Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó Matt Kenseth is losing his sponsor after 10 seasons.
Roush Fenway Racing said Dewalt Power Tools told the team Thursday it will not return in 2010. Team president Geoff Smith said the decision is not a surprise because of the worldwide decline in the construction industry.
Dewalt was on Kenseth’s car for the 2003 Cup championship and 18 victories ó including this year’s Daytona 500.
CYCLING
ANNECY, France ó Lance Armstrong finds himself in unfamiliar territory at this Tour de France ó fighting just to remain among the top three riders.
Armstrong had to settle for a 16th-place finish in Thursday’s time trial and a tenuous grip on third place. He entered the day in fourth and easily overcame a 30-second deficit to Frank Schleck.
During his reign as Tour champion, Armstrong never finished lower than third in a time trial, except once, when he placed seventh in one in 2003. This year, in the Stage 1 time trial in Monaco, he was 10th.
GOLF
SUNNINGDALE, England ó Four days after his playoff defeat at Turnberry, Tom Watson shot a 3-under 67 to begin his pursuit of a fourth Senior British Open title.
Funk birdied five of his last eight holes for a 6-under 64 ó the lowest opening round in the history of the championship.
* OAKVILLE, Ontario ó Kevin Na birdied the final five holes and nine of his last 12 for a 9-under 63 and a two-stroke lead over Retief Goosen, Scott Verplank and Joe Durant during the suspended first round of the 100th Canadian Open.
* EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France ó Becky Brewerton shot a 5-under 67 and was tied for the first-round lead at the Evian Masters. Michelle Wie made two late birdies for a 73.
NFL
RICHMOND, Va. ó Two people familiar with the meeting confirmed the NFL commissioner, Michael Vick, agent Joel Segal and two other members of the suspended quarterback’s team met Wednesday at a security firm in New Jersey.
Earlier Thursday, Vick’s Virginia-based attorney Lawrence Woodward denied reports that Vick spent his first night of freedom at a Virginia Beach strip club.
“It is absolutely, categorically false,” Woodward told the AP.
* NEW YORK ó The NFL is making its draft even more television-friendly, moving the first round to a Thursday night.
* NEW ORLEANS ó A Saints linebacker and two former players sued a film studio to try to get their money back from investments they say were never made.
Current Saints linebacker Scott Shanle, former punter Mitch Berger and recently cut Saints long snapper Kevin Houser are seeking the return of $468,750 invested with the studio’s head, Wayne H. Read. Read was not named personally in the petition. They filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Louisiana Film Studios LLC, located in a New Orleans suburb.
Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Archie Manning were among 27 people who bought what they thought were state film industry tax credits that promised a projected return of $1.33 for each dollar invested. A state official, however, said the studio never applied for them.
* ENGLEWOOD, Colo. ó Denver signed second-round draft pick Richard Quinn, fourth-rounder Seth Olsen and fifth-round pick Kenny McKinley.
Quinn was highly regarded for his blocking skills at North Carolina.
* EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. ó Minnesota has signed cornerback Antoine Winfield to a five-year contract extension.
NBA
CLEVELAND ó LeBron James struggled with sudden fame after appearing on Sports Illustrated’s cover as a 17-year-old and admits he smoked marijuana during his junior year in high school.
Those are two of the revelations in “Shooting Stars,” a book written by James and co-author Buzz Bissinger chronicling James’ rise from Akron, Ohio, hoops prodigy to NBA superstar.
* CLEVELAND ó Christian Eyenga, a raw shooting guard drafted in the first round by the Cavaliers, will stay with his Spanish club next season.
* MILWAUKEE ó The Bucks agreed to terms with Ersan Ilyasova, potentially bringing the forward back after two seasons overseas.
* DALLAS ó The feud between Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former coach Don Nelson stretches back nearly seven years and has some $7 million at stake.
Previously secret testimony and e-mail are now in the public record as part of legal proceedings.
There’s deposition testimony from Cuban in which he acknowledges that he withheld consulting fees from Nelson in 2006 because he believed the former coach had “badmouthed” the team during the NBA finals and should be made to “beg” for the money.
There’s also testimony from Nelson in which he describes being so disgusted with Cuban that he signed a contract to stay on as coach in 2003 only after friends “got me drunk.”
* LAS VEGAS ó David Lee says he is frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations for a new contract with the New York Knicks.
NHL
RALEIGH ó The Carolina Hurricanes locked up Tuomo Ruutu for three seasons, avoiding arbitration by signing him to a deal worth $11.4 million.
* CHICAGO ó The Blackhawks say recently signed Marian Hossa will undergo surgery today on his right shoulder to repair a small tear in his rotator cuff. Recovery usually takes about four months, meaning Hossa probably won’t be ready for the opener on Oct. 2.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BOISE, Idaho ó Boise State will head east to play Virginia Tech in 2010 at FedEx Field, in the Washington suburb of Landover, Md.
* CHICAGO ó Illinois coach Ron Zook has received a one-year contract extension.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
OMAHA, Neb. ó College baseball is getting ready to crack down on composite-barrel bats.
The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee this week proposed an indefinite ban on the bats after anecdotal evidence and research conducted during this year’s Division I national tournament indicated many of the bats didn’t comply with NCAA standards.
A formal vote could be taken next month and, if approved, the ban would go into effect at the start of the 2010 season. Aluminum bats remain the most popular choice.
SOCCER
CHICAGO ó Clarence Goodson and Kenny Cooper scored to give the Americans a 2-0 win over Honduras and a spot in their third straight CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
* CARSON, Calif. ó David Beckham offered no explanations or apologies for the way he confronted an angry group of Los Angeles Galaxy fans over the weekend.
“It’s not a setback for myself. It’s other people that have to change,” Beckham said. “It’s not about whether I can move on. I wasn’t the one booing.”
* CHICAGO ó The United States still has hope of hosting the World Cup in 2018 despite the likelihood FIFA will favor going back to Europe for that tournament.
TENNIS
INDIANAPOLIS ó Sam Querrey was one of the few seeded players who escaped the second round of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships with a victory.
Querrey, seeded third, beat fellow American Rajeev Ram 7-5, 6-3.
American Alex Bogomolov beat No. 2 seed Dudi Sela American Wayne Odesnik beat No. 4 seed Igor Kunitsyn, Frank Dancevic beat No. 5 seed Benjamin Becker and American John Isner beat No. 8 seed Denis Istomin.
* NEW YORK ó John McEnroe’s World TeamTennis club has been fined for what the league called “unprofessional conduct” by him and other players.
During a doubles match between McEnroe’s New York Sportimes and the Washington Kastles on July 16, a shot by Washington’s Leander Paes hit New York’s Robert Kendrick. McEnroe and Sportimes coach Chuck Adams went to Paes’ side of the court and yelled at him.
Four points later, Kendrick hit Paes with a serve, prompting more screaming and confrontations.