NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson bows out
Jimmie Johnson strode into the final news conference of his NASCAR career wearing a black hat reading: “One Final Shot.” Told he was the first driver in the room after Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had a quick response. “I won something this year,” he said. Johnson closed out one of the greatest careers in NASCAR history by finishing fifth at Phoenix — first among the drivers not in the Cup playoffs. The 45-year-old spent some of the final moments in his No. 48 car pumping his fist and shouting from the window at his Hendricks Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott after the 24-year-old won his first Cup championship. “It was nice to be competitive out there, but my bucket’s full,” Johnson said. “NASCAR has been so wonderful for me. This journey has been more than I could have dreamed of or expected. Last couple years weren’t as I would have dreamed up, but I’ve experienced the highest of highs and worked with the greatest of people.” Johnson, who is sixth on NASCAR’s all-time win list with 83 victories, plans to turn his focus to the IndyCar Series.
CRICKET
Delhi head to IPL final
The Delhi Capitals on Sunday advanced to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) final after a 17-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. After choosing to bat first in the second qualifier, Delhi posted 189-3 with Hyderabad managing 172-8 in reply. Delhi face defending champions the Mumbai Indians in today’s final in Dubai. “This has been a roller coaster,” Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer said. “A lot of ups and downs. We have stuck together like a family.” Mumbai, the most successful team in IPL history, are playing for a record-extending fifth title.
CYCLING
Roglic hints at hat-trick
Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic hinted he might try for a third consecutive success at the Vuelta a Espana after winning the race for the second time in as many years on Sunday. Team Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic became the first rider to defend the Vuelta since Roberto Heras in 2005, with Germany’s Pascal Ackermann clinching the 18th and final stage victory in Madrid. “It’s beautiful to be on the podium again... It’s nice to win the red and green jersey at the end of my season,” Roglic said. “So thank you very much and see you next year.”
TENNIS
Kyrgios ‘was in a dark place’
Australian Nick Kyrgios has opened up on his battle with depression and said that returning to live with his parents in Canberra during the COVID-19 pandemic this year has been good for his mind and soul. Kyrgios, who started seeing a psychologist in 2018, has been criticized for not caring enough about his tennis career. “I felt like no one wanted to know me as a person; they wanted to get a hold of me as a tennis player and use me,” Kyrgios told Stellar magazine. “I didn’t feel like I could trust anyone. It was a lonely, dark place.” Kyrgios, 25, recalled a time in Shanghai when he “didn’t want to see the light of day.” “There are people who live and breathe tennis and that’s fine. I’m not saying that’s wrong or right,” he said. “I’ve reached a level of freedom in my life that I really don’t care what anyone thinks of me.”
ANGELS BEATEN: The Astros broke through with four runs in the 12th inning in a 9-5 win that left them just three victories from clinching the AL West division title Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker on Wednesday said that a huge source of pride about his American League West-leading team is the way they play defense after right fielder Chas McCormick made two huge plays in their 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in 12 innings. McCormick made a one-hop throw to prevent Shohei Ohtani from scoring the potential game-winning run in the 10th inning. Two innings later, the Astros broke through with four runs, including a two-run double by Jose Altuve, to reduce their magic number to three to clinch their fourth division title in five seasons. “He has been working
The girls on Afghanistan’s national soccer team were anxious. For weeks, they had been moving around the country, waiting for word that they could leave. One wants to be a doctor, another a movie producer, others engineers. All dream of growing up to be professional soccer players. The message finally came early on Sunday: A charter flight would carry the girls and their families from Afghanistan — to where they did not know. The buses that would take them to the airport were already on their way. “They left their homes and left everything behind,” said Farkhunda Muhtaj, the captain of the Afghanistan
When she saw 13-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leal win silver in the first-ever street skateboarding competition at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Giovanna Alves Farias only had one wish: to start flying around a skate park herself. “I nearly cried. Seeing a 13-year-old girl like me win a medal was so unexpected,” Farias told reporters. “Before the Games, I was already interested in skateboarding, but after seeing that, I told my dad: ‘Let’s go.’” Leal’s success is fueling a boom in skateboarding among women and girls in Brazil, who see themselves soaring to new heights, maybe even at the Olympics. Right after the Olympics
TWO TRIES: A Codie Taylor break led to a Will Jordan try, to which South Africa replied through Sbu Nkosi following a George Bridge mistake under a high ball A late Jordie Barrett penalty yesterday saw New Zealand clinch the Rugby Championship with an “ugly” 19-17 victory over South Africa in the 100th Test between the teams. In a tough game with a high error count in Townsville, the All Blacks led 13-11 at halftime and both sides traded penalties through the second period until Barrett landed the killer blow from 43m with two minutes remaining. It gave the unbeaten All Blacks an unassailable lead in the Rugby Championship with one round remaining. “If ever you’re going to take an ugly win, we’ll take that,” All Blacks coach Ian Foster said. “Clearly
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