logo
Bristol Motor Speedway game tops 85,000 in ticket sales, will break MLB attendance record

Bristol Motor Speedway game tops 85,000 in ticket sales, will break MLB attendance record

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — The Speedway Classic will break Major League Baseball's single-game, regular-season attendance record.
The game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves, which will be played Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, already has sold more than 85,000 tickets. The first American or National League game ever played in Tennessee will eclipse the previous paid attendance record of 84,587, set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.
The Speedway Classic will feature pregame pageantry from the U.S. Navy and a ceremonial first pitch between two Hall of Famers: Chipper Jones (Braves) to Johnny Bench (Reds).
The game also will include a full day of musical performances, with Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen taking the stage for their concerts.
___
AP MLB:
https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sterling Sharpe hasn't fully embraced his selection into the Hall of Fame because of an eye issue
Sterling Sharpe hasn't fully embraced his selection into the Hall of Fame because of an eye issue

Yahoo

timea minute ago

  • Yahoo

Sterling Sharpe hasn't fully embraced his selection into the Hall of Fame because of an eye issue

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Maybe the magnitude of the accomplishment will hit Sterling Sharpe when he walks on stage Saturday and sees his bronze bust that will be displayed permanently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former Green Bay Packers star wide receiver will be enshrined into football immortality along with cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and tight end Antonio Gates as the Class of 2025. But Sharpe hasn't been able to celebrate the honor fully because he's been dealing with problems in his right eye. He was still recovering from eye surgery when his brother, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, informed him in front of television cameras that he was selected. 'I had a detached retina, so I was dealing with not being able to see,' Sterling Sharpe said Thursday. 'There's still a chance I won't be able to see out of my right eye, so for me, I never fully got involved in the process of joy and excitement and what it means and all that because if someone would've asked me when I had eye surgery in October: 'You get to choose. You can have sight and keep your right eye or you can be a Pro Football Hall of Famer.' I would've chosen sight and kept my right eye. 'So I never really in this journey got a chance because I've had four surgeries and just found out last week I have a hole in my retina, so I'm probably set up for another surgery, I never got the joy of being able to just deal with that because I've been dealing with surgeries, pressure, cataract, detached retina, torn retina, now a hole in my retina.' Health issues are nothing new for Sharpe. A neck injury cut short his NFL career after seven seasons, delaying his entry into the Hall of Fame because there always was the question of whether he played long enough. There's no disputing anymore. He's in. He'll receive his gold jacket on Friday night. Sharpe averaged 85 catches and 1,162 yards in his career, finishing with 65 touchdowns. He was named to five Pro Bowls and earned first-team All-Pro honors three times. Sharpe and his younger brother, who was inducted in 2011, will become the first brothers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 'That's hard for me (to grasp) because where we come from, two little Black boys from Glenville, Georgia, a town of about 2,500 people, this ain't a dream you have on the farm,' Sterling Sharpe said. 'This ain't a dream you have baling hay and corralling chickens and chasing hogs and picking tobacco. You don't have this dream. It is definitely truly an honor, truly a blessing from God. 'I honestly am a firm believer that everything doesn't have to be articulated and explained and this is one of them that's just a tremendous honor that you look at it the way you walk. But I would be doing us, I would be doing the Hall of Fame, I would be doing this honor a tremendous disservice by trying to talk about how elated, excited, championed we are to be the first brothers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is a lot bigger than any goal or dream that either he or I had as kids.' Eric Allen The six-time Pro Bowl cornerback played seven seasons with the Eagles, three with the Saints and four with the Raiders. He had 54 career interceptions, including eight returned for touchdowns. Allen also played baseball at Point Loma High School in San Diego. He credits that sport for helping him become one of the game's elite cornerbacks. 'Yes, baseball is a team sport, but when you're up to bat, it's you and the pitcher,' Allen said. 'That helped me play cornerback because if it's third-and-7, third-and-8 and you know where they are going with the ball and you're on that guy, it's you and him so that skillset plus the coaches I had early on, I was able to play the game from the neck up and that's an important part of playing cornerback.' Jared Allen Allen made five Pro Bowls, was a four-time All-Pro and had 136 sacks in 12 seasons with the Chiefs, Vikings, Bears and Panthers. He had 22 sacks for Minnesota in 2011, just one away from breaking the all-time single-season record of 22 1/2 sacks set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and tied by T.J. Watt in 2021. Allen actually was credited with a sack on Aaron Rodgers during a game that season, but the official scoring of the play was changed to a team sack after the game. Rodgers dropped a shotgun snap, chased the ball, fell on it and Allen jumped on top of him. He believes Allen is the record holder. 'Hey Jared, it's Aaron Rodgers,' Rodgers, wearing a Steelers uniform, said in a video posted on social media by the Vikings. 'You are the all time single-season sack leader. I don't care what the numbers say, because that phantom ... sack they took away from you would give you the record. So, in my book, and probably in most Vikings fan books, you're the all time, single-season sack leader, my friend.' Antonio Gates A college basketball star at Kent State, Gates signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent and became an All-Pro by his second season. He'll become the first player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without playing the sport in college. He played all 16 of his NFL seasons with the Chargers, finishing with 955 catches for 11,841 yards and 116 TDs. 'I was very fortunate and lucky,' Gates said. 'I was doing it one year at a time. I never let my past reflect on my present. I never let my future reflect on my present. I lived in the moment every year. Every year I had to make the team, every year I had to be the best version of Antonio Gates. Every year I had to improve. Ultimately, I ended up tallying 16 years. ... It's a testament to the respect the organization had for myself and the sacrifices that I was able to make.' ___ AP NFL:

Tennis star Novak Djokovic among investors to buy a stake in second-tier French soccer club Le Mans
Tennis star Novak Djokovic among investors to buy a stake in second-tier French soccer club Le Mans

Associated Press

timea minute ago

  • Associated Press

Tennis star Novak Djokovic among investors to buy a stake in second-tier French soccer club Le Mans

LE MANS, France (AP) — Tennis star Novak Djokovic is part of a group of investors who have bought a stake in French second-tier soccer team Le Mans, along with ex-Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen, the club said Friday. Le Mans said in a statement that they join other new financial investors into the club, including Latin American sports investment firm OutField and Georgios Frangulis, the founder and chief executive of OakBerry. Frangulis is the boyfriend of three-time women's Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka. 'The uniqueness of this fund also lies in its contribution from high-level athletes,' Le Mans president Thierry Gomez said in the statement. 'Novak Djokovic, Felipe Massa, and Kevin Magnussen will be part of the adventure.' No financial details were given. Djokovic is the owner of a men's record 24 Grand Slam titles in tennis. The 38-year-old Serb has won 100 career titles overall. Massa won 11 races and secured 41 podiums in his F1 career. When driving for Ferrari, the popular Brazilian was within a whisker of winning the 2008 title, only for Lewis Hamilton to beat him in a dramatic finish at the last race. Hamilton won the title by 98 points to 97. The 32-year-old Magnussen drove close to 200 races in F1, securing one podium and one pole position. But the Danish driver was not retained by Haas at the end of last year when his contract expired. Le Mans soccer club, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, begins its league campaign on Aug. 9. Le Mans — a small city in northwestern France — also hosts the famed 24-hour endurance car race. ___ AP soccer:

From The Archive: The Big Decision
From The Archive: The Big Decision

Yahoo

time7 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

From The Archive: The Big Decision

Welcome to this edition of "From The Archive". In this recurring series, we open The Hockey News' vault and display some of the top WHL-related articles from the past. Today's article comes from May 1, 2012, where Ryan Kennedy wrote about former Portland Winterhawks' defenceman Seth Jones. Subscribe now to view the full THN Archives here and read the full issue here. The Big Decision, Draft Preview 2012, May 1, 2012 Seth Jones is always prepared. His October birthday means he'll wait an extra year before becoming eligible for the draft. Playing up with national team development program's under-18 team gave him a legitimate shot at making Team USA's national junior team this season. His birthright as the son of ex-NBA player Popeye Jones is that lessons in being an elite athlete are burned in: 'Nothing comes easy,' Jones said. 'Nothing is going to be handed to you on a platter. It's what people don't see, what you do in practice, that matters.' Jones just makes it look easy. Already 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, he brings so many looks to the blueline that his coach struggles to single out a strength. 'I can just say 'everything,'' said Danton Cole. 'He passes well, he shoots well, he has a knack for knowing when to make a play and when to jump into the rush. On the defensive end, he sees the game. He's not overly physical, but he plays the body.' Though he was born in Texas, Jones spent his formative years in Colorado, where he became a big Avs fan. His model NHLer, however, comes from the Red Wings. 'Nick Lidstrom,' he said. 'I know that's lofty, but the way he plays the game, he keeps it simple.' Recently, Jones' life has been rather complex. As the best American prospect yet to commit to a college, the big defender was being courted by the Western League's Everett Silvertips, which hold his major junior rights, and a number of NCAA schools, most notably North Dakota. Jones sees the benefit of both routes. 'With Everett, there's more games played,' he said. 'It's a similar schedule to the NHL. College would be more developmental. You live in a dorm and you have to grow up a little.' Wherever he ends up, it won't be for long. Only a shoulder separation kept Jones off Team USA's national junior squad as a 17-year-old and big expectations have not fazed him. 'He's had a lot on him, but he's a uniquely prepared young man,' Cole said. 'He hasn't let anything become a distraction.' Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more from The Hockey News. 2025 WHL Prospect Pools: Minnesota Wild Victoria Trades Kraus To Brandon For Eskit & A Pick In The 2029 Draft From The Archive: 'Pronger-Type' Heads '08 Draft 2025 WHL Prospect Pools: Los Angeles Kings 18 Current & Former WHLers Named To Canada's 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase Roster

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store