Sports
Drivers prepare for emotional Coca-Cola 600 amid constant rain
May 23, 2026; Concord, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series 2026 driver Connor Zilisch (1) crew tries to stay dry during the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Like most drivers this weekend, Ross Chastain has been commuting a short distance from Mooresville to Charlotte for what everyone hopes will be a spectacular weekend of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
However, a huge loss leading up to the 68th Coca-Cola 600 has cast a shadow over NASCAR’s longest race — and persistent rain canceled Saturday’s qualifying and delayed the two races that lead up to the main event.
Like 19-year-old rookie teammate Connor Zilisch, Chastain is not attempting The Double — the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 – in favor of trying to compete in all three national divisions at CMS for a total of 1,100 miles.
They were slated to drive 200 miles in the Craftsman Truck Series on Friday, 300 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday and the bulky 600 on Sunday. But the Craftsman race was postponed to Saturday night and the OAP’s Charbroil 300 was delayed by rain.
Chastain captured last year’s Cup race by starting from the field’s rear in a backup No. 1 car and recorded his only victory in 2025, extending his streak of race-winning seasons to four.
The 33-year-old Alva, Fla., native will try to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson (2003, 2004, 2005) to win consecutive 600s. But Chastain will have to do it from the 14th row after Saturday’s qualifying runs were washed out.
The constant rain around Charlotte Motor Speedway puts Cup Series points leader Tyler Reddick on the pole for Sunday’s race of a scheduled 400 laps. His No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota will be joined on the front row by fellow manufacturer driver Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry XSE.
Shane van Gisbergen and Michael McDowell comprise the second row with Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney in Row 3.
All 39 drivers in the field will feel the weight of the absence of legendary Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch, the 2018 Memorial Day weekend winner while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, who was hospitalized Wednesday with sepsis and severe pneumonia, according to his family, and passed away Thursday at 41.
Sunday’s pre-race activities — a somber remembrance honoring fallen military heroes — will surely unfold with added thoughts of the sudden loss of the two-time Cup champion at the forefront, including his grieving family, wife Samantha and young children Brexton and Lennix.
When the garage opens Sunday, it will harken back to Rockingham in 2001, a week after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was killed in the Daytona 500.
With the racing community losing former driver Greg Biffle in a plane crash the week before Christmas and now Busch, the past six months have been marked by sucker punches to the soul.
The current pall will cloak every speedway’s garage and grandstand remaining on the schedule — just like it did a quarter century ago with Earnhardt.
Denny Hamlin, Busch’s teammate at JGR for 15 seasons, posted on Instagram that “we lost our Kobe Bryant” and said Friday that Busch’s impact was immeasurable.
“I just know that as a race fan, every race that he was in was more exciting to watch than the ones he wasn’t,” Hamlin said on ‘Good Morning America.’ “Simply put, he kept our fans entertained (and) kept the media members on their toes at all times.”
Busch’s career ends with 63 Cup wins, gridding ninth all-time, while Hamlin is right behind with 61.
Added Hamlin: “As a competitor, there’s no way that I’d have the wins that I have, had I not had Kyle Busch as a teammate to push me to be better.”
In Busch’s place, Childress will turn to O’Reilly’s driver Austin Hill, who has won 15 times in the support series and made 17 career Cup starts. He’ll start from the seventh row in a No. 33 Chevrolet.
RCR Chevys have won the 600 three times with Earnhardt (1986, 1992, 1993), twice with his replacement Kevin Harvick (2011, 2013) and with Austin Dillon (2017).
JGR also has a half-dozen wins including four of the past eight 600s via four drivers: Busch (2018), Martin Truex Jr. (2019), Hamlin (2022) and Christopher Bell (2024).
Bell’s win was the race’s second-shortest run ever, going just 249 circuits (373.5 miles) before his No. 20 Toyota was declared the winner over Brad Keselowski due to weather.
This will be a difficult weekend for the motorsports world, but the racing continues and the series soldiers on.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets' Juan Soto (illness) scratched from lineup vs. Marlins
May 22, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets designated hitter Juan Soto (22) looks on against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Slugger Juan Soto was scratched from the New York Mets’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the host Miami Marlins due to an illness.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Soto came to the ballpark on Sunday with a fever to go along with body aches.
“Soto’s ill, so he is out of the lineup,” Mendoza said prior to the game. “… He’s been battling the past three days, show up with fever today, body aches, didn’t have much sleep. Hopefully he recovers.
“There’s a lot of people for the past week have been dealing with this. Kind of a like a flu going around.”
Soto originally was slotted in the lineup as the team’s designated hitter and No. 3 in the lineup. Instead, MJ Melendez will serve as the team’s DH.
Soto, 27, belted a solo homer in New York’s 2-1 loss to Miami on Friday. The four-time All-Star and 2020 National League batting champion has a team-leading 10 homers to go along with 21 RBIs and a .294 batting average in 37 games this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Crazy Raccoon rally to win 2026 Champions Clash
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Crazy Raccoon won the final two maps to secure a 4-3 victory over Twisted Minds on Sunday in the grand final of the Overwatch Champions Series 2026 Champions Clash in Tokyo.
Crazy Raccoon overcame a 3-2 deficit by posting a 2-1 victory on Oasis and 3-1 triumph on Suravasa in the best-of-seven series.
By winning the double-elimination Overwatch 2 event, Crazy Raccoon qualified for this summer’s Midseason Championship in Paris.
?2026 OWCS Champions Clash?
CR #1 WORLD CHAMPION
LETS GOOOOO ????#CRWIN #Overwatch#OWCC #OWCS2026 #OWEsports pic.twitter.com/6vQgaxXBHG— Crazy Raccoon (@crazyraccoon406) May 24, 2026
Crazy Raccoon got off to a fast start with a 2-0 win on Ilios and 1-0 victory on Circuit Royal before Twisted Minds responded with a flourish. Twisted Minds recorded a 4-3 win on King’s Row, 3-2 victory on New Junk City and a 104.37m-62.65m triumph on Runasapi.
Crazy Raccoon advanced to the grand final with a 3-1 win over ZETA DIVISION.
Again, Crazy Raccoon won the first two maps — a 2-1 victory on Ilios and a 5-4 decision on Circuit Royal — before ZETA DIVISION responded with a 3-1 win on Suravasa. Crazy Raccoon ended the match with a 3-2 victory on King’s Row.
ZETA DIVISION fell behind quickly in their lower-bracket final against Twisted Minds, who secured a 2-1 win on Ilios and 3-1 victory on Suravasa. ZETA DIVISION answered with a 5-4 triumph on King’s Row, but Twisted Minds advanced to the grand final following a 3-2 decision on Circuit Royal.
Champions Clash prize pool (pool is crowdsourced and TBD):
1. Crazy Raccoon, qualifies to Midseason Championship
2. Twisted Minds
3. ZETA DIVISION
4. Virtus.pro
5-6. Dallas Fuel, Weibo Gaming
7-8. All Gamers, Spacestation Gaming
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angels fans have clear message: 'Sell the team'
May 23, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels fans gather outside Angel Stadium before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers to protest the Angels team owner Arte Moreno. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Los Angeles Angels fans are making it clear that they want owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.
Buoyed by the operators of various Instagram accounts — such as Angels Boycott and Angels Central — fans have held organized protests at Angel Stadium recently. The protests are expected to culminate with Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers in a matchup that will be aired nationally on Peacock from Anaheim, Calif.
On Friday, Angels fans were asked to wear all black and be vocal. On Saturday, more than 100 fans gathered at the main entrance to the stadium before the Angels-Rangers game to protest Moreno’s ownership.
That followed a protest on Thursday among fans seated in an otherwise empty upper deck, who drew attention to their cause by following the new shirtless “tarps off” trend. Chants of “Sell the Team” and vulgar expressions directed toward Moreno have been heard throughout the stadium.
Angels fans have many issues with the team, but they boil down to performance. The Angels have not had a winning record since 2015 (85-77), and they are on their sixth manager, Kurt Suzuki, since Mike Scioscia departed after the 2018 season.
The Angels enter play Sunday with an MLB-worst 19-34 record.
The Angels Central page said this about the campaign:
“The chants will continue all season long because this is no longer just about wins and losses. It’s about accountability, leadership, and the future of the franchise. We are not rooting for wins anymore, we are rooting for change.
“For the first time in a long time, Angels fans are united behind one common goal, change in ownership. And the frustration is directed at the person that is responsible for holding this organization hostage. Arte Moreno.”
The Angels joined the American League in 1961 with entertainer Gene Autry as their owner. Upon his death in 1998, his widow, Jackie Autry, took over the team.
The Walt Disney Co. took over ownership until 2003, selling the Angels to Moreno after the team won its only World Series title in 2002.
Moreno paid $183.5 million for a franchise now valued by Forbes at $2.8 billion, placing it No. 11 among MLB teams in valuation.
In August 2022, Moreno announced he was taking the first steps toward selling the club. And with several interested suitors, a sale was considered a done deal.
But the follwing January, Moreno said the team had “unfinished business” and was off the market.
A perennial contender in the first decade of the 2000s, the Angels have made the playoffs just once since 2009, being swept in three games in 2014 by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.
Those are the only three playoff games in the career of Mike Trout, a three-time American League MVP.
The Angels’ issues are numerous.
First, Moreno has been criticized for his failure to spend money on free agents to pair with two of the biggest stars of this generation — Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who combined to win five MVP awards in an Angels uniform. And when Moreno did spend money, it turned out to be poorly spent.
Before the 2012 season, the Angels signed 32-year-old Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $240 million contract, and his numbers with the Angels didn’t come close to replicating his first 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.
After Anthony Rendon won the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals, the Angels signed him to a seven-year deal worth $245 million. He is no longer with the team — an agreement was made to make deferred payments to honor the final year of his contract — and he played in only 257 games. He produced 22 home runs and 125 RBIs. In 146 games with the Nationals in 2019, he hit 34 homers and drove in 126 runs.
Off the field, the Angels and the city of Anaheim — the owner of Angel Stadium — have been trying to reach an agreement about a stadium lease and renovations.
The team’s lease runs through 2032, and the team wants renovations to the stadium, which opened in 1966 and doesn’t include the upgrades of modern stadiums. It is the fourth-oldest venue in the majors.
Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken has informed Moreno that the team needs to shed its Los Angeles designation and become the Anaheim Angels again — the franchise held that name from 1997-2004 — before substantial talks can take place.
The California state Assembly also unanimously passed a bill called the “Home Run for Anaheim Act,” which would require the team to reinstitute the former team name as a condition for any future stadium redevelopment, lease or sale agreement. It requires approval by the state Senate.
–Field Level Media
Mets' Juan Soto (illness) scratched from lineup vs. Marlins
Crazy Raccoon rally to win 2026 Champions Clash
