Sports
Chris Gabehart, Spire want reciprical expedited discovery against Gibbs
In a late Wednesday night series of court filings, Chris Gabehart and his retained attorneys responded to or otherwise addressed the continued legal claims made against him and Spire Motorsports by Joe Gibbs Racing.
The first document filed to the docket was a second first-person declaration in which the former engineer, crew chief and competition director made the case that his role as Chief Motorsports Officer has no overlap with his previous position at JGR.
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In this letter, Gabehart detailed in line-item fashion all the things he did last year as Joe Gibbs Racing competition director and his nine-race stint as crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team, which was one of reasons he became dissatisfied with his employment.
Gabehart said Spire already has three crew chiefs and a competition director in Matt McCall. He wrote that Spire has a technical director and head of vehicle optimization and also does not serve in those capacities either.
Instead, the 44-year-old cited how much more expansive the Spire Motorsports umbrella is compared to Joe Gibbs Racing with teams that compete in Cup, Dirt Sprint Car, Dirt Late Models and Pavement Late Models. This is in addition to parent company TWG Motorsports owning Andretti Global and the General Motors Formula 1 team.
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His words are italicized below:
“The breadth of Spire’s racing program is central to my role as Spire’s Chief Motorsports Officer. Whereas my position at JGR was confined to NASCAR Cup Series competition, my responsibilities at Spire focus on strategic initiatives and operational oversight across Spire’s entire multi-series motorsports enterprise. My job also involves interfacing regularly with TWG Motorsports teams to discuss and develop common best practices amongst the teams. This is currently done through periodic meetings and event visitation by team principals from each discipline that encourage communication and observation of all of the forms of racing in the TWG Motorsports platform.
“My current role at Spire sits at the executive level and encompasses strategic oversight across all of Spire’s racing programs, not just the NASCAR Cup Series. This structural difference is significant. At JGR, I reported within the NASCAR Cup Series hierarchy. At Spire, I operate at the executive leadership level with responsibility spanning multiple racing series and organizational functions. The scope and seniority of my position at Spire involves duties of an entirely different character than those I performed at JGR.”
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To wit, Gabehart says the role of ‘competition director’ was ‘organizationally parallel’ to positions like Production Director, Aero Director and Technical Director.
At Spire, Gabehart says he is working towards big picture initiatives that go beyond NASCAR like targeting disciplines to expand into, maintaining Spire branding and competition standards across all the various teams under the corporate umbrella, working with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to acquire resources and become an asset with both.
His salary has been redacted as part of the public facing version of the declaration.
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Gabehart also continued to assert that he made clear in writing the reasons he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, something JGR said was not made clear enough or in its own individual memo to senior leadership. He maintains the fact that Joe Gibbs Racing even briefly began to work out the details with him on a separation agreement is proof of that understanding.
In other words, Gabehart asserts that JGR was in violation of its contract with him rather than the other way around as they stopped paying him. Gabehart was a free agent as far as he was concerned, legally.
“Mr. Carmichael (Tim, JGR Chief Financial Officer) notes that I have not signed a complete mutual release agreement with JGR. That is accurate only in the limited sense that the parties did not ultimately finalize a separation agreement. After November 10, 2025, I remained engaged in good-faith discussions and then, in December, responded to JGR’s demand letter by agreeing to a comprehensive forensic review designed and directed by JGR. The parties’ failure to finalize a release was the result of JGR’s unilateral decision to change course, not because I failed to proceed under the Section 6, Paragraph 2 pathway we had been following in November.”
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That forensic analysis did not show any evidence that Gabehart shared any proprietary trade information with Spire Motorsports but the suspicion that he may have is what prompted this legal action. For their part, the Gabehart and Spire camps maintain this is punitive action ‘for daring to leave.’
Read Also:
Gibbs seeks proof that Spire, Chris Gabehart conspired to steal trade secrets
In fact, Joe Gibbs Racing has also motioned the court to allow for expedited discovery, a more immediate version of the process that allows both parties of a lawsuit to obtain private documents and communications pertinent to the legal complaint.
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More on that below.
Gabehart also refuted the declaration from longtime Joe Gibbs Racing competition employee Todd Berrier stating a conversation between them indicating that Gabehart had first met Spire co-owner Dan Towriss about a job last October.
“It asserts that on or about October 21, 2025, I told him that I had a meeting with Spire co-owner Dan Towriss about a potential job and that I later texted him confirming that I had that meeting. Mr. Berrier is mistaken. The first time I met Mr. Towriss was on February 28, 2026, at an IndyCar race in St. Petersburg, Florida. Any contrary statement is incorrect.”
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Towriss also submitted a declaration in support of that statement on Wednesday night.
“To the best of my recollection, I did not meet with Mr. Gabehart, either in person or virtually, at any point in time in 2025. And, specifically, I did not meet with Mr. Gabehart in person or virtually on or around October 21, 2025. The first time I ever met Mr. Gabehart in person was on February 28, 2026 at the IndyCar race in St. Petersburg, Florida. The first time I ever spoke with Mr. Gabehart was during a brief phone call on January 9, 2026. During that call, Jeff Dickerson briefly introduced me to Mr. Gabehart.We did not discuss Mr. Gabehart’s employment with Spire during that Call.”
Gabehart also addressed the declarations by two Joe Gibbs Racing sponsors that Spire had reached out to essentially poach them. Gabehart says he has never met those two sponsor representatives nor shared information about their JGR partnerships with Spire.
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As for the revelation that Joe Gibbs Racing had spied on him as he met with Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson over the winter …
“I have also reviewed the declaration submitted by Ryan Simpson. Mr. Simpson is apparently a private investigator who was retained by JGR to conduct surveillance on me. I was unaware that JGR was spying on me. I do not know why JGR was spying on me or for how long. The meeting with Jeff Dickerson referenced in Mr. Simpson’s declaration was held in public at a restaurant in Mooresville, North Carolina. I was not trying to conceal that meeting.”
Dickerson also addressed that revelation in his own declaration on Wednesday night. He said that he and Gabehart have been friends for nearly two decades and have met for dinner regularly over that period. He says he brokered Gabehart’s first NASCAR job while launching Kyle Busch Motorsports. At the time, Dickerson was an agent and spotter for Busch.
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“On December 2, 2025, Mr. Gabehart and I met again, this time for lunch at Barcelona Burger and Beer Garden in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is adjacent to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Garage. We sat down at the table I am known to sit at, at a restaurant that I frequent.
“The Toyota GR Garage is a high performance motorsports testing garage used by Toyota, which is in a technical alliance with JGR. Workers from the Toyota GR Garage routinely eat lunch at Barcelona Burger and Beer Garden. I had absolutely no concerns about any of those workers seeing me eating lunch with Mr. Gabehart because I understood that there was no applicable non-compete in place at the time I met with Mr. Gabehart. And, even if a non-compete had been in place, there is nothing that prevents me from eating lunch with a friend.
Unbeknownst to me, JGR had hired a private investigator to follow Mr. Gabehart around. The private investigator apparently took photographs of me eating lunch with Mr. Gabehart. I was surprised and, quite frankly, disturbed to learn that a competitor in our industry had hired someone to follow its former employee around. I cannot stress this enough: It is extraordinary for an organization in our business to hire a private investigator to follow around any employee, let alone a former employee. In my twenty-five years of experience in this industry, I have never once heard of a team doing so.
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“Despite JGR being well aware that Spire was recruiting Mr. Gabehart as early as December 2, 2025, no one at JGR ever contacted me to claim that Mr. Gabehart was subject to an applicable non-compete (until JGR filed this lawsuit). Even during the forensic examination process described below, no one at JGR ever contacted me to claim that Mr. Gabehart was subject to an applicable non-compete.”
Gabehart’s full declaration letter can be read below.
Chris Gaebhart second declaration by mattweavermedia
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Read Also:
Joe Gibbs Racing had Chris Gabehart followed by a private investigator before lawsuit
Expedited discovery responses
Typically, the discovery process begins after both parties participate in a Rule 26(f) conference, where all parties involved in litigation meet to discuss settlement options and negotiate the terms of which documents and communications are subject to the process.
To be granted expedited discovery, a party must show ‘good cause’ or ‘reasonableness’ in the interest of justice and the potential for immediate harm in the absence of the process taking place.
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Effectively, Joe Gibbs Racing says it has reasons to believe Gabehart may have shared the competitive proprietary information he stored on his devices to Spire Motorsports as part of the change of employment.
The legal team representing Gabehart disagreed with that conclusion in a Wednesday night filing. The separate legal team representing Spire also disagreed. Their reasons were practically the same.
From the Gabehart legal team’s filing:
“The Motion is unnecessary, premature, and seeks to circumvent the orderly discovery process that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are designed to ensure. JGR has already received the very information it claims to need: a comprehensive forensic examination of Mr. Gabehart’s personal devices, conducted by JGR’s own chosen forensic examiner, pursuant to a protocol drafted by JGR’s own counsel. That examination established that Mr. Gabehart did not transmit, distribute, or share any JGR Confidential Information (as defined in the Employment Agreement, ECF 8-2). At this time, there is no justification for departing from the traditional discovery timeline.”
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From the Spire legal team’s filing:
“JGR misunderstands the legal standard applicable to expedited discovery requests and wholly fails to demonstrate ‘good cause’ or the broad, expedited discovery it seeks in this case. Indeed, although expedited discovery is only appropriate when a movant would be irreparably harmed by abiding by Rule 26’s typical discovery schedule, JGR has utterly failed to articulate how it would be irreparably harmed in the absence of expedited discovery, as required. In fact, JGR affirmatively represents that expedited discovery is not necessary here because its pending Motion for a Preliminary Injunction provides sufficient evidence for this Court to conclude that JGR is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims, even without ‘having any access to expedited discovery.’ Dkt. That concession alone is a sufficient reason to deny JGR’s motion.”
Furthermore, both defendants have asked Judge Susan D Rodriguez, that if she does decide to grant JGR expedited discovery, that they both be eligible for the same on Joe Gibbs Racing over when it understood its agreement with Gabehart to have concluded.
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Because, again, both Spire and Gabehart say they acted under the conviction that there was no applicable non-compete clause.
The Gabehart response lists three reasons for reciprocal discovery:
“First, Defendants are entitled to discovery concerning Mr. Gabehart’s compliance with Section 6, Paragraph 2 of the Employment Agreement. JGR has taken the position that Mr. Gabehart did not validly exercise his rights under Section 6, and that his termination was ‘for cause.’ Defendants are entitled to explore JGR’s communications and documents relating to Mr. Gabehart’s written notice under Section 6, JGR’s evaluation of that notice, negotiation of a separation agreement with Mr. Gabehart, JGR’s decision to place Mr. Gabehart on ‘garden leave,’ JGR’s withholding of wages, and records concerning Mr. Gabehart’s employment status. These documents are exclusively in JGR’s possession and are directly relevant to whether any noncompete obligation applies.
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“Second, Defendants are entitled to discovery concerning JGR’s internal communications about Mr. Gabehart’s exercise of his contractual rights. The text messages between Mr. Gabehart and Tim Carmichael demonstrate that JGR leadership understood Mr. Gabehart was exercising his rights under Section 6 and did not blame him for doing so. Defendants are entitled to discover what other JGR personnel communicated about this subject, and whether JGR’s after-the-fact ‘termination for cause’ was a pretext designed to avoid the consequences of Section 6.
Third, Defendants are entitled to discovery concerning JGR’s decision to terminate Mr. Gabehart for cause after the forensic examination confirmed no misappropriation occurred. The alleged termination notice was not issued until February 9, 2026—three months after Mr. Gabehart exercised his rights under Section 6, nearly three months after JGR began withholding his wages, and after the forensic examination confirmed no misappropriation. Defendants are entitled to explore the circumstances of this belated termination decision, including what JGR knew and when.”
Gabehart’s legal team writes that if JGR is entitled to expedited discovery from Gabehart, than the inverse is also true.
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Spire’s legal team made a similar argument in their own filing:
“If, however, this Court concludes that ‘good cause’ exists to warrant expedited discovery in this case, Defendant respectfully requests discovery be reciprocal in nature and limited to non-privileged documents that bear on the narrow, central issue related to JGR’s pending preliminary injunction motion: whether the 18-Month Non-Compete Provision in Gabehart’s employment contract was applicable at the time Spire hired Gabehart. Instead of the broad discovery JGR seeks, the Court should order limited, targeted discovery concerning the circumstances under which Mr. Gabehart’s employment with JGR ended in November 2025, including internal JGR communications reflecting how JGR interpreted and responded to the November 6 notice and how it decided to stop paying Mr. Gabehart.”
Chris Gabehart response to JGR motion for expedited discovery by mattweavermedia
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3 11 Spire Response to JGR Expedited Discovery motion by mattweavermedia
What next?
The two sides will once again meet in court, before Judge Rodriguez, in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday morning to expound on the arguments made in their legal filings over the past week.
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Sports
What you need to know as Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac commentate on historic Welsh derby against Swansea
Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, co-owners of Wrexham, are set to provide commentary for their club’s Championship clash against Swansea this Friday.
The all-Welsh derby at the Racecourse Ground will be broadcast on Sky Sports, marking five years since the pair acquired the North Wales side.
Wrexham are currently sixth in the Championship and eyeing a remarkable promotion to the Premier League while Swansea will be hoping to keep their own play-off hopes dreams alive.
This is everything you need to know about the show.
What’s going on?
Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac are set to offer a unique, partisan commentary experience for their club’s upcoming match, airing this Friday on Sky Sports Football.
Sky is promoting the event as a “first-of-its-kind broadcast,” promising insights from the Hollywood duo that will be “anything but impartial.”
The celebrity owners are also expected to host a number of guests during the live coverage.
While regular commentary will be provided by Daniel Mann and Andy Hinchcliffe, the focus will undoubtedly be on Reynolds and McElhenney.
The famous owners attended last weekend’s extra-time FA Cup defeat against Chelsea, with Reynolds also present at Tuesday’s 2-1 home loss to Hull.
What have they said?
Announcing the broadcast, Reynolds and Mac said: “As with our decision to take over Wrexham five years ago, we genuinely have no idea how this is going to go, but we will give it our best.
“Neither of us have called a sporting event of any variety, let alone a sport we basically learned the rules of five years ago.
“Either way, it will be another unpredictable day at the Racecourse and we can’t wait. We’re grateful to our partners at the EFL and Sky Sports, the latter of which we hope is ready with the bleep button.”
What’s the background?
Hollywood stars Reynolds and Mac bought Wrexham for around £2million in 2021, and the club has undergone a transformation since then.
They have made English football history with three consecutive promotions taking them from non-league football to the Championship, and they are in contention to make it four in a row as they are still in the top six despite Tuesday’s loss to Hull ending a run of three straight league wins.
Their progress has been documented in the popular series Welcome to Wrexham, which has won 10 Emmy Awards and put the club in the global spotlight.
All-Wales clash
The match is Swansea’s first visit to the Racecourse Ground for a league fixture since Wrexham beat the Swans 4-0 in the old Division Three in 2002.
But earlier this season City beat Phil Parkinson’s side 2-1 in south Wales.
Swansea are the second Welsh side to visit the Racecourse this season after League One Cardiff upset them in the Carabao Cup in October.
No Snoop Dogg?
Swansea have plenty of star power in their own boardroom, with hip hop star Snoop Dogg, AC Milan playmaker Luka Modric and American billionaire and television personality Martha Stewart all holding minority shares in the club.
Snoop caused a huge stir last month when he pitched up at the Swansea.com Stadium for their home game against Preston last month, whipping up the crowd and, according to visiting boss Paul Heckingbottom, leaving the “smell of weed in the tunnel”.
But unless Snoop is one of the promised special guests, Friday night’s broadcast will be a one-sided affair.
Max Verstappen says he wishes F1 was “more fun” but is hopeful the sport is heading towards changes that will “improve everything”.
Nigeria international Tochukwu Nnadi has said former Chelsea FC midfielder N’Golo Kanté is the greatest footballer in his opinion, placing him ahead of global stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for Olympique de Marseille, made the comment during a recent interview with the club.
Nnadi’s career has progressed quickly in the last two years. He moved from Botev Plovdiv to Belgian side Zulte Waregem before completing a reported €6 million transfer to Marseille in the January transfer window.
Since arriving in France, the Nigerian midfielder has faced tough competition for a place in the team. Experienced players such as Pierre‑Emile Højbjerg and Geoffrey Kondogbia are also fighting for spots in midfield.
Nnadi, who plays mainly as a defensive midfielder and is known for his strong positioning, pressing and ball-winning ability, explained that Kanté remains the player he admires the most.
During his time at Chelsea, Kanté became known as one of the best midfielders in the world at recovering possession and breaking up opposition attacks. His tireless energy and smart reading of the game helped the club win several major trophies.
For Nnadi, whose own role focuses on winning the ball and controlling the tempo from deep positions, Kanté’s style has been a big influence on how he approaches the game.
The young midfielder’s progress has also been recognised at international level. He received his first call-up to the Nigeria national football team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and made his senior debut in Nigeria’s final group-stage match against Uganda national football team.
Since joining Marseille earlier this year, Nnadi has not yet become a regular starter. The strong competition in midfield means he may need more time to secure a consistent place in the team.
However, Marseille head coach Habib Beye has previously praised the Nigerian’s performances in training and believes he could earn more playing opportunities if he continues to improve.
The NCAA is challenging the eligibility ruling that allows Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss to play football in 2026.
Will anything come of that, or is the NCAA just posturing?
On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I’m joined by ‘Locked On ACC’ to discuss Clemson’s future in the conference as a football program.
Are they really done as an annual contender?
Utah enters Year 1 of the Morgan Scalley era with a returning QB (Devon Dampier) and plenty of faces to replace from last year’s 11-2 team.
Can the Utes navigate their schedule to 10+ wins again?
03:27 Chambliss, NCAA, and Antitrust Debate
08:26 NCAA Enforcing Draft Eligibility Rules
10:12 NCAA Power Cautionary Tale
15:26 Clemson’s Potential Future Without Dabo
17:00 Clemson’s Recruiting Decline Analyzed
21:18 Dabo’s Future at Clemson
25:21 Utah Football’s Tough Season Ahead
27:36 Arkansas, Utah, and Big 12 Insights
Follow The Athletic’s coverage of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells
The fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is in the books, and it’s time for the quarterfinals in California’s Coachella Valley.
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Here are the matches and players that have stood out, some things tennis fans may have missed, and what to look out for as the tournament heads into its final stages.
How a match with the taste of rust delivered one of the points of the year
Defending champion Jack Draper came through a tight, tense fourth-round match against Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), but the scoreline hardly tells the story of one of the most compelling matches of the tournament.
What turned it, according to Djokovic in his news conference? One point. This one, in the first game of the third set:
A 26-shot rally that Djokovic won, which typified the quality of the best points of the match, but also why Djokovic ultimately lost it. The point left the 38-year-old exhausted, and while he won the game, he was broken in the next. Draper then led the set until 5-4, when the pressure of serving for the match got to him.
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Three unforced errors and one great point by Djokovic took the score to 5-5. With Draper serving to stay in the match one game later, Djokovic passed up a gaping forehand opportunity down the line in favor of an unnecessary lob that floated way long; leading 4-3 on serve in the tiebreak, he played an apparently random backhand drop shot that gasped into the net. His decision-making was uncharacteristically imprecise for parts of the match, with both players spending most of the first set still shaking off rust — Draper on his return from a left-arm injury, and Djokovic in his first tournament since the Australian Open.
After raising the quality and intensity through the second and third sets, with the crescendo of that impossible point, both of them appeared exhausted by the end. A fresh, in-form Daniil Medvedev will be looking forward to a quarterfinal in the heat of the Indian Wells late afternoon Thursday.
— James Hansen
What makes a player love desert tennis — and troubling Carlos Alcaraz?
Only three men have made four BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals in the 2020s. Medvedev, who eased past Alex Michelsen Wednesday to reach his fourth, is one of them. The other two are Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1, and Cameron Norrie, the 2021 champion, who Alcaraz faces in the last eight Thursday.
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Norrie, the No. 27 seed, loves desert tennis. His high-bouncing forehand and scudding, low backhand discombobulate players on courts and in conditions which can reward both, and he has also developed a habit of upsetting Alcaraz.
Norrie has won three of the pair’s past five meetings, including the most recent one at the Paris Masters in October. It’s a strange sequence for a player who is not generally thought of as a giantkiller, instead grinding opponents down with his steady baseline game and phenomenal fitness levels.
Norrie turned the tables on Alcaraz to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Paris, outdoing Alcaraz in stealing points — something the world No. 1 does better than anybody in the world. Norrie won 37 percent of the points he played on defense, to 27 percent for Alcaraz, according to data from Tennis Data Innovations.
Other factors have been more rudimentary. Alcaraz’s backhand was ineffective at the Paris Masters. He made just 73 percent of them, compared to an average of 84 percent, while Norrie made 85 percent of his. During Norrie’s win at the 2022 Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz’s return fell off a cliff.
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Speaking in a news conference Wednesday after cruising past Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(2), Alcaraz joked that he didn’t want to say why he found Norrie so difficult, because he knew his opponent would be watching.
“I would say lefties are always tricky to play against,” he said.
“Just the way he can change the the height of the ball. He has a really flat backhand and really topspin forehand. So you can be a little bit confused sometimes with how it’s gonna come, the ball, to you.
“He’s a gladiator. He’s a real fighter, fighting every ball, every game, every set. So it’s really difficult when you’re facing someone who never gives up any point or any ball.”
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Norrie meanwhile said in an interview after beating Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2 that he feels like he can make Alcaraz “play every single point and frustrate him in his tennis sometimes.”
Norrie acknowledged he’ll still be the underdog, pointing to Alcaraz winning their two Grand Slam meetings. As for his love of playing in Indian Wells, a venue where the wind and fluctuating temperatures can drive many to distraction, he said that “growing up in New Zealand was crazy windy.”
“These kind of windy conditions don’t really faze me too much, or those tough conditions. I think my game is pretty tricky (even) without windy conditions so I kind of use that to my advantage sometimes.”
Alcaraz will be the big favorite, but Norrie’s qualities add intrigue to a match that would otherwise seem like a formality.
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— Charlie Eccleshare
Another step forward for Iga Świątek?
Iga Świątek lavished praise on Karolína Muchová this week, likening her game to Roger Federer’s ahead of their fourth-round matchup Wednesday and admitting after that Muchová is her favorite player to watch.
“Basically, she might be the only player I watch,” Świątek said in an on-court interview.
Muchova might prefer Świątek turn her attention elsewhere. The world No. 2 harnessed her familiarity with Muchová’s game and turned in her best match of the year Wednesday, a surgical 6-2, 6-0 victory that sets up a quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina.
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Her dominance was a reminder of what Świątek, a two-time BNP Paribas Open champion, can do when she feels at home. She is clearly confident facing Muchová’s style of play— she’s won all four of their meetings since 2023 — and comfortable on Indian Wells’ slower hard courts, even though players say they are quicker this year. Świątek was able to take her time Wednesday, ripping high-kicking forehands into the corners that pulled Muchová from side to side and pinned her to the baseline.
Unable to get to net where she does most of her damage, Muchová, who captured her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar Open last month, looked flat and totally unable to hurt Świątek, who emerged from a scratchy opening four games to break with two beautifully played points and never looked back.
“I just chose the right balls to go forward or to stay back and grind a bit more and play with more shape,” Świątek said in her news conference.
“I think just the decision-making was good today so I didn’t rush, and I had just comfortable situations to do what I wanted to.”
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Świątek won her previous two titles in the Coachella Valley in 2022 and 2024. If the pattern holds, 2026 could be her year to become the first woman to win the tournament three times.
— Ava Wallace
How to measure a player’s rise?
For the past 10 months, Victoria Mboko’s tennis career has moved at exactly one speed: fast.
The 19-year-old Canadian had already composed a series of absurd win-streaks on the third-tier World Tennis Tour when she produced a bullish first-round win against former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun at last year’s French Open, before beating Germany’s Eva Lys in the second round and losing to Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the third.
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It took her all of three months after that to win the Canadian Open, a WTA 1000 tournament one rung below a Grand Slam, which was just her sixth event on tour. She sprinted to another milestone at this year’s Australian Open by reaching the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time, losing a fourth-round match to Aryna Sabalenka.
She didn’t waste any time setting up a rematch. Mboko will face the world No. 1 again at Indian Wells Thursday, in the quarterfinals.
If Mboko’s blistering ascent doesn’t impress in a vacuum, consider her rise through the rankings compared to the only teenager ranked in the top 10, Mirra Andreeva. Mboko took 13 months from the start of 2025, when she was ranked No. 333, to make her top 10 debut in February. It took Andreeva — gasp — 25 months from the time she was ranked No. 293 at the start of 2023 to break into the top 10 in February last year.
For Coco Gauff, yet another star who broke onto the scene as a young teen, the journey from No. 313 in July of 2019 to the top 10 took 38 months.
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Life changing that much that fast could waylay any young person. Mboko’s approach to dealing with the breakneck pace of her career once involved some level of delusion — as in, tricking her own mind to avoid putting herself under pressure. She pretended she was playing a different tournament, not a Grand Slam, during her French Open run.
After her dominant 6-4, 6-1 win against two-time major finalist Amanda Anisimova in Indian Wells’ fourth round Tuesday, Mboko said more recently she’s trained her focus on her effort, not outcomes.
“I just try to come to terms that with every tournament I play, it’s not going to be maybe the way I want it to [be],” Mboko said. “But I just want to give 100 percent effort, and there is always a lesson to learn.”
She learned plenty from facing Sabalenka for the first time in January, namely, that watching the world No. 1 from afar bears little resemblance to actually standing in the flight path of one of her groundstrokes. Even in that 6-1, 7-6(1) loss, she was a quick study.
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This time, she hopes to keep Sabalenka from pushing her off court as often, having said in Melbourne that she felt like she did not hit a “thorough” ball often enough to trouble her opponent.
“We’ll see. I mean, it was my first time playing on a Grand Slam center court too, so I feel like there was a lot going on in my head, but yeah, we’ll see,” Mboko said.
“It’s a new day, new tournament.”
— Ava Wallace
Two confidence-building runs for Australian qualifiers?
Australian tennis found some cheer that has been hard to come by of late on both sides of the Indian Wells draw. Alex de Minaur is a fixture of the late stages of Grand Slams these days, but him aside, a country that once ruled over the tennis world has found precious little sustained success.
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The fourth-round and quarterfinal appearances by Rinky Hijikata and Talia Gibson may not be anything like spurs to superstardom, but for the 25-year-old and 21-year-old, that is partly the point.
Hijikata took out No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik with a patient, calculated performance in the face of the mercurial Kazakh’s array of haymaker groundstrokes, deft drop shots, elite racket smashes, and whatever the hell this was:
Hijikata did not face a break point and also hit more winners (33) than unforced errors (27), absorbing Bublik’s aggressiveness. The 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 win was Hijikata’s first over a top-10 player, and took him to a first ATP Masters 1000 fourth round. He lost there to Cameron Norrie, but said after beating Bublik that “he’s had a hell of a year, never easy to face so I’m just pumped to get through.
“It could be the first time in my life I didn’t face a break point.”
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Gibson went a step better with a stunning win over Jasmine Paolini, the No. 7 seed, to reach the quarterfinals. After winning the first set, the Australian rebounded from a Paolini comeback in the second by breaking the Italian three times in the third, ultimately triumphing 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. It was Gibson’s first top-10 win, and her third consecutive win over a top-20 player, after beating Clara Tauson and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the previous two rounds.
After beating Paolini, Gibson said she was “speechless” and needed time to process the win in her news conference, but added that her game style made her believe that such results were always possible. She said that one player in particular had helped her develop her tennis.
“I have been able to learn quite a bit from (Aryna) Sabalenka,” she said.
“I think she has one of the most aggressive games, and a very powerful game. I think over the last couple of years, being able to see her implement a little bit more of that variety in her game, as well, to complement her already extremely aggressive baseline game.”
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Gibson faces Linda Nosková of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, who dispatched Alex Eala 6-2, 6-0 in the fourth round.
— James Hansen
Other notable results in the fourth round
Jessica Pegula (5) decided that nobody beats her five times in a row. She got past Belinda Bencic (12) 6-3, 7-6(5) in a high-quality match between two of the best absorbers of pace on the WTA Tour.
And the remaining ties in the women’s draw ended in injury retirements. Elina Svitolina (9) led Kateřina Siniaková 6-1, 1-1 when the Czech retired with a right hip injury, while Sonay Kartal retired with a back issue against Elena Rybakina (3) when down 6-4, 4-3.
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Up next: Quarterfinal picks
🎾 Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Victoria Mboko (16)
2 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel
Can Mboko do what she said she wants to do above and push Sabalenka even further than she did at the Australian Open? Sabalenka has been looking inevitable at Indian Wells so far, and Mboko will need to keep her shots deep at all times on the high-bouncing, slower courts.
🎾 Arthur Fils (30) vs. Alexander Zverev (4)
2 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel
Fils and Zverev have played six times, with Fils winning twice. Zverev is attempting to play a more aggressive style in big moments than is his nature, and he will need to do that against Fils, who can be merciless when given the opportunity to take over points and matches.
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🎾 Jessica Pegula (5) vs. Elena Rybakina (3)
Not before 8 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel
Pegula and Rybakina’s Australian Open semifinal was one of the most gripping matches of the year, even though it was a straight-sets win for Rybakina, who went on to win the title. Pegula’s ability to redirect may be limited by the slower courts that take some of the speed off her ball, but the 90-degree weather forecast may give her some of it back. Rybakina, who has not served to her usual standards in the tournament so far, will need to raise her game against the American.
Tell us what you noticed in the fourth round…
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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The stable of Emma-Lee and David Brown achieved their greatest success to date as Mcgaw prevailed in The Showdown at Caulfield, with plans now to duplicate it after 12 months.
McGaw’s $1 million Showdown conquest last year was the Brownes’ standout Australian victory until the three-year-old claimed the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) at Flemington last spring.
Representing the Brownes in Saturday’s The Showdown (1200m) is Lomu, who unlike McGaw enters for his track debut.
McGaw kicked off with a Pakenham maiden before Caulfield glory, and after Tuesday’s Caulfield gallop, the Brownes resolved to unleash Lomu this weekend.
“It’s a little bit of a throw at it but he’s trialled up good,” Emma-Lee Browne said.
“At this time of year in two-year-old racing you come up against a horse or horses that have won, so we thought if he came through his gallop all good, it’s an idea.
“A lot of the people that were in McGaw are in this horse as well, so it would be very nice to be there again and go and give it a bit of a nudge as well.”
Lomu, a son of I Am Immortal like McGaw, came at a bargain $10,000 price tag.
“The same reason I loved McGaw, I love this horse,” Browne said.
“He was big, he was scopey, he had big ears. He wandered around having a look at things and seemed pretty happy.
“Hopefully he can run similar.”
Browne admires I Am Immortal’s get, despite escalating costs at yearling auctions post-McGaw’s Danehill win.
“Luckily our first two have been pretty good buys and I really rated the stallion, I think he’s very, very good,” Browne said.
“A lot of the horses by I Am Immortal can really gallop and have shown something.”
Last year’s Showdown result boosted ownership ranks, and Browne welcomes more triumphs.
“We’ve been able to increase our numbers by a fair few,” Browne said.
“We’ve got a few more yearlings this year, so it’s an exciting time of the year to have the young ones around.”
The Brownes start Basilinna’s autumn campaign in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) post her Tuesday Pakenham jump-out.
Find the premier sports betting options for The Showdown on betting sites.
Here’s an up-to-date list of all NFL Players from Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California.
The list includes only those players who have played in a regular-season NFL game. Consequently, players taken in the upcoming draft will not be included until they have seen the field.
The League does not officially recognize players who appeared only in preseason exhibition games.
Crenshaw High School is a prep football powerhouse, ranked as the No. 3 pro football player-producing high school in the state.
California has produced a total of 3,331 NFL players from 793 schools, with 264 pros currently active.
See where all the other schools in the Golden State rank here, with links to their respective players.
NFL Players from Crenshaw HS
| Player | Pos | Teams | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daiyan Henley | LB | LAC | 2023 | 2025 |
| Marcus Martin | C | SFO,NWE,DET | 2014 | 2020 |
| De’Anthony Thomas | RB | KAN,BAL | 2014 | 2019 |
| Brandon Mebane | DT | SEA,SDG,LAC | 2007 | 2019 |
| Hayes Pullard | ILB | JAX,LAC | 2015 | 2018 |
| Dominique Hatfield | CB | LAR | 2017 | 2018 |
| Greg Ducre | CB | WAS,SDG | 2014 | 2015 |
| Brian Price | DT | TAM | 2010 | 2011 |
| Dante Hughes | DB | IND,SDG | 2007 | 2011 |
| Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila | DE | GNB | 2000 | 2008 |
| Akbar Gbaja-Biamila | DE | OAK,SDG,MIA | 2003 | 2007 |
| Michael Williams | DB | SFO | 1995 | 1995 |
| Albert Bell | WR | GNB | 1988 | 1988 |
| Charles Lockett | WR | PIT | 1987 | 1988 |
| Kerry Justin | DB | SEA | 1978 | 1987 |
| Eric Yarber | WR | WAS | 1986 | 1987 |
| Don Goodman | RB | STL | 1987 | 1987 |
| Duane Galloway | DB | DET | 1985 | 1987 |
| James Davis | DB | RAI | 1982 | 1987 |
| Charles DeJurnett | NT-DT | SDG,RAM | 1976 | 1986 |
| Clint Sampson | WR | DEN | 1983 | 1986 |
| Wendell Tyler | RB | RAM,SFO | 1977 | 1986 |
| Reggie Lewis | DE | NOR | 1982 | 1984 |
| Jerome Boyd | LB | SEA | 1983 | 1983 |
| Sid Justin | DB | RAM,BAL | 1979 | 1982 |
| Jim Looney | LB | SFO | 1981 | 1981 |
Teddy Bridgewater is once again the enemy. The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback signed a deal with the Detroit Lions this week, set to serve as Jared Goff’s primary backup, a role he held in 2023 and 2024.
Detroit brought back a known veteran as its backup quarterback room took shape again.
If Goff goes down, the Vikings would face the man they drafted in Round 1 of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Bridgewater Returns to a Familiar Spot on Detroit’s Depth Chart
No more high school coaching for Bridgewater; just backup quarterbacking.
Bridgewater to DET
Bridgewater is back in the NFC North, a place he knows quite well.
Detroit Free Press‘s Rainer Sabin and Ryan Ford wrote Tuesday, “The Detroit Lions are bringing back a familiar face to play behind starter Jared Goff. Former backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is returning to the Lions, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, with a deal agreed to on Tuesday, March 10. The Lions needed to fill the spot behind Goff following the departure of Kyle Allen, who came to terms Monday with the Buffalo Bills on a two-year contract.”
“Bridgewater, who will turn 34 in November, initially was signed as Goff’s backup in August 2023, logging just three snaps in his lone appearance that year. He then retired from the NFL the following February and took a job as head coach at his high school alma mater, Miami Northwestern. In his first season, he guided the Bulls to the Florida Class 3A state championship.”
Like every offseason from the last five years, no one was too sure if Bridgewater would retire or be back for more. Alas, he returned to Dan Campbell’s team.
Goff, Teddy — and That’s It
Strangely, the Lions entered free agency with no other quarterbacks on the depth chart behind Goff. In that vein, a QB2 was required, and Campbell preferred an old friend in Bridgewater. While he may be quite recognizable to Lions fans, he’s taken just three snaps under center in Detroit. If he ever starts a game for the Lions, it will be a first.
The lack of quarterback depth could also signal an incoming draft pick. Detroit swung and missed on 3rd-Rounder Hendon Hooker in 2023 — a pick they obtained from the Vikings in the T.J. Hockenson trade — and this go-round, Campbell and friends could take the plunge on a mid-rounder like Carson Beck or Drew Allar.
Otherwise, one must wonder why the quarterback depth is so thin.
Pride of Detroit‘s Jeremy Reisman noted on Bridgwater’s return, “He is viewed as a very strong locker room presence and mentor. Back when the Lions first signed Bridgewater in 2023, Lions coach Dan Campbell tasked Bridgewater with helping mentor young Lions receiver Jameson Williams. As for how Bridgewater can handle the Lions offense is something happens to Jared Goff? Well, there’s not a ton of proof one way or another.”
“Bridgewater has thrown just 15 total passes in the past three seasons—going 8-for-15 for 62 yards in a single game appearance for Tampa last year. Regardless, Bridgewater is a good person to have in the locker room. And in the meantime, the Lions can continue to look for a longer-term, younger backup quarterback.”
Career to Date
Bridgewater last started full-time in 2021 with the Denver Broncos, leading the team to a 7–7 record as their QB1. Since then, he has remained a veteran presence in the league but has not reclaimed a permanent starting role.
His NFL career began in Minnesota, where the Vikings drafted him in 2014. He initially showed promise as the team’s offensive leader, but a severe injury during a 2016 practice derailed his progress and ended his time as Minnesota’s primary quarterback. At the time, Bridgewater represented the franchise’s future — a source of hope similar to what Minnesota now sees in J.J. McCarthy as they enter the mid-2020s.
All together, these are Bridgewater’s NFL stops through 12 seasons:
- Minnesota Vikings (2014–2017)
- New York Jets (2018)
- New Orleans Saints (2018–2019)
- Carolina Panthers (2020)
- Denver Broncos (2021)
- Miami Dolphins (2022)
- Detroit Lions (2023–2024)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2025)
- Detroit Lions (2026)
Lions Free Agency to Date
Detroit has been semi-busy — much more than the Vikings, of course, who have largely been dormant — in free agency after failing to reach the postseason in 2025.
Here’s a list of the transactions as of Wednesday afternoon:
- Larry Borom, RT (CHI → DET)
- Teddy Bridgewater, QB (TB → DET)
- Cade Mays, C (CAR → DET)
- Isiah Pacheco, RB (KC → DET)
- Malcolm Rodríguez, LB (DET → DET)
- Rock Ya-Sin, CB (LV → DET)
Theoretically, the Lions could also be involved in the topsy-turvy Maxx Crosby trade sweepstakes that has shaken the NFL this week.
Bridgewater will turn 34 in November.
The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) had originally been due to kick off on March 17, with 16 nations from all over the continent set to compete in Morocco. But just 12 days before the opening game, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), postponed its biggest women’s football tournament until July.
In a statement, the body cited “unforeseen circumstances” but gave no details for the decision. In the absence of an explanation, rumors were soon circulating among fans and journalists alike.
One rumor had it that the relationship between hosts Morocco and CAF had been severely damaged by events that occurred during the controversial final of the men’s tournament in January. Hosts Morrocco lost the final 1-0 to Senegal, whose coach had earlier led his team off the pitch in protest at a penalty decision. It was also noted that the WAFCON’s original schedule clashed with Morocco’s domestic league for which stadiums were needed.
“It is a combination of factors and it is not a decision taken lightly,” Luxolo September, CAF’s head of communications, told DW in an effort to set the record straight.
“There is a question of the host nation Morocco, requesting a postponement for a number of reasons. There has been a lot of interaction between Morocco, FIFA and CAF regarding the date. This is not a nice position for us, we have taken no joy from this. We would have loved to play in this window, it is a window we had requested.”
Bad timing
There’s been an outcry about how long CAF waited to make a decision.
“The teams had prepared, the teams had played a lot of friendly matches, so it was such a short time and just unfair” Jackline Juma told DW. As head coach of Kenya‘s U-20 women she had an up-close view of the disruption the delay caused to the senior team.
Kenya has just played friendly games against Ivory Coast and Benin, while Nigeria was in Cameroon and Ghana had held a training camp in Dubai.
“Twelve days out, your team is ready to go, you are fine-tuning the last little bits, you are making sure the players understand what their roles are going to be,” Vicki Huyton, founder of the Female Coaching Network, told DW.
“It’s about keeping the team morale, so 12 days out, the teams have spent one or two years, the hard work is done.”
It is not just the teams and the players who were about to travel to Morocco – fans and journalists are complaining at being left out of pocket.
“People had booked the hotels, press had booked their hotels,” Collins Okonyo, a player agent, told DW.
“It shows how disorganized you are. CAF should sit down and bring their house in order.”
CAF spokesperson September rejects this criticism, insisting that they did all they could to avoid a postponement.
“The announcement came very late as all the parties were trying to find common ground that would advance the situation and ensure that the competition continues as it must,” he said.
“It is important for CAF that the tournament is played in the best possible conditions, we don’t just tick a box.”
Weeks of uncertainty
The postponement did not come as a complete surprise. As early as February, a South African politician said that her country could step in to host at short notice. The day before the announcement, the minister of sport for 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, Gayton McKenzie, made a similar statement.
“If they are not ready, we want to tell them we are not a country with no stadiums or infrastructure… We will not allow women’s football to be treated this way,” he said.
It is not the first time that WAFCON has been moved. Morocco had originally been due to host the tournament in 2024, but as it coincided with the Paris Olympics, it was delayed by a year – also at short notice. This and the latest postponement has led to accusations that CAF does not value women’s football as much as it does the men’s game.
“I don’t think AFCON men would be postponed, they are not treating women’s football with the respect that it deserves,” Juma said.
“It’s so frustrating and disappointing for women’s football in Africa, to postpone for no tangible reason. It’s very discouraging, women’s football is not as respected as men’s football.”
It is a charge that CAF denies.
“The facts speak for themselves,” September said.
“Look at the investment, don’t look at what people say. When the current president [Patrice Motsepe] of CAF arrived, he took the prize money for women’s football from $100,000 to $1 million (€86,000 to €860,000) in the space of four years. He introduced the Women’s Champions League. The advancement of women’s football is one of the top priorities for him and CAF.”
Potential silver lining but no consolation
Despite the late decision, some have tried to put a positive spin on things, noting that some national teams could benefit in terms of injured players being able to return to action by July. There have also been reports in the South African media that the extra time coulc give the coaching staff there an opportunity to heal divisions that are currently damaging the team.
“If some of the teams have injury issues, it could benefit them,” Huyton conceded.
“But ultimately major tournaments like this have set dates. We are all aware they come around every two or four years and every team and coach works towards that.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
Britain’s Sonay Kartal says it was “one match too many” as a lower back injury forced her retirement from a fourth-round Indian Wells match against world number three Elena Rybakina.
Receiving physio treatment between games, Kartal lost the first set to the Kazakhstani 6-3.
Then, in clear discomfort as she trailed 4-3 in the second having been broken when she stretched for a return, she made her way to the net to shake hands.
The 24-year-old had battled the problem through the tournament and said she had to “pull the plug” on Wednesday as the pain got more intense the further the match went on.
“As athletes you are super in-tune with your body, and I’ve had it pretty much the whole event, so I kind of knew that I could keep pushing,” Kartal told BBC Sport.
“But today it was unfortunately one match too many.
“[I played] a super-tough opponent, so you need to be at your best. I was far from that but still managed to make it competitive.”
Kartal, ranked 54, had become the first British woman to twice reach the fourth round in California.
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