Rivera inducted into Cooperstown’s hall
The chants began even before baseball’s greatest closer stood to make his speech. “Mariano! Mariano! Mariano!” The former New York Yankees reliever paused and smiled.
“I don’t understand why I have to always be the last,” Mariano Rivera joked at his Hall of Fame induction Sunday. “I guess being the last one is special.”
Rivera and fellow closer Lee Smith, starters Mike Mussina and the late Roy Halladay, and designated hitters Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines were feted on a sunsplashed day in Cooperstown, N.Y. Taking the podium last as he had predicted, Rivera delivered a speech that included a brief thank you to his native Panama and the fans there.
“You’re special for me,” said Rivera, who spoke from notes although he had his speech ready if needed. “Thank you for your help. Latin American fans, thank you. Thank you for loving me. I’m so humbled and blessed to receive this incredible honor. God bless you all.”
The career saves leader with 652, Rivera was the first unanimous Hall of Fame pick by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America.
He pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with the Yankees, and retired with 952 games finished — also a record.
Kevin Harvick held off Denny Hamlin in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. After the two made contact coming out of the final turn, Harvick finished 0.210 seconds ahead for his 46th series victory and first since November at Texas.
Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to his second funny car victory of the season in the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. Johnson beat Bob Tasca in the final with a 4.102-second run at 308.50 mph in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Steve Torrence won in top fuel for his eighth victory in the last nine events.
Taking advantage of playing partner Kelly Kraft’s two late bogeys, Jim Herman finished with a two-under-par 70 for a one-stroke victory in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Ky. A shot ahead with three to play, Kraft bogeyed the par-three 16th and par-four 17th in a closing 70. Sepp Straka was a career-best third at 23-under after a 66 . ... Kristoffer Ventura of Norway won the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha for his second Korn Ferry Tour victory of the season and a spot on the PGA Tour next season.
Simon Yates of Britain posted a second stage win with a solo raid during the last Pyrenean trek of the Tour de France as Frenchman Thibaut Pinot gained more time on his rivals in the fight for the yellow jersey with a ferocious attack in the final climb on Sunday. Yates triumphed at the summit of the Prat d’Albis in Stage 15, three days after his first stage victory in the southwestern mountain range. Pinot crossed the finish line in second place, 33 seconds behind Yates, and moved to fourth overall.
Alejandro Pozo scored in the 90th minute on an assist from Munir El Haddadi to give hard-fighting Sevilla a victory over crowd favorite Liverpool at Boston’s Fenway Park in a friendly ... Harry Kane scored the winning goal from midfield as Tottenham beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus 3-2 in a preseason friendly in Singapore.
Peter McNamara, an Australian tennis player who won three Grand Slam event doubles titles and reached a highest singles ranking of No. 7, died of prostate cancer. He was 64. McNamara and Paul McNamee won the Wimbledon doubles title in 1980 and 1982, and the Australian Open title in 1979 . ... Top-seeded John Isner used his hot serve to overcome scorching conditions to beat No. 7 seed Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-3 to win his fourth Hall of Fame Open grass-court title in Newport, R.I . ... Li Na broke new ground at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, becoming the first Asian-born player to be inducted. She was enshrined along with Mary Pierce of France and Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov.