Sports
F1 Grand Prix race results: Verstappen wins Dutch GP
Verstappen led from pole, ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. They all started on soft tyres, whereas Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell opted for mediums from the start – which allowed them to target a one-stop strategy after switching to hards.
That strategy was ruined by an odd-looking scenario with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda stopping on track twice, which gave Verstappen the advantage after a virtual safety car, but the pendulum swung back when Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo stopped too, bringing out a full safety car.
Hamilton retook the lead, but was at a tyre disadvantage to those behind, so Verstappen passed him right away at the restart. Hamilton eventually dropped to fourth, behind Russell and Leclerc, and raged over the radio about his tyre strategy.
2022 Dutch Grand Prix race results & how the Dutch Grand Prix unfolded
Verstappen held his pole advantage on the run to Turn 1, leading Leclerc and Sainz, the latter just escaping a touch from Hamilton at Turn 1.
Under pressure from Alex Albon’s Williams, Kevin Magnussen suffered an off on Lap 2 that sent his Haas to the back after he brushed the wall. Russell’s Mercedes DRS-ed past the fast-starting McLaren of Lando Norris for sixth on Lap 3.
Sainz was the first of the frontrunners to pit on Lap 15 but suffered a disastrous 12.7s stop as the left-rear wheel wasn’t ready, allowing Perez ahead – although he had to run over Sainz’s spare wheelgun to exit his pit. Sainz fell to sixth as a result.
Leclerc, who lost 5s to Verstappen, pitted on Lap 18. Verstappen pitted a lap later, and this released the Mercedes, who both started on mediums as opposed to the soft-tyred starters in front of them.
On fresher tyres, Verstappen passed Russell for second at Tarzan on Lap 28, and chased after Hamilton, who was 2.6s up the road. Hamilton pitted for hard tyres a lap later, rejoining in fifth, with Russell following suit a couple of laps later.
Hamilton attacked Perez for third on Lap 36 and, after a couple of near misses around the lap, passed him a lap later at Tarzan but was further three-second delay by a rejoining Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) – and was now over a pitstop behind Verstappen as a result. Russell passed Perez with ease two laps later.
Verstappen wasn’t happy on the medium tyre, however, and Hamilton began to catch him as well as second placed Leclerc. Perez was called in for hard tyres at this point, to help with aid Verstappen’s next tyre choice – and immediately set fastest lap. Leclerc pitted on Lap 46 for hards.
Yuki Tsunoda pulled off at Turn 5, claiming his tyres weren’t fitted properly, but rejoined without causing a safety car. After another pitstop, he parked up again causing a virtual safety car – which killed Mercedes’ planned one-stop strategy, and stranded the recently-stopped Ferraris on hard tyres while Norris and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) switched to softs behind them.
Verstappen pitted for fresh hard tyres, as did Hamilton and Russell for new mediums. The race restarted with Verstappen leading by 13s over Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc.
Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo stopped before Turn 1, just as Sainz passed Ocon for sixth under yellows. Verstappen pitted for softs, allowing Hamilton to take the lead ahead of Russell.
Under the safety car, Russell stopped again for softs, as did Sainz who almost hit Alonso as he rejoined the fast lane.
The race restarted with Hamilton, on used mediums, leading the soft-shod Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc. Perez was fifth on mediums, ahead of Sainz, Alonso, Norris and Ocon.
Verstappen passed Hamilton for the lead going into Tarzan with 11 laps to go, with Sainz passing Perez in similar fashion for fifth.
Russell passed an angry Hamilton for second on Lap 64, the two almost colliding at high speed on the start/finish straight. Leclerc also swooped past Hamilton to push him off the podium.
- Mercedes explains F1 strategy decision that left Hamilton furious in Dutch GP
- Hamilton apologises to Mercedes for F1 radio outburst in Dutch GP
Sainz came under pressure from Perez for fifth but was also given a 5s time penalty for an unsafe release, Perez running wide across the gravel at Tarzan with a couple of laps to go.
Verstappen stroked home to win, ahead of Russell and Leclerc. Hamilton hung on to finish fourth, with Sainz losing fifth due to his penalty, which dropped him to eighth behind Perez, Alonso and Norris.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.
“As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA’s performance,” Hirshland said. “In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.
Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.
The average high in Paris on Aug. 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also be equipped with fans.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.
According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.
The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.
“It’s a high-performance environment,” Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to The Post.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.
The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
Matthew Tkachuk’s goal came at the 19:47 mark of the fourth OT to end this one, which marked the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history and the longest game in franchise history for each team.
The longest game in NHL history came on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime on Mud Bruneteau’s goal at 116 minutes, 30 seconds of extra play.
Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.
The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.
But this game ended roughly six hours after Thursday night’s puck drop, and the teams have a Game 2 in less than 48 hours.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
