Alonso quickest in rain-disrupted Australian GP FP2

Fernando Alonso topped a rain-affected second practice session at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. After a sunny and reasonably warm first practice hour, Melbourne turned cool and overcast in time for the final session, …

Fernando Alonso topped a rain-affected second practice session at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

After a sunny and reasonably warm first practice hour, Melbourne turned cool and overcast in time for the final session, and light rain drops as pit lane opened made clear the threat of rain.

The ambient temperature was just 61 degrees F, with the track barely warmer at 80 degrees F, and both were dropping as the weather changed.

Anticipating heavier rain, most drivers were sent onto the track in the opening minutes to try to get some representative dry running in, but it did little more than generate some significant traffic problems for most. Even Red Bull Racing was caught out, with Max Verstappen reprimanding his own team for failing to warn him that Carlos Sainz was closing fast behind him on a hot lap.

No one got more than a couple of attempts at a hot lap in the dry. The rain finally struck the track around 15 minutes into the hour, and despite some prediction it would soon ease, it only intensified, rendering the rest of the session unrepresentative ahead of what is expected to be a dry grand prix.

With an outside chance of a damp qualifying, however, everyone bar Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant switched to intermediate tires for the final 45 minutes to sample the slippery track. But none could trouble the leaderboard, with Alonso having managed to capitalize on the brief dry conditions to take top spot with a run on the medium tire, his time of 1m18.887s only 0.1s slower than Verstappen’s best from earlier in the day.

Leclerc followed at 0.445s off the pace, while Verstappen was 0.615s adrift in third. George Russell was fourth ahead of Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

Yuki Tsunoda, who had a new gearbox installed between practice sessions, was 11th ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Zhou Guanyu.

Lance Stroll was 16th despite skating through the gravel in the early slippery conditions. Nyck de Vries finished 17th after his run in dry weather ahead of Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen.

Logan Sargeant didn’t set a lap, with work ongoing on his car after an electrical failure at the end of FP1.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: TV, stream, broadcast details for Friday’s Final Four

It’s time for the Final Four! Here’s how to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes in the national semifinals versus the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Gameday in the Final Four is finally here! After what has no doubt felt like a long wait since Iowa punched its ticket to Dallas, it’s now time for the Hawkeyes to square off with the No. 1 overall seed South Carolina Gamecocks.

In its second-ever Final Four trip, Iowa (30-6, 15-3 Big Ten) is looking to advance to the program’s first national championship game. They’ll be attempting to do so against a juggernaut. South Carolina (36-0, 16-0 SEC) enters as the defending national champion and winners of 42 consecutive games.

The Hawkeyes understand the type of challenge they will be facing.

“Well, we are extremely excited to represent Hawkeye nation here at the women’s Final Four. We know we have an incredible challenge ahead of us, but at the same time, everybody loves an underdog. So hopefully a lot of people will be cheering for us.

“I’ve been coming to the Final Four for a long, long time, but my seats are finally going to be pretty good tonight. So I’m excited about that. Excited also about Caitlin obviously being named the AP Player of the Year today. One of my assistants, Coach Jan Jensen, will also be getting the Assistant Coach of the Year Award. So a lot of great things happening.

“I’m just trying to convince my team 40 minutes of basketball and a lifetime of memories, and that’s all we have to focus on,” Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder said.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how fans can watch, stream and listen to tonight’s Final Four game. Plus, a look at the key players and game notes.

Chris Simms’ top 5 cornerbacks in 2023 NFL draft

A surprising omission from his top five cornerbacks.

“With the 16th selection in the 2023 NFL draft, the Washington Commanders select cornerback…..”

If the Commanders were indeed to select a cornerback, as several analysts have suggested, which cornerback(s) might still be available at 16 for the Commanders to select?

Pro Football Talk’s Chris Simms has done his film study, and Wednesday presented what he believes to be the top five cornerbacks in this 2023 Rookie class.

Steiner hints door is open for Ricciardo talks over 2024 return to grid

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner hints he’d be willing to talk to Daniel Ricciardo about a future race seat after the Australian said he’s leaning towards wanting to return to Formula 1 in 2024. Ricciardo opted against pursuing a vacancy at Haas …

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner hints he’d be willing to talk to Daniel Ricciardo about a future race seat after the Australian said he’s leaning towards wanting to return to Formula 1 in 2024.

Ricciardo opted against pursuing a vacancy at Haas once he had been released from his McLaren contract last year, preferring to take a season away from racing and joining Red Bull as third driver instead. On his first race weekend appearance, Ricciardo was quoted by ESPN as saying that he’s already thinking about a racing return next year.

“The signs are pointing towards getting back on the grid,” Ricciardo said. “I feel like that’s where I’m tracking in my head and a few of the habits that I’m having or doing is pointing towards that.

”It’s only been a few months but I think some itches have been scratched, so to speak. I’ve actually weirdly found that the days that I’ve had no schedule are the days when I’ve actually done training, and I’ve done things like I would before.”

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Given the fact that Steiner was interested in speaking to Ricciardo last year before choosing Nico Hulkenberg to replace Mick Schumacher, the Haas team principal says Ricciardo’s previous snub hasn’t closed the door even if his current lineup takes priority.

“It’s a little bit early to speak about a driver change already for next year,” Steiner said. “So let’s see how we are doing with these drivers and, for sure, at some point maybe I speak with him but I cannot promise anything because if our two guys do a good job…

“But for sure, everybody is wanting to speak with Danny after a year off — maybe he knows again what he wants to do and he will be interesting for everybody in Formula 1. But at the moment I have a new driver this year that has done only two races, so I need to give him a little bit of a chance.”

Ricciardo’s current team boss Christian Horner says he has already seen signs of improvement from the 33-year-old after two tough years at McLaren appeared to impact his driving style.

“When he first turned up after Abu Dhabi — I think the problem is when you drive a car that obviously has its limitations, you adapt and you try and adjust to extract the maximum out of that car,” Horner said. “And it was clear when he came back, that he picked up some habits that we didn’t recognize as the Daniel that that had left us two or three years earlier.

“But having had time off over Christmas and so on and a chance to reset, when he’s come back and got into the 2023 work, he’s hit the ground running and I think he likes the feel of the car in the virtual world which seems to correlate well with what we’re seeing in the actual world. I think he’s desperate to get a run in the car at some point to validate that, but we’re certainly seeing him getting back to being far more reminiscent of the Daniel that we knew.”

POLL: Grade Chargers’ offseason moves so far

What grade do you give GM Tom Telesco for his work in the offseason so far?

It’s been nearly three weeks since the NFL’s free agency period opened, and as it seems to be every year, the bulk of the madness happened in the first few days.

So how have the Chargers done?

This year’s offseason hasn’t been as intriguing as others since they don’t possess as much spendings as previous off-seasons. Their only external free agent signing has been linebacker Eric Kendricks and they’ve re-signed a few of their own.

Here’s the list of Los Angeles’ ins and outs so far in free agency, along with the team(s) that they went to and came from:

Gained

LB Eric Kendricks (Vikings)

Retained

QB Easton Stick

OT Trey Pipkins

TE Donald Parham

DL Morgan Fox

P JK Scott

CB Kemon Hall

Lost

LB Drue Tranquill (Chiefs)

OT Storm Norton (Saints)

DL Joe Gaziano (Falcons)

WR DeAndre Carter (Raiders)

DT Breiden Fehoko (Steelers)

LB Troy Reeder (Vikings)

There are still some players available that they could sign, but the team has made the direction of their plan to attack the draft very clear. They will need to prioritize wide receiver, tight end, edge defender and secondary and offensive line depth.

So grade do you give general manager Tom Telesco for his work in the offseason so far? Vote in the poll below.

[crowdsignal poll=12044476]

Jalen Pickett named Wooden Award All-American

Jalen Pickett made more Penn State basketball history with his latest All-American honor

On the day Penn State officially introduced new men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades to the public, one of the greatest players to come through the program received yet another All-American honor. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] was named to the Wooden Award All-American team on Thursday. Pickett is the first player in program history to receive that distinction.

Pickett’s latest All-American honor is the latest in a string of All-American honors that includes being a consensus all-American with the AP, NABC, USBWA, and Sporting News. CBS Sports also included Pickett on its all-American roster as well.

Pickett was one of three Big Ten players appearing on the Wooden Award All-American team. He was joined by Purdue’s Zach Edey and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis. No other conference had more than two players on the list; the SEC had two with Alabama’s Brandon Miller and Kentucky’s Oscar Tubelis and the Pac-12 had Jaime Jauez Jr. of UCLA and Azuolas Tubelis of Arizona.

Pickett averaged 17.7 points per game with 7.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He was the MVP of a Penn State team that went on a memorable run to an appearance in the Big Ten championship game, taking Purdue down to the wire, and advanced to the first NCAA tournament for the program since 2011 and winning its first tournament game since 2001.

2023 John R. Wooden Award All-America Team

  • Zach Edey – Purdue
  • Trayce Jackson-Davis – Indiana
  • Jaime Jaquez Jr. – UCLA
  • Brandon Miller – Alabama
  • Jalen Pickett – Penn State
  • Marcus Sasser – Houston
  • Drew Timme – Gonzaga
  • Oscar Tshiebwe – Kentucky
  • Azuolas Tubelis – Arizona
  • Jalen Wilson – Kansas

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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FIA clarifies penalty rules and amends grid slots

The FIA has issued a technical directive clarifying what constitutes working on a car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix following Fernando Alonso’s incidents in Jeddah. Alonso was too far to the left of his grid slot at the start of the race and …

The FIA has issued a technical directive clarifying what constitutes working on a car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix following Fernando Alonso’s incidents in Jeddah.

Alonso was too far to the left of his grid slot at the start of the race and picked up a five-second time penalty that he served during his pit stop, with Aston Martin touching the car with the rear jack prior to using it once the penalty had been served. Initially cleared at the time, Alonso was then hit with a post-race time penalty that demoted him from third for serving the penalty incorrectly, before Aston Martin won a right of review stating there was no agreement that touching the car counted as working on it.

After reinstating Alonso in third place, the FIA stated it would address the topic before Melbourne and has now issued a clarification via a technical directive that states touching the car with the jack will no longer be allowed.

“For clarity and until further notice, in this context the physical touching of the car or driver by hand, tools or equipment (including the front and rear jacks) during any such penalty will all be considered to constitute work,” the technical directive from FIA single-seater sporting director Steve Nielsen read.

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The directive also states cooling fans can be used during a penalty as long as they don’t touch the car, and multiple penalties can be taken at once (for example, if a driver has one five-second and one 10-second penalty, they can serve them as a combined 15-second penalty).

The FIA is also looking into ways of addressing the initial cause of Alonso’s penalty after Esteban Ocon was also too far to one side of his grid slot in Bahrain. The slots at Albert Park have been widened by 20cm, while a center line is being trialled to aid driver positioning.

Verstappen dominates Australian GP FP1 after two red flags

Max Verstappen dominated a frenetic twice-suspended first practice session at the Australian Grand Prix that saw several driver in the gravel. Verstappen set the early pace after opening the hour with a set of soft tires and never lost top spot, …

Max Verstappen dominated a frenetic twice-suspended first practice session at the Australian Grand Prix that saw several driver in the gravel.

Verstappen set the early pace after opening the hour with a set of soft tires and never lost top spot, eventually lowering the benchmark to 1m18.790s on worn rubber. It wasn’t completely smooth running for the Dutchman, however, who complained of gearbox problems early in the session before later clambering over the curb at the exit of Turn 4 and spinning across the track, coming perilously close to nosing the barrier. The Red Bull’s tires ruined, he returned to pit lane and ended his session.

The world champion’s scrappy final laps left open the door to Lewis Hamilton to make a late gain on top spot, closing to within a modest 0.433s with his final soft run. The Briton noted that his Mercedes was bouncing again, and partway through the session he suffered a big snap in the middle of the super-fast Turn 9-10 chicane, but he ended the hour unscathed.

Sergio Perez flirted with disaster on his way to third and 0.503s off this teammate, albeit after only one soft-tire run. He skated over grass and collected gravel several times, including at the exit of Turn 3 and later again at the first turn.

Perez wasn’t alone in overrunning the track limits, with several drivers overestimating the amount grip available on the green street track, perhaps spurred on by Verstappen’s dominant time.

Yuki Tsunoda came the closest to depriving his mechanics of a lunch break with a massive lock-up at Turn 1, pitching him into a spin and getting him partially airborne as he hit the gravel. He avoided the wall by mere feet and was able to continue back to pit lane.

Both Haas drivers were frequent visitors to the run-off areas, with Kevin Magnussen collecting more than his fair share of stones and Nico Hulkenberg locking up and trimming the grass.at the penultimate corner after being spooked by a McLaren on the apex.

Undoubtedly stressed engineers were given a breather by a mid-session red flag thrown due to a GPS failure that prevented teams from monitoring drivers on track, which the FIA considered a safety issue.

A second red flag was thrown for Williams driver Logan Sargeant, whose car shut down with four minutes remaining, bringing FP1 to an early end.

Fernando Alonso just squeezed into fourth for Aston Martin before practice was called off, with Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz following 0.588s and 0.715s off the pace respectively.

Lando Norris was hearteningly high for McLaren in seventh and only just behind the red cars. Pierre Gasly followed in eighth ahead of George Russell and Lance Stroll.

Alex Albon was 11th ahead of Australian Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg, Nyck de Vries and the stopped Logan Sargeant.

Esteban Ocon was 16th, with Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo teammates Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Kevin Magnussen completing the bottom four.

 

Penn State makes top four for 2024 quarterback target

Penn State is in the top four for 2024 QB Samaj Jones from Philadelphia

Penn State has turned the corner on the recruiting trail and finds itself in a four-team race down the final stretch of the recruiting process for Class of 2024 quarterback Samaj Jones. Jones, from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, released his top four schools on Thursday night via his Twitter account.

In addition to Penn State, Jones included West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Cincinnati in his top four. Jones is rated as a four-star recruit by On3 and ESPN and three stars by 247Sports and Rivals. He does have a four-star rating on the 247Sports composite ranking, however.

Jones most recently made an unofficial visit to Oklahoma after being extended an offer from the Sooners earlier in the month. Penn State extended an offer to the Philadelphia target in June 2022 and hosted Jones for an unofficial visit in September 2022.

At the moment, there is one crystal ball prediction on the board at 247Sports, and it favors Penn State. The On3 recruiting prediction machine also skews heavily in Penn State’s favor with a 90.1% chance of winning over a verbal commitment from Jones. West Virginia has the second-best shot at a commitment with a 2.6% chance.

Penn State’s quarterback situation is full of youth going into the 2023 season. Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are both in their second season (Allar a sophomore, Pribula a redshirt freshman) going into the next season, with Allar expected to be the team’s top quarterback for the next couple of seasons at the minimum. Penn State also added Jaxon Smolik to the roster in the Class of 2023.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Eagles rank 6th among NFC teams in 2023 draft capital

The Philadelphia Eagles are first among NFC East teams in 2023 NFL draft capital and 6th overall among all 16 NFC teams.

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than a month away, and the Eagles, like 31 other teams across the league, are starting to assess potential blockbuster trades that can maximize the value of a deep pool of prospects.

The details of any trade can be found in the value of the moves, using the NFL’s trade value chart.

What is the ‘trade value chart?

Back when he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and building a dynasty, Jimmy Johnson developed a value chart that assigns every pick in the draft with a specific point value, making it easier for him and front-office types to compare the relative value of draft picks in different rounds.

A system formulated by personnel guru Gil Brandt and the former Cowboys head coach in the 1990s, the chart helps measure the value of draft assets and helps negotiate trades.

Named the “Dallas Draft Picks Value Chart,” executives from around the league swear by Johnson’s grading system for picks and refer to it before making a final decision on trade proposals or offers.

Using the trade value chart from DraftTek, Philadelphia has the 6th best draft capital among NFC teams, and they have the best draft capital in the NFC East despite having the least amount of picks.

Here’s where all 16 NFC teams stand with the draft fast approaching.