Earnhardt feeling ‘truly blessed’ after surviving plane scare
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his family is “truly blessed” that nobody was seriously injured when his plane crash-landed last week in Tennessee.
The retired NASCAR driver, now a television analyst, issued a statement Monday on social media praising the “quick response of my pilots, local law enforcement, emergency personnel and hospital staff.” He thanked people for their phone calls, messages of support and prayers.
Investigators said the plane carrying Earnhardt and his family bounced multiple times during a crashlanding Thursday in Elizabethton and veered off the runway before ending up on a highway. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause.
Earnhardt was with wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, two pilots and the family dog. He was to have been part of NBC’s broadcast team for Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt said he and his wife appreciate the privacy extended to them as they process what happened.
Golf
PGA’S RENO EVENT SEEKS NEW HOME >> The PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship is looking for a new home after the golf club that’s hosted the event since it began in Reno in 1999 pulled out.
Montreux Golf & Country Club’s board of directors voted last week against holding the 2020 event at the mountain course between Reno and Lake Tahoe.
Board Tim Slapnicka said the decision was made after a months-long review based on the impact on club finances, facilities, members and homeowners.
Next year’s event is scheduled to run the Fourth of July weekend for the first time, July 2-5, due to the Summer Olympics in Japan.
Tournament director Chris Hoff told the Reno Gazette Journal they’re exploring alternative venues in the market.
Tennis
AHN EARNS WILD-CARD ENTRY TO U.S. OPEN >> Kristie Ahn began the final preparation for her return to the U.S. Open with a firstround victory at the Bronx Open, where fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe and seeded players Zhang Shuai and Yulia Putintseva were upset.
Ahn beat Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-4. The American earned a wild card into the U.S. Open and will play in next week’s Grand Slam tournament for the first time since her lone appearance in 2008 as a 16-yearold qualifier.
Vandeweghe, who recently returned from a lengthy absence caused by an ankle injury and like Ahn was given a wild card into this week’s new WTA tournament, lost 6-3, 6-0 to Anna Blinkova.
Zhang, at No. 4 the highest-seeded player in action, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Andrea Petkovic, while No. 7 Putintseva was knocked off by qualifier Zhu Lin 7-6 (2), 6-4.
College football
CLEMSON IS NO. 1 >> For the first time, the defending national champion Clemson Tigers are No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25. The Tigers won the program’s second national title in three seasons behind freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence in January.
The Crimson Tide are No. 2. Clemson received 52 firstplace votes and Alabama received the other 10 from the media. Clemson snaps a record-tying string of three straight years in which Alabama was preseason No. 1.
Stanford is No. 25. It marks the ninth straight season in which the Cardinal has started ranked in the AP Top 25, the sixthlongest streak in the nation. FIELDS WILL START >> Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Georgia transfer Justin Fields will be the starting QB when the No. 5 Buckeyes open the season Aug. 31 against Florida Atlantic. Day’s announcement put a rubber stamp on what most figured was a foregone conclusion. ANDERSON TAKES LEAVE >> Arkansas State football coach Blake Anderson is taking a leave of absence while his wife fights cancer.
Athletic director Terry Mohajir said Anderson was taking the leave indefinitely to be with his family. Mohajir added: “We will continue to pray for peace for his family and provide assistance any way we can.”
Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator David Duggan will serve as interim head coach.
Bits & pieces
• Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi has been medically cleared to play after missing most of the season with a back injury.
• The Colorado Avalanche agreed to a one-year deal with forward Valeri Nichushkin. The 24-yearold had 10 assists and no goals in 57 games last season with the Dallas Stars.