Posts

Daytona 500 Duels: Wallace, Cindric win qualifiers; attention focused most on JRM's attempt to make race

Image
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Justin Allgaier crossing the finishing line during the first of two 150-mile Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500. Allgaier moved the team into the starting lineup in the last three laps by improving his position by five spots. (Photo by Don Coble) Co-Team Owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. encountered every member of the JR Motorsports team on pit road before the start of the first of two 150-mile Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500. He wanted to assure them to focus, perform and relax. By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – There were tears of happiness and sorrow following both 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 Thursday night at the Daytona International Speedway. For 36 drivers, the results of the Duels only set their starting spots for the Great American Race on Sunday (2:30 p.m., FOX). But it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for nine other drivers without exemptions into the sport’s biggest race to race their...

Daytona 500: Briscoe, Cindric on front row – Truex, Johnson locked into race

Image
(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) By Don Coble DAYTONA BEACH – Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric don’t have to worry about strategy or finishing positions during Thursday night’s Duel qualifying races after winning the first row of the Daytona 500 during pole qualifying Wednesday night. While the rest of the field will be determined in a pair of 150-mile races Thursday night (7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., FS1), the biggest winners from Wednesday’s time trials may have been former NASCAR Cup Series Champions Martin Truex and Jimmie Johnson. Both were making a one-off start for the season-opening race at the Daytona International Speedway, and they didn’t have the safety net of a guaranteed spot in the starting lineup. 36 full-time teams with charters enjoy a guaranteed spot on the grid. NASCAR created a unique and confusing qualifying format, but Truex and Johnson won’t have to be part of the process after they posted the two fastest speeds of the nine non-chartered teams. The remaining s...

Eagles Hurts Wins Pete Rozelle Trophy as Super Bowl LIX Most Valuable Player

  NEW ORLEANS – – Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts was voted the winner of the Pete Rozelle Trophy awarded to the Super Bowl LIX Most Valuable Player. Hurts completed 17 of 22 attempts (77.3 percent) for 221 yards and two touchdowns with a 119.7 rating and added 72 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground in the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Chiefs, the most rushing yards by a quarterback ever in a Super Bowl. It marks the 34th time that a quarterback has been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Hurts became the fifth quarterback ever with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a Super Bowl, joining Ken Anderson (Super Bowl XVI), Pro Football Hall of Famers Brett Favre (Super Bowl XXXI) and Joe Montana (Super Bowl XIX) and Patrick Mahomes (Super Bowl LIV). Hurts, who had 304 passing yards and 70 rushing yards in Super Bowl LVII, is the first quarterback ever with at least 200 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in m...

Jaguars Armstead Named the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year

 NEW ORLEANS – The NFL announced this evening that Jacksonville Jaguars DE Arik Armstead was named the 2024 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. The award is the league’s most prestigious honor, recognizing NFL players who have exhibited excellence on the field and whose passion to impact lives extends beyond the game. The announcement was made during the NFL Honors Awards program, a primetime awards special that aired nationally on FOX this evening ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Throughout his 10-year career, Armstead has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving the local community. In 2019, he established the Armstead Academic Project (AAP), an initiative that ensures every student, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has direct access to the resources they need to thrive, unlock their potential and achieve their goals. Through AAP, he has committed himself to education, including a focus on improving literacy rates through his reading initiative, “Storytime with Arik Arms...

NFL: Jaguars Finalize the 2025 Coaching Staff

JACKSONVILLE –   The Jacksonville Jaguars have finalized their 2025 coaching staff. “What I really like about this staff – and this really began to shape in the last few days – is that we already speak the same modern, NFL language,” said Head Coach Liam Coen, whose initial Jaguars coaching staff sports 174 collective seasons of NFL coaching experience (8.3 per staff member, with an average age of 42).  “We each have remarkably similar backgrounds, coaching influences and innovative offensive or defensive concepts. With this shared terminology, we can accelerate past the standard learning curve that most staffs face, and instead prioritize installations on offense, defense and special teams. I am excited to get started.”   Head Coach Liam Coen Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile Special Teams Coordinator Heath Farwell Pass Game Coordinator Shane Waldron Quarterbacks Coach Spencer Whipple Offensive Line Coach Shaun Sarrett Wide Recei...