Hamlin reigns at Coliseum, winning his 4th Clash in OT

Denny Hamlin, who wasn’t even sure he’d be healed from offseason shoulder surgery in time to compete in the Clash at the Coliseum, won the Saturday night exhibition that NASCAR hurried into a one-day show to avoid a dangerous “Pineapple Express” storm headed to California.

Hamlin, in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, started from the pole and led 59 of the 151 laps. But his teammate Ty Gibbs controlled a large portion of the race until a late caution set up a restart with 10 laps remaining.

Hamlin got the lead on the restart and was about to win until Gibbs crashed on the last lap to send the race into overtime. Hamlin then got a jump on reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney, who needed a provisional to make the 23-car field, on the restart for the win.

“It’s just a great momentum boost,” said Hamlin, who will now move on to the season-opening Daytona 500, where he will seek a fourth win in “The Great American Race.”

“You know, I clean off all the trophies every January 1st in the entryway of the house and now we get to add another one pretty quick, so pretty happy about that.”

Hamlin has now won the Clash four times, but his other three wins came when the exhibition was held at Daytona International Speedway, including his rookie year. Joe Gibbs Racing has won the race a record 12 times, and now two years in a row following Martin Truex Jr.’s victory last season.

Kyle Busch finished second in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, and Blaney rallied to lead Team Penske teammate Joey Logano to finishes of third and fourth.

GOLF Pebble Beach Pro-am final round postponed until today

Rain and a raging wind on Sunday caused the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am to be postponed, leading to the third Monday finish in the last six years.

But that assumes it can even be played today.

Wyndham Clark two-putted for birdie on his final hole on Saturday for a tournament-record 60 and finished the day with a one-shot lead over Ludvig Aberg. Clark would be declared the winner if the final round cannot be completed.

More rain was in the forecast for today, which doesn’t bode well for a seaside course already saturated. Rain dumped nearly an inch on a soggy course, leading the tour to twice delay the start of the final round until calling it for the day.

Under PGA Tour guidelines, the final round wouldn’t start if there was no chance of finishing it today. Gary Young, the chief referee, had said that a “drop dead time” to start would be 10:15 a.m. to be able to finish.

Either way, it was a flat finish for the tour’s first full “signature event” that had an elite field of 80 players with no cut and a $20 million purse. It had been a chance for golf to shine on a Sunday with the NFL not playing and the location among the most famous in the sport.

MLB Angels obtrain reliever Cisnero

Reliever José Cisnero and the Angels agreed to a $1.75 million, oneyear contract.

A right-hander who turns 35 on April 11, Cisnero was 3-4 with two saves and a 5.31 ERA in 63 games last year in his fifth season with Detroit, striking out 70 and walking 25 in 59 1/3 innings. He allowed a career-high 10 home runs, up from six in 2022.

Cisnero averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball, up from 93.4 mph in 2022 but down from 96.4 mph in 2019.

He is a 13-17 with a 3.99 ERA in seven seasons with the Houston Astros (2013-14) and the Tigers (201923), striking out 275 and walking 130 in 259 1/3 innings.

Infielder Livan Soto was designated for assignment to open a roster spot.

OLYMPICS Taurasi heads national team

Five-time Olympic champion Diana Taurasi was selected as part of the U.S. national team that will play in a pre-olympic qualifying tournament in Belgium this week.

Taurasi is one of seven former Olympians on the roster. She’s joined by Ariel Atkins, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young. Additionally 2022 World Cup champions Kahleah Copper, Sabrina Ionescu and Alyssa Thomas will be part of the team.

Aliyah Boston and Rhyne Howard round out the squad. Both players will be making their debuts with the senior national team.

FIGURE SKATING Canadians take ice dance title

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada captured their first International Skating Union title winning the gold medal in ice dance at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai.

Two-time world bronze medalists Gilles and Poirier obtained level fours on their lifts, twizzles and dance spin to get 128.87 points for a total of 214.36.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and

Nikolaj Soerensen of Canada were second with 207.54 points while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the United States took bronze with 194.14.

SWIMMING China extends reign in diving

Diving powerhouse China won gold in the men’s 3-meter synchronized springboard for the fourth time in a row at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Wang Zongyuan and Long Daoyi were the top scorers in five of the six rounds and finished with a total 442.41 points, beating Italy’s Lorenzo Marsaglia and Giovanni Tocci on 384.24 and Spain’s Adrian Abadia and Nicolas Garcia Boissier on 383.28.

Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary won his second career world title in open water swimming with victory in the men’s 10-kilometer event.

China’s artistic swimmers retained the title they won last year in the team acrobatic event, while the United States won its first medal of the championships with bronze.

SOCCER FIFA gives Metlife Stadium 2026 World Cup final

The 2026 World Cup final will be played at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19.

FIFA made the announcement, allocating the opener of the 39-day tournament to Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on June 11.

Semifinals will be played on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the following day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quarterfinals will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on July 9, at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, the following day, and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on July 11. The third-place game will be at Hard Rock on July 18.

The U.S. team will train in suburban Atlanta ahead of the tournament and at Sofi on June 12, the Americans play seven days later at Seattle’s Lumen Field and finish the group stage at Sofi on June 25.

MARK J. TERRILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Denny Hamlin poses with his trophy after winning the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum race in overtime. His other three Clash titles came at Daytona.