Auto Racing
Ambrose wins Sprint Cup pole on his favorite track
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Marcos Ambrose will chase his third consecutive Sprint Cup victory at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, and he’s feeling a little bit less pressure after nabbing the pole.
With an average finish of second in five starts at The Glen, the aggressive Ambrose enters as the favorite, and he knows a win would vault him into the top 20 and at least move him into contention as a long shot at a wild-card berth for the 12-driver Chase for the Cup championship.
Keselowski wins Nationwide for his fourth win in a row
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Nationwide Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.
It was the fourth consecutive win over five months in the series for Keselowski, who beat Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. for his first victory at The Glen.
Hornish started from the pole, and the Penske pair dominated the race, running 1-2 the final 16 laps with teammate Joey Logano in third until Logano ran out of gas at the end.
Brian Vickers was third, followed by Regan Smith and Elliott Sadler.
Nationwide Series points leader Austin Dillon finished 11th and saw his lead shrink to three points over Hornish.
Cycling
Horner, at the horn, beats Danielson by a bike-length
LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah – Chris Horner won the fifth stage of the Tour of Utah on Saturday to take the overall lead into the final day, passing fellow American Tom Danielson in the final 200 yards.
The 42-year-old Horner, riding for RadioShack Leopard Trek, finished the 113.7-mile stage that ended at Snowbird Ski Resort in 4 hours 52 minutes, 45 seconds.
Danielson, the Fort Lewis College alumnus riding for Garmin-Sharp, was a bike-length behind.
Horner and Danielson are tied in time in the overall standings, but Horner is listed first because of his stage victory.
The 78.2-mile final stage Sunday starts and ends in Park City.
MLB
Mariners lose an ugly game on Ken Griffey Jr.’s big night
SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners’ big weekend honoring former star Ken Griffey Jr. with his induction into the team’s Hall of Fame got off to an ugly start.
Their ugly 10-5 loss Friday night put a damper on a day that was all celebration up until the first pitch as Seattle honored the greatest player ever to wear a Mariners uniform.
Griffey became the seventh inductee into the Mariners Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Griffey spent 13 of his 22 seasons in the majors with the Mariners and was the face of the franchise for most of the 1990s. He was drafted by Seattle in 1987 with the No. 1 overall pick, made his debut at the major league level two years later and went on to have one of the finest careers in baseball history. Griffey finished with 630 home runs – sixth all-time – and was a 13-time All-Star and the 1997 American League MVP.
A-Rod ‘overwhelmed’ at the plate and by the fans
NEW YORK – Alex Rodriguez had a day off to think about the “overwhelming” reception he received in his season debut at Yankee Stadium.
A-Rod was not in the New York Yankees’ starting lineup Saturday, about 13 hours after striking out three times in four at-bats during a 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Coming off January hip surgery, Rodriguez played his first game in New York since a horrendous postseason and since appealing the 211-game doping suspension he was given last week as part of the investigation into the now-closed Miami anti-aging clinic.
Rodriguez received a mix of cheers and boos throughout the pregame and a good number of fans stood and applauded during his first at-bat against Detroit’s Rick Porcello. But those cheers quickly turned to jeers when he struck out.
Associated Press
