
By Nick Bartlett, SuperWest Sports
Sports
Battle for Big West NCAA Tournament Bid Remains Tight
The Big West should receive just one NCAA Tournament bid, but three teams are currently within a game of each other atop the standings.
UC Irvine holds the top spot at 11-4 after defeating Long Beach State yesterday.
Hawaii and Cal State Northridge both have 10-5 conference records after losses on Thursday to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, respectively.
The Anteaters and Rainbow Warriors have the better overall records with meaningful games still on their slates, so we take a look at those two teams here.
The players at both Hawai’i and UC Irvine have easy access to the beach, but they find themselves in different basketball situations.
Hawai’i (10-5, 18-7)
The Rainbows rely on a no-switching man-to-man defense when necessary, but in a limited way.
A lot of teams switch everything in this era, and it’s probably smart in power conferences, but UH is holding it down to a minimum.
Here’s a nerdy breakdown of why it works.
Hawai’i’s big men play a drop action in the pick-and-roll. This means the big man doesn’t defend the guard, but provides just enough of a presence to be annoying.
If the ball handler gets hot from 15 feet, a post player pops for some threes, or if there’s a vertical threat, it can be beaten.
Since the Big West lacks elite athleticism, this defense is effective.

The other guiding principle, and the main one, is no-help defense. This forces the opponent to win one-on-one matchups, which is difficult for most college players.
The justification for this defense is that it helps stymie ball movement.
The Bows rank first in the nation, only allowing 9.0 assists per game this year. UH also ranked in the Top 25 in this same category a season ago.
Hawai’i is also sixth in the country in defensive rating and 35th in points allowed per game.
Offensively, the Rainbow Warriors are decent, ranking 104th in points scored per contest.
They have four different players who average 10 points or more per game, led by center Isaac Johnson, who averages 13.4.
Head Coach Eran Ganot is on pace to lead Hawaii to its third 20-win season in the last four years, and has recorded just one losing season in his 11-year tenure as the coach at UH.
UC Irvine (11-4, 18-9)
UC Irvine is like that reliable worker who always gets overlooked. Last year, if not for a missed point-blank layup, they would have won the NIT.
Scarcely any mid-major program will make the Big Dance each season like Gonzaga, but the Anteaters are back at the top of the Big West standings again in 2026.
Offensively, the ‘Eaters are led by Jurian Dixon, who averages 15.5 points per game.
Dixon has proven a bit inconsistent at times, but can also take over a game, as was the case with his 26-point explosion against CSU Bakersfield.
The Big West Freshman of the Year in 2024-25 decided to stay after a tough end to his freshman season, aided by a bunch of players transferring out, meaning he would get more shots.
Irvine has two other players who average more than 10 points per game, and Kyle Evans is one of those guys.

But Evans isn’t known for his offense; he’s a defensive menace, leading the NCAA in blocked shots, averaging 3.35 blocks per contest.
He has 87 total denials on the year, 15 more than the second-place shot-blocker.
Evans’ defensive presence helps anchor a team that ranks seventh in defensive rating and 43rd in points allowed per game. He also averages 8.5 rebounds per contest.
The third player averaging more than ten points per game is Derin Saran, who also averages 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
Russell Turner has done a marvelous job at UC Irvine. Most of his players impact the game in multiple facets, a staple of a winning program.
Not surprisingly, he is the winningest coach in ‘Eaters history.
Sports
Chinese GP qualifying: Antonelli takes pole after Russell issues
Antonelli’s new record – he is 19 years and 212 days old – beat the previous held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 years and 72 days old when he took pole at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Antonelli said he was “very happy” but accepted that he might well not have taken pole had Russell had a problem-free qualifying.
He said: “George had an issue, so probably could have been a different story but happy to be on pole for the first time.”
Russell described his second place as “damage limitation” after a litany of problems through qualifying.
The championship leader said: “It was a crazy session. Front wing broke at the end of Q2. The team weren’t sure it had broken but I was sure it had. Then got stranded on track and just made it back out in time. It was more a case of just getting a lap done.
“P2 is better than I was expecting when I started the lap with no battery and tyre temperature. Really happy to be here because I could have been down in 10th.”
In the first session, Leclerc became the first driver to beat Russell in a competitive session this year with a time just under 0.1secs quicker than the Briton.
Then in the second session, Russell ended up third fastest behind Antonelli and Leclerc after he suffered a broken front wing flap.
Heading out for the final session with a new wing, Russell’s car stopped on track on his out lap as the gearbox refused to change gear.
Antonelli drove past his team-mate as he set the fastest time on his first flying lap, 0.3secs quicker than Leclerc.
After frantic work in the garage, Mercedes managed to fix Russell’s car by applying a series of default procedures such as switching the car off and on again and swapping out the steering wheel.
He got just out in time to set a lap but his rushed preparation meant the car was not in its optimum condition as he went for a time.
However, Antonelli had his own problems on his final run – he suffered the same front wing problem has Russell had done in Q2.
Hamilton, who tussled with Russell for the lead in the opening laps of the sprint race earlier on Saturday, was 0.351secs off pole and said he had hopes of challenging the Mercedes again in the grand prix.
“It was a really tough qualifying,” Hamilton said. “A bit harder with the wind. It is so gusty today. So challenging.
“Really happy and grateful to be up here with these guys. Engineers did some great work over the break and managed to get a little closer to these guys.
“It’s still going to be a challenge but I am sure we’re going to have some fun. Learned a lot in the sprint race and our goal is to break the gap to these guys somehow.”
The McLarens were just over 0.1secs behind the Ferraris and Norris said: “We’re happy we’re close to them, gives us a good shot at tomorrow.”
But Verstappen was downcast to be nearly a second off the pace in the Red Bull.
“We change a lot on the car, and it makes zero difference,” the four-time world champion said.
“The whole weekend we’ve been off. The car is completely undriveable. I cannot even put a bit of a reference in. Every lap is like survival.”
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Barcelona miss out on 16-year-old prodigy as Real Madrid win race
Barcelona have lost to Real Madrid in the race to sign one of Spain’s most promising young talents.
The player in question is teenage defender Victory Okorie, who has been attracting strong interest from across Europe.
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According to journalist Matteo Moretto in MARCA, the young player has decided to join Real Madrid despite interest from Barcelona and several other European sides.
Okorie currently plays in the youth system of Deportivo Alaves, where he has built a strong reputation as one of the most exciting young defenders in the academy.
His performances at the youth level have drawn attention from clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid, all of whom were monitoring his progress closely.
However, Real Madrid moved to secure the player’s future.
Who is Victory Okorie?
The 16-year-old left-back has signed with the Spanish giants and will officially join the club’s academy, La Fabrica, at the end of the current season.
Okorie has already gained experience with the Spain U16 national team, having been called up for several matches.
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The 2010-born defender is known for his impressive physical attributes and maturity on the pitch despite his age.
Coaches who have worked with him describe him as a player with great athletic ability, strong defensive awareness, and excellent attacking potential from the left-back position.
In fact, there is already significant excitement about his arrival at Real Madrid, as some scouts have even made bold comparisons while describing his playing style.
According to internal assessments, Okorie has qualities that remind them of a “mix between Alphonso Davies and Roberto Carlos,” two players widely considered among the most explosive left-backs in modern football history.
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Notably, Real Madrid had been leading the race for the youngster for some time. E
ven though Barcelona’s academy La Masia is famous for attracting young talents from across Spain, Okorie ultimately decided that Madrid offered the best pathway for his development.
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AEW changes Andrade’s name ahead of Revolution 2026
Andrade is set to compete in a major match at AEW Revolution. However, the Jacksonville-based promotion has changed his name just a few days before the show. He is now back to using his old name that he had before he went back to WWE in 2024.
The Former United States Champion used to be have “Cien Almas” in his name during his first run in WWE. However, when he went to All Elite Wrestling he dropped it and started using “El Idolo” with his name instead. Ever since he returned to AEW back in January, he had only been using his first name.
However, AEW recently posted a graphic for Andrade’s upcoming match with Mascara Dorada on this week’s Collision. In the graphic, the promotion brought back the El Idolo name for the Mexican superstar.
“The night before facing @BandidoWrestler at #AEWRevolution, the Idol will clash with one of the most spectacular wrestlers from @CMLL OFICIAL, Golden Mask! Andrade vs Dorada TOMORROW!”
Power Struggle Between Roman & Triple H? Check Here!
It will be interesting to see if this is a one time thing or the company will keep using this name for the former NXT Champion.
Andrade will face Bandido at AEW Revolution
After Brody King challenged Swerve Strickland to a match at Revolution, his tag team partner Bandido was also looking for a fight. The Most Wanted star’s challenge was accepted by none other than Don Callis Family’s newest member and the former NXT Champion.
In a backstage segment on Dynamite few weeks ago, the two stars had a backstage interaction. Bandido told his opponent about how he grew up watching him. The former NXT Champion belittled his opponent by calling him a fan and tried to assert his dominance.
It will be exciting to see who will leave Los Angeles with the victory. El Idolo has been booked very strongly ever since his AEW return and fans are wondering if his dominance will continue at the event.
Read all the hottest WWE news from Sportskeeda by choosing us as your preferred source. Click HERE.
Edited by Ishan Dubey
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No Pakistan player fined for T20 World Cup exit: PCB | Cricket News
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday dismissed reports claiming that members of Pakistan’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup had been fined for failing to reach the semifinals of the tournament.PCB spokesperson Amir Mir rejected the reports circulating in sections of the media suggesting that financial penalties had been imposed on the players.
“No player has been fined but yes the board is thinking about working out a formula for players because they get lot of incentives when they perform well,” Mir told reporters here.Mir added that Pakistan players currently earn close to PKR 6–7 crore each, and the board is exploring ways to link accountability more closely with performance.“But nothing is final and no player has been fined,” he added.Some reports had claimed that every Pakistan player was fined PKR five million following the team’s exit from the global event without making the last four.Pakistan cricketers receive central contracts that include monthly retainers, along with match fees, tour payments and bonuses for victories in different formats.Apart from these earnings, players also receive a share from the logo sponsorship deals secured by the board.Last year, it was also agreed that the players would receive a three percent share of the annual revenue that the PCB earns from the International Cricket Council, which is estimated to be close to USD 34 million per year.
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Confirmed 2. Bundesliga Lineups: Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf will hope to continue their resurgence away from home against relegation-threatened Eintracht Braunschweig. There are five points difference between the teams before Saturday afternoon’s fixture.
Here are the lineups for the decisive game in the fight for survival in 2. Bundesliga.
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Confirmed Lineups
Braunschweig: Hoffmann; Hoti, Ehlers ©, Sanchez; Flick, Aydin, Marie, Heußer; Gomez, Opoku, Yardimci
Düsseldorf: Lotka; Oberdorf ©, Egouli, Daland; Iyoha, Tanaka, Alexandropoulos, Suso; Appelkamp, Muslija; Ljubičić
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida prediction, odds, spread, time: 2026 SEC Tournament picks from proven model
The top-seeded and defending national champion Florida Gators will look to reach the 2026 SEC Tournament finals for the third consecutive season when they battle the fourth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in a semifinal matchup on Saturday. Florida advanced with a 71-63 win over ninth-seeded Kentucky on Friday, while Vanderbilt downed fifth-seeded Tennessee 75-68 in the quarterfinals. The Commodores (25-7), who have won three in a row, are looking to reach the SEC Tournament finals for the first time since winning it all in 2012. The Gators (26-6), who have won 12 straight, are looking to win their second consecutive conference tournament championship.
Tipoff from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., is set for 1 p.m. ET. Florida leads the all-time series 76-74, including a 98-94 win on Jan. 17. Florida is an 8.5-point favorite in the latest Vanderbilt vs. Florida odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 160.5. Before making any Florida vs. Vanderbilt picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets instantly after any $5+ bet:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered conference tournament week on a sizzling 14-2 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-21 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has simulated Vanderbilt vs. Florida 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Florida vs. Vanderbilt:
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida spread: |
Florida -8.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida over/under: |
160.5 points |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida money line: |
Florida -357, Vanderbilt +275 |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida picks: |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida streaming: |
Fubo (Try for free) |
New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days:
Top Vanderbilt vs. Florida predictions
SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (160.5 points). The Over has hit in six of the last seven meetings between the teams. The Over has also hit in five of the last seven Vanderbilt games, and in four of the last eight Florida games. The Commodores are 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games, while the Gators are 7-3 ATS in their last 10.
The model projects Vanderbilt to have five players score 10.2 points or more, including Duke Miles, who is projected to score 16.7 points. Florida is projected to have five players score 11.3 points or more, led by Thomas Haugh, who is projected to score 17.1 points. The model is projecting 163 combined points as the Over hits 57% of the time.
How to make Florida vs. Vanderbilt picks
The model also says one side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Florida vs. Vanderbilt, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Vanderbilt vs. Florida spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.
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Raptors rally for much-needed win over Suns
TORONTO – More than one thing can be true at once.
On one hand, the Toronto Raptors have a roster where all their starters have at least five years of NBA experience and includes two players — Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl — who are in their 10th season in the league.
So the notion that the Raptors are in “year two of a rebuild” — which is how head coach Darko Rajakovic tends to refer to his team in good times and bad — defies the standard definition, where a team is reliant on players still on their rookie contracts, with more work in the draft still to come.
It might be more accurate to say the Raptors are rebuilt. They just don’t know what they have, and what changes they need to make.
But on the other hand, the Raptors as a group are new to this playoff-race concept, lack a significant number of collective repetitions in the crucible of a stretch drive and have a young and inexperienced bench that they have no choice but to rely on as the season reaches its crucial stages.
Rajakovic referenced the ‘rebuild’ again Friday before the Raptors’ 122-115 win over the Phoenix Suns, a victory his team needed so badly after listing and slipping for most of the past two weeks that his first comments post-game were to praise a higher power.
“God is great. I can thank him for the performance of our team tonight,” Rajakovic said. “He kept us together during the whole game, and the whole ups and downs.”
There were plenty of both. The Raptors trailed by 11 in the first half and by 10 with eight minutes to play and didn’t take the lead for good until an RJ Barrett floater with 1:35 left. They still needed another spectacular last-minute block from Scottie Barnes — this time on a Jalen Green dunk attempt that otherwise would have made every highlight reel and cut the Raptors’ lead to two with 43 seconds left.
Instead, Barnes got his 2021 draft-class pal from behind and then sent Barrett in for a dunk on the ensuing fast break that put the Raptors up six, which proved enough.
The win snapped the Raptors’ losing streak at two games, marked their first win over a team with a winning record since Jan. 26, and pulled them back within a half-game of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference before they host East-leading Detroit on Sunday. After that, it’s a five-game road trip.
No one said this would be easy, and maybe the Raptors are learning as they go.
Barnes said after the game that he felt compelled to make the play on Green’s dunk because he’d reached in on the lightning-quick guard, who led the Suns with 34 points and some spectacular shot-making, and got beat.
“I was going to jump no matter what,” Barnes said.
Playing through an illness — Rajakovic monitored his minutes closely as Barnes played about five less than he would normally — and still being able to dig in to affect the game pleased the Raptors star.
“Got out there. Was a little tired and a little winded,” Barnes said after logging 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. “Fight through and make it to live another day.”
And as for the Raptors’ struggles? He’s finding beauty in that too:
“It’s pretty amazing. We hit adversity,” said Barnes. “We had two options, to either quit (or) go out there and fight. This just shows the character of this team. We went out there and fought and got a dub. This was a great game. They had us in that first half. We fought back; we made winning plays.”
No one made more than Ingram. It had been a while. The Raptors came into the game with the NBA’s 29th-rated fourth-quarter offence, and Ingram is one of the reasons why. He has been shooting just 41.6 per cent from the floor in the fourth quarter and just 36.5 per cent in ‘clutch’ situations: the last five minutes of close games.
Ingram led the Raptors with 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including five threes on six attempts. He scored seven points in the fourth quarter while converting three of four shots, all while suiting up in his 64th game this season, the second-most he’s played in his career.
The Raptors’ loss Wednesday in New Orleans — in his first visit back since being traded to Toronto last year — didn’t sit well with him and was a factor in the team’s collective resolve Friday.
“I think it was an urgency to compete and most of all stay together,” Ingram said. “We’ve been through some times where the other team was scoring offensively and we weren’t able to stop the bleeding or find a rhythm on the offensive end. At those times, we would put our heads down a little bit and sort of take it upon ourselves to try to fix it. I think tonight we just stayed connected.”
But it wasn’t just the Raptors’ leading scorer and highest-paid player delivering the goods
Second-year wing Ja’Kobe Walter (12 points, three-of-five from three) hit one of the biggest shots of the game after Barrett delivered him the ball wide open in the corner and then screened off the nearest defender to make sure it would stay that way. Walter had missed a similar look a few possessions earlier. This time, he squared up and let it fly, part of a game-changing 11-2 run that cut the Suns’ lead to two with 5:22 to play.
Barnes said Barrett’s biggest contributions were on defence. Barrett said being in the mix was its own reward.
“That’s the fight we need to have,” said Barrett, who finished with 22 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals on 9-of-16 shooting, scoring nine points on five shots in the fourth quarter. “A lot of these games we have fought and just come up short and this game, we fought all night long, and that’s the result. That’s just the intensity we gotta have.”
They haven’t had enough of it lately, and they certainly didn’t on Wednesday in New Orleans when they were bullied around by the Pelicans in the fourth quarter, culminating in the frozen image seen around the basketball world: New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray straddling a prone Jamal Shead, fists clenched, glowering — the universal sign of basketball dominance, and not a good look for the Raptors, especially when the team’s response to the incident was tepid at best.
Was their lack of fight going to be a galvanizing moment to build on, or a metaphor for a team not up for the battle — literally or figuratively?
“After watching the film, I thought that we did not handle the situation the way we want and how we were supposed to,” said Rajakovic. “Our players had conversations with each other. They know that’s not the true picture and image of our team. They all agreed that’s never going to happen again.”
“There is a way that you need to stand up for each other and protect each other,” Rajakovic said. “This team that we have is all about that and all about connectivity. It needs to be addressed the right way.”
Even if the Raptors don’t match the standard definition of a rebuild, it doesn’t mean they are close to a finished product. The future is not set in cement. The Raptors need to learn to fight, at least in the basketball sense.
Against the Suns, they showed they understood what was being asked of them.
The Battle of New Orleans
That Shead didn’t jump up and immediately confront Murray on Wednesday night was probably the main reason his teammates’ response was muted, and in the eyes of many — including their head coach — inappropriately so.
But Shead said on Friday his first reaction was one of confusion.
“I think in the moment I was just like, ‘Oh snap, he’s over me.’ That was about it,” said Shead before chipping in six points and eight assists in 25 minutes off the bench against the Suns. “We were really focused on the outcome of the game. We just weren’t happy with that. It got blown out of proportion a bit. We weren’t really focused on that.”
Any idea what Murray was on about?
“Who knows? I guess he was (excited) about the play,” said Shead.
But he said the experience was one to learn from for the team as the stakes get higher.
“I don’t think I responded in any type of way … (but) if it comes up again, I think we’ll respond a little differently.”
Added Immanuel Quickley (17 points, 3-of-6 from three vs. Suns): “We talked about it. It stays in house. As long as we’re there for our teammates, that’s all that matters.”
With everyone on high alert for how the Raptors might respond if things got a little testy at any point, people took note that when Suns wing Grayson Allen — who has a checkered reputation for playing on the physical edge — knocked Barrett to the floor with a body check as the Raptors wing was driving to the rim, Barrett jumped up and his teammates were quick to gather.
Allen was hit with a fragrant foul for unnecessary roughness, essentially. But it wasn’t quite as it seemed.
Barrett and Allen are friends, with Allen having acted as Barrett’s host on his official visit at Duke, their shared alma mater. Just before Allen’s body check, Barrett had stood Allen up and knocked him back with a stiff shoulder and elbow to start his drive.
When the two came together after the whistle, Allen told Barrett he had leaned into him pre-emptively because he thought Barrett was going to send him backwards again on the way to the basket. “And I was, too,” Barrett told me.
The pair dapped up, all good, acknowledging hard play but no hard feelings.
The Battle for the Dillon Brooks Cup
The hope is that the Suns forward and Canadian national team star will be back on the floor for the Suns in time for the playoffs. He told me his left hand — which he had surgically repaired after fracturing it on Feb. 21 — is coming along well. He’s had a career season in Phoenix and is credited for the year-over-year turnaround.
He was disappointed to miss his one chance to play at home this season, but he still plans to attend the Dillon Brooks Cup on Saturday at Father Henry Carr, where he went to high school for Grade 9, 10 and 11 before going to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev. and the University of Oregon.
Brooks has supported the prep basketball program at Father Henry Carr financially for the past two years. Without it, the highly rated program might not operate, says long-time head coach Paul Melnik.
“The financial support is invaluable,” said Melnik. “We still have to charge a fee, like all prep programs, but we do it at a much more reasonable cost, because the reality is most kids aren’t wealthy and if you can save a few thousand here and there and still get a good program, that’s huge … Getting a little bit of help from Dillon, it makes it easier to run our program.”
The program fields teams at three age groups, and all three will be playing Saturday, with the freshmen hosting St. Michael’s at 11 a.m. ET, the juniors hosting Royal Crown at 1 p.m. ET and the seniors hosting King Heights at 3 p.m. ET.
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Jack Nicklaus’ ’86 Masters win: Shop this limited-edition item
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Kimi Antonelli Creates History In Chinese GP, Becomes Youngest-Ever To Take Pole In F1 History
The 19-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, becoming the youngest driver to achieve the feat in Formula 1 history. Antonelli led a Mercedes front-row lockout along with George Russell and erased the record of Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 when he took pole for the Italian Grand Prix in 2008. The Mercedes duo, as in Australia last weekend, have been dominant in Shanghai. Antonelli blasted round in 1min 32.064sec on his final qualifying lap, 0.222sec ahead of championship leader Russell, who had won the sprint race earlier in the day.
“It was a pretty clean session,” said Antonelli. “No mistakes and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
The Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will fill the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race after qualifying third and fourth.
Then, on a two-by-two grid, came the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen was only eighth fastest, continuing a very unhappy weekend in a clearly struggling Red Bull.
– ‘Damage limitation’ –
Pierre Gasly was seventh in the Alpine with the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar ninth and Oliver Bearman’s Haas rounding out the top 10.
Russell had got stuck in gear on his opening out lap in Q3 and had to return to the pits.
After the problem had been fixed it left him time for just one flying lap and he was unable to eclipse his teammate.
“Really happy for George who had an issue there,” said Antonelli of his teammate.
Russell said he was relieved to have set a lap time right at the end of the session.
“Definitely damage limitation,” said Russell.
“In Q2 the front wing broke, and then in Q3 I stopped out on track and then couldn’t change gear,” he said.
“On the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp or anything. The team did a really good job. Just really happy to be standing here. It could’ve been much worse.”
Ferrari have been quick out of the blocks at the start of races so far and Hamilton said he would be eyeing up the two Mercedes in front of him on Sunday.
“I’m sure we’ll have some fun, I’m looking forward to it,” said the seven-time world champion.
The six failing to make it into the top-10 shootout for pole position were Nico Hulkenberg in an Audi, Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, Esteban Ocon (Haas), Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
Eliminated in Q1 were the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, both Aston Martins, driven by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, and the two Cadillacs, in the hands of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Russell earlier won a thrilling sprint race after a back-and-forth scrap in the opening laps with Hamilton, who eventually finished third behind Leclerc.
It enabled the Mercedes driver, who won the opening race in Australia, to extend his championship lead to 11 points over teammate Antonelli and Leclerc. Hamilton is a further four points back.
Sunday’s grand prix will be raced over 56 laps of the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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OpTic improve to 9-0 in CDL Stage 2 Major qualifying
Nov 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Fans react during the League of Legends World Championships between T1 and DRX at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images OpTic Texas survived a stiff test from the Paris Gentle Mates but kept their unbeaten mark intact with a 3-2 victory on Friday as Week 5 of qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major began.
Texas improved to 9-0, well clear of the second-place Miami Heretics, who improved to 5-3 with a 3-0 sweep of the Riyadh Falcons.
In the day’s other match, last-place Cloud9 New York slipped past the Toronto KOI 3-2.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
On Friday, OpTic produced a 250-165 victory on Colossus Hardpoint before Paris took Raid Search and Destroy 6-5 and Scar Overload 2-1. Texas rallied to capture Scar Hardpoint 250-200 and Scar Search and Destroy 6-5.
Miami bested Riyadh 250-233 on Scar Hardpoint, 6-5 on Raid Search and Destroy and 6-2 on Scar Overload.
Toronto opened with a 250-166 win on Scar Hardpoint. New York replied by taking Colossus Search and Destroy 6-3 and Exposure Overload 5-4. The KOI extended the series by prevailing 250-154 on Colossus Hardpoint, but Cloud9 closed out the victory by a 6-4 count on Raid Search and Destroy.
The remaining Week 5 matches:
Saturday
–G2 Minnesota vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
–Vancouver Surge vs. Toronto KOI
–Los Angeles Thieves vs. Cloud9 New York
–Paris Gentle Mates vs. Boston Breach
Sunday
–G2 Minnesota vs. Boston Breach
–Vancouver Surge vs. Miami Heretics
–Riyadh Falcons vs. Los Angeles Thieves
–FaZe Vegas vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 9-0, +20
2. Miami Heretics, 5-3, +6
3. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-3, +6
4. GS Minnesota, 4-3, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 4-4, +2
6. Toronto KOI, 4-5, 0
7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-4, -3
8. Vancouver Surge, 3-4, -5
9. Boston Breach, 3-5, -6
T10. FaZe Vegas, 3-5, -4
T10. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-5, -4
12. Cloud9 New York, 2-6, -13
–Field Level Media
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