Three-time Indianapolis 500 starter and one of the top dirt track racers in the country, Bryan Clauson, has been airlifted to a local hospitalfollowing a heavy accident in a midget race Saturday night in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Belleville Nationals.
Per NBCSN contributor Robin Miller, and per a video of the crash, the 27-year-old Clauson barrel rolled along the turns 3 and 4 wall at the track and then was hit by another competitor. Millers initial post for RACER.com is linked here.
Clausons team, Byrd Racing, who is supporting his attempt at running 200 races this year called the Chasing 200 Tour posted this message which simply stated Not good on Twitter.
A social roundup of the NASCAR community expressing their concerns and best wishes for Clauson is linked here, via NASCAR TALK.
In his third Indianapolis 500 this year, Clauson drove the No. 88 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Honda for Dale Coyne/Jonathan Byrds Racing, led three laps, started 28th and finished 23rd.
Laurie Hernandez dazzles during balance beam qualification
The USA women"s gymnastics team reacts to being selected to compete in the Rio Olympics.
Coach Maggie Haney got former U.S. Olympian Shawn Johnson in touch with current Olympian Laurie Hernandez.(Photo: Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports)
Shawn Johnson couldnt stop smiling when the U.S. Olympic team was introduced, her grin growing brighter and brighter as the gymnasts were showered with confetti and applause.
As proud as she was to hear her name called eight years ago, it was just as rewarding to see Laurie Hernandez make the Rio team. The up-and-comer and the four-time Olympic medalist have become text and phone buddies these last few months, with Johnson acting as a sounding board whenever the 16-year-old needs it.
Youre yourselfs harshest critic. Being able to see someone elses dream come true and know youve seen them grow, its cool, said Johnson, whose medals at the Beijing Games included a gold on balance beam.
The months leading up to the Olympics might be more nerve-racking for the U.S. women than the Games themselves, what with national team coordinator Martha Karolyi watching their every move and shuffling the lineups in her head accordingly. Even veterans whove been through the process before the world championships get stressed, let alone a first-year senior.
Add to that a knee injury that limited Hernandezs training for six weeks, and its no surprise last years U.S. junior champ was having a rough time in the spring.
Looking for ways to reassure Hernandez and bolster her confidence, longtime coach Maggie Haney made contact with Johnson, one of Hernandezs idols since her early days as a gymnast.
Asked if shed be willing to talk with Hernandez, Johnson didnt hesitate. She might not have known Hernandez then, but she knew how the teenager was feeling.
Absolutely. Ill do it. In two seconds, said Johnson, who also was 16 when she competed in the Olympics. Ive been there, been through it.
Shawn Johnson was in a very similar situation to Laurie Hernandez when she headed to the Beijing Games in 2008.(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports)
Soon after, at the end of a practice, Haney casually told Hernandez to expect a call that night.
I was like, OK, who? Hernandez said. She was like, Youll really like who it is. I was like, OK, who? She was like, Do you want me to tell you?" I was like, Yeah! Tell me.
Once she said it was Shawn, I was high-key freaking out, like, Hernandez paused, sucking in her breath as if she were hyperventilating. Definitely fan-girled over that.
They talked about anything and everything, with Johnson assuring Hernandez that whatever she said would stay between them.
Hernandez isnt lacking for a support system. Shes the youngest of three in a close-knit family, and Haney is a de facto member of that family after coaching her for a decade.
Shes tight with Rio teammates Simone Biles and Aly Raisman. She trains alongside Jazmyn Foberg, the 2014 junior champ who was taken out of the mix for Rio this summer because of an injury.
But sometimes you need someone with no stake in the game. Someone who understands but isnt involved.
Thats where Johnson comes in.
I wanted to be someone she could just vent to, Johnson said. Its hard to tell your family that youre frustrated or you want to quit or you want to eat ice cream or you just want to sleep and miss practice or you dont like your coach. There are so many things. And you cant tell your coach that or Martha. Nobody.
The two communicate mostly by text, though Johnson was in St. Louis for the national championships and in San Jose for the Olympic trials.
After finishing third in nationals, Hernandez was second to three-time world champion Biles in the trials. That kind of steady performance might earn her a spot on all four events during Sundays prelims, which would give her a chance to qualify for the all-around final.
She has incredible potential, Johnson said. I think weve seen her (at nationals and trials) go from being unsure of her position to genuinely owning the floor. I just love the confidence you can see.
When Hernandez hears that kind of praise from someone who was her idol, its her turn to smile.
Being a little girl, looking up to her, and now were kind of like, friends, Hernandez said. Thats crazy.
First an idol, then a friend. And now a fellow Olympian.
LIVE: RIO 2016 Olympics opening ceremony! Live Stream FIREWORKS!
Kevin Durant
United States" Kevin Durant, center, celebrates with teammates following their win over China in a men"s basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. (Eric Gay/AP)
What:United States men"s basketball vs.Venezuela
When:3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET, Monday, Aug.8
Where:Barra Carioca Arena 1,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TV:NBC Sports
How to watch online:Live stream available atNBCOlympics.comand ontheNBCSports app.
The United States continuesits quest for a third straight Olympic gold medal Mondayagainst Venezuela.
Team USA has now won64 straight gamesaftercrushing China 119-62 on Saturdaybehind a game-high 25 points from Kevin Durant.
The Americans previously beat Venezuela 80-45 during theirexhibition tour in July.
Archaeologists have discovered an enormous and strange Mayan tomb in Belize, leading to both further puzzles and, perhaps, insight into the 1,300-year-old Snake Dynasty and its conquests.
The royal burial chamber was found approximately 16 to 26 feet below ground, and contained the remains of a 20- to 30-year-old male. Although work is still being done to understand the man"s identity and cause of death, analysis so far indicates he was athletic and "quite muscular" when he died.
The body was discovered among jaguar and deer bones, jade beads, obsidian blades, and ceramic vessels. What is particularly odd, though, is the fact that the temple "was purposely erected for the primary purpose of enclosing the tomb," archaeologist Jamie Awe told The Guardian. "Except for a very few rare cases, this is not very typical in ancient Maya architecture."
The burial chamber is also one of the largest ever found in Mayan ruins, stretching approximately 15 feet by 8 feet. But perhaps even more exciting than the tomb is the discovery of hieroglyphic panels describing the history of the Snake Dynasty. The panels appear to detail Lord Kan II"s conquests as well as the death of his mother; they also refer to a previously unknown ruler.
"This means that there were two contenders to the throne, both carrying the same dynastic title, which appears to have been read Kanu"l Ajaw, "king of the place where snakes abound,"" said the team"s epigrapher, Christophe Helmke. Learn more about what the panels say about this "tumultuous phase of the snake-head dynasty" at The Guardian. Jeva Lange
On Monday, Japan"s Emperor Akihito made his second-ever televised address, gently nudging Japan"s parliament to act so he can step down and pass the Chrysanthemum throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56. Akihito, 82 and in poor health, has been emperor since his father, Emperor Hirohito, died in 1989. "I am concerned that it will become more and more difficult for me to fulfill my duties as a symbolic emperor," Akihito said in his prerecorded, 10-minute message. He had to approach abdication indirectly, because Japan"s post-World War II constitution doesn"t allow the emperor to engage in politics. The Japanese public supports the emperor"s wish to retire, but the conservative government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isn"t enthusiastic. "We must think carefully about what can be done," Abe said Monday.
Oksana Chusovitina documentary (with English Subtitles)
Oksana Chusovitina, a gymnast from Uzbekistan, has competed in each of the past seven Olympics. At 41, the Rio Olympian stands in stark contrast to her competition the youngest of whomis two months younger than Chusovitina"s 17-year-old son. In a sport that prizes youth (U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman is called "Grandma Aly" at age 22), Chusovitina is a standout who shows no signs of stopping.
"I am feeling good," she recently told the Associated Press. "On the podium, everyone is the same whether you are 40 or 16. You have to go out and do your routine and your jumps."
Oksana Chusovitina on the balance beam at the 2016 Rio OlympicsSource:Dmitri Lovetsky/AP
Chusovitina"s first Olympics were the 1992 Barcelona Games. At the time, she was 17 an age better aligned with thoseof her fellow gymnasts in Rio. According to the Telegraph, one of her teammates from Barcelona is now her assistant coach. Chusovitina has competed in every Summer Olympics since 1992, but due to a complicated personal history, she"s done so under two different flags.
In 1997, Chusovitina married Olympic wrestlerBakhodir Kurbanov, also from Uzbekistan; the pair had a son, Alisher, in 1999. Alisher"s 2002 leukemia diagnosis prompted the family"s move to Cologne, Germany, where Alisher received treatment. His mother, after gaining German citizenship, began training with the national team.
Oksana Chusovitina competing in the qualifying rounds for the 2016 Rio Olympics, on the balance beam.Source:Julio Cortez/AP
In 2008, she competed in the Beijing Olympics for Germany, taking home the silver medal for vault. Chusovitina announced her retirement at the 2012 games, but ultimately, she didn"t follow through: She"s once again competing for team Uzbekistan.
Oksana Chusovitina after winning the silver medal for vault at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Source:Amy Sancetta/AP
While many eyes are watching 19-year-old favorite Simone Bilesand the slightly older Raisman, viewers can count on Chusovitina to show up and, consistently, kill it. Her age, as retired 24-year-old Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson told ESPN, is irrelevant.
"No one even knows how old she is anymore because it seems like she"s been to the last gazillion Olympics," Johnson said. "She"s incredible. She is a legend."
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Ellie Downie recovered from hurting her neck in a bad fall to help Team GB reach the women"s team gymnastics final at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The 17-year old from Nottingham was completing a somersault on the floor when she landed awkwardly.
There was an audible gasp in the arena when Downie"s tumbling run on the floor exercise ended with her clutching her neck after she suffered what she called "a crunch in my neck."
Despite being helped out of the arena to get medical attention, the 17-year-old was back in action 15 minutes later and executed two soaring vaults to provisionally leave Britain fourth in qualifying.
"It was very scary and a shock to the system. Ellie"s a fighter for coming back," summed up elder sister Becky, who earned the team"s highest score of 15.233 on the asymmetric bars.
Britain finished with a total of 174.064 placing fourthbehind USA, China and Russia.
