The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Kenseth to enter NASCAR Hall
Drivers Matt Kenseth and Hershel Mcgriff and crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine have been selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The ammouncement was made Wednesday during a ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. They will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Jan. 20.
Kenseth was a firstballot selection, Shelmerdine was voted in on his third try and Mcgriff his seventh. Kenseth and Shelmerdine were voted in on the modern day ballot, while Mcgriff made it in on the pioneer ballot.
The 50-year-old Kenseth drove 18 full seasons on the NASCAR circuit before retiring in 2020 with 39 Cup victories and 20 poles.
Kenseth won the Daytona 500 twice, the Cocacola 600 and the All-star race. He also captured the 2003 Cup Series championship capping a dominating season in which he led the points standings for the final 32 weeks of the season. He made the NASCAR playoffs in 13 of 14 seasons and finished runner-up twice.
Kenseth made an impact from the beginning, winning Cup Series rookie of the year in 2000. He also won 29 Xfinity Series races, which ranks eighthmost all time.
The 94-year-old Mcgriff won his first race at the 1950 Southern 500, in the NASCAR Cup Series’ second season at the age of 22. His final NASCAR race was at Tucson Speedway in the Pro Series West in 2018 — at the age of 90.
Mcgriff started 85 races in parts of 28 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, capturing four wins – all of those coming in 1954
He was one of the best drivers in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series West. Competing in parts of 35 seasons, Mcgriff won 37 races, good for third on the alltime West Series wins list. His signature year came in 1986 when he won the series title, part of a string of 10 consecutive seasons with finishes in the top 10 of championship points.
Mcgriff beat out the 87-year-old A.J. Foyt, who made 128 Cup Series starts over 30 years, winning seven races and finishing in the top 10 36 times.
Shelmerdine, 64, worked as a crew chief from 1977-92 and won 46 races with 15 poles and helped Dale Earnhardt capture four Cup Series championships (1986, ’87, ’90, ’91). Over his 16-year crew chief career with Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, James Hylton and Richard Childress, he won 46 races and posted top-10 finishes in more than half his starts.
SOCCER
Real Madrid has done it again.
The 13-time European champion produced yet another magical Champions League night at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, rallying late with two goals in two minutes by substitute Rodrygo to force extra time and defeat Manchester City 3-1 to reach its first final in four seasons.
Karim Benzema converted a penalty kick in extra time for the decisive goal that allowed Madrid to advance 6-5 on aggregate after a 4-3 first-leg semifinal loss in which it escaped losing by a bigger margin.
Madrid had already pulled off thrilling comebacks at the Bernabéu against Paris Saint-germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarterfinals.
By doing it again against City, Madrid booked a spot in the May 28 final in Paris against Liverpool, which advanced after defeating Villarreal on Tuesday. Madrid defeated Liverpool in the 2018 final, when the Spanish powerhouse clinched its recordextending 13th title.
Madrid looked beaten near the end of regulation Wednesday before Rodrygo scored his goals two minutes apart. Riyad Mahrez had put City ahead in the 73rd but the Brazilian forward equalized in the 90th and got the goahead goal with a header a minute into stoppage time.
TENNIS Nadal returns with straight-sets victory
Rafael Nadal got off to a good start in his return from injury, defeating 32nd-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets to reach the third round at the Madrid Open.
Nadal showed few signs of rustiness in his 6-1, 7-6 (4) opening win at home. He cruised in the first set and recovered in the second after twice losing his serve following a rain interruption.
The fourth-ranked Nadal had been out for nearly 45 days after a rib stress fracture halted his great start to the season, highlighted by winning his record 21st Grand Slam title with a victory at the Australian Open.
Nadal, 35, was cruising before getting injured in the semifinals in Indian Wells, where he lost the final to Taylor Fritz for his first defeat of the season. Nadal missed tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
The third-seeded Nadal had been downplaying expectations of winning his sixth Madrid Open title, and first since 2017.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev rallied past Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
GOLF Westwood requests to play in Saudi event
Lee Westwood has requested a release to play the first event of the Saudifunded LIV Golf Invitational series in Britain next month.
Westwood said he has asked both the European tour and the PGA Tour for the release required to contest the $25 million event at Centurion Club from June 9-11.
“Not heard anything back yet,” Westwood said Wednesday. “Ball is in the European tour’s court and the PGA Tour’s court for that matter.”
The 49-year-old Westwood said in February that he had signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding his possible participation in the breakaway series funded primarily by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund and fronted by another former No. 1, Greg Norman.
Westwood has previously said it would be a “no-brainer” to play for such big money at this stage of his career.
“I think some of my mates I grew up playing with in Worksop (in England), if I went up to them and said I’ve been given an opportunity to play in a tournament, a 48-man tournament for $25 million, they would probably pull me to one side and say, ‘What is it you’re actually thinking about?’” Westwood said.
“This is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason for doing it. But if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it, don’t you?”
AUCTION Maradona shirt sold for record amount
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has sold for 7.1 million pounds ($9.3 million), the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia. Auctioneer Sotheby’s sold the shirt in an online auction. It did not identify the buyer.
Maradona scored two goals during the quarterfinal game in Mexico City on June 22, 1986. The Argentine great’s first goal was ruled a header, but the ball had bounced off Maradona’s fist, out of sight of the referee. Maradona said afterward that it had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Argentina won the game 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.
After the game Maradona swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge, who loaned it longterm to England’s National Football Museum before putting it up for sale.
Maradona, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, struggled with cocaine abuse and other excesses and died in November 2020 at age 60.
After Sotheby’s announced the coming sale last month, relatives of Maradona expressed doubt the blue No. 10 jersey was the shirt the soccer star had worn in the second half of the game, when he scored both goals. The auction house said the shirt’s identify was confirmed by sports memorabilia photomatching firm Resolution Photomatching and confirmed by Sotheby’s chief science officer.
The previous record for sports memorabilia was $8.8 million paid at a December 2019 auction for the manifesto that launched the modern Olympic movement. The previous record for a piece of sportswear was $5.64 million for a Babe Ruth New York Yankees jersey in 2019.