MOTOR SPORTS
Hornish collars Blaney
Sam Hornish Jr. went from nearly winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series season title to losing his ride. Hornish reminded everyone Sunday in Newton, Iowa, that a lack of sponsorship funding is the only reason he’s not pushing for the championship again. Hornish Jr., who finished second in the Nationwide Series in 2013, beat pole-winner Ryan Blaney off a restart with 21 laps to go and hung on to win at Iowa Speedway. Blaney was second, followed by Regan Smith, Chase Elliott and Elliott Sadler in the first standalone event of the season. Hornish, guiding the No. 54 car usually driven by Kyle Busch, led 167 of 250 laps to win in second start of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing. “I got a lot of crap from people on Twitter wanting to know why I don’t have a full-time ride. But I’d rather be part-time in this car than full-time in a lot of others,” Hornish said. Hornish, who drove for Penske Racing last year, opened his season as Busch’s substitute with a fifth-place finish at Talladega two weeks ago. Hornish and Blaney were the only drivers in serious contention from the start Sunday. Blaney, 20, began the race on the outside of the front row after winning his first series pole Saturday. But Hornish, who qualified second, pulled in front on the opening lap. Blaney and Hornish were the only leaders for the first 214 laps, and lapped traffic was often more of a concern that the cars directly behind them. Blaney eventually caught Hornish at the tail end of a green flag run that lasted roughly 65 laps. But the final restart belonged to Hornish, who fell just three points shy of champion Austin Dillon a year ago. It was the third victory in 101 Nationwide starts for Hornish, 34, who beat a field featuring three drivers aged 20 or younger in the top six starting spots.
Three-time Formula 1 champion Jack Brabham, who famously pushed his racing car to the finish line to claim his first season championship, died Monday at his Gold Coast home in Brisbane, Australia. He was 88. Brabham, known as Sir Jack in racing paddocks around the world after he was knighted in 1979 — won world titles in 1959 and 1960 and became the only F1 driver to win a world championship in a car of his own construction — the rear-engined BT19 — which he drove to the title in 1966. The following year the Brabham team won its second successive world championship when New Zealander Denny Hulme drove the BT20 to victory. Brabham won his final Grand Prix race in South Africa in 1970 before retiring from F1 at the age of 44.
TENNIS
Djokovic, Williams prevail
Novak Djokovic extended his recent dominance over Rafael Nadal by rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday in Rome to win the Italian Open for the third time. In the women’s final, Serena Williams kept the crowd from being a factor in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 10th-seeded home favorite Sara Errani to win her third Rome title. Errani was bidding to become the first Italian to win the tournament in nearly 30 years but the top-ranked Williams quickly took control in both sets and Errani was slowed by a leg injury. Williams appears back on track for the French Open, which starts next Sunday. She won after withdrawing from the Madrid Open with a thigh injury. “I’m not 100 percent but I’m just kind of going on adrenaline,” the top-ranked American said. Second-ranked Djokovic has won four consecutive matches against Nadal — the previous three in straight sets — and takes the psychological edge to Paris. “It gives me a lot of confidence winning against Rafa in the finals of a big tournament on clay,” he said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster. It’s an ultimate challenge and I’m very happy with my game so far and hopefully I can carry that into Roland Garros.” The French Open is the only Grand Slam that Djokovic has yet to win, with his best result a runner-up finish in 2012. Nadal has won the tournament eight times. Williams’ other Rome titles came in 2002 and last year — and she went on to win the French Open on both occasions.
BASKETBALL
Coach, 900-game winner, dies
Don Meyer, one of the winningest coaches in college men’s basketball, has died in South Dakota. Family spokesman Brenda Dreyer said the former Northern State coach died of cancer at 6:52 a.m. Sunday. He was 69. Meyer led his teams to the playoffs 19 times and compiled a 923-324 record. He retired in 2010, after a decade at Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., and 24 seasons at Lispcomb in Tennessee. Four months after a near-fatal car accident in 2008 and a cancer diagnosis, Meyer was coaching from a wheelchair when he passed Bobby Knight as the NCAA’s winningest coach in men’s basketball history. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski took the title in 2012. Meyer was a standout athlete at Northern Colorado. He began his head coaching career at Hamline in Minnesota
CYCLING
Wiggins wins in California
Bradley Wiggins of Britain won the Tour of California on Sunday in Thousand Oaks after holding the lead for the final week. The 2012 Tour de France winner finished in the pack in 20th place in the eighth and final stage captured by compatriot Mark Cavendish. This was Wiggins’ first title since the seven-day Tour of Britain last September. Wiggins, who rides for Sky, defeated Australia’s Rohan Dennis of Garmin-Sharp by 30 seconds in the 720-mile race that began May 11 in Sacramento. American Lawson Craddock of Giant-Shimano was third overall, 1 minute, 48 seconds behind. Wiggins is a four-time Olympic track and road cycling gold medalist. It’s not clear if Wiggins, 34, will ride in the Tour de France, which begins July 5.
Pieter Weening of the Netherlands edged out Davide Malacarne to win the ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, while Cadel Evans retained the overall lead. Weening had been part of a breakaway group and apologized to Malacarne as he sprinted past him at the end of the final climb of the 172-kilometer (107-mile) leg from Lugo to Sestola for his second individual victory. The top three in the overall standings remains unchanged and Evans has a 57-second advantage over Rigoberto Uran. Rafal Majka is third, while Pozzovivo moved up into fourth, 1:20 behind Evans.
HOCKEY
Cananda tops Sweden in OT
Defenseman Ryan Ellis scored in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 comeback victory over defending champion Sweden at the at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday in Minsk, Belarus, while two goals from Tyler Johnson lifted the United States 3-1 over Finland. In the late games, star forward Alex Ovechkin sustained a right leg injury during Russia’s 3-0 victory over Germany and taken to a hospital for check-ups, while the Czech Republic overcame Norway 1-0. After a stunning loss to France in its tournament opener.