Dillon drives to nostalgic dirt victory
NASCAR: Austin Dillon left the rest of the field in his dust to win NASCAR’s return to dirt racing in the Truck Series races at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Dillon pulled away in the green-white-checkered finish Wednesday night to complete a thrilling return to the muck of the clumpy dirt track.
“This is real racing right here,” said Dillon, a regular in the Nationwide Series.
The last time one of NASCAR’s top touring series competed on dirt was Sept. 30, 1970, when Richard Petty won a Sprint Cup – called the Grand National Division at that time – race at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
That drought ended with racing that started early in the day and bled into late night at the Tony Stewart-owned half-mile track.
RG III expects to skip preseason
NFL: Robert Griffin III says he doesn’t think he’ll be playing in any preseason games.
The Washington Redskins quarterback also said that he’ll be limited in practice when the team opens training camp today.
Griffin says he’ll take part in certain drills but will sit out the 11-on-11 plays in the early days. He was cleared by doctors a few days ago, about 6 1/2 months after he had reconstructive surgery on his right knee.
• Prosecutors granted more time: Prosecutors have asked for more time to present evidence to a grand jury at Attleboro, Mass., in the case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
Hernandez was in court for what was supposed to be a probable cause hearing, but prosecutors say they are still presenting evidence and the grand jury is still considering it.
The judge rescheduled the probable cause hearing for Aug. 22.
• Falcons, Trufant reach deal: The Falcons and Desmond Trufant have agreed to multi-year deal and the rookie cornerback from Washington will report to training camp on time.
A person familiar with the situation says it’s a four-year, $8.16 million contract – of which $4.3 million is guaranteed.
• Bucs sign Williams: The Buccaneers have signed receiver Mike Williams to a six-year, $40.25 million contract.
The fourth-year pro had 63 receptions for 996 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
• Edwards back with Jets: A person familiar with the situation says the New York Jets will bring back wide receiver Braylon Edwards on a one-year deal. Edwards is expected to sign the contract today.
Track body vows rigid blood testing
Track and field: Track and field’s governing body will use a “comprehensive blood testing program” at the world championships in Moscow next month.
The sport has been rocked by several doping scandals, with sprinters Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson among a number of athletes to fail recent tests.
Russian claims third gold medal
Swimming: Russia’s Svetlana Romashina has won her third gold medal of the world championships at Barcelona, Spain,, winning the synchronized swimming solo.
Romashina easily took the top spot with 97.340 points, increasing her career haul to 13 world championship golds dating to 2005.
Delle Donne hurt in loss to Mystics
Women’s basketball: Top All-Star vote-getter Elena Delle Donne suffered a concussion in the Chicago Sky’s 82-78 loss to the host Washington Mystics and is questionable for the All-Star game.
All-Star Ivory Latta had 18 points and 13 assists as the Washington Mystics rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the Sky.
Delle Donne, the WNBA’s third leading scorer at 18.6 points per game, is the first rookie to lead the All-Star voting.
She finished with 12 points before leaving after a third-quarter collision.
• United States, Canada win: The United States and Canada advanced to the quarterfinals of the U19 World Championships at Panevezys, Lithuania.
The U.S. defeated France 69-63 for a 6-0 record after two rounds. Gonzaga Univesity women’s coach Kelly Graves is a U.S. assistant.
Canada beat Lithuania 68-47 for a 3-3 record. Incoming Gonzaga freshman Emma Wolfram had five points, six rebounds and three blocks.