Auto Racing
Hornish gets back in the cockpit and into a pole
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Finally, after spending the first three months of the season on the sidelines, Sam Hornish Jr. is getting back in a car.
His seven-race Nationwide Series deal with Joe Gibbs Racing will start Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, where Hornish will drive the No. 54 Toyota typically piloted by Kyle Busch, and he will start on the pole after leading a JGR sweep in qualifying.
Hornish used a fast lap to best Elliott Sadler and Darrell Wallace Jr. in the JGR sweep.
College Basketball
The ‘Rules of Basket Ball’ come home to Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The original “Rules of Basket Ball” recorded by James Naismith will soon have a permanent home – just off Naismith Drive and a couple of traveling calls from Naismith Court.
The University of Kansas broke ground Friday on an $18-million facility connected to Allen Fieldhouse that will house the documents, which were purchased by Kansas alumnus David Booth at an auction for $4.3 million in 2010 with the intention of displaying them at the school.
The 32,000-square-foot DeBruce Center also will include a new training table for the Jayhawks’ basketball programs, along with an activity center and meeting space that are intended to make the building into a student union for the south part of campus.
The groundbreaking is only the latest step in a series of basketball-related projects:
In February, the school also received a lead gift for a $17.5-million apartment complex that will house 32 men’s and women’s basketball players and 34 non-athlete students; NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from residing in dorms by themselves.
The school also completed major renovations to Allen Fieldhouse in 2009, including work on its adjoining buildings.
The DeBruce Center also will be connected to Allen Fieldhouse by a walkway through the second-floor concourse of the Booth Hall of Athletics, built in 2006 to house the Jayhawks’ hall of fame.
Cycling
Spilak edges Froome by a spoke for Romandie lead
AIGLE, Switzerland – Simon Spilak edged defending champion Chris Froome to win the hilly fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie on Friday and take the overall lead by one second.
Spilak, the 2010 champion from Slovakia, beat Britain’s Froome by a wheel’s length after more than five hours and 112 miles of racing.
World champion Rui Costa of Portugal finished third, leading a small group which trailed 57 seconds back. Costa also was third overall, trailing Spilak by 62 seconds.
Horse Racing
Napravnik, on Untapable, wins 140th Kentucky Oaks
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Untapable surged past My Miss Sophia entering the stretch and rolled to a 4½-length victory Friday in the 140th Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
Ridden by Rosie Napravnik and breaking from the far 13th spot, the overwhelming favorite in the $1-million race for 3-year-old fillies earned her third consecutive victory and fifth in seven starts.
Untapable ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.68, the race’s second-fastest time, and paid $4, $3.20 and $2.60.
My Miss Sophia returned $4.20 and $4.40, and Unbridled Forever paid $6.00.
Track and Field
The American Track League makes an Indiana debut
Sports agent Paul Doyle launched the American Track League on Friday in Bloomington, Indiana, with fan interaction as an integral ingredient.
Of course, some well-known Olympic athletes will be taking the track, too. Lolo Jones was in Bloomington, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt may run at an event in August.
The new track series will feature eight stops this summer.
Associated Press
