Sports

Before low-key finale, NASCAR vows youth push

Published

1 year ago

November 6, 2023

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Associated Press

Nov 3, 2023, 04:44 PM ET

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR on Friday dismissed the sentiment that this weekend’s championship finale lacks the pizzazz and star power of a major event.

The final four — Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and William Byron — is the youngest since the winner-take-all format began in 2014, and Larson is the only previous Cup Series champion among the contenders.

Larson and Bell are longtime dirt track rivals but have settled any simmering disputes. Byron and Blaney have a personal connection because Byron is dating Blaney’s younger sister. The drivers have acknowledged Sunday’s showdown at Phoenix Raceway lacks the hype of years past, but NASCAR pushed back as the weekend arrived.

“We have a playoff system that I believe is the toughest in sports,” NASCAR president Steve Phelps said. “Think about the style of racing that we have and the incredible competition that we have on the racetrack and the variety that our drivers had to go through.

“They raced on dirt. They raced on concrete. They raced on asphalt. They raced on short tracks, street courses, road courses, superspeedways,” Phelps continued. “Is there another racing series on the planet that can say that? I don’t think there is. We’ve got the best racing in the world and I think it’s the most competitive racing in the world, and when we crown that champion on Sunday, that champion is going to be very deserving.”

Nobody is questioning the versatility required over NASCAR’s 38-race season, which began this year with an exhibition at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February.

Still, Blaney lamented that the final four had “no bad blood, no rivalry, no one’s mad at each other in this one.” Retired driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., part of NBC’s broadcast team for the race, said the final four were “just not very dynamic or aggressive.”

This year’s playoff field, with an average age of 28 with Larson at 31 the oldest, is missing five-time most popular driver Chase Elliott. Cup champions Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were all eliminated early, young fan favorites Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace were knocked out, and regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. and divisive personality Denny Hamlin fell short last week.

The four left standing are soft-spoken drivers who, with the exception of Larson in 2021, have never won anything as big as a Cup title. Bell is back in the championship race for the second consecutive year, while Blaney and Byron are making their first appearances.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR chief operating officer, called Larson and Bell two of the best racers in the world and praised the final four for “what they do to represent our sport.”

“Everyone is not going to be a certain personality that drives things,” O’Donnell said. “We’re not going to be a soap opera. We’re a sport that’s going to go out there to race and showcase the talent of our athletes. With that will come personality. With that will come some storytelling.”

O’Donnell acknowledged NASCAR could do more for its young stars and said industry leaders are actively discussing increased engagement and storytelling. NASCAR has an agreement with Netflix for a docuseries about this year’s 10-race playoffs that will air in early 2024.

Maybe it will be spectacular and drive interest to the dizzying heights “Drive To Survive” has taken Formula One in North America.

“We’ve talked about [how] it’s on everybody, race teams, the tracks, what we’re doing at the track to showcase our drivers,” O’Donnell said. “Going back a little bit old-school, some of the things we used to have — the stages at tracks, autograph sessions, things we may have gotten away from. Getting the drivers with their helmets off, getting that personality out there a little bit more.

“I think we have a big opportunity as a sport because we have a crop of young drivers for fans to come in and embrace,” he added. “Now we have to do the job, as do they, to say, ‘Hey, come root for me, come along for the ride.’ It’s a lot of young drivers that we need to have fans embrace and latch onto and show them why.”

Sports

Pitt freshman CB Alexander dies in car accident

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2025

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Pitt freshman CB Alexander dies in car accident

Adam RittenbergMar 2, 2025, 11:15 AM ET
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Pitt freshman football player Mason Alexander was killed Saturday night in a car accident in his hometown of Fishers, Indiana.

Alexander, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, he was a passenger in a 2016 BMW driving south on Florida Road. The driver of the car tried to pass a 2015 Toyota before a hillcrest and swerved to avoid a head-on collision with another car traveling in the northbound lane. The BMW traveled off the road and eventually hit a tree, catching on fire.

Alexander starred at cornerback for Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, near Indianapolis, and was an ESPN 300 recruit in the 2025 class. He signed with Pitt in December, enrolled early and was set to join the team for the start of spring practice this month.

“I received a call this morning that no parent, teacher or coach ever wants to get — the news of the sudden loss of a young and promising life,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said in a statement. “Our entire program is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Mason Alexander’s passing.

“Mason had just enrolled at Pitt in January following his early graduation from Indiana’s Hamilton Southeastern High School. Even during that short time, he made a great impression on all of us. Mason was proud and excited to be a Panther, and we felt the same way about having him in our Pitt family. He will always be a Panther to us. The Alexander family and Mason’s many loved ones and friends will be in our prayers.”

Peyton Daniels, a high school teammate of Alexander’s who plays at Butler, posted about his friend on X, writing, “Mason lit up every room he was in. Brought joy and playfulness to everything and everyone. He could change the entire direction of your day with one interaction. Mason is the embodiment of exceptional. Rest Easy 15. Love forever.”

It’s hard to find the words to say right now. Mason lit up every room he was in. Brought joy and playfulness to everything and everyone. He could change the entire direction of your day with one interaction. Mason is the embodiment of exceptional. Rest Easy 15. Love forever.🤍 pic.twitter.com/FptDR74MSN

— Peyton Daniels (@daniels_peyton) March 2, 2025

Sports

NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2025

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

Ryan S. Clark
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Ryan S. Clark

ESPN NHL reporter
Greg Wyshynski
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Greg Wyshynski

Senior NHL writer

Mar 1, 2025, 09:50 PM ET

The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers, and the Canucks staying busy and getting Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 1 featured three big trades, with Ryan Lindgren headed to the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild adding Gustav Nyquist, and Seth Jones joining the Florida Panthers.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

Sports

Trump says he will pardon baseball legend Rose

Published

23 hours ago

March 1, 2025

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Trump says he will pardon baseball legend Rose

ESPN News Services

Mar 1, 2025, 07:31 AM ET

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would pardon baseball great Pete Rose and criticized Major League Baseball for barring the all-time hit leader from the sport’s Hall of Fame for gambling.

Rose, who died last year at 83, was banned from baseball for life. He admitted in 2004 that he had bet on games, though never against his own team. Commissioner Rob Manfred in 2015 rejected Rose’s bid for reinstatement.

“Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.”

Trump did not say what the pardon would cover. Rose served five months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges in 1990.

In a statement to ESPN, John Dowd, who investigated Rose for MLB in 1989 and served as Trump’s lawyer seven years ago, noted that MLB is “not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF.”

Rose, who spent most of his 1963 to 1986 career with the Cincinnati Reds, won the World Series three times and remains Major League Baseball’s career leader in hits, games played, at-bats, singles and outs.

Reuters contributed to this report.