Celebrity relationship expert Paul Carrick Brunson had zero interest in football until a chance encounter introduced the American to the new love of his life – Sutton United.

Now, as one of only a handful of black investors in the professional game, he wants to help increase representation at coaching and boardroom level as well as among the wider fanbase.

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Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Just a few weeks ago, chatter in the media center immediately following the Charlotte road-course race focused on whether the four drivers who advance to Phoenix eligible for the Cup title could all come from Hendrick Motorsports.

Now, it’s possible there will be none.

The odds would say there will be one as they enter the final elimination race Sunday at Martinsville. With two automatic bids already set with Joey Logano (Penske) and Tyler Reddick (23XI), only two spots are open. Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) has a 29-point edge on the cutoff while HMS driver William Byron has a seven-point edge on teammate Kyle Larson, the first driver currently on the outside looking in.

Denny Hamlin (JGR) sits 18 points back, while Ryan Blaney (Penske) and Chase Elliott (Hendrick) have mathematical chances to point their way in, but for all intents and purposes must win. 

If Blaney — the defending winner of this race — or Hamlin (a five-time Martinsville winner but with his last coming in 2015) wins and Bell has a solid top-10 run in the stages and the race, Hendrick will end up shut out of the drivers championship.

How in the world did things fall apart so fast?

It started with the disqualification of Alex Bowman at Charlotte when his car failed postrace weight requirements. That knocked him out of the playoffs.

Then came Las Vegas, where Elliott was an innocent victim in a wreck where Martin Truex Jr. wiggled toward him, pushing him into Reddick, who was trying to make a move on the outside. Elliott, who has only one win this year so doesn’t have many playoff points to help him advance, finished several laps down and faced must-win situations at Homestead or Martinsville.

In both of the last two races at Las Vegas and Homestead, Larson has had issues. Pit crew woes ruined his winning hopes at Las Vegas, and then a flat tire forced him to try to rally at Homestead, which he nearly did before a move in the final 10 laps went awry and damaged his car.

What about Byron? He’s been somewhat his similar self as he has come home in fourth and sixth in the two races. But very good might not be enough when other drivers seem more in a position to win races.

The good news for Hendrick is that Martinsville remains one of the organization’s best tracks. Byron won there in the spring with hundreds of Hendrick employees in attendance as they celebrated the 40th anniversary of the organization. Larson finished second in that race and won at Martinsville in spring 2023, conquering a track that typically isn’t one of his best.

Throw in a softer tire that potentially will lead to more passing, and that could help the Hendrick drivers, who are talented and find the way to pass.

But can they have flawless days on pit road? Will they make the right choices when it comes to pit strategy? 

There’s little doubt Byron and Larson will have strong cars on Sunday. But depending on how the race plays out, they might end up out as even strong days might not be enough.

Of course, Hendrick drivers could land both the remaining spots. Larson or Byron or Elliott could win, earning an automatic bid, and if Bell has a bad day, Larson or Byron could get in on points. But that seems like a longshot.

Most likely, they get one of their cars in. With Larson having six wins and appearing to have a little more speed than Byron in recent races, it would appear he should be the one — until one looks at how he seemingly has found trouble in just as many events as he wins. Byron is just as hard to predict considering his solid recent performances but just still seems a slight tick off that has kept him out of victory lane.

For those Hendrick fans who are nervous, it’s quite understandable. They should feel nervous until the checkered flag Sunday. At least if things don’t go their way early in the race Sunday, Hendrick fans can at least have hope — if anything, they have learned over the last couple of weeks, that championship hopes can quickly change.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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Trailing the Chicago Bears 15-12 with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the ball on their own 48-yard line, Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders had one option: throw a Hail Mary.

And their prayer was answered, as Daniels’ pass was bounced backwards in the red zone and into the arms of wide receiver Noah Brown, who reeled in a walk-off, 52-yard touchdown.

[Related: 10 most memorable Hail Marys in NFL history]

Seconds later, Brown dropped the ball to celebrate the score with his teammates, and that’s where Commanders equipment intern Drew Sinclair joined the chat, swooping up the loose ball to store it away.

“I just had my hands on my head in awe, and I saw everyone running around. I saw Noah [Brown] drop the ball, and my instincts just kicked in,” Sinclair said about retrieving the ball, in a story that was published on the Commanders’ team website Wednesday.

“DQ [head coach Dan Quinn] always preaches, ‘The ball is life.’ We see it everywhere. I saw ball and I got ball … I was just thinking, ‘That’s a pretty meaningful football for this team and for this organization.’”

Furthermore, Sinclair was praised in the team’s locker room by Quinn.

What did Jayden Daniels showcase in his thrilling Hail Mary victory?

“I wasn’t expecting it. I was in the back of the huddle listening to him talk. I heard my name, and I was still in awe from the play, and I was like, ‘Oh crap that’s me,’ and I ran into the center,” Sinclair said. “That was one of the best moments of my life, for sure.”

Daniels finished the game with 326 passing yards and 52 rushing yards, while Brown finished with three receptions for 73 yards and one score. The win moved the Commanders to 6-2, good for first place in the NFC East.

On the whole, Brown has logged 17 receptions for 258 yards and one touchdown this season. He spent the 2023 season with the Houston Texans, which followed a five-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys (he missed the 2019 season due to a knee injury).

As for the one who threw the miracle completion, Daniels, whom Washington selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is among the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, highlighted by him boasting a 104.3 passer rating, a 71.8% completion percentage and rushing for 424 yards.

Daniels, Brown and the first-place Commanders aim to keep the magic alive in Week 9 when they face the NFC East-rival New York Giants (2-6) on the road (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app); Washington beat New York on a walk-off field goal in Week 2.

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Noah Brown

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SAM GREENWOOD may have left Arsenal  years ago — but they have never left him.

Preston’s attacking midfielder, on loan from Leeds, came through the Gunners’ academy alongside the likes of Bukayo Saka and AC Milan star Yunus Musah.

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And after leaving the North Londoners in 2020, he faced them in the Carabao Cup at the Emirates almost three years ago to the day with Leeds.

Then he made his Premier League debut against his old team soon after.

He gets another chance tonight as Mikel Arteta’s men visit Deepdale, in another Carabao Cup last-16 clash.

Greenwood, 22, said: “I was shocked to get Arsenal again. I didn’t expect that. I’m excited having been there as a kid — it’s going to be nice to play against them, even though it will be  a huge challenge.”

The North End ace came through the youth ranks at his home-town club Sunderland — but Arsenal snapped him up, aged 16, for £500,000 in 2018.

Despite the transfer fee, Greenwood did not get weighed down by the expectations and enjoyed mixing with some of the game’s future stars.

He said: “While at Sunderland, I was always playing up a few years. I was in their Under-18s when I was 14-15 so got scouted by Arsenal as I was  scoring goals and getting assists.

“After watching me at a certain game, they told my agent they wanted me. I progressed from there.

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“Sunderland had just dropped down to League One and needed the money — and when a club like Arsenal come in, you cannot say no.

“And it was a good decision because I loved my time there.

“I always believed in myself so the price tag never worried me.  And my dad used to come down every week from Sunderland to watch my games.”

Saka was the standout player in his team and Greenwood says the Arsenal winger was always expected to progress to the top of the game.

Greenwood said: “We had so many players who’ve made it as pros. Ipswich’s Harry Clarke, Mark McGuinness at Luton, Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo and Crawley’s Tyreece John-Jules.

“But the standout player was Saka with his power and pace.  It was always expected for him to reach this level.

“He deserves great respect for how he dealt with his penalty miss in the Euros final for England in 2021.

“I knew he’d bounce back from that and become the player he is today.

“Bukayo is a good guy. He’s got a bubbly personality and is very clever, passing all of his GCSEs. He got an A-star in most of them.

“At home, I’ve a framed Arsenal shirt of his from when I faced him at Leeds. Yunus Musah was similar to Bukayo — so bubbly and an all-round good guy.”

Greenwood also trained with the first team under Unai Emery towards the end of his two-year Gunners stint.

And the midfielder remembers how ridiculous the talent was around him.

He said: “I did a few sessions before Covid came and it was an unbelievable experience. These guys were top quality. Players like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

“The first time I met these guys I was nervous — but I began to get used to seeing them every day.

“The lads who came through the Arsenal academy, like Reiss Nelson, were brilliant and always looked out for me, making me feel welcome and comfortable.”

The standout player was Saka with his power and pace…  it was always expected for him to reach this level.

SAM GREENWOOD

Reflecting on his time at Arsenal, he added: “Playing with better players made me better and being there made me a better person, too.

“It was the first time I’d moved away from home, it built up my character and they taught me to be humble. I grew up quicker because of Arsenal.”

Greenwood got snapped up by Leeds in 2020 for a fee of around £3million and he ended up playing against his former club twice in the space of a couple of months in 2021.

He came on for Rodrigo in a 2-0 Carabao Cup loss at the Emirates — and then got his first crack on the Prem stage in a 4-1 defeat at Elland Road as a sub for Mateusz Klich.

Greenwood said: “To play at the Emirates was a wonderful experience but to make my Premier League debut against them is something I’ll never forget.

THE INVINCIBLES… vs ARSENAL

ARSENAL fans love to bring up their Invincibles team of 2003-04 but Preston pulled off the feat more than 100 years earlier.

The legendary North End side of 1888-89 (above) not only went unbeaten in the league but also lifted the FA Cup that season, too!

“I always thank Marcelo Bielsa for giving me that opportunity and Jesse Marsch and the ones that followed.

“Just to get my first goal in the Prem during a 4-3 win against Bournemouth was a nice feeling.

“I’m always grateful for that — and hopefully I’ll still get  back there.”

Greenwood is at Preston for the season but harbours ambitions to return to Elland Road and break into the team — not having had much of a chance since German boss Daniel Farke took charge in July 2023 and spending last term at Middlesbrough.

He said: “There were a lot of people there in my position but I still believe if I was there, I could play.

“It’s just having that opportunity the manager will give me. I just wanted to play games and get experience.”

And having played in an epic third-round clash that saw Preston win a record-breaking League Cup shootout 16-15 against Fulham, Greenwood would love penalties tonight.

Grinning, he said: “I’d take that. We know how good they are.

“That shootout was crazy. The lads were relaxed and that is what helped.

“We picked our spot and didn’t change our mind. It went on forever but what an experience.”

Liverpool impressed at Arsenal, but it was a match Jurgen Klopp probably would’ve won

By Jordan Davies

ON the face of it, Liverpool continue to go from strength to strength with Arne Slot’s tenure still in its infancy.

Away at Arsenal as title contenders — with a formidable record at the Emirates having won four of their last six there — the Reds fought back, not once, but twice to earn an impressive point to remain four clear of the Gunners.

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Nine games in, Liverpool have seven wins, 22 points collected and sit in second in what is one of the club’s best ever starts to a Prem campaign.

Nothing to sniff at there, and that is without mentioning three straight wins in the Champions League and a 5-1 Carabao Cup third-round thumping of fellow top-flight side West Ham.

So to even attempt to pick flaws in Slot’s start with a run that solid would come across needlessly pedantic, deliberately nit-picky.

But, and there is a but, given the standards Liverpool have set in these early months, it needs to be said: this draw in North London was a massive missed opportunity.

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And to go one step further, maybe this is a game Jurgen Klopp would have found a way to win?

It has been a long time since Arsenal have gone into a game feeling so vulnerable defensively with world-class centre-back William Saliba missing through suspension.

Full-back Riccardo Calafiori was also out injured, usual right-back Ben White began the game at centre-half and midfielder Thomas Partey started on the far right side of the defence.

And then, in a chaotic second half, both Jurrien Timber and Gabriel limped off, forcing Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to swap around his back line THREE times by the 76th minute.

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And yet, despite all of that, a Liverpool side boasting attacking talents like Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were hardly making the home fans sweat with a peppering of the Arsenal goal.

It was not until a Klopp-style counter-attack from back to front in the 81st minute did the visitors properly test the home defence.

But even that finish was a tame one — Salah tapping in past David Raya into an almost empty net.

And with nine minutes left plus seven minutes injury time, the expected onslaught for another, to nick all three points — the tally-ho approach — never came.

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Not Klopp’s heavy metal style, more pleasant folk music with a ukulele in a country pub.

You get the impression that Slot was delighted with this outcome.
For large parts, Liverpool were defensively sound, gave very little away and snuck away back to Merseyside with a point tucked under their arm and a bloody nose avoided.

Yet it was in these sorts big blockbuster matches that Klopp and Liverpool thrived over their nine-year romance, full of excitement, thrills and last-gasp wins that earned them a Prem trophy in 2019-20 and plenty more down-to-the-wire chases with Manchester City.

And with Arteta’s Arsenal on their knees — quite literally in some cases — and hanging on for dear life, these are the moments in title races that require a bit of crazy, not caution.

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A Klopp team of the past would have gone completely and totally Kloppy, throwing men forward at will, blasting their opponents away and forcing the ball into the net through passion and thunder alone, regardless of how open it left them at the back.

Slot is not this sort of coach.

He is measured, considerate, calm. Good qualities, but not always needed in do-or-die matches that ultimately determine where you finish in May.

It is hard to say if this will come back to haunt Slot, who still insists on avoiding any use of the phrase ‘title contenders’ despite clearly being title contenders.

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With Aston Villa and Manchester City visiting Anfield over their next five Prem outings, we will see whether the Dutchman can loosen the leash and let his team grab games by the scruff of the neck instead of playing it safe.

Because as we have seen in this league, going for broke often rewards you — just ask the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola.

Fortune favours the brave.

Slot needs to discover his own version of that if he is to truly emulate Klopp and transform this Liverpool side into one capable of seizing moments when they matter most.

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Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) confirmed its lineups in the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT for the 2025 season.

Having announced the team would downsize from five entries to three for next season, questions lingered around who would remain with the organization. The answers: six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, back-to-back reigning champion Alex Palou, and incoming sophomore Kyffin Simpson.

Dixon and Palou will remain in their respective Honda-powered No. 9 and No. 10 cars. However, the 20-year-old Simpson will switch from the No. 4 car he drove during his rookie campaign to the No. 8, formerly occupied by 2024 Rookie of the Year Linus Lundqvist (who has yet to be confirmed for a ride next season). Marcus Armstrong, who also raced with CGR this past season, was previously announced at Meyer Shank Racing, whom CGR will have a technical alliance with starting in 2025.

CGR’s newly-formed Indy NXT program – the team’s first since 2007 – is set at two cars, with Irishman Jonathan Browne in the No. 9 entry and Dutch driver Niels Koolen in the No. 10.

“By all accounts, 2024 was another stellar year for our organization, with five IndyCar Series wins and our third championship in the last four seasons,” said team owner Chip Ganassi.

“As we move toward 2025, we are looking to defend the championship with a strong lineup of drivers, and look to continue Kyffin’s development and the development of our young drivers through our Indy NXT program.”

Scott Dixon in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

Dixon, the 44-year-old New Zealander who is nine wins away from tying legend A.J. Foyt’s all-time win mark of 67, shared his motivation to get back on track sooner rather than later.

“I’m excited,” said Dixon, who won two races en route to finishing sixth in the 2024 championship. “I’m ready to get going. I wish there wasn’t such a long offseason. We had lots of great races last year. It didn’t end the way that we would’ve liked, with some DNFs and some poor results here and there, but the team did a great job with great speed. I’m looking forward to the season, and obviously going for championship number seven.”

The 27-year-old Spaniard Palou is pushing to become the first three-peat winner since Dario Franchitti pulled it off from 2009-11. “2024 was another amazing season in the books,” Palou said. “The work doesn’t stop, and I can’t wait to be back on track with more hunger than ever in 2025!”

Simpson, a Barbados-born Caymanian, drove to a best finish of 12th (St. Petersburg) and also led multiple laps in last year’s Indy 500, said: “I am very excited to continue with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2025. I look forward to building on a strong start to my IndyCar career and I can’t wait to see what our team can achieve together.”

Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

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For Browne, who drove to a best result of sixth (St. Petersburg) in his rookie Indy NXT campaign last season, he hailed joining CGR as “very much a dream come true.”

Meanwhile, Koolen, who contested eight of 14 rounds in Indy NXT in 2024, driving to a best result of 10th (Indianapolis road course, Race 1), is eager for his maiden full-time campaign in IndyCar’s top development category.

“I’m excited to be doing my second year and first full season in Indy NXT,” Koolen said. “I look forward to working with Chip Ganassi Racing who have great pedigree and vast experience across many different categories.