
Boys' basketball Top 20: Two Montgomery County contenders enter the rankings
When this week of high school basketball concludes, the calendar will read 'February' — a notice to the area's top teams that the time to begin playing to their fullest potential is near. Less than a month remains before postseason basketball arrives.
Many usual suspects have dotted these rankings all season — think traditional private school powers and star-led publics rounding into form — and that hasn't changed as the most consequential time of year arrives. Gonzaga and Paul VI will play on Tuesday in a battle of No. 1 and No. 2, both undefeated in the WCAC with first place on the line in a rematch of last year's championship game. It's one of three top 10 boys' matchups this week, the others being a contest between No. 4 St. John's and No. 7 Bishop O'Connell on Tuesday and a Saturday matinee pitting No. 3 Mount Zion Prep against No. 6 Sidwell Friends.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Miami Herald
32 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Denny Hamlin pulls out third win of year at Michigan
Denny Hamlin is still on baby watch, but he had one more workday to take care of Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver made his way past William Byron with four laps to go and had enough gas to hang on and win the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Racing a snappy purple No. 11 Toyota, Hamlin passed Byron's No. 24 Chevrolet with four circuits left on the two-mile track, and Byron ran out of gas coming to the white flag. The Hendrick Motorsports driver landed in 28th place. In delivering Toyota its second straight MIS win, Hamlin beat Ford's Chris Buescher by 1.09 seconds for his third Cup Series win this season and third at the Michigan track. His last victory there came in June 2011. 'I wanted to get the lead, (Byron) was doing a great job defending,' Hamlin said before taunting the crowd's mixture of cheers and boos. 'Daddy, I'm sorry, but I beat your favorite driver, folks.' When asked who that driver was, Hamlin, who led just five laps, said, 'All of them.' Hamlin and fiancee Jordan Fish are expecting their third child. Hamlin said he was prepared to leave the race if she went into labor during the first 50 laps. Hamlin won for the 57th time in his 701st career race, becoming just the 10th driver to win after making 700 starts. 'We've been so fast the entire year but haven't been finishing for one reason or another,' said Hamlin, 44. 'It feels good to come here to Michigan, where we've been so close over the years, and get a victory ... Such a gratifying day to restart 11th, 12th, something like that, and then drive to the front.' Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace were third and fourth, respectively. Gibbs is Hamlin's JGR teammate and Wallace drives for 23XI Racing, which Hamlin co-owns. Kyle Larson finished fifth. Byron grabbed the lead away from polesitter Chase Briscoe on Lap 12 of Stage 1, but Buescher passed Byron on Lap 36 of the 45-lap segment and earned his first stage win of 2025. Byron finished second while Hamlin, Briscoe and Josh Berry completed the top five in the incident-free stage. The first caution for cause waved on Lap 60 when Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek, running just inside the top 20, spun on the backstretch to bunch up the field again, but seven laps later a hard wreck occurred in Turn 2. Riding in the bottom lane, last week's winner Ryan Blaney tapped Cole Custer's No. 41, triggering a mess that ended up with Alex Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet crashing violently nose-first into the wall and Briscoe spinning after being clipped by Custer's Ford. That prompted a red-flag condition for cleanup. 'Yeah, that hurt a lot,' Bowman said. 'It was probably top of the board on hits I've taken, and, unfortunately, I've taken a lot of hits.' As Stage 2 neared its end, Blaney slapped the wall on his own in the No. 12 Ford and spun down the speedway, an unfortunate fifth caution for Christopher Bell, who pitted shortly before Blaney's mishap. The closing laps of the stage featured a spirited battle between Byron, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar. Byron made the winning pass on the final lap for the stage win while Cindric was able to hold off Michigan native Hocevar for second. Hocevar took the point on Lap 152, but the Spire Motorsports driver suffered a flat left rear tire with 19 circuits left, turning over the lead to Byron. Hocevar finished 29th. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
McLaren Unveils 750S Le Mans Edition to Celebrate Iconic 1995 Victory
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector McLaren is channeling its motorsport legacy into a rare road-going tribute with the release of the 750S Le Mans, a limited-run supercar celebrating the marque's historic victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Just 50 examples will be built, marking three decades since McLaren's race debut and unprecedented win with the now-legendary No. 59 McLaren F1 GTR. In its first-ever entry into the endurance race, McLaren clinched first place and filled four of the top five spots—a feat still regarded as one of the most iconic moments in Le Mans history. The special edition 750S draws inspiration directly from the victorious No. 59, notably offered in Le Mans Grey, the same livery worn by the winning car. Exclusive design cues on the 750S Le Mans include a functional roof scoop, the HDK (High Downforce Kit) with carbon fiber aerodynamic enhancements, and bespoke five-spoke LM wheels, nodding to the F1 GTR's original design. Gold brake calipers, titanium exhaust tips, and Le Mans badging further distinguish the edition, along with optional plaques celebrating McLaren's rare achievement of motorsport's Triple Crown—wins at Le Mans, the Indy 500, and the Monaco Grand Prix. While aesthetically steeped in nostalgia, performance is cutting-edge. The 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 produces 740 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, rocketing the car from 0 to 62 mph in under 2.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 206 mph. Power is channeled through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, while carbon-ceramic brakes provide stopping power equal to its straight-line force. In addition to honoring its 1995 triumph, McLaren says the 750S Le Mans also nods to its present-day GT3 EVO efforts and upcoming return to the top-tier Le Mans Hypercar class in 2027. With demand expected to be as intense as the race it celebrates, the 750S Le Mans is a collector-grade tribute to McLaren's legacy—past, present, and future. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Borussia Dortmund signs Jobe Bellingham, Real Madrid star Jude's younger brother
Sunderland's Jobe Bellingham kisses the trophy following the Sky Bet Championship play off final between Sheffield United and Sunderland, at Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday May 24, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP) DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — The Bellingham name is back at Borussia Dortmund. Jobe Bellingham signed a five-year-deal on Tuesday with the German club where his older brother developed into one of the world's best midfielders before joining Real Madrid in 2023. Advertisement The younger Bellingham, 19, leaves Sunderland just over two weeks after helping it to win promotion back to the Premier League through the playoff final. He reportedly turned down an offer from Eintracht Frankfurt. Bellingham is eligible for Dortmund's opening group-stage games this month at the Club World Cup in the United States. He will wear No. 77 at the tournament, Dortmund said. Dortmund starts against Brazil's Fluminense on June 17 followed by Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa on June 21 and South Korea's Ulsan HD four days after that. Following in his brother's footsteps Just like Jude, Jobe Bellingham is a central midfielder who likes to get forward and support attacks. Advertisement Jobe has followed in his brother's footsteps by coming through the Birmingham City academy and making his senior debut at the age of 16 in 2022. He's also played for England Under-21s. There are a couple of differences between the Bellinghams, too. Jobe is two years older than Jude was when he signed for Dortmund in 2020, and he also has experience of playing a center-forward role in a handful of games for Sunderland. His performances for Sunderland in the second-division Championship this season saw Bellingham named the league's young player of the year in April and named in its team of the season. Advertisement Bellingham joins a Dortmund team which narrowly secured Champions League qualification for next season by rising to fourth place on the final day of the Bundesliga. ___ AP soccer: