Auto Racing
Rain washes out qualifying and puts Edwards on pole
TALLADEGA, Ala. Steady rain Saturday washed out qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway, where the field was set by practice speeds.
It put Carl Edwards on the pole for todays race, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Marcos Ambrose. Joey Logano will start fourth, followed by Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth. Denny Hamlin will start seventh in his first race since missing four with a compression fracture in a vertebra in his lower back.
Smith wins Nationwide race at a typical Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. Regan Smith won the crash-filled Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when NASCAR said he was leading at the final caution flag Saturday night.
The race was delayed three hours by rain and slowed by several cautions, and NASCAR cut the distance by 10 laps as darkness closed in on the track. Then, Joey Coulter brought out a caution, and NASCAR decided to make one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. At least 10 cars were jockeying for position in packs of two on the final lap when Brian Vickers was spun hard into the outside wall. Smith, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne raced three-wide to the finish line, and Kahne crossed it first. But NASCAR decided Smith was leading when the caution came out and was the winner.
Boxing
Pretty Boy Floyd is Money in his role as Ghostbuster
LAS VEGAS Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought as if he had never left the ring, coming back from a years absence Saturday night to win a unanimous 12-round decision over Robert Guerrero in a welterweight title fight.
Mayweather, aka Money or Pretty Boy Floyd, was masterful at times, landing thudding right hands and bloodying Guerreros face in a performance that mimicked some of his best fights. Mayweather (44-0) hurt Ghost on several occasions, including a series of right hands near the end of the eighth round that buckled Guerreros knees.
Cycling
Cavendish wears Giros pink for wins Nos. 11 and 98
NAPLES, Italy British standout Mark Cavendish won the opening stage of the Giro dItalia that was marred by a crash shortly before the finish.
The main pack was split into two groups Saturday when riders went down with just more than a mile to go in the 81-mile leg and less than a dozen riders left in front to contest the sprint.
Cavendish, who rides for the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, finished in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 38 seconds on the circuit in downtown Naples, which featured a long, flat finishing straightaway. He has won a combined 37 stages at the Giro, Tour and Vuelta cyclings three Grand Tours.It was the 11th Giro stage win of Cavendishs career and his 98th victory overall. Hell wear the overall leaders pink jersey in todays second stage, a team time trial on the nearby island of Ischia.
Hockey
United States rallies to beat Austria in Game 1 at worlds
HELSINKI The United States rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to beat Austria 5-3 in its opening game at the ice hockey world championships Saturday.David Moss began the Americans comeback off a rebound in the first period, and defenseman Erik Johnson opened and closed the second period with power-play goals. In between, Tim Stapleton and Aaron Palushaj also scored.Nick Bjugstad, Justin Faulk and Drew LeBlanc each had two assists.
Tennis
Pavlyuchenkova beats Suarez to win the Portugal Open
OEIRAS, Portugal Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Spains Carla Suarez 7-5, 6-2 to win the Portugal Open on Saturday for her fifth career title.
Associated Press
