Chasing Harvick and Hamlin
Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are expected to race head-to-head for the NASCAR Cup title when the 10-week playoff series begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
The duo heads to the South Carolina track with a combined 13 regular-season wins between them — they each won a race at Darlington in May when racing resumed during the coronavirus pandemic — and they’ve accumulated enough playoff points to practically coast into the championship-deciding finale. That theoretically leaves the 14 other drivers racing for just two spots in the winner-take-all race.
“I met with my team and I told them at the end of this 10 weeks someone will be holding the championship trophy. Why not us?” said Brad Keselowski. “We can do it just as well as anybody and I’m ready for that challenge.”
The field consists of six former champions including Kyle Busch, the current holder of the Bill France Cup. Busch is a two-time Cup champion but has had a terrible 2020 by his standards and is still seeking his first win of the season.
“Certainly we’re not a title frontrunner, we’re not a favorite,” Busch said. “We are on the bottom of the spectrum and we’re on the outside looking in.”
At stake is a winning streak of at least one victory a year since his 2005 rookie season, a source of pride for Busch and one his Joe Gibbs Racing team doesn’t want to end.
“It’s a 16-year investment that we’ve placed on being able to win a race in 16 consecutive seasons, so hopefully we can keep that going,” Busch said. “This year has definitely been one of the biggest tests I feel like I’ve been through.
College: Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt says he had to turn a scheduled scrimmage into a regular practice Saturday because 44 players could not practice. Pruitt says those players hadn’t been at the last three or four practices, and the Vols were left with only 30 offensive players. Of the 44 Volunteers who did not practice, Pruitt says seven or eight of those are active COVID-19 cases. Three players are dealing with injuries. Pruitt says approximately 27 or 28 are in quarantine.
NBA: Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 22 points and 11 boards and the Raptors evened the Eastern Conference semifinal 2-2, beating the Celtics 100-93 on Saturday. Two days after winning Game 3 on OG Anunoby's 3-pointer as time expired, the Raptors didn't need any big shots. Instead they just put together long stretches of stops, shutting down most of Boston's perimeter shooters and Jaylen Brown in particular.
NFL: Deshaun Watson has agreed to a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Texans. The deal makes Watson the second-highest paid quarterback in the league, behind the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who signed a 10-year deal in July that is worth up to $503 million.