The Washington Post - USA (2021-10-27)

MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Max Verstappen, above, held off r ival Lewis Hamilton to win the U.S. Grand Prix. Formula One, p opular overseas, has a growing fan base in the United States.

KLMNO

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27 , 2021. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

BY GLYNN A. HILL

austin — One fan received tickets for Father’s

Day, and o ne c ame to see Lewis Hamilton race.

Another made the 1,000-mile trip from Georgia to

fulfill a lifetime dream.

They all joined an estimated 140,000 at C ircuit

of the Americas for Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix,

contributing to a sellout crowd that reflected the

growth of Formula One racing in a country that

executives view as critical to the sport’s develop-

ment.

NASCAR is considered the predominant motor-

sport in the United States, but this weekend’s race

provided a glimpse of why some are convinced that

Formula One’s widening reach, spurred by a popu-

lar Netflix documentary series that is attracting

casual fans, will continue to expand stateside.

“We just turned it on one day, and we just started

watching it,” Ohio native Sam George said of the

sport, referencing him and his wife. “We just

turned it on, and we thought the skill set was

amazing, and that was it. We got hooked.”

Sunday’s festivities at the lone U.S. event this

year were characteristically Texas.

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders strolled down the

track; the smell of smoked meats wafted through

Lonestar Land near Turn 13; and Megan Thee

Stallion blared from the Mercedes garage — before

the Houston rapper posed for photos by the

starting grid before the race.

For a sport that draws large international

crowds as it traverses the globe, the 2021 U.S.

Grand Prix lured new and old American fans for its

first running since 2019, before the coronavirus

pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s

event and shortly after Netflix’s “Drive to Survive”

began converting professional athletes, casual fans

and those apathetic to sports into devotees.

“I’m really a drag-racing guy by heart, but

watching on Netflix, really seeing behind the

SEE FORMULA ONE ON D8

unstable on his right leg, limping

off the mound, not a single

thought that he could remain in

the game. The reason: broken

fibula.

That was it: two starting

pitchers, 41 / 3 innings completed,

96 pitches thrown.

Swing open that bullpen gate,

boys. And keep ’em coming.

That baseball is

unrecognizable to the Steve

Carltons, Nolan Ryans and Jim

Palmers of the world is not

breaking news, but it is a

defining characteristic. The

starters who exited early from

the Braves’ series-opening 6-2

victory did so for traditional

reasons: poor performance by

Valdez, injury to Morton. But the

trend, by now, is both well-

SEE SVRLUGA ON D2

houston — The
World Series was
just more than an
hour old when the
first starting
pitcher was
removed. The
reasons for
Framber Valdez’s
slow walk would have been the
same in 1921 as they were in
2021: The Houston Astros left-
hander was shellacked, allowing
nine base runners and recording
only six outs. His shower came
with his team already down by
five runs.
Just 20 minutes later Tuesday
night, Atlanta Braves right-
hander Charlie Morton hurled a
curveball that froze Houston
second baseman José Altuve, a
strikeout. And here was Morton,

Every game is a bullpen game,

denying us of something special

Barry
Svrluga

World Series

Game 2: Braves at Astros

Today, 8 p .m., Fox

BY CHELSEA JANES

houston — Charlie Morton may

be the most beloved player at this

World Series, at least when it

comes to the people in the dug-

outs. He used to pitch for the

Houston Astros, and José Altuve

called him the best teammate

“you can ever have.” He now pitch-

es for the Atlanta Braves, and his

teammates say they treasure him

and his thoughtfulness, too.

But as much of an impact as he

seems to have made on so many of

them off the field, players on both

sides will not soon forget what

Morton did in the Braves’ 6-2 win

in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

After a comebacker hit his right

leg in the second inning, Morton

jogged over to cover first base. He

struck out a batter. He got another

to ground out. He sat for a whole

half-inning, returned to the

mound and struck out Altuve.

Then he walked off the mound

with a trainer and out of the

World Series, no longer able to

put weight on a leg that X-rays

would soon reveal had a broken

SEE WORLD SERIES ON D2

Braves find inspiration in Game 1 win

ASHLEY LANDIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Atlanta’s Charlie Morton retired three batters after breaking his

fibula when a comebacker hit his right leg in the second inning.

BRAVES 6, ASTROS 2

Hard-hitting Atlanta survives Morton’s broken leg

Gaining traction

From ‘Drive to Survive’ to 140,000 fans in Texas, Formula One is thriving in, of all places, the United States

HOCKEY

The Blackhawks failed to

act after a sexual assault

claim, a report finds. D2

HOCKEY

With two goals already,

Nick Jensen is off to a hot

start for the Capitals. D3

PRO FOOTBALL

Mark Maske’s rankings

are unchanged at the top,

but a key game looms. D4

Washington at Broncos

Sunday, 4:25 p.m., Fox

BY MARK MASKE

AND NICKI JHABVALA

new york — NFL Commissioner

Roger Goodell said Tuesday that

the league is unwavering in its

stance that it will not release ma-

terials related to the investigation

of the Washington Football Team’s

workplace despite calls by former

team employees and others for

more information to be made pub-

lic.

“We feel that this is the appro-

priate way to do it,” Goodell said at

the end of the first day of a t wo-day

meeting of team owners. “We

summarized the findings of Beth

[Wilkinson, the attorney who led

the investigation] and made it

very clear that the workplace envi-

ronment of the Washington Foot-

ball Team was not what we expect-

ed in the NFL and then held them

accountable. But more important-

ly, steps were put in place to make

sure that it does not happen

again.”

Goodell said he believes the

NFL has held Daniel Snyder, the

team’s owner, properly account-

able. He stressed that the league

considers it important to protect

witnesses who sought “security

and privacy and anonymity” to

participate in Wilkinson’s investi-

gation.

“That not only affects the

SEE WASHINGTON ON D5

NFL is firm

on keeping

WFT probe

from public

C iting witnesses’ privacy,

Goodell says the league

won’t release the details

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