Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Haas Formula 1 team show us what is possible with a level playing field

The Haas Formula 1 team has gone from the rear of the field last season to very much being in the middle of the pack this season. Part of the reason they were so bad last season was they chose not to develop that car. Instead, they spent all their time and money developing this season’s car.

The regulations surrounding the specifications of this car are totally different from last season. This decision has paid dividends with the American-owned team sitting in the seventh position in the constructor’s standings.  This is a massive gain for a minnow team.

In fact, their current haul of 34 points is the third-best result in their seven-year history. They had 47 points in the 2017 season and 93 points in the 2018 season. The other interesting fact is that those 34 points are more than they have accrued in the last three seasons. They only won 31 points from 2019 to 2021 which puts a massive hole in any formula 1 team’s budget.

The Haas Formula 1 team has been battling with the big boys.

Over the last few races, the Haas team has been battling with the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes. They have in fact been beating Hamilton at a few of the races. The team that finished last in the constructor’s championship last season is mixing it with last season’s winner of that championship. To say that this is huge is an understatement.

So, what is the difference between last season and this season? Well, the regulations as to how the car is designed are one reason. Mercedes, which had the dominant chassis for the last seven years had to completely redesign their car. Now, normally this would not be a problem as the huge team would just throw money at the problem until they solved it. They simply cannot do that this season.

Another of the regulations that were introduced was a cost cap. This cap means that Mercedes can only spend the same amount of money as everyone else on car development and upgrades. This is the same across all constructors and is putting pressure on Red Bull, who are asking for the cap amount to be raised. However, it appears that they are not going to get their way.

Formula 1 distributes its money incrementally

Haas has never been a big-budget team and as a result, has not been able to compete with the big boys of the sport. This means that they are not able to win the prizemoney required which puts pressure on the team and sponsors. Now, team principle Gunther Steiner is suggesting that Haas could finish as high as sixth. This is important as the prize money increases incrimentally the higher you finish in the constructors championship.

If the minnow again finished in tenth, they would get a smaller share of the revenue. however, now they are able to use the same money to develop their car as everyone else. They are showing that they are going to be a true force moving forward. We want to see the best drivers competing with each other on merit, not on who has the best car.

It is so good that the action is now back on track rather than off it.

Sports

One act from Jonas Vingegaard will define his cycling career

With the Tour De France coming to its conclusion, it is likely that Jonas Vingegaard will win it for the first time. He finished second to Tadej Pogacar who has won the previous two tours. Traditionally, unless the margin at the top is only a few seconds, the rider who is in front is not attacked. This is going to be Vingegaard’s first tour win.

He made a decisive move on stage two which gave him a two-minute lead. Then on the final stage in the Alps, Vingegaard stretched his lead thanks to a huge effort by his team. Finally, he extended his lead again in the individual time trial where he finished second to his teammate.

While Pogacar has been strong in this tour, he has not been his dominant best. He has won three stages but he has not been able to shake Vingegaard. The Danish rider has shadowed the pre-race favorite the entire way. That is, except when he has been ahead of him.

What was the moment that will define Jonas Vingegaard’s career?

It was in the final stage of the Alps, the one where Vingegaard extended his lead. He and Pogacar had been together on the road up the first two climbs of the day. Then, descending after the second climb, Pogacar fell. It was not a hard fall but it was one that Vingegaard could have pressed his advantage. He could have seen that Pogacar was disadvantaged and pressed home his advantage.

Instead, what did Vingegaard do? He sat up and waited for the rider who beat him last year. He decided that taking advantage of the bad luck of a competitor was not the way he wanted to be remembered. Had he kept going, the story would have been that Vingegaard had taken advantage of his opponent’s mistake.

Instead, he sat up and beat Pogacar up the next climb. The Slovenian rider congratulated Vingegaard, saying that he was the better rider on the day. He also said that the fall had nothing to do with why he lost. It is these moments in sport, in the heat of the battle which can define people’s legacy.

There is not a single person who would have thought less of Vingegaard if he had pressed on. Now, the cycling community and anyone in the wider community who saw the act this higher of him. Jonas Vingegaard is a deserved winner of the hardest event in the world.

For a sport that has had issues with its image over the years, this is incredible. We all get to leave this event feeling good about the future of cycling.

Sports

Why Virat Kohli is not playing in the T20’s against the West Indies

The Indian Cricket team is really strong at the moment, especially in the T20 format of the games, with their ranking seeing them at No. 1 in the world. They just completed a 2-1 series victory against England and now they are gearing up to take on their next competition, the West Indies in the Caribbean.

The West Indies series does not have the billing as the previous to against England, it is still a dangerous series. You would not know that the English team is ranked second in the world. With the exception of the third game, the Indian team simply dominated the series.

By contrast, the West Indies sit seventh in the T20 rankings which means very little on the day. The Calypso Kings still have a swagger about them and can turn on performances from nowhere. This was the case even when they have been down at the bottom of world cricket

Are the Indian cricket team taking the West Indies for granted by resting Virat Kohli?

Virat Kohli is one of the best players of this generation, but every player has a down stretch. Currently, as discussed previously, Kohli is not playing anywhere near his best. While he is not playing badly in other forms of the game, he is really struggling in the T20 format. He showed the intent to play the current Indian style of T20 cricket but the results are not good enough.

Kohli picked up a groin strain during the tour of England which is the reason that the BCCI has rested him from the tour of the West Indies. They are still saying that he is part of their plans for the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, if his replacement performs well enough in the upcoming series then surely the Indian selectors will have to consider emitting Kohli from the World Cup squad.

Unfortunately for the superstar, the writing might be on the wall. The previous success of his career has given him some leeway but the clock is ticking. If Kohli is going to make a return to the side, he needs someone to fail. Otherwise, Kohli’s T20 days could very well be numbered.

Sports

Daniel Ricciardo addresses his future with McLaren

Over the last season and a half, there has been plenty of speculation around Daniel Ricciardo. It has all been surrounding his future with the McLaren Formula 1 team. Since he sensationally left Renault Ricciardo has not really felt confident in the McLaren car. However, that changed after the Monaco Grand Prix.

The team was able to make some changes to the car and he has been a lot more competitive. In fact. he has been in the points in two out of the last four races. He even finished 11th in the Canadian Grand Prix. This is better than the first part of the season where he scored once in seven races.

The first rival that you are compared to in formula 1 is your teammate. Lando Norris has finished in the points three times in the last four races. He was a lot more successful at the start of the season so is, therefore, higher up the driver’s standings. Still, Ricciardo has finished higher than his teammate twice in the last four races as well.

Daniel Ricciardo’s form reversal has allowed him to address his future with McLaren.

Ricciardo has been incredibly patient with reporters and fans who have asked about his future. He has steadfastly expressed that he is not going anywhere. However, there have been rumblings behind the scenes and these have felt to be responses by wrote. With the fact that he is competitive with his teammate now, there is a little more weight behind his comments. See the latest statement made by Ricciardo below.

His competitive, yet fun nature s evident in this tweet. Ricciardo is committed to seeing out his contract which finishes at the end of next season. While Ricciardo appears to be a laid-back guy, you do not get to Formula 1 without some serious drive and passion. We see this in his wheel-to-wheel racing and hopefully, we will see more of this as the season progresses.

Sports

Triple Zeros: Kenneth Davis – Talking Chicago Bears

Triple Zeros

Kenneth Davis – Talking Chicago Bears

Kenneth Davis of The Under Center Podcast and WARR Media joins Triple Zeros to talk about his journey and, of course, the Chicago Bears. We go over what to make of wide receiver David Moore’s arrest while making a run for the border. Also, are general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus completely sold on quarterback Justin Fields? If so, have they done enough to support him? We also touch on why fans should continue to trust, not rush, the process and so much more.

Be sure to follow Kenneth on Twitter @ThatsDavis and keep up with all of the great work that he and the rest of the crew do for NBC Sports Chicago on the Under Center podcast and all of the great content being created over at WARR Media.

Anchor | Apple | Spotify

Heavy on Bulls

Last Word on Pro Football

Soaring Down South

Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter (@3ZerosPod, @JoshGBuck, @ClockerSports) and visit ClockerSport.com today!

Triple Zeros. This is content to help reach the green light. Tis is content to help reach the green light. Ths is content to help reach the green light. Thi is content to help reach the green light. his is content to help reach the green light. Tis is content to help reach the green light. Ths is content to help reach the green light. Thi is content to help reach the green light. his is content to help reach the green light. Tis is content to help reach the green light. Ths is content to help reach the green light. Thi is content to help reach the green light. Triple Zeros

Sports

The Formula 1 race director situation just gets messier

Formula 1 has been facing a few issues of late. Unfortunately, the most recent issue was in Austria when crowd behavior dominated the headlines. It should have been track limits that dominated the headlines but that was not to be the case.

Now it has come out that Sebastian Vettel has stormed out of a driver meeting at last week’s Grand Prix. He believed that an argument was going around in circles and did not believe that anything could be resolved.  He made good with the race director meaning that he only received a suspended fine.

However, this is the second attack on the race director for the weekend and should ring alarm bells. However, then the biggest news dropped yesterday when Michael Masi, the former race director left the FIA. He cited wanting to go back to Australia to pursue other opportunities and be closer to his family.

Formula 1 appears to be in turmoil under its new leadership.

The news that Masi was leaving came seven months after the race that cost the former race director his job.  It also broke the weekend after the FIA faced its toughest challenge in terms of driver dissent. This timing cannot be a coincidence, it is surely a case of Masi losing faith in the organization which threw him under the bus at the end of last season.

There are too many things coming out right now that never did under Masi. I mean, yes, there was the end-of-season controversy last season, but it is my belief that Masi had the best interest of the sport at heart. He did not want one of the best driver’s championship races to be finished under safety car conditions. He wanted a live, exciting finish, a best man wins scenario.

Now, with all the controversy surrounding Formula 1 there is a good chance that Masi is distancing himself from the organization. He may be doing this in an effort to get a good outcome elsewhere. One thing is for sure, Masi should be saluted for the three years that he was in charge. He took the job on after the beloved Charlie Whiting passed away unexpectedly and ran with it.

Sports

The biggest Formula 1 stories should come from on the track, not behaviour off it

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Formula 1 is a spectacle which millions of people around the world watch. It is the definition of class and style. The cars have sleek lines and there are sponsors of the ilk of Rolex as well as Moet and Chandon. The rich and famous turn out in droves and are often guests of teams thoughout the weekend.

However, there are some occasions where the image of Formula 1 becomes tarnished and this happened in the hills of Austria. Things were so bad that the British broadcasters talked about the behaviour of some of the patrons, citing racism and other unruly behaviour.

Unfortunately for F1, and reportedly some of the male Dutch fans, the behaviour was so much worse than that. A female Dutch reporter went to the event as a patron. According to her article that she felt compelled to write, she felt devastated by the actions of her fellow countrymen. For the full detail of what she, and other female atendees, please find the link here.

Formula 1 drivers respond to the poor crowd conduct.

Current world champion, Dutchman Max Verstappen responded in the Dutch media. According to my Dutch source, she does not believe that it went far enough. The fact that he says that if you drink too much you should go to bed really does not cut it,

The response of Sebastian Vettel is so much more to the point and how a public figure should respond to this sort of behaviour.

The former world champion is of the opinion that the fans should be banned for life from all racing. This would certainly send a message. The message? Their putrid conduct should is not welcome, anywhere. Even better, that they should never act that way again in public

In a weekend where the discussion should have been dominated by track limits violations. Instead we are talking about the behaviour of an element of the crowd who spoiled the experience for others.In fact, their behaviour was so poor that there will be an element of the public who will never go back due to feeling unsafe.

This is not acceptible in any way and event organsers need to ensure that this never happens again. Everybody who attends a major worldwide event needs to be able to do so unmolested. They should be able to go about their daily life unmolested as well. However, that is a whole larger discussion to have. We need to be better than this, alcool is not an excuse.

Sports

Thon Maker leads the Australian Boomers to first up Asia Cup win

Ex-NBA player Thon Maker has helped lead the Australian Boomers to a first-up win in the Asia Cup. The Boomers took on the national team from Jordan, beating them 78-60. This has them at the top of their group, which is a place they will probably not relinquish for the entire group phase.

The Boomers are missing most of their top players as so many of them are competing in the NBA Summer League or recovering from injury.  However, this did not stop Thon Maker from stamping his impact on the game early which helped the Boomers establish an early lead. Jordan was not able to surmount this lead in the second half, eventually losing by 18 points.

Maker had 16 points by the half,  finishing with 23 for the game to go along with eight rebounds. He also had two assists and a block in his 24 minutes of game time.  Maker had the honour of having the highest plus/minus on the box score with 26. This is an incredible impact on a game in such a short time.  This also had the impact of allowing the Australians to rest their most important player for later in the tournament.

The Australian Boomers spread the load amongst all their players

The Boomers, also had 16 points from Sam Froling who went 8-of-13 from the field. He also had eight rebounds including three on the offensive end. William McDowell-White ran the offense wellcollecting seven assists, seven points, and four rebounds.

Australia had two players with  eight points and two players with seven points. All of this scoring power was too much for the team from Jordan. They had Dar Tucker who collected 20 points. Their only other player with double-digit points was Ahmed Al Dwain who had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Boomers next game is against Saudi Arabia on the 14th of July.  Jordan next plays on the same day, taking on Indonesia.

Sports

Will there be changes to track limits interpretations in Formula 1

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After the powers of Formula 1 removed Michael Massi as race director, changes were afoot. The impacts of this decision are impacting the sport this season. Now there is more controversy. This time the controversy relates to track limits.

For those who don’t remember, there was a level of unhappiness. This was due to Massi allowing only certain cars to pass the safety with a lap remaining in the final Grand Prix of the season. This meant that the two protagonists, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, could fight it out for the championship unhindered by lapped cars.

Of course, Hamilton had not come in for tires and Verstappen had, so it was an advantage for Red Bull. They took that advantage and won the title meaning Hamilton did not create history with his eighth championship. He is still level with Michael Schumacher with seven world titles.

Track limits had a massive impact on the Austrian Grand Prix.

During the Austrian Grand Prix drivers breached tracks limits 43 times. This led to four drivers getting five-second penalties in the race. This is not even counting the deleted laps during practice and qualifying. On top of that Sergio Perez had his Q3 result reversed and went back to his Q2 best time. This was only good enough for 13th but he used more tires than he should have.

This definitely impacted where he started in the sprint race which had a direct impact on where he started in the race. If he knew that his time was deleted in Q2, he could potentially have had time for another lap. Where this becomes an issue is that he started somewhat out of position and was then punted off the track by George Russel. This is impactful on both the driver’s and constructors’ championships.

While they are strictly breaking the rules, Formula 1 is a true spectacle. They are 20 of the best drivers in the world, doing everything they can to beat their rivals. If that means that the spectacle improves by allowing the curves to be the track limits then what is the harm?

Sports

Dinesh Chandimal bats Australia out of the second test

Sri Lanka has ensured that there are only two results available in the second test against Australia thanks to a tremendous inning by Dinesh Chandimal. These are a Sri Lankan win or a draw, with the second appearing less likely with the Australians losing quick wickets in their second innings.

Marnus Labuschagne who scored a century in the first innings managed only 32 in the second. Likewise, Steven Smith who also scored a century in the first innings was dismissed for a four-ball duck.

At the time of writing, Australia was still 59 runs behind the Sri Lankans with only three second-inning wickets in hand.  This is not going to be enough to trouble the Sri Lankans in the second innings. in fact, it is looking very likely that they will not have to bat again as the Australian tail is failing to wag.

Dinesh Chandimal is responsible for batting Australia out of the game.

The Sri Lankan middle-order batsman, Dinesh Chandimal,  finished up 206 not out in his team’s total of 554. This put the home side 190 ahead in the first innings, effectively batting the Australians out of the game. The problem for the Australians is that they allowed five other batsmen to score over 50 in the innings as well.

Nathan Lyon bowled an incredible 64 overs, collecting 2 for 194 in a truly Herculean performance. In fact, Australia’s main line spinners bowled 102 overs. They also had 14 overs of part-time spin with Labuschange bowling six overs and Travis Head bowling eight. Neither player took a wicket.

The Australians will most probably be happy to see the end of this tour which started at the beginning of June. In the five-week tour, the two teams have played three T20s, five one-day matches, and two tests. It is safe to say that the Australians are looking forward to a month off from here.

They are next fixtured to play three one-day matches against Zimbabwe, starting at the end of August. This is going to be a good leadup to the T20 World Cup