ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen claimed a stylish maiden Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires victory Sunday morning on the streets of St. Petersburg for the Jay Howard Driver Development team.

It was no more than he deserved. After knocking on the door of victory lane in each of the opening three races of the season, last year’s winner of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship overtook polesitter New Zealander Hunter McElrea before driving away into the distance.

McElrea held onto second place until the final lap when he was out-fumbled by the Juncos Racing pair of Manuel Sulaiman and Reece Gold, who rounded out the podium and relegated a disconsolate McElrea to fourth.

McElrea entered the second leg of the Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires on a high after adding his first Cooper Tires Pole Award in qualifying on Friday to the maiden victory he scored on the very same streets in the 2020 season finale. But right from the start it was apparent that he would have a battle on his hands to improve upon his third position from yesterday.

McElrea was forced to defend his pole advantage at the first corner from Rasmussen, who started second, and it was more of the same when the race resumed following a full-course caution due to incidents further down the field on the opening lap.

It took only two laps after the restart for Rasmussen to make his move – a decisive late-braking move to the inside at the end of the longest straight into Turn One. He immediately romped clear, extending his margin to over 4.5 seconds before another brief caution after 17 laps due to Jack William Miller collecting the tire barrier in Turn 10.

Undaunted, Rasmussen rapidly pulled away again at the restart and even had the gall to clinch The Ticket Clinic Fastest Lap Award on the 25th and final lap to cement an accomplished victory. The 13th victory of Rasmussen’s burgeoning Road to Indy career was enough to equal the tally of team owner Jay Howard, tied for 11th on the all-time list. He also secured a first Indy Pro 2000 PFC Award for Howard as the winning car owner.

“I got a good run on Hunter and drafted all the way down the front straight, and he didn’t really defend so I made a last-minute dive bomb to the inside in turn one and got by,” said Rasmussen. “From there, I pretty much checked out, even with the yellow flag. I had an amazing car all weekend and I’m so happy to get my first Indy Pro 2000 win and my first win at St. Pete. It’s been a long time coming. I had so many emotions at the checkered flag but for me, it’s all about the championship, it’s all we’re thinking about. Getting max points today is crucial, especially with all the guys that I’m chasing finishing further down. The win today is amazing but the championship is the most important thing.”

While Rasmussen motored into the distance, there was no respite for McElrea. The Kiwi still had the entire remainder of the field filling his mirrors, led by Gold and Sulaiman, who had found a way past yesterday’s winner Braden Eves following the restart with five laps remaining.

Sulaiman took advantage of McElrea’s resolute defense to sneak past teammate Gold at turn one with three laps to go, then drove around the outside of McElrea at the same corner on the last lap. Three corners later, Gold performed an almost identical maneuver on McElrea to secure the final podium position.

Eves found himself shuffled down to sixth in the closing stages, which meant his championship points lead was whittled down to just four points over Rasmussen.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Some of the big names of the NTT IndyCar Series, combined with burgeoning young talent, zoomed to the top of the timing monitor during Sunday morning’s warmup session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Pole winner Colton Herta’s No. 26 Honda was the fastest at 1:00.6632 around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course.

The two big winners of last year’s major titles were next in the 30-minute session. Takuma Sato, winner of the 105th Indianapolis 500, was second fastest with a lap at 1:00.6768. That was a tick faster than six-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, whose best lap was 1:00.8022.

Team Penske rookie Scott McLaughlin was fourth in the No. 3 Chevrolet at 1:008.8720 followed by last year’s IndyCar Series rookie of the year, Rinus VeeKay’s No. 21 Chevrolet. The young driver from The Netherlands ran a time at 1:00.9414.

Alex Palou, last week’s race winner at Barber Motorsports Park, was sixth at 1:01.0169 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The NBC broadcast begins at 12 noon Eastern Time with the race set to begin at 12:42 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – David Malukas withstood enormous pressure from Saturday’s winner Kyle Kirkwood to claim a memorable victory in Sunday’s thrilling 40-lap Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Andersen Interior Contracting.

The second win of the young season for Malukas was enough to move the rising star from HMD Motorsports into a slender three-point championship lead ahead of Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports stablemate Linus Lundqvist, who finished third. Andretti Autosport’s Kirkwood now lies only another five markers adrift in third.

At stake is a scholarship valued at almost $1.3 million to guarantee entry into a minimum of three NTT IndyCar Series races, including the Indianapolis 500, in 2022.

Just as was the case for last week’s opening event of the season at the Barber Motorsports Park road course in rural Alabama, Malukas started from the inside of the front row of the grid after snagging the Cooper Tires Pole Award with a new lap record in qualifying on Friday.

With Kirkwood starting alongside on the front row, Malukas must have been mindful of the contact from Kirkwood in the opening race of the season which had ended Malukas’ day. But as they accelerated toward the heavy braking area for turn one on the opening lap, the Chicagoan made sure to protect the inside line. Kirkwood tried his hardest to make a pass on the outside of the right-handed corner but Malukas, just 19 years of age, forcefully defended his position. The pair even made light wheel-to-wheel contact on the exit before Kirkwood was obliged to drop back into line. The racing was hard but fair.

Malukas immediately put his head down and pulled out a gap of over two seconds, only for that advantage to be erased by a full-course caution after rookie Christian Bogle deposited his Carlin Dallara-AER IL-15 into the barriers at turn 13.

The battle for the lead was resumed at the restart, until Malukas once more began to assert his authority. A series of fastest laps, including a new lap record, eclipsing the old standard set in 2018 by Colton Herta, enabled Malukas to extend his lead to as much as 3.1 seconds after 22 laps.

But after winning successive Road to Indy scholarships in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship (2018) and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires (2019), Kirkwood wasn’t prepared to settle for second. The deficit to Malukas came down incrementally at first as the pair continued to trade fastest laps, then more substantially after Malukas, pushing right to the limit, grazed the outside retaining wall at the exit of turn 14 with four laps remaining.

Kirkwood continued to push hard, finally establishing a new lap record at 1:14.9562 (99.760 mph), but Malukas wasn’t to be denied, soaking up all the pressure and taking the checkered flag .6829 seconds clear of his rival.

“Those last laps were so intense, but that’s what makes good races,” said Malukas. “I could see Kirkwood behind me and early on, it was a three-second gap so I could cruise a bit. Suddenly, he was within push-to-pass range and all I could see was the Andretti logo again, so I gassed it the best I could. I was everywhere: scraping walls left and right, adjusting the brake bias to the rear. At one point, I was switching the bias under braking because I was locking up the fronts so bad. I was using everything I could, it was so intense. You don’t feel anything while you’re in the thick of it but as soon as I saw the checkers, there was so much relief. We worked so hard and to get the win felt so good. We’re leading the championship but it’s so close and it’s going to be that way all season, the drivers this season are just insane.”

Lundqvist efforts were overshadowed by the two leaders but, on his first visit to St. Petersburg, the Swede made up three positions on the opening lap before executing a bold pass on Italian-Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport) to move into third, where he remained. Lundqvist also took home the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

VALENCIA, Spain – Jake Dennis produced a perfect drive in round six of the Formula E season to take his first series victory Sunday at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

CHICAGO -- The Blackhawks have agreed to a three-year contract extension with defenseman Riley Stillman.

The team announced the deal Sunday. The contract runs through the 2023-24 season and carries an annual cap hit of $1.35 million.

"I want to be here. I wanted to get this done to have an opportunity just to focus on playing and just helping the team,'' Stillman said. "From what I've seen over here the last two weeks, I love the city of Chicago. The organization all the way through is top notch, and I'm really excited to be here. So I wanted to get that done, get it behind me, and just focus on the team."

The 23-year-old Stillman was acquired in a multiplayer trade with Florida on April 8. He has 16 hits and eight blocked shots in six games with Chicago.

"Having a young, physical defenseman like Riley in the fold is exciting for the future of our team," general manager Stan Bowman said in a news release. "He is growing into an excellent all-around defenseman and that continued development is something we look forward to seeing firsthand. We love his size, and his toughness adds another piece to our defense."

Stillman was selected by Florida in the 2016 NHL draft. He appeared in 34 games with the Panthers last season, finishing with five assists. He also skated in three playoff games last year.

Stillman's father, Cory, played in the NHL for 16 years, winning the Stanley Cup twice.

LAS PALMAS, Spain — Garrick Higgo of South Africa shot 7 under and took a two-shot lead into the final round of the Gran Canaria Open on Saturday.

Higgo’s round of 63 was a career best for him on the European Tour. He eagled the par-5 fourth hole and hit six birdies to go with one bogey at the Meloneras Golf Course on Spain’s Canary Islands.

“It was good. An unbelievable start,” Higgo said about going 5 under on his first four holes.

“I putted well, my chipping has been great,” he said. “I’m definitely going to try and be aggressive if I can (tomorrow), but I’m just going to enjoy it. It’s a good spot to be in.”

The 21-year-old Higgo is seeking his second title on the tour after winning the Portugal Open last season.

Matthias Schwab, Matthieu Pavon, and Connor Syme are all two shots back, followed by Sam Horsfield and Jeff Winther at three behind.

Wu Ashun’s round of 61 was the lowest round ever by a Chinese player on the European Tour. He is four shots back with seven other players.

Wu’s 61 matched a course record established on Friday by overnight leader Thorbjørn Olesen, Syme and Horsfield.

LAS PALMAS, Spain – South African Garrick Higgo won the Gran Canaria Open by three shots for his second European Tour victory on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Higgo shot a 7-under 63 for the second consecutive day to hold off a charge by Maximilian Kieffer, who finished second after an 8-under 62 that included seven birdies and an eagle. Kieffer was coming off a loss in the fifth playoff hole at the Austrian Open.

Higgo had five birdies and an eagle at the Meloneras Golf Course in the Canary Islands, ending the tournament at 25 under. His other European Tour win came last season at the Portugal Open.

“It’s unreal,” Higgo said. “I can’t put it into words, it feels amazing. It’s quite a relief finishing now. It wasn’t over until the last hole really, I knew anything could happen, especially with the wind coming up. It was a bit stressful.”

The lefty was playing in his 24th event.

“I am just going to keep going forward,” he said. “I am playing next week, the week after and see where my game goes. It feels good, I have worked really hard with my coach and everyone back at home, so it feels amazing.”

Jeff Winther finished third, four shots back. Sam Horsfield was fourth.

UEFA is "out of order" in demanding fans be present during European Championship games considering COVID-19 infection levels, Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin said on Sunday, days after the country was stripped of four matches for refusing to guarantee attendance.

Four games planned for Dublin were moved on Friday to St. Petersburg and Wembley Stadium in London after the Irish government said it could not fulfil UEFA's demand that it guarantee stadiums be filled to at least 25% capacity. The Spanish city of Bilbao was also stripped of matches.

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"I thought UEFA were out of order, quite frankly, putting that condition on countries," Martin told RTE television in an interview.

"If you look at what's happening all over Europe in terms of the B117 [COVID-19 variant] and in terms of the high incidence in European member state countries, to ... be putting obligations on countries to force spectators in prematurely in my view it was a wrong call," he said. "I never thought it was a realistic proposition."

Euro 2020 runs from June 11 to July 11 having been postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland has one of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in Europe but is opting for a slower reopening of its economy than most of its European peers after the relaxation of measures in December triggered a huge spike in cases.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Barcelona came from behind to beat Villarreal 2-1 in their La Liga clash at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday.

After Real Madrid dropped points against Real Betis, Barca knew they could move level with their Clasico rivals in second place with a game in hand should they pick up all three points. A win would also put pressure on leaders Atletico Madrid who face Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday.

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But Barca were behind after 26 minutes after they committed too many men forward and were caught out when Pau Torres' superb pass was latched onto by Samuel Chukwueze. The Nigeria international rounded goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen before finishing off from a tight angle.

Unai Emery's side were ahead for just two minutes as Griezmann found the back of the net after being picked out by Oscar Mingueza.

The ex-Atletico forward got his second to complete the turnaround on 35 minutes as he latched on to an awful backpass by on-loan Tottenham Hotspur defender Juan Foyth and hit a first-time effort past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.

Villarreal's task was made much harder on 65 minutes as Manu Trigueros was red carded for an over-the-ball foul on Lionel Messi.

Despite being down to 10 men, Villarreal continued to press and Barca were hanging on at the end.

Asked whether Barca, who recently won the Copa del Rey, could end the season with two trophies, manager Ronald Koeman said: "I have never said [the Double] is impossible, but when you are so many points behind the leaders as we were, you have to go game by game.

"Atletico play tonight [Sunday], we will see. We have six games left. We're there. The team is hungry to win another big title. But game by game is going to be the best way to win the league."

Manchester City dominated Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup final but just managed to sneak a 1-0 win to secure their fourth consecutive victory in the competition

With 8,000 fans watching on Aymeric Laporte squeezed a header past Hugo Lloris on 82 minutes to give City the cup.

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City have now tied Liverpool for most men's League Cup titles, with both sides winning eight each.

In a surprise to many, Harry Kane was named in the starting team despite carrying an injury. However, there was little for him to do in the first half as City dominated with Spurs struggling to get a hold of the ball.

Phil Foden had one of the best opportunities to put Pep Guardiola's men ahead on 26 minutes when his shot from eight yards off deflected off Toby Alderweireld and onto the post.

Moments later Raheem Sterling saw his shot fly just wide and the half ended with both sides level.

Spurs started the second half brighter, with Giovani Lo Celso forcing Zack Steffen into a rare but excellent save two minutes in. It was a powerful performance from the United States men's national team player who started ahead of No. 1 pick Ederson.

At other end of the pitch, Lloris was forced into a number of good saves as City continued to hammer his goal, including a powerful shot from Riyad Mahrez on 73 minutes.

However, 10 minutes later Laporte headed past Lloris from Kevin De Bruyne's free kick.

The loss continues Spurs' longest trophy drought since 1951. Their last title was the League Cup in 2007-08.

"It was a tough game. We knew it was going to be tough. We kept dominating, we kept passing the ball and I think we deserved to win today," Mahrez said after the game.

"You are always scared because it is a good team but we are confident in our game. We are very happy. You have to win whether you play good or not -- today I think we played good and won."