Auto Racing
Abbreviated qualifying puts Kurt Busch on the pole
LONG POND, Pa. – Kurt Busch turned a lap at 177.599 mph Friday and won the pole at Pocono Raceway in a bizarre qualifying session that saw five cars fail to complete a lap in the final round.
Denny Hamlin bobbled and lost control of the No. 11 as the qualifying clock ticked down to bring out the red flag. NASCAR scrubbed the rest of qualifying. Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne all failed to record a lap time.
Kurt Busch won his third pole of the season in the No. 41 Chevrolet and 19th of his career.
Carl Edwards joins Kurt Busch on the front row. Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick complete the top five.
College Basketball
North Carolina plans its response to NCAA charges
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina and the NCAA appear to agree on at least one thing: The school has corrected problems that led to its long-running academic fraud scandal through numerous reforms and personnel changes.
What the two sides don’t agree on is what rule violations were committed.
That will play a role in any potential sanctions the school could face now that the NCAA has hit the school with five charges, meaning there’s still a long road to resolution.
Chancellor Carol Folt said the university will do what it can to move “as quickly as possible,” but still will “take the time to do it thoughtfully.”
Golf
Dufner’s ace brings him to Lingmerth’s leading heels
David Lingmerth had a 7-under 65 on Friday at the Memorial and has a one-shot lead going into a weekend that includes Tiger Woods.
But just barely.
Woods avoided a third consecutive bogey of his round by getting up-and-down from 40 yards with a 6-foot par putt for a 70 to make the cut on the number.
It was the second consecutive tournament that Woods had to make a putt on his final hole to make the cut. He was 11 shots behind Lingmerth, who was at 12-under 132.
Jason Dufner had two more eagles, including an ace, and was one behind.
MLB
A’s new weapon a threat from both sides of rubber
BOSTON – The Oakland A’s called up ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Nashville, positioning him to become the first player since 1995 to pitch in an MLB game with both his right and left hands.
Team officials announced the move Friday before Oakland played the Red Sox in Boston. The A’s also optioned right-handed pitcher Dan Otero to Nashville and moved Coco Crisp to the 60-day disabled list with a neck injury.
Venditte, who uses a special glove designed to be worn on either hand, made one start for Nashville and was 1-0 with a 1.36 earned-run average in 17 appearances this season.
NBA
Kyrie Irving bows out of Finals with knee fracture
OAKLAND, Calif. – Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has a fractured left knee cap and will have surgery that will end his season.
The Cavaliers said Friday that an MRI exam revealed the injury and that Irving’s projected recovery time was three to four months.
Irving limped off the court during overtime of Cleveland’s 108-100 loss to Golden State on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He left the arena on crutches, and Cavs coach David Blatt said he heard Irving was still on crutches Friday morning.
Associated Press
