SportsTwo

Ed Carpenter turned Pole Day into a family celebration.

The stepson of IndyCar founder Tony George became the first member of the Hulman family to win the biggest pre-race event in the series -- the Indianapolis 500 pole.

Carpenter produced a stunning finish to a day that was rife with suspense but lacked surprise. His four-lap average of 228.762 mph was quick enough to break up what appeared to be a Team Penske-Andretti Autosport lock on the front three rows in the nine-car shootout for the pole.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/st...-own-race-team

Ken Venturi, who overcame dehydration to win the 1964 U.S. Open and spent 35 years in the booth for CBS Sports, died Friday afternoon. He was 82.

His son, Matt Venturi, said he died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Venturi had been hospitalized the past two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia and then an intestinal infection that he could no longer fight.

Venturi died shortly after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on May 6.

He couldn't make it to the induction. His sons, Matt and Tim, accepted on his behalf after an emotional tribute by Jim Nantz, who worked alongside Venturi at CBS.

"When Dad did receive the election into the Hall of Fame, he had a twinkle in his eye, and that twinkle is there every day," Tim Venturi said that night.

Venturi was all about overcoming the odds.

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9...n-analyst-dies

Retired stock-car driver Dick Trickle, known for his colorful name and short-track prowess, died on Thursday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.

According to the Lincoln County, N.C., sheriff's department, the incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. ET at Forest Lawn Cemetery off Highway 150 in Boger City.

The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call, apparently from Trickle, that "there would be a dead body and it would be his." Center workers tried to place a return call to the number but did not get an answer.

Emergency units found Trickle's body lying near his pickup truck when they arrived.

Lt. Tim Johnson, who heads the Lincoln County detective department, said that at the family's request, no additional information would be released at this time.

Johnson said there would be an investigation, which is standard in cases such as these.

"He called in," Johnson said. "It's not the first time we've had these. It's always a sad situation ... even sadder for the family."

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...gun-shot-wound

The NBA Board of Governors has voted down a bit to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, according to a report from USA Today's Sami Amick.

The Maloofs had agreed to sell the Kings to a group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer who had planned on moving the franchise to Seattle as a replacement for the departed Sonics.

Mitch Levy of KJR reports that 22 teams voted for the Kings to remain in Sacramento while eight approved the sale.

The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008.

A group attempting to buy the Kings to keep them in Sacramento is being led by Vivek Ranadive, current part owner of the Golden State Warriors.

If the Kings are able to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento, plans call for the city to heavily finance the build.

With nearly all NBA teams in fairly stable situations in their current locations, Seattle's best chance at getting a team now appears to be through expansion.

"We will talk to the Maloofs within the next 24 to 48 hours to see if we can facilitate an agreement between Maloofs and Ranadive group," said David Stern.

Stern described the presentation made by the Seattle group as "excellent" and an "extraordinary ownership group."

Stern said there was a generalized talk to consider expansion, but will wait until the completion of the next television negotiation.

Stern promised "fair dealing" in regards to Seattle in the future. Stern also praised the efforts from Hansen and Ballmer and said that their relationship with the league is very good.

Read more http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap...ove-To-Seattle

The Dallas Stars fired coach Glen Gulutzan on Tuesday, an expected move by new general manager Jim Nill for a franchise that has missed the playoffs a record five straight seasons.

Gulutzan's dismissal came about two weeks after Nill replaced Joe Nieuwendyk, who was fired after four seasons.

The 41-year-old Gulutzan had the Stars in playoff contention both seasons, but Dallas faltered down the stretch each time. The Stars were 64-57-9 under Gulutzan, including 22-22-4 in the lockout-shortened 2013 season.

Assistant coach Paul Jerrard also was fired. The team planned an afternoon news conference.

"They are both quality coaches and men, but we have decided to go in a different direction with our coaching staff and we wish them well in their next endeavors," Nill said in a statement.

Assistant coach Curt Fraser and goaltending coach Mike Valley will stay with the club.

Read more http://espn.go.com/dallas/nhl/story/...tzan-2-seasons

Former NFL running back Chuck Muncie has died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

"Sadly, we have learned of the untimely passing of Chuck Muncie," Saints owner Tom Benson said in a statement on the team's website. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and other loved ones at this difficult time."

Muncie, who also played for the San Diego Chargers, was a three-time Pro Bowler who rushed for 6,702 yards and 71 rushing touchdowns in 110 career games.

"Everyone at the Chargers is deeply saddened by the passing of Chuck Muncie, one of the greatest running backs in Chargers history," the team said in a statement. "We will remember him as a tremendous athlete with a larger-than-life personality. It's a sad day for all of us and all Chargers fans."

He was suspended after Week 1 in 1984 after testing positive for cocaine. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1985 after being reinstated from his suspension but never played another NFL game.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/92...muncie-dies-60

Well, I knew it was too good to true. Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) has reportedly suffered a hand injury while training for his now cancelled June 29th fight against Germany’s Manuel Charr (23-1, 13 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK.

The injury was bad enough to where the 32-year-old Haye needed to pull out of the bout completely so that he can rest his hand for 1 month before deciding what he wants to do next.

Haye said nothing about whether he’ll attempt to reschedule the bout, although it does seem unlikely given his silence on the subject.

Haye said this about the injury as quoted by bbc.co.uk “I’m absolutely gutted to have to pull out of this fight. I need to rest it up for at least four weeks. I pick up injuries now and again in training and sometimes carry them into fights, but this was one I simply couldn’t recover from.”

I wonder if Charr is feeling that Haye got cold feet and decided against the wisdom of fighting a power puncher like Charr after seeing some of the video of his past fights, and realizing that he’d be in the ring with a fighter with a 40 pound weight advantage over him. This isn’t like Haye fighting Dereck Chisora where a lot of the extra weight that Chisora was carrying around was useless fat.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/05/...f-charr-fight/

California investment banker Darin Pastor has joined a long list of would-be Phoenix Coyotes suitors whose interest in owning the team could not translate to an actual money-on-the-table purchase.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com on Monday that Pastor's bid to buy the team was dismissed because it didn't meet the league's requirements.

"We have rejected the offer. It didn't include the elements we had previously discussed were necessary to warrant serious consideration," Daly said in an email Monday night.

The Irvine-based Pastor, whose family has hockey connections in the Buffalo area, emerged within the past month or so as a potential purchaser of the team. He told ESPN.com in an interview at the time that he and his mostly California-based investors had financing lined up to buy the team and were determined to work out a new lease agreement with the City of Glendale.

But that never transpired, and Pastor's group joins others, including former San Jose Sharks president and CEO Greg Jamison, who claimed to be ready to buy the league-operated team but failed to do so.

Pastor told ESPN.com Monday he had not heard directly from the league regarding the rejection of his offer.

"This is news to me," he said.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/92...hoenix-coyotes

George Postolos resigned as president and CEO of the Houston Astros on Monday, returning to sports consulting work in the midst of the team's third consecutive season of struggles.

Postolos worked for seven years with Houston businessman Jim Crane to buy a sports franchise and it wound up being the Astros. He had been Astros president and CEO since November 2011.

"I am very proud of what Jim accomplished with my help -- acquiring a major league franchise with a strong and diverse ownership group, developing and implementing a good plan for the team's future, and assembling a first-rate management team," Postolos said. "I look forward to helping other investors pursue their objectives in sports knowing that Jim and the Astros organization are off to a great start and well positioned for future success."

The successes have been rare of late for Houston. The Astros entered Monday night's game in Detroit at 10-28, the worst record in the major leagues, and Houston batters had struck out a big league-high 381 times.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/92...o-resigns-post

Derek Boogaard's family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the NHL.

In the lawsuit, the family says the league is responsible for the brain damage that Boogaard sustained during six seasons as an enforcer in the league, and for his addiction to prescription painkillers.

"To distill this to one sentence, you take a young man, you subject him to trauma, you give him pills for that trauma, he becomes addicted to those pills, you promise to treat him for that addiction, and you fail," Williams Gibbs, a lawyer for the Boogaards, told the New York Times.

Boogaard was found dead of an accidental overdose of pain medication and alcohol on May 13, 2011. He was 28. He was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain ailment that is caused by repeated blows to the head.

"On numerous occasions, the NHL allowed and encouraged Derek Boogaard, after suffering concussions, to return to play and fight in the same game and/or practice," a copy of the suit obtained by the Times read.

The NHL has not commented on the lawsuit.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/92...th-lawsuit-nhl

George Sauer had a huge day in the biggest game in New York Jets history, and then surprisingly walked away from football a few years later.

Sauer, a wide receiver on the Jets' only Super Bowl championship team, has died. He was 69.

The team and Moreland Funeral Home in Westerville confirmed Saturday that he died Tuesday after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Sauer played a key role in the Jets' 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl. He caught eight passes from Joe Namath that day in one of the greatest upsets in pro football history.

He played for the Jets in the AFL and then the NFL from 1965-70, but left the game after the 1970 season still in his prime because, he said at the time, he was unhappy with the way the game treated players. Sauer briefly returned to football in 1974 with the New York Stars and Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League before retiring from playing for good.

Sauer later was an assistant coach for the Carolina Chargers of the American Football Association in 1979.

"We will always remember George Sauer for his role in the New York Jets' run that culminated with a historic victory in Super Bowl III as well as the strength of his convictions off the field," Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we say goodbye to someone whose unforgettable contributions will always be a part of this organization's history."

Read more http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...-sauer-dies-69

Longtime Oakland Raiders chief executive officer Amy Trask resigned her position on Saturday, ending the tenure of one of the highest-ranking women in American professional sports.

Trask spent 25 seasons with the Raiders starting during their time in Los Angeles and continuing after the move to Oakland in 1995. She became CEO in 1997 and was one of late owner Al Davis' most trusted advisers before his death in October 2011.

"Earlier today, I informed Mark Davis of my decision to leave the Raiders," she said in an email statement. "Having honored a commitment that I made to effectuate a smooth transition and transfer of control, I no longer wish to remain with the organization. For over a quarter of a century, it was my honor and my privilege to work for the Raiders. I will forever appreciate the opportunity afforded me by Al Davis."

Mark Davis took over the Raiders following his father's death. He hired general manager Reggie McKenzie to run the football operations in January 2012 and has been looking for a potential team president this offseason.

The Raiders released a statement late Saturday thanking Trask for her time with the team.

"Mark Davis, Carol Davis and the rest of the Raiders family would like to thank Amy Trask for her valued contributions to the Raiders for the past 25 years. The Raiders wish her the very best in her future endeavors."

Read more http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/92...gns-25-seasons

Jack Butler, who helped revolutionize the way cornerbacks played in the NFL during his Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, died Saturday after a lengthy battle with a staph infection. He was 85.

Butler's son John said his father's heart stopped suddenly Saturday morning. The elder Butler had spent the last several months in the hospital dealing with a staph infection that plagued him since his career ended in 1959.

"It had been a long road," John Butler said. "It wasn't completely out of the blue."

Unlike Butler's professional career.

The Pittsburgh native played wide receiver at St. Bonaventure and was planning on returning to school to get his master's degree when he received a phone call from Steelers business manager Fran Fogarty in the summer of 1951. To be honest, Butler assumed Fogarty had the wrong number.

"I didn't know anything about professional football," Butler said.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/92...butler-dies-85

Authorities say former Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young has been arrested in California for the third time in a week.

Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joe Balicki says the 23-year-old Young was arrested late Friday in San Clemente for allegedly breaking into a home.

Balicki says Young fought with deputies after a foot chase. He has been charged with attempted burglary, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. He is in custody Sunday on $75,000 bail.

"There was a brief struggle," Balicki said, according to the Detroit News. "He wanted to fight with the deputies. They ended up subduing him."

Read more http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/92...ted-third-week

Fernando Alonso won the Spanish Grand Prix by nearly 10 seconds in a dominant performance in front of his home fans on Sunday to close the gap on championship leader Sebastian Vettel and get back in the Formula One title race.

Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen finished second for the third straight race, with Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa third as most drivers chose a four-stop strategy due to ongoing problem with Pirelli's fast-degrading tires. That issue remains a big concern as tires still shred far too easily despite pre-race modifications.

Starting from fifth place, Alonso won his second race this season, showing that Ferrari can challenge Red Bull for pure speed. Alonso was easily quicker than Vettel, with the three-time defending champion finishing 38.2 seconds behind in fourth ahead of teammate Mark Webber.

"In the four years with Ferrari this is the best (car) we've had," Alonso said. "I realized the race was in our pockets if we don't do mistakes."

He climbed on top of his Ferrari and waved a Spanish flag gleefully as he encouraged applause from the fans, who broke into chants of "Alonso, Alonso."

It was Alonso's second win in Barcelona -- the first coming in 2006 -- and his seventh career podium on the Circuit de Catalunya.

"It's very special winning at home and it doesn't matter how many times you repeat it," Alonso said. "Very long last laps because you want to finish as quickly as possible. Difficult qualifying as we were not too quick yesterday but we knew we had the pace on the long runs. We did it and everything worked perfect."

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/f1/story/_...p-close-f1-gap

Tiger Woods had the last word against Sergio Garcia by winning The Players Championship on Sunday.

Woods ended a weekend of verbal sparring with Garcia by doing what he does best -- closing out tournaments, even if he let this one turn into a tense duel over the final hour at the TPC Sawgrass. Tied with Garcia with two holes to play, Woods won by finding land on the last two holes for par to close with a 2-under 70.

If only it were that simple for the Spaniard.

Garcia was standing on the 17th tee shot, staring across the water to an island as Woods made his par. He took aim at the flag with his wedge and hung his head when he saw the ball splash down short of the green. Then, Garcia hit another one in the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7. He completed his stunning collapse by hitting his tee shot into the water on the 18th and making double bogey.

Woods was in the scoring trailer when he watched on TV as Swedish rookie David Lingmerth missed a long birdie putt that would have forced a playoff. It raced by the cup, and Lingmerth three-putted for bogey.

"How about that?" Woods said to his caddie, Joe LaCava as he gave him a hug.

Woods won The Players for the first time since 2001 and joined Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Steve Elkington as the only two-time winners at the TPC Sawgrass. It was his 78th career win on the PGA Tour, four short of the record held by Sam Snead.

Lingmerth closed with a 72 and finished two shots behind along with Kevin Streelman (67) and Jeff Maggert, who also was tied for the lead until finding the water on the 17th to make double bogey. The 49-year-old Maggert birdied the 18th for a 70.

Garcia took 13 shots to cover the final two holes -- 6-over par -- and tumbled into a tie for eighth.

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9...-stumbles-late

Serena Williams kept the No. 1, and added No. 50.

Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title, while Rafael Nadal eased by Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 for his fifth title since returning from a knee injury.

The second-ranked Sharapova would have overtaken the top ranking with a win, but Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve.

Despite Sharapova briefly recovering her poise in the second set, Williams' form never dipped as she eased to the title.

"It feels good," Williams said about winning her 50th title. "I don't know how many more I can win. Who knows if I will ever win another title? I just want to live the dream. Hopefully, I can keep it going.

"When you first start out everything is so exciting. Now I expect to win."

Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...le-madrid-open

Kyle Busch figured it'd be easy to run his own program on the Nationwide Series after all the wins he'd racked up for Joe Gibbs Racing.

A year on his own and out of Victory Lane, though, taught Busch a hard lesson. Back with JGR, Busch is back to his dominant ways in Nationwide racing. He won his fifth race of the year, pushing past Joey Logano 18 laps from the end to win at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.

"I thought it can't be hard to upstart an organization and beat JGR," the 28-year-old Busch said. "But, obviously, that's not the case."

It was Busch's 56th Nationwide win, extending his career mark, and the 112th win across Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nat...de-race-season

Matt Kenseth is quickly showing how well he fits in at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kenseth passed JGR teammate Kyle Busch 13 laps from the end to win the Southern 500 on Saturday night, his third victory in his debut season after a successful stint with Roush Fenway Racing.

JGR president J.D. Gibbs knew he was getting a champion in Kenseth. Still, even he's been surprised with how fast the new driver has come up to speed alongside teammates Denny Hamlin and Busch.

"He's a good leader," Gibbs said. "Denny and Kyle really like having him there and hearing what he has to say. And on the track, he's got a gift."

He proved that again at Darlington, where Kenseth patiently sat behind Busch much of the race before the right adjustments to the car clicked. It didn't hurt that Busch, who led 265 of 367 laps, cut a right rear tire down the stretch that cost him.

Once Kenseth cleared his teammate, he had clear sailing toward his 27th career Sprint Cup victory.

"I've got the good job and I've got the easy job," Kenseth said. "When they give me cars this fast, it's a lot of fun.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...n-southern-500