Auto Racing
New knockout-style qualifying suits Keselowski just fine
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Brad Keselowski earned the pole at Phoenix International Raceway after making it through NASCAR’s new knockout-style qualifying Friday.
Keselowski had a fast lap of 139.384 mph, turning the mile oval in 25.828 seconds to earn a spot on the front row next to Joey Logano for Sunday’s 312-mile race.
Jamie McMurray qualified third, defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start fifth next to Greg Biffle.
NASCAR made numerous changes for this season, including a tweaked qualifying process in an effort to liven up what had become a monotonous part of race weekend. Instead of going out one at a time, the entire field gets a 25-minute session to post their fastest lap, with the top 12 moving on to a 10-minute second round.
NHL
Olympic MVP, Vezina winner traded to the Blues
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres traded star goalie Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 third-round pick.
Miller won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2010, the year he was the Most Valuable Player of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Soccer
Defending World Cup champ will play states-side in June
NEW YORK – Defending World Cup champion Spain will play an exhibition game against El Salvador on June 7 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., before heading to the World Cup in Brazil.
Seven matches involving six World Cup teams were announced Friday by Soccer United Marketing, an affiliate of Major League Soccer. Spain’s game will be part of a doubleheader that includes an MLS match between D.C. United and Columbus, originally scheduled for RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
Turkey will play Honduras on May 29 at RFK, and Ivory Coast will play Bosnia-Herzegovina the next day at a site to be announced.
Honduras will play Israel on June 1 at Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium, and Greece and Nigeria will play June 3 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Ivory Coast will play El Salvador on June 4 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, and Greece will play Bolivia on June 6 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
Separately, England announced in January it will play a pair of matches at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., playing Ecuador on June 4 and Honduras on June 7.
The U.S. plans home exhibitions May 27, June 1 and June 7.
World Cup Ski Racing
While two share first place, Ganong gets a first in third
KVITFJELL, Norway – Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud mastered difficult racing conditions on his favorite home slope to share a World Cup downhill win with Austrian rival Georg Streitberger on Friday.
With poor visibility because of fog and rain, Jansrud and Streitberger clocked 1 minute, 5.72 seconds on the Olympiabakken course. American skier Travis Ganong finished .12 behind in third for his first podium finish.
Marolt, a CU skiing alumnus, steps down from USSA post
Bill Marolt will step down as chief executive officer and president of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association on Monday, to be replaced by former Alpine skier Tiger Shaw, who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
Marolt had been planning to step down after the Olympics, and the timing of the move was announced Friday.
Marolt, a 1964 Olympian who skied at the University of Colorado and also served as the school’s athletic director for 12 seasons, will remain a USOC board member and also will stay in an advisory position with USSA, as its representative to the International Ski Federation and in other roles.
Associated Press
