Auto Racing
Fox picks up the rights for new FIA Formula E series
Fox Sports signed a multiyear deal with the FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully electric racing series.
Formula E will feature open-wheel cars powered exclusively by electricity. It’s designed to promote interest and investment in electric vehicles and sustainable motoring.
The series will feature 10 teams competing in one-hour races using Formula cars capable of reaching speeds of more than 135 mph with zero emissions.
Six teams have been signed for the first season, including Andretti Autosport, the first U.S. team to join; China Racing; and British-based Drayson Racing. The deal includes exclusive and nonexclusive online and mobile transmission rights.
The races will begin in September 2014. Los Angeles and Miami are among the 10 cities on the schedule.
Cycling
Matthews and Van Avermaet again finish 1-2 in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY – Australia’s Michael Matthews raced to his second stage victory in the Tour of Utah on Friday, sprinting uphill to edge Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet at the finish line.
Matthews, riding for Orica GreenEdge, also won the second stage, and he finished second to Van Avermaet in the first stage. He hung close to Van Avermaet’s rear wheel through all five laps in the 33.8-mile stage and, with the final kilometer remaining, engaged in a sprinting duel with him to the finish line.
Matthews crossed ahead of Van Avermaet by just a few lengths with a winning time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, 17 seconds.
Van Avermaet, riding for BMC, finished second for the third consecutive stage. Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven, riding for Bontrager Devo, was third.
Australia’s Lachlan Morton, the Garmin-Sharp rider who won 2011 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race in Durango and the third stage of this tour Thursday, remained atop the overall standings – 26 seconds ahead of Van Avermaet. American Lucas Euser, riding for UnitedHealthcare, remained third – 40 seconds back.
Horse Racing
‘Road to the Kentucky Derby’ now 34 – not 36 – races
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series will include 34 races, with a point system deciding which horses run in next year’s first leg of the Triple Crown.
Churchill Downs said Friday the series has been reduced by two races. Two races – the Iroquois at Churchill and the Jerome at Aqueduct – have been added to the prep portion of the series between September and mid-February.
Three preps were removed: the Royal Lodge in Europe, the CashCall Futurity at Betfair Hollywood Park and the Sam F. Davis in Florida. The Derby Trial, run a week before the Derby since 1982, has been dropped as a wild-card race.
A sliding scale of points is awarded to the top four finishers in select races. The top 20 point earners nominated to the Triple Crown can start in the Derby on May 3.
MLB
Rangers acquire Rios from the White Sox to spell Cruz
CHICAGO – The Texas Rangers acquired Alex Rios from the Chicago White Sox on Friday, beefing up their outfield for the stretch run with All-Star Nelson Cruz suspended.
The Rangers also will receive cash considerations while sending the White Sox a player to be named later or cash.
The Rangers, who began the day a percentage point behind Oakland for the AL West lead, were looking for help. Cruz, their All-Star right fielder and 2011 AL championship series MVP, was suspended 50 games Monday by Major League Baseball after its investigation into the Biogenesis clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. He was leading the Rangers with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs.
Rios, 32, is batting .277 with 12 home runs, 26 stolen bases, 55 RBIs and 57 runs scored.
Associated Press
