Off the wire

MOTOR SPORTS Leffler dies in race

NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died after an accident Wednesday night in a heat race at a dirt car event at Bridgeport Speedway in Bridgeport, N.J. The 37-year-old Leffler, a two-time winner on the Nationwide Series, was pronounced dead shortly after 9 p.m., New Jersey State Police said. Bridgeport Speedway is a 0.625-mile, high-banked dirt oval. Leffler finished last Sunday at Pocono in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start of the year. From Long Beach, Calif., Leffler made 423 starts in NASCAR’s three national series, but won just the two Nationwide races and one Truck Series event in a career that began in 1999. He also made three IndyCar Series starts, finishing 17th in the 2000 Indianapolis 500. Leffler’s last full NASCAR season was 2011, when he ran the entire Nationwide schedule for Turner Motorsports. He finished sixth in the standings that season and hadn’t had a steady NASCAR ride since. He had been racing sprint car events most of this year, including Wednesday night’s race, which promised a $7,000 prize to the winner. Leffler is survived by son Charlie Dean.

FOOTBALL Peters arrested

Five-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters of the Philadelphia Eagles was arrested in north Louisiana early Wednesday for allegedly drag racing and trying to flee from police, authorities said. The Monroe (La.)News-Star reports that Peters (Arkansas Razorbacks) was released on bond Wednesday after his early morning arrest. An arrest affidavit obtained by the newspaper says an Ouachita Parish sheriff’s office deputy saw a white Camaro and a blue sedan in what appeared to be a race at 4:45 a.m. The sedan’s driver pulled over when the deputy activated his lights. Authorities said the Camaro driver, identified as Jason R. Peters, led the deputy on a chase at speeds exceeding 100 mph before finally stopping at a shopping mall parking lot. Peters was charged with drag racing and resisting by flight. It wasn’t clear if he has an attorney. According to NFL.com, Peters recently said he was fully recovered from recent Achilles tendon surgery and was willing to walk away from football if he didn’t recapture his pre-injury form this coming year. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Peters is widely considered one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. He spent his first five seasons with Buffalo before coming to Philadelphia in 2009.

HOCKEY

Bylsma extends contract

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Coach Dan Bylsma have agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2016. General manager Ray Shero announced the deal Wednesday morning, less than a week after the Eastern Conference’s top seed was swept by Boston in the conference finals. Assistant coaches Tony Granato and Todd Reirden will also be retained. Goal tending coach Gilles Meloche will move into an advisory role with the club next season. Bylsma is 201-92-25 in four plus seasons with Pittsburgh and helped the franchise win its third Stanley Cup in 2009. The Penguins went 36-12-0 and won the Atlantic Division title this season. Shero says he believes Bylsma is the coach to work with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the team moves forward.

BASEBALL Teen, machine to toss

In what is believed to be a baseball first as far as ceremonial first pitches, 13-year-old Nick LeGrande will take the toss today before the Yankees-Athletics game from his home in Kansas City, Mo., 1,800 miles away, by using a robotic pitching machine. LeGrande is an A’s fan with a rare blood disorder called severe aplastic anemia. The former Little Leaguer’s illness no longer allows him to attend games. LeGrande and his family, including parents Mike and Shari LeGrande, were to be taken to a mini baseball stadium constructed by Google at its Kansas City offices - a location close to LeGrande’s home and Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he receives treatment. At the same time across the country, a telerobotic pitching machine was to be placed on the pitcher’s mound at the Oakland Coliseum to follow the teen’s movements. The technology allows LeGrande to simultaneously throw the pitch and watch it happen from afar. In explaining the process, Google said that LeGrande will use an Android application allowing him to control the movements of the robot in Oakland. That robot will be equipped with a camera, which will live stream a view of the ballpark to LeGrande in Kansas City, where his friends, doctors and former teammates are expected to be in attendance.

San Francisco pitcher George Kontos has been suspended for three games by Major League Baseball, which said he intentionally threw a pitch at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, and Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has been banned for one. MLB senior vice president Joe Garagiola made the decision Wednesday, a day after Kontos was ejected from the Pirates’ 8-2 win for hitting McCutchen with a pitch in the eighth inning. A warning had been issued earlier in the game. Four batters were hit, including Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez by Tim Lincecum, and San Francisco’s Gregor Blanco by Gerrit Cole and Marco Scutaro by Tony Watson. Kontos was optioned Wednesday to Class AAA Fresno and would serve the suspension only when he is back in the major leagues. If he files an appeal, the penalty would be delayed until after a hearing and decision. Bochy was penalized for what MLB said was Kontos’s intentional actions. He was to serve the suspension Wednesday night. Scutaro is out indefinitely with an injury to the pinkie finger on his left hand.

TENNIS Flipkens advances

Top seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium came from a set down to beat Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic and advance to the third round of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, on Wednesday. On a rainy third day of the Wimbledon warmup, Flipkens won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and will play Magdalena Rybarikova for a place in the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania beat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-4 and Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, was given a tough workout by Nadiya Kichenok before coming through 7-6 (4), 6-2. Kristina Mladenovic and Bojana Jovanovski were among the other seeded players to progress but it was a disappointing day for the home contingent.