Racing great Earnhardt Jr., wife survive plane crash
NBC television personality and former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., has been taken to a hospital after the charter plane he and wife Amy Reimann were aboard ran off the end of the runway and caught fire Thursday at a municipal airport in northeast Tennessee.
Earnhardt Jr. and Reimann were flying with their infant daughter Isla, another passenger, two pilots and a family dog, Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford told local news channel WJHL. The sheriff described Earnhardt’s injuries as cuts and abrasions.
Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, confirmed the incident on Twitter, saying, “Everyone is safe and has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation.”
Earnhardt, 44, retired from racing in 2018 after a 22-year career. He’s the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., a renowned driver who died in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Los Angeles Lakers centre DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a workout in Las Vegas, his agent told ESPN on Thursday.
The four-time all-star’s entire 2019-20 season is in jeopardy considering his recent injury history and the typical nine-month recovery window.
Cousins, 29, signed a one-year deal with the Lakers in free agency after a season with the Golden State Warriors.
Justin Thomas began the day in a fog and ended his first round Thursday with a record-tying round and a share of the lead in the BMW Championship in Medinah, Ill.
Thomas finished at 7-under 65 to share the lead with Jason Kokrak at Medinah Country Club. The twosome joined Tiger Woods (2006), Mike Weir (2006) and Skip Kendall (1999) as the only golfers to post a 65 on the course.
Jim Furyk, Joel Dahmen, Lucas Glover, Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Cantlay are tied for third at 6-under.
Tiger Woods, who withdrew in the middle of the PGA Tour’s playoff opener last week due to an oblique strain, shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday. He is tied for 50th, well off the projected top-11 finish he needs to earn a place in the Tour Championship.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for eighth at 5-under, two shots off the pace, while Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., sits at 3-under.
A fearless Andrey Rublev outfoxed Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday. The Russian qualifier broke the third-seeded Swiss in his first two service games and won 81 per cent of his first serve points to wrap up the upset in just over an hour.
The 21-year-old shed tears of joy after pulling off the biggest win of his career.
“It’s such an amazing feeling
when you’re playing a legend like Roger and all these people supporting him until the end,” he told ESPN.
“One day I hope I’m going to feel the same.”
The win sets up an all-Russian quarter-final against ninth seed Daniil Medvedev.
Top seed Ash Barty overcame 49 unforced errors and a stiff challenge from Anett Kontaveit to reach the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win of the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday.
On a day of epic three-set battles, French Open champion Barty needed more than two hours to tame her Estonian rival, rifling a forehand winner on match point.
Barty set up a meeting with Maria Sakkari, who needed even longer to dispatch Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 on a hot and humid day.
Venus Williams also went the distance before claiming a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic. She will have her work cut out in the next round when she faces either Wimbledon champion Simona Halep or big-serving American Madison Keys.
Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said Thursday he expects to begin contract talks with restricted free agent forward Mikko Rantanen before the start of training camp.
The 22-year-old native of Finland scored a career-high 87 points on 31 goals and 56 assists in 74 games in the 2018-19 season. Rantanen’s now-expired contract had an annual average value of US$1.66 million, but he’s expected to become the Avalanche’s highest-paid player.