Latest news with #No.23
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk
Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500. He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts. Pole winner Robert Shwartzman recounted how after last weekend's qualifying, he took part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow — and the role it's believed to play in who quenches their thirst in victory lane. 'The woman, she came to me and said, 'The people who didn't milk the cow, they never won the Indy 500,' and they were like (did not finish). It's bad luck,' Shwartzman said. 'Whoever milks the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.' Shwartzman described his personal experience with a 'very calm, cute' cow named Indy. O'Ward never got his chance to squeeze an udder because his rookie start came in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the race was run in August with no fans and the milking tradition was put on hold. Since then, he's finished sixth, fourth, second, 24th and second. Two-time race winner Takuma Sato claimed he never took part in the tradition, but that didn't seem to impress O'Ward, who eventually asked: 'Are they always ready to just...?" Finally, after Shwartzman suggested O'Ward wait until next year to make it right, O'Ward said he wasn't content to have yet another race day spoiled. He wanted to milk a cow immediately. The Indiana Dairy Association was quick to offer help. 'We know some farmers who know some cows who can make that happen,' the group posted on X. Playing hooky Ryan Hunter-Reay brought a special guest to the dais Thursday — his oldest son, Ryden. The soon-to-be-sixth-grader wore a baseball cap, shorts and, of course, No. 23 socks to honor his dad, the 2014 Indy 500 winner. Spending race week in Indianapolis was only part of the treat for Ryden Hunter-Reay. He also got to miss his last week of school. 'I think it's better (here),' he said when asked about his absence from class. And who does he think will win Sunday's race? 'My dad,' he said. Feeling better Colton Herta canceled his local Community Day appearance Wednesday because he was under the weather. By Thursday, he was feeling well enough to show up for his media day interview. While Herta seems to be on the mend or Sunday's race, he would feel much better with a higher starting spot. He qualified 29th Saturday, just 4 1/2 hours after crashing on his first qualifying attempt. He'll start 27th because of the penalties assessed to two Team Penske cars. At least he's comfortable in the backup car his team scrambled to set up Saturday. 'It's just like being in the other car, they patched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened before, so it was a surprise,' Herta said. 'It filled me with a lot of confidence, made it easier to get back to work.' Drive for five Helio Castroneves is the fourth and most recent member of Indy's four-time winners club. His quest to become the race's first five-time champion has been overshadowed by Kyle Larson's second attempt at running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and by the Team Penske scandal. The longtime Penske driver who now drives for Meyer Shank Racing will start 22nd after moving up two spots on the starting grid because of the penalties assessed to his two ex-teammates. It's the third-lowest starting position of his 25 career Indy starts after he qualified 28th in 2020 and 27th in 2022. The 50-year-old Brazilian also is completing his own double this season by competing in the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year. 'This place has been good to me, this place is amazing and I'm trying to get something special, to rewrite history,' Castroneves said. 'So we're going to have hard work to do, but I feel like we're going to be up front very soon.' ___ AP auto racing: recommended
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pato O'Ward looking to change his Indianapolis 500 thirst for victory by finding a cow to milk
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward understands winners drink milk at the Indianapolis 500. He just doesn't want a small oversight to cause him any more race day consternation. So during Thursday's media day, O'Ward said he plans to participate in a superstition that he hopes will end the tough spills he's endured in his first five Indy 500 starts. Pole winner Robert Shwartzman recounted how after last weekend's qualifying, he took part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow — and the role it's believed to play in who quenches their thirst in victory lane. 'The woman, she came to me and said, 'The people who didn't milk the cow, they never won the Indy 500,' and they were like (did not finish). It's bad luck,' Shwartzman said. 'Whoever milks the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.' Shwartzman described his personal experience with a 'very calm, cute' cow named Indy. O'Ward never got his chance to squeeze an udder because his rookie start came in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the race was run in August with no fans and the milking tradition was put on hold. Since then, he's finished sixth, fourth, second, 24th and second. Two-time race winner Takuma Sato claimed he never took part in the tradition, but that didn't seem to impress O'Ward, who eventually asked: 'Are they always ready to just…?' Finally, after Shwartzman suggested O'Ward wait until next year to make it right, O'Ward said he wasn't content to have yet another race day spoiled. He wanted to milk a cow immediately. The Indiana Dairy Association was quick to offer help. 'We know some farmers who know some cows who can make that happen,' the group posted on X. Playing hooky Ryan Hunter-Reay brought a special guest to the dais Thursday — his oldest son, Ryden. The soon-to-be-sixth-grader wore a baseball cap, shorts and, of course, No. 23 socks to honor his dad, the 2014 Indy 500 winner. Spending race week in Indianapolis was only part of the treat for Ryden Hunter-Reay. He also got to miss his last week of school. 'I think it's better (here),' he said when asked about his absence from class. And who does he think will win Sunday's race? 'My dad,' he said. Feeling better Colton Herta canceled his local Community Day appearance Wednesday because he was under the weather. By Thursday, he was feeling well enough to show up for his media day interview. While Herta seems to be on the mend or Sunday's race, he would feel much better with a higher starting spot. He qualified 29th Saturday, just 4 1/2 hours after crashing on his first qualifying attempt. He'll start 27th because of the penalties assessed to two Team Penske cars. At least he's comfortable in the backup car his team scrambled to set up Saturday. 'It's just like being in the other car, they patched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened before, so it was a surprise,' Herta said. 'It filled me with a lot of confidence, made it easier to get back to work.' Drive for five Helio Castroneves is the fourth and most recent member of Indy's four-time winners club. His quest to become the race's first five-time champion has been overshadowed by Kyle Larson's second attempt at running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and by the Team Penske scandal. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The longtime Penske driver who now drives for Meyer Shank Racing will start 22nd after moving up two spots on the starting grid because of the penalties assessed to his two ex-teammates. It's the third-lowest starting position of his 25 career Indy starts after he qualified 28th in 2020 and 27th in 2022. The 50-year-old Brazilian also is completing his own double this season by competing in the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year. 'This place has been good to me, this place is amazing and I'm trying to get something special, to rewrite history,' Castroneves said. 'So we're going to have hard work to do, but I feel like we're going to be up front very soon.' ___ AP auto racing:
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lakers' season comes to a disappointing end with another loss to Timberwolves
The shirt's been inside LeBron James' extra locker since the day he received it, a facsimile of the Lakers' iconic golden jerseys with No. 77 on the front and 'Doncic" on the back. James wore a shirt exactly like it during pregame warmups on Feb. 10, a very public signal from someone rarely subtle that he was ready to embrace the partnership put on him when the Lakers made the midseason trade that gave the team two of the NBA's best big-game players. Advertisement But in the Game 5 loss to Minnesota that ended their season Wednesday, Luka Doncic was grimacing after a foul jammed his lower back in the first half. And James barely put weight on his left leg as he limped off the court in the fourth quarter. Still, with a little more than seven minutes to go, the two were on the court, the Lakers ready to back up the widely held belief that the closer the game, the better off they'd be because of their leaders. The scoreboard in Arena showed highlights of Doncic and James, their No. 77 and No. 23 uniforms adding up to 100, with just three minutes to go and the Lakers down two. But like it did late in fourth quarters throughout this first-round playoff series, the math never added up. Advertisement Doncic, again, missed a key layup. James, again, couldn't find a rhythm in the fourth quarter. And even as that Doncic shirt hung inside the Lakers' locker room, the hope that had been built over the last two months totally evaporated as the Lakers again failed to win the biggest moments, a 103-96 loss ending the first chapter of this James-Doncic era. It didn't matter that Minnesota missed 40 three-point shots, the most ever by a team in a postseason win. They seemed to grab every rebound. It didn't matter that Anthony Edwards was just 5-of-19 from the field — the Lakers couldn 't capitalize. And it didn't matter that the Lakers were on their home court, Minnesota silencing the fans as they defensively dominated the fourth quarter for the fifth straight game. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert shoots over LeBron James in the first quarter. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) JJ Redick sacrificed size for quickness and spacing, benching center Jaxson Hayes and starting Dorian Finney-Smith like he did in the second half of Game 4. This time, Rudy Gobert made the Lakers pay with playoff career highs of 27 points and 24 rebounds. Advertisement Doncic had 28 on seven-of-18. James scored 22 on nine-of-21 shooting. Austin Reaves had only 12. Like it was all series, things never looked easy for the Lakers. The bulk of that credit should go to Minnesota, who not only looked like the more cohesive team but functioned as one designed almost explicitly to smother highlighter over every one of the Lakers' blemishes. The Lakers, who won games by playing hard, lost to a team that always seemed to play harder. The Lakers, who earned home court advantage by being tougher, lost to a team that was undoubtedly tougher. And the Lakers, who looked like they could beat anyone in the regular season, lost to a team that they obviously couldn't. Advertisement Redick, who described the Lakers as 'on edge' in the practice before Game 5, angrily responded to a question that implied he needed to lean on his assistant coaches to better handle late-game substitutions. His team quickly fell behind, Julius Randle, the first piece of the Lakers' post-Kobe Bryant plans, looking like the bulldozing tone-setter the team envisioned when it took him in the first round in 2014. Timberwolves forward Julius Randle in first quarter. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) James and Doncic, who owned the top two scoring averages in elimination games in league history, made just one of their eight shots in the first quarter. With each miss, the murmurs from the crowd grew longer, the fans mirroring the Lakers and their fading chances. Advertisement The team pushed early in the second as Randle and Jaden McDaniels, maybe the series MVP, both sat with foul trouble allowing the Lakers to get it on multiple occasions within a single possession. But in the moments when the Lakers and their stars needed to capitalize in those stretches, they looked more like separate entities than an unstoppable force. James tried to find Doncic as he flared to the corner and threw a pass directly to Anthony Edwards. Doncic couldn't play on the defensive string the Lakers all needed to be pulling on, Minnesota's easy baskets leading to James' open frustration towards the Lakers' bench. But with their season on the line, the Lakers did something they'd rarely done all year – they dominated the third quarter. The Lakers fought back from as many as 14 down to lead on a Dorian Finney-Smith three, trading possessions with the Timberwolves to trail by just one heading to the fourth. But the Lakers scored only 16 points in the fourth quarter, a feeble end for an offense that could've been more potent. Advertisement The loss is the first time the Lakers have ever lost a first-round series as a No. 3 seed or higher. The team is also just 2-12 in its last three playoff series. Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Lakers season comes to a disappointing end with another loss to Timberwolves
The shirt's been inside LeBron James' extra locker since the day he received it, a golden facsimile of the Lakers' iconic golden jerseys, this one with No. 77 on the front and 'Doncic' on the back. James wore a shirt exactly like on during pregame warmups on Feb. 10, a very public signal from some rarely subtle that he was ready to embrace the partnership put on him midseason when the Lakers' made the trade that gave the team two of the NBA's best big game players. But in the Game 5 loss that ended their season Wednesday, Luka Doncic was grimacing after a foul jammed his lower back in the first half. And James barely put weight on his left leg as he limped off the court in the fourth quarter. Still, with just over seven minutes to go in Game 5, the two were on the court, the Lakers ready to challenge the widely held belief that the closer the game, the better off they'd because of their leaders. The scoreboard in the building showed highlights of Doncic and James, their No. 77 and No. 23 uniforms adding up to a 100, with just three minutes to go and the Lakers down two. But like it did late in fourth quarters throughout this postseason, the math never added up. Doncic, again, missed a key layup. James, again, couldn't find a rhythm in the fourth quarter. And even as that Doncic shirt hung inside the Lakers' locker, the hope that had been built over the last two months had totally evaporated as the Lakers again failed to win the biggest moments, a 103-96 loss ending their season after just five games in the first round. It didn't matter that Minnesota missed 40 three-point shots, the most ever by a team in a postseason win. They seemed to grab every rebound. It didn't matter that Anthony Edwards was just 5-of-19 from the field — the Lakers couldn 't capitalize. And it didn't matter that the Lakers were on their home court, Minnesota silencing the fans as they defensively dominated the fourth quarter for the fifth straight game. JJ Redick sacrificed size for quickness and spacing, benching center Jaxson Hayes and starting Dorian Finney-Smith like he did in the second half of Game 4. This time, Rudy Gobert made the Lakers pay with playoff career highs of 27 points and 24 rebounds. Doncic had 28 on seven-of-18. James scored 22 on nine-of-21 shooting. Austin Reaves had only 12. Like it was all series, things never looked easy for the Lakers. The bulk of that credit should go to Minnesota, who not only looked like the more cohesive team but functioned as one designed almost explicitly to smother highlighter over every one of the Lakers' blemishes. The Lakers, who won games by playing hard, lost to a team that always seemed to play harder. The Lakers, who earned home court advantage by being tougher, lost to a team that was undoubtedly tougher. And the Lakers, who looked like they could beat anyone in the regular season, lost to a team that they obviously couldn't. Redick, who described the Lakers as 'on edge' in the practice before Game 5, angrily responded to a question that implied he needed to lean on his assistant coaches to better handle late-game substitutions. His team quickly fell behind, Julius Randle, the first piece of the Lakers' post-Kobe Bryant plans, looking like the bulldozing tone-setter the team envisioned when it took him in the first round in 2014. James and Doncic, who owned the top two scoring averages in elimination games in league history, made just one of their eight shots in the first quarter. With each miss, the murmurs from the crowd grew longer, the fans mirroring the Lakers and their fading chances. The team pushed early in the second as Randle and Jaden McDaniels, maybe the series MVP, both sat with foul trouble allowing the Lakers to get it on multiple occasions within a single possession. But in the moments when the Lakers and their stars needed to capitalize in those stretches, they looked more like separate entities than an unstoppable force. James tried to find Doncic as he flared to the corner and threw a pass directly to Anthony Edwards. Doncic couldn't play on the defensive string the Lakers all needed to be pulling on, Minnesota's easy baskets leading to James' open frustration towards the Lakers' bench. And Reaves, often the equal of James and Doncic as the Lakers closed in the regular season, couldn't hit any of the big open shots created for him, a badly injured big toe hampering him since Game 3. But with their season on the line, the Lakers did something they'd rarely done all year – they dominated the third quarter. The Lakers fought back from as many as 14 down to lead on a Dorian Finney-Smith three, trading possessions with the Timberwolves to trail by just one heading to the fourth. But the Lakers scored only 16 points in the fourth quarter, a feeble end for an offense that could've been more potent. The loss is the first time the Lakers have ever lost a first-round series as a No. 3 seed or higher. The team is also just 2-12 in its last three playoff series.
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Bubba Wallace Aims For Breakthrough Season With 23XI Racing
Bubba Wallace is entering Talladega Superspeedway with major expectations. As he returns to the site of his first of two Nascar Cup Series victories, he can smell the winner's circle once again. It's not just that Wallace has gained a reptutation as a superspeedway ace. Rather, he is off to a fast start in his fifth season with 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. To kick off the first nine races of the 2025 campaign, Wallace has showed plenty of speed week-in and week-out. However, the results don't show it, with only three top 10s. He sits eighth in the standings, though, thanks to a plethora of stage points. He's already led 98 laps this year, just 34% shy of his career high of pacing the field (285). Now, Wallace is ready to show why he is a legit title contender this year. The No. 23 team is running quite similar to teammate Tyler Reddick, sometimes even showing more speed than the two-time Xfinity Series champion. With a new crew chief in Charles Denike, expectations are high at 23XI. Denike was recruited to be paired with Wallace after successfully leading Christian Eckes' effort in the Craftsman Truck Series over the last two years, winning eight races. Wallace's increase in performance comes as he's once again welcoming new partners into Nascar. In early April, 23XI announced Robinhood will partner with Wallace to be featured on the No. 23 car. It's nothing new for Wallace, who's been responsible for several new Nascar partnerships, including Leidos and Columbia Sportswear, amongst others. Now, Wallace is ready to win his third career Cup Series event. If he does so, he will lock himself into the playoffs for the second time. Wallace narrowly missed the playoffs last year and finished 18th in the standings.
