Points leader Kenseth splits with Roush
AUTO RACING: NASCAR points leader Matt Kenseth, one of the longest-tenured drivers in the series, is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season.
He will be replaced in the No. 17 Ford – the car he has driven for all but one of his 452 career starts – by Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kenseth’s long relationship with Ford will apparently come to an end. He is believed to be headed to Joe Gibbs Racing, either in Joey Logano’s No. 20 Toyota or a fourth unannounced team.
Why? Good question. The team offered no answers in the sudden divorce of one of NASCAR’s longest active relationships. Only Jeff Gordon, with Hendrick Motorsports since 1993, has been with his team longer than Kenseth has been with Jack Roush.
Kenseth and teammate Greg Biffle are ranked first and second in the Sprint Cup Series, clearly poised to make a run at the championship. Kenseth opened the season with his second Daytona 500 victory, and has 11 top-10 finishes through 16 races. He has won 22 Cup races overall, and the 2003 championship.
Kenseth did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but tweeted about his departure.
“I’m very thankful to Jack Roush for the opportunities he’s given me over the past 14 years. Together we have enjoyed a lot of success,” he posted.
Kenseth’s car has had sponsorship woes the last few years, and Roush is funding a large portion of this year’s schedule himself for the 40-year-old Kenseth.
Brees confident of long-term pact
NFL: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is confident that he and the Saints will agree on a long-term contract.
With the start of training camp about a month off, the two sides still have “a ways to go” to close the gap, the 2010 Super Bowl MVP said.
Nonetheless, he said, “I’m confident, and always have been, that we’ll get a long-term deal accomplished.”
Brees acknowledged that the NFL’s bounty investigation into the Saints has slowed down negotiations.
“This has been a stressful offseason in a lot of ways. There’s been a lot of distractions for everybody,” he said. “I’m not using that as an excuse other than just stating it as fact. That has delayed things quite a bit at times.”
And when it comes to that bounty probe, Brees is adamant that the league has not proved money ever changed hands in a pay-to-injure scheme.
League leads study in diversity hiring
NBA: The NBA remains the leader among professional sports leagues in diversity hiring practices, according to a report.
The University of Central Florida’s Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave the NBA an A-plus for racial hiring and A-minus for gender hiring in its annual Racial and Gender Report Card. The league received an overall grade of A.
It is the third straight report that the NBA has scored at least an A for both race and gender.
For the first time in NBA history, there were more head coaches of color (53 percent) than white head coaches. Also, African-Americans comprised 47 percent of all NBA coaches, the highest percentage since the 2001-02 season.
Spartans, UConn will play in Germany
Miscellany: After opening last season on an aircraft carrier, Michigan State’s men’s basketball team is ready to head overseas for a game on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany.
Michigan State and Connecticut are planning the unique matchup, which is set for Nov. 9 at Ramstein Air Base, pending final approval by the Defense Department.
• Panel looks into ethics violations: The state police captain who provided security for former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino may have broken the law when he accepted tickets and a Sugar Bowl ring from the football program, according to the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
The panel said there was probable cause that Capt. Jeffrey Lance King violated the law by receiving gifts intended to reward him for doing his job, according to a settlement offer that King signed last week.
King has not been charged with any wrongdoing and prosecutor John Threet said he wasn’t aware of any criminal allegation against the officer.
• Williams leads Tulsa: Rookie Riquana Williams scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Tulsa Shock to a 91-75 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks at Tulsa, Okla.