The Coke Zero 400 race at Daytona International Speedway ended in a horrifying car crash Sunday night.
As drivers crossed the finish line, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., a massive crash took place. It sent Austin Dillon's car flying through the air, smashing into the catch fence before flipping upside down as other drivers piled up.
Several other cars caught fire and spun out across the track, but amazingly, no drivers were seriously injured.
Here's video of the crash:
The ease with which Dillon's car went into the air is terrifying:
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A fan caught intense video of the crash from the stands nearby:
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Here are more insane images of the crash:
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Dillon's crew rushed over to his car and pulled him out, and he let the crowd know he was OK:
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As Deadspin's Timothy Burke noted, Earnhardt's father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., was killed in a wreck at Daytona 14 years ago, and fans were injured two years ago at Daytona when a car tore through the catch fence in a crash.
According to CNN, 13 spectators were evaluated, eight declined treatment, four were treated on site, and one was taken to the hospital.
The US scored four goals in the first 15 minutes and went on to win the Women's World Cup final 5-2 in one of the great American soccer performances ever.
While the US has long been a superpower in women's soccer, this was the first World Cup title for this generation of US players.
The unbelievable first-half onslaught, as well as the postgame celebration, led to some fantastic photos from Getty, AP, and Reuters photographers.
We've collected our favorite photos from an iconic night below.
Abby Wambach rushes to the stands to embrace her wife after the final whistle.
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Alex Morgan celebrates in the back of the net after Japan's comeback is squashed at 5-2.
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An iconic photo of Japan goalie Ayumi Kaihori watching Carli Lloyd's halfway-line goal hit the back of the net.
On Monday's stage three of the Tour de France a massive crash took down a number of riders and forced three top cyclists to abandon the race — race leader Fabian Cancellara, third-placed Tom Dumoulin, and Simon Gerrans — NBC Sports reported.
William Bonnett, Dmitry Kozontchuk, and Daryl Impey also had to quit the race after crashing. Gerrans was a favorite to win the stage, which finished in Belgium on the steep Mur de Huy.
The crash took place while the peloton was riding at about 26 mph on a slight downhill, the race reported. The peloton had 33 miles to go in the stage at the time of the crash.
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According to AFP: "On a straight road in clear conditions with bright sunshine, FDJ rider William Bonnet clipped the wheel of Warren Barguil in front and went down suddenly, causing a ripple through the peloton that took down scores of riders."
Here's Cancellara, in yellow, going down:
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Update: Cancellara later tweeted that he "broke some bones" and that his Tour was over:
Just left the hospital with a huge disappointment #TDF2015 is over broke some bones on my back again as in spring. #L3/L4right side
In a very rare move, the race organizers stopped the Tour de France, or "neutralized" it.
Veteran cycling commentator and former pro Paul Sherwen said on NBC Sports that he could not remember a time when Tour organizers stopped the race because of a crash.
According to one cycling official, the race organizers reportedly halted the race because there were not enough doctors or ambulances left at that moment to care for the riders.
Due to the extraordinary circumstances of the crash at a very high speed, the race was neutralized to allow the injured riders to be back in the peloton. Twenty five minutes after the crash, a new start was given at the top of the côte de Bohisseau with 50km to go.
One rider, Laurens Ten Dam, seen lying in the middle of the road in the photo below, dislocated his shoulder, had it put back in, and finished the stage, his team said.
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Several riders were left with injuries, broken bikes, ripped jerseys and shorts, and road rash:
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Daniel Oss posted the selfie below, adding, "NO PAIN NO GAIN .. I'm good and looking forward for next stages! Tutto bene."
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Joaquim Rodríguez ended up winning the stage.
Chris Froome, who won the Tour in 2013, finished second and took the race lead.
You can see the crash from a rider's GoPro in the video below starting at the 1:00 mark:
You can watch the scene immediately after the crash in the video below:
The three-week Tour de France is the world's premier bicycle race. It is the largest annual sporting event.
It started July 4 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and finishes July 26 in Paris.
Tiger Woods had another middling performance at a golf tournament over the weekend.
Woods finished tied for 32nd at the Greenbrier Classic against a relatively weak field of competitors.
This tournament started off fairly promising for Woods. He shot a 4-under 66 on Thursday in a round in which he made seven birdies. After that round he chided the skeptics out there, saying, "Even though my scores don't indicate it, my swings don't indicate it, but my feels were telling me that I wasn't that far off."
But his feels failed him Friday and Saturday, as he shot 1-under and 1-over, falling out of contention. On Sunday he shot a solid, bogey-free 3-under 67.
For the pessimists out there, this is just further evidence that Woods is a lost cause. When he had a chance to make a move Friday and Saturday, he just sat there.
For the optimists, this is a sign Woods isn't that far off. Woods is in the midst of a swing change, and typically swing changes take a year or two to take hold. At the start of the year he couldn't even hit a chip shot, and analysts thought he would never be able to compete again. Now he's in tournaments, playing decently.
For the optimists, here's some more evidence that Woods isn't that far off. It's a side-by-side video from CBS of Woods swinging his driver on the range and on the course. On the course, his swing is significantly faster than it is on the range. That's leading to bad drives. Woods just has to slow things down on the course, and he might be OK.
One hundred and fifty meters before finishing in first place in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at a Diamond League meeting in France, American runner Evan Jager suffered the worst collapse of his career.
According to Cathal Dennehy of Runners World, Jager was blowing away a group of Kenyan runners, on pace to crush a personal record and American record, when he tripped on the final hurdle and was passed by world leader Jairus Birech.
Though Jager finished at 8:00.45, still four seconds better than his previous American record of 8:04.71, he couldn't crack the eight-minute mark, and the second-place finish was heartbreaking to watch.
On the final leg, Jager was clearly fatigued, but seemed to be pulling ahead of Birech. He landed awkwardly and stumbled, and the race was over:
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A great photo of the fateful moment:
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After the race, the other runners congratulated and seemingly consoled Jager, who had them beat:
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Bierch said afterward, "I feel sorry for the American guy. He was stronger than me. I was beaten."
Jager explained the fall, saying:
"I don’t know if I was running too fast or was too tired. I gave it everything I had to get over the barrier, but my toe just barely clipped it. I couldn’t stop myself from falling. I just tried to get up as fast as I could."
Here's the full video of the final leg of the race:
Contract negotiations between the Cleveland Cavaliers and free agent LeBron James haven't begun, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
While everyone considers LeBron re-signing with the Cavs a mere formality, negotiations are on hold for now.
Windhorst reports that LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, has "made it known" that no talks will take place until free agent Tristan Thompson gets a new deal. Paul represents both Thompson and the four-time NBA MVP.
ESPN originally reported that Thompson and the Cavs had "essentially come to terms" on a five-year, $80 million contract on the first day of free agency. However, talks have reportedly broken down since then. Windhorst reports that the two sides are now no longer currently talking, and, until they do so, neither is LeBron.
"LeBron has made it clear, 'Look we're not going to talk until Tristan Thompson is done.' Here's the problem, Cavs talks with Tristan Thompson have stalled," Windhorst said. "They're going to have to figure something out with Tristan Thompson before LeBron James. That's leverage. And Tristan Thompson, his agent Rich Paul, and LeBron James are playing that game right now."
If the Cavs do eventually come to terms with both Thompson and LeBron, it will force owner Dan Gilbert to pay one of the largest luxury tax bills in NBA history. The Cavs have already dished out $150 million to retain both power forward Kevin Love and shooting guard Iman Shumpert. If Thompson re-signs for $80 million, and LeBron signs another one-year contract in the $22 million range, the Cavs payroll will likely exceed $100 million for the upcoming season – resulting in a massive luxury tax payment.
And that's only for retaining their own players. That bill may increase even more as the Cavs are reportedly trying to trade for seven-time All Star Joe Johnson. The 34-year-old Johnson is set to make nearly $25 million for the upcoming season.
Twenty-year-old Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios was knocked out of Wimbledon in the fourth round Monday when he seemingly melted down the middle of the match against Richard Gasquet.
Early in the second set, Kyrgios was serving down 1-0 when he was given a code violation by umpire James Keothavong for cursing. Kyrgios was up 40-30 in the game, but went on the lose it with a double fault on game point.
After he lost the game he gave a mocking thumbs up to the umpire, and preceded to tank the next game in a fit of rage. He legitimately didn't even try.
"Now what is that about? In tennis terms, that is tanking," the BBC commentator said.
At 0-0 he didn't try to return Gasquet's serve:
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At 15-0 he just tapped it into the net:
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At 30-0 he walked to the other side of the court:
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At game point he just hit it into the net and look a seat:
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Later, in between games, Kyrgios and Keothavong got into an argument when Kyrgios took too long changing his socks. According to BBC's Chris Bevan, Kyrgios shouted:
"I've taken one pair off. I've got two on and I'm taking one pair off. I'm staying on the court. If you're going to get angry with me for that, that's another level. Mate, Rafa (Rafael Nadal) and stuff play 30 seconds in between points every time and all I'm doing is putting my sock back on."
Amazingly, Kyrgios actually recovered after this. In the third set he perked up, and even hugged a ball boy:
After scoring a hat trick in 15 minutes to lead the US to a 5-2 win over Japan in the Women's World Cup final, midfielder Carli Lloyd was suddenly one of the most popular athletes in America.
How popular? In a video on the team's Twitter account, Lloyd said she had 372 unread text messages by the time she was finally able to get ahold of her phone after the game. Lloyd described the moment as "surreal."
"This will remain w/ us for the rest of our lives." It'll take @CarliLloyd that long to read her unopened texts...https://t.co/ZeSOmQBP1z
Rapoport also noted that Pierre-Paul, who'd been holding out for more money, was going to decline the offer anyway, and play on the franchise tag, worth about $14.8 million.
Though Pierre-Paul was going to turn down the offer, this could affect him in the long-run. As FanSided's Matt Verderame notes, Pierre-Paul wanted big money after seeing players like J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh get over $100 million the last two seasons. Pierre-Paul, however, has not been as consistent as Watt or Suh, and now has even further injury concerns.
Spotrac recently estimated Pierre-Paul's worth around $69 million — still well short of that $100 million figure:
Our recent valuation for Jason Pierre-Paul saw a new deal w/ the #Giants worth 5yrs/$69M ($29.2M g’teed). Likely not an option now.
With Pierre-Paul likely to play on the franchise tag now, he's forced into a one-year bet on himself. Not only has he lost long-term security, he now has to prove that there aren't any lingering injury concerns and outplay that $60 million offer.
If he doesn't have a great season, he could regret turning down $60 million.
David Beckham isn't the only one who knows how to bend a ball.
Soccer star Carli Lloyd showed off her ball control skills yesterday in the US women's team's world cup victory against Japan.
In the first 16 minutes of the game, Lloyd scored three of the US team's five goals. That included an amazing shot she volleyed into the net from midfield. The secret to her mad curveball skills comes down to simple physics.
Here's a clip of Lloyd's stunning midfield goal, complete with the spectator's stunned reaction:
As "Physics Girl" Dianna Cowern explains in a YouTube video on the physics of soccer, kicking a soccer ball on one of its sides is what gives it spin.
As the ball spins, it drags a thin layer of air around it. Air flowing in the same direction the ball is spinning gets deflected around it:
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Meanwhile, air flowing opposite the ball's spin slows down but keeps moving straight:
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This creates a net airflow in one direction, so the ball moves in the opposite direction:
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It comes down to Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In other words, two objects pushing against each other will feel equal and opposite forces — just as a rocket expelling gas downward is pushed upward. Since the air slows down on one side of the ball, it causes air pressure to build up on that side, which pushes the ball in the other direction. This is known as the Magnus Effect.
Soccer players make use of this phenomenon all the time. As many probably know, kicking the ball with the inside of the right foot makes it curve to the left, while kicking the with the outside of the right foot makes it curve to the right. And kicking the bottom of the ball with the top of the foot creates backspin, which makes it curve upwards — as Lloyd did with her epic midfield goal.
So there you have it: Physics helped the US women's team win the world cup. That, plus a little skill and hard work!
San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner has an odd explanation for the elbow injury that hurt his stats in the 2014-15 season.
Bonner played 71 games last year, his most in six seasons, but his overall field goal percentage fell to a career-low 40.9% and his three-point percentage fell to 36.5% compared to his career average of 41.4%.
"You’re about to get an exclusive here. I hate to make excuses, I was raised to never make excuses, but I went through a two-and-a-half month stretch where I had really bad tennis elbow, and during that stretch it made it so painful for me to shoot I’d almost be cringing before I even caught the ball like, 'Oh, this is going to kill.'"
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"Everybody is going to find this hilarious, but here’s my theory on how I got it. When the new iPhone came out it was way bigger than the last one, and I think because I got that new phone it was a strain to use it, you have to stretch further to hit the buttons, and I honestly think that’s how I ended up developing it."
For some people, the larger iPhone 6 screen is frustrating, but Bonner is six-foot-ten and would presumably have big enough hands to operate the phone.
Bonner, however, doesn't seem too worried about it, saying, "I really don’t want to say that’s why my percentage dipped, but I’m not too worried about it. I know I can still shoot."
Bonner is a free agent this summer and said he's hoping to re-sign with the Spurs.
The Mercedes-AMG Formula One team's Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominated the 2015 British Grand Prix — finishing first and second place, respectively. And as a team, they're enjoying the most dominant season in more than 60 years.
Nearing the half-way point of the season, Mercedes-AMG has seen both of its drivers finish in the top three in all nine races that have been run. According to AFP, the last team to achieve this feat was Ferrari, in 1953.
As a result, Mercedes-AMG has all but wrapped up this year's constructor's championship. In addition, its drivers are in line to finish first and second in the driver's for a second successive season.
The team has been absolutely unstoppable since the beginning of the 2014 season — including last season, Mercedes-AMG has won 24 of 28 races.
Here's what happened at last weekend's British Grand Prix.
The Silverstone Circuit has been home to the British Grand Prix since the inception of Formula One in 1950.
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As expected, celebrities turned up to take in the race. Here, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas is seen having chat with 3-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.
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Former Spice Girls Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton brought their children to the race.
Dr. Levi Harrison will be serving as the Medical Director of Healthy Athletes at the 2015 Special Olympics. Here he provides helpful gliding exercises for preventing carpal tunnel syndrome.
The latest big-name company to cut off ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ESPN.
The network announced on Monday that it was moving its July 14 Celebrity Golf Classic from Trump's National Golf Club. The shift comes after Trump's comments at his presidential launch speech, in which he labeled some Mexican immigrants "rapists" and drug-runners.
Proceeds from the Celebrity Golf Classic are donated to the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund, which provides medical research funds for minority populations. In its statement, ESPN suggested it wouldn't be appropriate to keep the tournament at Trump's course.
"Our decision reflects our deep feelings for our former colleague and support for inclusion of all sports fans," the network said of Scott, who died in January after a long battle with cancer. "Diversity and inclusion are core values at ESPN and our decision also supports that commitment."
Last month, the Republican presidential candidate ignited a firestorm of criticism after broadly accusing Mexican immigrants of rape and criminal activity.
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," Trump said according to a transcript. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
ESPN is the latest in a growing list of companies to cut ties with Trump following his comments. NBC, Univision, NASCAR, and even Serta mattresses have condemned the real-estate mogul's comments.
"This isn't good for my brand; I think it's bad for my brand," Trump told Fox News. "Maybe I'm leading in polls, but this is certainly not good. I lose customers; I lose people."
"My bottom line is very large," Trump said on Monday. "So, it doesn't have much effect on me, but it's certainly not easy for someone to run for president."
On Monday the Tallahassee Democrat posted surveillance video of the alleged incident that was released by the State Attorney's office. The Democrat says the video shows Johnson, 19, punching a woman in the head after an apparent scuffle at the bar.
Johnson is allegedly in the white hat (full video below):
The incident occurred while the woman was waiting in line for a drink at Yianni's nightclub and felt Johnson push past her aggressively, court records say.
When she addressed him at the bar, she raised her arm to defend herself, and he grabbed her arm and began pushing her. She raised her knee into his midsection to push him away and attempted to punch him, court records say, before Johnson punched her on the left side of her face.
The woman suffered bruising near her left eye, swelling of the left cheek and upper lip, and a small cut near the bridge of her nose, according to court records.
In addition to signing LaMarcus Aldridge and bringing back Kawhi Leonard, Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green, the Spurs have now signed NBA veteran David West, according to widespread reports.
West, amazingly, opted out of a $12 million option with the Indiana Pacers to join a contender, and will sign with the Spurs for the veteran's minimum, worth about $1.5 million this season.
This is the magic of the Spurs, even if it's happening nearly at the end of Duncan's career. For years they've gotten their big three of Duncan, Ginobili, and Tony Parker to take paycuts to stay together. Now, when that big three is no longer good enough to carry the Spurs by itself, the Spurs get stars like Aldridge to take paycuts and sign solid role players like Green and West to discount contracts.
Although West, at 35 years old, had seen a drop-off in his game over the last two seasons, he'll have a smaller role with the Spurs, and should fit well. He's a tough defender, a solid rebounder, and though he's lost a step on offense, can still kick down midrange jumpers and make smart passes.
West also helps bolster the Spurs frontcourt after they traded center Tiago Splitter to make room for Aldridge and lost backup big man Aron Baynes in free agency.
San Antonio, of course, will have to adjust to big new pieces like Aldridge and West, but on paper, the Spurs have to be considered early favorites to win the West with a revamped roster.
Seattle Mariners' second baseman Robinson Cano is mired in the worst slump of his career this season.
In his second year of a 10-year, $240 million contract with Seattle, Cano is hitting career-lows with a batting average of .248, an on-base percentage of .289, and an OPS of .652 with just five home runs.
Despite a solid 2014, Cano's numbers took a steep dive in September when his batting average and OBP fell to .143 and .250, respectively. He hasn't recovered since.
Cano felt stomach discomfort through the final two months of the 2014 season, but didn't get it checked until after the season was over. Doctors found he had a stomach parasite, which was curable with antibiotics. However, Cano says he was left with acid reflux disease, which still gives him trouble.
"It still affects me. Sometimes you drink water and it makes you feel like vomiting. I can't eat the same way I did. It's hard to deal with, especially being the first time this has happened to me. Sometimes I eat only once a day before playing, because I feel full. And you just don't have the same energy..."
"Sometimes I play without any strength or energy, but you have to play, give the best of yourself. Some people may say, 'Cano, he's listless.' But (the energy) is not the same.''
As Ortiz notes, acid reflux affects the body's digestion process and allows gastric acid into the esophagus, creating heartburn and feelings of being bloated.
Cano has changed his diet, but his overall physical performance certainly seems impacted.
Cano has clearly been affected in other ways, however. As Ortiz notes, his strikeout rate has increased while his walk rate has decreased. Grantland's Jonah Keri writes that Cano's first-swing strike rate is his highest in six years, he has more swinging strikes than ever before, and a second-worst in-zone strikeout rate are all discouraging signs.
The Mariners obviously could never have seen this type of slump coming, and if it's mostly tied to Cano's stomach issues, then hopefully he can get medical help. If not, the Mariners are set to pay a shadow of Cano's former self $24 million per season for the next eight years.
There was a rain delay at the World Series of Poker.
The World Series of Poker's Main Event — No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em — is currently taking place at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, and heavy rain in the area has caused a leak in the corner of one room being used for the event, pausing play briefly on Monday night.
With the heavy storm outside, water has leaked into a corner of the Brasilia Ballroom where playing tables were located. As a result, 23 tables are being relocated after dinner to the Amazon Room.
If you're seated in Brasilia at tables 1-19, 24, 31, 38, or 39, your table will be in Amazon after dinner. These rerouted tables are located near the center of the room where the orange and purple sections meet on the left hand side of room once you enter.
All other tables are unaffected and players should return to the seat they were in immediately preceding the dinner break.
Play will resume at the end of the dinner break as scheduled (approximately 8:18 p.m.).
And so as of the writing of this post, things were just about getting back underway.
Twenty-year-old Australian player Nick Kyrgios became the talk of the tennis world on Monday for his antics during a fourth-round loss to Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon.
In addition to getting in an argument with the chair umpire because he wanted to change his socks, Kyrgios stopped trying and tanked an entire game after receiving a warning for cursing early in the second set.
He simply let Gasquet's serves go by for aces, or tapped his returns into the net like this:
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The fans booed, the commentators scolded him, and after the match he had a contemptuous news conference with media members who wanted him to answer for his bit of tanking.
But not all of the tennis world is bent out of shape about this. Many people feel that strategic tanking can be a useful tactic at times.
One of the most eloquent defenses of Kyrgios came from Roger Federer, who was surprisingly candid about the controversy on Monday in a post-match news conference. Federer compared what Kyrgios did to a boxer dropping his hands for a few seconds to regain his composure, and he said it was understandable for a young player to get frustrated and take off a game to regroup.
When asked whether Kyrgios disrespected the paying fans by throwing a game, Federer said a game "is like 55 seconds."
"So one game to me is part of tactics, as well, sometimes to throw the other guy off," he said. "Maybe yourself, you can be frustrated and just not feel like it for a couple of points."
REPORTER: There was a moment on Court 2 today when Kyrgios appeared to tank a game, not try.
FEDERER: One game?
REPORTER: One game, yeah. Can you understand someone getting frustrated and doing that or do you find that disrespectful?
FEDERER: Towards whom?
REPORTER: Toward the crowd who paid good money to watch you.
FEDERER: A game is like 55 seconds. Again, did he really do it or not? A game where a guy serves well, is that tanking, too? It's like sometimes it's like a boxer when he puts his hands down, is that tanking? Then he swings freely again. I think we shouldn't dig too deep into those kinds of things. If you told me he did an entire set, plus more, plus this, I'd say, 'OK, it's a bit much probably.'
But I just watched the end of the third and the end of the fourth. He was fighting then. He was really wanting to win and he should have been in the fifth at the end. So in my opinion, it was a great match and it was close. The fans got their money's worth, in my opinion. It was a close match last year. He saved nine match points against Richard. Today two.
So one game to me is part of tactics, as well, sometimes to throw the other guy off. Maybe yourself, you can be frustrated and just not feel like it for a couple of points. Especially a younger guy, it's going to happen more often than one of the top guys that have been around, that just like say, 'OK, point mentality, we'll do it again and again and again and again. For younger guys, it's a little bit boring at times, which I understand.
While it was pretty absurd to watch Kyrgios just stand there and let Gasquet's serves fly by him, he did recover after that point, winning the third set and pushing Gasquet in the fourth before ultimately losing.
In his own news conference, Kyrgios said he didn't stop trying and challenged a media member to get a racquet and return Gasquet's serves himself if it's so easy.
