Final table decided at World Series of Poker

The 27 players who began their final push at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Monday topped a field of 6,844 players in the main event that began July 3. Six hours and 20 minutes into play, half the remaining players had been eliminated, leaving 13 players at two tables.

When the tournament reached 10 players, the remaining rounders were expected to come together for the first time at the same table, but end the night when one of them was knocked out.

The player who takes the title in poker’s richest contest – to be decided in November after the no-limit Texas Hold ’em main event takes a four-month break – will have never won a world series tournament before.

Auto racing

Newman, Penske split

Ryan Newman, projected as a possible teammate for Tony Stewart on the two-time NASCAR champion’s new team, will leave Penske Racing at the end of the 2008 season.

Newman’s impending departure was announced Monday in a release from the Penske team.

Newman expressed his appreciation to Penske and to the team in a statement, but gave no indication where he will be racing in 2009.

Newman has been with the Penske team since making his Sprint Cup debut in 2000. He got a full-time Cup ride in 2002 and has notched 13 victories, including this year’s Daytona 500.

He has struggled since giving Penske his first Daytona win and is currently 16th in the standings.

Football

Redskins sign Brennan

The Washington Redskins agreed to terms with sixth-round draft pick Colt Brennan.

The Heisman Trophy finalist from Hawaii will compete for the No. 3 quarterback job behind Jason Cambpell and Todd Collins when the Redskins open training camp Sunday.

Last year, Brennan threw for 4,343 yards and 38 touchdowns with 17 interceptions.

•Prosecutors dropped an assault charge against former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, clearing the way for him to apply for reinstatement by the National Football League.

The 25-year-old Henry was accused of punching an 18-year-old University of Cincinnati student in March and of breaking his car window with a beer bottle.

Basketball

Ref’s calls investigated

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy made more than 100 phone calls to a fellow official at the same time he was providing information to gamblers during the 2006-07 season, Fox News reported.

Citing court documents and phone records it obtained, Fox reported Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers.

The 41-year-old Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of taking cash payoffs from gamblers in the 2006-07 season. He faces up to 33 months in prison.

Horse Racing

Toe grabs limited

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to limit the length of toe grabs on horses’ front hooves, a move experts say could save countless horses from injury.

The toe grabs, which have been used on tracks for decades to help horses gain traction on the dirt, have come under fire recently after experts found the equipment put too much pressure on the bones in a horse’s front legs while running.

•Luke Kruytbosch, the track announcer for the Kentucky Derby for the last 10 years, was found dead Monday at his home in southern Indiana. He was 47.

Kruytbosch appears to have died of cardiac-related natural causes.