Keselowski prevails again in Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. — Brad Keselowski became the first three-time winner at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, overtaking Kevin Harvick on lap 201 and holding on for the Sprint Cup Series victory.
Matt Kenseth grabbed the lead with six laps remaining but soon pitted for fuel to hand the top spot back to Keselowski, who had just enough gas in reserve to edge Carl Edwards by .175 seconds in a tense finish for the 400-mile race. Keselowski’s tank eventually ran dry, and he needed a tow truck to get to victory lane.
Ryan Newman was third, followed by Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart. In other news: • Simon Pagenaud will start on the pole for the fifth time this season in Sunday’s IndyCar series race at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Pagenaud, the series points leader, qualified with a two-lap time of 185.886 mph and gave Team Penske its 500th pole across all forms of motor sports.
• Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England. Hamilton outpaced Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by three-tenths of a second in the closing seconds of the session.
CYCLING Froome takes overall Tour lead
Defending champion Chris Froome took his rivals by surprise with a daring downhill attack that earned him the race leader’s yellow jersey in the eighth stage of the Tour de France.
Leading at the top of the final climb of the Tour’s second Pyrenean stage, a tough 184-kilometer ride from Pau to Bagneres-deLuchon, he attacked when least expected on the grueling Col de Peyresourde.
The climb also was marked by Froome’s spat with a spectator, who got a little too close for comfort. Froome used a left jab to push aside the fan running too close to him before he began his ascent.
Tour spokesman Fabrice Tiano said later the race jury had met and decided to fine Froome $203 for “inappropriate behavior.”.
Dan Martin won a sprint for second, crossing 13 seconds behind, and Joaquim Rodriguez finished in third place.
Froome leads fellow countryman Adam Yates and Rodriguez by 16 seconds in the overall standings.
PRO BASKETBALL Simmons wins duel of top picks
It’s July, and it’s the NBA Summer League.
But Saturday night, the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas felt more like a playoff game, with a near-capacity crowd taking in the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, as the game featured the top two picks from last month’s NBA draft.
No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, who made his Summer League debut with the 76ers last week at Salt Lake City, had his first run-in with second pick Brandon Ingram.
While Simmons seemingly won the battle on the stat sheet, it was Ingram’s assist with 1.8 seconds left in the game that led to D’Angelo Russell’s buzzer-beater that lifted the Lakers to a 70-69 victory.
Simmons finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists; Ingram had seven points and four rebounds.
SOCCER Pepe good to go for Euro final
Portugal defender Pepe said he is fit and ready for the European Championship final against France on Sunday.
Pepe said at a news conference at the Stade de France in Paris that “I feel great. I’m fully fit and can be chosen to play.”
The Real Madrid defender sat out a 2-0 semifinal win over Wales because of a thigh muscle injury.
GOLF Johnson says no to Rio Olympics
U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson withdrew from the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro because of concerns over the Zika virus, costing golf three of the world’s top four players for its return to the Olympics after a 112year absence.
Jordan Spieth is the only player from the top four who has not said if he is going to Brazil
Johnson, No. 2 in the world after his U.S. Open title and another World Golf Championship victory last week, is the 13th player to pull out of the Rio Games. Eight of them, including world No. 1 Jason Day and world No. 4 Rory
McIlroy, specifically have cited Zika as the reason.
Patrick Reed, who said last week at the Scottish Open he wants to play in the Olympics, would replace Johnson.. In other news: • Alex Noren of Sweden birdied the last two holes to extend his lead to two shots at the Scottish Open after a third round that ended in heavy rain at the Castle Stuart links in Inverness. Noren shot a 4-under 68 to move to 12-under 204 — two clear of Tyrrell Hatton (66) of England and Matteo Manassero (68) of Italy.
• Paul Goydos shot a 6-under 66 to forge a tie for the lead with John Riegger after two rounds of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y.
PRO BASEBALL 2-out hit in 9th lifts Skeeters
Wilfredo Rodriguez drove in the game-winning run with a two-out single in the ninth inning, and Ricky Hague went 3-for-5 with a home run as the Skeeters beat the York Revolution 3-2 in Atlantic League action at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
Hague scored the winning run on Rodriguez’s single to help the Skeeters win for the third time in four games.
From staff and wire reports