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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Denny Hamlin said Kurt Busch is under no pressure to hurry up his recovery from a concussion and that 23XI Racing is not pushing at this time to get Tyler Reddick in its cars a year early.

Richard Childress Racing had a full-throttle response to Reddick’s planned move to 23XI, the Toyota team owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan. Childress, blindsided by Reddick and furious, steadied his organization this week by snatching Kyle Busch, the crown jewel of Toyota’s fleet.

Not only did Childress sign the free agent of the decade, but he signed him to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet – Reddick’s car.

With Reddick’s crew chief.

Reddick, it seems, can drive some other Chevrolet that doesn’t yet exist as he rides out the final year of his RCR contract. Reddick told Childress in July he was moving to 23XI Racing in 2024.

Hamlin on Thursday applauded Childress’ recovery in landing Busch, the Cup Series’ only active multiple champion and winningest Toyota driver in all three NASCAR national series. Busch and Hamlin have been teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing since Busch moved there in 2008.

“Our announcement with Reddick, if you want me to take this from a fan perspective, it would be that RCR was caught off guard by it, understandably so, and this was their answer to that,” Hamlin said.

“More than likely they got together and said, ‘Well how are we going to respond?’ Well, the way they responded was to get a 60-time winner and two-time champion to fill that seat. They probably got with their manufacturers and said, ‘How can we make this happen?’ and they responded, and I think they responded well.”

The problem is that Childress seems determined to hold Reddick through the end of his 2023 deal, only now he’s moving him to a third car. Childress said he’d get a charter for the third Chevrolet but didn’t say who was selling, and the buying price is north of $20 million right now.

23XI wasn’t in a rush to get Reddick in the organization because Kurt Busch is under contract through 2023, and Hamlin said there’s even an option on Busch for 2024. But Busch has been sidelined since July with a concussion and there’s been speculation the 44-year-old champion will retire.

Hamlin said 23XI still plans for Reddick to join the organization in 2024, and there is no pressure on Busch to get back in his car. Bubba Wallace is currently driving Busch’s No. 45 Toyota and won last week at Kansas; Ty Gibbs is in Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota.

“We still feel like Kurt is going to run next year, if he doesn’t, we’ve already got contingency plans for the 45 car,” he said. “If (Reddick) was pushed to the side, I think we would take him. But I don’t know that we need to get into pushing to get him early.

“Tyler has really said, and I believe it, that he wants to live out his contract at RCR. Mostly he wanted to do it for his team and his guys. With him being taken out of the (No.) 8 car, I don’t know if that changes, but I know Tyler wanted to end what he started there.”

The Series next races Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee in the first elimination race of the playoffs. Hamlin is the favorite to win the race, while Kyle Busch picked up his only Cup win of the year at Bristol in the spring when the concrete surface was covered in dirt.

Four drivers will be cut from the 16-driver field after Bristol, and Kyle Busch is below the cutline at 13th in the standings. Also in danger of elimination are Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick.

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Purdue RB Mockobee has season-ending surgery

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Purdue RB Mockobee has season-ending surgery

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue running back Devin Mockobee will miss the rest of his final college season after undergoing ankle surgery late last week, coach Barry Odom announced Monday.

Mockobee finishes his career as the fourth-leading rusher in Boilermakers history with 2,987 yards, trailing Mike Alstott, Kory Sheets and Otis Armstrong, a College Football Hall of Famer. Mockobee also ranks in the school’s top 10 in carries with 630 and career 100-yard games with nine.

Odom said Mockobee injured his ankle late in an Oct. 25 loss to Rutgers. He was ruled out of last weekend’s 21-16 loss at No. 21 Michigan following Friday’s surgery.

“We were hoping we would get a little bit better news after they did that procedure on his ankle, but unfortunately, the injury he sustained, he’s played his last game here,” Odom said. “I sure hate that because he is such a wonderful young man, a great leader of this program and a great representative of Purdue University. The things he poured into this program and university since I’ve been here, he will go down as one of the really enjoyable, great guys I’ve had a chance to coach. We’ll be connected forever, and I know this place means a lot to him.”

Losing this season’s leading rusher couldn’t come at a worse time for the Boilermakers (2-7, 0-6 Big Ten). They are mired in a six-game losing streak and remain one of four winless teams in league play. Purdue’s next chance to snap a school-record 15-game losing streak in conference games comes Saturday when it hosts No. 1 Ohio State (8-0, 5-0).

Antonio Harris started against Michigan then rotated with Malachi Thomas. Harris finished with 11 carries for 54 yards and one touchdown while Thomas had 15 carries for 68 yards. Malachi Singleton, a quarterback, also finished with six carries for 24 yards.

Odom did not say whether he would follow a similar game plan against the Buckeyes.

Mockobee joined the Boilermakers as a walk-on from Boonville, Indiana, but quickly emerged as their top rusher in 2022.

He set school freshman records by rushing for 968 yards and posting four 100-yard games while scoring nine times for the Big Ten West Division champions. After losing the Big Ten championship game to the Wolverines, first-time head coach Ryan Walters gave the 6-foot, 202-pound rusher a scholarship.

But Mockobee struggled with fumbles in 2023, starting just four games and finishing with 811 yards and six TD runs. He rebounded by starting all 12 games in 2024 and producing 687 yards rushing and four scores. He had a team-high 521 yards rushing and 4 TD runs in 8 games this season before getting injured.

Mockobee finished his career with 86 receptions for 839 yards and 3 touchdowns and the only completed pass of his career was a TD pass earlier this season.

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Alabama suspends DB Kirkpatrick after arrest

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Alabama suspends DB Kirkpatrick after arrest

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest over the weekend, coach Kalen DeBoer said Monday.

Kirkpatrick was arrested Saturday on three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of attempting to elude and speeding. He was released from Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $1,500 bond.

“Unfortunately, with the information that I have at this time, I talked to Dre, and we need to indefinitely suspend him,” DeBoer said. “He understands there are consequences that come with his actions.”

Kirkpatrick, a sophomore and son of former Alabama defensive back and NFL veteran Dre Kirkpatrick, has eight tackles, including one for a loss, one pass defense and a forced fumble this season.

No. 4 Alabama hosts LSU on Saturday.

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NCAA sends concerns to prediction market Kalshi

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NCAA sends concerns to prediction market Kalshi

The NCAA sent a letter to Kalshi, a company that offers prediction markets on college basketball and football, expressing its concern about the company’s “commitment to contest integrity and the protection of contest participants,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by ESPN.

In the letter, dated Oct. 30, NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby asked Kalshi how it monitors collegiate sports markets for integrity concerns and activity by prohibited customers, who it considers a prohibited customer, whether it will report integrity concerns to the NCAA and whether the company will cooperate with NCAA investigations.

“We welcome Kalshi’s stance on its efforts to protect the integrity of NCAA competitions and to reduce instances of abuse and harassment directed at student-athletes and other participants,” Bearby wrote.

The NCAA also asked if Kalshi would ban prediction markets similar to prop bets, which the company began offering this fall.

Prop betting markets, Bearby noted in the letter, heighten “the risk of integrity and harassment concerns.” In March last year, NCAA president Charlie Baker called for a ban on prop bets on college athletes in states with legal sports wagering.

The NCAA also asked Kalshi in the letter to review language on its website that the NCAA says implies a relationship between them.

“Kalshi has robust market integrity provisions required by our status as a federally licensed financial exchange,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “We value the NCAA’s feedback and are working on adjusting the language on our site. We are currently reviewing and addressing their additional requests.”

Prediction markets like Kalshi have emerged over the past year and are competing with traditional sportsbooks in the betting market. Kalshi is battling multiple lawsuits by state gambling regulators, who allege that the company is violating state laws by offering event contracts that mimic sports bets. Kalshi argues that it does not fall under state jurisdiction and is instead regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency.

In March, Kalshi announced a partnership with IC360, an integrity monitor used by many collegiate and professional leagues.

The NCAA has faced an increasing number of alleged betting violations by players in recent years. In September, the NCAA announced that a Fresno State men’s basketball player had manipulated his performance for gambling purposes and conspired with two other players in a prop betting scheme. In total, the association has opened investigations into potential betting violations by approximately 30 current or former men’s basketball players.

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