Auto Racing
Gibbs’ Busch and Kenseth sweep Daytona’s front row
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth swept the front row for Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch turned a lap at 193.723 mph in Friday qualifying to win the pole. Kenseth was second at 193.299.
Clint Bowyer qualified third, and Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. was fifth as Toyota drivers took four of the first five spots. Kasey Kahne wedged his Chevrolet in at fourth.
NFL
St. Louis says no to the Rams’ dome upgrade
ST. LOUIS – The organization that runs the Edward Jones Dome has made it official: The facility will not get a publicly funded $700-million upgrade the St. Louis Rams requested, possibly leaving the city without an NFL team for the second time in almost 30 years.
St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission President Kathleen Ratcliffe informed the Rams of the decision in a letter dated Tuesday.
The outcome was no surprise. After arbitrators ruled in favor of the Rams’ plan over a much more modest CVC proposal, the CVC said in February it was unlikely to implement the plan.
The Rams now can break their lease with the dome after the 2014 season. The team has been noncommittal about its plans, and its offices were closed Friday for the long Fourth of July holiday. A spokesman was unreachable. The former St. Louis Cardinals left for Arizona in 1987.
NHL
Avalanche buy out Zanon, then sign Andre Benoit
DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Andre Benoit to a one-year deal Friday.
Before the start of free agency, newly hired Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said the team wasn’t going to be very active since the roster already was full. Colorado recently bought out the contract of defenseman Greg Zanon to open up space.
The 29-year-old Benoit played in 33 games for the Ottawa Senators last season, scoring three goals and dishing out seven assists.
Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic said Benoit has “good offensive skills and puck-moving ability and will be a good addition to our power play.”
Soccer
Random draw to be used for World Cup qualifier tickets
CHICAGO – Tickets for the U.S. men’s World Cup qualifier against Mexico will be distributed through a random draw because of high interest in the Sept. 10 match in Columbus, Ohio.
US-Mexico always is a big draw, with more than 93,000 turning out for a match at the Rose Bowl during the Gold Cup in 2011. Because Columbus Crew Stadium only seats 22,000, U.S. Soccer was concerned fans would get shut out of tickets if the normal distribution system was used. The draw, which will be held after a pre-sale for priority groups, is designed to ensure tickets go to fans and not brokers or scalpers.
It also prevents a mad rush for tickets as soon as they go on sale.
From July 19-22, fans can apply for up to four tickets. A computer program then will randomly distribute the tickets, weeding out scalpers in the process. Credit cards only will be charged if fans get tickets in the draw.
The Americans currently are atop the six-team CONCACAF qualifying group, with Mexico five points back in third place. The top three teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean automatically advance to next year’s World Cup in Brazil, with the fourth-place team facing New Zealand in a playoff.
Associated Press
