Auto Racing
Darlington Raceway again a Labor Day darling in 2015
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Darlington Raceway will return to its traditional Labor Day weekend date next season in one of the few significant changes to NASCAR’s 2015 Sprint Cup Series schedule.
To get Darlington back to Labor Day weekend after an 11-year absence, Atlanta Motor Speedway gave up the date. Atlanta now moves to the second race of the season March 1.
Darlington will be run Sept. 6, according to the schedule released Tuesday.
The season still will open at Daytona International Speedway with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, then will go to Atlanta.
One of the bigger changes came to Daytona’s second race date, traditionally held on the Saturday night of July 4th weekend. That race now will be Sunday, July 5. That change is for 2015 only, though, as track President Joie Chitwood said the date would return to Saturday night in 2016.
There were no changes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which again will begin at Chicagoland Speedway and will end at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Next season marks the first year of NASCAR’s new $8.2-billion television package, which is split between Fox and NBC. Fox holds the rights to the first 20 races, and seven of those will be aired on cable Fox Sports 1. NBC will take over the schedule at Daytona in July.
Cycling
Degenkolb wins Stage 4; Quintana loses time
CORDOBA, Spain – German rider John Degenkolb outsprinted race leader Michael Matthews and Vicente Reynes to win a hot, sunny fourth stage Tuesday of the Spanish Vuelta.
Degenkolb, who rides for Team Giant-Shimano, surged past Matthews and Reynes in the final kilometer of the hilly 102-mile ride from Mairena del Alcor to Cordoba.
The 23-year-old Matthews, riding for Orica GreenEdge, retained the overall leader’s red jersey. The Australian leads Colombian Nairo Quintana by eight seconds and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde by 15 seconds.
Soccer
Donovan gets one final game for the United States
CARSON, Calif. – Landon Donovan said he will make his final appearance for the United States’ national team Oct. 10 in a friendly against Ecuador.
Donovan announced the plan Tuesday.
Donovan is the top scorer in U.S. history with 57 goals and 58 assists in 156 appearances, but he wasn’t chosen for his fourth World Cup roster earlier this summer by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Earlier this month, the 32-year-old Donovan announced he will retire from the Los Angeles Galaxy after the season. The five-time MLS champion is the league’s career goals leader.
The U.S. team will face Ecuador at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Women’s Sports
Women will have their say on CBS Sports Network
CBS officials talked about an all-women sports show for more than a year, and now they’re set to make television history.
The network announced Tuesday that “We Need to Talk” will premiere Sept. 30 on CBS Sports Network. The weekly, hour-long, prime-time program on the cable channel will be the first of its kind.
The panel will feature a core of CBS Sports announcers: Allie LaForce, Dana Jacobson, Amy Trask, Lesley Visser and Tracy Wolfson. Other contributors will include Andrea Kremer and former athletes Laila Ali, Swin Cash, Lisa Leslie, Summer Sanders and Dara Torres.
The show will be led by Emmy Award-winning coordinating producers Emilie Deutsch and Suzanne Smith, the only woman currently producing or directing NFL games. Julie Keryc and Amy Salmanson will produce, with Smith directing.
The show will air at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, although on a relatively new network that’s in just less than half of U.S. homes with TVs.
Associated Press
