Sports
Kyle Larson among drivers seeking Music City breakthrough
May 16, 2026; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson climbs into his car during qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images Thirteen races.
That is how deep we are in a wild 2026 with a new format, and the baker’s dozen also represents the halfway point of this wacky regular season.
How crazy is it?
For starters, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has unimaginably gone 37 consecutive regular-season points races without a win.
That’s like starting at the Daytona 500, failing to find Victory Lane during a frustrating season and coming back to Florida for the next Speedweeks after the calendar has flipped with a big zero in the win column.
It has been an entire campaign for the No. 5 car — plus one.
The craziness was truly evident Sunday night when Kyle Busch’s former trucks series driver and close friend Daniel Suarez notched his third win by beating Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin when the heavens opened up and ended the Coca-Cola 600 after 373 laps, which turned the crown jewel event into the Coke 559.5.
However, the victory is penned into the record books just like the rain-shortened wins for Buddy Baker, Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann and Bell. And also David Pearson’s 1974 victory that was trimmed to 360 laps for the nation’s energy crisis.
The win moved Suarez (-270 points) up to 10th in points from 14th, gridding him one spot behind teammate Carson Hocevar (-264) and giving Spire Motorsports two wins in 2026.
The next three drivers in front of the Spire ones in points are Bell, Chris Buescher and Larson, who have combined for exactly no wins.
Collect your payout if you had Spire Motorsports with two victories after 13 races while that trio of heavy hitters is completely winless.
“A bummer, just wasn’t meant to be today,” said Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell, who won the 2024 600 after rain stopped it on Lap 249.
The frustrated No. 20 driver would not go all Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain, adding, “That’s 2026 for us.”
This Sunday east of Nashville, the Cup Series will send out its best for the 300-lap Cracker Barrel 400 in Lebanon, Tenn.
It will be the sixth time for the series to travel to Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile, concrete, tri-oval track with 14 degrees of banking in the turns.
Of note, of course, is that it’s not that Nashville speedway, the venerable old short track that’s the second-longest running racing venue in the U.S.
That one is the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where a Cup race was held every year from 1958 to 1984. More on that maybe later this season.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is the defending winner in Nashville.
A dark-horse first-timer for Sunday night: Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith.
Then driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire, the current No. 38 Ford driver finished a career-best second in the 2024 Music City event behind winner Joey Logano, who miraculously held on racing on fumes during multiple restarts in the 15-caution thriller that ran 31 extra laps.
Smith, 26, led 31 circuits in Sunday’s 600 and has been up front often this season.
“Comparing last year to this year, I really like where we’re at,” the Californian said. “I feel like we’ve taken that next step and are a lot stronger in a lot of areas. Our whole weekend seems to be going smoother and just better from a performance standpoint.”
Actually, Smith winning Sunday wouldn’t be that much of a longshot at all.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tempo looking to repeat earlier success against Storm
May 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) drives to the basket against Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown (8) during the second half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Toronto Tempo will be out for a repeat win against the visiting Seattle Storm on Saturday afternoon.
The expansion Tempo defeated the visiting Storm 86-73 on May 13 for the first victory in franchise history.
Toronto (4-4) is coming off Wednesday’s 111-104 road win over the Chicago Sky that snapped a two-game skid.
Seattle (3-5) had a two-game winning streak halted Wednesday with a 78-64 loss to the Washington Mystics.
In their win at Chicago, the Tempo had a career-best 29 points from Nyara Sabally, who also had six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
“This is really not surprising to me,” said teammate Marina Mabrey, who had 24 points and seven assists. “(Sabally) is a really good player and can read the game really well and is super smart.”
“She is an important player for us,” coach Sandy Brondello said about Sabally.
Brittney Sykes added 20 points for the Tempo, who shot 56.1% (37 of 66), including 46.2% (12 of 26) from 3-point range.
The Storm trailed 48-29 by halftime against the Mystics and could not recover despite a 19-12 fourth-quarter edge.
Jade Melbourne led Seattle scorers with 15 points.
The Storm shot only 34.9% (22 of 63) from the field and 21.7% (5 of 23) from beyond the arc.
“We won’t turn the page,” Storm coach Sonia Raman said. “We’re never going to turn the page on any game. We want to make sure that, win or lose, we learn and we grow. We’ll go back. We’ll watch film. We’ll process it and then make the adjustments we need to make because some of the things that happened today are things that we want to be better at going forward, no matter who we play.”
In the first meeting against the Storm, the Tempo were led by Mabrey’s 26 points on 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point distance. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
“(Mabrey) makes all these 3s, but it’s how she creates for her teammates, too,” Brondello said.
Sykes added 18 points and eight rebounds against Seattle.
Dominique Malonga scored 21 points to lead the Storm in their first visit to Toronto. She did not play because of concussion protocol on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Luka Doncic, Donnie Nelson pair to purchase Rome pro team
May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77, middle) reacts after a made basket against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic and former Dallas Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson teamed to purchase professional basketball club Vanoli Cremona in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, with a bid to become NBA Europe’s representative in Rome.
The club is relocating to Rome ahead of the 2026-27 season as part of the purchase with Nelson, son of longtime NBA coach Don Nelson, and Doncic joined in the ownership group by former Italian league player Rimantas Kaukenas and coach Valerio Bianchini.
“I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing,” Doncic said in a statement. “Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome. We have an amazing group of partners, and I really believe we can do something special for basketball in Italy and Europe.”
The NBA is partnering with FIBA to develop NBA Europe with plans for the league to begin as soon as fall 2027. Commissioner Adam Silver set a goal of at least 12 teams for the inaugural season with the potential for 16 total teams, depending on various factors.
Donnie Nelson, 63, was a key figure in the front office of the Mavericks when Dallas acquired Doncic on draft night in 2018 for Trae Young.
Bianchini, 82, earned a reputation as a consistent winner with three Italian league championships with three different clubs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reds move RHP Graham Ashcraft (elbow) to 60-day IL
May 9, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Graham Ashcraft (23) reacts after a play in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images The Cincinnati Reds placed reliever Graham Ashcraft on the 60-day injured list on Friday with a UCL sprain in his right forearm.
Ashcraft, 28, last pitched on Monday, striking out two batters and allowing no hits or runs in the ninth inning in a 7-2 road win against the New York Mets.
Moving directly to the 60-day IL is a worrying sign for Ashcraft’s long-term prognosis, potentially indicating the need for surgery.
The right-hander is 1-1 with one save and a 3.33 ERA in 26 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. Ashcraft is 26-26 with a 4.67 ERA in 148 games (60 starts) since making his debut with the Reds in 2022.
The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Yunior Marte from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move. He is 2-0 with five saves and a 5.12 ERA in 20 games (no starts) this season at Louisville.
Marte, 31, last pitched in the majors in 2024 with Philadelphia. He is 2-2 with two saves and a 5.64 ERA in 102 career games (no starts) with the San Francisco Giants (2022) and Phillies (2023-24).
–Field Level Media
Tempo looking to repeat earlier success against Storm
Luka Doncic, Donnie Nelson pair to purchase Rome pro team
