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Alex Galchenyuk is entering the NHL and NHLPA’s player assistance program after being arrested last week, sources told ESPN, and has apologized to police for his “deeply disrespectful and despicable behavior.”

Galchenyuk was arrested July 9 in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a hit and run incident that resulted in the Arizona Coyotes terminating his contract just 13 days after signing the 29-year-old as a free agent.

According to the police report, Galchenyuk made violent threats to officers after apparently crashing a car into a sign. The report said Galchenyuk used racial slurs toward an officer-in-training several times and cited his connections in Russia while not cooperating.

“One phone call and you’re all dead, your whole family, your blood line is dead,” Galchenyuk told officers, according to the report.

Galchenyuk reached out to four Scottsdale police officers via a letter sent through a prosecutor, which was obtained by ESPN, to apologize, saying he knows he has “a long road ahead of me.”

Sources told ESPN that Galchenyuk could enter the player assistance program as early as Tuesday. NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh told ESPN that the players association is still contemplating whether it will file a grievance on behalf of Galchenyuk regarding his contract termination.

Galchenyuk was booked on misdemeanor charges and released on his own recognizance. At the time of the arrest, he was with his father, Alexander Galchenyuk Sr., a former professional hockey player who runs his son’s offseason training. They were celebrating Galchenyuk’s new opportunity with the Coyotes that day.

In his letter to the Scottsdale Police Department officers, Galchenyuk said they “did not deserve that outburst” and he was “sorry for the pain that it had caused.”

“My actions after drinking alcohol were not representative of who I am, but I must take responsibility for them and I hope to one day be able to show you that I am a better person than who you sadly encountered last week,” Galchenyuk wrote. “What all of you do, putting your lives on the line to protect and serve others, is nothing short of selfless and heroic. I appreciate and respect each of you and I want you to know I will work on myself every day with the goal of one day being able to make amends and to try to earn your forgiveness.”

Galchenyuk also sent a separate letter to the Coyotes organization and its fans, calling his behavior “deeply offensive, uncalled for, horrendous, embarrassing, disrespectful and just plain awful.”

“I am beyond embarrassed and disappointed with myself and I feel awful for everyone I have let down,” Galchenyuk wrote. “My family was counting on me to be better, the Coyotes and the amazing Coyotes fans deserve better and the brave police officers who risk their lives to keep us safe deserve better.”

It has been a challenging year for Galchenyuk, who was the third overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Montreal Canadiens but has since become a journeyman.

After being selected to represent Team USA at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Finland, Galchenyuk was given bad advice that his then-fiancée (now-wife), a Canadian citizen, could travel with him despite the fact that she had overstayed her American visa, according to sources. When the couple arrived back in the United States, she was deported back to Canada.

According to sources close to Galchenyuk, he was devastated and felt personally responsible. The couple has not been able to live together for over a year, and Galchenyuk was hopeful that his new contract with the Coyotes would allow for the couple to begin planning their life together in the U.S.

Galchenyuk was born in the U.S. but spent some of his childhood in Russia, where his father played professionally.

Galchenyuk had signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Coyote worth $775,000 on July 1, the opening day of unrestricted free agency. It would be his third stint with the organization, having played for Arizona in 2018-19 (72 games) and 2021-22 (60 games). Since his six-year stint with the Canadiens, Galchenyuk has bounced around the NHL. Since 2018, he has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche along with the Coyotes.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski contributed to this report.

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Journalism rallies in $1M Haskell Invitational win

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Journalism rallies in M Haskell Invitational win

OCEANPORT, N.J. — Journalism launched a dramatic rally to win the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

It was Journalism’s first race since the Triple Crown. He was the only colt to contest all three legs, winning the Preakness while finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Heavily favored at 2-5 odds, Journalism broke poorly under jockey Umberto Rispoli and wound up trailing the early leaders. He kicked into gear rounding the final turn to find Gosger and Goal Oriented locked in a dogfight for the lead. It appeared one of them would be the winner until Journalism roared down the center of the track to win by a half-length.

“You feel like you’re on a diesel,” Rispoli said. “He’s motoring and motoring. You never know when he’s going to take off. To do what he did today again, it’s unbelievable.”

Gosger held on for second, a neck ahead of Goal Oriented.

The Haskell victory was Journalism’s sixth in nine starts for Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy, and earned the colt a berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

Journalism paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.

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Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

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Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott took advantage of heavy rain at Dover Motor Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Elliott and the rest of the field never got to turn a scheduled practice or qualifying lap on Saturday because of rain that pounded the concrete mile track. Dover is scheduled to hold its first July race since the track’s first one in 1969.

Elliott has two wins and 10 top-five finishes in 14 career races at Dover.

Chase Briscoe starts second, followed by Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Shane van Gisbergen, last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch complete the top 10.

Logano is set to become the youngest driver in NASCAR history with 600 career starts.

Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He will top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months.

The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Reddick vs. Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.

The winners face off next week at Indianapolis. Reddick is the betting favorite to win it all, according to Sportsbook.

All four drivers are winless this season.

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Hamlin on 23XI trial: ‘All will be exposed’

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Hamlin on 23XI trial: 'All will be exposed'

DOVER, Del. — NASCAR race team owner Denny Hamlin remained undeterred in the wake of another setback in court, vowing “all will be exposed” in the scheduled December trial as part of 23XI Racing’s federal antitrust suit against the auto racing series.

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams’ bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they won’t lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.

Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.

After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed – a possibility now that starting spots have opened.

The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.

“If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “All will be exposed.”

23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s extension offer on charters.

Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put “plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.

“Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar,” Hamlin said. “I’d love to be doing other things. I’ve got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I’m 100% committed.”

Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing.

Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCAR’s $1 million In-season Challenge, was last year’s regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this year’s playoffs.

Making the field won’t be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.

“Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop,” Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. “There’s not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.”

Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.

“I leave all that up to them,” Smith said, “but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.”

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