MotoGP
MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez Breaks Arm in Horrifying Crash
Motorcycle racing is terrifying
Imagine zipping around a racetrack at speeds of up to 220 mph with nothing but a leather suit and some thin padding between you and the pavement. MotoGP racing is like NASCAR without the car. There are safety measures in place to protect riders (like an electronically activated airbag system inside the racing suit) but the sport is still incredibly dangerous, even for the best in the world.
Marc Marquez, who has won six of the past seven MotoGP championships, likely won’t be adding to his trophy case after breaking his arm in a scary crash this weekend in the first race of the season.
Before the crash, Marquez ran an incredible race. Just four laps in, Marquez was leading when he lost control and skittered off into the gravel pit, but somehow managed to stay upright and get back on the track.
Though the stumble dropped him back to 16th place, he had fought his way back to second just before the crash. With four laps remaining, Marquez lost control of his bike and went hurtling through the air at a tremendous rate of speed. When he hit the ground, the front tire of his motorcycle collided with his right arm, completely breaking his humerus bone.
He’ll have surgery in Barcelona on Tuesday to correct the injury.
It’s a miracle (and a testament to how talented a rider he is) that Marquez wasn’t injured more seriously in the crash. Motorcycle racing has to be the most dangerous sport in the world. The Wikipedia page for “Rider Deaths in Motorcycle Racing” is terrifyingly long. Just two weeks ago, 41-year-old rider Ismael Bonilla was killed in a crash at the very same track where Sunday’s race took place.
The best of SI
The Cowboys have had 13 years of incredible quarterback luck and are letting it go to waste. ... How NBA refs are adjusting to life inside the bubble. ... Why baseball is losing Black America.
Around the sports world
Former Red Sox closer Daniel Bard has made the Rockies’ roster seven years after his last MLB appearance. ... Many NFL players engaged in a coordinated Twitter blitz calling attention to the NFL’s inadequate health and safety protocols as they begin to report to training camp. ... How the NBA picked the barbers who will spend three months in the bubble. ... Denied permission to play in Toronto, the Blue Jays may have to play their games this year in Buffalo but they’re apparently working on finding another major league stadium to call home, perhaps Pittsburgh.
The Yankees hit a bunch of long homers
This is no joke
What if you have to pee?
Phil got creative
Former NFL linebacker James Harrison hit a bunch of WWE finishers on some kids
This is really fantastic
He had me until he started talking about radiation
Not sports
A fox is going around a Virginia neighborhood stealing everyone’s newspapers. ... Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling have signed on for a movie with Netflix’s highest budget ever, over $200 million. ... A woman who was told to leave a Verizon store for not wearing a mask responded by pulling down her pants and urinating. ... Alex Trebek’s new memoir includes a story of eating “four or five” weed brownies and waking up three days later. ... Billy Joel spotted a discarded piano on a Long Island street and stopped to play it.
Very normal guy
High-quality video of Tokyo 100 years ago
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
