Associated Press
STATESVILLE ó Reed Sorenson inhaled carbon monoxide during Monday’s Sprint Cup race at Pocono, and his team has asked former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve to be on standby this weekend at Watkins Glen.
Details of Sorenson’s illness were not immediately available.
* CHARLOTTE ó David Reutimann is not ready to forgive Denny Hamlin for the accident at Pocono that essentially ended his championship hopes.
“I’m not happy. I’m aggravated. I’m mad as heck,” Reutimann said during an appearance for Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I’m not sugarcoating any of that. I’m still really, really aggravated. Maybe we can get things sorted out.”
Late pit strategy had shuffled Hamlin to 13th when he ran into Reutimann in his charge back to the front. He shoved Reutimann, who was running ninth, through the turn. The contact caused Reutimann to lose control of his car, bounce off the wall and crash into teammate Marcos Ambrose.
Reutimann finished 29th and dropped three spots in the standings to 16th ó 121 points out ó with five races remaining before the Chase field is set. He entered Pocono in 13th place, just 68 points out of the top 12.
* DOVER, Del. ó Kyle Busch is a tick outside the cutoff in 13th place, 101 points behind Greg Biffle for the 12th and final spot.
“Well, I’m Kyle Busch,” he said. “I’m supposed to win races. That’s what I’m here to do. I’m supposed to be the guy that everybody’s chasing. I’m supposed to be the guy that’s hardest to beat out there.”
NBA
PORTLAND, Ore. ó Brandon Roy has reportedly agreed to a five-year contract extension worth between $78 million and $82 million with the Trail Blazers.
* PHILADELPHIA ó Former 76ers coach Randy Ayers has returned to the organization as an assistant under Eddie Jordan.
NFL
ASHBURN, Va. ó D.J. Hackett signed with the Washington Redskins, giving the team another option for the No. 5 receiver spot after Roydell Williams was waived with a finger injury.
Hackett had been looking for work since the Carolina Panthers released him in February. He previously played three years with Seattl, where current Redskins head coach Jim Zorn was an assistant.
* SAN ANTONIO ó Tony Romo and Roy Williams had easily their best day of training camp.
“It’s feeling real good,” Williams said. “It’s only a matter of time before it starts clicking. You’ll look and see and we’ll have turned the page.”
Romo’s No. 1 receiver with the Cowboys had been Terrell Owens, but Williams is now in that position.
* GEORGETOWN, Ky. ó The Bengals are placing tight end Reggie Kelly (ruptured Achilles’ tendon) on injured reserve.
* SAN DIEGO ó News of Eli Manning’s six-year, $97.5 million contract extension was duly noted in San Diego, where Philip Rivers is in the last year of his deal.
“When talks pick up, you’ll know,” Rivers said. “Until then, my focus is on helping this team get better.”
* RIVER FALLS, Wis. ó The Chiefs have waived former Furman quarterback Ingle Martin.
* BETHLEHEM, Pa. ó Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Juqua Parker was arrested on a marijuana possession charge near the team’s training camp.
* ST. PAUL, Minn. ó Minnesota Vikings linemen Kevin and Pat Williams can play this season unless a federal court gets involved and backs the NFL’s bid to suspend them for violating anti-doping rules.
* BEREA, Ohio ó Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth, suspended indefinitely for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk, met in New York with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about a possible reinstatement, according to media reports.
* Goodell reassured retired players that their pensions and disability benefits would not be reduced in a labor dispute next year, refuting statements made by the NFL Players Association.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett has withdrawn a request for early release from prison so he could pursue an NFL career.
Clarett, 25, was sentenced in September 2006 to serve at least 3 1/2 years for a holdup outside a Columbus bar and a separate highway chase earlier that year that ended with police finding loaded guns in his SUV.
Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office agreed to the 31/2-year term on the grounds Clarett behaved himself in prison. He could be out in March if a judge releases him early, although he would still have to spend six months in a halfway house.
HOCKEY
NEWARK, N.J. ó Brendan Shanahan signed a one-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, keeping him with the team that drafted him second overall in 1987.
* TORONTO ó Veteran defenseman Teppo Numminen will retire after 20 seasons in the NHL.
GOLF
PORTLAND, Ore. ó Dusty Schmidt, a pro online poker player, has dropped a lawsuit against the USGA to have his amateur golfer status reinstated.
A former top junior golfer, Schmidt played professionally for several years before he suffered a heart attack in 2004 at age 23. During his recovery, Schmidt discovered online poker and became one of the game’s top players. He says he has made more than $3 million in the game, sometimes earning more than $100,000 in good months.
He applied to the USGA to regain his amateur status in 2006 as his health improved. His request was granted early this year, but problems arose in April when he issued a $1 million challenge on a Web site he co-owns, offering to bet his own money against anyone in a combined poker and golf competition.
The golf governing body said Schmidt gave up his amateur status with that challenge.
TENNIS
WASHINGTON ó Top-seeded Andy Roddick beat Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-2 at the Legg Mason Tennis Championship in his first match since losing the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer.
* CARSON, Calif. ó Dinara Safina started her bid for a second straight Los Angeles Women’s Tennis Championships title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Daniela Hantuchova.