Associated Press
FONTANA, Calif. ó While Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are 1-2 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and building strong cases for starting the Chase for the championship as the favorites, there is a shadow looming behind them.
Jimmie Johnson is never far from their minds.
“I’ve always been worried about Jimmie Johnson,” Busch said. “I take him as being probably the best driver on the circuit. You never know what he can come up with during a race or what him and (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) can come up with in their cars to make it fast.”
While Busch has been the hottest driver this season, leading the points and winning eight races, and Edwards has been close behind with six wins, Johnson has had a so-so season ó for him.
The Hendrick Motorsports star is a distant fourth in the points and has just two wins and 12 top-10 finishes heading into today’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
But nobody is selling Johnson short with two races left until the start of the 12-man, 10-race Chase.
U.S. OPEN
NEW YORK ó Less than two months ago, the Williams sisters played each other in the Wimbledon final.Because of the quirks of rankings and the vagaries of tournament draws, they are on track to meet in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Is that disappointing?
“Obviously, yeah,” Serena Williams said. “But I’ve had over a week to think about it. So right now I’m just hoping to win my next match.”
Neither Williams had the least bit trouble advancing to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. Both won 6-2, 6-1 Saturday against seeded opponents.
The No. 7-seeded Venus Williams beat No. 27 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine, and not long after, in the same Arthur Ashe Stadium, No. 4 Serena Williams defeated No. 30 Ai Sugiyama.
GOLF
NORTON, Mass. ó Tim Clark needed only one birdie over his final two holes to shoot 59. He finished with consecutive bogeys and had to settle for a one-shot lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship.
He still matched his career low with a 9-under 62 on soft and vulnerable TPC Boston, giving him a one-shot lead over Mike Weir of Canada at the halfway point of the PGA Tour’s second playoff event.
– PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. ó Jeff Sluman shot a 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach on for a share of the second-round lead in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open with Loren Roberts, Phil Blackmar and John Harris.
TRACK
ZURICH, Switzerland ó Usain Bolt easily won the 100 meters in 9.83 seconds in the Weltklasse meet, his first competition since his record-shattering performance in the Beijing Olympics.
NBA
SAN ANTONIO ó San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, will need surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle. The Spurs said that Ginobili will have surgery next week.
– SEATTLE ó Former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz is dropping his lawsuit against new team owner Clay Bennett, ending an attempt to return the team from its new home in Oklahoma City.
COLLEGE HOOPS
CHARLOTTE ó Charlotte and Davidson will put their 30-year rivalry on hold for two years because of a scheduling spat.
Charlotte officials announced Saturday the twice-rescheduled game would not be played on Dec. 13 at Davidson because the Wildcats had not moved a previously scheduled home game with Chattanooga.
The schools will not play again until the 2010-11 season.
NFL
CHARLOTTE ó Cornerback Ricardo Colclough was released by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, hours after he was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, and star receiver Steve Smith was placed on the reserve-suspended list.
Safety Terrence Holt and defensive end Stanley McClover were also among the 22 players cut Saturday to get the Panthers to the 53-man regular-season limit.
– NEW ORLEANS ó A hurricane has driven the Saints out of New Orleans again. They don’t plan on being gone nearly as long this time.
With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast three years after Katrina swamped New Orleans, the Saints left Saturday for Indianapolis, where they will spend the week preparing for the Sept. 7 opener against Tampa Bay.
– TAMPA, Fla. ó The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released former starting quarterback Chris Simms on Saturday as they trimmed to the roster list of 53 players.
– NEW YORK ó Jets running back Jesse Chatman was suspended without pay by the NFL on Saturday for violating the league’s steroids and related-substances policy.
– JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ó Jaguars running back Fred Taylor was arrested outside a Miami Beach nightclub early Saturday and charged with disorderly conduct.