Auto Racing
Logano’s 203 approaches Elliott’s Talladega record
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Joey Logano raced to one of the fastest qualifying speeds in NASCAR history Friday, winning the pole at Michigan International Speedway at 203.949 mph.
Logano broke the track record set by Marcos Ambrose last year. Ambrose’s mark of 203.241 mph came on the first Sprint Cup weekend on a newly paved surface at MIS. His record lasted 14 months.
Logano’s speed was the ninth highest by a pole winner in NASCAR history – and the fastest since Bill Elliott set the record of 212.809 mph at Talladega on April 30, 1987.
Kurt Busch qualified second, and points leader Jimmie Johnson was third.
Logano is 16th in the Cup standings, and his first pole position of the year comes with just four races left before the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship.
MLB
Philadelphia fires Manuel, replaces him with Sandberg
PHILADELPHIA – Charlie Manuel was fired as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, with his team way out of the pennant race and in a tailspin since the All-Star break.
Manuel was replaced by Hall of Famer and former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, the Phillies’ third-base coach. Sandberg managed the Phillies’ Triple-A team at Lehigh Valley the previous two seasons.
The team said Sandberg will take over beginning with Friday night’s game against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. He was introduced at a news conference before the game.
The Phillies have lost 19 of 24 since last month’s All-Star break. They are in fourth place and 20½ games out of first in the NL East.
The 69-year-old Manuel led Philadelphia to a World Series title in 2008 and brought the team back to the series in 2009, when they lost to the Yankees. Manuel was 780-636 with the Phillies and won five consecutive NL East titles from 2007 to 2011.
NBA
Judge moves Hunter vs. NBPA suit to Los Angeles
SAN FRANCISCO – A judge granted the motion for change of venue to Los Angeles in former NBA players’ association executive director Billy Hunter’s lawsuit against president Derek Fisher and the union.
Hunter filed the suit in Alameda County, but lawyers for Fisher, his publicist, Jamie Wior, and the NBPA argued it should be in Los Angeles, where they both live.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch agreed Thursday.
Hunter, who was ousted in February, filed the lawsuit in May, seeking unspecified damages for defamation and breach of contract.
Olympics
Pistorius will be indicted for premeditated murder
JOHANNESBURG – Oscar Pistorius will be indicted for premeditated murder Monday, and the double-amputee Olympian will go on trial in early 2014, about a year after shooting dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
In a somber twist, the world-famous, 26-year-old athlete known as the “Bladerunner” will be served with the murder indictment on the day Steenkamp would have celebrated her 30th birthday.
Pistorius will be formally charged for the Valentine’s Day slaying of the woman he said he loved dearly and killed by mistake and will face a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. Other charges could be added to the indictment.
Prosecutors declined to comment on South African media reports Friday that charges of recklessly discharging a firearm in public in two separate incidents also would be laid against the runner.
If the extra charges reportedly relating to Pistorius shooting a gun out a moving car and firing one accidentally at a restaurant are added, they may show the prosecution’s aim to paint him as trigger-happy at his blockbuster trial next year.
Associated Press
