Rain helps Munoz grab first IndyCar victory

Carlos Munoz of Colombia benefitted from Mother Nature to notch first IndyCar victory. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Auto racing: Carlos Munoz has his first career IndyCar victory, winning Saturday at Belle Isle in Detroit when the race was called because of rain after 48 laps.

The 23-year-old Colombian driver had a substantial lead when a caution flag came out with just over 30 minutes remaining in what was supposed to be a two-hour race. The yellow flag was due to lightning in the area, and the race went under a red flag not long after that.

After the rest of the race was called off, Munoz was declared the winner. Marco Andretti was second, followed by Simon Pagenaud and pole-winner Will Power.

“Not the way I wanted to win,” Munoz said after his 28th career start. “I wanted to win this one, 100 percent, all the laps complete. But a win is a win.”

• Buescher wins Xfinity race: Chris Buescher stretched his fuel and held on to win the Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.

Buescher, the series points leaders, has emerged as the driver to beat in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

Matt Kenseth was second, followed by Regan Smith, Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne.

Bowditch has two-shot lead

Golf: Steven Bowditch shot a 4-under 65 in the AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas, to take a two-stroke lead and leave hometown favorite Jordan Spieth six shots back heading into the final round.

Dustin Johnson was in the group tied for second after the day’s low round of 62 on the rain-altered par-69 at TPC Four Seasons.

Spokane native Alex Prugh missed the cut after the suspended second round was completed.

• Pressel maintains lead: Morgan Pressel kept her patience despite a steady breeze and greens that grew bumpy in the afternoon, shooting a 2-under 69 to maintain a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist in the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, New Jersey.

• Kjeldsen out in front: Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark shot a 4-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead in the third round of the Irish Open in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

Few others at Royal County Down finished the course under par. Most of the top-ranked players, including host Rory McIlroy and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, failed to make Friday’s cut as barely a dozen golfers even broke par amid pelting rain and icy gales.

Blatter insists his hands clean

Soccer: Invigorated by his FIFA presidential re-election win, Sepp Blatter insisted he had nothing to fear from a U.S. federal case which alleged a $150 million bribe scheme in international football. Several senior FIFA officials have been arrested, but Blatter shrugged of the notion that he could be next.

“Arrested for what? Next question,” Blatter said curtly when meeting international media for the first time since American and Swiss federal cases rocked FIFA’s home city of Zurich on Wednesday.

“I forgive but I don’t forget,” Blatter also said at FIFA headquarters, referring to a European-led attempt to oust him after 17 years in office.

• U.S. women tie South Korea: The United States wrapped up its World Cup warmup matches with a listless 0-0 draw against South Korea in Harrison, New Jersey.

Still, the U.S. extended its home unbeaten streak to 96 since November 2004 (84-0-12) and is 7-0-2 against the South Koreans.

• U.S. men top Myanmar: The United States men won their first match at the Under-20 World Cup since 2009, rallying to beat Myanmar 2-1 in Wellington, New Zealand, on goals by Maki Tall and Emerson Hyndman.

• Arsenal defends FA Cup title: Theo Walcott ended a frustrating season by scoring the first goal as Arsenal won a record 12th FA Cup title with a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in the final at Wembley Stadium in London.

• Messi sparks Barcelona: Lionel Messi scored a stunning opener before adding a second goal to lead Barcelona to the Copa del Rey title with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in Barcelona, Spain, giving the Catalan club its second of three possible trophies before it turns to the UEFA Champions League final.

UCLA edged out at WCWS

Softball: Emily Carosone scored on Morgan Estell’s bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Auburn an 11-10 victory over UCLA in an elimination game at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Branndi Melero had three hits and four RBIs, and Carlee Wallace also drove in four runs for the Tigers. The 21 combined runs were the second-most in World Series history, and the game lasted four hours.

Auburn (56-10) will play Florida today for the right to play in the championship series. Auburn must win twice, while defending national champion Florida will need just one victory. Auburn stayed alive with a 4-2 loser-out win over Tennessee earlier in the day.

• Ducks eliminated: Alexis Osorio threw a complete game and struck out nine to help Alabama defeat Oregon 2-1 in a WCWS elimination game in Oklahoma City.

Contador remains on course

Miscellany: Alberto Contador had his overall lead sliced in half on the penultimate day of cycling’s Giro d’Italia in Sestriere, Italy, although the Spaniard remained on course for the title after the 20th stage.

Fabio Aru is second 2 minutes, 2 seconds behind Contador.

• Brook retains belt: Kell Brook won his second defense of the IBF welterweight belt to stay undefeated, while fellow British boxer Anthony Joshua enhanced his burgeoning reputation in the heavyweight division with a second-round stoppage of experienced American Kevin Johnson in London.

• James wins 400: Kirani James won the men’s 400 meters in a world-best time of 43.95 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

American Justin Gatlin showed that he’s not done at age 32. He won the men’s 200 in 19.68, matching his lifetime best.

American Tyson Gay won the men’s 100 in 9.88.

• Tomac crashes, Dungey wins: Eli Tomac crashed and dislocated his right shoulder while leading in the second 450 Class moto, and Ryan Dungey went on to win the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado, to take the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season points lead.

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