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2B – Daily News – Saturday, July 24, 2010 Villeneuve back at Indy Correction INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jacques Villeneuve was supposed to be in Europe this week working on a poten- tial deal to return to Formula One next season. Then he suddenly got the chance to try to qualify for Sunday’s Sprint Cup series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so Villeneuve put those talks on hold to go racing. ‘‘This came about only a week ago,’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘This is really last minute.’’ The 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One champion has- n’t had a steady ride in a top series since 2006. While the 39-year-old Canadian is working on an F1 deal, he remains interested in finding a full- time ride in NASCAR. ‘‘There’s a lot going on, and until you have something finalized, you have to look at every opportunity that’s out there,’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘I really, really enjoy driving the NASCARs. That’s why I moved back on this side of the ocean in 2006, was to concen- trate on NASCAR. And it’s taken a while to get going.’’ Big picture aside, Villeneuve’s immediate concern is trying to put Braun Racing’s No. 32 Toyota in the field during Saturday’s qualifying. It’s a newly built car for a team that only races part time in the Cup series; Villeneuve has raced road course races in the Nationwide series for Braun — most recently at Road America, where he ran strong all day and made a few breathtaking passes, only to have an electrical problem derail a potential top-five finish. Villeneuve is seen mostly as a road- course specialist in NASCAR, but wants to prove himself on ovals. Despite his experience at the track — in addition to the Indy 500, he also has raced on the track’s road course configuration as an F1 driver — Indi- anapolis isn’t the easiest place for a part-time driver to try to get up to speed in a stock car. ‘‘It’s tough for a guy that doesn’t do it every week for sure,’’ said Tony Stewart, who successfully made the jump from open-wheel racing to stock cars. ‘‘There’s a lot of emphasis put on this race obviously. He’s been a cham- pion here, so he knows how to get around this place. It’s just, can he figure it out in a stock car?’’ Relatively flat turns make the track tough to drive, and it’s a tough place for teams to find the right setup to make their cars go fast. ‘‘It’s very challenging, because we can’t prepare like we would want to,’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘If you put me on the road course, it’s no problem. But this is a difficult oval. The team doesn’t have a backlog of experience here, either. So we’ll have to see. The first laps will be a little tough.’’ Villeneuve figures his crew would lean on other teams for a little help set- ting up their car. ‘‘They all know each other, so you can get a little base, I guess,’’ Vil- leneuve said. ‘‘Then it’s just a question of getting up to speed.’’ That was a struggle early on, as Vil- leneuve was 45th on the speed charts in the first practice Friday. If Villeneuve does rally to make the race, his experience tells him not to be too aggressive early on. ‘‘It’s a long race and a lot happens on this track,’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘There’s no point in going crazy early on.’’ Regardless of what happens this weekend, Villeneuve will need to fig- ure out his racing future. He has been talking to Italy-based Durango, which might try to race F1 next season. ‘‘The opportunity was there, so there’s no way I was going to say, ’No, don’t bother,’’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘I don’t have a full-time ride here any- way, I can’t just (ignore) something and stay home. But I haven’t spent as much time as I should have or would have wanted to on it because I’ve been here.’’ Villeneuve nearly returned to F1 with a startup team this season, but the deal fell apart when the team wasn’t approved to race. Despite all the talk about F1, he still has a strong interest in NASCAR. ‘‘Obviously, there’s been a lot of talks about Formula 1, and as long as this is an option, I have to keep it open,’’ Villeneuve said. ‘‘It’s really hard to tell you what the preference would be because you have to wait until the real opportunity is there on the table. Until there’s something full time that we can get going, I can’t really focus on one.’’ Pavin, Langer share lead at Senior British Open CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) — Amer- ican Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin shot a sec- ond straight 2-under 69 Friday to share the sec- ond-round lead with Bernhard Langer of Germany at the Senior British Open. Pavin and Langer (71) have 4-under totals of 138 and are one shot ahead of a quartet that includes Ian Woosnam (67) and Jay Haas (69). Pavin was among the early starters and looked set to take a command- ing lead before finishing with a double bogey 6 at the 18th after hitting his second shot out of bounds. Langer had to deal with a biting cold wind later in the day but also got to 6 under before bogeys on two of the par-3 holes. At the short 13th, his tee shot landed in a deep pot bunker, and he then missed the green at the 16th with a 5-iron and was unable to get up and down. Langer has 10 wins in three years on the Champions Tour, but is still looking for his first victory in a senior major. ‘‘I could have putted a bit better,’’ Langer said. ‘‘The ball did not drop for me like it did in the first round.’’ Americans Dan Fors- man (71) and Larry Mize (70) were also tied for second. Tom Watson, who missed the cut in his last British Open appear- ance at St. Andrews last week, had no problem making sure he will be around for the weekend this time. He sank a 15- foot birdie putt on the last green for a par 71 to remain 3 over. However, Bob Charles of New Zealand — the first left-hander to win the British Open in 1963 — bid farewell from the tournament after he shot a 78 to miss the cut. At the age of 74 and after a career that brought him 64 tourna- ment victories, he announced that it was his last round of com- petitive golf. Unfortu- nately for him, he signed off with a double bogey at the 18th. San Jose mayor wants ballot measure on A’s stadium SAN JOSE (AP) — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says a pro- posed ballot measure on a stadium in San Jose for the Oakland Athlet- ics is premature. Selig said Friday he was ‘‘disappointed’’ to hear that Mayor Chuck Reed wants to put a measure on the Novem- ber ballot to approve a stadium for the team. Major League Baseball has yet to decide whether the club can relocate. Selig says a commit- tee looking into the move will meet with him again Monday. The A’s need the approval of baseball and other team owners to move to San Jose because the San Fran- cisco Giants hold terri- torial rights to the area. But the mayor said Thursday he will ask the City Council to approve a ballpark mea- sure for the ballot regardless of where the process stands. Scoreboard MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 51 48 .515 7 A’s 57 40 .588 — 48 48 .500 8.5 Seattle 37 60 .381 20 East Division WL Pct GB New York 61 34 .642 — Tampa Bay 57 38 .600 4 Boston 55 42 .567 7 Toronto 48 48 .500 13.5 Baltimore 31 65 .323 30.5 Central Division Chicago 53 42 .558 — Detroit WL Pct GB 50 44 .532 2.5 Minnesota 51 46 .526 3 Cleveland 41 55 .427 12.5 Kansas City 41 55 .427 12.5 ——— Friday’s results Chicago 5, Oakland 1 Baltimore 3, Minnesota 2 Boston 2, Seattle 1 Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 1, 7 innings New York 7, Kansas City 1 Texas 1, Los Angeles 0 Toronto at Detroit, ppd., rain Thursday’s late result Boston 8, Seattle 6, 13 innings Saturday’s games Chicago (F.Garcia 9-3) at Oakland (Mazzaro 5-2), 1:10 p.m.,FOX Kansas City (Davies 4-6) at New York (Mitre 0-1), 10:05 a.m. Minnesota (S.Baker 7-9) at Baltimore (Matusz 3-10), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Price 12-5) at Cleveland (Talbot 8-8), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 8-5) at Detroit (Bonderman 5-6), 4:05 p.m. Los Angeles (E.Santana 8-7) at Texas (Feldman 5-8), 5:05 p.m., MLBN Boston (Lester 11-4) at Seattle (Pauley 0-2), 7:10 p.m. Sunday’s games Chicago at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.,CSNC Kansas City at New York, 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay at Cleveland, 10:05 a.m. Toronto at Detroit, 10:05 a.m., 1st game Minnesota at Baltimore, 10:35 a.m. Boston at Seattle, 1:10 p.m. Toronto at Detroit, 3:05 p.m., 2nd game Los Angeles at Texas, 5:05 p.m. West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 56 39 .589 — GIANTS 54 43 .557 3 Colorado 51 45 .531 5.5 Dodgers 51 46 .526 6 Arizona 37 60 .381 20 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 56 40 .583 — Philadelphia 50 46 .521 6 New York 50 47 .515 6.5 Florida 48 48 .500 8 Washington 42 55 .433 14.5 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 54 43 .557 — Cincinnati 54 44 .551 .5 Milwaukee 45 53 .459 9.5 Chicago 44 53 .454 10 Houston 39 57 .406 14.5 Pittsburgh 34 62 .354 19.5 ——— Friday’s results San Francisco 7, Arizona 4 Chicago 5, St. Louis 0 Cincinnati 6, Houston 4 Florida 7, Atlanta 6 Milwaukee 7, Washington 5 New York 6, Los Angeles 1 Philadelphia 6, Colorado 0 San Diego 5, Pittsburgh 3 Thursday’s late result Los Angeles 2, New York 0 Saturday’s games San Francisco (Bumgarner 3-2) at Arizona (I.Kennedy 5-7),5:10 p.m.,CSNB St. Louis (Hawksworth 4-5) at Chicago (Gorzelanny 5-5), 10:05 a.m. Colorado (Jimenez 15-1) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 5-4), 1:10 p.m. New York (Pelfrey 10-5) at Los Angeles (Monasterios 3-2), 1:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Cueto 9-2) at Houston (Oswalt 6-11), 4:05 p.m. San Diego (Latos 10-4) at Pittsburgh (Karstens 2-5), 4:05 p.m. Atlanta (Medlen 6-2) at Florida (Ani.Sanchez 7-6), 4:10 p.m. Washington (J.Martin 1-5) at Milwaukee (M.Parra 3-7), 4:10 p.m. Sunday’s games San Francisco at Arizona,1:10 p.m.,CSNB Atlanta at Florida, 10:10 a.m. Colorado at Philadelphia, 10:35 a.m., TBS San Diego at Pittsburgh, 10:35 a.m. Cincinnati at Houston, 11:05 a.m. Washington at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. New York at Los Angeles, 1:10 p.m. St. Louis at Chicago, 5:05 p.m., ESPN North Division GOLDEN Golden League WL Pct. GB Calgary 8 0 1.000 — Edmonton 5 1 .833 2 Victoria 6 4 .600 3 OUTLAWS 43 .571 3.5 St. George 2 6 .250 6 South Division Maui WL Pct. GB 6 0 1.000 — Orange Co. 4 4 .500 3 Tucson Tijuana 0 7 .000 6.5 Yuma 1 4 .200 4.5 0 7 .000 6.5 ——— Friday’s results Orange County at Chico, late Calgary 10, Edmonton 5 Tucson 9, St.George 8 Victoria 4, Yuma 2, 9 innings, 1st game Victoria 13, Yuma 2, 9 innings, 2nd game Maui at Tijuana, late Saturday’s games Orange County at Chico, 7:08 p.m. Edmonton at Calgary, 12:35 p.m. Maui at Tijuana, 7 p.m. St. George at Tucson, 7 p.m. Yuma at Victoria, 7 p.m. Sunday’s games Orange County at Chico, 6:08 p.m. Edmonton at Calgary, 12:35 p.m. Yuma at Victoria, 1:30 p.m. Maui at Tijuana, 7 p.m. St. George at Tucson, 7 p.m. WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Indiana 14 7 .667 — Washington 13 7 .650 .5 Atlanta 14 9 .609 1 Connecticut 12 9 .571 2 New York 11 10 .524 3 Chicago 11 12 .478 4 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB x-Seattle 19 2 .905 — Phoenix 9 12 .429 10 San Antonio 8 13 .381 11 Minnesota 7 13 .350 11.5 Los Angeles 6 16 .273 13.5 Tulsa 4 18 .182 15.5 x-clinched playoff spot ——— Friday’s result New York 79, Chicago 71 Saturday’s games Indiana at Washington, 4 p.m., NBATV Los Angeles at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Chicago at San Antonio, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Minnesota, 5 p.m., NBATV Sunday’s games New York at Atlanta, Noon, NBATV Tulsa at Seattle, 6 p.m. GOLF Senior British Open At Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course), Carnoustie, Scotland Purse: $2 million Yardage: 7,297;Par: 71 Saturday, 9 a.m., ESPN Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPN2 Second Round Leaders Corey Pavin 69-69 — 138 -4 Bernhard Langer 67-71 — 138 -4 Ian Woosnam 72-67 — 139 -3 Dan Forsman 68-71 — 139 -3 Larry Mize Jay Haas 69-70 — 139 -3 70-69 — 139 -3 Mark Calcavecchia 70-70 — 140 -2 John Cook PGA-Canadian Open 69-72 — 141 -1 Russ Cochran 70-71 — 141 -1 Jay Don Blake 67-74 — 141 -1 At St. George’s Golf and Country Club Course, Toronto Purse: $5.1 million Yardage: 7,079;Par: 70 Second Round Leaders Dean Wilson Tim Clark 65-65 — 130 -10 66-64 — 130 -10 Brent Delahoussaye 62-69 — 131 -9 Steve Wheatcroft 65-66 — 131 -9 J.J. Henry Rob Grube 67-65 — 132 -8 66-66 — 132 -8 Brock Mackenzie 64-68 — 132 -8 Hunter Mahan 65-67 — 132 -8 Tim Herron Bob Estes Matt Jones Nathan Green 68-65 — 133 -7 Vance Veazey 64-69 — 133 -7 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 12 2 4 40 29 10 Salt Lake 9 4 3 30 28 13 FC Dallas 6 2 7 25 19 13 QUAKES 64 5 23 20 18 Colorado 6 4 5 23 17 14 Houston 5 7 4 19 21 22 Seattle 5 8 4 19 18 24 Chivas USA 4 9 2 14 17 21 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 9 3 4 31 22 13 New York 8 6 2 26 18 19 Toronto FC 6 5 4 22 18 17 Chicago 4 5 5 17 18 19 Kansas City 4 8 4 16 13 20 Philadelphia 4 8 2 14 18 26 New England 4 9 2 14 15 26 D.C. 3 11 3 12 12 28 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Thursday’s result Los Angeles 2, San Jose 2, tie Saturday’s games FC Dallas at Toronto FC, 1 p.m. Houston at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m. Sunday’s games Colorado at Seattle FC, 7:30 p.m. WPS Women’s Professional Soccer WL T Pts GF GA FC Gold Pride11 3 1 34 26 13 Philadelphia 6 5 3 21 21 19 Sky Blue FC 5 6 3 18 12 16 Washington 4 5 5 17 20 19 Chicago 4 6 5 17 11 12 Boston Atlanta 4 6 4 16 15 17 3 7 4 13 9 19 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Saturday’s games FC Gold Pride at Washington, 4 p.m. Sky Blue FC at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Sunday’s game AMERICAN CONFERENCE y-Tulsa Southwest Division WL T Pct PF PA 9 5 0 .643 869 777 Okla. City 6 8 0 .429 751 747 Bossier-Shre. 3 11 0 .214 723 920 Dallas South Division 2 12 0 .143 697 813 WL T Pct PF PA x-Jacksonville 10 4 0 .714 781 737 x-Tampa Bay 10 4 0 .714 813 708 Orlando 6 8 0 .429 741 764 Alabama 6 8 0 .429 715 743 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Friday’s result Spokane 63, Chicago 49 Saturday’s games Alabama at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Orlando, 4:30 p.m. Arizona at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Jacksonville at Bossier-Shreveport, 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee at Iowa, 5:05 p.m. Utah at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. DEALS Major League Baseball MLB—Suspended Baltimore 1B Ty Wiggin- ton for three games and fined him an undis- 70-63 — 133 -7 66-67 — 133 -7 66-67 — 133 -7 Boston at Chicago, 1 p.m. CYCLING Tour de France Overall Standings (After 18 stages) 1.Alberto Contador, Spain, Astana, 88 hours, 9 minutes, 48 seconds. 2. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, 8 seconds behind. 3.Samuel Sanchez, Spain, Euskaltel-Euska- di, 3:32. 4. Denis Menchov, Russia, Rabobank, 3:53. 5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgium, Omega Pharma-Lotto, 5:27. 6. Robert Gesink, Netherlands, Rabobank, 6:41. 7. Joaquin Rodriguez, Spain, Katusha, 7:03. 8. Ryder Hesjedel, Canada, Garmin-Transi- tions, 9:18. 9. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Republic, Liquigas-Doimo, 10:12. 10. Christopher Horner, United States, Team RadioShack, 10:37. ARENA NATIONALCONFERENCE Midwest Division WL T Pct PF PA x-Milwaukee 9 5 0 .643 914 789 x-Chicago 10 6 0 .625 906 873 Cleveland 7 8 0 .467 891 852 Iowa West Division 6 8 0 .429 695 711 WL T Pct PF PA y-Spokane 13 2 0 .867 939 779 x-Arizona 9 5 0 .643 849 767 Utah 1 13 0 .071 627 931 closed amount for for bumping umpire Gary Darling during an argument in a July 22 game against Minnesota. Suspended Washington minor league RHP Juan Diaz (Dominican Summer League) and RHP Jorge Hernan- dez (Dominican Summer League); Florida RHP Yeims Mendoza (Dominican Summer League) and RHP Andy Parra (Dominican Summer League) and Cleveland RHP Luis Morel (Arizona League) 50 games each for positive drug tests. American League OAKLAND—Agreed to terms with C Kurt Suzuki on a four-year contract extension through 2013. BALTIMORE—Reinstated 2B Brian Roberts from the 60-day DL. Designated INF Scott Moore for assignment. BOSTON—Activated RHP Josh Beckett from the 60-day DL. Optioned RHP Michael Bowden to Pawtucket (IL). Sent 1B Ryan Shealy outright to Pawtucket. CLEVELAND—Activated OF Shin-Soo Choo from the 15-day DL.Placed LHP Aaron Laffey on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 20. KANSAS CITY—Placed OF David DeJesus on the 15-day DL. Recalled OF Alex Gordon from Triple-A Omaha. Activated RHP Sean O’Sullivan. Designated RHP Anthony Lerew for assignment. TORONTO—Signed LHP Sean Nolin. National League CHICAGO—Activated RHP Brian Schlitter from the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Jeff Stevens to Iowa (PCL). LOS ANGELES—Designated RHP Justin Miller for assignment. Recalled RHP Kenley Jansen from Albuquerque (PCL). NEW YORK—Designated RHP Fernando Nieve for assignment. Recalled RHP Manny Acosta from Buffalo (IL). PHILADELPHIA—Fired hitting coach Milt Thompson.Named Greg Gross hitting coach. ST. LOUIS—Recalled RHP P.J.Walters from Memphis (PCL). Optioned OF Allen Craig to Memphis. WASHINGTON—Placed RHP Luis Atilano on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 21. National Football League CINCINNATI—Signed CB Brandon Ghee. CLEVELAND—Signed QB Colt McCoy to a multiyear contract. PITTSBURGH—Signed coach Mike Tomlin to a two-year contract extension through the 2012 season. National Basketball Association NBA—Fined Minnesota president of basket- ball operations David Kahn $50,000 for inap- propriate comments about F Michael Beasley. The organization was $50,000 for Kahn’s remarks. SACRAMENTO—Signed G-F Antoine Wright and G Pooh Jeter. CLEVELAND—Signed G-F Christian Eyen- ga. SAN ANTONIO—Signed G James Ander- son. National Hockey League DALLAS—Agreed to terms with F Fabian Brunnstrom on a one-year contract. TAMPA BAY—Named Wayne Fleming assistant coach. Signed C Marc-Antoine Pouliot to a one-year contract. OAKLAND (AP) — In a story July 21 about the Golden State Warriors signing Jeremy Lin to a contract, The Associated Press, relying on information from the team, reported erroneously that Lin was the first Asian- American player signed by the Warriors since 1947. Raymond Townsend, a Filipino-American, was drafted and signed by Golden State in 1978 and played two sea- sons with the team, according to the Warriors. Cavendish wins stage; Contador nears Tour title BORDEAUX, France (AP) — Even without his most important teammate, Mark Cavendish showed yet again that few can touch him when it comes to sprinting. The British rider captured the 18th stage of the Tour de France on Friday while Alberto Contador of Spain drew closer to victory. The defending champion leads Luxem- bourg’s Andy Schleck by eight seconds entering Saturday’s decisive time trial, a day before the three-week race ends in Paris. Cavendish won a stage for the fourth time in this Tour and the 14th time in just three years of competing in cycling’s premier event. He surged to the front in the final couple of hundred yards. He gave himself such a lead that he was able to look behind him a couple of times and then cross the line with his fist in the air. Some Hollywood star power was there to greet him. Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise, on hand to promote their latest film in France, joined Contador on the podium to receive his yellow jersey. Cruise raised the Spaniard’s hand and patted him on the back. Cavendish won without his usual leadout man and room- mate. Mark Renshaw was expelled from the race after the 11th stage for head-butting an opponent, and Cavendish ded- icated his latest victory to Renshaw. He says the Australian rider made life easy, bringing him to the front. ‘‘I’ve missed Mark,’’ Cavendish said. ‘‘I missed him in the Pyrenees, I missed somebody suffering more than me. I missed somebody to laugh about, about how hard it is.’’ Second place went to Julian Dean of New Zealand and third to Alessandro Petacchi of Italy. Petacchi took the green jersey given to the leading sprinter from Thor Hushovd of Norway. Hushovd acknowledged that his fight to retain the sprint title he won last year was over. ‘‘It’s a big disappointment, but I realized step by step dur- ing the sprints that I’m suffering,’’ said Hushovd, speaking after ducking into his team bus to take off the green jersey he had been wearing. ‘‘I don’t have the same level as Cavendish and Petacchi, and today was just another sprint that didn’t work out.’’ Although Contador hold what appears a slender lead, he is expected to easily outpace Schleck in the 32-mile time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac. Last year, he won the time trial held late in the Tour and took 1 minute, 45 seconds off Schleck. Contador, as the leader, also has the advantage of riding last, allowing him to know how all his rivals have done. Saturday is the last stage in which the positions at the top can change. Sunday’s final stage into Paris is traditionally a sprinters’ stage and a daylong victory procession for the overall winner. Still, Contador insists his victory is not cer- tain until the time trial is over. ‘‘This is a hard stage that comes after 20 days in the Tour, and this isn’t a race for specialists. I think tomorrow I will really have to fight a lot to win the stage and to defeat (Schleck).’’ Schleck, for his part, has not given up hope. ‘‘I feel good. I have nothing to lose,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s bet- ter but I’m not bad, too. We’re going to see a battle tomor- row.’’ In the race for third place, Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez of Spain holds a 21-second lead over Denis Menchov of Russia, the winner of the 2009 Giro d’Italia. Among those hoping to win Saturday is world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, Schleck’s teammate at Saxo Bank.