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4 months ago

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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.

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5-star wide receiver Moore decommits from LSU

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59 mins ago

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May 17, 2024

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5-star wide receiver Moore decommits from LSU

  • Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff WriterMay 17, 2024, 09:12 AM ET

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    • ESPN staff writer
    • Joined ESPN in 2011
    • Graduated from Central Michigan

Five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore decommitted from LSU on Wednesday.

Moore is the No. 3 prospect overall in the 2025 class, and a 5-foot-11, 185-pound recruit from Duncanville, Texas. He had been committed to the Tigers since August, but announced on Wednesday that he is reopening his recruitment.

In his announcement on X (formerly twitter), Moore said that he will not be considering new offers from schools.

Prior to committing to LSU, he had Ohio State, Oregon and Texas in his top group, and those three schools have continued to recruit him despite his commitment to LSU.

He was the second-highest ranked commitment in the class for LSU, behind No. 2 ranked Bryce Underwood, a five-star quarterback out of Belleville, Michigan.

Despite Moore’s decommitment, LSU still has six ESPN 300 commitments, including Underwood, the No. 1 ranked running back Harlem Berry, cornerback Jaboree Antoine, offensive linemen Devin Harper and Tyler Miller, as well as linebacker Charles Ross.

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Hunter, Ewers, Edwards share video game cover

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59 mins ago

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May 17, 2024

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Hunter, Ewers, Edwards share video game cover

  • Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterMay 16, 2024, 11:16 AM ET

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    • College football reporter.
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
    • Graduate of Northwestern University.

DALLAS — After dazzling at cornerback and wide receiver for Colorado in 2023, Travis Hunter often hears people describe him as a video game player. Now he is on the cover of the long-anticipated return of the college football video game from EA Sports.

Hunter, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards share the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, set to be released July 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The popular game, which has been on hiatus since 2014, will include all 134 FBS teams and the names, images and likenesses of a large majority of current players.

Eight days after EA Sports set up NIL deals for current college players, more than 10,000 had opted in to the game. Each player who opted in will receive $600 and a copy of the game, valued at around $70. Hunter and Ewers were among the first high-profile players to opt in.

The main cover shows Hunter in the middle with Ewers to his right and Edwards to his left. The cover for the deluxe edition displays the backs of Hunter, Ewers and Edwards in the tunnel at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, where an extensive photo and video shoot took place in early March.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to be on the cover,” Hunter told ESPN. “We grew up watching this and looking at the covers, and now we’re on it. When I was young, I waited till 12 o’clock to get every NCAA. It was my favorite game by far. I still play the old NCAA 14 to this day.”

Hunter has created himself in the previous games, saying, “I’m a 90-something [rating] overall, so I’m pretty good, but my speed is kind of slow.”

Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was on the cover for NCAA Football 14. The last shared cover, for NCAA Football 13, featured Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, and 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State.

Like Hunter, Ewers has played the older versions of the game after EA Sports stopped producing it in the wake of a lawsuit filed by former players over the use of their names, images and likenesses.

“Obviously, I grew up in an era of playing this game, as it was big for my age group,” Ewers told ESPN. “It’s been, what, 10 years now since this NCAA game has come out, and to be on the cover with these two guys, I can’t really put it into words. It’s just an honor.”

EA Sports announced the planned return of the game in early 2021 and in December 2022 said the game would be released summer 2024. Every FBS school will be represented, along with the College Football Playoff and bowl games. Dynasty and Road to Glory modes — two features in the previous NCAA games that were immensely popular — will return to the game, which will also feature facets of the transfer portal and NIL.

Ewers and Hunter knew each other previously and connected with Edwards before the cover shoot. They posed for pictures together around the Cotton Bowl and did videos, including Ewers throwing a downfield pass to Hunter, who had 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns last season to go along with three interceptions and five pass breakups on defense.

“Donovan, Quinn and Travis are extraordinary talents who impressed and entertained millions of college football fans on the field last season and are poised to do so again this year,” Daryl Holt, senior vice president and group general manager of EA Sports, said in a statement. “We’re proud to be able to incorporate thousands of current athletes in College Football 25, and featuring this trio of playmakers and their iconic college programs on the cover is a perfect fit as we usher in a new era for EA SPORTS and college football.”

The photo shoot also included actors dressed in uniforms for Notre Dame, Georgia, Alabama, USC, Ohio State, Florida and Oregon. Other than Hunter, Ewers and Edwards, the cover includes jerseys showing the names of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins.

Edwards grew up playing NCAA Football and Call of Duty and described NCAA Football as “the best game that I ever played.”

“Just the fact that it hasn’t come out for a decade, you miss it more,” said Edwards, who had 497 rushing yards and five touchdowns in 2023. “The graphics were top tier, the play style was top tier, there was no lag, no glitches in there. I’m just very blessed to be able to be on the cover and to be able to represent the University of Michigan.”

ESPN’s Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.

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Michigan to sell alcohol at football games in ’24

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59 mins ago

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May 17, 2024

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Michigan to sell alcohol at football games in '24

  • Associated Press

May 16, 2024, 05:28 PM ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Alcohol sales will begin this football season at Michigan Stadium, following the lead of in-state rival Michigan State and a trend of booze being made available at college sports venues across the nation.

The Michigan athletic department made the announcement Thursday following successful rollouts of alcohol sales at its hockey and basketball arenas. The university’s board of regents voted to implement a liquor license at the “Big House” starting with the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State.

According to a survey by The Associated Press of Power Five conference schools and Notre Dame, 55 of 69 sold alcohol in the public areas of their stadiums last season. Michigan State, Kentucky and Stanford began alcohol sales at their football stadiums in 2023.

Michigan started alcohol sales at Yost Ice Arena and Crisler Center in February as a trial run for sales at the football stadium. The athletic department said there were no reported issues related to drunken behavior or medical responses.

Fans will be required to show identification while making a purchase, and each sale will be limited to two alcoholic beverages per legal drinking age person.

The athletic department said alcohol revenue will be used for operational expenses, and a portion will be directed to the university to help fund campus research projects.

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