Finale postponed until this afternoon
Persistent rain washed out the Brickyard 400 on Sunday and delayed the conclusion of NASCAR’s regular season. Rain washed out the entire weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the final race before the playoffs was moved to today at 2 p.m., after the rescheduled Xfinity Series race. Indianapolis was drenched by three days of rain. NASCAR’s playoffs begin next weekend in Las Vegas and the sanctioning body is eager to conclude the regular-season finale at Indianapolis, which sets the field for the 16-driver playoffs. Kyle Busch is scheduled to start on the pole alongside Kevin Harvick.
Breanna Stewart scored nine of her 25 points in the fourth quarter and Seattle held off Washington to take a 2-0 WNBA Finals lead. Seattle will head to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday needing only a split back east to win the franchise’s third title. Elena Delle Donne led the Mystics with 17 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter, taking just one shot.
Wilson honored: A’ja Wilson was named WNBA Rookie of the Year. The top pick in the draft this past April averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for Las Vegas.
Alabama is No. 1 again in The Associated Press poll this week. The Crimson Tide made a 106th overall appearance at the top of the AP rankings, which started in 1936, passing Ohio State for the most by any school. Alabama received a season-high 54 first-place votes Sunday, strengthening its hold on No. 1 over No. 2 Clemson, which started the season with 18 firstplace votes but is down to six after a 28-26 win at Texas A&M. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State held their spots and Oklahoma moved to No. 5, edging No. 6 Wisconsin.
Duke: QB Daniel Jones is out indefinitely with a broken collarbone and all-ACC cornerback Mark Gilbert is done for the season with a hip injury.
Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco, the team’s home run and RBIs leader, will miss the remainder of the season because of a bone bruise in his left knee.
Twins: Right-hander Ervin Santana may miss the rest of the season while receiving a series of platelet rich plasma injections in the middle finger of his pitching hand. Santana, 35, is in the final guaranteed season of a $55 million, four-year contract. The Twins have a $14 million option for next year with a $1 million buyout.
Thibaut Pinot won the 15th stage of the Spanish Vuelta with a dominant charge on the iconic climb into Lagos de Covadonga, while Simon Yates stayed close and added a few seconds to his overall lead. Pinot broke away under dense fog with about 3.7 miles to go and the Groupama-FD J rider held on for a victory after a 110.7-mile ride through the Picos de Europa mountains. He crossed the line 28 seconds in front of Miguel Angel Lopez and 30 seconds ahead of Yates. Alejandro Valverde was fourth, 32 seconds off the lead. Yates gained six seconds on Valverde, increasing his overall lead to 26 seconds. Today is the second and final rest day of the three-week Grand Tour race.