Sports
Kyle Larson dominates, wins Bristol Night Race as Round of 12 lineup is set
Sep 21, 2024; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman (48) leads driver Kyle Larson (5) and driver Martin Truex Jr. (19) into turn 4 during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images Kyle Larson smoked the field and conquered the concrete, high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night in dominant fashion, leading 462 of 500 laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ Bass Pro Shops Night Race in Bristol, Tenn.
In the final of the three Round of 16 races, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver started second but ran one spot better for most of the night around the half-mile bullring in the Tennessee mountains.
Larson recorded his fifth win of 2024 by beating teammate Chase Elliott by 7.088 seconds in the most dominant showing in a points race so far.
Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell completed the top five.
Rounding out the top 10 were Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain.
Title hopes came to an end as the round trimmed out the bottom quartet of drivers.
Not advancing to the Round of 12 next Sunday at Kansas Speedway were Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton.
Denny Hamlin, who was below the cut line before the season’s 29th race, advanced above the cutoff, essentially swapping places with Gibbs, who was safely in before the 500-lap event.
Truex’s elimination put an end to any hope of him winning in his final season of full-time competition in the series.
Larson showed his strength early in Stage 1’s 125 laps, passing polesitter Bowman and putting championship contender Keselowski a lap down in the late portion of the segment.
The No. 5 Chevrolet stayed out front and Larson claimed his 11th stage win this season. Bowman and Bell followed in second and third, respectively.
Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, was dominant again in the second stage and made it a dozen segment wins by topping Truex and Hamlin.
In the race’s second half at Lap 329, Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford turned the No. 7 Chevrolet of Corey LaJoie into the backstretch wall to bunch up the field with Larson and Hamlin up front.
Playoff implications arose on the ensuing pit stops as Truex was nailed for speeding on pit road and restarted back in the mid-20s. He never recovered, finishing 24th and failing to advance.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Fitzpatrick's Zurich Win Raises Questions About PGA Tour Rewards
Winning on the PGA Tour changes a player’s life. Just ask Alex Fitzpatrick.
Long a resident of brother Matt’s shadow, Alex has grinded away in Europe trying to put together a playing career of his own. He had no wins to show for it until he clinched the Hero Indian Open last month.
On Sunday, Fitzpatrick was playing in a PGA Tour event, as he does every year now, alongside his major champion brother at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. They won by a single shot – more on how in a minute – and despite it being a team event, the younger Fitzpatrick received all the perks of a PGA Tour win:
- A full PGA Tour card through 2028;
- A berth into the PGA Championship, his second-ever major;
- A berth into The Players championship for the first time next year;
- And berths into the rest of the signature events of 2026.
That’s … a lot for winning one tournament that you didn’t even win on your own.
The PGA Tour’s critics, most of them decked out in LIV Golf team-branded hats and Twitter avatars, pounced on the apparent hypocrisy. PGA Tour defenders love to call LIV’s closed system anti-meritocratic, only to let a star player’s brother walk in and give him what amounts to a job contract for the next two-plus years.
For once, the LIV bots make a good point.
It was, by my count, Alex Fitzpatrick’s 11th start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event all-time, including things like the Open Championship and the Scottish Open. He and his brother tied for 11th at the Zurich in 2024, but otherwise his game never hinted that he had the potential of a PGA Tour-level player.
To be clear, winning on the PGA Tour is hard. It’s just harder some weeks than others. Matt Fitzpatrick, the former U.S. Open champion and No. 3 player in the world rankings, was far and away the best player in a weak field at TPC Louisiana. He and his little brother fought off the likes of (checks notes) Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura, Ben Martin and Trace Crowe and Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer.
In the first and third rounds, which used a four-ball (best ball) format, Matt Fitzpatrick did the heavy lifting, accounting for six of their nine birdies on Thursday and six birdies plus an eagle on their outlandishly low 15-under 57 Saturday.
On the final hole during alternate shot Sunday, the Fitzpatricks needed to birdie a par-5 to break a tie and win in regulation. Alex hit their second shot from the fairway to a greenside bunker. Matt stepped in and produced a perfect third shot, his ball stopping less than 2 feet from the cup, allowing Alex to tap in for the life-altering win.
It’s a moment that will make for a tearjerking episode of “Full Swing” next season, but the PGA Tour shouldn’t confuse that with it being good for the sport.
The solution that seems obvious to me is to demote or outright scrap the Zurich from future schedules, something I wrote just last week. But if this gimmicky tournament is bound to remain a part of the PGA Tour, and its team format isn’t going anywhere, the next-best thing would be to split these winner’s perks in half. After all, the two winners are only doing half the work.
The tour already acknowledges this by awarding 400 FedEx Cup points to the Zurich winners instead of the standard 500. So when the next Alex Fitzpatrick comes along, let him on tour, but make it for the rest of the current season, or maybe 12 calendar months. Put him in the next major, sure – guys still need a motive to come to this event – but maybe it’s a bit over the top to include all other signature events.
Otherwise, you’re over-rewarding guys who have one nice week, or are lucky enough to be friends – or brothers – with one of the five best players in the world.
Sports
Alex Cora to Red Sox fans: 'Boston, we will miss you'
Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) looks on during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Fired Red Sox manager Alex Cora sent a short farewell note to Boston via social media on Tuesday.
“Boston, we will miss you,” he wrote.
“Gracias for making us part of you. #RedSoxNation, you are the [heart emoji] of that team, keep believing, you really care and that’s what pushes everyone in the @RedSox to give it all day in and day out.
“With respect and love, AC”
Team officials dismissed Cora and five of coaches on Saturday after the Red Sox staggered out of the gate to start the season at 10-17.
While Cora’s firing has been met with some support among fans, posts on social media show they largely place the blame for the team’s woes on management, especially owner John Henry and Craig Breslow, the chief baseball owner.
After serving as bench coach for the 2017 world champion Houston Astros, Cora was hired as manager in Boston in 2018. He led the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 victories and a World Series title.
However, after the 2019 campaign, Cora was implicated in an MLB investigation involving sign-stealing by the Astros. MLB undertook an investigation into the Red Sox practices, but Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to separate before the 2020 season.
Cora, 50, was suspended for the 2020 season for his role in Houston, but returned to Boston as manager in 2021.
After missing the playoffs from 2022-24, the Red Sox returned last season, but lost a American League wild-card series to the New York Yankees.
Cora posted an eight-year regular-season record of 619-541 and postseason mark of 18-10.
Chad Tracy has been elevated from manager at Triple-A Worcester to serve as interim manager of the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Phillies fire Rob Thomson, tab Don Mattingly as interim manager
Apr 26, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) on the field during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday and named bench coach Don Mattingly as their interim skipper through the 2026 season.
USA Today reported Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, fired Friday, was offered the job and declined, opting to spend time with his family.
The floundering Phillies (9-19) have lost 11 of their last 12 games are tied with the New York Mets (9-19) for the worst record in the majors. Both were expected to compete for the National League East title this season.
The move comes one week after Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he was not considering a managerial change. Yet.
“Put it this way. We’re not,” Dombrowski said last Tuesday. “But if we were, that’s not something we’ve ever shared. Rob Thomson’s been a good manager for us since (2022). We always look at everything that’s taking place, but no.
“Generally, I’ve said about 40 games of the season is when you start to say, ‘OK, where are we shaping up? Guys have had enough time.’ But there’s no magic in that number. Sometimes it’s a little bit more; sometimes it’s a little bit less. They’re not happy with their performances. Shoot, I’m responsible for putting the club on the field, so I’m not happy with the way it’s going. But I think you just balance that all the time on a daily basis.”
Thomson, 62, had an overall record of 355-270 since taking over for the fired Joe Girardi in 2022, reaching the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. His Phillies fell in six games to the Houston Astros in the 2022 World Series.
The Phillies signed Thomson to a contract extension through the 2027 season in December.
Mattingly was named the bench coach of the Phillies on Jan. 5, uniting the former New York Yankees great with his son, Philadelphia general manager Preston Mattingly.
The former manager of the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers, Mattingly, 65, most recently served as the bench coach for the Blue Jays. He left the position after the 2025 season, which saw Toronto lose the World Series in seven games to the Dodgers.
Mattingly joined the Blue Jays in November 2022 as the bench coach for manager John Schneider. Mattingly’s contract expired at the end of the year, and he chose to seek a new opportunity.
Mattingly went 889-950 as manager for the Dodgers (2011-15) and Marlins (2016-22). He was named the 2020 National League Manager of the Year.
A six-time All-Star first baseman, Mattingly spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Yankees. He was the American League MVP in 1985 and the 1984 AL batting champion, and he won nine Gold Gloves.
Also on Tuesday, Philadelphia promoted third base coach Dusty Wathan to bench coach, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras has been promoted to third base coach.
–Field Level Media
Alex Fitzpatrick's Zurich Win Raises Questions About PGA Tour Rewards
Alex Cora to Red Sox fans: 'Boston, we will miss you'
