Kyle Busch wins Nationwide race at Indianapolis
Kyle Busch wins Nationwide race at Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Busch had a commanding lead wiped out with one ill-timed caution.
He snagged it back just in time to extend his dominant run in the Nationwide Series — and seal his latest win with a kiss.
Busch was the newest driver to kiss the bricks, leading 92 of 100 laps Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He turned his baseball cap around, dropped to his hands and knees, and planted a big one on the bricks.
Not bad after a late scare off a restart dropped him to third with six laps left and nearly turned Brian Scott into the surprise winner.
Busch fell back after some hard racing with Joey Logano that almost wiped out his near-flawless racing. But his No. 54 Toyota was the fastest car all day and he roared back to take the lead with three laps left. He won for the eighth time in 15 races this season.
Scott had a career-best second-place finish. Logano was third. Brian Vickers finished fourth and picked up a $100,000 bonus from series sponsor Nationwide as the highest finishing driver in the “Dash 4 Cash” program.
Three to be inducted posthumously into Baseball HOF
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — One created baseball’s foremost dynasty, one transformed the role of the men in blue, and one notched the first hit in the first professional game.
That’s the impressive legacy of baseball pioneers Jacob Ruppert, Hank O’Day and James “Deacon” White, who are finally about to receive the recognition they deserve — induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The three men represent the Class of 2013 and they’ve all been dead for more than 70 years, making Sunday’s festivities something out of the ordinary. For only the second time in 42 years, baseball writers failed to elect anyone to the Hall of Fame, sending a firm signal that stars of the Steroids Era — including Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens, who didn’t even come close in their first year of eligibility — will be judged in a different light.
Approval on 75 percent of returned ballots is needed for induction, and with pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine and slugger Frank Thomas eligible for the first time next year, Bonds, Sosa and Clemens figure to be on the outside looking in for a long while.
John Isner outlasts Hewitt, advances to Atlanta final
ATLANTA — Top-seeded John Isner and second-seeded Kevin Anderson set up what Atlanta Open officials will be the “tallest” final in ATP Tour history.
The 6-foot-10 Isner beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5) on Saturday, and the 6-8 Anderson topped American Ryan Harrison 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the night semifinal.
Isner is 5-3 as a pro against Anderson, and they played several times before that.
“We’ve been playing each other since, I think the first time was the fall of 2005 (when Isner was at the University of Georgia and Anderson at Illinois),” Anderson said. “We both serve quite well. … I definitely think there have been times when the success he’s had has pushed me to do well.”
Isner lost in the Atlanta finals in 2010 and 2011 to fellow American Mardy Fish.
Fognini, Robredo reach Croatia Open final
UMAG, Croatia — Third-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy saved three match points before reaching the final of the Croatia Open on Saturday, beating France’s Gael Monfils 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (3) in match full of momentum swings and turnarounds.
Fognini will face fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 winner over second-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy.
Fognini brushed aside Monfils in the first set, losing just 10 points, but then made a number of unforced errors in the second as the Frenchman leveled the match. In the third set, Fognini took a 5-0 lead before Monfils fought back again. Monfils saved two match points when trailing 5-3, but then wasted three of his own at 6-5.
Fognini trailed 2-0 in the tiebreaker before recovering.
Youzhny, Haase advance to Swiss Open final
GSTAAD, Switzerland — Mikhail Youzhny will play unseeded Robin Haase in the Swiss Open final after both won their semifinals on Saturday.
Haase rallied from a set down to beat fifth-seeded Feliciano Lopez, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in searing heat in the Swiss ski resort town.
The sixth-seeded Youzhny broke Victor Hanescu’s serve twice in each set to beat the Romanian 6-3, 6-3. Hanescu, the 2008 Gstaad champion, was called for a time violation in the second set.
The 33rd-ranked Youzhny seeks his ninth career title on Sunday, and his third on outdoor clay.
The 57th-ranked Haase, who won his only two career titles on clay at Kitzbuehel, Austria, has an 0-4 career record against Youzhny.
Cibulkova, Radwanska to meet in Stanford final
STANFORD, Calif. — Dominika Cibulkova hopes her latest WTA Tour final goes better than her last. Agnieszka Radwanska would love to make her relive that nightmare.
Both will get the chance Sunday.
Cibulkova coasted past Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-0 in the Bank of the West Classic semifinals Saturday. A few hours later, the top-seeded Radwanska overcame a shaky start to beat American Jamie Hampton 6-3, 6-2 with relative ease.
The third-seeded Cibulkova has won twice on tour and last advanced to a final in January in Sydney, where she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Radwanska. It was the first whitewash in a final since November 2006 and only one in Cibulkova’s career.
From wire sources