the NBA for flopping was Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics during the 2020 playoffs.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.

Dodgers 3B Turner announces he's staying put

Published in Baseball
Saturday, 13 February 2021 19:12

Third baseman Justin Turner is staying put with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced Saturday on Twitter.

Turner's deal is for two years and $34 million guaranteed, and it includes a club option for a third year, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Turner, 36, became a free agent when his four-year, $64 million contract expired following the Dodgers' World Series victory in October. A member of the Dodgers since 2014, Turner is the longest-tenured position player on the team and the third longest overall, behind Clayton Kershaw (2008) and Kenley Jansen (2010).

Turner was a journeyman for the first half of his major league career. He was non-tendered by the New York Mets in December 2013, went unsigned for the next two months and then agreed to a minor league contract with the Dodgers. At 29, he began to establish himself among the game's most productive third basemen.

Turner batted .297/.378/.508 from 2015 to 2019, accumulating 105 homers, 147 doubles and 21.9 FanGraphs wins above replacement in 645 regular-season games. He made an All-Star team, finished within the top 10 in National League MVP voting on two occasions and set the tone for the Dodgers' hitting philosophy as their most consistent performer.

Along the way, Turner contributed several memorable postseason moments, most notably his walk-off home run against the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the 2017 NL Championship Series. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, he ranks first in Dodgers postseason history in hits (79), home runs (12), runs (40) and RBIs (41).

His crowning achievement finally came last season, when Turner -- a lifelong Dodgers fan who grew up in Lakewood, California, and identifies Kirk Gibson's famous pinch-hit home run in the 1988 World Series as his first baseball memory -- helped lead the franchise to its first championship in more than 30 years.

Turner posted a 1.066 OPS in six World Series games against the Tampa Bay Rays, but his career highlight became tarnished after Major League Baseball informed the Dodgers in the late stages of an eventual clincher that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19.

Turner, the Dodgers' player rep, was removed to begin the eighth inning and wasn't on the field to celebrate the final out. But he broke protocol and reentered the field to take pictures with the World Series trophy and was seen around teammates without a mask, drawing the ire of MLB officials and rampant criticism from people throughout the country. MLB ultimately decided not to discipline him.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

Records tumble as stars come out to play in Staten Island

Published in Athletics
Saturday, 13 February 2021 16:13
Fast times in New York as Shaunae Miller-Uibo dominates, while Charlie Da’Vall Grice breaks British 1000m record and Jake Wightman lowers Scottish 1500m mark

There had been high hopes for fast times at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and the latest stop on the World Athletics World Indoor Tour did not disappoint as a swathe of national records fell in New York.

The meeting had been moved to the impressive Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island due to the original venue of the Reggie Lewis Centre in Boston being used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre. And while the showpiece shorter sprints perhaps didn’t completely live up to expectations, much of the action was of a very high quality as some of the world’s biggest stars came out to play.

One of the most impressive showings came in the women’s 400m, as Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo broke the Bahamian record in a world-leading 50.21 in what was her first indoor run over the distance in seven years. It moved her to fifth on the all-time standings. American Wadeline Jonathas was second in 51.95, with Jessica Beard third in 52.60.

In the men’s 400m Michael Norman edged a fantastic race, clocking 45.34 to just hold off training partner Rai Benjamin’s PB of 45.39. Tyrell Richard was third in 46.25.

The men’s two-mile event – won by Justin Knight’s world-leading 8:13.92 – had seen the first national record of the night set by third-placed Australian Morgan McDonald when he clocked 8:14.92 but there was also a remarkable performance from his compatriot Oliver Hoare in the 1500m.

Britain’s Jake Wightman, in his first outing of the year, had led from the front for much of the race until the closing lap, when Hoare’s closing 300m of 41.67 led him to the line first in a time of 3:32.35 which placed him seventh on the all-time list.

In finishing second, Wightman came perilously close to Peter Elliott’s 21-year-old British Indoor mark of 3:34.20, but the European and Commonwealth medallist’s PB of 3:34.48 is a Scottish indoor record. New Zealand’s Sam Tanner clocked 3:34.72 for another national mark as nine of the field set personal bests.

The 1500m had followed hot on the heels of a memorable men’s 1000m encounter in which there was a British record for Charlie Da’Vall Grice to celebrate. Bryce Hoppell won the race in a North American record of 2:16.27, but Da’Vall Grice had pushed him hard for much of the encounter, the Briton eventually clocking 2:17.20 for third, with Canada’s Marco Arop second in 2:17.10.

Another of the evening’s talking points came in the women’s two-mile event. Many believe Elle Purrier to be a star in the making and her time of 9:10.28 was not only an outright North American record but placed her third on the all-time list. Only two women – Genzebe Dibaba and Meseret Defar – have ever gone quicker either indoors or out.

In seventh place, Amy Eloise Markovc clocked a British record of 9.30.69, with her 3000m time of 8:54.11 en route not only a PB but also within the qualifying standard for next month’s European Indoor Championships.

Another North American record fell in the men’s 800m when world champion Donavan Brazier broke his own mark with 1:44.21, while a third consecutive personal best from Britain’s Jamie Webb of 1:46.26 gave him second spot ahead of Erik Sowinksi (1:47.65).

The women’s race was won by world bronze medallist Ajee’ Wilson, who was a late entrant but was a convincing winner when clocking 2:01.79 to take the victory ahead of fellow American Kaela Edwards’ 2:02.17. There was a superb third place for Britain’s Isabelle Boffey thanks to her indoor PB of 2:02.45, which was inside the European Indoor Championships qualifying standard. Her fellow Briton Adelle Tracey tired in the latter stages to run 2:04.28 for seventh.

Ajee’ Wilson wins the 800m, with Isabelle Boffey coming third. Credit: New Balance Indoor Grand Prix/Kevin Morris

When it came to the shorter sprints, the 100m hurdles world record holder Keni Harrison clocked a world-leading 7.82 in winning the 60m hurdles, with Britain’s Tiffany Porter equalling her season’s best of 7.89, the same time clocked by third-placed Gabrielle Cunningham. Britain’s Cindy Semper was fifth in 8.22, with world 400m hurdles silver medallist Sydney McLaughlin struggling in eighth with a time of 8.56.

An impressive late surge from Trayvon Bromell gave him 60m victory in a time of 6.50 ahead of fellow Americans Demek Kemp (6.65) and Maurice Eaddy (6.67), while in the women’s race Kayla White’s PB of 7.15 landed her the win from Hannah Cunliffe’s 7.17, with Candace Hill clocking 7.19 in third.

As expected world champion Noah Lyles did take the 200m honours but didn’t seem overly impressed with himself after a run of 20.80 which saw him finish ahead of Deon Lendore (20.92) and Jaron Flournoy (21.26). Lyles had also run 6.76 in the 60m heats earlier in the evening. 

In the two field events, Trey Culver cleared a world-leading and PB-equalling 2.33m to break the meeting high jump record, while world indoor champion Sandi Morris won the pole vault with a best clearance of 4.60m.

Full events results can be found here

Roper Nearly Scores A Daytona Truck Series Upset

Published in Racing
Saturday, 13 February 2021 14:30

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Cory Roper nearly missed the field for Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

He ended the night in much finer fashion, however, leading the NextEra Energy Resources 250 coming off the final corner and ending up with a third-place finish after being passed by eventual winner Ben Rhodes coming to the checkered flag on the 2.5-mile track.

Roper, who snuck into the field as the final driver to lock in on qualifying speed, started 31st Friday night and stayed back in the pack — out of trouble — for the majority of the 250-mile distance.

However, he came to life during the final stage, picking his way through several late-race accidents to have a shot during the final restart, where he restarted inside the top 10 and rocketed to the front.

Roper took the green flag, found defending series champion Sheldon Creed in the draft, and the pair hooked up. Roper shoved Creed all the way to the lead at the white flag, but when Creed slapped the outside wall approaching turn one, the Texan had to take evasive action to keep his hopes alive.

He ducked to the inside in front of Rhodes and, suddenly, found himself leading exiting turn two.

Roper’s only problem? The push Rhodes gave him was strong enough, it got him too far out front.

“I knew I was a sitting duck whenever I didn’t feel the push, it just pulls the motor back,” Roper said after the race. “[Ben Rhodes] sucked me back when he got to the spoiler. You hear all of that in the truck and you just know (what’s coming).”

As the field exited turn four and roared toward the checkered flag, Rhodes moved to the outside lane with help from his ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger and powered past Roper.

At that point, the die was cast. Roper ended up third after Jordan Anderson charged from 11th to second and nearly snookered both Roper and Rhodes in the final few feet.

Though he could see a potential win at Daytona out his windshield, Roper also couldn’t discount the significance of a podium result to his single-truck, family-owned race team.

“It’s bittersweet,” Roper said of the finish. “You can’t be upset with a third in this series; this is probably the most competitive series in the circuit, I believe. Just to make this race, we were this close to not making it. But to get a good finish like that, you’ve got to be happy for your guys that work on this thing so hard … and I’m happy for the team.”

Though Friday night’s result was big in terms of Roper’s confidence as a driver, it also meant a lot financially, considering his operation is less well-funded than some of the bigger teams in the series.

“We’ve got some work to do to be able to run like we want to run,” Roper said. “So any time you can finish well and get a great finish like this and bring funds back to better your equipment, it’s huge in racing like this.

“The financial side of it is huge to be able to help us get two or three more races to the schedule without any issue.”

Could he have done anything differently to hold the lead in the final run to the checkered flag?

“I had the wheel turned further than I should have left off of [turn] four,” Roper said. “I wish I had known [Anderson] was coming and I probably would have thrown a little more block on him, but I didn’t know he was there until it was too late … and there wasn’t any sense in taking him out because I was too late to throw it anyway.

“All I could do was hold her to the mat and see what happened.”

Roper’s season will continue Feb. 19 with the BrakeBest Select 159 from the Daytona Int’l Speedway road course, the famed facility’s 3.61-mile, 14-turn layout that integrates parts of the superspeedway with the infield road course used for the Rolex 24 endurance race.

After Move To JGR, Bell Looks To Live Up To Potential

Published in Racing
Saturday, 13 February 2021 15:13

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – One question looms on Christopher Bell larger than any other before the NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway Sunday with the Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

After taking over the No. 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing, finally reaching the top of Toyota Racing Development’s pipeline, can the 26-year-old live up to his full potential? Last year, Bell finished 20th in the Cup Series points during his rookie season driving for Leavine Family Racing.

Now Bell is in one of NASCAR’s most coveted rides and anything short of making the playoffs would be a disappointment.

“It’s a necessity,” Bell said regarding the playoffs in last week’s media press conferences. “If I don’t make the Playoffs this year, that is not going to be ideal. That’s for sure. I don’t know what the results of that would be, but I don’t want to find that out.”

Bell’s talent is widely-known. He is the only driver not named Swindell to win three or more Lucas Oil Chili Nationals main events, one of the toughest events to win in North American motorsports. He is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. From 2018-19, he won nearly a quarter of Xfinity Series races held (15 of 66).

However, talent and potential must develop at some point. That’s what Bell faces as he prepares for his second NASCAR Cup Series season.

Christopher Bell on track at Daytona Int’l Speedway. (HHP/Harold Hinson Photo)

“I’m in a difficult position, no doubt about it,” Bell said. “Whenever you drive for Joe Gibbs Racing or any top organization, I think that the expectations are to be a championship contender. Coach [Gibbs] provides all of the resources needed to have four championship caliber teams and that is the goal. Anything short of that is not good enough.

“This is my first year here,” Bell continued. “I don’t think people are realistically expecting me to compete for a championship this first year, but eventually that needs to be the end goal: to have a championship caliber team, and I hope I’m a championship caliber driver to lead that group.”

Bell finished with two top-five and seven top-10 finishes at the Cup level last year. His start to the season didn’t go well, with finishes of 21st, 33rd, and 38th in the opening three races. Bell didn’t complete his first, full Cup Series race until race the fourth event of the year at Phoenix Raceway.

By then, he was 32nd in points.

The path to Bell making the playoffs is ensuring a clean start during the  first three races of the year at Daytona – on the oval and on the road course – and Homestead Miami-Speedway.

“I think that we have all of the ingredients that we need to compete for wins right out of the gate, but on the flip side, I’m definitely not going to be driving it 100% to win those races,” Bell said. “Last year, I got buried in points by not having a good opening stretch of races, and that is our number one goal: to see the checkered flags, get to the end.”

Established crew chief Adam Stevens, who previously guided Kyle Busch to two NASCAR Cup Series titles, will guide Bell through the most pivotal season of his career. Stevens moves to the No. 20 team after a six-year run with Busch.

“Adam (Stevens) has been really good about pushing that we need to build a foundation before we just go out here and start trying for wins,” Bell said. “I think we have all the tools we need to win really early, but on the flipside, I don’t want to make a mistake trying to win too early. I would like to collect some good finishes and build on that, and then compete for wins.”

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