Winners and losers season 5

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Helio Castroneves might be at the 2023 Daytona 500, but the four-time Indy 500 winner won’t be in a race car. During a news conference Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, Castroneves confirmed in response to a question from NBC Sports that he essentially has ruled out attempting to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Feb. 19 season opener. As recently as last Thursday at Rolex 24 Media Day, Castroneves, 47, said he still was working on trying to piece together a deal. The Brazilian had been negotiating with the Cup team co-owned by boxer Floyd Mayweather and would have been in an “open” entry that lacked guaranteed entry to the Great American Race. That potentially would leave him in the precarious position of needing to make the race on qualifying speed or a qualifying race finish ( as action sports star Travis Pastrana likely might need in his Cup debut ). DETAILS FOR THE 61ST ROLEX 24 : How to watch, entry lists, schedules for the … [Read more...] about Indy winner Helio Castroneves rules out Daytona 500 in 2023 – NBC Sports

We have our final four in the NFL playoffs! The Conference Championship games - effectively semi-finals ahead of Super Bowl LVII - take place this Sunday, live on Sky Sports NFL; here's your guide to the teams left battling for the right to make it to Arizona on February 12... AFC 1) Kansas City Chiefs AFC West division champions - 14-3 regular-season record Divisional Round result: 27-20 winners vs Jaguars (4) Head coach: Andy Reid is into his 10th season with the Chiefs, and this team has known only success since he's been there, missing out on the playoffs just once in 2014 - albeit still securing a winning record at 9-7, the only time his team failed to reach 10 wins. With victory over the Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs, Kansas City clinched a fifth-straight appearance in the AFC Championship game under Reid. Key man: The uber-talented Patrick Mahomes, of course. The 27-year-old is favourite to win a second league MVP title this season … [Read more...] about NFL playoffs: Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles and 49ers – meet the teams battling it out to reach Super Bowl LVII in Arizona

From a blockbuster tie between Man City and Arsenal to Tottenham's trophy dream and Wrexham's Hollywood story, we pick out the FA Cup fourth-round talking points... Is it time for Pep's apprentice to become the master? Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola have been friends for more than two decades, colleagues at Barcelona and City and now, for the first time, title rivals. Arteta's links to Guardiola predate even before his professional debut. Both progressed through Barcelona's La Masia youth system - where despite being 11 years Pep's junior, the now-Arsenal boss was already weighed down by comparisons to the legendary midfielder and their remarkably similar styles of play. Guardiola took the teenager under his wing, offering him guidance and striking up a chord which would last for more than two decades, to the present day. But while Pep had gone on to make the middle of the Nou Camp pitch his own, Arteta - stuck behind the generational duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta … [Read more...] about FA Cup fourth round: Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Wrexham stories to look out for

USATSI STORRS, Conn. — Rare is the occasion that my power rankings opens with a dateline, but I was in the building Wednesday night for Xavier's 82-79 win over UConn, a top-20 Big East affair. So this week's Hey Nineteen will start there. What began as a Xavier bombardment ended in a gripping Musketeers escape inside a bumping Gampel Pavilion, which at a few points hit ear-splitting levels after Connecticut managed to cut a 17-point second-half deficit down to a one-possession game. "That was the loudest building I've ever been in," Xavier associate head coach Adam Cohen told me outside the team locker room after the win. Xavier led wire to wire, opening the game 9-0 in the first four minutes, then bloating its lead to 15 points by halftime — a margin that would prove pivotal after UConn made a couple of second-half pushes to bring some much-needed drama to the best matchup of the night in college basketball. UConn's Jordan Hawkins had 28, the second-highest point … [Read more...] about College basketball power rankings: Xavier slides into top 10 after win at UConn; Alabama makes move to No. 1

Teahupoo shot to ante-post favouritism for the Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival following a facile victory in the John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park. Gordon Elliott's charge finished last behind Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdles at Cheltenham and Punchestown last season, but turned the tables when inflicting a first career defeat on the superstar mare in the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse last month. Stepping up to three miles for the first time, Teahupoo was a 4/11 chance to give weight and a beating to five rivals at Grade Two level and could hardly have been more impressive. Ga Law primed for Sky Bet Chase with Festival targets on the horizon 'Long way to go' - Former star Altior recovering from 'severe' colic Watch the Sky Bet Chase on Sky Sports Racing! Don't miss the lucrative Sky Bet Chase from Doncaster, live this Saturday on Sky Sports Racing! Ridden by Davy Russell, enjoying his first Graded success since coming … [Read more...] about Stayers’ Hurdle odds: Teahupoo new favourite for Cheltenham Festival after Galmoy Hurdle romp at Gowran Park

USATSI The Cincinnati Bengals will seek their second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the 2023 AFC Championship Game. This is a rematch of last year's AFC title game in which the Bengals overcame an 18-point deficit to prevail 27-24 in overtime and advance to Super Bowl 56, where they fell 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams . Last week, Kansas City staved off the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 in the divisional round, while Cincinnati dominated from the outset in a 27-10 road victory over the Buffalo Bills . Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs are one-point favorites in the latest Chiefs vs. Bengals odds from Caesars Sportsbook and the over/under for total points scored is 47. Before locking in any Bengals vs. Chiefs picks, make sure you check out the NFL predictions and betting advice from SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein . A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, … [Read more...] about Chiefs vs. Bengals odds, start time, prediction: 2023 AFC Championship Game picks by NFL expert who’s 29-16

At The Races expert Declan Rix is back with a close look through a top card at Doncaster on Friday, all live on Sky Sports Racing, and picks out his four horses to keep onside. Joe Dadancer 1.05 - Sky Bet UKs No.1 Betting App Novices' Hurdle A breathing op and the addition of a first-time tongue tie appeared to bring JOE DADANCER back to form over this course and distance 17 days ago, having been a huge disappointment on his seasonal debut at Wetherby, when sent off a 13/8 favourite. While the formbook will say he was well-held last time out, time may tell that he had a tough job on trying to give 7lb to the winner Hidden Beauty, especially as he shaped a bit better than the distance beaten having travelled well. With the Ben Pauling yard having a good season and Joe Dadancer's dam Sister Phoebe a full-sister to Captain Cee Bee, hopefully there is more to come. Trending Transfer Centre LIVE! Latest on Gordon, Zaniolo, Porro and … [Read more...] about Friday racing tips: Four to follow at Doncaster as Arclight bids for hat-trick for Nicky Henderson

MELBOURNE, Australia — What all seemed so different, so daunting, even, about trying to win a Grand Slam title to Elena Rybakina a little more than six months ago is now coming rather naturally. And if she can win one more match, she will add a championship at the Australian Open to the one she collected at Wimbledon. Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Thursday, signaling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis. “Everything was new at Wimbledon,” Rybakina said after hitting nine aces in the semifinals to raise her tournament-leading total to 44. “Now I more or less understand what to expect.” That could come in handy Saturday, when she will face No. 5 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam title match at age 24 by beating unseeded Magda Linette 7-6 (1), 6-2 in Thursday’s second semifinal. … [Read more...] about Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka set for Australian Open final

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The new hybrid prototypes of Cadillac and Acura battled atop the speed chart as practice resumed Thursday for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Richard Westbrook was fastest Thursday afternoon in the No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh with a 1-minute, 35.185-second lap around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway. That pace topped Ricky Taylor’s 1:35.366 lap that topped the Thursday morning session that marked the first time the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was back on track since qualifying Sunday afternoon that concluded the four-day Roar Before The Rolex 24 test. Punctuated by Tom Blomqvist’s pole position for defending race winner Meyer Shank Racing, the Acura ARX-06s had been fastest for much of the Roar and led four consecutive practice sessions. DETAILS FOR THE 61ST ROLEX 24 : How to watch, entry lists, schedules for the IMSA season opener FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN GTP : Rolex 24 at Daytona … [Read more...] about Cadillac, Acura battle for fastest in Rolex 24 at Daytona – NBC Sports

USATSI For the second straight season, the road to the Super Bowl will run through Kansas City in the AFC. And for the second straight season, the Bengals will be the ones looking to keep the Chiefs from making another big-game appearance. A year after edging Patrick Mahomes and Co. to face the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, Cincinnati enters this year's AFC Championship Game with lots of momentum. Whereas Mahomes is nursing an ankle injury after edging the Jaguars , Joe Burrow and his squad are fresh off a rout of the high-powered Bills , making Sunday's anticipated rematch a true tossup for oddsmakers. We already know both teams are talented, considering they're the last two standing in the AFC. But which one has the early edge on paper? Here's a position-by-position assessment: QB Bengals: Joe Burrow Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes Talk about a matchup! Mahomes has the benefit of experience, with five straight AFC title bids and two Super Bowl appearances under his … [Read more...] about 2023 AFC Championship: Bengals vs. Chiefs, position-by-position advantages, who has the edge?