Latest news with #MarchMadness-like
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Bubba Wallace wins Brickyard 400: Here's how much prize money he will get
Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400, making NASCAR history in the process. Bubba Wallace didn't reach the victory lane without some consternation, despite the final gap being 0.222 seconds. (AP) He became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400. 'Unbelievable,' Wallace shouted on his radio after crossing the yard of bricks. Besides making history, Wallace is also in for a solid payday. How much prize money Bubba Wallace will get The total prize pool stands at $11,055,250, with the winner reportedly set to get eight to ten per cent of this amount – which translates to a check of around $884,420 and $1,105,525. There is also $1 million prize money for whoever wins the in-season challenge. The race inside the race — the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day. Gibbs finished 21st o win the inaugural March Madness-like single-elimination tournament and collect the prize. The Brickyard 400 – that is the 400-mile race – takes place in three stages of 50, 50, and 60 laps. How Bubba Wallace won Brickyard 400 Wallace didn't reach the victory lane without some consternation, despite the final gap being 0.222 seconds. Larson trailed by 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go but the gap was down to about three seconds with six remaining when the yellow flag came out because of rain. The cars rolled to a stop on pit lane with four to go, giving Wallace about 20 additional minutes to think and rethink his restart strategy. Also Read | Fights over charters loom over NASCAR as teams, series await key court rulings But after beating Larson through the second turn, a crash behind the leaders forced a second overtime, extending the race even more laps as Wallace's team thought he might run out of gas. Wallace risked everything by staying on the track then beat the defending race winner off the restart again to prevent Larson from becoming the fourth back-to-back winner of the Brickyard. Next up, cup drivers will continue their brief Midwestern tour next Sunday when they race at Iowa. (With AP inputs)
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
$1 million In-Season Challenge prize sets up the Brickyard 400 for split-screen racing
Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brickyard 400 viewers will be tuning into pure split-screen racing Sunday. On one side, they'll monitor whether Kyle Larson can defend his Brickyard 400 title or if Denny Hamlin can charge from the back of the field to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup's four crown jewel races. On the other side, they'll see whether Ty Gibbs or Ty Dillon or collects the $1 million prize that goes to the first In-Season Challenge champion. And, fittingly, this March Madness-like tournament concludes on one of the sport's grand stages — Indianapolis Motor Speedway's historic 2.5-mile oval. It's a made-for-television moment. 'This is going to be a special moment no matter what happens,' Dillon said before qualifying started Saturday. 'I do, ultimately, want to win in the Cup series, and I hope (winning) feels as great as these five weeks have. I don't know how to compare it because it's the first time anybody has really gone through this round by round.' The concept comes straight out of Indiana's other favorite sport, basketball. Series officials wanted a solution for the series' midsummer blues and chose a combination of the NBA's In-Season Tournament and college basketball's single-elimination NCAA Tournament. Race results at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono set up a 32-driver field. Head-to-head results in Chicago eliminated 16 drivers, which was down to the Elite Eight after Sonoma. Gibbs and Dillon advanced from last week's Final Four and now they are here in Indy, getting as much attention Larson, Hamlin and the array of other big-name drivers. Larson and Hamlin spoke with reporters Friday. Gibbs and Dillon waited until just before a brief, rescheduled practice session took place at Indy. 'This is race car country is what we would call it, so being able to race here is an honor,' Gibbs said. 'The main goal, of course, is to go win the race and we're going to do everything we can to put ourselves in position to do that, and maybe if we don't do that, try to finish as best we can and if that's better than (Dillon), we'll take it.' The championship looks like a classic between Dillon, a 12-year veteran who is winless in 266 career Cup starts, and Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series winner in his third full Cup season and the grandson of three-time Super Bowl champion and team owner Joe Gibbs. Like so many NCAA Tournament brackets, the bracket results defied expectations. Gibbs went into the five-race challenge seeded No. 6. Dillon took on the role of Cinderella after starting No. 32. And Gibbs has an edge after qualifying fifth. Dillon starts 26th. Along the way some of the favorites such as Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson fell out. Hamlin, who is seeking his first Brickyard win in 17 starts, first introduced the notion of a tournament on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast and gave the series good marks for how it's played out. 'I think you get more buy-in from drivers if, you know, they're financially motivated,' said Hamlin, who lost to Dillon in the first round. 'I know a lot of people kind of played it off this year, but everyone knew about it, everyone knew who they had to beat. Everyone did care about it. I feel like it was implemented fairly well this year." Hamlin faces an even bigger hurdle after crashing hard in qualifying. He'll start 39th after Chase Briscoe claimed the pole. Now the question becomes who will take home the big prize? While Gibbs is trying to race his way into the playoffs and Dillon continues to chase his first Cup win, the two drivers also will be paying attention to the race inside Sunday's race. And so will the fans. 'It feels like the last three or four weeks, I've done enough media and talked to enough people and had fan growth like I've never seen before, that felt like I had won the last three weeks,' Dillon said. 'So it's a weird conundrum. It's not a win, but it has felt so special to be a part of.' Bubba's story When Bubba Wallace drove the No. 23 car onto the track for his qualifying run Saturday, he didn't have any expectations. When he climbed out of the car, he had the provisional pole and it stayed there — until Briscoe's late attempt. And while Wallace will start on the front row, he wasn't satisfied with how it played out. 'It's a weird feeling right now,' Wallace said. 'I had no idea what kind of lap I put together and obviously, man, so close. You know no one wants to finish second in motorsports or whatever it is. I sure don't want to. So if it's qualifying, it's a little kick in the groin but aside from that, a pretty good day.' Family celebration Briscoe's pole-winning run was the second leg of a celebratory weekend for his family, which still calls Mitchell, Indiana, home. That's about 85 miles southwest of Indy. The first part came Friday when Briscoe's sister got married. And Briscoe has a chance to complete the third leg by winning his first Brickyard title. But he's also wary about a potential sibling rivalry. 'I would love to cap it off with the Brickyard 400, but I'm sure my sister would be mad if I went and kind of topped the wedding,' Briscoe said. 'But, yeah, it's been a fun week to come up here and get to do all the things we've done.' Double duty After qualifying 38th for Sunday's race, Katherine Legge took a short break before jumping in her car for the start of the Xfinity race. The longtime IndyCar driver is doing double duty this weekend on a track she knows well. Legge has started four Indianapolis 500s, most recently in 2024. This season, she's made six starts on the stock car circuit — two in the Xfinity Series and four, so far, in the Cup Series. And on Sunday, she'll hit another milestone — becoming the 21st driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard. Odds and ends Shane van Gisbergen will make his first career start on Indy's oval after qualifying 11th. ... Points leader Chase Elliott starts from the No. 30 spot on the grid. ... Despite the qualifying crash, Hamlin remained the betting favorite in Indianapolis with Larson and Briscoe not far behind, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The trio has just one win on Indy's oval. ___ AP auto racing: recommended Item 1 of 3
USA Today
22-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Duke basketball vs Illinois: Score prediction, scouting report for New York City game
Duke basketball vs Illinois: Score prediction, scouting report for New York City game Show Caption Hide Caption Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer talks Maliq Brown injury, Illinois game During a Zoom call on Thursday afternoon, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer discussed Maliq Brown's injury and the Blue Devils game vs. Illinois. Duke basketball and Illinois will meet in a March Madness-like matchup at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (8 p.m., FOX). In a unique late-season nonconference game, the third-ranked Blue Devils (23-3, 15-1 ACC) and the Fighting Illini (17-10, 9-8) have the opportunity to add an impressive win to their NCAA Tournament résumés. Two of Duke's three losses happened in neutral-court settings, with the Blue Devils losing to Kentucky in Atlanta before dropping a game against Kansas in Las Vegas. Illinois is 2-1 in neutral-site games, losing to Alabama in Birmingham before beating Arkansas in Kansas City and Missouri in St. Louis. WHY DUKE VS. ILLINOIS?: Why is Duke basketball playing Illinois at Madison Square Garden? Jon Scheyer explains MALIQ BROWN UPDATE: Maliq Brown injury update: Jon Scheyer says Duke basketball player is out with shoulder Duke has a 5-3 record against the Illini, with all five wins coming on a neutral court. Here are some things to know and a score prediction for the Blue Devils' game against Illinois. Cooper Flagg, Kasparas Jakucionis in New York City spotlight as star freshmen for Duke, Illinois Two of the best freshmen — and players — in the nation will be under the New York City lights inside Madison Square Garden. Duke's Cooper Flagg, the favorite to win national player of the year and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, had 26 points and 11 rebounds the last time he played in an NBA arena. After losing late in tough neutral-site games against Kentucky in Atlanta and Kansas in Vegas, Flagg will be fired up to produce at an arena he'll become quite familiar with as an NBA player. Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, a 6-foot-6 Lithuanian, is coming off a seven-turnover game at Wisconsin. Despite his recent struggles, Jakucionis has thrived in the Fighting Illini's two neutral-site wins, averaging 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in wins against Arkansas and Missouri. Expect a show from Jakucionis and Flagg at MSG. Maliq Brown shoulder injury means more Mason Gillis for Duke basketball vs Illinois On Thursday afternoon, Duke coach Jon Scheyer announced that Maliq Brown would be out for a 'few weeks' because of a left shoulder injury. With Brown out, we could see a lot more of Mason Gillis. As a Purdue transfer, Gillis is familiar with the Fighting Illini and he has the most experience of anyone on Duke's roster. In a matchup between the tallest roster in the nation (Duke) against the 13th-tallest roster (Illinois), Gillis gives the Devils some versatility as a knock-down shooter and defender capable of switching everything. Last season with the Boilermakers, Gillis averaged 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in two wins against Illinois. Rebounding for Blue Devils, Fighting Illini Rebounding could be the determining factor in Saturday's game. Illinois is second in the nation in rebounding margin (plus-10.1) and Duke sits at 10th with a margin of plus-8.2. With the Fighting Illini losing Morez Johnson to wrist injury, Illinois figures to have a tougher time matching the Blue Devils in the battle on the boards. Duke has outrebounded three straight opponents, including a 20-rebound advantage against Virginia. Illinois has been outrebounded in back-to-back games, including by nine boards at Wisconsin. If Duke continues to assert its dominance on the glass, it makes the Devils even more dangerous as March gets closer. Duke vs Illinois score prediction Duke 77, Illinois 69: The Fighting Illini are dealing with injuries and illness, but this will be a good non-ACC test for the Blue Devils. Cooper Flagg will create another memorable game for Blue Devil fans at 'Cameron North' and Duke will win its first neutral-site game of the season. Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@
Los Angeles Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: UCLA and USC women both win Sunday
Howdy, I'm your host, Houston Mitchell. Let's get right to the news. From Andrés Soto: Londynn Jones made a pull-up jumper. Kiki Rice got a steal. Janiah Barker scored a tough putback layup. Rice hit free throws. And then, Timea Gardiner hit the biggest three of the season for the Bruins with 44 seconds to go. Top-ranked UCLA has proven to be one of the deepest teams in the nation, and they showed it again Sunday night, overcoming the absence of their leading scorer to defeat No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 in a March Madness-like thriller. UCLA star center Lauren Betts did not play because of a foot injury. She wore an air cast during pregame warmups and is considered day-to-day, the team announced. Making up for Betts' absence required a collective effort, and Barker did her part. One of her best plays came with just over a minute left before halftime when she stole the ball from Michigan State's Nyla Hampton and scored on an easy layup to put the Bruins ahead 41-28 with just over a minute before halftime. Barker finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gardiner also had 18 points for the Bruins to go along with four rebounds. Rice's 16 points and seven assists were also crucial. Continue reading here UCLA projected to get NCAA tournament overall No. 1 seed in first bracket reveal UCLA box score Big Ten standings AP top 25 rankings Kiki Iriafen scored 19 points and No. 6 USC rallied to beat Washington 69-64 on Sunday. JuJu Watkins had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Trojans (23-2, 13-1 Big Ten), who were coming off a statement victory over top-ranked UCLA and trailed by as many as 12 points against the Huskies. Kennedy Smith added 14 points, going four for eight on three-pointers. USC shot just 29% from the field in the first three quarters, before going 11 for 16 in the fourth. Washington's Sayvia Sellers led all scorers with 24 points. Hannah Stines — who shadowed Watkins all day on defense — added 10 points and 10 rebounds. From the opening tip, the Huskies (14-12, 5-9) slowed the game down, taking as much time off the shot clock as possible every time down the floor. As a result, the score was tied at 23-23 at halftime after a second quarter that featured just four made field goals. USC didn't reach 30 points until nearly eight minutes into the third quarter. The Trojans went on to score 38 in the final 12 minutes. Continue reading here USC box score Big Ten standings AP top 25 rankings From Dan Woike: This year's NBA All-Star Game was an end, the final All-Star Game aired on TNT before the league switches television partners. The NBA All-Star Game was a beginning, the league actively changing the format to a four-team mini-tournament aimed to shrink bloated scores and increase competition. And the NBA All-Star Game was a showcase, a reminder that Stephen Curry and the Bay Area are definitive fabrics in the story of the modern game. What the NBA All-Star Game wasn't, again, was a game — at least not one that anyone would've recognized in a traditional sense. And maybe it doesn't need to be one. LeBron James didn't play because of foot and ankle soreness, with the aim of being back on the floor Wednesday when the Lakers resume their season. Anthony Edwards suited up for his team but never entered the game, lingering groin soreness keeping him from participating. He, too, said he thought he'd be fine once the regular season resumed. Neither player was replaced. The decision for James and Edwards to sit, despite the 17-year-age difference, underscored the cost-benefit analysis players are making while the NBA and fans push for the game to be played with the kind of intensity and energy that makes 48 minutes on any given night an occurrence worth celebrating. Continue reading here From John Cherwa: If you ask any NASCAR driver what is the most important factor in winning the Daytona 500, the answer usually comes back the same. You need luck. And, for the second year in a row William Byron had that luck to win back-to-back Daytona 500s. As is usually the case, the race was decided in the last 10, or maybe 15 laps, of this 200-lap signature start of the NASCAR season. Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner of the Daytona 500, was in a good spot to win as the race headed for an overtime lap. Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe were battling for position near the lead when they made contact. The incident drew in Hamlin, who spun out as his car headed for the infield. Byron was ninth entering the final lap and stayed high as cars to his inside were collected into the chaos. He stayed close to the wall with Tyler Reddick in tow and won the race with a good drive, a good car and a lot of luck. 'Obviously [I had] some good fortune but I just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,' Byron said. 'I felt like they were getting squirrely on the bottom and I was honestly going to go third lane (high) regardless because I was probably sixth coming down the backstretch.' It was the 15th win in nine years for Byron, who drives a Chevrolet for Hendricks Motorsports. Continue reading here Daytona 500 results All Daytona 500 winners From Jack Harris: At the end of an otherwise celebratory offseason, the Dodgers had to take a critical look at one of their biggest organizational flaws this winter. In the weeks leading up to spring training, team officials engaged in what they described as a 'deep dive' into their spate of pitching injuries in recent years. They called meetings involving club executives, pitching coaches and medical personnel. Together, they tried to diagnose the causes — and brainstorm potential solutions — to an injury crisis that has impacted the baseball world at large, but ravaged their pitching staff more than any other MLB team over the last several seasons. 'We dove pretty deep,' president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last week, as the Dodgers gathered at Camelback Ranch for another season that could be defined by their ability to stay healthy on the mound. 'We were able to have some substantive discussions.' It remains to be seen how fruitful that examination proves to be. Continue reading here From Kevin Baxter: Bruce Arena has little left to accomplish and absolutely nothing left to prove. He's won more games with the men's national team than any coach in U.S. Soccer history, won more games and more titles than any coach in MLS history and is the only manager to take the U.S. men to a fifth game in the World Cup. So why, at 73, is he coming back as manager and sporting director of the hapless San José Earthquakes, a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2013 and is coming off arguably the worst year in league history? 'This is why I do,' he said. 'I like to coach.' Maybe. But that's not the biggest reason why he's coming back. Continue reading here San Diego FC's counts on Mexican star Chucky Lozano to be a spark in its debut season Ludvig Aberg never felt worse leaving a golf course than three weeks ago at Torrey Pines when he shared the 36-hole lead only to get violently ill from a stomach ailment and stagger to the finish with a 79. That's what made Sunday — same course, different tournament — feel so sweet. Aberg was three shots behind and running out of holes when he hit three shots to near perfection for birdies and capped off his late rally with a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-five 18th for a six-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Maverick McNealy in the Genesis Invitational. The tournament had to relocate to Torrey from Riviera Country Club because of the wildfires in Los Angeles, and Aberg made good on another chance at one of his favorite courses. It was somewhere toward the end that he turned to caddie Joe Skovron and said, 'This Sunday is a lot more fun than the last one we had.' Continue reading here Genesis Invitational results 1923 — Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators becomes the NHL's career scoring leader. He scores his 143rd goal to surpass Joe Malone in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. 1924 — Johnny Weissmuller sets a world record in the 100-yard freestyle swim with a time of 52.4 seconds. 1926 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Helen Wills 6-3, 8-6 in Cannes, France, in their only tennis match against each other. 1928 — Sweden's Gillis Grafstrom successfully defends his 1920 and 1924 Olympic figure skating title, with Austrian Willy Bockl finishing in second place as he did four years earlier. 1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Gus Dorazio in the second round in Philadelphia to defend his world heavyweight title. 1955 — Mike Souchak establishes the PGA 72-hole scoring record with a 257 at the Texas Open. Souchak starts with a record-tying 60 at San Antonio's Brackenridge Park course and ends with a 27-under-par, beating the previous low for a 72-hole event by two shots. 1968 — The Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Mass. 1974 — Richard Petty wins his second straight Daytona 500. It's the fifth Daytona 500 title for Petty, who also won in 1964, 1966, 1971 and 1973. 1992 — Raisa Smetanina wins a gold medal with the Unified Team in the 20-kilometer cross-country relay to set the career Winter Olympics medal record with 10. Smetanina, 39, also becomes the oldest champion and the first to win a medal in five straight Winter Games. 1994 — San Antonio's David Robinson records the fourth quadruple-double in NBA history with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks in the Spurs' 115-96 win over Detroit. 1998 — The U.S. women's hockey team wins the sport's first Olympic gold medal. Sandra Whyte scores on an empty-netter with eight seconds left to give the United States a 3-1 victory over Canada. 2010 — Americans Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso finish 1-2 in the downhill at the Vancouver Olympics. It's the first time since 1984 that the U.S won gold and silver in a women's Alpine event. 2013 — Danica Patrick wins the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race. 2014 — Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the gold medal in ice dance, the first Olympic title in the event for the U.S.. 2018 — Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu becomes the first man to successfully defend his Olympic figure skating title since Dick Button in 1952. 2020 — 62nd Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin wins second straight title by 0.014 seconds over Ryan Blaney on the second restart in overtime; his third Daytona victory Compiled by the Associated Press
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With Lauren Betts out, No. 1 UCLA survives No. 22 Michigan State upset bid in thriller
Londynn Jones made a pull-up jumper. Kiki Rice got a steal. Janiah Barker scored a tough putback layup. Rice hit free throws. And then, Timea Gardiner hit the biggest three of the season for the Bruins with 44 seconds to go. Top-ranked UCLA has proven to be one of the deepest teams in the nation, and they showed it again Sunday night, overcoming the absence of their leading scorer to defeat No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 in a March Madness-like thriller. Read more: UCLA projected to get NCAA tournament overall No. 1 seed in first bracket reveal UCLA star center Lauren Betts did not play because of a foot injury. She wore an air cast during pregame warmups and is considered day-to-day, the team announced. Making up for Betts' absence required a collective effort, and Barker did her part. One of her best plays came with just over a minute left before halftime when she stole the ball from Michigan State's Nyla Hampton and scored on an easy layup to put the Bruins ahead 41-28 with just over a minute before halftime. Barker finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gardiner also had 18 points for the Bruins to go along with four rebounds. Rice's 16 points and seven assists were also crucial. But UCLA (24-1 overall, 12-1 Big Ten) missed Betts' defensive presence — the Spartans scored 22 points in the paint in the first half. Michigan State (19-6, 9-5) was the more physical team early in the second half, forcing five UCLA turnovers in the first five minutes. Theryn Hallock and Julia Ayrault led the way for Michigan State as they erased UCLA's eight-point halftime lead. The Spartans took their first lead late in the third quarter off a Jocelyn Tate layup and held a 55-53 lead going into the fourth. Michigan State extended its lead with two free throws on the first possession and led for most of the fourth until Gardiner's critical three-pointer put the Bruins ahead by two. Read more: Mistakes on defense and turnovers prove costly for UCLA in first loss Rice extended the lead to four after hitting two free throws following a Michigan State team technical foul. Rice hit two more free throws with 13 seconds left to secure the UCLA win. As time expired, Barker grabbed a missed layup from Grace VanSlooten and waved to the raucous Pauley Pavilion crowd. The Bruins will play host to Illinois on Thursday. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
