Franchitti on pole at Infineon

Sonoma, CA (Sports Network) - Dario Franchitti's first session time held up through the Firestone Fast Six shootout and he captured the pole for Sunday's Motorola Indy 300. The No.27 Andretti Green Racing driver circled the Infineon Raceway course in one minute, 16.7017 seconds.
The pole victory was Franchitti's second of the season and sixth of his IndyCar career.
"Track conditions changed a lot from this morning, but the car has been fast all weekend and we did it when it counted," said Franchitti.
Starting alongside Franchitti will be Danica Patrick who posted a second-best time of 1:17.1486. Patrick was the only driver to improve a time in the Firestone shootout.
"I was a little bit worried because...it didn't really feel very good and I made quite a few mistakes, but it was enough," said Patrick.
Tony Kanaan (1:17.1932) and Helio Castroneves (1:17.2608) will make up row two.
Franchitti was fastest in the first qualifying session and he led a group including Kanaan, Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick.
Two races ago, Kanaan was virtually a bystander in the championship race. He was 111 points behind AGR teammate Franchitti and 77 points behind Dixon.
Worse, neither Franchitti nor Dixon had made a misstep all season and it looked as if the gap was too large to bridge.
The series traveled to the Michigan International Speedway and Kanaan collected his first win of the season. Better still, Dixon faltered with handling problems finishing 10th and Franchitti finished 13th after a frightening upside-down ride.
Two weeks ago Kanaan won his second consecutive race, at the Kentucky Speedway, while points leader Franchitti again struggled. Kanaan is now just 52 points behind Franchitti and 44 out of second place.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 3 p.m. (et).

Massa makes late run for pole win in Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey (Sports Network) - Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the pole for Sunday's Grand Prix of Turkey edging out Lewis Hamilton on the final lap. The No.5 Ferrari circled the long 3.317-mile Istanbul Autodrom road course in one minute, 27.329 seconds.
The pole victory was Massa's fifth of the season and seventh of his Formula One career. Winning the pole has proven to be important in 2007 as seven of the 11 races have been won by the man who led the field to the opening green flag.
Starting on the front row with Massa will be McLaren's Hamilton, who posted a second-best time of 1:27.373.
Kimi Raikkonen (1:27.546) and Fernando Alonso (1:27.574) will make up row two.
The first of three qualifying sessions was won by Raikkonen and saw the elimination of six drivers, including Ralf Schumacher. The younger brother of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is thought to be in trouble at Toyota and on the way out the door.
The second session was won by Alonso with Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello among those left by the wayside.
The final session was a battle for the pole between the two McLarens and two Ferraris. On the final lap Hamilton put up the time to beat and seconds later Massa did just that. Alonso was the last of the challengers to come across the start/finish line, but he could only manage the fourth-best time.
Despite a 15-point manufacturer's penalty in Hungary, McLaren still has control of both the drivers and manufacturers championship. Behind the super rookie Hamilton and the two-time defending World Champion Alonso the team holds a 19-point edge for the manufacturers trophy. They also have a stranglehold on the drivers championship.
Hamilton, who has only once finished worse than third one time in 11 Formula One starts, owns a seven-point lead in the standings over teammate Alonso. His lead is 20 points over rival Ferrari's No.1 driver Raikkonen and 21 points over Massa.
Istanbul is a popular circuit for the drivers. It's fast with long straights. It has several different corner combinations including elevation changes and, of course, it has Turn Eight.
"It is probably the most difficult corner in the whole championship," said Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella.
The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).

Bourdais wins pole at Zolder

Zolder, Belgium (Sports Network) - Sebastien Bourdais captured the pole for Sunday's Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium at the Zolder Circuit. The No.1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver circled the 2.622-mile road course in one minute, 12.821 seconds (123.195 m.p.h.) to take the top spot.
The time was quicker than the pole-winning time set in 1984 by Michele Alboreto of Ferrari (1:14.846) when Formula One last raced on the track.
The pole victory earned Bourdais one championship point and gives him a 38- point lead over Robert Doornbos entering tomorrow's race.
"Obviously it would be awesome to go back to Europe with the McDonald's team and get another couple of wins, but those tracks are a big unknown for us," said Bourdais. "I have never been to Zolder or Assen."
That hasn't seemed to bother the Frenchman in the past. Over the last four years, seven new venues have been used by the Champ Car circuit and Bourdais won five times.
Starting on the front row with Bourdais will be Will Power who was third fastest on Saturday, but won Friday's provisional qualifying session.
The second row will consist of Doornbos (1:13.067) and Bruno Junqueira (1:13.313).
"For Champ Car, it's their first time at Zolder, but not for me -- I raced there seven years ago, in 2000," said Doornbos. "It's just great to drive in front of your home crowd, and for sure it gives you an extra boost that you need."
Mario Dominguez drove the No.4 Dan Clarke car after the latter was suspended for the weekend following an accident in Friday practice. He qualified 12th quickest.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).

Kuznetsova to battle Szavay in Pilot Pen final

New Haven, CT (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova got past her countrywoman Elena Dementieva on Friday to reach the final at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, a final U.S. Open tune-up.
Kuznetsova was leading the sixth-seeded Dementieva 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 in their semifinal on the hardcourts at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale when Dementieva retired due to nausea, amid steamy conditions. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up Dementieva also succumbed to Kuznetsova in the 2004 U.S. Open finale.
Dementieva double-faulted 12 times on Friday.
"I'm just a little sick," Dementieva said. "It was really humid and hot out there."
The 22-year-old Kuznetsova's quarterfinal opponent also retired here, as Kuznetsova was leading Francesca Schiavone when the Italian called it quits on Thursday...Full Story

Choi cruises to Barclays lead

Harrison, NY (Sports Network) - K.J. Choi, a two-time winner this season, posted a five-under 66 on Friday to move into the lead after the second round of the first event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays.
Choi, who won the events sponsored by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in 2007, finished two rounds at 12-under-par 130 and is two shots clear at Westchester Country Club.
Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Champion who is only ranked 134th on the FedEx Cup list, shot a three-under 68 and is alone in second place at minus-10. He will need a big week just to make it into the Deutsche Bank Championship next week since the field will be trimmed to the top 120 on the FedEx Cup list.
"I know that unless I play well, finish well this week, I'm going home," acknowledged Beem. "No offense to my wife or kids or anything, but when you're playing well, you want to stay on the road and I want to stay on the road because I'm playing well."...Full Story

Kahne edges Montoya for Bristol pole

Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - In one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season, Kasey Kahne captured the pole for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 Nextel Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway short track. The No.9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge circled the 0.533-mile high-banked half mile in 16.016 seconds (119.805 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Kahne's second of the season and 14th of his "Cup" career.
"It felt good to get a couple of Dodges on the front row," said Kahne, who has yet to win in 2007 after winning six times the previous year. "A great start to the weekend, we need stuff like this to go on, it's been kind of a rough season."
Starting alongside Kahne, in just his second start at Bristol, will be Juan Pablo Montoya who posted a time of 16.064 seconds.
Jamie McMurray (16.103) and David Ragan (16.105) will make up row two. A total of 13 drivers were within 0.020 seconds of the pole winner.
Other drivers of note at their starting positions: Carl Edwards (sixth), Ryan Newman (seventh), Jimmie Johnson (ninth), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17th) and points leader Jeff Gordon (18th).
Kurt Busch, who owns the 12th and final position in the "Chase for the Nextel Cup," has built his lead to 163 points over 13th-place Earnhardt Jr. and 171 over his Penske Racing teammate Newman. His second win in the last three races also means that should he make the "Chase" he would start with the fourth- highest total. Only Gordon (four wins), Johnson (four) and Tony Stewart (three) would begin the 10-race "playoffs" with more points.
In 13 career starts at BMS, Busch has one pole, five wins and eight top-10s. Between the spring of 2002 and the spring of 2004 he won four of five races and has led a total of 560 laps.
As always when you try and shoehorn 43 cars onto the high-banked, Bristol Motor Speedway track, expect to see plenty of bent sheetmetal and frustrated drivers. It makes for great racing.
The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Saturday at 8 p.m. (et).

Vick suspended indefinitely by NFL

Richmond, VA (Sports Network) - Embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been suspended indefinitely without pay from the National Football League, effective immediately.
The announcement comes just hours after Vick signed a plea agreement where he admits to conducting an enterprise including gambling and the sponsoring and transporting of dogs in dogfighting operations.
Friday afternoon, a letter addressed to Vick from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, in part:
"Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.
"Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling," Goodell continued. "Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player...Full Story

Snedeker earns first PGA Tour win

Greensboro, NC (Sports Network) - Brandt Snedeker fired a nine-under 63 on Sunday to come from behind and win his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship.
He finished the shootout at 22-under-par 266 and won by two over three other players at Forest Oaks Country Club.
In addition to the first PGA Tour victory and the perks that come with that, Snedeker moved up to ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. With this being the final event before the playoffs start next week at the Barclays, Snedeker is assured to play all four events, culminating in the Tour Championship.
"It's just unbelievable," said Snedeker, who pocketed $900,000 for the win. "I'm getting goose bumps thinking about everything that comes with it. Thank God I didn't think about that today because I probably would not have won."
Overnight-leader Jeff Overton only managed a two-under 70 on Sunday. He tied for second place with Billy Mayfair and Tim Petrovic, both of whom shot 67s in the final round. The group came in at minus-20...Full Story

Ilonen claims second win of 2007

Stockholm, Sweden (Sports Network) - Mikko Ilonen birdied the par-three 18th Sunday, then watched as Martin Kaymer closed with a double-bogey.
Kaymer's closing double handed Ilonen his second win of the season. Ilonen completed the event at six-under-par 274 thanks to a final-round 68.
"Unbelievable finish. First I dumped it in the water on 16, then I miss a birdie on 17," Ilonen stated. "Then for the first time, I hit that green on 18 and make birdie. I'm out of words."
The 22-year-old Kaymer, who was going for his first win, shot three-over 73 and ended in a share of second at minus-four. He was joined there by Peter Hedblom (69), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (68), Christian Cevaer (69) and Nick Dougherty (70).
Kaymer and Ilonen, who hails from Finland, battled throughout the round. After both players birdied the par-five 15th, it looked as though the 16th at Arlandastad Golf Club would be the turning point...Full Story

Henin tops Jankovic in Toronto final

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Justine Henin captured her second career Rogers Masters title on Sunday with a hard-fought victory over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.
The top-seeded Belgian needed 2 hours, 18 minutes to earn a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 triumph on the hardcourts of the Rexall Centre on the campus of York University. She previously won this event in 2003 before capturing her only U.S. Open crown.
Jankovic, the second seed, rallied to beat France's Tatiana Golovin 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in Saturday night's second semifinal, well after Henin cruised her way in Saturday afternoon with a straight-set victory against Chinese qualifier Yan Zi.
Henin, the world's top-ranked player, tuned up for the U.S. Open with her first event since losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon last month. With the win in Toronto she has also claimed her sixth title of 2007, having already won in Dubai, Doha, Warsaw, Roland Garros and Eastbourne, and the 35th of her brilliant career...Full Story

Federer routs Blake in Cincy for 50th career title

Mason, OH (Sports Network) - Roger Federer breezed past James Blake in straight sets of the Cincinnati Masters final to capture his 50th career ATP singles title.
The Swiss superstar had little trouble defeating the American Blake, winning 6-1, 6-4, to become the fifth-youngest player to reach 50 career wins at 26 years and 11 days. Novak Djokovic denied Federer of the milestone last week in the final at the Montreal Masters.
It is the fifth title in 2007 for Federer, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. The top-seeded and world No. 1 Federer also captured his second Cincinnati crown, having won here in 2005.
The ninth-seeded Blake fell to 0-7 lifetime against Federer, having lost to the Swiss star in three finals.
Federer pocketed $400,000 for winning, while Blake took home $200,000.

Red Devils lose to rivals, blow to title hopes

MANCHESTER, England (Ticker) - Manchester United's miserable start to the new Premier League season continued Sunday when it lost 1-0 to Manchester City.
The Red Devils have now won only two points from their first three games and questions marks hang over their ability to retain the title they won in May.
Brazilian signing Geovanni was the Blues' matchwinner with a 31st-minute shot that went in off United defender Nemanja Vidic.
City's hero was England defender Micah Richards, who made a number of fine tackles and interceptions which emphasized why he is regarded as the No. 1 young player in England.
It has been a dream start for City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who as England manager failed to fulfil the national team's expectations. City has won its first three games.
United tore into City from the start.
Nani twice tested goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, first with a near-post shot the Dane kept out with his legs, and then with a shot after Paul Scholes flicked a pass into his path...Full Story

John keeps featherweight crown

Gifu, Japan (Sports Network) - Chris John upended Japan's Zaiki Takemoto by technical knockout Sunday to keep his WBA featherweight crown.
The Indonesian star dominated the fight and sent Takemoto to the canvas twice. Bruised and battered, Takemoto couldn't answer the bell for the 10th round.
It was the eighth straight successful title defense for the undefeated John (40-0-1, 21 knockouts).
Takemoto dropped to 21-7-1, with 12 KOs, with the loss.