Off the wire

HOCKEY

Toews wins Selke Trophy

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the NHL’s best defensive forward, and Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators is the league’s coach of the year. The 25-year-old Toews was third in the NHL with a plus-28 rating in 47 games in the regular season. The center also was a finalist for the award after the 2010-2011 season. Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron also was up for the award. Toews and Bergeron are currently competing in the Stanley Cup finals. The Lady Byng trophy for the NHL’s most sportsmanlike player went to Tampa Bay forward Martin St. Louis for the third time in four seasons. Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins is the general manager of the year, and Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding won the NHL’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance.

MOTOR SPORTS

Foyt to miss Milwaukee

A.J. Foyt is skipping today’s race at the Milwaukee Mile because of pain in his leg. The owner of A.J. Foyt Racing is scheduled to meet with a neurosurgeon in Texas because of the pain. The 78-yearold Foyt had missed three previous races this season because of sciatic nerve pain in his back. He underwent successful back surgery in Houston in April to relieve the pain and was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in time for opening day. The back problems kept Foyt away from the track for Takuma Sato’s victory at Long Beach in April. Sato’s victory was the first for a Foyt driver on a street or road course since Foyt himself in 1978. On Friday, Marco Andretti led a powerful Andretti Autosport rout as all four drivers landed in the top five of qualifying. Andretti won the pole with a two-lap average speed of 170.515 mph around the mile oval. 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. But Power was followed by defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and E.J. Viso as the Andretti drivers proved they are the ones to beat today in the 250-mile IndyCar race. Sebastian Saavedra was sixth and Tony Kanaan was seventh as Chevrolet drivers swept the top seven spots. Josef Newgarden was the highest qualifying Honda at eighth. Andretti Autosport has won four of the last eight races at Milwaukee.

Carl Edwards topped qualifying for the first time this season with a lap of 202.452 mph at Michigan International Speedway on Friday. Edwards was given 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. Edwards started second last weekend at Pocono, but finished 18th. Last June, Marcos Ambrose won the pole on the newly paved surface at MIS at 203.241 mph, the first time since 1987 the 200 mph mark was broken during Sprint Cup qualifying.

Jordan Taylor won the pole Friday for the Rolex Sports Car Series’ event today at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at Lexington, Ohio, and brother Ricky Taylor took the other front-row spot. Jordan Taylor had a lap of 1 minute, 16.947 seconds, an average speed of 105.642 mph, in the No. 10 Corvette Daytona Prototype he owns to earn his second consecutive Grand-Am pole. After winning the pole two weeks ago at Belle Isle, he teamed with Max Angelelli to win the race. John Edwards, formerly of Little Rock, won the pole for the GT division with a lap of 104.150 mph, good enough for 13th overall.

BASKETBALL Kidd dives in

Jason Kidd’s baptism into coaching will come in the city that houses “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Kidd said Friday that he plans on coaching the Brooklyn Nets’ summer league team in Orlando next month, hoping to use it as a learning tool as he dives headfirst into this next chapter of his career. “I think it’s the best thing to get right into it,” Kidd said on ESPN Radio’s “Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco” show. “I know that a lot of times head coaches don’t coach summer league. But this gives me time to work on different parts of the game, learning to be a coach, also my philosophy and plays and the defensive stuff that I’ll get to put in as my system. So, I get to see if it works. If it doesn’t work, (then see) what changes I have to make and work from there.” Kidd, who made the rounds on several radio shows in his first full day on the job on Friday, reiterated his interest in bringing former Nets Coach Lawrence Frank on board.

TENNIS Hantuchova advances

Daniela Hantuchova rallied from a set and 4-1 down Friday to beat former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and advance to the semifinals of the grass-court Aegon Classic. Hantuchova won 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (3) to record another upset in a rainy week at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Birmingham, England. Donna Vekic, a 16-year-old Croat, routed third-seeded Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1. No. 16 Magdalena Rybarikova eased past Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0. Fifth-seeded Sabine Lisicki, the 2011 Wimbledon finalist, was level with American Alison Riske at 6-7 (2), 6-2, 2-2 in the other quarterfinal later Friday before play was suspended because of darkness.

HORSE RACING Velazquez hits 5,000

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez reached 5,000 career victories Friday at Belmont Park. Velazquez, 41, was a perfect 3 for 3 on the day, hitting the milestone with Galloping Giraffe, his final mount. He is the 28th rider in the U.S. and Canada to hit that plateau. He also guided San Pablo to victory in the $90,000 Criminal Type Stakes, the 10th win in 18 starts for the 5-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher. The time was 1:41.14 for the 1 1/16 miles as San Pablo beat Hymn Book by 3½ lengths. San Pablo paid $11, $3.50 and $2.30. Hymn Book returned $2.60 and $2.10, and Mucho Macho Man, second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, paid $2.10 to show.

FOOTBALL Cruz signs tender

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 on Friday 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. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the signing has not been announced publicly. 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. Cruz skipped all of New York’s off season program, but will be required to show up at training camp beginning in late July. An undrafted free agent in 2010 out of Massachusetts who became a star with the Giants as they won the 2011 NFL title, Cruz is coming off a Pro Bowl season. He made 86 catches for 1,092 yards and scored 10 touchdowns as one of the league’s best slot receivers last year, and was even more effective during the Super Bowl season with 82 catches for 1,536 yards and nine TDs, including a 99-yarder against the Jets. Those two strong seasons made Cruz vastly underpaid heading toward the upcoming season. So he sought a longer contract. When that didn’t happen, he stayed away from the team’s training sessions and this week’s minicamp, which concluded Thursday.

The New York Jets have signed tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to a one-year deal after a solid performance during the team’s three-day minicamp. The team announced the signing Friday. Winslow was brought in on a tryout basis and impressed coach Rex Ryan, who said Thursday that the former Pro Bowl tight end’s “athleticism and his ability to catch the football, it certainly jumps out.” Winslow, who turns 30 next month, adds depth to a position thin on experience after allowing Dustin Keller to leave as a free agent. Jeff Cumberland, with 32 career catches, was the projected starter, with Konrad Reuland, a solid blocker, and former rugby player Hayden Smith the backups. Winslow played in just one game last season with New England before asking for his release.