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April 16, 2026

Billings stop can swing PBR standings before World Finals

The Billings stop, scheduled April 17-19 at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark, has emerged as a pivotal late-season event that can reshape individual standings and postseason team seeding ahead of the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, May 7-17. With two regular-season stops remaining, the two-day Billings format awards 20 go-round points for a win, 80 event aggregate points for first place and nine ride-score bonus points for rides of 90.00 or higher, meaning a single strong weekend can swing a rider’s standing by more than 100 points. Organizers have reshaped the bull pen and are resting some top bulls ahead of the World Finals, a move that could open opportunities for adaptable riders to climb the standings and improve team seeding.

The individual leaderboard entering Billings underscores the event’s import. John Crimber led the standings by 220.5 points over Sage Steele Kimzey, a seven-time PRCA champion, and an 83.5-point gap separated Kimzey from No. 4 Brady Fielder. Fewer than 200 points separated positions No. 2 through No. 10, a group that includes Leandro Zampollo, Alex Cerqueira, Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, Dalton Kasel, Clay Guiton and Cort McFadden. Zampollo is returning from a groin injury, sits third in points and is still seeking his first event win. Daniel Keeping jumped from No. 32 to No. 20 following Sioux Falls, and Dener Barbosa moved into the Top 40 after last weekend’s results. Several riders are managing recent injuries, including Hudson Bolton with rib and groin issues and Kaiden Loud with an ankle concern. Former champion Cassio Dias has struggled after switching back to his Brazilian rope, experiencing a hand pop loose, a hard hit and a trampling, and is slated to draw the bull Black Eyes. Marco Rizzo returns to Billings with his mother one year after breaking his leg at the same event.

Friday’s card in Billings will include the Monster Energy Team Challenge semifinal between No. 2 Austin Gamblers and No. 3 Kansas City Outlaws, with the head-to-head winners advancing to the Team Challenge Championship and the winner slated to play No. 1 Missouri Thunder in Tacoma for the team title. The Unleash The Beast rounds in Billings will air on Paramount+, while the Monster Energy Team Challenge semifinals will be broadcast on CBS. Individual results from Billings will affect regular-season standings and postseason team seeding ahead of the World Finals, raising the stakes for riders and teams at this late-season stop.
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April 16, 2026

Scripps adds PWR women’s rodeo to ION and Grit

Scripps Sports announced a multi-year exclusive broadcast partnership with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to carry Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) on its national networks ION and Grit. The partnership begins in May and will air the PWR Championship from Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, May 17 at 1 p.m. ET.

The collaboration will expand in 2027 to include an original series, ‘PWR: Road to the Championship,’ on Grit and a commitment to deliver at least 18 hours of PWR programming across 16 broadcasts. Both ION and Grit will culminate their coverage with the 2027 PWR Championship. The deal leverages ION’s national footprint of more than 126 million U.S. households and marks the first time Grit will incorporate select sports and targeted original programming in its 12-year history.

Scripps executives said the partnership advances the company’s strategy to elevate women’s sports and storytelling on linear television. PBR CEO Sean Gleason said the move gives PWR a national platform to reach millions of viewers and signals a broader programming push for both networks.
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April 15, 2026

Camozzi, Rodriguez clash for interim BKFC title in Denver

Chris Camozzi will meet Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez in the main event of BKFC 88 for the interim BKFC World Cruiserweight Championship. The fight is scheduled for Friday night at the National Western Center in Denver and will stream live worldwide on The BKFC App.

Camozzi, a former BKFC World Champion who lost the cruiserweight crown to Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara at BKFC 83 in Italy, said he wants to reclaim a world title before he retires and to continue enjoying the sport. He described Rodriguez as the most aggressive opponent he has faced, calling him wildly chaotic, more of a brawler than a technician and unpredictable. Camozzi said he will rely on cleaner boxing and a tailored game plan to “control the chaos,” framing the matchup as a stylistic clash between disciplined boxing and raw aggression. Camozzi enters the bout with a 4-2-0 BKFC record and is the betting favorite, while Rodriguez is the underdog coming in on a three-fight win streak with one loss across his last six outings.

The undercard features Ramiro Figueroa, favored after four wins in five BKFC appearances, against Elvin Brito. A heavyweight pairing matches Josh Copeland with Corey Willis, two fighters coming off recent defeats. The card also includes the BKFC debut of former UFC and PFL competitor Josh Fremd, who is listed with the shortest odds and serves as a betting focal point for the event.
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April 15, 2026

NLL posts match IDs for Toronto-Ottawa, Rochester-Buffalo

The National Lacrosse League posted Week 20 headlines for Toronto vs. Ottawa and Rochester vs. Buffalo this week but did not include game reports or box scores. Each listing on the league site appeared as a match identifier only, with no date, venue, final score or individual statistics.

The league indicated typical coverage would include game date and time, venue, roster notes or key player updates and standings implications; those elements were not present.

Readers must consult the articles’ full text or the official box scores, when published, to learn results and any impact on standings or playoff positioning.
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April 15, 2026

Ottawa-Halifax decides final NLL playoff spot Saturday

The NLL’s final-week playoff race comes down to interdependent clinching scenarios that will decide the last two playoff berths and which teams host quarterfinal games. Four clubs, Halifax, Ottawa, Las Vegas and San Diego, are battling for those final spots. Ottawa visits Halifax on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET in a winner-takes-all matchup. Las Vegas and San Diego meet twice in Week 21, on Friday at 10:30 PM ET and Saturday at 10:00 PM ET; a sweep by either team would immediately clinch a playoff berth for the sweeper. If Las Vegas and San Diego split the two-game series, Las Vegas would rely on Rochester’s result versus Georgia to advance, and San Diego could advance with at least one Georgia loss. Other combinations of results between Las Vegas and San Diego would make the Saturday rematch decisive for playoff qualification.

Six teams have already clinched playoff berths, and Colorado and Vancouver have locked in quarterfinal home sites. Colorado, Vancouver and Buffalo remain in contention for the top overall seed. Colorado holds the simplest path. A win or certain combinations of rival losses would give it the top seed. Vancouver can clinch the top overall seed with a win plus a Colorado loss. Buffalo needs a win plus several other specific results to claim the top seed. Buffalo, Toronto, Saskatchewan and Georgia each have defined paths to host first-round home games depending on wins and losses elsewhere.

Recent Week 20 results provided context: Buffalo beat Rochester 12-6 to extend a seven-game winning streak; Vancouver edged Halifax 8-7; Colorado defeated Saskatchewan 13-11; San Diego topped Georgia 9-7; and Toronto beat Ottawa 10-6. Earlier this week Philadelphia upset Las Vegas at Xfinity Mobile Arena, selling out the lower bowl and winning 11-5. Lukas Nielsen had seven points; Kyle Jackson had two goals and four assists; Sam LeClair had two goals and three assists. Philadelphia’s Nick Damude and the team combined for a franchise-record 60 saves. An on-ice fight occurred between Eric Fannell and Rhys Blake. The Week 21 StubHub Power Rankings list Buffalo atop the board at 11-6, Vancouver and Colorado at 12-5, Toronto at 11-6, Saskatchewan slipping to fifth after its third straight loss, and lower-ranked San Diego and Halifax still alive in the postseason race.
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April 15, 2026

Lawrence wins; Webb and Roczen shape Cleveland fantasy

RM Fantasy SXperts preview and predict the Cleveland stop of the AMA Supercross Triple Crown ahead of the series’ return to Cleveland. The event is scheduled for Saturday at Huntington Bank Field, the first Supercross staged at the venue in 30 years. Because it is the final Triple Crown race of the season, the format’s effects on scoring and strategy are central to the previews and to fantasy decisions.

The previews use last weekend’s Nashville results as immediate context. Hunter Lawrence won, Cooper Webb finished second and Ken Roczen was third. RM Fantasy SXperts cite those outcomes when shaping their picks and outlook for the Triple Crown finale.

Ohio natives Cade Clason, Logan Karnow and Jeremy Hand are among the competitors, underscoring local interest. Clason and Karnow grew up riding mini bikes and Hand has family roots in the motocross industry. Clason also promoted the race last fall by riding his bike onto the field during a Cleveland Browns game and expects a strong turnout of family and local fans. Riders plan to visit an indoor bike park before and after the race, highlighting community and grassroots ties around the event.
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April 15, 2026

Jacksonville and Tri-State Renew Quarter-Mile Rivalry

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Series will headline a two-day bullring weekend on April 17–18, opening with the Hy-Vee Perks 40 at Jacksonville Speedway on Friday and moving to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana, on Saturday. Both tracks are classic quarter-mile bullrings, and the weekend features Hy-Vee and NOS Energy Drink branding as an early-season short-track highlight for fans and competitors.

Michael ‘Buddy’ Kofoid and Roth Motorsports arrive with a three-race win streak and five straight top-two finishes. The run is Kofoid’s first career three-race winning stretch and Roth’s first such streak in 26 years, and it vaulted Kofoid from sixth to third in the championship standings.

Other storylines include Carson Macedo, who has compiled four combined wins between Jacksonville and Tri-State; Indiana natives Spencer Bayston and Emerson Axsom, with Bayston coming off consecutive top-five finishes; and Canton, Illinois native Chris Windom returning to a home crowd after a strong recent weekend. The Tri-State program could also feature winged entries from USAC regulars such as Brady Bacon and Kyle Cummins. Spectators should expect the close-quarters sprint-car racing typical of quarter-mile dirt ovals. Jacksonville hosted the World of Outlaws’ 2024 Race of the Year, and Tri-State, nicknamed ‘The Class Track’, has staged 45 prior World of Outlaws races, underscoring both venues’ history as classic short-track stops.
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April 15, 2026

Justin Grant returns to CB Industries for USAC Midget title

Justin Grant will return to CB Industries’ No. 87 midget in his bid for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. He opens his second season with CB Industries at the Kokomo Grand Prix at Kokomo Speedway on April 24-25. The team announced its 2026 midget slate as a schedule confirmation and a step in Grant’s chase for the remaining USAC title.

Grant already holds two USAC Silver Crown championships, won in 2020 and 2025, and consecutive AMSOIL National Sprint Car titles in 2022 and 2023. In his 2025 USAC National Midget debut with CB Industries he recorded three wins, at Kokomo, Belleville and the Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and compiled 12 top-five and 17 top-ten finishes in 23 starts. He finished as the USAC National Midget runner-up in 2025, his third runner-up result in four seasons.

A native of Ione, California, Grant suffered a left-foot fracture in July 2025 but reported a clean bill of health as of mid-April and had already picked up two USAC National Sprint Car wins that month. He came close to winning the Chili Bowl Nationals before late trouble ended that bid. Grant and team owner Chad Boat said they aim to build on improved communication in their second year together, and Grant said he feels optimistic about working with Boat to push for race wins and mount a championship challenge.
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April 15, 2026

Marko and Mansell demand urgent fixes to 2026 power rules

Helmut Marko escalated a public row over Formula 1’s 2026 regulations, demanding immediate changes and telling Kleine Zeitung the rules were too complicated and that software and battery systems have an outsized influence on race outcomes. He warned drivers were increasingly at the mercy of batteries and software, described instances where cars overrode driver commands and triggered accidental overtakes, said qualifying had been diluted because cars slowed on straights to harvest energy, described a negative mood among drivers and urged the FIA to reduce the battery’s share of performance and refocus the sport on combustion-engine driving skill.

At Silverstone Nigel Mansell said he “echoes and supports the drivers 100%” and argued the new power unit split and related energy-management rules forced drivers to coast into corners and ease off the throttle to preserve battery life, so the cars were “not actually racing at times.” Mansell called sprint-style competition a “data-entry” exercise, warned the situation risked alienating fans and placed the FIA under “immense pressure” to amend the underlying math, and he urged emergency technical meetings and “more than half-measures” to restore proper on-track racing.

Supporters defended the overhaul’s aims and said execution problems could be fixed. Nico Rosberg told Bloomberg the sport should prioritize racing and technology that matter to society and described the 2026 power unit, roughly a 50:50 split between internal-combustion and electric power with lighter cars, active aerodynamics, new deployment tools and CO2-neutral fuels, as “probably one of the most efficient.” He acknowledged practical execution problems, including battery cutoffs that forced downshifts on straights and produced awkward on-track visuals, but said those issues were secondary if the season produced close intra-team and inter-team battles and singled out Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren as teams that could deliver competitive racing.

Driver reactions were mixed. Max Verstappen called the rules “anti-racing” and warned they could push him to quit. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton said they were positively surprised and that the new cars were easier to follow, and George Russell described the on-track feel as “more like go-kart racing.” Carlos Sainz warned the rules reduced driver control and Pierre Gasly cautioned they harmed qualifying performance. At Suzuka Lando Norris said an unwanted battery deployment through 130R forced him to lift and cost him an overtake on Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg and Franco Colapinto said the racing looked entertaining on television but still needed technical and sporting improvements. Rosberg pointed to 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli leading the championship after three races and to strong fan enthusiasm he observed as signs the new era could produce a compelling sporting narrative.
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