NFL
Holloman’s pick six sends Cowboys past Dolphins
CANTON, Ohio – Rookie Devonte Holloman’s 75-yard interception return with a tipped pass keyed the Dallas Cowboys’ 24-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the Hall of Fame game Sunday night that opened the NFL’s preseason.
The sixth-round pick from South Carolina was situated perfectly when rookie Chad Bumphis had Matt Moore’s pass go off his hands in the second quarter. It was the biggest play for a Dallas defense switching to a 4-3 alignment under new coordinator Monte Kiffin.
But the Cowboys controlled most of the game one night after their former offensive lineman, Larry Allen, and former coach, Bill Parcells, were inducted into the hall.
Quarterback Tony Romo, coming off back surgery to remove a cyst, sat out for Dallas. So the Cowboys turned to their ground game – and ground down Miami as few regulars got onto the field.
Auto Racing
Kimball gives Pagenaud the slip late in Lexington
LEXINGTON, Ohio – Charlie Kimball slipped by Simon Pagenaud with 18 laps remaining and pulled away to win the Indy 200 on Sunday at Mid-Ohio.
Racing in a backup car after wrecking in practice Saturday morning, Kimball beat Pagenaud to the finish line by more than 5 seconds for his first career IndyCar victory.
Pagenaud held on for second. Dario Franchitti was third, followed by Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Points leader Helio Castroneves rallied from 15th to sixth. Scott Dixon’s bid to win a fourth straight race never materialized. He finished seventh.
Kimball, a diabetic in his third season with Chip Ganassi Racing, had only led 15 laps in his IndyCar career before dominating after taking the lead from Hunter-Reay a third of the way through the 90-lap event. Kimball led a race-high 46 laps in all, including the final 18 after he roared by Pagenaud.
IndyCar extended the length of the annual to the technically demanding 2.258-circuit by an additional five laps this year, hoping it wouldn’t turn into a parade where the winner is determined by who massages the best fuel mileage out of their cars.
tennis
Del Potro rolls past Isner to capture Citi Open crown
WASHINGTON – Juan Martin del Potro smacked one of his fast and flat forehands so hard that John Isner hopped out of the way, lest he get hit.
When del Potro is healthy, and his shots are on target, he’s as dangerous as they come on the sort of hard courts used at the U.S. Open.
Getting his game in shape ahead of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, the top-seeded del Potro solved Isner’s big serve and pulled away for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in the Citi Open final Sunday, winning his third championship and 14th consecutive match in Washington.
Back in 2009, del Potro followed up a title in the nation’s capital with a trophy at the U.S. Open, which starts in three weeks.
tennis
Azarenka ends a nearly two-year winless drought
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Sam Stosur won the Southern California Open on Sunday for her first title in nearly two years, beating top-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3.
The fifth-seeded Stosur had lost all of her previous eight matches against Azarenka, winning only two sets.
The title was Stosur’s third in her career and the first since she won her only major, the 2011 U.S. Open.
Azarenka, the two-time Australian Open champion, played another loose match. She committed 32 unforced errors, including seven double faults, and had only 11 winners.
Stosur, playing in her first final since October, hit 20 winners compared to 29 unforced errors but played the key points well, including saving 11 of 12 break points.
Associated Press
