1070 The Fan: Top Sports News

Newgarden fastest bump-day qualifier

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:30:00 GMT

The nine starting positions that remained for the May 26 Indianapolis 500 were determined during Sunday's "Bump Day" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Josef Newgarden was the fastest on the second and final day of qualifying with a four-lap average of 225.731 mph. Graham Rahal and Sebastian Saavedra will share the ninth row with Newgarden in the 500-mile race.

Tristan Vautier, Ana Beatriz and Pippa Mann will make up row 10. Conor Daly, Buddy Lazier, the 1996 Indy 500 winner, and Katherine Legge grabbed the final three starting spots and will occupy row 11.

Legge became the 34th driver entered for this year's Indy 500 on Saturday, securing a ride in the No. 81 car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before the start of morning practice.

Michel Jourdain Jr. was the only driver who did not qualify. Jourdain was driving the No. 17 car for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He did not make a qualifying run on the last day, as his team struggled to find the proper speed in his car.

Driver/owner Ed Carpenter, an Indianapolis native, will start on the pole position for the Indy 500 after recording a four-lap average of 228.762 mph in Saturday's qualifying. Andretti Autosport teammates Carlos Munoz, a rookie, and Marco Andretti will share the front row with Carpenter.

Parker, Spurs too much for Grizzlies

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:33:00 GMT

From start to finish, the veteran-laden Spurs played with the confidence of a team in search of its fifth NBA championship.

Tony Parker tallied 20 points with nine assists and the Spurs connected on 14 3-pointers in a 105-83 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference finals series Sunday in San Antonio.

Kawhi Leonard and Matt Bonner each canned four shots from beyond the arc as the Spurs set a franchise record for most 3-point makes in a playoff game. Leonard finished with 18 points, while Bonner poured in 12 off the bench.

The Spurs, making their eighth appearance in a conference final in the last 15 years, led nearly the entire game while holding Memphis' postseason leading scorer, Zach Randolph, in check the whole way.

Averaging 19.7 points per contest during these playoffs coming in, Randolph scored just two while missing his first seven shots from the field. He finished 1-for-8 for the Grizzlies, who are making their first appearance in a conference final.

Memphis, winners of eight of nine coming in, had not lost a game by double- digits since Game 1 of its quarterfinal set with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Quincy Pondexter made five 3-pointers en route to a team-best 17 points, while Marc Gasol and Mike Conley poured in 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the setback. The Grizzlies will look to rebound Tuesday night in San Antonio for Game 2.

The Spurs constantly made the extra pass in order to break up Memphis' top flight defense, recording 28 assists on their 40 made baskets for the game.

They made seven of their first eight shots from the field to get going early and they led by as many as 20 in the first half before taking a 51-37 lead into the break.

Memphis' only offensive burst came in the third when it scored the last 10 points of a 13-2 surge. Pondexter netted three 3-pointers and Jerryd Bayless came away with a steal and a fastbreak dunk to cut the margin to 62-56 with 3:43 left in the period, but San Antonio had an answer.

Manu Ginobili had been held without a field goal to that point, but his ensuing 3-pointer quelled the run and began a quarter-closing 11-1 push for San Antonio. Bonner then connected on his fourth three and Ginobili added a driving score before a pair of Boris Diaw free throws sent the Spurs into the fourth with all the momentum and a commanding 73-57 edge.

The Grizzlies never came close in the final period, as the Spurs went for the knockout by connecting on 65 percent of their shots in the frame to build a lead that grew as large as 28 points.

San Antonio quickly took control with an 18-6 lead 5 1/2 minutes through the contest and Bonner drained two of the team's four 3-pointers in succession late in the stanza to help the Spurs take a 17-point edge into the second quarter.

With Memphis still struggling to score, the margin grew to 43-23 midway through the second after two more baskets from Parker, who made his first five shots.

Gasol helped give the Grizzlies a jolt offensively late in the session, bringing them within 12 by supplying three baskets to a 10-3 run, but Bonner quelled the short surge with another triple and the Spurs carried a 14-point edge into the break.

Game Notes

Memphis has dropped the opening game in its last four playoff series ... The Spurs were 14-of-29 from 3-point range for the contest ... San Antonio shot 52.6 percent from the field overall ... The Spurs' Tim Duncan posted a game- high 10 rebounds and scored six points.

Johnson shows he's best of All-Stars

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:05:00 GMT

Jimmie Johnson became the first driver to win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race four times on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Johnson, the five-time Sprint Cup Series champion, passed his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kasey Kahne, after the final restart with 10 laps remaining. He was untouchable from there, beating his closest competitor, Joey Logano, to the finish line by 1.7 seconds. Johnson had been tied with Dale Earnhardt and teammate Jeff Gordon for most wins in the all-star race with three. His previous victories came in 2003, '06 and last year.

"To beat Jeff and Earnhardt, two guys that I looked up to my whole life and two massive icons of our sport, this means the world to me," said Johnson, who collected $1,039,175 for his victory.

Johnson started the race in 18th due to a mishap during his mandatory four- tire pit stop in Friday's qualifying. He overshot his pit box and then received a five-second penalty for a loose lug nut.

When the fourth segment had concluded after 80 laps, Johnson was the fourth driver onto pit road. Johnson's No. 48 team gave him a quick enough stop to get him out of the pits in second, closely behind Kahne.

"I really didn't think we had a shot at winning tonight, but we had a great car and worked our way through there and got the job done," he said.

Johnson joined Davey Allison as the only drivers to win the all-star race in consecutive years. Allison won this event in 1991 and '92.

In addition to his five series titles, Johnson has won the Daytona 500 twice, including a victory in this year's season-opener. He collected $1,525,275 for winning the 2013 Daytona 500. Johnson is the current points leader, taking a 44-point advantage into next weekend's 600-mile race at Charlotte.

"Over time, honestly, it's just dedication and drive from every member at Hendrick Motorsports and every member on this 48 team," he said. "We're very proud of what we've done and what we've accomplished, but we know we have to keep pushing harder and keep pushing one another. We did it here again tonight. I don't know how we keep doing it, but I'm proud of this race team."

Kyle Busch, who led 29 of 90 laps, finished third, while Kahne faded at the end to place fourth.

"We probably had the best car here tonight but just didn't get the best pit stop there at the end to get us out on the front row," said Busch, who has finished no worse than fourth in the past three all-star races. "When you're back behind cars, you're getting beat up on."

His elder brother, Kurt Busch, also led a total of 29 laps and was the first driver onto pit road for the mandatory four-tire stop after the conclusion of the fourth segment. The first four segments were 20 laps each, followed by the 10-lap shootout to the finish. Busch had a slow pit stop that put him back to fifth for the last restart. He held the lead at the completions of the first and fourth segments.

Busch, who is in his first full season as driver of the No. 78 car for Furniture Row Racing, finished fifth. Last weekend at Darlington Raceway, he started on the pole and led 69 laps in the early part of the Southern 500.

"To win some segments and to be in position with the all-star race the way it is, it just shows the true strength of this team, even though we're only running 20 laps at a time, but it still makes you feel proud to race for these guys," Busch said.

Denny Hamlin finished sixth, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray, who advanced into the all-star race by placing first in the Sprint Showdown (40-lap preliminary event). Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, the pole sitter, completed the top-10.

Danica Patrick was the last driver to finish on the lead lap in 20th. After finishing ninth in the Showdown, Patrick won the fan vote to give her the 22nd and final starting position. She became the first female competitor in the 29- year history of the all-star race.

Her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., also a rookie in the series this year, finished 16th in his first appearance in this race. Stenhouse earned a starting spot based on his second-place finish in the Showdown.

The all-star race was stopped for 41 minutes during the first 20-lap segment due to rain. It had rained at this 1.5-mile racetrack earlier in the day, creating a delay in the start of the Showdown.

Oxbow wins Preakness; Orb fourth

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:31:00 GMT

Long-shot Oxbow led wire-to-wire to take the 138th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, preventing the possibility of a Triple Crown winner for a 35th consecutive year.

Kentucky Derby winner Orb, the overwhelming favorite at 3-5, finished fourth after encountering traffic while on the rail entering the stretch.

Sent off as the second-longest shot of the nine-horse field at 15-1, Oxbow finished in 1:57.54 to give Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his sixth career Preakness victory and the third for jockey Gary Stevens, who resumed riding this year following a lengthy retirement.

Itsmyluckyday, the second choice at 8-1, placed second with Mylute finishing third.

Freeney signs with San Diego

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:00 GMT

The San Diego Chargers have added veteran pass rusher Dwight Freeney.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Freeney's deal is for two years.

Freeney spent his first 11 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and has 107 1/2 career sacks in 163 games. He's reached double figures seven times and last year, after switching from defensive end to outside linebacker in Indianapolis' new 3-4 scheme, posted five sacks in 14 games.

The Chargers' need for an outside linebacker became more urgent on Tuesday when Melvin Ingram tore his left ACL during offseason training activities. The 18th overall pick of the 2012 draft could miss the entire 2013 season.

Freeney visited the Chargers soon after Ingram's injury, meeting with new GM Tom Telesco, who had been part of the Indianapolis front office for 15 years before taking the San Diego job in January.

The 33-year-old Syracuse product was a member of the Colts' Super Bowl championship team after the 2006 season and is a seven-time Pro Bowl selection.

Edwards grabs pole for All-Star race

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:57:00 GMT

Carl Edwards will start on the pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after posting the quickest time in Friday's qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Edwards, who won the all-star event in 2011, completed his three laps around this 1.5-mile racetrack and performed his mandatory four-tire pit in 1 minute, 51.297 seconds. It will be the first time the Roush Fenway Racing driver will start on the pole for this race.

Earlier this week, NASCAR officials announced that a speed limit would not be enforced when a driver enters or exits pit road during his qualifying attempt. Those drivers participating in qualifying were running at speeds more than 150 mph on pit road.

"It was petrifying," Edwards said of the pit road speeds during qualifying and practice earlier in the day. "It was insane during practice. It felt like a war out there or something. It was crazy. Everybody was trying to practice, and there was really no oversight or management of all of us ... It was fun, and I wish we did this thing more often."

The excessive speeds caused problems for several drivers during their pit stops, including Jimmie Johnson, the defending all-star race winner, and Kevin Harvick.

Johnson overshot his pit box and had to back it up, which lost him valuable time. He also was hit with a five-second penalty for a loose lug nut. Johnson will start 18th in the 22-car field, with his time in 2:04.462.

Harvick also slid across the line in his pit area. His crew had already jumped over the pit wall to begin work on the car when he was in reverse and still not completely in the box. That disqualified Harvick's time, putting him in the 19th starting position.

Kurt Busch, who won the pole for last weekend's race at Darlington, earned the outside pole with a time of 1:52.447. Busch won the all-star race in 2010.

"To unload and have a good practice session and then to execute coming onto pit road at 157 mph is pretty wild," Busch said. "It was fun. Thanks to (NASCAR officials) Mike Helton, (John) Darby and (Robin) Pemberton for coming up with that rules change. When I first heard about it, I was excited. I gave it my best effort. We were right there."

Greg Biffle qualified third, while Kyle Busch and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five. Kyle Busch had won the pole for this event the previous two years.

Clint Bowyer took the sixth spot, followed by Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. originally had the second-best qualifying time, but Earnhardt was assessed a five-second penalty for a missing lug nut during his stop, dropping him to the 15th starting spot.

The first 19 positions were determined in qualifying. The top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown (40-lap preliminary race) will advance into the all-star event. And the last spot will go to the winner of the fan vote.

In qualifying for the Sprint Showdown, Martin Truex Jr. topped the charts at 193.424 mph. Truex has won the Showdown twice in the past to advance into the main event (2007 and '10).

Jamie McMurray qualified second, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Casey Mears. Danica Patrick took the seventh spot.

During the weekend at Charlotte, NASCAR teams are paying tribute to former driver Dick Trickle, who was found dead on Thursday in Boger City, N.C. from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71. Trickle, a Wisconsin native, competed in 303 races over a 24-year period in NASCAR's premier series. He also was a short-track ace, winning more than 1,000 stock car racing events throughout the Midwest.

Edwards had his team inscribe "Dick Trickle" where Edwards normally has his name printed on the driver's side of his No. 99 Roush Fenway Ford. Several crew members from the No. 99, including crew chief Jimmy Fennig, hail from Wis.

"This is to honor (Trickle's) family," Edwards said. "There's a lot of guys from Wisconsin on my team. Greg Emmer (road mechanic/front hose specialist) from my team called me last night and said that we've got to do something for Dick Trickle. He's a hero to all of us guys. We're just hoping his family is doing alright."

Saturday's Sprint Showdown is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. (ET), and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is slated to begin at approximately 9 p.m.

Spurs close out Warriors

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:13:00 GMT

San Antonio 94, Golden State 82

Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs are headed back to the Western Conference finals for the second straight season and for the eighth time in the past 15 years. Duncan scored a team-high 19 points in Game 6 and the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Golden State Warriors with a 94-82 victory in another tight showdown at Oracle Arena. The Spurs closed out the series despite off-shooting nights from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who made up for it by combining for 19 assists. Parker was a woeful 3-of-16 from the field for 13 points, though he made two big 3-pointers down the stretch, and Ginobili had five points on 1-of-6 shooting. Kawhi Leonard picked up the slack with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tiago Splitter and Danny Green chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively. San Antonio will meet the Memphis Grizzlies in the next round. The teams split the regular season series with each winning twice on their home floor, and the Grizzlies famously knocked out the Spurs in the first round as a No. 8 seed two years ago.

Golden State's Harrison Barnes did not play in the fourth quarter. The rookie, who had totaled 51 points the previous two games, took a scary fall late in the first half and needed six stitches to close up a gash above his left eye. He came back briefly in the third quarter, but headaches kept him from continuing. Stephen Curry paced Golden State with 22 points on 10-of-25 shooting but only netted six points in the second half. Jarrett Jack followed with 15 for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who gave the second-seeded Spurs everything they could handle but ultimately fell short after shooting 39 percent from the field Thursday.

Heat await winner of Pacers-Knicks series

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:28:00 GMT

Miami 94, Chicago 91

The Heat finished off the undermanned Chicago Bulls in five games despite blowing an early 18-point lead Wednesday in Miami. Dwyane Wade played through a knee injury and scored six of his 18 points down the stretch as the Heat held on for a 94-91 win to reach their third straight Eastern Conference final. LeBron James paced Miami with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the defending champions took the final four games of the series after losing the opener at American Airlines Arena. Chicago, short on bodies but not in effort, squandered an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter and had two chances in the final seconds to tie it, but Nate Robinson and Jimmy Butler both missed 3-pointers. Robinson scored 21, Butler had 19 and Carlos Boozer finished with game-highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who played the entire series without Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Memphis 88, Oklahoma City 84

There will be a new Western Conference champion after the Memphis Grizzlies eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in another close battle at Chesapeake Energy Arena Wednesday. The Grizzlies used their stout defense and double-doubles from Zach Randolph and Mike Conley to take Game 5, 88-84, and advance to the franchise's first conference final. Randolph poured in 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds but missed two late free throws with the Grizzlies holding a two-point lead. Kevin Durant had a chance to tie the game with time winding down and missed an open 16-footer before Tony Allen sealed the outcome at the foul line. Conley finished with 13 points, 11 assists and seven boards for the fifth-seeded Grizzlies, who won the final four games of the series after losing the opener. Durant, relied on more heavily after All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury last round, felt the burden in the ouster as he connected on just 5-of-21 from the field for 21 points. Oklahoma City, the West's top seed, averaged a mere 89.6 points in the series -- 16.1 points less than its regular season average.

Stress fracture sidelines Fever's Davenport

Fever release — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:50:00 GMT

Jessica Davenport of the Indiana Fever has been diagnosed with a stress fracture to her left tibia and will miss 6 to 8 weeks of the upcoming WNBA season. A 6-5 center and a six-year WNBA veteran out of Ohio State, Davenport was a vital part of the Fever’s championship run in 2012. She averaged 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in her fourth season with the club.

Indiana, also playing without third-year guard Jeanette Pohlen who continues rehabilitation after a torn ACL in last year’s WNBA Finals, fell to San Antonio, 64-58, in Wednesday afternoon’s preseason finale. The Fever and Silver Stars will meet again next Friday, May 24, in San Antonio in the regular season opener for both teams.

Spurs stifle Splash Bros., take 3-2 lead

1070 The Fan & Sports Network — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:19:00 GMT

San Antonio 109, Golden State 91

San Antonio stifled the Splash Brothers and Tony Parker carried the load for the Spurs in a dominant second half. Parker tallied 16 of his 25 points in the second half and added 10 assists in the Spurs' 109-91 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of this Western Conference semifinal in San Antonio. Parker was 9-of-16 from the field for San Antonio, which can advance to the Western Conference finals for the eighth time in 15 years with a win in Oakland on Thursday. The Spurs outscored Golden State 55-40 over the final 24 minutes, when San Antonio recorded 18 points off 11 Warriors turnovers. Kawhi Leonard registered 17 points and seven rebounds, Danny Green netted 16 points and Tim Duncan added 14 points and 11 boards in the triumph. The potent backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were limited to a combined 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting for Golden State, which got 25 points and seven rebounds from Harrison Barnes. Curry, who had been averaging 26 points per game through the first four games of this set, had nine points. He was 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Thompson poured in just four points and had been averaging 20 in the series. Jarrett Jack netted 20 points off the bench in defeat.