Byron gives NASCAR another surprise winner at Homestead
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – William Byron gave NASCAR its third surprise winner in three weeks, this one not quite as stunning as the first two at Daytona International Speedway. Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead-miami Speedway on Sunday and won for the second time in 111 Cup starts. His first one came at Daytona last August and landed him one of the final spots in the playoffs. Byron entered the weekend as a 28-1 shot to win a race many expected would provide a return to normal for the racing series. Chris Buescher dominated the race early, winning the opening stage (the second stage win of his career). Buescher dropped from sixth to 23 after a restart early in the final stage.
– Wire services
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rather than ending a winless skid and reversing their course in the NHL’S Central Division on Sunday, the Blue Jackets went from bad to worse in Bridgestone Arena.
The Jackets’ winless slide grew to five (0-4-1) with a 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, they dropped to 1-5-2 in the past eight games and fell to seventh in the Central as calculated by points percentage — which for them is now .457 and falling.
Serious concerns about defensive structure have morphed into serious concerns about offensive ineptitude, which more accurately defined is now the inability to shoot a puck into the ocean from the farthest edge of a pier.
Things are not OK with this team at the moment.
For example, it’s not good when star defenseman Seth Jones talks about vice grips being applied to hockey sticks. Likewise when captain Nick Foligno uses phrases like, “I don’t want to say a ‘fragile’ group,” and ends his postgame news conference by saying, “That’s a loser’s mentality,” when asked about the possibility of a coaching change.
And a sure sign things have slammed into the rocks is coach John Tortorella being asked whether he feels his job is in jeopardy.
“I never worry about that,” Tortorella said. “I do my job the best I can. If people want to make decisions on me, that’s their decision. I go about my business, and I’m going to coach this team in the
best way I possibly can.”
It is the land of worse, and the only way back to the land of better is through stringing wins together. The Blue Jackets know it’s up to them to figure it out.
Here are some additional takeaways:
More on Tortorella
There are many reasons Tortorella’s future became a subject broached after the game. The Blue Jackets are spinning their wheels trying to get out of the muck, the Montreal Canadiens just fired veteran coach Claude Julien in the middle of a
milder skid, and Tortorella doesn’t have a contract beyond this season, his sixth in Columbus.
Foligno, asked about the possibility of a “personnel change” becoming a distraction, gave a pointed answer about the elephant in the room.
“We’re not in a position right now, with however many games we need to start winning, to be worrying about personnel changes,” he said. “That’s a loser’s mentality, first of all . ... I’m not going to be focused on that. I can’t be. I’m worried about our room, who’s in the room at the time and that other stuff is left to (GM
Jarmo Kekalainen) or however this works.”
Same old story
The Blue Jackets scored first again, taking a 1-0 lead for a remarkable 16th time on Kevin Stenlund’s goal, his fourth of the season. They also failed to protect or build off that lead again, allowing Nick Cousins to tie it 1-1 just 3:20 later.
Eeli Tolvanen’s power-play goal in the second pushed Nashville into a 2-1 lead, and Erik Haula’s short-handed tally sealed the victory with 1:52 left. The Jackets are now 6-6-4 in games they’ve scored first, a stunningly underwhelming record.
Sneak preview
Monday is the one-year anniversary of the last game fans were allowed to attend at Nationwide Arena, when the Blue Jackets downed Vancouver, 5-3.
Much has happened since, including the conclusion of last season with a summer postseason at two Canadian quarantine sites and the start of this season played inside mostly empty arenas.
That’s about to change in Columbus, as the Blue Jackets prepare to host 1,953 people — 10% capacity — for a game Tuesday against Detroit. The Jackets got a sneak preview in Nashville, playing two games in front of 2,625 fans at Bridgestone Arena, which officially welcomed fans back Jan. 26 and now hosts up to 15% capacity. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger
Don’t look now, but the New York Knicks finally seem to be headed in the right direction. And they’re poised to snap their playoff drought before anyone expected.
New York moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference with Sunday’s 109-90 rout of the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks have won three in a row and seven of nine to climb back over .500 at 1817, the first time they’ve been above .500 on March 1 since the 2012-13 season – which is also the last year they made the playoffs.
Most thought the Knicks would struggle through another rebuilding season. But they are young and hungry and eager to start changing expectations.
“Honestly, in our locker room it’s expected,” said first-time All-star Julius Randle. “I’m not really surprised where we’re at as a team. We have a certain level of focus on a night to night basis that gives us a shot every night.”
The Knicks are in position to get back to the postseason thanks in large part to a defense that has morphed into one of the best in the league.
Call it the Tom Thibodeau effect. In his first year in New York, Thibodeau has seamlessly implemented his famed defense and has the Knicks second in the NBA in defensive rating, according to Nba.com, behind the Los Angeles Lakers and ahead of the Utah Jazz. The Knicks allow the fewest points per game, the lowest opponent field goal percentage and the lowest opponent 3-point percentage.
“We’ve got a young team. We have a team that can grow,” Thibodeau said. “If we get everyone committed and willing to sacrifice to put the team first, good things can happen.”
After the top three in the East – Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Milwaukee – the standings are tight. Just 11⁄2 games separate New York in fourth and Chicago in 10th. The second tier of East playoff contenders is wide open.
Can New York emerge from that group? The offense has struggled despite Randle’s breakthrough as a scorer and playmaker. But if the Knicks can continue playing top-notch defense, they have as good a chance as anyone to grab the No. 4 seed.
Thibodeau isn’t satisfied with simply
being one game over .500 and wants the Knicks thinking bigger: “One, I’m never happy. Two, I always think we can do better.”
Here are four more things to know today in the NBA:
Rookie of the Year front-runner: Lamelo Ball moved into the Charlotte Hornets’ starting lineup at the beginning of February and promptly ran off a month in which he looked like the best rookie of his class.
Ball averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 13 games in February, while shooting 45.2% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range. Charlotte went 7-6 to climb to eighth in the East. Ball and the Hornets will look to start March on the right note tonight in Portland against the Blazers.
Unexpected breakthrough: The Nets’ eight-game win streak came to an end Saturday against the Mavericks, but there’s no cause for concern in Brooklyn.
They remain a top contender in the East, and the emergence of Bruce Brown over the past week has given the Nets reason to relax a bit while Kevin Durant is out until after the All-star break. Brown’s offensive game is starting to blossom after he helped stabilize a defense that struggled early after the acquisition of James Harden. The Nets
face the Spurs tonight in San Antonio with their eye on starting a new win streak.
Unstoppable force vs. immovable object: The New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the most confounding teams in the NBA this season, but Zion Williamson’s star turn has been immensely fun to watch.
Nothing on the court is scarier than Williamson barreling down the lane with a full head of stream.
The Utah Jazz are one of the few teams equipped to slow Williamson, with a stout interior defense anchored by two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. They face off tonight in Utah with the Jazz looking to keep rolling and the Pelicans in need of a notable win.
Rockets’ fire sale imminent: The Houston Rockets’ losing streak reached 11 games Sunday night with the most embarrassing loss of the season: a 13384 blowout at the hands of Memphis in which Houston had the worst singlegame shooting percentage in franchise history (27.7%).
As the losses mount, the Rockets may look to jumpstart a rebuild and trade players like Victor Oladipo and P.J. Tucker. The Rockets will look to snap their slide tonight when they host the Cavaliers.