IndyCar making a pass as NASCAR stumbles over itself
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: A federal lawsuit has been filed against Michigan State and three former men’s basketball players by a female student who accuses them of sexually assaulting her at an off-campus apartment. The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District in Grand Rapids and does not list the woman’s name or the names of the players. It said the assault occurredApril 12, 2015, after the 18-year-old woman met the players at a local bar. Thewomansaid in the lawsuit that she was taken to an apartment where the players took turns raping her in a bedroom. The woman also says university Counseling Center staff made it clear to her that if she reported it to police “she faced an uphill battle that would create anxiety and unwanted media attention.” ... Miami sophomore G Bruce Brown Jr. has decided to hire an agent and turn pro.
NFL: Police saidPackersWRTrevorDavis was arrested after falsely claiming to have explosives while checking in for a flight at Los Angeles International Airport. Airport police spokesman Rob Pedregon said that Davis was booked on a charge of making a false bomb threat at an airport and released with a summons to appear in court. He said Davis was checking in for a Hawaiian Airlines flight when an airline employee askedhimwhether he had any explosives in his bag. Pedregon said Davis said “yes” and asked a woman he was traveling with, “Did you pack the explosives?” Airline employees called police and Davis was arrested. The woman wasn’t charged. ... The Lions signed QB Matt Cassel, adding depth behindMatthew Stafford. The Lions also re-signed restricted free agent WR TJ Jones. Cassel has started 81 games in his career, completing 59 percent of his passes for 17,449 yards with 104 touchdowns and 81 interceptions. Jake Rudock and Cassel are expecting to compete to be Stafford’s backup. ... The Jets signed free agent WR Charles Johnson and LB Kevin Minter. Johnson becomes the 17th receiver on the Jets’ roster. Minter has 255 career tackles with five sacks. ... Colts QB Andrew Luck said his surgically repaired right shoulder feels good and he hopes to be on the field when training camp opens this summer. ... The Cowboys signed DE Kony Ealy to a one-year deal.
NHL: Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane was named United States captain for the IIHF World Hockey Championship next month in Denmark. Kane last played at the world championships in 2008. ... After years of holding the skills competition on Saturday night and the All-Star Game on Sunday, the NHL is moving each event up a day for the 2019 weekend hosted by the Sharks. The skills competition will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 and the game on Saturday, Jan. 26.
SOCCER: Villarreal followed its surprise loss to last-placeMalaga by falling at home to Athletic Bilbao 3-1, dropping to sixth place in the Spanish league. The new setback leaves Villarreal in danger of missing out on a Europa League spot next season.
ALSO: Olympians who were abused by formerUSAGymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar spoke in support of legislation that would make California the first state to require doctors to tell their patients if they are on probation for wrongdoing, including sexual misconduct.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Motorsports in America can be bold and beautiful and so very baffling.
IndyCar andNASCAR, the top two series in the United States, seem as if they are headed in opposite directions at the start of the 2018 season. IndyCar has had two competitive races, boasts a new car that contributed to a nail-biting finish Saturday night in Phoenix, and renewed energy and excitement surrounding the beleaguered little series.
NASCAR, the behemoth league in this country, has seven races under its belt. But after Sunday’s race at Texas, some mightwonder if the series is falling off its rails. NASCAR officials made an officiating error that benefitedKevinHarvick, a series officialwas seen on television fistbumping aHarvick crew member after the no-call, and thenHarvick spared no words in his harsh criticism of the “pathetic” NASCARissued air guns he claimed are “embarrassing for the sport.”
The action didn’t stop afterKyle Busch’s victory overHarvick, either.
NASCAR President Brent Dewar, who has dramatically amped up fan engagement this year, went on a bizarre, three-hourplus Twitter binge in which hewas both defensive and later apologetic if his tone offended. He invited one critical fan to visit race control because it’s “easy to criticize fromyou(r) lazy boy.” When fan JJ Brannan wrote that Dewarwas “doing more harm to the brand then you are good with your Twitter presence,” Dewar quickly clapped back.
“Happy to stop. Will save me a couple of hours I can spend withmy family,” the president replied.
Why can’t the two top racing series in theU.S. ever be on an upswing at the same time?
That very questionwas asked to Roger Penske, the titan of motorsports, at last month’s IndyCar season opener. The billionaire with full-time teams in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA sports cars and Australia’s super cars series didn’t have an immediate answer. IndyCar has been quietly moving with a slight and slowresurgence, but NASCAR feels like it’s putting out one fire after another.
One issue Penske circled back to repeatedly that day was cost-containment and he admitted he can run one NASCAR Cup Series car competitively for the same spend on his entire threecar IndyCar operation. He brought up the equipment used to change tires during NASCAR races several times, and seemed in favor of the rule this year that has NASCAR-issued pit guns to stop bottomless team spending on developing faster, efficient air guns.
“I hate to tell you how many timeswe had problems with our $150,000 investment in pit guns compared to whatwe’re doing now,” Penske said.
AllNASCAR team ownerswere allowed input on the rule and it’s not a minor change; it has developed into amajor story line of this young season. Teams complained the guns haven’t consistently worked, andHarvick said issues with the equipment have dogged him through the first two months of the season. Harvick still has three victories and a runner-up finish through seven races.
“The pit guns have been absolutely horrible all year, and our guys do a great job on pit road, and the pathetic part about it is the fact you get handed something that doesn’twork correctly, and those guys are just doing everything that they can to try to make it right,” he said. “It’s embarrassing for the sport.”
ScottMiller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio onMonday that officials are studying the problems.
“We have to look at everything beforewe can flat out saywe had a gun problem,” Miller said. “The programhas had a few more hitches in it than, obviously, we wished it would. Everything in motorsports is a development process and this is no different. It’s unfortunate that it’s caused some people some problems but development is what it is.”
So herewe are, everythingmoving along quite swimmingly in IndyCar, the series that always seemed to stumble over its own messes, asNASCAR is nowthe one that can’t seem to get out of its ownway.
In fairness, the series operate on much different scales. IndyCar has a smaller field, shorter season, fewer resources and a tiny television audience. NASCAR is the big daddy and runs nearly 11months, has 38 events in just the flagship Cup Series and is trying desperately to rein in spending while still putting forth a competitive product that will stop its slide in the TV ratings.
IndyCar, froma numbers standpoint, is aworld away fromNASCAR. But after its first two races of the season, the series is probably content with its small corner of the motorsports market and the product it is currently producing. NASCAR? Well, when air guns and the league president’s tweets are the topic du jour after a race, the series has got to take a serious step back and return to basics: good racing.