Scotland manager Steve Clarke says his players must “keep believing we’re on the right path” after the 2-1 defeat by Croatia left them still without a point after three Nations League A games.

Match report: Scotland lose after last-gasp leveller disallowed

Parker Kligerman took the lead from Shane van Gisbergen and held off Sam Mayer in a thrilling battle to seemingly escape playoff elimination and win for the first time in his NASCAR Xfinity career — then, everything changed.

The No. 42 of Leland Honeyman was buried beneath a tire barrier with two laps to go, but for some reason, NASCAR waited to throw the caution as they assessed the situation. In fact, they waited so long that the white flag waved briefly before the flagman even reached for the yellow flag.

Last-second caution

The caution finally flew, and celebrations erupted in the No. 48 pits as it appeared that Kligerman had just won. After 118 Xfinity starts dating back to 2009 — and weeks before he plans to step away from full-time racing — it seemed as if his moment had finally arrived.

The celebrations quickly quieted down as NASCAR informed the team that the caution was triggered before the white flag, forcing the race into overtime and another restart. A replay showed that Kligerman was mere inches from the line when NASCAR pushed the button.

Sadly, he was not able to hang on and fell back to fourth as Sam Mayer claimed victory. Kligerman, defeated and eliminated, could only watch the burnouts from pit road.

“I’ve done this interview you’re doing, and it’s always tough on that side,” said Kligerman, who has worked as a pit reporter before. “It’s really tough on this (driver’s) side. I might have teared up when I thought we got it there at the white flag. Caution comes out, had to refocus.”

In that moment, he thought back to how A.J. Allmendinger won last year’s Cup race at the Roval, holding off faster cars on a late-race restart. “I want to be at this level, I got to nail this restart,” Kligerman said in a post-race interview.

“We did that. I thought I cut off Turn 7 enough but he somehow got below me and it was on from there. I got damage. It was full contact. Sam didn’t do anything egregious. It was hard racing, but as close as you can be to the line. I said I wanted to cry, but I’m not gonna cry. I really love this game and I just really, really wanted that. It would have meant the world but it meant the world to be in that position.”

Parker Kligerman, Big Machine Racing, Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

He thanked his team for the aggressive strategy, forgoing stage points to get him the chance to win the race.

“They called this strategy. I didn’t agree with it. I wanted to go for points, but they were right. It put us in the position to go and get that. God, I was driving my heart out for that last run. I needed five more feet or something. If it went green to the end, we had it. I don’t know how to process this. It’s gonna take a while. Just really thankful to have the opportunity … I love this game. I just want to get a trophy.”

A raw moment of emotion then followed as Kligerman was shown a still image of exactly how close it was to taking the white flag, thus ending the race when the caution flew. 

“Oh man,” he said. “Oh my gosh. You’re kidding me. What? Ugh. I don’t know. I’ve seen enough from the TV side what that — the heart-wrench and gutted-ness these people go through when you’re in that moment. It’s part of the sport. it’s why people buy tickets. It’s why they watch on The CW. I’m thankful to be in the position to have had the opportunity in my life. I love this so much. I just really wanted to get to the next round. But it was not to be. We’ll go try and get a checkered flag in one of these next ones.”

No one can accuse Grant Dawson of being cautious with his grappling approach after a brutal beatdown of Rafa Garcia at UFC Fight Night 244.

Dawson (22-2-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) added another win to this stellar octagon record when he used his wrestling to put Garcia (16-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) on the mat. A big elbow from top position opened up a nasty cut, and the American Top Team product poured on strikes until the referee stepped in for the TKO stoppage at the 1:42 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of Dawson’s handiwork in the video below (via X):

Grant Dawson wins in dominant fashion at #UFCVegas98 👏 pic.twitter.com/lPDw8W5MRu

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 13, 2024

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Dawson has now won back-to-back fights after suffering his sole UFC defeat in a 33-second knockout to King Green in October 2023. The 30-year-old said this is just the start after the triumphant performance.

“It’s a testament I’ve been doing to all the great work I’ve been doing in the best gym in the world at American Top Team,” Dawson said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I am better than everybody in this division gives me credit for, and I will be a world champion one day.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 244 results include:

• Grant Dawson def. Rafa Garcia via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:42
• Daniel Rodriguez def. Alex Morono via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:50
• Pat Sabatini def. Jonathan Pearce via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:06
• Themba Gorimbo def. Niko Price via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:15
• Julia Polastri def. Cory McKenna via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Cody Haddon def. Dan Argueta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:12

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

FULHAM and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan took London by storm as he went down the River Thames in his stunning yacht.

Khan, 74, is in town for the Jaguars’ NFL clashes in the capital as they will face the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday and the New England Patriots at Wembley next week.

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And the billionaire showed up in style with his 400ft super yacht, which is worth a reported $450million (£345m).

The businessman’s yacht, which he named KISMET, is so big it dwarves an average American football field.

It includes a master suite that spans two decks and features a private hot tub, sunbathing area and his and hers bathrooms.

The yacht’s wellness and beauty sections include a hammam, sauna, and cryotherapy chamber.

Khan‘s yacht also has a gym and yoga studio complete with a juice bar.

In addition there is a treatment room equipped with a massage table, waterfall shower, and chromotherapy bathtub.

If that’s not enough, the behemoth structure has its own basketball and pickleball court.

The Jaguars have been regulars in the city for the last decade and they were mooted as a potential London franchise.

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Fulham, on the other hand, are eighth in the Premier League table during the international break.

The Cottagers have won three of their first seven Premier League matches, of which they lost two.

Marco Silva’s side impressed last month with a stunning 3-1 win over Newcastle at Craven Cottage.

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Artur Beterbiev is the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world, though some might disagree with the “undisputed” tag.

The reigning WBO, IBF, and WBC champion at 175 pounds claimed the WBA title to complete his collection, defeating Dmitry Bivol by majority decision after 12 tense rounds of action. For much of the contest, Beterbiev pressed the action, but Bivol expertly countered and it wasn’t always clear who was winning the exchanges.

In the end, one judge saw the contest as a tie, while two gave the advantage to Beterbiev.

Suffice to say, the combat sports community had something to say about the result, with some disagreeing with the judges’ verdict, some being unsatisfied with the action, and others congratulating Beterbiev for his new four-belt status.

Controversial boxing star Ryan Garcia simply wrote, “Wow robbery if you ask me.”

See more social media reactions to Beterbiev vs. Bivol from the combat sports world below.