Author: alaskaadmin

Detroit — Alex Palou did it again. But he did it in a little different way. Palou, who typically masters pitting later than the rest of the field and then burying them with fresher tires and already having a lead, pitted earlier than the other leaders and used that strategy to his advantage Sunday in winning the Detroit Grand Prix. After Palou pitted, a caution came out, putting his top challengers outside the top five. Kyle Kirkwood, the defending race winner, rallied to second. But he had nothing for Palou, who won for the fourth time in eight races this season, including his third on a street course. “Last year or the past couple years, we were not that strong on street courses,” Palou said in his post-race news conference. “And this year we’ve been able to win at three street courses. It just feels incredible.” Here are my takeaways: 1. McLaughlin And Power Upset Over Tangle Scott McLaughlin and Will Power tangled in the race, which resulted in Power having too much damage to continue and ruining McLaughlin’s day. Power was in no mood to talk, as he delivered an expletive toward the FOX cameras after he got out of his car. McLaughlin was frustrated as well. “We were side-by-side at [Turn] 3 and I got, like, a little sideways — which made me press him to the wall a lot more aggressively than I wanted,” McLaughlin told me and other reporters after the race. “I don’t know whether he’s pissed off because of that. I’m not sure. But then after that, he got me. And I was pretty happy with it. “I was like, ‘Still good, good result, right now he’s faster than me on restarts, I’ll let him have it.’ And then … I was just going to go the outside, and he just kept turning in and just basically gave me no option. Just turned into the side of me and drove me into the right-side fence and another fence.” McLaughlin and Power were teammates for several years at Team Penske. “I have so much respect for Will Power,” McLaughlin said. “He’s been my teammate for so many years and helped me so much. And we’ll talk about it. “I regard him as a guy with a lot of respect. But today I just felt like he gave me no option, and I really didn’t want to see that happen for either of us.” 2. Kirkwood Questions Yellows After the Indy Grand Prix, where INDYCAR officials were criticized for Alexander Rossi sitting on the frontstretch without the caution being thrown in hopes of finishing a green-flag pit cycle before issuing a full-course caution, INDYCAR began a new policy not to let green-flag pit cycles influence a full-course caution. That philosophy appeared to bite Kirkwood, who still had to make his final pit stop when the caution came out and Palou had already pitted. And then another yellow came out when Kirkwood was challenging Palou, a caution he felt was a quick trigger. “This is what happens when you guys rip into them, to be honest,” Kirkwood said in his post-race news conference. “It was disappointing to see. Two yellows out caught me out fighting for the lead where we almost … went to make a pass on him. “Yellow comes out right when I have a run on him. I was pretty disappointed with it. But I understand their position. You guys all called for yellows, so they’re going to throw yellows.” 3. Palou’s Strategy Works When things are going well, it’s hard to have things not go your way. Just ask Palou, who pitted at the optimal time. If he was on the other strategy, though, he was still likely in a better position already, having used his two sets of soft tires. He pulled away from Kirkwood at the end with Kirkwood on the soft tires and Palou on the hard tires, which are more consistent even though they are slightly slower at the start of a run. No matter the strategy, Palou was just happy to come back after losing a few spots in the opening stint after starting from the pole. “It didn’t really feel like we were leading that much,” Palou said. “I know that we were leading, but man, it was a lot of work.” 4. Rough Racing The race featured contact between several drivers and Santino Ferrucci, Alexander Rossi and Kyffin Simpson were among those who had penalties for avoidable contact. Is that just the nature of the tight Detroit circuit? Or are drivers feeling the pressure? “The cars are too strong, frankly,” said Graham Rahal, who finished third, in his post-race news conference. “Now the cars are very durable. You can hit things quite hard, and they don’t really break that much. “Then the second thing is people know here that you just have to be a bulldog. The thing is the guys that keep doing it. And I’m not going to name names but some of them have a lot of experience. And it hasn’t worked out for them once. So I’m not really sure why they keep making the moves of desperation that they do.” 4 ½: What’s Next The INDYCAR drivers head to World Wide Technology Raceway (commonly known by its previous name, Gateway) for a race on the 1.25-mile asphalt oval across the river from St. Louis. The race is the second of four on small ovals this year, with one already at Phoenix and then a doubleheader at The Milwaukee Mile later this year.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM (Charlotte, N.C.) — As the ball rolled into the net, you could see the relief and weight lifted off Christian Pulisic’s shoulders. The USA’s star forward had a goal — breaking a befuddling scoring drought that stretched to December — along with an assist, and Folarin Balogun netted the game-winner as the Stars and Stripes topped African powerhouse Senegal in Sunday’s pre-World Cup exhibition. A good result in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 for the U.S. against a quality side that will also be at the 48-team tournament. Only one more test left before the real thing kicks off for the USA in its World Cup opener on June 12. Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s victory: 1. Christian Pulisic Snaps Drought In Style So much of the discourse surrounding the American squad in the buildup to this World Cup has been about Pulisic’s career-worst goalless streak, which had extended to more than 20 games for club and country by the time the Stars and Stripes’ headliner arrived stateside last week to prepare for the biggest summer of his life. All along, Pulisic insisted he wasn’t concerned. “There’s difficult times, and then sometimes one will bounce off your knee and go in, and then it seems like everything goes in after that,” Pulisic said again on Saturday before the squad flew to Charlotte for Sunday’s contest. “That’s just the way things work, and I feel pretty confident.” It showed against Senegal. It took less than six minutes for Hershey, Pennsylvania’s favorite son, who set up Sergiño Dest’s opener. Just 13 minutes later, Pulisic doubled the USA’s advantage himself when he took a pass from Ricardo Pepi, rounded visiting keeper Mory Diaw and coolly slotted the ball into Diaw’s vacated net. Not only was it the 27-year-old attacker’s first tally since he scored for AC Milan last December — it was his first for the national team since late 2024. 2. USA Gets Much-Needed Win … All last week, the U.S. players oscillated between saying how important winning at least one of their final two pre-World Cup exhibitions and noting, correctly, that the only results that actually matter are the ones in the main event. But winning is always good. And for a squad that let its fans down by getting outscored, 7-2, in a pair of March losses to European powers Belgium and Portugal, it certainly doesn’t hurt. “Winning is contagious,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. It’s also a habit. The U.S. can take a ton of confidence from their performance on Sunday in a game that wasn’t as close as the scoreline suggests (see below). The U.S. attack was sharp. And it could’ve scored more; Balogun had an apparent goal called back for offside before his eventual game-winner, and Malik Tillman had one ruled out as well. 3. … But Defensive Questions Persist Up 2-0 with just two minutes of the opening 45 remaining, the home side was cruising. That changed in a heartbeat after Antonee “Jedi” Robinson was dispossessed in midfield, sending the Lions of Teranga roaring toward Matt Turner’s goal. Habib Diarra then made a perfect pass to former Liverpool star Sadio Mané, Senegal’s skipper and all-time top scorer, who only needed one touch to deposit the ball past Turner and inside the far post. It was a disappointing strike to give up at that point in the match. More disappointing was the guests’ second. Diarra was at the heart of it again, with center back Miles Robinson unaware that the Sunderland man was lurking behind him. Robinson’s error left goalkeeper Chris Brady, who came on for Turner at halftime to make his first international appearance, with a tough decision to make. He chose poorly, rushing out and getting caught in no-man’s land as Mané pulled his team level. 4. Is This Close To Pochettino’s Best Lineup? During a roundtable with a small group of reporters at U.S. Soccer’s training facility outside of Atlanta last week, the former Paris Saint-Germain manager revealed that he’s had an idea what his starting lineup since “before March.” How many of those players began Sunday’s encounter? By my count, it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of six: Pulisic, Dest, Jedi, Tyler Adams, Alex Freeman and captain Tim Ream. Matt Freese is almost certainly still the No. 1 heading into the final preparation match next week. If healthy, Balogun and midfielder Weston McKennie are lineup locks. Versatile players like Tim Weah and Malik Tillman could be in the mix, too. As expected, Pochettino made wholesale changes at halftime; per FIFA rules, the teams agreed beforehand to use up to 11 subs apiece. The U.S. coach took full advantage, switching out 10 players at the break, with midfielder Sebastian Berhalter the only holdover. Forward Alex Zendejas entered for Berhalter with about a quarter-hour remaining. The plan was clearly to give as many players as many minutes as possible. I’m guessing that the XI we see next week in Chicago will be a lot closer to the group that is on the field when the Americans’ World Cup campaign begins against Paraguay on June 12. 4 ½. Mighty Germany Awaits In USA’s Final Tuneup Before it can carry the momentum of Sunday’s victory into the World Cup itself, the U.S. will face the four-time World Cup champs in Chicago in its high-profile send-off. The 10th-ranked Germans are never an easy out, but there’s no reason the Americans can’t pull off the upset in what would count as this generation’s long-awaited “signature” win. After all, they’ve upset Die Mannachaft four times in a dozen meetings all-time. Win the next one, and U.S. players and supporters will enter the planet’s biggest sporting event knowing that they can beat anyone.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez was injured by a ball thrown from the bleachers Sunday, sustaining a bruise to his right wrist that forced him to leave the game against the Baltimore Orioles. The culprit wasn’t a malicious fan. Rather, the ball was tossed by a youngster who merely wanted to play a game of catch. The mishap occurred in the sixth inning of Baltimore’s 9-5 victory. During a stoppage in play, Sánchez glanced up at the fans in the right field bleachers. Not long after that, the ball soared from the stands and plunked his wrist. “I wasn’t trying to play catch right there,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “I just looked at them, and they thought maybe that I want them to throw the ball. It was a complete misunderstanding.” Sanchez was wearing a bandage on his wrist after the game, but X-rays were negative and he seemed confident the injury wouldn’t keep him out of the lineup. “It hurts a little bit, but thank God it’s nothing bad or a fracture,” he said. “I’ll be all right.” A statement from an Orioles spokesperson said the club has “identified the fan and removed them from the ballpark while we conduct a thorough investigation.” Toronto manager John Schneider shook his head but smiled when asked to explain what happened. “Yeah, you never know what you’re going to see at the ballpark,” he said. “He was kind of talking to a, I think it was a 12-year-old kid … in a playful manner, like almost let’s play catch. I think the kid took it literally.” Schneider added, “I’m sure the kid feels bad. I’m assuming there’s no ill intent there, I think it was just a misunderstanding and bad timing.” It’s certainly not something the Orioles condone. “That’s something that I know we’re looking into,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “We don’t want anyone getting hurt or fans throwing the ball on the field or anything like that.” Sánchez never saw it coming, but he will learn from the experience. “Big surprise, of course,” he said. “I never imagined that was going to happen, but it happened. Just turn the page and keep going.” Reporting by the Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Christian Pulisic has ended his goal drought, and at the perfect time for him and the United States men’s national team. Pulisic, who hasn’t scored this calendar year, finally found the back of the net during the United States’ friendly against Senegal at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday. It marked Pulisic’s first goal for the U.S. since November 2024 and his first goal overall since December. Pulisic was involved in both of the United States first-half goals. Striker Ricardo Pepi got the ball on the left wing and spotted Pulisic darting forward. Pepi made the pass, and Pulisic played a low cross near the top of the six-yard box, where full-back Sergino Dest tapped it in. Moments later, Pepi picked up the ball on the right wing, and there Pulisic was again, making a driving run forward through the middle of the pitch. Pepi played a perfect pass into the path of Pulisic, who went around Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw to slot home the Americans’ second goal. Pepi got the start up top over Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, who was the presumptive starter in the middle of the Americans’ attack heading into the tournament. Sadio Mane cut the lead in half just before halftime, similar to the match against Belgium, the United States conceded before the break, halting momentum. Second Half Changes Pochettino made ten substitutions at the break, leaving midfielder Sebastian Berhalter as the lone American to keep his place on the pitch from the first half. Among those set to enter was Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, ready for his USA debut—provided he could actually find his kit. Brady was left waiting on the sideline without his jersey until fellow keeper Matt Freese sprinted across the field to retrieve it from the equipment manager, allowing the 22-year-old to finally sub into the match. The full lineup after the break consisted of. Brady, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty, Joe Scally, Weston McKennie, Sebastian Berhalter, Max Arfsten, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Malik Tillman, and Cristian Roldan. Balogun Scores The Winner Despite Senegal’s striking again to level the score, the heavily rotated American side responded well. After the hour mark, former Juventus teammates Weston McKennie and Tim Weah linked up beautifully in a buildup down the right wing to find Monaco striker Folarin Balogun. It proved to be a chaotic but productive half for Balogun. After twice being involved in second-half plays where the ball ended up in the net but didn’t count, the striker finally got his reward. In the 63rd minute, Balogun buried a clinical finish to put the U.S. up 3-2, proving that the third time is indeed the charm. Alejandro Zendejas entered as the USA’s 11th and final sub, leaving Haji Wright and Brenden Aaronson as the two attackers to not receive minutes Sunday. USA was able to close out the second half and leave Charlotte with a promising win, while leaving some room for improvement.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports