Fast Break
Auto Racing
Johnson wins Phoenix pole
Jimmie Johnson moved a step closer to a third straight Sprint Cup title by winning the pole Friday at Phoenix International Speedway.
Johnson, the defending race winner, turned a lap of 134.725 mph in his Chevrolet to earn the top starting spot Sunday. If he gains 57 more points than Carl Edwards, Johnson would only need to start the season finale to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough (1976-78) to win three straight titles.
Edwards, who had the fastest car in the final practice session, qualified 15th and said the engine in his Ford bogged down on the backstretch during his lap. Winner of the last two races, he trails Johnson by 106 points with two events to go.
Jamie McMurray qualified second and was followed by Kurt Busch.
NFL
Porter apologizes for trash talk
Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter offered an apology to Jacksonville receiver Matt Jones but stood by his complaint about NFL fines and suspensions.
During a national conference call Wednesday, Porter questioned how Jones could be playing despite a felony cocaine charge against him earlier this year. Jones angrily responded, saying, “Is Joey Porter the commissioner?”
“Matt, I’m sorry to bring you up in that,” Porter told reporters. “I apologize for using you, but you were just like the example that was clear to everybody. … What do you get fined for? So what is good and what’s not good? I’m still trying to figure that out.”
Moments before Porter apologized, he raised the subject of his fight with Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones at a Las Vegas casino in March 2007. Porter pleaded no contest and paid a $1,000 fine in his court case, while he was fined three game checks – $141,176 – by the NFL.
Porter said the league penalty was harsh.
“I didn’t even get a ticket,” he said. “I didn’t go to jail, didn’t get arrested. So what you’re saying is it’s OK to do drugs, but fighting’s not. So that’s what we’re teaching our kids – fighting, that’s a no-no. Drugs, we’ll find a different way to deal with it.”