Boxer Day dies of brain injuries 4 days after fight
CHICAGO >> Boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday, four days after sustaining head injuries in a fight with Charles Conwell. Promoter Lou DiBella said Day died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 27.
“He was surrounded by his family, close friends and members of his boxing team, including his mentor, friend and trainer Joe Higgins,” DiBella said in a statement on his website. “He was a son, brother, and good friend to many. Pat’s kindness, positivity and generosity of spirit made a lasting impression with everyone he met.”
Day had brain surgery after being knocked out in the 10th round Saturday night at Wintrust Arena. Knocked down twice earlier in the bout, the junior middleweight was taken from the ring on a stretcher.
Two days after the fight, Conwell posted a heartfelt message on social media. “I never meant for this to happen to you. All I ever wanted to do was win. If I could take it all back I would. No one deserves for this to happen to them,” Conwell wrote.
From Freeport, N.Y., Day had a career record of 17-4-1 with six knockouts.
Stenhouse signs multiyear deal
CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> Ricky Stenhouse Jr. landed the open seat at JTG Daugherty Racing in a multiyear deal announced Wednesday that essentially makes a seat swap with Chris Buescher and the Roush Fenway Racing team.
Buescher had a clause in his contract that gave him a rare opportunity to leave the No. 47 Chevrolet of JTG and return to Roush Fenway Racing. That move happened last month and came as a surprise to Stenhouse, who thought he was signed through 2021 to drive the No. 6 Ford.
Dumped into a tight freeagent market, Stenhouse made quick use of a new management team owned by Kevin Harvick, and the KHI group needed less than a month to get Stenhouse’s deal complete.
The 32-year-old Stenhouse moves to a two-car Chevrolet team with JTG Daugherty that is consistently inconsistent.
Cyclist Phinney retires
Taylor Phinney, who announced his impending retirement, never quite lived up to the outlandish expectations some set for him.
But he still had a wildly successful career, one that included 10 world championship medals in a variety of disciplines and a stage win at the prestigious Giro d’Italia.
“I’m grateful that people would like to see me do amazing things on a bicycle,” Phinney said, “but the reality is, being touted as something, having talent or being told that you have talent — talent is nothing without work ethic, and work ethic comes from genuine passion for what you’re doing.”
Gauff loses in first round
LUXEMBOURG >> Coco Gauff lost her opening match at the Luxembourg Open in straight sets, just three days after winning her first WTA title in Austria.
Eighth-seeded Anna Blinkova of Russia beat the American 15-year-old 6-4, 6-0 in their first-round match. Gauff won just eight points in the second set and Blinkova clinched the victory with a forehand winner to set up a second-round meeting with Tatjana Maria.