Sports briefs
By Associated Press
Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris dies at age 70
OWINGS MILLS, Md. | Joe D’Alessandris, whose nearly half-century of coaching offensive linemen eventually brought him to four different NFL teams, has died. He was 70.
The Baltimore Ravens, D’Alessandris’ employer since 2017, announced that he died Sunday. He was hospitalized earlier this month with an unspecified illness, and that caused him to step away from his duties as the team’s offensive line coach.
Coach John Harbaugh said at the time that D’Alessandris had had surgery earlier this summer and experienced complications.
“Our hearts ache with grief and sadness upon learning of coach Joe D’Alessandris’ passing early this morning,” the team said in a statement. “’Joe D.’ lived a life of boundless faith, love, devotion and inspiration. As a husband, father, grandfather, friend and coach, Joe made every individual he encountered truly feel like they were the most important person in the world.”
Born April 29, 1954, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, D’Alessandris coached in the CFL and the World League — as well as at several colleges — before reaching the NFL ranks. He was an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers before settling in with the Ravens under Harbaugh.
“Coach ‘Joe D.’ was a man of integrity and a man of faith. He made us all better,” Harbaugh said. “He was our reader at team Mass, and he was loved by all here. He was a great coach and a good man — the kind of person who you are honored to have as a friend. He raised three incredible, beautiful daughters, and he was a most loving husband. His grandkids also adored him. I admired him, loved him and am going to miss him, because ‘Joe D.’ was a joy.”
D’Alessandris played at Western Carolina and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in 1977. His other college coaching stops included Livingston University, Memphis, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Samford, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Duke and Georgia Tech.
Harrison Burton wins a wild NASCAR Cup race at Daytona for a playoff berth no one saw coming
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. | Out of his ride and far removed from the playoff picture, Harrison Burton changed his fortunes with a lap to remember Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Burton passed two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch on the final lap in overtime to pick up his first career victory and a spot in NASCAR’s postseason.
The 23-year-old Burton, who already lost his ride in the famed No. 21 Ford with Wood Brothers Racing next season, took the lead thanks to a huge push from little-known Parker Retzlaff.
Busch fought back and had a chance down the stretch. He even got to Burton’s bumper and forced Burton below the double-yellow line. But NASCAR officials ruled the contact caused Burton to cross the line and did not penalize him.
“Besides just flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do,” Busch said.
Busch finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs. It was Burton’s first win in 98 career Cup starts, and it was the 100th victory for the Wood Brothers.
“I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton said. “I, obviously, got fired from this job. I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life and to get them (No.) 100 on my way out is amazing. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.”
Burton’s dad, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, called the race for NBC Sports and radioed down to offer his congratulations. He also hustled down from the broadcast booth to celebrate with his son in victory lane.
“It’s been the hardest three of years of my life, obviously the hardest three years for some of these guys’ lives,” Harrison Burton said. “To win it the way we just did it, to beat the best in the business — Kyle Busch — across the line, it’s pretty fantastic.”
No one saw it coming, even though Daytona often provides unique winners. Burton had one top-five finishes and five top-10s in his three-plus years driving at NASCAR’s top level.
Now, he gets to vie for a championship that would be even more improbable.
Thirteen drivers are locked into the 16-man playoff field thanks to wins: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bell, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman and Burton.
Five other winless drivers are vying for the three remaining spots: Martin Truex Jr., Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain. The regular season ends next week at Darlington.
All five contenders were involved in crashes at Daytona. The scariest ones came late.
More aerials
Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford flipped and slammed into an inside retaining wall while upside down and sliding on its roof. Berry had to wait several minutes inside his car as safety crews flipped the car over. But Berry flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd after getting helped out.
Berry was leading the race with two laps to go when Austin Cindric got turned sideways by Busch and slammed into Berry.
It was the second time in less than a week that a Cup car flipped. Corey LaJoie went for a wild ride at Michigan International Speedway on Monday, and NASCAR modified the cars in hopes of raising liftoff speed and keeping cars on all four tires.
“We got to figure out how to keep cars on the ground,” driver Joey Logano said. “We’re not doing very well right now.”
Michael McDowell’s No. 34 Ford looked like it was headed for a flip just a few laps earlier. Cindric turned McDowell sideways with while bump-drafting, and McDowell’s car lifted off the ground after getting hit in the driver’s-side door by Logano.
McDowell’s car stopped just short of flipping.
Pit road meltdown
Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 Chevrolet had a meltdown on pit road – literally.
Suarez’s trunk caught fire following a pit stop, a strange series of events that ended his night after 37 laps.
It started when Suarez and Denny Hamlin got stacked up behind Harrison Burton on pit road. Hamlin’s engine seemed to backfire while his exhaust hovered over spilled fuel. That sparked a fire that spread to the read of Suarez’s car. By the time Suarez turned a lap under caution, the fire had engulfed the entire rear of his car.
“Just a bad deal,” Suarez said. “I could feel heat in my back, but I could not see it. Very unfortunate.”
Up next
NASCAR moves to Darlington Raceway for the last chance for drivers to secure those coveted playoff spots.
Michigan receives notice of allegations from
NCAA related to sign-stealing investigation
Michigan has received the final version of a notice of allegations from the NCAA related to an investigation into an in-person scouting and sign-stealing operation being run by a football staffer, the NCAA and the school said Sunday.
Michigan previously received a draft of the NOA that included allegations of violations by former head coach Jim Harbaugh, current head coach Sherrone Moore, former recruiting analyst Connor Stalions and several other members of the staff.
“The NCAA can confirm that a Notice of Allegations has been distributed to the school and involved parties in the Michigan investigation,” the NCAA said in a statement. “To protect the integrity of the infractions process as the case progresses forward, the NCAA will not provide any further comment on the specifics included.”
According to NCAA rules, Michigan will have 90 days to respond. The school could then be assigned a hearing in front of the NCAA’s committee on infractions, though a negotiated resolution is still possible.
The NCAA investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign stealing by Michigan hung over the second half of the team’s unbeaten season in 2023 but did not stop the Wolverines from winning their first national title since 1997.
In-person advanced scouting is banned by the NCAA, which investigated to determine how organized it was and who knew about it. Records from other Big Ten schools show Stalions bought tickets to numerous games involving future opponents, sending people to digitally record teams when they signaled plays.
Stalions initially was placed on leave by the school and later resigned. He did not participate in the investigation. Stalions is expected to break his silence Tuesday on Netflix when the documentary “Sign Stealer” makes its debut on the streaming service.
Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, has denied any knowledge of impermissible scouting while he was with the program, though he could face Level 1 violations along with Stalions.
The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the 2023 regular season to punish Michigan for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy after its investigation of the sign-stealing scheme.
The NCAA recently released the results of a recruiting violations investigation into Michigan under Harbaugh. The coach was given a show-cause order that effectively bans him from coaching in college for four years.
No. 9 Michigan begins its first season under Moore on Aug. 31 at home against Fresno State.
Lydia Ko completes ‘Cinderella-like story’
by winning Women’s British Open soon
after Olympic gold
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland | Lydia Ko covered her face with her hands and cried tears of joy.
An Olympic gold medal. Entry into the Hall of Fame. And now another major championship title — at the home of golf, no less.
Summers don’t come much better than that.
Ko completed what she described as a “Cinderella-like story” by breaking free from a logjam of world-class talent to win the Women’s British Open by two strokes at St. Andrews on Sunday, securing a third major title — and a first in eight years. Just two weeks ago, the 27-year-old New Zealander took gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“This is almost too good to be true,” Ko said.
She rolled in a left-to-right birdie putt at the storied 18th hole on the Old Course to shoot 3-under 69 — for 7 under overall — and then had to wait to finish ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda, defending champion Lilia Vu and two-time champion Jiyai Shin.
That quartet of past or present No. 1s shared the lead at one point down the stretch of an engrossing final round played mostly in cold, blustery and wet conditions before ending in sunshine.
Ko was waiting on the practice putting green not far from the 18th green, doing stretches while wearing ear muffs, when Vu lined up a 20-foot putt for birdie that needed to go in to force a playoff. It came up short, and Vu ultimately made bogey to shoot 73 and drop to 5 under alongside Korda (72), Shin (74) and also Ruoning Yin (70) in a four-way tie for second place. Ko wept in the embrace of her caddie.
Ko qualified for the Hall of Fame by winning the gold medal in Paris on Aug. 10 and now has what many believe to be the ultimate prize in the sport — a major championship title at the home of golf.
Ko was asked what feels better: an Olympic gold medal, her first two majors, or winning a third at St. Andrews.
“It’s kind of like saying, ‘Do you like your mother better or your father better?’” she said, eliciting laughter from the crowd around the 18th green. “They are all special in their own way.”
Her last major came at the Chevron Championship in 2016. A year earlier, she won the Evian Championship as an 18-year-old prodigy.
Now, she’s like a veteran — and still winning trophies.
Korda, seeking a second major title of a dominant 2024 containing six victories for the American, started the final round two shots back from Shin, the champion from 2008 and ‘12 and the overnight leader on 7 under. By her 10th hole, Korda was in the outright lead after three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn and before long she was two strokes clear as Shin and Vu toiled at the start of the back nine in miserable weather.
A turning point came at the par-5 14th, which Ko birdied and Korda later doubled after flying the green and underhitting her chip back onto the green.
Ko played the par-4 17th, the famous Road Hole, impressively by hitting hybrid to 20 feet and two-putting for par and then hit a wedge shot close at No. 18 before draining the pressure putt.
Korda was up on the 17th green and heard the cheers for Ko, just before making bogey after hitting her second into the Road Hole bunker.
Korda needed eagle at the last — she could only make par — leaving Vu as the only player able to deny Ko the fairy-tale end to what has proved a perfect summer.
“Here I am as a three-time major champion,” said Ko, to a backdrop of squawking seagulls. “It’s so surreal.”
—From AP reports
