Sports

J.J., Knaus, D. Allison inducted into NASCAR HOF

Published

1 year ago

January 20, 2024

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Associated Press

Jan 19, 2024, 10:02 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson’s dreams first came true when he was given a motorcycle for Christmas at age 4.

That was when he fell in love with racing.

Johnson was honored for his career on Friday night when he and crew chief Chad Knaus, who he teamed up with to win a record-tying seven Cup championships, were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The sport’s dominant duo, both first-ballot inductees, joined Donnie Allison, an original member of the “Alabama Gang,” in a celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center as part of the 2024 class. Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, was inducted as the Landmark Award winner for contributions to NASCAR.

“Some Hall of Famers said that the moment is going to get real. I think it just happened,” Johnson said, holding back tears. “This is the highest honor to stand alongside our sport’s greats in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

Johnson won 83 Cup races — tied for sixth most in NASCAR history — in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, all but two of them with Knaus as crew chief. Knaus, now the vice president of competition for Hendrick, was suspended for two of Johnson’s wins, including one in the Daytona 500.

Their five straight Cup championships from 2006 to 2010 stand as a NASCAR record.

“We clicked right away with similar interests and everything to prove,” Johnson said. “We could read each other’s minds. … His work ethic and ability to bring the best out in me was most impressive.”

Then he looked over at Knaus and said, “Congrats, brother, I am so happy we are able to go in on the same ballot.”

Knaus grew up in the Midwest working on cars and had a goal of becoming a crew chief by the time he was 30, living by the motto of “work hard from morning until night.”

With the help of Hendrick crew chief Ray Evernham, he got that chance at 28.

“My father taught me what it meant to have the best race cars, to have the proper maintenance schedule, to never settle for second, to continuously learn and to always push the rules,” Knaus said, before adding with a laugh, “I kind of stuck with that last one a lot.”

Knaus also thanked Johnson.

“Jimmie helped me find out who I was by believing in me,” Knaus said. “You have taught me there is much more to life than racing — even if it has taken many, many years to understand that.”

Despite their success, there were bumps along the way.

Car owner Rick Hendrick, who rehired Knaus in 2002 to work with Johnson, said the relationship between the strong-willed, motivated men almost never materialized.

In the months leading up to the 2006 season, Johnson and Knaus were feuding after failing to win a championship in their first four years together. There was talk of the pair pushing for a split, but Hendrick wanted none of it.

He called them both into his office, and upon arrival slammed a gallon of milk and some cookies in on the table in front of them.

“I said, ‘Guys, it is really a shame that you are so successful and yet you can’t get along, but if you want to act like children then why don’t we sit on the floor and we will have some milk and cookies and have timeout,'” Hendrick said. “And they started laughing.”

Johnson recalled the meeting well, saying, “When we walked in, we didn’t make eye contact. We didn’t say hello to each other, which only fed Rick’s point that if you are going to act like kids, I’m going to treat you like kids.”

Knaus chuckled at the memory, saying, “For the record, it wasn’t a gentle set down of the milk and cookies. It was like, we are going to eat some milk and cookies.”

The pair would go on to win the first of five straight titles, and Knaus called it a “critical” moment in their careers.

“We were so frustrated because we felt like we should be in position to win the championship in 2005 and we weren’t able to close the deal,” Knaus said. “It was more about frustration not having the success as opposed to having emotions toward one another. So, we just had to get that squared away and understand that.”

Johnson was inducted by his wife, Chandra Janway.

Janway, who wasn’t present when Johnson was selected for the Hall of Fame in August, has kept a low public profile and the couple now lives in London following the deaths of her parents and nephew in what police believe to be a double murder-suicide in June.

Johnson addressed the incident briefly in his speech, thanking everyone for support in what he called an “unbelievable tragedy.”

Allison, who won 10 Cup races, was voted in on the Pioneer ballot. He becomes the final member of the Alabama Gang to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining brother Bobby Allison and Red Farmer.

Allison called it the “ultimate” honor.

“What else is there?” Allison said. “When you start out racing like I did, you dream of getting into the Hall of Fame.”

Guthrie did not attend the event, but sent a message via video thanking several drivers for their help with her career, including Allison.

Sports

NHL Bubble Watch: Which eight teams will emerge from the chaos in the East?

Published

50 mins ago

January 23, 2025

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NHL Bubble Watch: Which eight teams will emerge from the chaos in the East?

Greg WyshynskiJan 23, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
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NHL teams don’t necessarily need a goaltender that can drag them to the Stanley Cup, mostly because those types of netminders are unicorns. What they need is a goalie that can make a save at a critical time; and, perhaps most of all, not lose a game for the team in front of them.

As the NHL playoff picture comes into focus, so does the quality of every team’s most important position. Will their goaltending be the foundation for a playoff berth and postseason run? Or is it the fatal flaw in their designs on the Stanley Cup?

The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using playoff probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams. This month, we’re also giving each contending team a playoff quality goaltending rating based on the classic Consumer Reports review standards: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

We also reveal which teams shouldn’t worry about any of this because they’re lottery-bound already.

But first, a look at the projected playoff bracket:

Sports

CFP title game viewership down from last year

Published

9 hours ago

January 23, 2025

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CFP title game viewership down from last year

Associated Press

Jan 22, 2025, 07:30 PM ET

Ohio State‘s 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game was the most-watched game of the season. However, it was a double-digit drop in viewers from last year.

ESPN announced Wednesday that the Buckeyes’ second national championship in the CFP era averaged 22.1 million viewers. It was the most-watched, non-NFL sporting event over the past year, but a 12% drop from the 25 million who tuned in for Michigan’s 34-13 victory over Washington in 2024.

It was the third-lowest audience of the 11 CFP title games, with all three occurring in the past five years. The audience peaked at 26.1 million viewers during the second quarter (8:30 to 8:45 p.m. ET) when the score was tied at 7.

Since Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in 2018, the past seven title games have had an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. Ohio State had a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter before Notre Dame rallied to get within one possession with five minutes remaining in the fourth.

Georgia’s 65-7 rout of TCU in 2023 was the least-viewed title game (17.2 million) followed by Alabama’s 52-24 win over Ohio State in 2021 (18.7 million). The first title game in 2015 — the Buckeyes’ 42-20 victory over Oregon — remains the most-watched college football game by viewers in the CFP era, according to Nielsen at 33.9 million.

This was the first year of the 12-team field. The first round averaged 10.6 million viewers with the quarterfinals at 16.9 million. The semifinals averaged 19.2 million, a 17% decline from last year. Both semifinal games in 2024 though were played on Jan. 1. Michigan’s OT victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl drew a bigger audience (27.7 million) than the Wolverines’ win in the title game.

CFP games ended up being nine of the 10 most-viewed this season. Georgia’s OT win over Texas in the SEC championship on ABC/ESPN was sixth at 16.6 million.

Sports

Sources: Irish’s Golden back to Bengals as DC

Published

9 hours ago

January 23, 2025

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Sources: Irish's Golden back to Bengals as DC

Ben BabyJan 22, 2025, 04:46 PM ET
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CINCINNATI — A familiar face is headed back to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden is expected to join the Bengals in the same role, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday. The news comes two days after the Fighting Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Golden, 55, spent the past three seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. He replaces Lou Anarumo, who held the post for the past six seasons before he was fired after the Bengals missed the postseason.

This will be Golden’s second stint on Zac Taylor’s coaching staff. Before taking the job at Notre Dame, he was Cincinnati’s linebackers coach during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During those years, Golden played an integral role in leading a defense that helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.

The Fighting Irish’s defense was a major reason why Notre Dame was a win away from its first national championship since 1988. Entering the CFP final against the Buckeyes, Notre Dame’s defense ranked fourth among Power 4 teams in points allowed per drive (1.21), according to ESPN Research.

He will be tasked with leading a Bengals defense that looks vastly different from just a couple of years ago. Staples from that Super Bowl team, including safety Jessie Bates III and defensive tackle DJ Reader, departed in free agency in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Last season, Anarumo was tasked with balancing a group that featured aging veterans, injuries at key positions and inexperience at others.

Eventually, the defense figured things out during the Bengals’ five-game winning streak to close the regular season. But with Cincinnati missing the postseason for a second straight year, Taylor opted for a staff shake-up. Along with Anarumo, offensive line coach Frank Pollack and defensive line coach Marion Hobby were among those who were not retained.

On Monday, Cincinnati announced Scott Peters as Pollack’s replacement and Michael McCarthy as the assistant offensive line coach. Later in the day, Anarumo was hired as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator.

The Bengals will need to improve a unit that finished near the bottom of the league in several key categories. Last season, Cincinnati was 26th in points allowed per drive, 30th in defensive red zone efficiency and 30th in first downs allowed per game, according to ESPN Research.

Cincinnati is trying to build around star quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase as the team looks to end a two-year playoff drought. Burrow was named to his second Pro Bowl following a career year. Chase made his fourth Pro Bowl in as many NFL seasons and joined defensive end Trey Hendrickson as the team’s first All-Pro selections since 2015.