Edwards leads fast field at Michigan
Auto racing: Brad Keselowski was asked to pick one word to describe a lap at Michigan International Speedway.
“Fast,” the defending Sprint Cup champion said. “This is, to me, the fastest track we have – and it might be in speed, but it definitely is in feel.”
MIS is in its second year with a newly paved surface, and drivers are again making 200 mph laps look almost routine. Carl Edwards topped Sprint Cup qualifying Friday in Brooklyn, Mich., with a lap of 202.452 mph.
That run came a year after Marcos Ambrose won the pole at MIS at 203.241 mph – the first time since 1987 the 200 mph mark was broken during qualifying for NASCAR’s top series.
Edwards topped qualifying for the first time this season. He had the pole in May at Talladega as well, but that was because qualifying was rained out and the field was set by practice speeds. He’s second in the Sprint Cup standings.
Kurt Busch was second in qualifying, followed by Kasey Kahne. Points leader Jimmie Johnson was 17th, one spot behind Keselowski.
Edwards started second last weekend at Pocono, but finished 18th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won at MIS last June to snap a streak of 143 Cup races without a victory, qualified 12th.
Thirteen drivers qualified with speeds of at least 200 mph, although nobody could eclipse the mark set by Ambrose.
• Andretti cars dominate qualifying: Marco Andretti led a powerful Andretti Autosport rout as all four IndyCar drivers landed in the top five of qualifying at the Milwaukee Mile.
Andretti won the pole for today’s race with a two-lap average speed of 170.515 mph around the mile oval in West Allis, Wis. James Hinchcliffe was second at 170.418 for a 1-2 finish for the Andretti cars.
Will Power broke up an Andretti sweep by qualifying third at 170.212.
Power was followed by defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and E.J. Viso, both of Andretti Autosport.
• Foyt skipping race: A.J. Foyt is skipping today’s race at the Milwaukee Mile because of pain in his leg.
The 78-year-old owner of A.J. Foyt Racing is scheduled to meet with a neurosurgeon in Texas because of the pain.
Tsonga, Murray meet again at Queen’s Club
Tennis: Two-time former champion Andy Murray edged Benjamin Becker 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach the semifinals at Queen’s Club in London.
Murray will play fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a repeat of the 2011 final. The Frenchman ended the run of 112th-ranked American Denis Kudla, 6-3, 6-2 in 53 minutes.
Defending champion Marin Cilic will face four-time winner Lleyton Hewitt in the other semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Cilic beat Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4), and Hewitt reached his first semifinal in 11 months by upsetting Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 at the tuneup tournament before Wimbledon.
• Petkovic upsets Jankovic: Andrea Petkovic upset top-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-3 in the inaugural Nurnberger Versicherungscup in Nuremberg, Germany. In today’s final, Petkovic will play seventh-seeded Simona Halep, who beat fifth-seeded Lucie Safarova 6-3, 0-6, 6-2.
Cruz signs contract tender with Giants
NFL: Wide receiver Victor Cruz has signed his $2.879 million tender with the New York Giants.
Two people familiar with the contract told The Associated Press that the restricted free agent with three years in the NFL had signed the tender while he works on a long-term deal with the Giants.
Had the 26-year-old Cruz not signed before Monday, the Giants’ offer could have been reduced to $630,000 for the 2013 season. The Giants could have matched any offers Cruz received from other teams.
• Jets add veteran Winslow: The New York Jets have signed tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to a one-year deal after a solid performance during a three-day minicamp.
Winslow, who turns 30 next month, played in just one game last season with New England before asking for his release.
• Bills sign Manuel: The Buffalo Bills have signed quarterback EJ Manuel, their rookie first-round draft pick.
The Bills have now signed all eight of their draft picks.
McCoughtry leads Dream over Storm
WNBA: Angel McCoughtry scored 23 points and Jasmine Thomas added 13 to lead the Atlanta Dream over the visiting Seattle Storm 68-59.
McCoughtry, last season’s leading scorer in the WNBA, also had team highs with nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals as the Dream improved to 5-1.
Tina Thompson and Temeka Johnson scored 11 points apiece for Seattle, which dropped to 1-3 on the season.
Costa wins 7th stage at Tour de Suisse
Cycling: Rui Costa of Portugal won the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse in a late sprint through La Punt, Switzerland, while Mathias Frank retained the overall lead.
Costa was part of a four-man group that pulled away near the end of the 128-mile stage.BMC Racing’s Frank kept his overall lead, 13 seconds in front of Movistar’s Costa. Roman Kreuziger of Saxo-Tinkoff is third overall, 23 seconds back.