Verstappen sets pace in Belgian Grand Prix tune-ups
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the practice time sheets for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Friday, ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
The Dutchman, third fastest in the first of Friday’s two 90-minute sessions, vaulted to the top in the afternoon with a time of one minute, 43.744 seconds.
That put him a mere 0.048 seconds clear of Ricciardo, with Hamilton also hot on his heels just 0.096 seconds behind.
“It’s very close out there,” said Hamilton, who completed a Mercedes onetwo behind teammate and birthday boy Valtteri Bottas in the morning.
Hamilton has won four of this season’s six races and is 37 points clear of Verstappen at the top of the overall standings.
WNBA action was scheduled to resume with three games Friday night after the league postponed games the previous two days as players elected to sit out in protest.
The league’s players united Wednesday to sit in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.
Houston Astros outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez will miss the rest of the 2020 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees, the team announced Friday.
Alvarez, 23, was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2019. He hit .313 with 27 home runs and 78 RBIs in 87 games last season.
The Big Ten football season could begin around Thanksgiving.
According to multiple reports, the conference is contemplating alternatives to a spring season.
CBS Sports reported the plan could focus on using domed stadiums — including those in Minneapolis and Indianapolis — and limit or eliminate overnight stays for teams, who could arrive and depart on game day.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their 2020 seasons due to safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Shifting the start of the season to November could keep the Big Ten in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. However, the playoff committee plans to release the final standings for the post-season on Dec. 21.
Under that time frame, the Big Ten would have time for only four or five games before the final standings are released.
Clemson will play its home football games this fall with about one-quarter of the usual number of fans amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The university announced it will limit attendance at 81,500-seat Memorial Stadium, known as “Death Valley,” to about 19,000 fans. They will be scattered in small clusters of two or four people, and all fans must wear masks. Reuters