Sports
Shane van Gisbergen pulls off stunning comeback at Watkins Glen
May 10, 2026; Watkins Glen, New York, USA; Crew members work on the car of NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen (97) in the garage prior to the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images NASCAR’s road-racing superstar put on a comeback for the ages on Sunday afternoon.
After a pit stop with 24 laps to go at Watkins Glen International, Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen amazingly erased a 29-second deficit as he chased down leader Ty Gibbs and roared away to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling At The Glen in Watkins Glen, N.Y.
The New Zealand-born driver fell to 22nd place after his last stop under green, but he set out to run down Gibbs and second-place teammate Connor Zilisch. He chopped off seconds each lap and passed Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota with eight laps left.
The No. 97 Chevrolet driver wound up beating runner-up Michael McDowell by a massive 7.288 seconds.
While leading 74 of the race’s 100 laps, van Gisbergen notched his sixth victory in the past seven road races and secured his seventh career Cup win — all on road courses — in just 62 starts. He joined Tyler Reddick as the only drivers to win from the pole this season.
“We weren’t very good in practice, and then qualifying was amazing, good tweaks, and then today,” said van Gisbergen, who moved to 16th in the point standings. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, and then to run them down like that. Very special to do two (Glen wins) in a row.”
The fourth-year road ace claimed he wasn’t as dominant as it looked.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “Everyone’s really good. There was a lot of pressure there. I think McDowell was good. Connor was good. Tyler Reddick. There were some really good guys and a lot of pressure.
“Just stoked for these guys in executing every facet of our game.”
Gibbs, Chase Briscoe and Reddick rounded out the top five.
Chevrolet won for the seventh time in the past eight visits to the Finger Lakes region’s road layout and for the fourth time in a dozen starts in 2026.
In 2026’s second race on a road course, van Gisbergen started from the point after winning the pole Saturday on his 37th birthday. He sailed away from McDowell’s Chevy by over two seconds after eight times around the layout.
As the only driver on pit road coming in after leading the first 18 laps, van Gisbergen managed to finish eighth and earn stage points. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain was first in the segment win followed by Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, but Chase Elliott decided not to pit and stayed out for points and ended up 12th.
In the 30-lap Stage 2, Trackhouse drivers van Gisbergen and Zilisch checked out entirely, taking a healthy five-second lead over McDowell by Lap 38. Meanwhile, Chastain’s No. 1 fell back to 18th until flying debris — a black tent — landed on the track on Lap 40.
Spire Motorsports teammates McDowell and Daniel Suarez started 1-2 with seven laps left in the stage, but the two Chevy drivers faded with two laps to go. van Gisbergen beat Reddick by less than a second followed by Gibbs, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch to end Stage 2.
Caution 3 flew on Lap 60 when Logano’s No. 22 Ford lost a left front tire. van Gisbergen and Reddick stayed out for track position, but the majority of the field pitted with the chance to make it to the end of fuel.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Defender Chris Richards returns to USMNT practice
June 8, 2026; Irvine, California, U.S.; Chris Richards of the U.S. signs an autograph for a fan during training. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Defender Chris Richards is back on the field with the United States Men’s National Team on Monday and appears to be on track for the World Cup opener against Paraguay this week.
“We will see … first time with the team,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said Monday. “Nearly everyone ready to be selected for the game.”
Richards sustained an ankle injury last month and is viewed as a vital defender in the center of the backline.
Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie filled in for Richards on Saturday in the final World Cup tuneup against Germany in Chicago.
At Monday’s practice in Irvine, Calif., Tyler Adams was not on the field. He worked in the gym for load management purposes, Pochettino said.
Richards, 26, suffered a pair of torn ligaments in his left ankle on May 17 as his Crystal Palace team played Brentford in a Premier League match. He did complete the match but limped off the field and has not competed since.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Kings to hire Peter Laviolette as head coach
Mar 29, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette instructs his team as left wings Artemi Panarin (10), Chris Kreider (20) and Brennan Othmann (78) look on against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Kings are set to hire Peter Laviolette to a three-year deal as their next head coach, Sportsnet and ESPN reported Monday.
Laviolette had been in talks to become the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as last week, according to multiple reports, and the Edmonton Oilers had also reportedly looked at him as a candidate to fill their head coaching vacancy.
Laviolette, 61, has been an NHL head coach for 23 seasons.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He also reached the Stanley Cup Final as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and the Nashville Predators in 2017.
He most recently coached the New York Rangers from 2023-25. The Rangers went 55-23-4 (114 points) in Laviolette’s first season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in a six-game series. New York went 39-36-7 (85 points) the following season to finish six points out of a playoff spot, leading to Laviolette’s dismissal in April 2025.
He owns an 846-562-161 record (25 ties) as head coach with the New York Islanders (2001-03), Hurricanes (2003-09), Flyers (2009-14), Predators (2014-20), Washington Capitals (2020-23) and Rangers.
His 846 regular-season wins are the most among United States-born coaches in NHL history and seventh all-time.
Laviolette appeared in 12 NHL games during his playing career as a defenseman, all during the 1988-89 season with the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Top 2 seeds ousted in chaotic opening day at Libema Open
Aug 27, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia serves against Wang Xinyu of China in the second round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each fell in straight sets on a chaotic first day of women’s competition in the Libema Open at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands on Monday.
No. 1 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia — a two-time winner at the event in 2022 and ‘23 — fell 6-4, 7-6 (5) to Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, who ranks nearly 50 spots lower (65th to 17th). In a match that was statistically even in a number of spots, the difference may have been Udvardy’s one more converted break (3 of 6) in an equal number of chances.
Second-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark lost 6-4, 6-4 to Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova, a 17-year-old who won the final five games of the match to secure her first career top-30 win. No. 3 seed Belgian Elise Mertens avoided the same fate with a thorough 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.
In other Monday action, Poland’s Magda Linette rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Kimberly Birrell, Robin Montgomery pulled out a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory against Daria Kasatkina of Australia and Ukraine’s Daria Snigur swept Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-6 (2).
HSBC Championships
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic rallied for a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-3 defeat of McCartney Kessler in first-round action at London.
Pliskova was sloppy on her serve with three aces and 11 double faults but made up for it by winning 51% of her return points and converting 8 of 11 break-point opportunities.
In the only two other matches completed on Monday, when multiple matches were delayed or postponed by rain, Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beat Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, while Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian swept Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 7-6 (4).
The final match of the day, which pitted No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada against Great Britain’s Katie Boulter, was suspended due to darkness with Fernandez up a set and the second set level at 3 games apiece.
–Field Level Media
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