Earnhardt is OK after crash
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the weekend off from broadcasting to be with his wife and daughter after the three were in a plane crash landing Thursday near Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 44-year-old television analyst and retired driver was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash in east Tennessee. Earnhardt was with wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, a dog and two pilots.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport at 3:40 p.m. Thursday. FAA officials said the preliminary indication is that two pilots and three passengers were aboard the jet.
The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it’s sending two representatives to Elizabethton to begin investigating the crash.
Earnhardt retired as a full-time driver in 2017 and has been working as an analyst for NBC.
NBA
DeMarcus Cousins is facing rehab from another major injury, and the Los Angeles Lakers have endured their first big problem of a season with championship expectations.
Cousins was diagnosed Thursday with a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that could sideline the six-time all-star big man for much – if not all – of this coming season.
Cousins got hurt earlier this week in a workout in Las Vegas. The ACL tear comes about 18 months after he ruptured his left Achilles, and roughly four months after he tore his left quadriceps muscle.
GOLF
Justin Thomas went from some of his worst golf on the range to a share of the course record at Medinah in about five hours.
Thomas made his first birdie after hitting a tree and his last one with a 60-foot putt on his way to a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak after the opening round of the BMW Championship in Medinah, Illinois.
Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Fox Point’s Skip Kendall each shot 65 when Medinah hosted the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006.
Woods won both those majors. Winning the second FedEx Cup playoff event might be more of a chore. One week after he withdrew after the first round at Liberty National, he managed a 71 that felt feeble compared with everyone else.
TENNIS
Nick Kyrgios was fined $113,000 by the ATP for expletive-filled outbursts in which he smashed rackets, insulted a chair umpire and refused to get ready to return serve during a second-round match at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
The tour announced the penalties a day after Kyrgios berated chair umpire Fergus Murphy and left the court to break two rackets during a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Karen Khachanov.
The ATP listed a breakdown of eight fines ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 each for violations such as unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity.
Kyrgios is a volatile 24-year-old Australian who is ranked 27th this week.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Although Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his assistants are working to finalize the 2020 class, they have picked up their first commitment for the ’21 class.
Chris Hodges, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Schaumburg, Ill., and the Illinois Wolves AAU team, announced he has given UW an oral commitment.
Hodges also had offers from DePaul, Loyola, Rutgers and Miami (Ohio). He performed well during the UW’s advanced camp in June and was offered a scholarship by Gard.