Sports

Verstappen paces field ahead of qualifying in Saudi Arabia – TSN

Published

3 years ago

December 5, 2021

Harry Miller

Dec 4, 2021

The Canadian Press

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Max Verstappen slapped the wall in the 27th and final turn of Formula One’s newest circuit, handing the front row for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.

Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, jumped to the top of the qualifying board with about 80 seconds remaining in Saturday’s session. Valtteri Bottas, his Mercedes teammate, then moved to second.

It gave the current championship leader one final lap around the high-speed course to try to claim pole. But the Dutchman went wide in the second turn and nearly brushed the wall, then finally gave it a hard slam in the final turn as Verstappen desperately tried to bump Hamilton and Bottas from the front row.

Verstappen climbed from his damaged Red Bull and walked down the street circuit shaking his head in dismay. He then climbed through a hole in the safety fencing, caught a ride in the backseat of the safety car and returned to the paddock.

“That was terrible,” Verstappen said. “We don’t understand what happened. I locked up and I still tried to, of course, keep the car on the track to try to finish the lap but it clipped the rear and I had to stop. P3 is is a bit disappointing.”

Toronto’s Nicholas Latifi was 16th and Montreal’s Lance Stroll was 18th.

Verstappen was likely on pace to take the pole from Hamilton.

The two championship rivals — they are separated by eight points with two races remaining — bumped fists after the session.

“What a tough track this is, incredibly technical and complex,” Hamilton said. “It’s amazing what they’ve built here, track-wise the speed and the pace around here is phenomenal.”

Hamilton earlier was summoned before the stewards for violating yellow flag rules in practice, but the British driver was not penalized. He was later issued a warning, though, and Mercedes was fined 25,000 pounds ($33,000).

With a perfect race on Sunday, Verstappen could clinch his first F1 title with a victory and a seventh-place finish by Hamilton. But he may also receive a penalty on the starting grid if Red Bull needs to make significant repairs to Verstappen’s car.

Hamilton used back-to-back victories last month to slice 11 points from Verstappen’s lead. After qualifying, he embraced Bottas for locking up the front row for Mercedes.

Bottas is being replaced at Mercedes next year and Hamilton heaped praise on his teammate.

“The collaboration has been just epic with Valtteri, he’s the best teammate there’s even been in this sport, for sure,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton, who was fastest in both of Friday’s practices, has a chance to leave Saudi Arabia tied with Verstappen in the standings if the Mercedes driver wins on Sunday and scores maximum points.

The drivers have praised the high-speed street circuit that spans 6.2 kilometers (3.8 miles), with 27 corners (16 left turns, 11 right turns). It was built along a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) coastal resort area in Jeddah and workers were still completing final touches ahead of this weekend’s F1 debut in the country.

F1 is closing its season with three consecutive races in the Middle East and four total stops in the region this year. Hamilton spoke out in Bahrain and Qatar and said on Thursday he wouldn’t choose to race in Saudi Arabia. The season concludes next week in Abu Dhabi.

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More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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